Rebostar MK4 Build in Gaston Oregon

[Rebostar]

Back up two steps..... After talking with my paint wizard Pedro from Latino's Touch in Salem Oregon and getting some great advice from J.K. I shot an additional 3 coats of Eurathane primer over the entire car. One minor run this time. But that will go away when I sand off the flat black guide coat. Sorry, no pic's....I spaced out the camera!.. Just a grey car anyway!!

[Rebostar]

Well I got both doors sanded. 220 to get through the guide coat, then 320. Got the underside of the deck lid done as well. Several areas where I sanded through the primer. but I'll live with it. Its under the deck lid. So far the outside surfaces look perfect. NOTE TO SELF: Dont buy the $1.98 cheap flat black for the guide coat. You get what you pay for! The nozzel's are crap, thus the blotchy areas. Spend the extra few bucks for a rattle can with a quality spray nozzle.

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[Jeff Kleiner]

Those little burn throughs will cover when your buddy Pedro puts the sealer on. Just be careful with the 600 wet…although it seems counterintuitive because of the finer grit but when combined with water it’ll cut fast! Looking good and probably feeling as smooth as a baby’s butt!

Jeff

[Rebostar]

Feeling a bit under the weather today. The "Chief" is a PA that works at a local clinic and brings me home every bug known to man. This has the effect of making my imune system rather robust. So rather than being down for a week or two with Covid, I've had a raging headache for a couple days. Still working in the shop though. I finished the deck lid and sanded the hood to 320 grit. I'll start the body in the morning and go as long as I can or 2pm which ever comes first.
Happy Trails
Allyn

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[Rebostar]

Been a bit wrung out the last couple days, so I parked my but on the couch. I did sand for 4 hours this morning. I got the left front done and the surround for the hood. Getting fustrated though, seems by the time I get the orange peel off there is hardly any primer left. I sprayed three good coats of eurathane primer on it but burned through the eurathane into the polyurathane primer is several spots. A complete re-do might be in the offing. We'll see what my painter says.

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[Rebostar]

Thank God for the lift. I dont know how anyone could sand the lower part of the car without doing it from a creeper. If I tried that I would'nt be able to walk after a couple hours. But the lift makes a huge differance. I got the RH front fender, complete nose, and all the way back to the rear wheel wells sanded, first with 220 then 320. Tomorow should see the rest of the car done. Then on to 400 and 600 wet.

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[Rebostar]

It seems like I've been sanding for 3 years not 3 weeks. I used 180 grit to knock off the bulk of the guide coat, then 220 grit to get all the orange peel off, then 320 grit to remove all the 220 scratches. I had a few burn throughs and after getting everything to 320, I decided to use my touch up gut to cover the burn through areas with 2 coats of eurathane primer. Tomorrow will see 400 (dry) over the entire car. Thursday starts the 600 wet.

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[Rebostar]

I got the car and panels out of the paint booth and sanded everything down to 400 grit. That leaves the 600 wet left to go. I should be done and ready for paint by Saturday. Yea!!

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[Rebostar]

Responce to battery box question:
Below are the battery box pic's showing the before , during mods, and after.

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[Rebostar]

This morning I put the car back into the paint booth to do the wet sanding with 600 grit. Now thats done! After 20 days of sanding and priming and more sanding, starting with 180 grit block sanding of the gel-coat, I'm calling it ready for sealer and paint. I called my friend in Salem about when we can get it in his booth. He'll be hunting this weekend and I'll be bringing it to his shop on Monday. Might be a week or two before he can fit it into his que.

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[Rebostar]

Rolled the chassis back out to the lift and brought it up to a comfortable working hieght. I started on the carpet installation. First was vacuming and cleaning all the interior and trunk surfaces. I then stripped all the footbox vent ducting and loose items out of the trunk area along with the carbon fiber fuel access covers and battery cover. Then removed the tunnel cover and rear switch panel. I'll be using a medium grey carpet for all the bottom horizontal surfaces and the black FFR carpet on all the vertical side surfaces. This will somewhat replicate the leather FFR seats and door cards. The grey carpet will be great at hiding dirt too!! As anyone with black carpet knows. Every tiny spec shows.

