Extreme Makeover: Free-iat Edition

[4babycar]

It won't be done in 7 days probably closer to 7 months but.....

Here are a few pictures of the progress on the conversion of the Free-iat to Babycar. My Dad and I spent just about all day yesterday attempting to resurrect the paint, repairing the mouse chewed wires, doing mechanical checks, draining the gas tank, lubing and checking out the power windows, and servicing the brakes. It was a full day but it is a whole different car with the oxidized paint buffed out. I have pulled most of the interior and am debating grinding out the old paint and undercoating in order to POR-15 the floor pans and fill in the triangle notches before rust can start. Any opinions? Most of the mechanical look good. The tie rod ends are shot and most of the hoses need replacing and a front end re-build wont' be far down the road. The brakes are in good shape and re-built calipers were installed about 2 years ago. I did find one new rust spot behind the rear license plate but I think I can grind that out, treat and paint relatively easy. Anyway, I thought I would post a few pictures as the process goes along. I have already scheduled a date to swap the engine and trans from my 81 (Babycar) into this car on Mar. 27th with a lot of help from some FLU friends in the area. Anyone interesting in coming in for the day is welcome and I can get you specifics. With any luck I can have everything together in time to make our first FFO in July.

On to the pictures.


Before and After buffing

Dad working hard

Just the hood for comparison











Still and 81 in my book!

Mouse Damage




What should I do with these?




My Beautiful and SUPPORTIVE wife with the Free-iat

[So Cal Mark]

good work! It's a good feeling when you accomplish a lot in a day

[ga.spyder]

Good day,Michael.That is a lot accomplished.What did you use to buff out the oxidized paint?I would definitely use the POR15 while the seats are out,its pretty cheap insurance.Good luck,
Craig

[4babycar]

Thanks Mark and Craig. We used the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. It worked really well but our experience was that you needed to apply and remove it by hand to get good results, the electric buffer just didn't cut it. We actually did a quick comparison between the traditional Turtle Wax paste compound and the meguiar's. Dad was old-school and thought the Turtle Wax would do better so I took the Meg. I placed a piece of painters tape down and he polished on one side of the tape and I the other. After-which, we removed the tape and compared the finishes. The Turtle Wax side was still dull and only a bit better than before. The Meg. side was smooth, polished and had a deep color and was reflective. I would certainly recommend this product to anyone trying to revive tired or oxidized paint.

[rlux4]

That body looks to be in terrific shape Michael. But I don't understand how any person in their right mind would give away an 82!
Are you feeling guilty?
Ron

[MNspiderman]

Ya gotta love it when you find a group of wires broken and the other halves are 4 inches away. just don't forget to put shrink tube over the wire before you soldier it together. And the car looks great too.

[spidernut]

Looks great. I noticed you have the upper and lower console with the sewn covers on them. That's what I had on my '81. Could you possibly take lots of pictures of how they're stitched? I want to have an upholstery shop make mine sewn up just like yours.

John

[mdrburchette]

Good work, Michael! You could really get that paint to come back with some 3M polishes and a high speed buffer, but you would also risk burning through too.
I would treat and seal the floor pan but I would keep the triangle drain holes open.

[ga.spyder]

I will look for the Meguiars ,and give it a shot on my 77.I used the Turtle Wax,and it did well but maybe I can get it to the next level! I found I got better results by doing it by hand,also.Thanks
Craig

[kilrwail]

Looks like a great job Michael! I'll bet both of you slept well last night.
I have used Strata cutting compounds with an electric rotary polisher (Makita) with great success (on the 911). I got the compounds at a professional auto paint store. I avoided burning through the paint by using an infrared thermometer to monitor the surface temperature, keeping it below about 25-28C. That's a very handy tool to add to your kit, for various applications. Some of my old school friends swear by polishing as an alternative to waxing, to obtain the best shine without building up a residue of wax.

[ga.spyder]

Michael,I stopped in at Walmart today and bought a bottle of the Meguiars Ultimate Compound.All I can say is...WOW! I would say the paint looks 50% better than it did.I had previously used Turtle Wax compound.The Meguiars is awesome stuff.Very easy to use and great results.My daughter walked into the garage and asked if I had the car painted! Thanks for the tip.
Craig

[4babycar]

Craig - I am glad that you had such good results!

Denise - Those are drain holes? I thought they were place where in previous/future models wires were ran and tucked into those spots, consistent with the two I found on my 80. I thought the drains were in the rear floor pans.

John - I am actually going to be removing the upper and lower consoles to work on the floors and repair some areas on the lower console. When I remove them and begin the work, I will take some pictures for you and hopefully give you the details you need. Feel free to email or PM me with specifics on what you would like to have in pictures. It may be a while before I get to that point but feel free to nag me about pictures. I tend to be a bit absent minded so no offense will be taken.

Thank you to everyone else for the compliments and advice. I can't wait to get the work done and get it back on the road!

[4babycar]

Well today, I finally got back to the Free-iat. With work and family, it gets tough some times. I am still debating the engine swap with my 81. Either way I wanted to make sure the Free-iat engine ran before I went further. After checking things over, things seemed in order. I drained the fuel tank, and changed the fuel filter and charged the battery. Before attempting to start it up we turned the key on and held the AFM flap open for a few seconds to try to prime the system. After a few seconds we tried to start it up and it would crank but not catch. A few more times and short run of 2-3 seconds and then back to just cranking. Starting fluid in the intake would get it started but it would not run without it. Long story short, we traced it back to no fuel. A lot more checking, draining, etc. and its a clogged pickup in the tank. So, I have the tank out and will hopefully get it cleaned out in the next day or two. Once I can get that back in, and take care of the leak around the throttle body heater and hopefully I will have a running CAR! I don't have any more good pictures to share and the video was anti-climatic when it didn't start so stay tuned.

[spider2081]

The wire damage looks typical of hungry mice. We see that a lot in small planes parked in grass areas.
Being as you have the fuel tank out You might consider removing the fuel pump and testing it by running good fuel through it. I used clear tubing sold at Home Depot and ran fuel from one can to another. My pump quit on the car and I had replaced it.
Car had been sitting for 15 years. After I replaced it I checked to original one and it started working. So I am keeping it as a spare.

[spider2081]

The wire damage looks typical of hungry mice. We see that a lot in small planes parked in grass areas.
Being as you have the fuel tank out You might consider removing the fuel pump and testing it by running good fuel through it. I used clear tubing sold at Home Depot and ran fuel from one can to another. My pump quit on the car and I had replaced it.
Car had been sitting for 15 years. After I replaced it I checked to original one and it started working. So I am keeping it as a spare.