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Thread: VIN 11596 Frame Swap - a rolling frame-off restoration

  1. #311
    Senior Member 82DMC12's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Olathe, KS

    Posts:    1,822

    My VIN:    11596

    And, like every job I do, I discard and replace all hardware I touch or can easily get to. As you can see, this spline plate bolt has seen better days. That's what happens if you try to remove them without having a helper apply slightly more tension to the torsion bar, so that the bolt can come cleanly out of the hole in the plate. Thankfully the threads in the roof box are still good.

    PXL_20250119_222112836.jpg
    Andy Lien

    VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
    Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023

    Photography and Backpacking is life.

    Was Fargo, ND
    Now Kansas City

  2. #312
    DMC Timeless's Avatar
    Join Date:  Nov 2016

    Location:  SW FL

    Posts:    854

    Club(s):   (DCF) (DCO) (DCUK)

    Quote Originally Posted by 82DMC12 View Post
    This week I took the T-panel off and found everything to be about the same as it was 13 years ago. I took the plate off over the connectors in the center and using a really cheap endoscope from Harbor Freight, it looks to be in great shape inside but I did order a new scope so I'll check it again later this week when it arrives and post photos. I will be spraying Waxoyl inside when I'm done.
    After watching youtube videos about spray coatings I went with Surface Shield inside my roof box. It's rated very high and since it is inside the box not exposed to direct water it should hold up for years. Good call on POR-15 for box paint. If mine ever peels I'll certainly slap 2 coats of POR on it.
    ~LXA~
    Dunmurry | Stuttgart | Leipzig | Munich | Tochigi | Fremont | Bratislava | Sindelfingen | Kansas City | Oakville | Coventry

  3. #313
    Senior Member 82DMC12's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Olathe, KS

    Posts:    1,822

    My VIN:    11596

    Quote Originally Posted by Timeless View Post
    After watching youtube videos about spray coatings I went with Surface Shield inside my roof box. It's rated very high and since it is inside the box not exposed to direct water it should hold up for years. Good call on POR-15 for box paint. If mine ever peels I'll certainly slap 2 coats of POR on it.
    Never looked into that, I see it's popular with the truck crowd and probably does about the same thing that the Waxoyl will. I have the 360 wand tip for the spray can and will attach that to a coat hanger or something similar so I can start in the front corners and pull the wand backwards, getting a complete coating. Let it dry for a couple days and then check it with the articulating scope and see if I missed anything.

    I'm also planning to replace the door hinge hardware one piece at a time once the torsion bars are out. Pray for me that nothing shifts!
    Andy Lien

    VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
    Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023

    Photography and Backpacking is life.

    Was Fargo, ND
    Now Kansas City

  4. #314
    DMC Timeless's Avatar
    Join Date:  Nov 2016

    Location:  SW FL

    Posts:    854

    Club(s):   (DCF) (DCO) (DCUK)

    Quote Originally Posted by 82DMC12 View Post
    Never looked into that, I see it's popular with the truck crowd and probably does about the same thing that the Waxoyl will. I have the 360 wand tip for the spray can and will attach that to a coat hanger or something similar so I can start in the front corners and pull the wand backwards, getting a complete coating. Let it dry for a couple days and then check it with the articulating scope and see if I missed anything.

    I'm also planning to replace the door hinge hardware one piece at a time once the torsion bars are out. Pray for me that nothing shifts!
    I used a wand as well. I want to replace my door hinge hardware as well but nervous about shifting as my doors shut well.
    ~LXA~
    Dunmurry | Stuttgart | Leipzig | Munich | Tochigi | Fremont | Bratislava | Sindelfingen | Kansas City | Oakville | Coventry

  5. #315
    Senior Member 82DMC12's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Olathe, KS

    Posts:    1,822

    My VIN:    11596

    Quote Originally Posted by Timeless View Post
    I used a wand as well. I want to replace my door hinge hardware as well but nervous about shifting as my doors shut well.
    My doors are also pretty much perfect. I think if the gas strut and torsion bar are removed it should be OK to replace one bolt at a time, making sure to replace the split washer as well. I will report back once I do it, might be a couple weeks though because I'm out of town for work for a few days.
    Andy Lien

    VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
    Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023

    Photography and Backpacking is life.

    Was Fargo, ND
    Now Kansas City

  6. #316
    Senior Member 82DMC12's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Olathe, KS

    Posts:    1,822

    My VIN:    11596

    Last night I did a little more work on the roof box.