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[Rebostar]

I loaded the body onto my trailer today. On Monday morning I'll be bringing it down to the paint shop in Salem. I'll be golfing tomorrow morning and its supposed to rain starting around noon. I did not want to load it up in the rain. So its off to the paint shop on Monday. Quite a milestone! My painter friend tells me he will be hunting every weekend while deer season is open untill he bags one. So I'll be rooting for him to get a Black Tail this weekend! But as soon as he gets his deer he'll put the car into his paint booth. The plan now is HOK Kandy Brandywine with HOK Galaxy Grey Metalic stripes. That Galaxy grey is a spot on match for the Summit Carbon Fiber Metalic that I have a few items in the cockpit painted, ie, cup holders, oh sh*t handle, and E brake handle. The only fly in the ointment might be if he looks over my prep job and finds it "wanting". In which case I'll drag it home with my tail between my legs, and do what ever he needs to make it right and up to his prep standards.

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After loading the car body it was back to carpet installation. I have the upper trunk deck carpeted. Grey on the bottom and black on the sides and back of the cubby, back of the cockpit wall, and inner side walls. Tomorrow is golf and Monday is taken with the body delivery. Looks like Tuesday for the lower trunk.

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[Rebostar]

I finished the lower trunk carpet. It took all day! I also put another layer of 1/8" foam sound and heat insulation on the cockpit floor. Mostly because I had a lot left over, but figured it would'nt hurt. I needed to do that before I glue down the grey floor carpets, which are cut and ready to install in the morning.

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[F500guy]

I have a couple extra quarts of Weldwood if you need any. 2 Tone carpet looks great!

[Rebostar]

I have a couple extra quarts of Weldwood if you need any. 2 Tone carpet looks great!

Thank Lance, but I bought a quart the day before yesterday, so I'm good to go. Give a shout if you need those windhield fixtures.

[Rebostar]

I got another good days work on the carpeting. I got the floors, back wall and tunnel sides done. Tomorrow should see the front firewall areas carpeted. Gonna leave the footboxes for last as thats really gonna suck!

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[Jeff Kleiner]

Looks nice!

Jeff

[Rebostar]

Well then! I have the carpet finished. Except for the drivers side foot box left side panel and the two outer panels below the doors. I'll put the carpet on them as I install them for the last time. Soon I hope. I ditched the FFR shifter boot and installed the Holley black leather boot that is removable from the top. So I wont have to remove the tunnel top to remove the boot. I also decided to use my aircraft grade cargo compartment flooring material in the two lower foot wells rather than carpet that will wear over time, or I would have to install and secure floor matts. The material is indistuctable and I've never seen anything that can stain it. It also has non-skid built into it. I bonded it on with a generous helping of contact cement. I think with the leather FFR seats and door cards installed the grey floor will be a good look.

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[Rebostar]

I'm gonna call the carpet done. I installed carpet on the drivers side footbox outer panel and side sections bellow the doors. I also mounted the dimmer switch on the custom made mount screwed to the outer panel. I will have a couple of corner seams to fill on that last piece of carpet. That will get done in the morning. No golf, going to rain, so I'll be working on the car in the morning. I also got the seat belts installed. I went with black 2" web, cam lock, 4 point system. Not a fan of the Simpsons. I ordered a set of the shoulder belt trim Bezels from Mike at replicaparts.com. I'll paint those the Summit Carbon Fiber Metalic along with the defroster opening trim fittings as soon as I get bezels from Mike.

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[Blitzboy54]

Those seats are sweet. The interior is really coming together. I love it.

[Rebostar]

I made my own brake cooling inlet duct screens. I bought a section of gutter screen from Lowes ($5 bucks). I made a paper template of the duct inlet opening, then added 3/16" all around to account for the body thickness. Then I cut out the template and transfered that to a piece of 3/4" oak. This I cut with a jig saw with about a 15' angle to mimick the shape of the inside of the duct, then I made a duplicate out of the same oak board. I cut out the gutter screen section leaving 3/4" oversize, then clamped the screen section between the two oak "bucks", which I clamped into my bench vice. Then using a small ballpeen hammer I flattened the outside flange all around. Then removed it from the bucks. I then laid the screen flat side down on the bech and using 1/2" line tape as a guide I cut off all the excess screen. Test fit shows a perfect fit. The screen appears to be powder coated and can be painted any color of your choice. Mine will be Silver/Aluninum to match the Stainless Steel radiator rock deflector that will cover the radiator.
Happy Trails
Allyn

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[Rebostar]

I bought a section of honeycomb radiator screen from Summit. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL30158 This I cut to fit the radiator. TIP... use a new exacto knife blade so you dont tear the honeycomb. The honeycomb is paintable and will be painted "Aluminum/Silver". I also bought a section of stainless steel 3/16" opening screen from McMaster Carr to use as a rock deflector. I'll make some sort of attachment system using wing nuts when I fit the radiator sheet metal after the body is on.

