^ Thanks much for the encouragement vrmouseyd15b. I appreciate you.
Yes, I'm anxious to get started on my "special project" as well. I'm sure you can guess what it may be. A hint: I wish I had completed it already, may have helped to avoid a near-death accident yesterday on my commute home...
Here's some pics of all of the parts that have come in over the last week. For the married men, my wife has been making a mental inventory of part arrivals each day.
So, I'm glad that everything is finally in, sans the LED headlight kit. It should arrive "overnight from Japan" in about a week.
Here's some pics of everything, since everyone knows build threads suck without them...
Fuel Filter and proper heat-range plugs (#4 within part number, not #5)
Vision Technica SiR-replica corners; 1156NA bulbs. Seem high quality!
3M Amber repair tape I found at Advanced Auto Parts (for dash lighting)
Here's the parts I'll use on the exterior & paint restoration. The first pic is a 3M pinstripe removal tool/wheel. Cost me $35 from my local NAPA 2 years back. Ouch! But: (1) I've used it on 4 cars now; (2) nothing is more hideous than a pinstripe. This little guy is worth it's weight in gold!! Great tool. Very safe on paint as well.
For trim pieces, this combo picture below has served me well for years. They go together like GC's and Koni's! Just degrease/dry your parts, one coat of the AP and 2-3 coats of the bumper paint. I should also note that Duplicolor makes and sells a product in a green can called "Trim Paint". However, from my own personal experience, I have found the "Bumper Paint" to serve a better purpose for all trim (bumper, plastic, and metal). It tends to lay down easier, is more archival, and (most importantly) is more "black". The trim paint starts black, but fades quickly in the sun to more of a dark charcoal. This combo ensures an "OEM like-new" look, while I've seen others use Krylon Fusion for trim pieces, which is just too glossy and ends up looking cheap, IMO. I always treat the trim pieces in my builds with this AP and BP combo, and I never touch a single ounce of Armour All, or "Back to Black" or similar greasy goo to my cars, ever. The trim pieces are always black, wash-to-wash. Now, if anything isn't easily removed for paint or is more of a rubber material (weatherstripping, etc...), I do use a product called "Forever Black". But this is a completely different product from the more common "band-aid" products available at parts stores. It's actually a black die that is permanent. Check it out on Google. Rustoleum has caught on to this product, and now offers
this product, which is fairly similar, and it IS available locally. It's pretty good. I used it on my truck and the results were good. It's just a bit harder to work with than Forever Black (dries up too quick when applying, so doesn't go on as smooth; also is too runny, feels more like a water-based paint, where-is the Forever Black applies on more smooth-gliding, with the consistency of a silicone-based gel). It's a pain to have to order it and wait for it, but nothing beats Forever Black when it comes to trim gel. OK, I'll stop now. I just get so tired of seeing these band-aid fixes for trim, and I feel that trim is SO important to the aesthetics of a car, and is often not given the attention it deserves....
I didn't picture this product on a previous post, but did want to post it, as I found this stuff to be very valuable to me. GREAT for cleaning of stuck-on/stubborn grease from the engine block. Saved me much time. Cost about $2 per can at Dollar General. Just sprayed it on the block, waited about 5 minutes, tooth brushed the applied areas, and hosed off. Now, it will leave a bit of hazing to the finish of your block, but this can be wiped off later with WD40 and a rag.
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