Hello Sowest... Funny, I was standing by my QPIII last weekend and thought I should take some pictures and post them, but low and behold, I did not... I will certainly try this weekend... The upper dash trim piece you had re-leathered looks fantastic... I will have to do the same thing!!! Did the shop use real leather or a vinyl leather looking product... I would think we might want something long-lasting there...thoughts?? Mike D. enjoy reading this!
Hi Mike The dash piece is covered with real leather. When I first went to the upholstery shop, I did ask about a vinyl option, but it was more about the issues of cost and the color being available. I did not ask whether the vinyl or the leather would hold up in the sun better. The truth is that neither of us could muster up much enthusiasm for putting vinyl in the car, so the discussion was a short one. The car will not see the regular use that it once did so its exposure to the sun will much less than in years past. I do know that the previous owner had a sailboat and the car sat in the open parking lot at the yacht harbor a lot. If you can, please post some pictures of your car. I would like to see them. Aloha Larry
It has been a long time, but I was finally able to get all the small problems corrected and the main dash piece was finally ready to go back into the car. This is big step forward and I hope the rest of the assembly will go faster. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The main dash was in the car and I felt the next step was to get the steering column back in place so that the instrument pod could be installed and all the electrical hook-up done. When I got into the left front wheel well to get the short piece of the steering shaft set in place, it was hard not to see how ugly the exhaust looked and how the steering rack spool valve, hoses, rack boots, etc were really subject to a lot of heat from the headers. There was an attempt at heat shielding provided by some sheet metal welded around the collector portion of the headers. The headers themselves are stainless, but the heat shielding was mild steel and very rusty. I decided to remove the headers and clean them up and think about some better shielding. It was a surprise to see that one of the headers has had a serious trauma in an earlier life and it is welded up . Well, I have had the car for 15 years and the repairs, although ugly, seem to be working OK. I have decided to just leave them as is. Both sides are ready to go into a box and fly to the mainland to be ceramic coated. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A solution I have used in the past to fabricate parts is the following: make whatever it is you want out of thin cardboard and trim to fit. Then coat the piece with fiberglass resin which is sold at almost any autoparts store. The resin will make the part very stiff and you can coat it as many times as you want to make it stronger. It can then be sanded and painted if you wish. Good luck!
Hi David Thanks for your suggestion. I like your idea. I can see where that little trick could come in handy. The original seal for the steering shaft was a rubber boot (no longer available). I need to allow for some flexibility since the small u-joints cause the shaft to have a fair amount of "run-out" as it turns. Right now, everything will have to wait until the headers are back from the mainland.
The exhaust headers have just returned from the mainland. They look very nice and I am very happy with the work that was done. I would have preferred the satin black or satin gray finish that is available, but the gentleman that I spoke with said that this "polished ceramic" coating provided the best heat protection for the surrounding parts. Since protecting the steering from heat was my primary concern, I followed his advice. It really won't be an issue since the headers are almost invisible when they are in the car. I also got some new nuts for the headers. I was to happy to find some with a 12MM hex. The original nuts were a 12MM hex and I will be able to use the wrenches that I bent up to make removing the originals easier. The headers are in tight quarters on this car! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Great to see there others who like these cars. I have an 80,82,84 and 85. the last is a five speed manual and it and the 84 are European models. Thus far have not had to pull the dash and everything is working though each of cars are only driven about 20 miles every week or two. Mort
Hi Mort "CARNUTdr" You are not kidding.....;>) Four of these beasts and all running and a five speed in the mix. I am very impressed. There must be some good stories attached to these cars. If you had the time and inclination, a thread about your cars and pictures would be welcomed.
I have been working on little details of the QP reassembly. I wanted to take care of as many items as possible at the sides of the engine while the headers were out of the way. The first task was simply cleaning. The engine is not an oil leaker, but the block and pan were covered by a layer of road grime and dirt. I solvent washed wherever I could get to, but even the solvent under pressure did not remove the crud. I actually had to physically brush everywhere to get down to the shiny. There was some fibrous heat and sound insulation material covering the footwell areas that was coming loose and falling apart. Oddly, this material did not extend to the bottom of the footwell box that is actually the closest to the exhaust. On the driver's side, the oil cooler lines for the gearbox are routed over the insulation material. These hoses were as hard as a rock and bending them would snap them like a dried twig. Of course, these hoses will be replaced. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
There is always another detail to tend to. I have a pair of new steering rack boots. There is a heavy coating of flaking mold release agent on the inside and outside. I need to find a way to get them clean. It would bother me knowing that all that "stuff" is floating around inside. Image Unavailable, Please Login
+1 I remember in the 18 years I owned my 1980 Quattroporte, I always said the worst job was removing the headers!!!! AARRGGHHH!!! What a chore!!! Mike
The oil cooler lines have been removed and the fuel vent line pulled back, out of the way. The old insulation material was removed and that area of the footwell was cleaned up. I decided not to extend the insulation any farther as that area is fully exposed to whatever water and debris may be thrown up by the tire. I am considering spraying undercoating material over the new insulation in order to seal the edges against moisture intrusion and and to get rid of the "tin foil" look. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Snap! Crackle! Pop! The old hose for the gearbox oil cooler lines was hard and brittle. Even the slightest bend would cause it to break. The new hose is soft and supple and CLEAN.....;>) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hello SoWest... As always, love to read what you are doing... What size hoses did you use for the gearbox oil cooler lines, where did you obtain them, and cost info, if possible.. Keep up the excellent work and please keep us informed!!! I do promise one of these days to get some pictures posted of what I am up against! Mike