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[Rebostar]

Slack day today. Went over to see Lance's (aka F500guy) Mk4, Had a nice visit. He's starting the door fitting process, just enough to get em to open and close without rubing anything. He said he was going to farm out the fitting and paint. After 30 days of sanding and prep I cant blame him. Speaking of which, my painter just gave me the all in price for painting the body and panels. From sealer to cut and buff. $7500. Includes all the required HOK paint & materials and 6 days of labor. He'll be starting on it right after SEMA.

[Wizbangdoodle]

I bought a section of honeycomb radiator screen from Summit. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL30158 This I cut to fit the radiator. TIP... use a new exacto knife blade so you dont tear the honeycomb. The honeycomb is paintable and will be painted "Aluminum/Silver". I also bought a section of stainless steel 3/16" opening screen from McMaster Carr to use as a rock deflector. I'll make some sort of attachment system using wing nuts when I fit the radiator sheet metal after the body is on.

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How do you think that will affect airflow? I mean, the radiator is already at an angle, and now there is more "thickness" for the air to pass over and it is also at an angle. Can't tell how thick that honeycomb is from the picture. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I'd like to do something similar to protect my radiator.

[Rebostar]

How do you think that will affect airflow? I mean, the radiator is already at an angle, and now there is more "thickness" for the air to pass over and it is also at an angle. Can't tell how thick that honeycomb is from the picture. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I'd like to do something similar to protect my radiator.

I wish could say it was my idea, but I found it on a You Tube video. Seems the main purpose is to keep bugs out of the radiator fins. He had it attached in such a way that he could take it out and clean it then just pop it back in. He said the temp gauge showed no change. As far as the airflow goes, the holes in the honeycomb are in alignment with the gaps in the radiator fins, so I see no difference in the way the air will flow through the radiator. The SS screen is to keep rocks out of the works. I'll drop a thread when I get the car on the road.

[Jphoenix]

How do you think that will affect airflow? I mean, the radiator is already at an angle, and now there is more "thickness" for the air to pass over and it is also at an angle. Can't tell how thick that honeycomb is from the picture. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I'd like to do something similar to protect my radiator.

I use it on my race cars. The Formula Mazda has two radiators, at a very high angle to the inlet, 70 degrees maybe. No effect on cooling. Also on my Formula Ford, no difference, except I haven't had a punctured radiator or oil cooler - which is very easy to do on a road course with others throwing gravel up at the apexes.

[Rebostar]

I use it on my race cars. The Formula Mazda has two radiators, at a very high angle to the inlet, 70 degrees maybe. No effect on cooling. Also on my Formula Ford, no difference, except I haven't had a punctured radiator or oil cooler - which is very easy to do on a road course with others throwing gravel up at the apexes.

Jim, Did you make a post on You Tube? It might have been you I was quoting! If I remember correctly (I suffer from CRS) the poster said exactly the same as your post above. Most notably no temp change.
With the "trout mouth" opening it will suck in every bug within yards of it. We all know what a pain in the A## it is to clean them out. The video (which I can no longer find) showed him removing it shakeing it out and blowing compressed air though it, then reattaching it clean as new. I believe he painted it flat black.

[Jphoenix]

Jim, Did you make a post on You Tube? It might have been you I was quoting! If I remember correctly (I suffer from CRS) the poster said exactly the same as your post above. Most notably no temp change.
With the "trout mouth" opening it will suck in every bug within yards of it. We all know what a pain in the A## it is to clean them out. The video (which I can no longer find) showed him removing it shakeing it out and blowing compressed air though it, then reattaching it clean as new. I believe he painted it flat black.

That wasn't me, my videos are just racing. But it's common in road racing - also getting oil coolers holed by rocks is common, so we learn quickly that $30 of nomex honeycomb is cheaper than a new Setrab!

[Rebostar]

OOPPPS, I forgot the oil cooler inlet. Not to worry one section of that "Lowes" gutter screen is enough for both brake duct inlets AND the oil cooler inlet. Same techique as before!

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[Rebostar]

OOOPPPS Cought another mistake. Above I said I bought the stainless steel screen from McMaster Carr. It was actually from Summit https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL22272

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[Rebostar]

There was lots of leftover rock screen from my radiator protection screen. So I made a set of screens made from the Summit .035 X 3/16" stainless steel screen. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL22272. I'll paint the Lowes Gutter Screen set House of Kolor Galaxy Grey Metalic to match the stripes and compare those with the stainless steel set and install the ones I like the most.

