David's Solectria Force Rebuild

[TheSGC]

I now have more time to work on the Solectria!

Today I started banging out the dents on the rear end of the car. I got most of it done, tomorrow I hope to finish that rear end and start prepping it for paint.

I haven't purchased new front lights yet, but I'm going to do a quick repair on that fender then start the painting process. It will probably take me most of the day to get the car cleaned up, everything covered and maybe I will start the sanding and priming.

[Daox]

Cool stuff, looking forward to more updates.

[TheSGC]

Today we started prepping the car for painting!

My dad and I sanded down the hood and use mineral spirits to clean up the adhesive from the velcro that was on the car.

I spent several weeks trying different things like Goo Gone to get rid of the adhesive, but I hard no real luck except for mineral spirits and tons of scrapping. Today we decided to go for broke and just hit it with the orbital, then clean it up with mineral spirits and it worked!

1992 Solectria Force Rebuild: Prepping for Paint

Tomorrow we will sand more of the car and start priming it. Once the car is primed I should be able to get a coat a night on the car so in the next one-two weeks the car should be looking good!

[MetroMPG]

I have so many different solvents around... I find if mineral (general paint thinner) doesn't work, I try acetone, then automotive paint thinner or epoxy thinner. One of them will work!

I've never tried the DIY painting method you're using. Requires too much patience!

[TheSGC]

We finally found the solution to the adhesive: the Fein tool! Basically we had it configured to be an electric scrapper and it cut off the tape residue like butter.

We were able to give the car a complete sanding and tomorrow we will bondo some holes then prime it! It's pretty time consuming, but well worth the experience. I also beat on the dent a little more and now the car is water tight once again.

The plan is this week I am going to get the car primed and started on one or two coats of paint. Once the car gets painted and it ready for road testing I will get the new EV plates and insurance. I'm still several weeks away from that, but it's coming together. I'll try and get pictures tomorrow, I get too involved with the project I keep on forgetting to take pictures!

[TheSGC]

Does anyone know where to get 12" tires for the Solectria/Metro? These tires have dry rot so I don't want to drive on them.

[Nerys]

just put 13" tires on it. 155 80 13 or if anyone knows a size similar to the 12" diameter?

just go back to the P&P and get 4 13" rims (5 1 for a spare) and be done with it.

hard enough finding 13's not to speak of finding 12's

[sixtharmy]

Online try tires-easy.com they list 145 and 155 80R12 from a number of manufacturers at $40 to $50 per tire. I've ordered from them and tires were new production and shipping was quick. Ebay also frequently has 12's. Just do a search under 145 or 155-80-R12. It takes a little work to find them, but they are still available. However, it's unlikely you'll find them at a local dealer, or for $15 a tire anymore.

[TheSGC]

I'm gonna try some local tire shops to see what they have, but I might go back to the Pick and Pull and see what they have for rims.

I'm working on the third coat of paint today and liking how its coming out. I'm hoping I only need two or three more coats. I've been swamped these past few weeks so I haven't done anything with the car.

[sixtharmy]

While you're at the pick-n-pull look at any Ford Festivas they have. You might be able to score a set of 12" alloys. Fesivas are the only car I know of with that size alloy. I have them on my Metro and the bolt pattern and offset are a perfect metro match. However, I don't think they're any lighter than the steel wheels, so it's just bling not an efficiency mod.