Hi Mike Thanks for checking in and offering some encouragement! The parts manual shows the hose to be 9.52MM (??) I got my hose from Global Metrics. They list the hose as 10MM, but it measures closer to 9.5MM. It is a nice fit on the fittings at the gearbox and at the cooler. Their item code is RHO-021A. The cost is $12.80 per meter. I am holding my breath until I see your pictures. Please hurry! I am getting a little blue......;>) Aloha Larry
The RH motor mount and the adapter bracket for the starter motor. The starter motor bracket is an impressive and complicated piece. It probably cost as much to design and build as a Hyundai.......;>) I didn't remove the LH motor mount because it is much more complicated. It incorporates the A/C compressor mount also. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
There is a separate heat shield to protect the starter motor from the heat of the exhaust headers. Originally, it was a sheet metal plate with a sheet of semi-rigid asbestos material riveted to it. The plate on my car was heavily rusted with only small remnants of the asbestos material still in place. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A little trim around the edges, a little paint, and a little hammering..... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ok wanted to thank everyone for detailed threads - I really enjoyed the detailed work done and the part numbers. I have been bitten by the QPIII bug. Had 2 aborted deals with dud cars - one had to get scrapped but now have two very nice QP IIIs . One a 1981 4.9 with the 5 speed ZF transmission and the other is a 1986 Automatic. Didnt plan on two but the 5 speed came up from a collection in South Africa with 9,600 miles on it. I have been driving this while the 86 gets put back together from a full paint job. Fairly big list for the car and I should have taken more pictures. Just doing the clutch for this which has really been a nightmare to find. AFter I bought the expensive version I did find two sources for parts - one from Italy and one from the US. Should have bought the MIE version but shipping and import charges can be a pain. More posts. Oh the flywheel is scored and grooved. Does it need replaced do you think or can it be resurfaced??? Thoughts.
Hi William Welcome! It is great to have another QP III owner check in, and another multiple owner too. I am a little surprised at how many people have more than one. I would love to have a nice 5-speed car, but they are pretty unusual in the USA. Still, the traffic here can be very heavy and tedious so the automatic is nice to have. The shipping and customs issues can be a problem, although sometimes a source outside the country can be the best option. Going from the UK to the USA is really pretty easy and it is not that expensive. I did have a hard and expensive time once when I returned a part, originally made in the UK, to the UK for repairs. It was an awful experience. I think that part of the problem was that I just didn't understand how the system works before I got started. If the item can be shipped via the Postal Service, I think it goes pretty smoothly. I understand that UPS (United Parcel Service) has some pretty onerous customs charges. I have never seen a clutch for a 5-speed car so I don't know if there is anything special about it. I suspect not. Driven discs can be relined. Both the flywheel and pressure plate are pretty tolerant of scores and heat checking. Surfacing a flywheel should present no problem. It is not "textbook" procedure, but when I was taking care of the rental Ferraris here, the clutches would get burned up with great regularity. The pressure plates and flywheels would be severely scored and blue from the heat. I would just put in a new driven disc, leave everything else as is, and get the car back into service. It never seemed to be a problem. Again, welcome. I think a thread about your cars and project would also be welcome.
Yes I was wondering if taking off the flywheel and balancing with the clutch was overkill or would be courting problems! There is a race balancing shop here that says they can do this quite cheaply - about £75 labour ++
I am a firm believer in the benefits of balancing, but if you are using the same flywheel and the same pressure plate and the pressure plate goes back in the same orientation, it is not likely that you will get much out of re-balancing. One other item that would be worth checking is the pilot bearing. If the car has a sealed ball bearing as the pilot, check to see that it is smooth and quiet. Another thing to consider is the oil seal for the gearbox first motion shaft. I think back to putting a new clutch into a Lotus Europa and having the gearbox oil run out of the clutch housing. Everything was fine until the first motion shaft got moved around during the removal and installation. I had to take the gearbox out again. The seal was hard and brittle and had cracked during the process.
I was able to get the waxy residue of the mold release agent off of the steering rack boots. The thing that seemed to work the best was mineral spirits paint thinner. A little work with the paint thinner and then rubbing them with mechanic's hand cleaner followed by a thorough rinse got them nice and clean, inside and out. The boots that I removed were secured with nylon wire ties. The recess for a clamp is very narrow and most normal clamps simply will not fit. I got some stainless band clamps from the local NAPA store. They fit nicely into the space allowed. I also found some nylon clamps in the plumbing department of a local home improvement store. I like the nylon clamps as they adjust easily and can be removed. The small diameter one fits the groove, but the larger diameter one is too wide. I will likely use the two stainless bands in the interest of symmetry. Image Unavailable, Please Login
It is a small step forward, but I have the caps for the exhaust sample ports all installed. I was able to clean up the original brass caps which were in very good condition. They were secured in place with some locknuts that were normal mild steel. The locknuts were very, very rusty. I could not find any stainless nuts that were thin. There is not enough thread on the sample ports to accommodate a normal nut, so I had to cut the locknuts down to fit. The only thing that I had right at hand was a very small model maker's lathe, but it actually worked quite well. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