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I also took a few minutes to dye the two leather door straps black. I found the leather dye at my local kraft store.
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[Rebostar]

I reinstalled the body on the chassis once again. Thought I'd fit the front radiator sheet metal and wheel well (elephant ears) sheetmetal, while I was waiting on my painter. (delivering it Nov 12). I will be installing an oil cooler so I decided I wanted more than a .040 piece of aluminum keeping it attached to the car. So I duplicated the FFR lower aluminum panel in 18 gage steel. I also did not want to secure the front of it to the lip of the body inlet as per the FFR manual with pop rivits. That sure looks like crap, and they would have to be drilled out to remove the body. I bonded on three 1/4-20 studs with 2 ton epoxy to the underside if the lower lip. So there are 3 studs holdig the front and 5 screws on the rear. So the panel is removable. Speaking of the rear attachment (radiator side) I made a Z angle strip to hold in the bug screen and Stainless Steel rock screen using those 5 lower screws. I also made a second Z angle to attach the upper end of the screens using the existing upper radiator mounts. Tomorrow I'll make a couple of side angles and rivit them all together so the screen attachment will come off as one unit.

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[Rebostar]

Today I finished the mounting bracket for the bug and rock screens. I used two 3/8" aluminum angles 18.5" long on each side. I made four gussets for the corners to attach everything together. I had to joggel the top and bottom ends and used countersunk 3/32 rivits. There are 5 nuts on the top that pick up the 5 upper radiator mounts and 5 screws on the bottom that attach to the lower radiator flange. I also fitted the two side/corner pieces. I installed 10-32 nut plates with countersunk rivits to tie into the bottom piece. I can remove the entire set of screens and keeper in 3 minutes though the front opening. So it will be easy to remove and clean. Everything except the bug screens will be painted Carbon Fiber Metalic. The Nomex bug screen will be primer grey. The outer sides and bottom side of the lower piece will be painted grey Raptor Bed Liner.
Tomorrow will be installing the oil cooler.

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[Wizbangdoodle]

Can I ask where you got your upper, solid radiator tube?

[Rebostar]

Can I ask where you got your upper, solid radiator tube?

The 3/4 tube is FFR, it came with the chassis. I cut off the 3" blocks that FFR installed to mount the radiator. Then I stitched welded on a 2" x 1/8 steel plate the length of the upper tube. To that I installed McMaster Carr 1/4-20 3/4" dia shock mounts. That is the upper radiator mount. For the lower I copied the Breeze unit, but welded on the mounts.

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[Rebostar]

I got the oil cooler mounted today. The steel plate will be way better than the .040 aluminum. I will not be using the FFR supplied AN-10 hose fittings. I ordered a set of four 60' fittings that will come off the side pieces about 4" higher than the 90' supplied by FFR. I also ordered a set of bulkhead fittings rather than cutting a hole and lining it with a grommets.
I also got the two front splash panels (elephant ears) mounted. Tomorrow : rear splash panels.

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[Wizbangdoodle]

The 3/4 tube is FFR, it came with the chassis. I cut off the 3" blocks that FFR installed to mount the radiator. Then I stitched welded on a 2" x 1/8 steel plate the length of the upper tube. To that I installed McMaster Carr 1/4-20 3/4" dia shock mounts. That is the upper radiator mount. For the lower I copied the Breeze unit, but welded on the mounts.

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Sorry, I meant the actual radiator hose coming from the engine to the radiator.

[Rebostar]

Opps, sorry my bad, I was following the thread of the radiator mounting.
The upper radiator tube was a polished stainless steel 1.5" diameter tube I found on the internet. I'll have to dig for the reciept to tell you who I bought it from. I bought 2 pieces one 2ft straight and one 2 ft with a 30' bend in case I needed it. I found a beading tool on Amazon. Check back tomorrow and I'll have that vendor for you. If nothing else you can get the one for the lower hose from Breeze and just cut out the straight section you need then bead it.

Allyn

[Rebostar]

I got the two rear splash shields installed. The left one was a bit of a "bother"! I had to make the shield fit over the battery box that now lives there. I also plan to install them with rivnuts so I can take them off if I want to remove the body without having to drill out all the pop rivits. The lower attachment on all four will be with a nut plate and a 10-32 SS screw.

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While installing the rear shields I noticed the front of the rear wheel wells had a gap of about an inch that I'll make a removable filler plate with a bulb seal on it to close that gap

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[Rebostar]

Can I ask where you got your upper, solid radiator tube?

The upper radiator tube came from www.allpurposepipes.com out of Colorado. P/N 001585 for a 2' straight section of 1.5" SS tube. #001553 for the same with a 45' bend. The beading tool came from Amazon.
Happy Trails
Allyn