Body and Paint – asifnyc.com https://asifnyc.com blog devoted to my AMC road race and street cars and all things AMC and Rambler related Sat, 05 Dec 2015 04:23:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Project Greta – Sans Bumpers https://asifnyc.com/project-greta-sans-bumpers/ https://asifnyc.com/project-greta-sans-bumpers/#respond Mon, 16 Nov 2015 04:18:41 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1832 Continue reading ]]> One of the things on my list for Greta was ditching the HEAVY front and rear bumpers. Initially I was only going to get rid of the bumperettes but the more I thought about it the more I just wanted them completely gone. If this was an earlier car, with the nice thin bumpers that recess into the body a bit, I’d keep them. But the later, ginormous bumpers are just fugly (and weigh a ton). So I’m ditching them…

I did this on the track Gremlin as well (also a ‘75) but forgot exactly how I did it. I do remember I ended up having to take the grill off. With Greta, again, I tried to do it without taking the grill off but in the end I guess that’s the only way to do it. Just like with the track Gremlin I ended up breaking the bottom tabs on the grill because I didn’t have a trim removal tool (I finally have one now!).

I had hoped to just pull the bumpers and be on my merry way but after the bumpers were off I had two things to deal with. First I needed to repair the tabs I broke on the grill. The second was that the bumpers were SO heavy that with them off, the car seemed like it raised up a bit. Especially in the front. Wasn’t expecting that. It looked like a car that has no engine in it…

Besides looking stupid I was also concerned that it would adversely affect handling. So I decided I’d cut a ½ a coil out of the front springs. In the rear I’ll use lowering blocks (probably just 1”) and see how that looks.

For the grill I repaired the tabs with fiberglass. I also did some epoxy repairs to the driver’s side fender cap. It’s cracked up and missing a chunk and I didn’t have a reflector for that side either. The grill and fender caps on the car are actually from ‘76 Gremlin X. New reflectors are $60. So I’m not doing that. Instead I think I’m going to fiberglass over the stock reflector recess and then mount some cheap LED universal side marker lights…

But for now I’m just sticking this wrong shaped reflector from the track Gremlin (don’t need side markers on a race car).

So here are pics of the car without bumpers and with ½ a coil cut in the front. Curious to see how it runs with all that weight removed. Oh, I weighed everything I took off the car and it came to 120 lbs…

Sans Bumpers!

Sans Bumpers!

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The “Ah Hah!” moment – NASA AI Javelin update! https://asifnyc.com/the-ah-hah-moment-nasa-ai-javelin-update/ https://asifnyc.com/the-ah-hah-moment-nasa-ai-javelin-update/#respond Sat, 26 Sep 2015 05:47:49 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1770 Continue reading ]]> The Trackmasters event was a mixed bag. I didn’t go any faster and I cut a tire which meant I didn’t get to run the last two session. The tire got cut because I didn’t run the ½” front wheel spacers I usually use. However, cutting the tire has lead to a HUGE breakthrough because it lead to the discovery of what’s been causing my brake shimmy!!!

Ever since I lowered the car I’ve been having problems with a bad shimmy/shake under braking. Early in 2015 I was just having weird issues with the car. Shimmy under braking and some weird side to side motion under acceleration. When we discovered the 3rd link ripping out I thought, ah, that’s it! But, with the 3rd link mount fixed and re-inforced I was still getting the shimmy. I didn’t realize it but over time I had trained myself to use the brakes less and less. So I had sort of fooled myself into think the shimmy was still there but that it wasn’t that bad…

The day after the Trackmasters event I got the car jacked up and pulled the front wheels. My plan was to remove the 3 bolts that hold the remote oil filter and relocate the filter slightly to move the bolts farther from the tire. However, while looking in the wheel well with the wheel off I suddenly saw what had happened… The first was the real breakthrough. I noticed the undercoating was completely worn away from the bottom of the fender trough! THAT’S what the shimmy was. Under braking the top of the tire was hitting the bottom of the fender trough. That’s what was causing the violent shaking when I really used the brakes. If I used the brakes lightly, the front didn’t dive as much and the tires didn’t hit. I check the drivers side and it had the same wear so I knew it was happening to both sides. Seroius “ah hah” moment… What had been cutting the tire was also obvious. The upper spring perch had wear marks from the tire and I realized that, without the spacers, when I was turning left the passenger side tire was contacting the edge of the perch and getting cut. Not sure why it wasn’t symetrical but it did not cut the drivers side tire…

Anyway, I was jumping with joy because now I knew what the problem was! ok, I guess I Don’t know 100% till I run the car again but I’m willing to bet big money that this is the problem that’s been plaguing me all year. No worries, nothing a little quality time with the grinder and a cut off disc can’t solve!

