ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[zmotorsports]

Sorry to disappoint ya fellas, but any overspray will disappear after the next mow (last night). And yeah, I love that little guy enough to paint over my grass. I won't let the kids walk on it, but I'll spray over it. What's worse is got a little matted down when I was walking around the paint stand. That took a bit longer to let the grass stand back up.

 

[zmotorsports]

Finished up the glazing of a few low spots last night, I hope that should be all at least.

Here's a little trick if you only have a pinhole or some small imperfection that you want to fill without leaving much thickness or buildup to have to sand down, use a razor blade as the applicator. Works excellent for those small spots.


Had a very small "dimple" right where the front crossmember end cap was welded on that needed to be filled and the razor blade worked perfectly to apply a very small controlled amount which was easily removed afterwards with a few swipes of some 180-grit paper.


A couple of other areas that needed just a skim coat more glaze.


After curing the glaze was sanded down. Then the chassis was blown off with compressed air, wiped with Wax & Grease Remover, then hung to be sprayed with another few coats of SPI's Epoxy Primer.


Hung and wiped with a tack cloth.


A light coat was first applied as a "tack coat" then a medium wet coat followed by a couple more medium wet coats with about 10 minutes or so between coats. I was trying to hurry just a bit as the clouds were really thickening after mowing the lawn and I was worried I wouldn't make it.


After several coats of epoxy primer were applied and ready to have the wife help me haul it back into the shop.







Overall I am quite pleased with how the primer laid down and I should just be able to wet sand it with 400-grit and go to sealer and paint.

Thanks for looking.

 

[bigdave_185]

Oh man!!

No other words required

 

[Ohmthis]

Mike I may have missed this, what color(s) are you planning to paint? I almost poked you about painting over the grass. Great work!

 

[zmotorsports]

Oh man!!

No other words required

Thanks Dave.

Mike I may have missed this, what color(s) are you planning to paint? I almost poked you about painting over the grass. Great work!

Thank you. I figured I would get some **** about painting outside on my grass but it's better than getting that **** all over my shop but thought I'd roll the dice and post the pictures anyways.

The chassis and components will just be black.

 

[Scuderia-F1]

That cart is turning out really rather nicely, you’re a man of many skills and great values Mike!

 

[zmotorsports]

That cart is turning out really rather nicely, you’re a man of many skills and great values Mike!

Thanks Anders. I appreciate you continuing to follow along.

 

[rattle_snake]

Already covered but the wagon chassis is over the top and beautiful, even in primer. Exelent as always.

 

[zmotorsports]

Already covered but the wagon chassis is over the top and beautiful, even in primer. Exelent as always.

Thanks Justin. Much appreciated and thank you for following along.

 

[Finallygotit]

.....I figured I would get some **** about painting outside on my grass......

I'm glad to see we didn't let you down, Mike.

 

[MP&C]

Here I just wish I had grass so the yard would be green. Mike has the spray gun out taking care of those light spots..

 

[zmotorsports]

Here I just wish I had grass so the yard would be green. Mike has the spray gun out taking care of those light spots..

More like if I were a good neighbor, I would be adding yellows and browns to my lawn to make my neighbors feel better.

 

[bugnut]

Mike I need a little input. I recall you mentioning helicoils in post #8736. I also recall you had worked on sand rails and Pauter blocks. I have run into an issue with a mexican 1600cc vw case. Somewhere in its previous life someone installed keyserts in the case for the head studs. These are a 10mm stud in this case and the keyserts were not staked when installed. I also had one keysert come out with the stud and 1 stud with keysert assembly is now stuck and I cannot loosen it. I have dissuaded myself from trying further as don't care to damage things further.
So here's my question. Any idea if the keysert will stand up to holding in the oil when the case is under pressure? Also might a case saver be used instead of the keysert without leaking? I really don't want to expend anymore energy on this till I can make sure I am not going to end up with a constantly leaking case. I'm planning to dig deeper into drill sizes and methods to determine if the casesavers will work.

Any enlightenment appreciated.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike I need a little input. I recall you mentioning helicoils in post #8736. I also recall you had worked on sand rails and Pauter blocks. I have run into an issue with a mexican 1600cc vw case. Somewhere in its previous life someone installed keyserts in the case for the head studs. These are a 10mm stud in this case and the keyserts were not staked when installed. I also had one keysert come out with the stud and 1 stud with keysert assembly is now stuck and I cannot loosen it. I have dissuaded myself from trying further as don't care to damage things further.
So here's my question. Any idea if the keysert will stand up to holding in the oil when the case is under pressure? Also might a case saver be used instead of the keysert without leaking? I really don't want to expend anymore energy on this till I can make sure I am not going to end up with a constantly leaking case. I'm planning to dig deeper into drill sizes and methods to determine if the casesavers will work.

