Plastic Fantastic 2

one of the videos I watched used carb cleaner to clean the pistons... as I'm not thrilled with the solvent method, here we go
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then time to knock cam bearings in place... what a pita
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then slid the cam in place
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and set the crank in place....edited
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Pistons are coming out nice from the carb cleaner
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in other news, I got the parts from Aiden American so installed them
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finish up the suspension
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tighten it down and level it up
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so I can go onto the next 'big' thing
this side is good enough, not perfect, just good enough
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this side is terrible
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no going back now
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first test fit
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second fit
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much better
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what they did wrong was not do the same wheel opening side to side, the left side had a hook at about 2 o'clock.... cut, slice, dice and move forward so it's a radius and it's 'fixed'edited next up a lot of epoxy

then onto this issue
the hood doesn't follow the shape of the fenders... it's like they all got together and decided to use the one Corvette that was no other
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​​​​​​​ah well, I have epoxy, fabric and I know how to use it....edited
 
tonight's fun.... tighten crank bolts
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check the rings.... .018 and .019 2nd.... need to file fit to .020 and .022
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which stops that because my filer is broken....edited
how I keep the rings square
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got stopped now waiting for parts that may or may not arrive on Thursday (we have a snow 'event' - which usually means nothing gets delivered)

The C3 didn't get any love because the epoxy I have is not cold weather stuff.... so waiting on parts there too
 
no idea what that is

so I didn't want to wait until it warms up so I bought colder glue
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glue it, pin it, wait 40 minutes if 40 degrees
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and it's there
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next up fiberglass the inside of the fender (which I am NOT looking forward to), then fill the seam and start body work.... and raise the scoop... and do the rear fenders.... and do the rear floor....edited
 
Panel Joining Tip

An idea I use - but, I bet you've started already:

  1. Layup a few pieces of cloth on a sheet of glass. Width, length, and number to gap-fill.
  2. Wet out and let kick.
  3. Remove from the glass
  4. Adhere to the inside. (Assuming adequate surface prep there too.)
  5. For added structural strength -- do several layers (follow-on ones wider of course.)
  6. Continue layup/smoothing of outside.
  7. Prep and paint.

The trick is to get just enough in that layup to remain flexible, but firm enough to support the outside, and tie the two together.

Less mess than welding overhead!

Cheers - Jim
 
I've never used glass to lay it out, I'll have to try it. On the top side I'm using West Systems epoxy and filler (which is basically glass dust) - but that requires starting on the inside, which requires a lot of sanding and then fiberglassing.... at least it's sub-40 degrees, which really helps get the fiberglass to set quickly but it's still an ugly mess (and yeah, I'm whining)
 
BOAT YARD TIP #2:

If you are just filling for fairing - and not adhesive/any strength - add talc. Yes - baby powder! Sands easy, even in epoxy, and smells kinda nice. Get the unscented variety. Cheap too.

Cheers Jim
 
for those who wonder if I have ADD ..... look LS

It's springtime
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one of these is not like the others
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apparently they needed to replace a stock spring and used a similar spring to what I replaced the stock springsedited
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dog bone or bar bell goes this way
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rear main installed
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and head dowels
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rings ground
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first piston ringed
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the rest of the rings installed
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ring compressor ready to go
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assembly continues
pistons in holes
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high dollar crank turner
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pan test fit after installing the oil pump
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notice no oil pump spacing.... I did a check, GM doesn't say to space, and some guy on Corvette Forum, who owns Mastiffs, said he didn't space them either.
Mastiff owners know it all, so I went with it.
and you all think Google is my final authority
heads look nice on there, too bad I bought the wrong ARP bolts
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round 1 - tl;dr, I may be scraping this off and doing it again tomorrow
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5:1 mix.... not sure that's right....edited
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in theory it's supposed to be solid to touch in 40 minutes.... 2 hours later it's still squishy
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​​​​​​​oh well, good thing this isn't my day job.
 
.... at least it's sub-40 degrees, which really helps get the fiberglass to set quickly but it's still an ugly mess (and yeah, I'm whining)

I see you've added a heater. Good idea. Actually, cold hinders the resin from setting.
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When I was doing some boat work in SEA, I needed to chill the resin as it would "kick" quickly due to the outside air temp - was upwards of 98-100F! Chilling it let me get it mixed and on the project before having to toss it.

If you are using 205 hardener you've already got the fast cure.
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Hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised when returning from the "day job!"

Good Luck!

Cheers - Jim

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I know some might question doing the outside first.... *shrug*
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fixed
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once I finish fiberglassing all the holes I made putting the suspension in and doing the fiberglass inner fenders then I'll be onto final fitment and hopefully paint soon after
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I'm really glad you fixed the fender flare to center the wheel. That was going to bother me forever. Nice work.

Pappy
 
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