    • Replaced the hardware for the passenger side torsion bar spline plate. The bolts that came out were in better condition than the driver side, and the new hardware went in no problem so glad to see no stripped out rivnuts or other issues.
    • Determined that my driver side spline plate is slightly angled because the roof box has a bit of a bow or bulge behind it. I spoke with Rob Grady and he agreed it is common and can be shimmed away so it doesn't affect the torsion bar's geometry , particularly getting too close to the rear hinge, which I do have an issue with. Rob is sending me some shims for this.
    • I bought a new boroscope (Teslong TD500) and a good inspection of the inside of the roof box. It's overall pretty good, but there was some flaky rust in the driver side channel on the inside. I was able to scrape most of it out using my magnet on a telescoping rod. I also put a magnet inside the box and used compress air to make a shitstorm inside and get more metal dust on the magnet.



    Here's a video of the roof box now after cleaning it out:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=378C0bsVyUE

    Andy Lien

    VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
    Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023

    Photography and Backpacking is life.

    Was Fargo, ND
    Now Kansas City

  7. #317
    Senior Member 82DMC12's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Olathe, KS

    Posts:    1,822

    My VIN:    11596

    Here is a picture of all the rusty junk I got out of the roof box, 99% of it was on the driver side.

    PXL_20250125_041400440 (1).jpg
    Andy Lien

    VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
    Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023

    Photography and Backpacking is life.

    Was Fargo, ND
    Now Kansas City

  8. #318
    Senior Member 82DMC12's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Olathe, KS

    Posts:    1,822

    My VIN:    11596

    Here is a comparison of the passenger side spline plate (left photo) vs the driver side (right photo). You can see the passenger side is nice and flush, and perpendicular to the hinge. The driver side has a couple degree tilt and doesn't sit flush.

    I should be able to at least stop it, if not partially resolve it, by using 1/4" rivets along the back side of the roof box (as well as along the top of the roof box) to secure it to the underbody. I expect to have use at least one shim to get it perpendicular again though.

    PXL_20250124_231928386.jpg PXL_20250124_231931663.jpg
    Andy Lien

    VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
    Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023

    Photography and Backpacking is life.

    Was Fargo, ND
    Now Kansas City

  9. #319
    Senior Member 82DMC12's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Olathe, KS

    Posts:    1,822

    My VIN:    11596

    Yesterday I started removing the old paint from the center section of the roof box. This is where the peeling paint and rusty spots are so I'm going to focus on this and probably not even bother stripping and repainting the rear part of the roof box. I bought some gel stripper at Lowe's and while it takes multiple applications and scraping between each application (before it dries), it's doing a good job with very little mess. Once the paint is stripped I'll sand it down and prep and paint with black POR15.

    474628032_583019307970577_7347437373885215527_n.jpg
    Andy Lien

    VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
    Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023

    Photography and Backpacking is life.

    Was Fargo, ND
    Now Kansas City

  10. #320
    Senior Member 82DMC12's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Olathe, KS

    Posts:    1,822

    My VIN:    11596

    Now that the roof box center is totally stripped, I decided to see if the same gel stripper will work on the door weatherstripping adhesive that has to be removed. I'm replacing the outer weather strip since I had to remove it to get the T-panel and infill panel out. Turns out the gel works amazingly well!

    I put some into a tin pan, then brush it on with a cheap chip brush. About 10 minutes later, while it's still wet, you can then use a scraper to remove everything that has loosened up (the whole top layer of glue), then once you've scraped down to dry glue again, brush more gel on. Takes about three coats like this and I got all of it off with no mess like a wire wheel would have done.

    Also, here are pictures of the pole jack I'm using to prop the door open while I work since the gas strut is removed. I actually dropped it off at a machine shop this morning to get the top screw part welded to the pipe (it's just loose which is a little dangerous), and to get a flat base added for the floor. You can adjust the height of the pole jack using a bolt and nut through various holes in the main part, and then make fine adjustments by turning the screw on top, which I capped off with a silicone cap to protect my carpet.

    474803687_1374455283714157_3508990886410210857_n.jpg
    Only about 30 minutes of work to get this nearly perfect.

    PXL_20250130_132515293.jpg PXL_20250130_132518684.jpg
    Andy Lien

    VIN 11596 Jan 1982 build - owned since Nov. 2000!
    Total frame-off restoration completed 2021-2023

    Photography and Backpacking is life.

    Was Fargo, ND
    Now Kansas City

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