It was actually pretty hard, dirty work but I got all the offending metal cut away and I plated the notch I made in the fender trough. I’m a little concerned that maybe I should have made the notch even longer but at least I know what the issue is. If I’m still hitting next time I run I’ll know I just have to keep cutting till there’s enough clearance Clarance!

Unfortunately I’ve run out of time and won’t be able to make the Sept. race. So now I’m shooting for October.

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The “bars” are back in town – NASA American Iron Javelin Update… https://asifnyc.com/the-bars-are-back-in-town-nasa-american-iron-javelin-update/ https://asifnyc.com/the-bars-are-back-in-town-nasa-american-iron-javelin-update/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2015 04:07:27 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1741 Continue reading ]]> Got the Javelin back from Evil Genius Racing. The 3rd link mount has been fixed. They plated a much larger area around the 3rd link box and added the support bars the car originally had from the main hoop to the sides of the box. These bars are also thicker than they were the first time around. Hopefully I won’t have this problem again.

Of course, all the new plating and bars were bare so I had to prep it all and rattle can it. I lucked out as the light gray chassis paint I found matches what Maaco used when they painted the interior. After the paint dried I remounted the accusump and bolted the seat and battery back in. Then it was time to take care of a couple of other odds and ends. First I safety wired the brake caliper mount bolts. Then I replaced the passenger side header gasket. Last time out with the car I had a pretty bad exhaust leak. Once I got the header off it was easy to see. The bottom corner of the gasket for cylinder 8 was gone. So I replaced it and then instead of using the same header bolts I switched over to Stage 8 locking bolts. It was my first time using them. They work but it does take a lot of time to get them right. I didn’t want the bolts to be able to back out at all. So I ground some of the tear drop shaped tabs so that the bolts couldn’t back out even a touch…

And next on the list I took the car back to TFB Motorsports (Tim Barber) at Sonoma Raceway. After I switched from the big 1 3/4″ long tube headers to the 1 5/8″ Edelbrock shorties I never touched the carb. Seemed like I should get the thing tuned for the new exhaust setup. So I dragged it over there and Aaron from Huffaker came over and did the carb tuning. I expected it was going to be running rich with the header change but actually it ended up being a touch lean on the top end. So Aaron changed jets and fattened it back up a bit. The Dyno tune shows that switching headers cost me FIFTY HP at the wheels! This is the same dyno that the car was run on back in February with the old (big) headers. Wasn’t expecting that much of a hit. I want to either make custom, large diameter shorties OR use some larger Jeep shorties if I can modify them to fit. Bottom line is that I had gone to a salvage place and bought a bunch of lead because I thought I was underweight for the power I had. Now it’s the opposite. I’m 100 lbs heavier than I need to be for the power… So I’m thinking of ways to save weight. I’ve got lots of ideas but they all take time + money to do… I’ll try to pick at it some this winter. For now I just want to get the car back on track and see where I’m at…

pics below:

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Repaint Complete!!! – NASA AI Javelin update https://asifnyc.com/repaint-complete-nasa-ai-javelin-update/ https://asifnyc.com/repaint-complete-nasa-ai-javelin-update/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2014 05:12:37 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1642 Continue reading ]]> Well it’s been 3 weeks since I dropped the Javelin off and it’s finally done. Picked it up this morning. WOW, what a difference new paint makes. Looks great (again)! Now I just need to get the stickers reapplied and the “cosmetic” reconstruction will be done. Now I get to bolt everything I took off for paint back on… (fuel cell, seats, belts, battery, tail lights, etc, etc). Unfortunately I’m still working 7 days a week and won’t be able to spend much time with it until late August 🙁

