I sent my lug bolts here to be rechromed: http://www.chromeplatingusa.com/ They gave me a quote of $2.50 each to simply strip and rechrome them, or $4 each to strip, sand, polish, and rechrome. I went for option B, still much cheaper than buying new lug bolts. I'll post a picture when I get them back, should take about a week. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I got all the powder coated parts back today. Here's what I had done: engine cover louvers front grill 3 front grills by headlights and on hood 2 rear US grills behind the rear wheels US exhaust diaper 2 windshield wiper arms water drain piece underneath engine louvers The color I used was a semi gloss black, they had every increments of 10% gloss from 0 to 100. I think I used 60%, but I've forgotten now for sure. It was $325 for all including the media blasting. Yes, I realize many of these parts were anodized originally. I went to a shop here that could anodize and investigated that option. For me, powder coating was the right choice and I'm totally happy with it. I cannot find a single imperfection in any of the parts. They're perfect. Here's some pictures, I'll post more in a few days when I get time to install everything. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
It's really easy. There are 8 bolts (4 on each side). 2 are at the bottom in from the side and 2 are between the exhaust tips and the bumper. Those are hardest to reach. I use a 1/4" socket with a long wobble extension. You can see all the bolts in this picture. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
From where can I buy a white paint pen from Joann's craft store ?. What brand is it maybe I find one in Europe. Thanks
Make SURE they de-embrittle the bolts before returning them to you or the chroming process will weaken them and they will break. It is a simple step that many skip. Great work BTW.
Thanks, I'll do that. Here's some pics of the reinstalled engine louvers. They look great. The last pic is a reminder of how they were before. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Don't even waste your time with the paint pen. It doesn't work all that well anyway. I had better luck with a tiny artist's brush and a bottle of white model paint. BigTex, if you're still following this, your PM inbox is full. Yes, you can have my old pedal covers, just send me your address and I'll mail them off. Jason
I love your work. Thanks for posting. One suggestion: Paint that box on the floorboard behind the gas pedal.
OK, I'll work on that. I got the lug bolts back. Here's some photos. I had the Voodoo shift knob chromed as well. The last pic is a reminder of how the lug bolts looked a week ago. The lug bolts were $80 and the shift knob was $23 from www.chromeplatingusa.com. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I worked a bunch more on the parking brake and got it working pretty well. No thanks to Superformance that sent me a bunch of the WRONG parts, even after waiting for the volcano to pass so I could get them. I will never again call it an 'emergency' brake though. That description would imply that pulling it while moving would do anything to help you. In reality, it's only use is to keep the car from rolling down a hill while stopped. If you lose the foot brake while driving, best to just keep two hands on the wheel. Here's a pic of the crazy pully, lever contraption under the exhaust that pulls the caliper levers. I took it all apart and got it working well, then replaced the cables. This thing sort of reminds me of one of those Rube Goldberg devices where a shoe kicks a ball that turns on the tv, etc. I can't imagine how someone thought this thing was a good idea, and it's heavy too! Image Unavailable, Please Login
A few weeks ago I noticed that the white reverse lights weren't really white, but more of a dull gray color. I figured that they started out life a lot brighter. It kept bothering me every time I'd look at the car so I bought a new set. They look a lot better in person, but I'm guessing that based on the pictures you are going to think I'm crazy since they look identical. oh well, I'm happy with it. Since I'm almost certain you won't be able to tell, the 1st picture shows the new light on right, old on left. The 2nd pic is the new light and the 3rd is the old light. I promise there's more of a difference in person....but maybe not much. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
You are 100% correct............................................... I can't tell much difference! LOL. Bob.
It's OK Jason, I can relate mate. I noticed the same thing with mine and started a thread on it. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267422 Where did you buy your lights from? Are the NOS or the after market ones. I just found this thread. You've done a lot of nice work to date.
