1980 2 Door Sedan - What have I gotten myself into ??!!

[ynwa]

Update. Scored a virtually brand new bbd locally for 75 bux. Whoop!
IT WILL RUN THIS WEEKEND !! heh...

Next set of questions will be for people's frugal yet functional carpeting layers. Expecting Hinges shortly so doors can go back on and on to the interior.
What should be my concerns regarding safety/fire rating for 'underlay' .. oops. I should check the other forums..

[shanebo]

Congrats!!

[ynwa]

Okay, it's been a while. I'm still powering away here as time permits. Fought like made with a starting issue. Turned out to be a mis-aligned distributor. After replacing a crapload of ignition bits I finally decided to confirm what was happening with the firing order. I had already confirmed that I had fuel and spark. Okay so with the #1 at TDC I pulled the cap to find that the rotor was pointing an entire post behind the #1. Pulled the distributor rotated it a couple of teeth, aligned the oil pump notch set everything at BOOM! The 1980 Geezer leaps to life and runs nice and smooth at higher RPM's. Still some fine tuning to do but after hearing her run I set my sights back on to the body starting from the rear... That's where things get a little 'rusty'.

Back left corner has been hit pretty hard based on where the car was resting for several years. As you'll see from these pics I'm hoping that this is mostly sheet metal ....


Oh yea, found out why my Fuel Gage wasn't working. hehe..


Left side bumper mount. Very nervous here.


Super nasty !!


Same hanger, crossing fingers that body mounts are in okay shape.


Left rear u-bolt bracket.. Yikes!! Right side is fine, but will replace both of course.


Right side bumper mount. Hopefully just some bolts to slice off ..

Priority for the short term of course are all the suspension pieces. While I'm here I'll want to bump the height of the rear end a bit. Blocks are easy but as I'm replacing the hangers, perhaps longer hangers are the best idea. There is also the Add-a-Leaf option as the packs are loose as well.

Feel free to suggest the best, safest option for a couple inches in the back. I'm working my way forward from the back and will need to pull the windshield for some repair as the Urethane has separated from the drivers upper corner and will need to be redone.

[Whuntmore]

I'll second what Regalwizard said.

when I redo the suspension, I'll probably go with a bit heavier (or more) leaf springs.  Now for the front, there's a trick to adding longer bolts to the bottom of the shock, and then putting several washers between the shock and the shock mount, so it will actually add 2 (no more then 2.5?) inches to the front. 

If you've ever taken off the front shocks, they seem to be the thing that limits the height.  Now if you could find a slightly longer shock of the same type, that would do the same thing.  But either way, those are the best ways to add about 2 inches (without issues to drive train) to your eagle.

[shanebo]

Thats a good Idea with the front shocks...I may have to do that.

[runs.like]

i was thinking that the easiest way to get a few inches would be shackle extensions in the back and some coil spring spacer donuts in the front.  i think you can probably find a longer shock with no difficulty.

i will be doing these things once i get the metal work done,  it'll be in my project thread (eventually)

[brownbear]

I gained almost 2 inches with my shackles and I still have another hole to go.  This is on my 87 sedan.........

[Whuntmore]

I thought shackle extensions made the back sway more.  is that true or not?

[ynwa]

Hey wow, replies! heh.
@whutmore - killer idea on the front.  I like that. Agree'd on the rear sway. Poly can help but in my reading too much shackle will create rear float bigtime. However I was knocking around trying to find over the counter shackles when they're just straight steel, hehe...

@regalwizard - Ya, I actually spoke to them before we chatted. They did mention an SAS'd eagle that they worked on but wouldn't be able to help out with spring plates.

I'm trying for budget 'get it on the road' at the moment and totally agree on the add-a-leaf. That should be the priority but wow, there's a crapload of work still to do. Springs look okay, other than the surface rust.

Recent work:
Pulled rear end - Wire wheel grinder surface rust / Paint
Rear diff pinion seal
Clean out sludge in pumpkin (I think it had the original cork gasket)
Clean and paint diff cover
Cut out the rest of the spring hardware / grind/paint leaf springs.
Perhaps a little weeping or pathetic sobbing. hehe...


Going for Blood Red accents against the Primer Black body with some fine double pinstriping .. I know thinking too far ahead.

[El Matador]

Wow, that's some serious rust.  I thought I was looking at pictures of the Titanic for a minute there.

Not beyond repair, but a daunting task for sure.  Any idea as to where that car is originally from?  I didn't think southwestern BC was rust belt territory.

[Whuntmore]

If you're gonna use paint to cover like the rear diff, springs, frame once it's repaired, or anything that doesn't take alot of heat (brake components, or engine) use Rim paint. 

I was talking to a body man and he suggested get some paint (that's for spray painting rims) and use that.  It sticks to bare metal, doesn't need any primer, and it's tough.  And you can paint over it with no issues.

I've heard that tremclad is a poor choice.

[runs.like]

i recently bought some primer that claims "chemically turns surface rust into a water proof primer"- obviously i do plan on cleaning everything up as best i can.   i figure some chemical reaction must change iron oxide to something else but i am curious as to its true nature, anyone know anything? 

[Whuntmore]

I tried those with little success.  I did it on the bottom of the driver's door on my Grand Am.  It's coming back, and it hasn't even been a year.  So, I wouldn't trust those. 

I got a chance to spend about 10 minutes picking a bodyman's brain.  He told me two very important things -

1.  Rust is like cancer.  Get every little bit, or it just comes back,
and 2. don't use Tremclad rust paint.  Use the Paint for painting rims. 

It's wayyy better then tremclad.  Sticks to bare metal, bodywork, etc, doesn't need primer, is really tough, and you can paint over it with another color (because rim paint comes in limited colors) with no problems.

You're best bet is to sand blast.  There must be someone around you, or a place where you can get it sandblasted, clean it with some thinner, and then cover it with rim paint.  It would be worth the time and money to do this.

[shanebo]

Naval jelly works descent.

[shanebo]

Even here in colorado, with very little humidity and not much salt on the roads to speak of, these cars still tend to develope rust after 23+ years. Unless its been a meticulously kept garage queen its whole life that only got driven on Sundays, or a native Arizona or Nevada car, chances are its going to have some degree of rust development.