1974 AMC Javelin race car blue with yellow stripes 1974 AMC Javelin race car blue with yellow stripes ]]>
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Finally! back in paint – NASA AI Javelin update https://asifnyc.com/finally-back-in-paint-nasa-ai-javelin-update/ https://asifnyc.com/finally-back-in-paint-nasa-ai-javelin-update/#respond Tue, 01 Jul 2014 04:53:16 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1634 Continue reading ]]> Well it’s been over a year and a half but the car is FINALLY back in the paint shop! Took it back to Maaco in Santa Rosa. It’s been there a week and will be at least another week before I get it back. Dropped by this morning to see where they are at… MAN that’s a lot of dust! Just glad to see some progress is being made. Talk about Deja Vu. Sucks having to build the same car twice 🙁 at least I’m seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

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Gremlin Track Rat – gutting doors and buying parts! https://asifnyc.com/gremlin-track-rat-gutting-doors-and-buying-parts/ https://asifnyc.com/gremlin-track-rat-gutting-doors-and-buying-parts/#respond Mon, 28 Apr 2014 03:50:15 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1611 Continue reading ]]> So I’ve been splitting time between the Javelin and the Gremlin. At this point I’ve completely removed the interior and pulled the engine/trans. I haven’t explained why the motor came out so let me tell that story. I had originally hoped to get the engine running but a little bit of time messing with it proved that was not going to be an option. First I tried to turn the engine over with a breaker bar. Nope. At that point I decided to drain the oil. YUCH!!! When I removed the drain plug FIRST I got a TON of water. Next I got a lot of white sludge. I *think* that means this motor was run with water in the oil… anyway, it was clear this motor was going to need some major attention if it’s ever going to run again. I don’t know why I didn’t start by pulling the valve cover but I finally did (wasn’t even bolted down. more carnage. Both cylinder #5 rockers/pushrods were missing. also, one of the pushrods for cylinder #6 was bent badly. So that’s why this motor got pulled. The auto trans was pulled because it was an auto and the track rat needs a stick…

I’d been watching craigslist for a while and over time I scored an engine and a Mustang T5 trans (separate purchases). Both were close by. I got the engine for $400 bucks and was told that it came out of a 1980 Jeep. Story is it had been rebuilt and then run for less than a 1000 miles before being pulled and swapped for a v8. In the pics below it’s the red one (the motor on the stand is a 1972 258 I got for $50). The red motor is already set up for a T5 and came with the flywheel, bellhousing, etc. Hopefully the story about the rebuild is true. The T5 was $170. Guy said he bought it for a project that never happened and that it’s supposed to not have any problems. Fingers crossed.

So, a good chunk of the drive train is coming together. I’ve been looking for a Mustang 8.8 rear but haven’t found anything yet. I’m considering welding the spider gears in the stock rear I have and just running that.

Next up I wanted to gut the doors AND try to lighten the hood. I started with the driver’s side. In addition to cutting out the inner door panel I also wanted to remove the window frame. It was a bit of a job but after drilling about 6 spot welds out and bending the frame back and forth I got it out cleanly. On the hood I just started cutting away the inner frame. I left most of the structure around the studs though. Next up I need to gut the passenger door and then I need to start working on the rusty floors!

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American Iron Javelin – Getting ready for paint https://asifnyc.com/american-iron-javelin-getting-ready-for-paint/ https://asifnyc.com/american-iron-javelin-getting-ready-for-paint/#respond Sun, 27 Apr 2014 04:18:19 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1593 Continue reading ]]> After the test day in January (2014) it was time to get the car ready for paint. I was not looking forward to that bill so I wanted to do as much as I could on my own before bringing it back to Maaco. I had a long list of things to do:

1. make/weld in a block off panel between cockpit/trunk area
2. fix/install rear spoiler
3. weld up little rust pin holes in the quarter panels
4. sand surface rust off the new roll cage bars and prime them
5. cut out some rust from the inside trunk panel
6. remove all the interior items since the inside is getting painted (seat, belts, rollbar padding, fuel line, etc…)
7. put on my old wheels so the new ones don’t get messed up while in the paint shop

For the block off panel I wanted to do something different than I had last time. On the original build I left part of the package tray intact and then built an aluminum panel that hung off the shelf. It didn’t really seal very well as my shape around the wheel tubs was not that tight. This time I decided I would completely remove the package tray and just weld in a sheet steel panel. I didn’t have a big enough piece to do it as one piece. So I used every inch of the piece I had to create 2 side panels with a strip down the middle to finish it off. This took a LOT of fiddling but I got it reasonably close and was able to weld up all the seams.

