'66 1600 Roadster project

[Connisuer311]

Hi Guys,

 

I got my '66 1600 roadster about 3 months ago. My dad use to have this same model car when he was my age (24). He's now 70, and I thought it would be cool to build one, with a modern twist, that we can both enjoy. He's gettin old.

 

I got this roadster in trade; a glock 26, an ar-15, and $500. She runs and drives, everything's there.

 

She's going to get a swap; most likely a Miata 1.6 Drivetrain. It slips right in and fits with the stock shaft. Also wont have to upgrade my rear end. Sr20 swaps are just too complicated for me, ( actually every swap is too complicated for me, cuz ive never done one) and I'm not looking to get into something I'm going to end up towing to a shop.

 

Bodywork like a mofo. The skim coat is cracking all over the car. Looks like she has an eighth inch of skim all over, and some deep bondo in certain places. Im gonna need a lot of help from you guys. Lol.

 

Performance springs and shocks in the front and performance leaf springs in the back. Unless I can find a way to change from leafs to coil overs (which I have no idea how the f*** to even fathom that so I'm not expecting to go that rout but who knows).

 

She's gonna be sittin low. Super low.

 

My dad's car was a light silver, so that's the color paint she'll get. But he likes the look of carbon fiber so I may be lucky enough to find someone who will mold a hood for me, that will take the chrome trim piece. Also considering CF fender flares, but that's really just a "what if" right now.

 

Interior is going to get cleaned up for now, and the seats will eventually get reupholstered.

 

Awesome news: I'm no collector, just a hobbyist at best. I found out my fog lights are worth some money, everwings. Those will be sold to pay for the swap and the front suspension. The stock drivetrain will be sold to pay for new rear leafs and paint.

 

As she sat until this morning:

 

 

 

What she looks like now:

 

 

This sucks:

 

 

Deep cracks in bondo (assuming this will be all over he car):

 

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Old post before merging:

 

 

Trying to find something online that shows how to strip paint off a car with an electric random orbital sander. But people are saying those are only good for polishing.

 

I found something saying that you can use an electric buffer with a sanding bit, but no other detail.

 

Does anyone have any info on using buffers to remove paint? Or any other tips/ideas? Getting a high capacity air compressor is out of the question for me, so any advice is appreciated.

[Tristin]

Aircraft stripper. 

[Connisuer311]

There is a thick coat of skim on the car

[Tristin]

Aircraft stripper should eat right through it... its a gel and is pretty good at its job. You can pick it up at most local autoparts stores and probably local hardware stores as well. I stripped a set of rims where two of them had about 4 coats of old paint. Shit works. 

[Dawa]

i used aircraft stripper here. it takes some time. its super nasty stuff. at the least please wear eye protection. 

you want to wear gloves too. itll eat through regular nitrile/latex gloves, though. and try not to breath it, wear a respirator if you have one.

 

if you have $30 something bucks, invest in an electric angle grinder, and then find yourself a stripper disc. theyre made of nylon and work wonders on

cuttin through paint, and they dont hurt the metal AT ALL. thing is, theyll kick up paint dust like a mofo, so again eye and breathing protection

 

my truck after the stripper disc

[Dawa]

oh one thing to add, my paint scrapper left slight scratches in the metal, :(

[Connisuer311]

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

Dawa, I think I will go with the angle grinder, then. Are there any specific angle grinders that you recommend? What about stripper discs? Can I pick this stuff up at a local hardware store or should I go to an autozone?

 

Thanks again

[Dawa]

as for angle grinder, i would just go with one that has a good warranty. 

i think most of them have a 2 year warranty, if not, at least a 1 year warranty.

 

i bought mine from the home depot. i got the ryobi. 4.5" of course. 

 

as for angle grinders, if you have patience you can buy them online for a good price. 

home depot's "avanti" brand are about $8-9 and they dont last very long so i DONT recommend them.

 

the discs come in different grades, coarse, medium, and fine. some come in extra coarse. 

 

any of them will do, im sure. 

 

i most recently got my discs from a metal supply store. im sure vegas has somewhere good you can get em. 

[Connisuer311]

Cool. I guess I'll be going shopping tomorrow.

