[pacallen]

Well I took my crazy pills and decided to attempt the impossible... Repairing all the rust, replacing the rusted out front right fender, 90 tails, JDM corners, and of course a full repaint.

After the paint dries its on to the mechanical... New brake master cylinder, couple new brake hoses, Tokico struts all around, polyurethane sway bar bushings, and a complete rework of the a/c system (new compressor/dryer/evaporator/seals, etc).

My biggest problem is what to do with the gas filler area. As you can see in the last pic, it's a big hole (I cut out all the rusted area). Of course the best way to do it is by welding in a new bit of metal but that's not an option for me. I have some 8"x8" thin zinc squares I could probably bend to give the rough shape and support and then just use body filler to hold it in place and smooth everything out. The other option is just use hella body filler and fill in the whole thing (I have a gallon of Rage Gold )

Oh, and to make things more interesting, I'm on a time crunch. Everything has to be done by next Friday so I can drive back to Chicago (from Kansas City) and go back to work Saturday afternoon...

Anyway I'll be adding pics as I continue my work.

 

[cfprezskid]

looking good.. keep it up and keep us updated

 

[Legend87]

Wow.......talk about a project! I don't know anything about welding, so can't help you as far as the gas filler area is concerned. I guess the bondo would work but welding then bondo may be better for support of that area. Good luck.

 

[withidl]

On the gas filler area, consider cutting/filing a foam mold in place, laying up fiberglass/epoxy over the foam lapping over the metal. After curing for 24 hours use pop rivets to further secure the fiber glass layup to the steel.

 

[90Legend L]

Nice project!

If you don't want to weld, then fiberglass is your friend. To do this right, you must get access to the back side of the metal where you made the holes.

For the gas filler area, get all the rust off the metal around the edges of the hole FROM THE BACK SIDE, too. Looks like you've done a good job on the outside part already.

Then, fiberglass over the holes from the back side. This works best if you first brush the resin onto the metal (back side of the hole), then lay on the fiberglass mat (dry) and get it to tack in place (from the back side of the hole). Let it harden that way. Then, apply more resin to the dry fiberglass and let it harden. If you wet the whole fiberglass mat first, then try to apply it to a big hole, it will end up on the floor (too heavy).

Last step is bondo. Fill that sucker in and create the final surface.

Good luck. I'm right there with you on this. Doing the same on my sedan.

 

[NuclearSymphony]

I like crazy pills! aranoid:

 

[89HondaLegend]

Wow is all I have to say, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing all that work myself. I really need to either do a course or do a lot of research into body work... I could literally save myself thousands with the restorations I have planned if I could do bodywork myself.

Let us know how it goes Peter, hopefully you didn't take too many of them crazy pills and end up painting it pink

 

[pacallen]

Wow is all I have to say, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing all that work myself. I really need to either do a course or do a lot of research into body work... I could literally save myself thousands with the restorations I have planned if I could do bodywork myself.

Internet + beer is a powerful teaching tool :lol:

I'm almost done with my initial prep now. I'll take more pics tomorrow when the weather clears up and I can give her a final sand and wash to prep for the primer on Sunday!

 

[Ken]

wow I wouldn't have attempted something like this in such a short amount of time but I'm really interested in how this is going to turn out.

 

[l4zy415]

Damn Peter, can't wait to see it finish. Take your time, don't rush.

 

[Fut]

Well I took my crazy pills...

:thumbsup: and add me to the cheer squad as well! I'll take any leftover crazy pills too :yes:

One...

Fut :2cool:

 

[pacallen]

Just a quick update before I push her outside for a wash...

Also quick question to those of you who have done this before... Can I ground the car for painting by hooking a wire from an engine grounding point to the third prong in a wall socket?

 

[l4zy415]

Great job on the gas door area. Is it me or is the passenger fender sticking out a lot on the front lol. For the ground, you probably can, but not sure.

 

[Jimbob22]

Just a quick update before I push her outside for a wash...

Also quick question to those of you who have done this before... Can I ground the car for painting by hooking a wire from an engine grounding point to the third prong in a wall socket?

I've never tried that. But if you cover the floor with plastic, or even wet the entire floor that should keep the dust from specking the paint.

actually a friend of mine used a metal pipe from the ground to the chassis and didn't have a problem.

Good work by the way, especially removing and filling that rust near the gas nozzel.

question tho... are you gonna paint over the black trim on the rear end if so, your going to leave the side trim of and bondo thoes holes?

 

[pacallen]

Great job on the gas door area. Is it me or is the passenger fender sticking out a lot on the front lol. For the ground, you probably can, but not sure.

Passenger fender isn't attached yet... just fitted into place for sanding purposes

I've never tried that. But if you cover the floor with plastic, or even wet the entire floor that should keep the dust from specking the paint.

I was specifically warned against wetting the floor (something to do w/ urethane paint and humidity/moisture...) but I may just find a big piece of metal rather than messing w/ the electrical outlets :lol:

question tho... are you gonna paint over the black trim on the rear end if so, your going to leave the side trim of and bondo thoes holes?

I'm going to paint the whole car w/o the side trim first to get a good rust seal on those holes. When the car is done i'll reattach the moldings, mask off the rest of the car, and spray them separately.

Car is all washed and I'm doing a once over to make sure I haven't missed anything. Now I'm setting up plastic sheeting and making a pretty sweet paint booth .

Hopefully she turns out alright. Unfortunately due to time constraints (and skill level!) I can't give her a show-car finish but we'll see how close I get. After all my Legend is still my daily driver and I'm just going for decent looks and most importantly rust protection.

Anyway I'm excited! Shooting the primer tomorrow (and it will be my first experience ever with an HVLP gun!) If all goes well the base and clear both go on Monday!

 

[l4zy415]

Good luck mayne, I hope it comes out really good.

 

[reddLegend]

now that's focus on a goal...i wanna be like you when i grow up

 

[WhtCastle]

Good project! I assume that's my light on the pass side? :yes:

that's something I would like to try myself as well, but I lack the area to do such a thing.

 

[acuralegend_racer]

gas tank door fill

whats your strategy on filling that gas tank area that you cut out?

 

[pacallen]

Another quick update... Wasted a few hours messing w/ my compressor, various regulators, filters, hoses, etc, trying to figure out why my air pressure was so erratic... Eventually discovered the quick disconnect that came w/ the compressor was faulty.

Anyway... Proof of concept! It's actually quite easy spraying w/ an HVLP gun (my first time spraying paint ever) and I used my front bumper as a test piece. I think it came out rather nicely! The only problem was with the rubber moulding which I scuffed up with sandpaper and didn't smooth out as much as I should have.

Here's my make-shift paint booth w/ the Legend all masked off... Primer going on first thing tomorrow morning! The shiny mirrors and rear bumper rubber is from the adhesion promoter I sprayed earlier today.

Good project! I assume that's my light on the pass side? :yes:

It will be installed when the new paint is dry .

whats your strategy on filling that gas tank area that you cut out?

Here I committed a bit of a no-no... I should have gone the fiberglass route but time being an issue I just filled it with body filler :hide: Each time I'd fill a dent or patch something else, I'd put the left over filler in the hole, building it up gradually. Since it was already drying by the time I put it in, it didn't run and filled quite nicely.