At the test in January I didn’t run the rear spoiler. Most of the mounting bolts had broken off when I wrecked the car and since the car under-steered I thought I might as well try it with no rear spoiler. But now that the test was done I, of course, wanted the spoiler back on. trying to restore the stock mounting studs (and drilling the stock mounting holes in the correct locations) seemed like it was going to be hard. So, I came up with a different solution. I got rid of all the stock studs and bent up 4 pieces of flat stock and fiberglassed them in. I put bolts into the flat stock. Now I had 4 mounting studs in a fairly straight line. I took some measurements and drilled holes in the trunk. Pretty happy with how it turned out. I also fiberglassed a couple of big chunks that had been knocked out of the spoiler.

So with all that done, I need to figure out a time to get it over to Maaco. Pics below:

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Prepare for (re)Launch! – Nasa AI Javelin update… https://asifnyc.com/prepare-for-relaunch-nasa-ai-javelin-update/ https://asifnyc.com/prepare-for-relaunch-nasa-ai-javelin-update/#respond Thu, 02 Jan 2014 04:51:10 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1532 Continue reading ]]> After getting the car back from Joe’s I still had a number of things to do:

1. I nut and bolted the whole car.
2. I painted and installed the grille block off plate Joe made me.
3. I installed the right side window net.
4. I welded a few more holes closed.
5. I increased the pre-charge in the accusump. This is one more attempt to try to cure my oil pressure problems. I think I have the accusump so far from the engine and the pre-charge was kind of low. The theory is the the motor had to get down to like 20psi before the accusump started flowing. But when the motor gets to 20 psi it’s falling FAST and the accusump moves the oil out to slowly. Hopefully with a higher pre-charge (it’s at 33psi now) the accusump will be flowing more often and getting me through the spots where oil pressure would drop before… The other thing is I am going to add drain back lines from the valve covers to the pan. Just one on each side to start. Back of the drivers valve cover and the front of the passenger side valve cover.

So, after that there was really nothing left but to try to fire the car up. There was really no reason the car shouldn’t fire right up but I was still a little nervous. This would be the first time the engine has been started since the day I wrecked it (Oct. 29, 2012). I filled the radiator up with water and started cranking the motor with the ign. switch OFF. I wanted to build some oil pressure before firing it up. We I cranked, waited, cranked, waited, cranked, waited. I just wasn’t seeing any oil pressure. Finally I decided to just go for it and try to actually start it. So I turned the ign. switch to ON and tried again. Nothing. I finally gave up for the day…

After thinking about it that night I realized that I was watching the oil pressure gauge but I should have also watched the fuel pressure gauge. I was sure I wasn’t getting fuel up to the carb and I needed to figure out how to prime the fuel system. The next day I confirmed that I was not getting fuel pressure. Then it dawned on me how to prime the system. I disconnected the fuel line at the rail by the carb. Then I got my shop vac. I covered most of the hose with my hand and then put the small opening that was left up to the fuel line. Sure enough, a few seconds later I got some fuel out of the line. I shut off the vac. Reconnected the line and started cranking the motor again. This time, after a couple of cranks, the fuel pressure needle started to move. I cranked it a few more times till I got 7lbs. At that point I tuned on the ign. switch, cranked again and WHAM! Car fired right up. I was pretty pleased with myself 🙂 I opened the accusump and waited until I was sure it was full then closed it again. Then I let the car idle for a few minutes until it got up to temp. Then I put it in gear, drove out of the shop to the end of my blacktop and then put it in reverse and backed it back into the shop and shut it down. It lives! Last thing I did was put another quart of oil in it to top it off (11.5 qts total).

So that’s it. Now it’s time to take it to a test session and see what happens. Sears Pt. has an open test day on Jan. 15th and that’s my plan (assuming the weather holds, so far it’s been amazing all winter)…

had video but I lost it 🙁

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FRANKEN-JAV… NASA American Iron AMC Javelin update https://asifnyc.com/franken-jav-nasa-american-iron-amc-javelin-update/ https://asifnyc.com/franken-jav-nasa-american-iron-amc-javelin-update/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:39:45 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1426 Continue reading ]]> It’s been a little over 2 months since I brought the Javelin to Evil Genius and now it’s back home. John took a total disaster and turned it into hope. I have a foundation again and can finish the job of getting this thing back to being a working race car. it’s so weird to have this totally intact race car from the doors forward and then have this mostly stock back half (except for the fuel cell mount). ALL the little things that were done at the back half have to be re-done. It’s like going back in a time machine to the way the shell was when I was first building the car. As much as this all sucks it is interesting to have a chance to re-think things and do some things differently. The list of things I need to do is long. I need to start picking away at this list and see how quickly I can get back on track. Here’s what needs to be done (not in order):