Any enlightenment appreciated.

Joel, the "case savers" were supposed to be oil resilient when it comes to leaking. I never did experience an issue with leaks from case savers on any of the VW cases I had used, especially from Pauter Machine. I did however, have a couple of engine cases that clients brought me to remove damaged case savers and I'm not gonna lie, they were a PITA to remove. Most of the time I could dig at the stakes and work them side to side with a small chisel to loosen and once they were removed, I would weld a nut onto the top of the steel insert and extract the case saver but it took quite a bit of finessing to do so. I had a couple I remember that didn't go as planned and I had to end up setting up in the mill and using an end mill, cut down just enough to remove the steel sleeve, bore slightly oversized, then machine an aluminum slug that got pressed in, welded, machined flat then lastly drilled and tapped. The first one made me extremely anxious and I wasn't even sure I could successfully do the repair but it turned out good and only had to go that deep into an extraction another time or two.

Not sure if that helps or answers you question or not.

 

[bugnut]

Mike MANY thanks, I'm gonna check with a shop to see what my options may be. Thanks

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike MANY thanks, I'm gonna check with a shop to see what my options may be. Thanks

Happy to help.

 

[WoodsTruck]

When I ran VW, I was always under the impression that those were stronger than the actual threaded hole in the magnesium.
As luck would have it, I lost a bar stud on my chainsaw today out in the brush. I'll see if it is repairable tomorrow.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

@txvwnut might have some input on this.

Also, there's no such thing as a VW that doesn't leak from the case!

 

[PhantomEB]

Damn…..I don’t think my life will ever slow down enough in the near future to use putty on my projects….

maybe on my next vehicle project which is to be a VW bug for her 50th.

 

[zmotorsports]

When I ran VW, I was always under the impression that those were stronger than the actual threaded hole in the magnesium.
As luck would have it, I lost a bar stud on my chainsaw today out in the brush. I'll see if it is repairable tomorrow.

In general the case savers, Keenserts or Helicoils are stronger than the parent threads in the aluminum and magnesium cases but they still have their limits as far as what they'll hold and how often they can be reused. We used a lot of them back in the day of building VW's as well as motorcycle and ATV engines and had excellent results. However, in several cases they either failed or had issues and had to be replaced which was less than an exciting job to do.

 

[zmotorsports]

Stay tuned for several posts being very picture heavy. Hope everyone is ok with pictures.

Looks like the peanut gallery won out. Saturday morning I opened up the shop and began work by modifying the handle to change from the 90-degree handle bracket to a radius style. Started by working on a couple of bends to see what looked good. I could have made a completely new handle but figured I would just modify the original. Time wise it was probably sixes as to which was quicker, but either way it's done now.


Settled on a radius that looked good and duplicated it.


Mocked up and marked the points of tangency.


After cutting the radius bends I test fitted. Not quite as much room but ample for my large hands so it should work.


Cuts were made, edged chamfered and setup for tacking.


Tacked together and test fit the grip.


Final welds done and blended then metal finished on the outside...


and metal finished on the inside.


Set up on the fabrication table with both ends leveled so they are in the same plane.


Handle completed and ready for final sanding.



Stay tuned for more....

 

[zmotorsports]

Next out came the water and sponge for wet sanding.

A couple of drops of Dawn dishwashing soap in the water works well for lubrication and keeping the paper from clogging up so quickly.


I only had a couple sheets of 3M 400-grit sandpaper so I had to stop by the local paint & body supply shop a few days earlier.




I generally don't waiver from 3M products but I'm not gonna lie, there has been a huge price gap lately so I opted to give a less expensive brand a try on the counterman's suggestion.




For a good side by side comparison I used each brand on each side of the chassis. I really couldn't tell much difference in them other than I felt the import brand didn't clog as easily. That may have been in my head though or it could be that the SPI Epoxy Primer sands much better than the PPG brand of epoxy primer.


Chassis wet sanded and wiped down.


All of the nooks and crannies were blown out as well.






Pretty pleased with how everything sanded and came out.

Stay tuned....there's more...

 

[zmotorsports]

Before closing up the shop Saturday night I thought I'd get the wheels masked.

