2/25/00 More suspension, and undercoating.

I’ve cleaned the tie rods and center link pieces for my suspension, and am now applying the correct finishes. The center sections are painted glossy black, and the rod ends are supposed to be natural steel. I masked the pieces to start the painting process so primer goes on first. I’m not planning to win points at a Ferrari show, but since all the pieces are off the car, it makes sense to paint everything now. Choosing the right colors and finishes doesn’t take much more energy or money, so it only makes the same amount of sense.

While the steering shaft is out of the car, it needs to be painted as well. The length of the shaft needs to be glossy black, but François informed me that the u-joint pieces need to be natural steel colored. This involved removing the heavy paint applied by the previous owner. Instead of using my wire wheel on the bench grinder, I decided a chemical stripper would be better at getting into all the spaces of the u-joint. I would show you a before and after picture, but my digital camera corrupted a file (doh!), so all I have is the after picture.

The rest of the day was spent applying more POR-15 to the under body. I haven’t spent much time on this subject, nor do I have a ton of pictures because it’s hard to show all that I’ve done. It’s dark and cramped under the car, and only getting darker as I apply the black rust preventative paint. I wish I could show you some pictures so that you can share in my misery of getting dirt and dust in my clothes, down my back, and in my hair, with the now added bonus of POR-15 that doesn’t wash off my skin if it gets a chance to dry! I wear a dust mask, and goggles, but anything uncovered stands a chance of getting splattered as I brush on the paint. Considering the underbody surfaces are not smooth, I really have to work the paint into all the crevasses, which only increases the splatter. I plan to throw away the coveralls I’ve worn through this past month because they’ve become so filthy because washing them no longer helps! The results, however, are well worth it. Rust should be kept away, and preserving the rust-free chassis will never be a concern of mine in the future. I’m about half way done with the process, so I just need to suck it up, and push through!