1. make a new battery mount. I had been using a small battery located in the trunk but am considering going with a bigger battery and moving it forward of the axle, in the back of the passenger area.
2. need do a bunch of misc. body mods like – pull the side trim, fill the side marker lights, fill the trunk keyhole, grind down a bunch of trim clips
3. repair the damaged rear spoiler and mount to trunk lid
4. repaint the interior, new cage bars, trunk interior and bottom of trunk lid light gray. I’m going to get a quart of paint mixed and borrow Jeff’s spray gun and try to do this in my garage.
5. redo the wiring to the tail lights
6. remount the accusump
7. weld brackets in the trunk opening to hold the trunk pins and drill holes in the trunk lid for them
8. one of the rims has a bent lip. I’m going to call one of those mobile wheel repair places and see if they can fix it.
9. one rear tire has a blister and the other was damaged in the wreck (had a piece of metal jammed into the sidewall, although it still holds air). So, I need to buy 3 new tires (I have one new, shaved tire already) and get them all mounted so I have fresh rubber on all 4 corners. I’ll keep the two front tires as spares.
10. get the exterior painted blue and have the yellow stripes redone on the trunk lid
11. get all the graphics on the back half of the car redone
12. need to get the car scaled and aligned

then there’s the stuff I need/want to do that’s not related to wrecking it.

13. I want to redo the way the front swaybar is mounted. it’s too low right now. need to figure out how to get the arm mounting point on TOP of the control arm (instead of on the bottom like it is now).
14. need to redo the front grill block off. basically I need to make one with no holes. I need to do this to try to keep air from getting under the hood and creating lift.
15. Al at Control Freak sent me 850# springs for the front (thanks Al!). I’m running 550# springs now and the consensus is those are way too soft. So I need to swap front springs. Also hoping Al comes through with a drop spindle setup so I can get the car lower.

there’s probably 50 more things but that’s the big stuff. Of course I need to nut/bolt the car again before I take it back on track. Need to see if there’s a track day I can shoot for to shakedown the rebuilt car and then see if I can make a race this year. Here’s some pics of how it looks back from Evil Genius.

FRANKEN-JAV

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the long road back… Nasa American Iron AMC Javelin update https://asifnyc.com/the-long-road-back-nasa-american-iron-amc-javelin-update/ https://asifnyc.com/the-long-road-back-nasa-american-iron-amc-javelin-update/#comments Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:42:46 +0000 http://asifnyc.com/?p=1410 Continue reading ]]> So I had a destroyed race car and the back half of a rusty Javelin. But no idea what I was going to do with the whole mess. I talked to several body shops and emailed them pictures and got a bunch of SCARY guesstimates… I was kind of at a loss for what to do. I finally called John Pagel at Evil Genius Racing in West Sacramento. EGR are the guys who did the original cage, fuel cell mount, seat mount and pedal setup. I called to feel John out on how much it would cost to redo all that work on a new shell. John said send him pictures of the damage and he’d give me an estimate for replacing the rear clip of the damaged shell. After looking at the pictures a long time he gave me a ballpark figure but said I’d need to bring the car to him to get a more accurate quote. So I loaded up the car a couple of weeks ago and brought him the wreck. One of the many things I like about John is that he is a real optimist. He’s always positive. He said “we’ll get it fixed for you” and gave me a firmer quote which was pretty close to his initial ball park (and MUCH more reasonable than what the body shops were telling me). So I pulled the trigger and had them start. The next weekend I brought them the back half of the donor Javelin.

The guys at EGR have been BUSY. Here are pics of what they’ve gotten done. I’m still a long way from driving my car on track again but after seeing the pics John took of their progress I’m believing it will happen! Thanks EGR, you rule! Here’s a link to their facebook page that has more photos of the Javelin and other cool posts about the goings on at the shop: Evil Genius Racing facebook page

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