roman944

Ok, finished painting and clear coat, here are some pictures:

as it sits in the driveway:



started stripping back seat and rear hatch, some checmicals and tools in the hatch:



this is cleaned up (almost finished) right wheel well:



this is what the right one looked like before I started it (this is the left wheel well):



back seat - removed - rear panels - removed - back seat area cleaned up (maybe 3-4 hours went into this):

roman944

Redline Rollbar - my first time painting!

How I recieved it:



Sanded it down with 400grit, and primered it:



first coat on - I had to wait for it to dry and then "turn it over" and do the other side, so in some spots it has more paint then others:



first GOOD coat on:



2nd GOOD coat is on, before laying it, I went over the bar with 2500grit paper:



3rd GOOD layer is on - the black spot on the right is NOT dirt or smudge mark - its shadow; the back of the bar has a couple spots where paint didn't stick - but its on the bottom so no one will ever see it anyways:



3rd coat on the other side - again there are a couple of dots where paint didn't stick, but not very noticible unless you are REALLY looking for it:



clear coat layered on both sides and is still drying, going to leave it in the garage untill the morning - FINISHED:



Overall I am very proud of myself and my work. First time painting. But I definetly see how important the prep-work really is. There are a few imperfections on the back of the bar. In a couple of spots I put down a little too much paint - but it was fixed with 2500grit paper. A couple spots where paint didn't stick - but its all right because its behind the bar so no one will ever see it.

I have to say that I enjoyed this whole thing. I started around noon and was finished around 7pm including clean up.

So thanks for your support and pointers! I can definetly see myself doing this again. For $25 bucks in supplies, I think its a good deal. Even if I have to do it once a year. It's probably not as nice as if a professional did it, but for what it is and it being my first time, I am VERY proud. My dad helped me a little with sanding and telling me not to rush and let the paint/clear stick.

Thanks again!

Chads996

Nicely done my friend. Very nicely done. Enjoy it.

C.

roman944

Thank you Chad! I liked the whole thing, and next time I do this, I'm going to go "slow" and take my time.

I was way overexcited and kind of rushed myself. In part because 1 half of the garage has my "other car" in there, and this is where my mom parks.

But now the rollbar took over, and her car is outside for tonight

also the pictures make it look like the front of the car is sitting on spacers on blocks of wood - its actualyl hovering just above the wood - incase it decides to "tip forward" for some reason

in the back its got braces under the trailing arm and its sitting solid

we have jackstands but they are way too tall for the 944, they fit great under the ML320 though

BeerBurner

Looking good!

I ended up doing my Redline bar in semigloss black since the 944 is more "street" than "track". Still, I love the look of a body-matched rollbar and may paint the one in my chick car red once it becomes more "track" than "street".

BB.

roman944

lol actually I wanted to do it color matched, but my paint is a tad old and faded in spots, the paitn on the bar is from Advance Auto Parts - brightest red they had - and it came out really nice very close to the car's color; I'm sure that grey primer helped out, otherwise I'd have to go get more paint

and thank you!

theykallmekem

wow, for a first time its pretty damn good. looks great, especially since you paid only 25 $ in supplies. keep up the hard work and labor !!

roman944

thank you!

my dad was asking me why I was spending so much time on the front and forgot the rear - I told him no one will ever see it anyways

now I need to finish stripping the rear so I can bolt the bar in

Jim and Spoolin were nice enough to forward me to a 6-point harness - so I will be getting that and replacing my belts with those

I ran into a problem removing my passenger seat though - it will not slide forward or back and I can not reach the bolts that hold it; so I sprayed both rails with PB Blaster (literally SOAKED them with this stuff) and will give it another shot in the morning - however, if that doesn't work - how can I get the seat out? driver's side is allright

theykallmekem

yeaa, that gunk in the back can be super annoying to get rid of, i wouldnt have any patience and i probably end of torching the car >_>.

but all in all, it looks good. people would be surprised what alot of hard work would make things look like. what are your main plans for the car?? just straight up autocross and daily driving ??

and btw, any idea where those spacers came from?? does it clear the dust caps ok?? i have some but it doesnt clear the front dust caps and was wondering what is your secret !?!?

roman944

they are H&R's, link:

http://www.jazzproparts.com/product_p/7095716.htm

they are very big, and they clear everything

I only have one issue with them - my front tire is rubbing on the body of the car at full turn, so I am not sure yet how I am going to fix that - I have mismatched wheels and tiress; 8" wide in front with small tire and 7" wide in rear with big tire - so I'll start by getting rid of tires and getting the correct sizes, and go from there!

for now, I definetly want to autocross the car; I am not interested in classes or anything, and I am not interested in best times; I have a bunch of friends that do it - and I tried it and liked it, so I want to get into it more; I am not sure what I am going to do with the engine/drivetrain yet either, I kind of wait for a good deal to come along and then pull the trigger

I also want to do some DE stuff, once I learn more about the car; I think Autocross is really great, and its small and short, and can teach anyone a great deal about car control and how to go "fast"

I'm happy I did this; there are a few things I'm going to do - when I get the sway bars

Airflite40

nice job with the paint but dude..... get some jackstands seriously... that is the scariest looking thing i've ever seen

theykallmekem

thanks roman for the linky ^_^ much appreciated it !!


why not try looking for things from the M030 suspension?? heard some cool things, and is a nice upgrade to our suspension, but dont know about early models...... im thinking about getting the rear sway (19mm) for my car, to tighten it up.

i actually did an autocross a month or so ago, just an amateur novice school thing, but since then, ive been hooked and have been craving suspension parts and goodies for the car >_<.

those incorrect tire and wheel sizes are common to tire installers who either dont know or dont pay attention. my friend on his miata had 225 in the front, and 205 in the rear, and man, when he took a deep turn, its spin city lol.

what tires are you looking to get?? im actually converting to D90, 16X7 and 16X8. and as for tyres, im going for the Dunlp Dizzera star summer tires. that should provide adequate grip i need for a street/track tire without buying the competition tires.

we should autocross together >_> lol. im not into the classes and rankings yet, im also focused on just having fun and getting to know more about cars. and soon, DE events will follow lol. buy a helmet if you havent already, thats the most important part of autocross ^_^

roman944

mine are 16x7 and 16x8 Cup wheels for the late offset, the spacer does a good job, I think if I get the right wheels to the right spots with correct tires my rubbing issue will go away, if not, I'll be looking for some new wheels, lol

as far as tire, I was really thinking about Hankook RS2, that should be really nice; I'm not sure whether to go with coilover suspension or do torsion bars, I think coilovers is going to be the way I go - over next winter; I would also like to upgrade sway bars - probably 30mm front and 19mm rear - and some new bushings (I doubt I will go solid bushings, but we'll see) - it might get a little expensive to go with all solids; I would also like some "fiberglass treatment" - but 1 thing at a time, hahah!

I need to get this car runing by the end of May/middle of June so I can still enjoy good weather in it!

yes I know, its not scary at all though, its a lot more stable then those little boards make it out to be; I can push down on the hatch spoiler of the car - or the hood of the car - and it does almost doesn't move

I think my next stop is going to be smaller jackstands and a floor jack - I might even go to Harbor Freight for that

paulmezz

If I knew where you lived, I would do a night run with jack stands and my jack.

I would rather not have you get squished before we actually meet!

roman944

hahaha whats up man

its pretty stable, lol, trust me ... things I've tried, hahah

but yeah, maybe there are some on craiglist

btw, the way this looks - I'll have it runing in a few weeks, I was actually thinking of just towing the car to SEAD or RIT and driving it like that untill I get my things sorted out with DMV - but we'll see how it goes ...