Blueboss's (son's) 84 1E

[blueboss]

I figured it time to start one of these. So, let's start with today. Got the new exhaust installed and fired it up. Sounds pretty good. Nice mellow tone, nothing crazy, and it shouldn't attract any rice. For all those who are buying a premade 3" exhaust system, don't. This wasn't hard at all. Even if you don't have a welder, you could do this in your driveway. I had Mike from Merkur Depot make me a new turbo elbow so now the exhaust is a true 3" from the engine all the way back. Well, it's 3" to the outlet of the muffler with a 2.5" tailpipe. No biggie. Anyway, the rest is nothing more than 45 degree mandrel bends with a single 4' piece of straight pipe. Of which, you'll probably have about 3'left over. The whole exhaust cost me around $325.

[blueboss]

Here's a couple more shots level with the bottom of the car to show the clearance. The car has "B" springs on it so it shouldn't be too low hence drag the exhaust anywhere. But he is 16 so.....famous last words. I would have liked to have it tighter to the crossmember but it's already 1 finger clearance. Good enough.....I hope.

[blueboss]

By the way, here's a few shots of what I brought home. Bird crap and all!

Pic#2: Man, it sure is hard to find craftsmanship like this nowadays.
Pic#3: Uh oh, battery box in the trunk DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER

Pic#4: ummm....yeah.....where do I start

[DRAGPAK]

Looks real good .

[blueboss]

Slow and steady.

Finished the cooling system today. New water pump, hoses, t-stat w/housing, etc. Got the new Autometer boost/vacuum gauge installed without dismantling the boost gauge. Pretty slick. And the MOMO steering wheel. Took it out for a trip up the street while testing the cooling system and got in to the boost a little.....well, alot. To the tune of 20psi for a split second before I lifted. Not running a boost control device yet, but it's on the list. As is an LA computer. I thought the wastegate actuator would pop open before boost got that high but apparently not. Oh well, add it to the list.

[indiana dave]

I love the install of of boost gauge. I'm adding that to my to do list!
I'd take the car to an exhaust shop and have them weld some of those joints. I think you're asking for some leaks in the future.

[blueboss]

Probably hard to see in the pics but I did weld up all the joints. I'll take that as a compliment to my welding prowess. There's only three clamps in the whole system. One on each side of the muffler and one in the middle of the mid pipe to facilitate removal of the trans and driveshaft. Everything else is welded up.

The gauge honestly turned out nicer than I was expecting. The good thing is I didn't have to hack up a brand new $55 gauge.

[blueboss]

Rust repair.....

For you people South and West of the Manson-Nixon line, rust is that stuff you've seen in pictures that eats away metal on cars. Anyway, this was one of the first projects my son and I tackled. I installed the subframe connectors and proceeded to remove the cancerous floor panel. Strange thing on this car, only the drivers side of the car undercarriage was rusty. My guess is that it was parked outside and the drivers side was on grass while the passenger side was not.

So I cut the floor out and I taught the boy how to prep the old to receive the new. I fit the new floor and he welded it in. This was his first experience welding and to be honest, he's a quicker study than I was. More rust repair coming.....

A couple of pics of what we started with.....

[blueboss]

.....and what we ended up with. We ended up removing the factory crossbrace. It had to come off anyhow as we had to repair a seat attach bolt that had ripped out. One of the PO's did a half hearted repair. Now it's fixed permenantly. The kid welded most everything back into the car with dad supervising. The last shot is of the finished product with everything welded up and three coats of chassis saver with some fresh seam sealer. Might not be pretty but it does work. On to the next rusty area.....

[indiana dave]

Nice job on the floorboards!
On the exhaust, I guess I kept seeing the same clamps over and over again. LOL Nice welding on it too!

I had some rust in my hood hinge area on the passenger side. I gladly jobbed that out to a friend. I've done everything else on my car except paint and bodywork.

[blueboss]

Speaking of hood hinge rust, thanks for the segway. This either the first or one of the first projects we (I) tackled. The hood hinge on the drivers side was, for all intents and purposes, gone. That side of the hood only had positive thinking holding it on. So, I sourced a couple of cowl panel pieces from the local pull-a-part and proceeded to fix it. In hindsight, I probably should have removed the windshield and replaced the entire cowl. More prep work but less finishing detail work. Anyway, here's what I started with.....

[blueboss]

.....and what I ended up with. These pics were taken prior to finish welding and grinding. Prior to welding on the replacement panel, I slathered the chassis saver on the cowl. We'll see how it holds up. Actually, the entire cowl now has two coats of chassis saver on. At least what I could reach.

[blueboss]

...and more rust!

Moving on to the decklid. This wasn't as bad as most I've seen from up here. I forgot to take the before pics so we'll just have to all use our imaginations to imagine just how bad things were rusted. In the third pic.....no, I wasn't drinking. I welded where I still had good steel left. Meaning that's what was left of the lip after removing the cancerous metal. By the way guys, thanks for compliments. It's appreciated.

[Erics SVO]

Man, lotsa good work!

[Ken Potter]

Congrats

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