I used Rustoleum "high-temp" BBQ paint. It is flat black. I was not real happy with it at first, because it looks like a BBQ now! The paint is really dull and looks like there is a fine cover of dirt. After a few heat cycles it looks a little better (or I am getting used to it) I will probably keep it because I am thinking this paint will more likely still be attached to the metal in 5 years and I won't have to keep re-painting the piece. I did do a complete strip to bare aluminum and then painted without primer as this paint does not require a primer. I saw a gt4 that was being critiqued on one of these threads and I noticed the passenger side trim piece was incomplete (may have broke like yours) and they just covered over the transition when re-covering the panel. It did not look so good to my eye. When I put the trimp piece back it will just be pressed into the 1/4 inch rubber grommets I installed.
I went with the generic black. I did not color match because the leather on my car has been molested in the past with various 'leather-restoration' attempts and may not represent the original black.
Thanks, I have used their other products and was curious about how easy it was to redye. What's the purpose of that metal plate under the engine cover louvers? Keep the rain off the engine? I don't drive mine in the rain so I'm considering removing it altogether. It seems to hold a lot of heat in the engine compartment. Also the flat black on the louvers themselves is a bit worse for wear so I'm thinking about stripping the paint off both the engine cover louvers and bonnet leaving bare aluminum. I like the look I've seen on a few Boxers and think it would go well with the window trim.
I'd leave the plate - it can't hurt. Even if you don't drive yours in the rain, you do wash the car, right? Having 4 spark plug wells full of water doesn't sound like fun... Also, I did a good ~100 mile drive over the weekend in the GT4 with the plate not yet reinstalled, and the temperatures while driving and at idle were no different. I figured it would be at least a *little* cooler, but I was wrong! Completely the same... Beta - when stripping yours down to the bare aluminum, what product did you use?
HA, of course I wash the car. Naturally I would take extra precautions if I removed the plate. But as you noted since there is no difference, what's the point? I used a gel paint remover from Home Depot to remove the black paint from my front grill.
For one side I used "Citrustrip" or something like that. Then I ran out and used "Aircraft Stripper" or something like that for the other side. Both seemed to work well. The fumes on the citrus stuff are not as bad but I used them outside. I did take the emissions information panel off prior to stripping to keep it from getting damaged.
Since my main complaint about my door panels was uneven appearance of the multiple re-dyes I planned from the start to use a spray gun. The dye went on very well. I have noticed the metal plate is not on the european version and my take on it is that it keeps rain off the air pump belt and provides a place to put the big emission information plate. The engine probably won't run cooler but the engine compartment may be cooler without it
My door panel finish looks identical to yours before the redye. Mottled as if someone sprayed the wrong kind of treatment on them. Ah, very good, I don't have air pumps and anything I can do to keep the engine compartment cooler will certainly help during the southern summers. Vapor lock has only been a slight problem. Because after the first few occurences I've learned not to drive it on a hot summer afternoon if I know I'll make a few brief stops, gas station, quick bite to eat, etc...
Got another heat shield for the rear bank from Superperformance. Also got some original style braided hose for the blow-by system. Got new pads for the pedals but they sent two brake pads! Need to let them know. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Tried to get the heritage certificate but it won't go through. I suspect I may have a different engine block than original. I used the following numbers without avail: Chassis = F106AL 14582 Engine = F106AE 01025 GB = F106A 4266 Per the gt4 registry the engine number is low, perhaps in the 1976-1977 range. All the ancillaries and smog system are 1978-1979 vintage as they should be. If the present engine has less than 80K, this may explain with 80K on the chassis, there is no puff of smoke what so ever during 6500 rpm shifts. It does not seem to burn any oil and there is no 'oil haze' on the back of the car.