 

Thanks again for all of the info

[datzenmike]

Please avoid double posting. You started one a few min. ago ago...http://community.ratsun.net/topic/57918-how-to-strip-paint-off-my-roadster-without-air-compressor/ This often happens on hand held devices , so check.

[alabama_lowlife]

I used a dewalt twisted wire wheel on a grinder to strip my truck. Wear glasses, gloves and ear plugs.

[Dawa]

wire wheels are good, but can be (too) aggressive on the metal. 

however theyre great at getting at pitted rust. 

[Connisuer311]

So I went to Home Depot just now, bought the ryobi. I went to a nearby metal supply store, they had these kinda of discs:

 

Metal cutting

Masonry cutting

Masonry grinding

 

All of them seemed like they would harshly destroy my sheet metal.

 

Dawa, can you refer me to a brand of discs? Or something specific that you've used?

 

Thanks

[Dawa]

the one my metal supply place had in stock was CG wheels

specifically this one

 

about 6-8 bucks. get the one like that ^ the ones you screw on are a few more bucks. 

http://www.cgwcamel.com/catalogue/group/48/nameblock/EZ-Strip-Wheel-%26ndash%3B-Red

 

reason i prefer them over avanti is that they have a lot more material thus lasting longer, so

more money saved. 

[Connisuer311]

Cool. Thank you for all the info

 

It's much appreciated.

 

....now I must get to stripping that old gown off of my fair lady.....

[hosestop@msn.com]

I use a buffer at 1400 rpm with a soft 8 *"pad and stick on 80 grit slow speed grinder and keep moving.

[LB2]

I use a buffer at 1400 rpm with a soft 8 *"pad and stick on 80 grit slow speed grinder and keep moving.

Damn Brad that's a good one!!! I used chemical paint stripper with a plastic scraper, faceshield, elbow high chemical gloves from work and a charcoal resperator. Always wear a resperator of some sort when grinding to avoid resperatory plugging.

[Connisuer311]

Ok guys, I'm cleaning up the rear quarter panel. I have some issues with it. The skim coat is like half an inch thick. W/e I'll sand it down. But this is the real issue:

 

 

 

 

What is the first step toward repairing this?

 

Also, As you can see, the skim/paint was cracking and fell off piece by pice (not done by the sander). Old ass/ baked ass paint? I was just pulling it off with my hands.

[Connisuer311]

This is what the panel looks like now

 

[Tristin]

This project needs more Hoshinos. :poke:

[Connisuer311]

This project needs more Hoshinos. :poke:

Too bad I can't find em in 16".......:(

[Connisuer311]

Got these Everwing Fog Lights off of the car. They're being sold tomorrow for $900. I have a drivetrain lined up to be picked up after I drop these off tomorrow.

 

Drivetrain details: 1.6 bp from a miata, 5 spd, 70k miles, ecu, harness - $450

 

It's still in the car so I'm going to take it on the freeway and see how it runs before I pull the motor.

 

With the left over money I'll be picking these up: http://www.datsunparts.com/2113

 

NOTE: if anyone has any advice on how I can get an adjustable front suspension setup on this car, please, please, please let me know.

 

Thanks

 

[CGS1948]

 

 

Got these Everwing Fog Lights off of the car. They're being sold tomorrow for $900

 

 

You mean $90 right??? :rofl:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 .   

[Connisuer311]

Nope. Spelled it correctly. Lol.

 

Yeah, most roadster owners are purists. These fog lights are an extremely rare option that came on some of the roadsters. So they are very sought after.

 

I'm no purist, and I can use the money for better things. So I figured I'd sell them and make someone very happy ( on eBay these will sell for 12-13-1500+$$ when the lens are in perfect condition, one of mine is cracked)

[CGS1948]

Nope. Spelled it correctly. Lol.

 

Yeah, most roadster owners are purists. These fog lights are an extremely rare option that came on some of the roadsters. So they are very sought after.

 

I'm no purist, and I can use the money for better things. So I figured I'd sell them and make someone very happy ( on eBay these will sell for 12-13-1500+$$ when the lens are in perfect condition, one of mine is cracked)

 

 

I had a pair of EW's on my '66 SPL311-U in the 70's. The Lenses were amber, maybe JDM?

 

...and I believe you, only on ePay would somebody be "cracked" enough to pay that kind of money---JMHO---  :sleep: ...