I got them from Superformance. They look identical in every way to the stocks and have all the same exact markings on the front and back. Here's some shots of my new front badge....the expensive one from Superformance. First pic is the old one, second is both, third is the new one installed. It looks very similar, but is ever so slightly taller and wider. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I've been debating what to do about the carpet. It doesn't look very good, but it's really just that the color isn't even. It's not all that worn. I've been just about to buy a set a few times from Gahh, which seems to be the place to go for any interior stuff. I decided to try and save the original carpet, so I'm going to redye it. If it looks crappy, I'll be out less than $100 and I'll just throw it away and buy new stuff from Gahh....what can I lose? Here's some shots of before and after a good cleaning of the passenger mat. This is going to take a while I think. I'm using SEM camel color coat. From my experience, anything SEM makes is great stuff. It's hard to capture in the photos, but the color is really varied and it looks a lot worse in person. I guess it's from 25 years of sun.... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The first time I saw the car, I immediately noticed the window trim was really strange. Some of the black aluminum trim pieces looked brand new, and some were a weird purple color. I suppose some of them got a better anodizing than others, part of the art I guess. Anyway, I always planned to paint them temporarily and then figured I'd remove them someday for a full repaint and have them recoated. I finally got around to starting the painting today. I used SEM gloss trim black, great stuff. After doing it, I'm not sure recoating them is even worth it. I'm pretty picky about how stuff looks, and I honestly cannot tell the difference between the SEM painted stuff, and the stock anodized black. It turned out great, and was really fast. Just a quick sanding with 1000 grit, tape up the edges, and spray. Here's some photos of the old purple color, the process, and the newly painted trim. In the last pic, the back vertical trim piece is painted, and the top angled piece is stock anodized. In person, they look identical. I cannot at all tell the one part is painted. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Go man go! The black anodizing turns purple, and as they are riveted/glued on for the most part, painting is pretty common. I did receive your pedal pads, many thanks! I didn' know you were changing nose badges! I need one of those too! Getting started on my nose panel repair.......Art Car Parade is May 6 - 8th...
Sorry Tex, I already listed my old badge on Ebay. I didn't figue anyone on FChat would even want it and I was hoping someone could use it. If nobody bids on it it's yours... It'll probably be on the nose of a Fiero by next weekend, huh? Jason
I dyed the passenger mat. It was pretty easy and looks ok. Here's a pic....the color is better but it still just looks old and gnarly. I know guys are always concerned that the dye affects the feel and it's no longer as soft. I really can't tell the difference between it and the original in terms of feel. I decided it wasn't good enough, so I ordered a $1000 carpet set from GAHH, only to find out today that they're basically out of every beige/ brown color of wilton wool for the forseeable future. Hmm, what to do now. I guess I'm going to go shop around local and see what carpet I can find to cut myself and have bound. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have only found a couple places in the country that have any wilton wool in stock. I've got some samples on the way. Here's a pic of 'tan' from World Upholstery and Trim. The color's not the greatest, I think I'll keep looking. I got 2 yards of QV headliner material yesterday from Reoriginals. Here's a pic of a sample. It's perfect, exactly the same in every way. I removed some more chrome to get redone: ash tray surround, ash tray emblem, shift grate, and both the boot and hood levers. I installed a 1" steering wheel spacer from here for $35: http://ltbautosports.com/ltbstwhbl25.html I can't decide if I like it better or not. I can reach the top of the steering wheel now, but it just feels weird. I guess I'll try it for a while. Installed the window switches I've had forever. I'm trying to find materials for a big interior job the week of 14-18 June. I'm going to remove all the carpet, cut new pieces from yet to be found wilton wool, have the edges bound, and reinstall it. I'll also recover the headliner and parcel shelf with the material I've got. I'm planning to remove the dash and recover it. I don't think I can tackle that one, I'm planning to have it done. Finally, I'll probably have the same shop redo the door panels entirely with new leather and the carpet I buy in bulk. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nice work, and love this thread. I used a similar spacer on a 78 308GTS and also on an 87 328GTS, I found both allowed a more comfortable driving position, once I lowered the steering column a bit. Also, it kept me from scratching the gauge binacle...there were a few scratches from previous owners on the 328GTS in particular.
I went with a 1/2" spacer, which I like a lot. It gives a little more finger clearance at the top of the wheel, which was all I was looking for, without being too weird feeling. If you decide you don't like the 1", you might have someone turn it down before giving up on the spacer entirely. Nice work as always.