One good thing about living in the midwest, there are plenty of truck shops. The Baldwin web page dealer locator gave 8 locations within 10 miles. (I pass 3 of them on my way to work) They even had the air filters for the beta scorpion (in the large boxes). Reference numbers: 308 oil filter = B253 = $11.74 308 air filter = PA2094 = $38.25 Beta Scorpion air filter = PA1901 = $16.80 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Took off the air cleaner box and installed the braided hose for the blow-by system. Unfortunatly the O.D. of the hose is greater than the original and the original clamps will not fit. I will just go without clamps for now. I also took off the air scoop to clean out the inside. You could see all this overspary when looking into the air scoop on the side of the car and it really gave the look of having a bargain-basement paint respray. I also put in one of the Baldwin air filters in place of the expensive OEM fuzzy "tropical" filter. The fuzzy filter just looks restrictive. Just some notes about driving around without the air box. In my neighborhood the car is really too loud without the box. I have to go uphill to get out of my development and I really feel like I am annoying the neighbors driving up the street with the airbox off, even slowly. Bottom line: I am going to have to keep the built-in airbox 'muffler' intact as long as I live in a civilized neighborhood. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think the paint on the roof and sunroof is original paint. It is in quite bad shape. This is very hard to show well in a photograph, but the reflection of a lightbulb shows all the scratches and damage to the paint. Since this is a 'preservation' project I want to keep this original paint. The next pictures show the result of hand polishing. It is very tedious, however, I am sceptical of the claims (think Griot's Garage) that maching polishing is safe for this paint of unknown thickness. Hand polishing the whole car will be a formidable task but at least it snows here so you can spend 6 months polishing... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Another shot of the completed door panel. All the little #4 screws holding the door were missing. I have a bunch of #4 phillips head, however, the correct screw for this car is a slotted head. http://www.newcoproducts.com/ has an assortment for $130 that includes the very hard to find thin black washers and the slotted #4 screws in differrent sizes. Maybe someone will chime in with a less expensive source. Also shown is the BEFORE picture for comparison. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I just got the correct Clutch pedal rubber from Superperformance. They originally sent 2 brake pedals. The correct once came via air-post today. Good job!
I installed the braided fuel line hose which peeks out under the air cleaner box. I also re-routed the hoses along the top of the fire wall to match what I had seen in pictures of other cars that I felt were original. I still need to locate the correct type of hose guide. The last two pictures show progress I have slowly made on the engine compartment, paying attention to improved functionality and original cosmetics. Next in line is the ingnition system. I'm saving this for last because it works fine. I need to tidy up the wires for the pointless ignition and get the correct red HT plug wires. If I can hide the pointless ignition well enough I would like to add 4 condensers to the outside of the distributors (for 'show') and rig up a microswitch and bracket and 2 wires that will run over the the distributors (and probably just attach to 'ground'). I think I will need some small wire holders that fit on the acorn nuts along the top of the camcover. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I was able to get a heritage certificate. I guess as long as the engine type matches then the engine matches! Notice how the engine number (which is probably too early for my car) does not show on the certificate. Well at least the certificate shows no one put a Chevy engine in the car... Looks like the date of manufacture uses the european convention so it is the 11th day of 12th month (December) 1978 which matches the plate on the car. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I filled out the information two weeks ago and it did not work and thought 'the heck with it.' Then I e-mailed them and they sent me an e-mail that describes exactly how many digits are needed in each field. After resubmitting it this last Friday they send e-mail today that the .pdf file was available. I am glad I persisted. To answer the question, 2 working days.
I finally got around to peeking under the distributor cap. As I suspected, based on the lack of attention to detail by prior repairpersons, something was not perfect. As you can see the rotor does not line up exactly with the post when the spark fires. It is close enough to run OK but needs a little fine tuning (the sensor has to be moved a tad and then the distsributor has to be re-aligned using a timing light) I also noticed that one of the exhaust air pump valves is cracked and looks like it may be leaking a little exhaust. I know it is not leaking air-pump air because the air pump is de-functionalized. I will have to replace this because I really don't want exhaust in the engine compartment. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Got my Gates green stripe hose from the same semi-truck shop that had the Baldwin filters. This will be cut up to replace the small coolant hose pieces in the engine compartment. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just starting to refinish the driver's side door panel. I took it off today and it looks like I need another red door marker light. I had a local paint shop scan the paint on my gas cap door and I got some acrylic paint to try and touch up this door while the door panel is off. Looks like the seatbelt was getting into the doorjamb. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Got some parts from International Autoparts. An earlier thread on 308 gas caps was a little unclear as to which cap fit the 308. The 60MM Alfa cap #13011 is a perfect fit. I don't know what the original for a 78/79 gt4 looked like. The eariler 308s had a metal cap with a plastic perimeter grip. A little 'deja vou' for my car as Paul Opiela (in the picture), the founder of International Autoparts, was a former owner of my #14582. The condensers may not be exact electrical replacement (in terms of uf) but they are for show only. They have the mounting clip to mount externally on the Marelli distributors and they are made in Italy. Only $4.50 each. The Pininfarina badges are for the Beta Scorpion. Image Unavailable, Please Login