Here's a little trick to masking without taking any more time than necessary.

Use wide tape when possible, then fill in with the 3/4" wide tape. Start in one spot and work in a direction. Doesn't matter clockwise or counterclockwise but the key it to overlay in a sequence.


I just used my fingernail to press the tape down into the recess between the steel wheel and the rubber tire. Next take a sharp razor blade and run around the recess using it as a guide.


Here you can see the cut line.


Next, pick a starting point and peel in the same direction and it should come off all in one if you overlapped correctly.


Masked and ready to go in relatively quick order.


Everything masked and wet sanded, ready for sealer and paint.





That was where I closed up the shop and called it a day.

Yesterday after the wife and I returned from breakfast it was such a nice day with no breeze blowing so I headed back out to the shop to seal and pain the parts.

Everything hung and wiped down one last time with Wax & Grease remover as well as tacked using a tack cloth.





Stay tuned for more..

 

[zmotorsports]

I had mixed up the SPI Epoxy Primer and added just a bit of slow reducer to aid in laying down flat for the sealer coat.

Here is the sealer coat applied.


Sealer coat applied to the chassis.


The sealer was given about an hour and a half while I sat on the deck with the wife enjoying a nice lazy Sunday afternoon.

Then I mixed up some PPG DBC9700 black and sprayed a couple coats of color on the parts....




and the chassis....


The paint dries relatively quick so by the time I cleaned the gun and mixed up the SPI Univeral Clear it was ready to spray the final clear using a couple of wet coats.




The wife helped me carry the chassis and parts into the shop.







After hanging everything in the shop I cleaned out the guns, cleaned up the bench, coiled up hoses and put all of the paint supplies away and got the shop back to normal again.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with how the job turned out and it should be ready to final assembly after I machine a few fasteners and polish a couple of items.

Thanks for looking.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I knew you'd come over to dark side of curved handles

Paint came out great Mike!

 

[LXCam]

Peer pressure wins again! Looking great bud.

 

[PugetDude]

Pure F'n Awesome.

 

[MadeByMiller]

I really like how you slit the flat bar strip so you could bend both radius parts as one, that's wisdom! The paint work is great and I'm glad you were able to kick back and enjoy your Sunday with your wife in between coats.

 

[Ohmthis]

Mike, nice trick on getting the curve of the handle uniform. I probably would have tried to make it one curve, but I definitely see a benefit to how you it. Paint looks great too! I’m excited to see it completed.

 

[zmotorsports]

Pure F'n Awesome.

I really like how you slit the flat bar strip so you could bend both radius parts as one, that's wisdom! The paint work is great and I'm glad you were able to kick back and enjoy your Sunday with your wife in between coats.

Mike, nice trick on getting the curve of the handle uniform. I probably would have tried to make it one curve, but I definitely see a benefit to how you it. Paint looks great too! I’m excited to see it completed.

Thanks guys. I tried to think ahead and make one bend and duplicate the radius and this was the best I could think of to save time.

 

[Just Fishing]

Perfection as always!
Looks like soon you might be in a "working on a Jeep" mood.

 

[zmotorsports]

Perfection as always!
Looks like soon you might be in a "working on a Jeep" mood.

Still a ways away from that, but it will be here before I know it.

 

[Boosted1]

Wagon bits look great. I have those same red lift stands or whatever they are called.

 

[zmotorsports]

Wagon bits look great. I have those same red lift stands or whatever they are called.

I purchased a second set of pole jacks several years ago and cut them down to use for suspension work with a vehicle on the lift. They work great for suspension work and even holding painted parts.

 

[zmotorsports]

I didn't get much time on the wagon last night as I had a few other tasks in the shop to do but I was able to unmask everything and get a good start on final assembly.



I'm quite pleased with the depth of the paint on the chassis. All of the work paid off, although this project took on quite a bit of project creep.


Even the smaller parts have nice deep appearing paint work and the welds are smooth and barely visible.


Next was to add another finishing touch of mine, knocking the knurls off of the stainless steel socket head capscrews. I did this same technique on all of the snowmobiles, sand quads and sandrails I built over the years before the fasteners went off to chrome. I don't particularly like the visible knurls on fasteners for show jobs.


Those look so much better than the knurls.


Next I thought I'd grease and assemble the Torrington bearing assembly for the steering pivot plate.









Stay tuned for more pictures.....

 

[zmotorsports]

Continuing on.

Assembled the steering knuckles after pressing the Delrin bushings in and lubing the pivot points.


Bolted the rear axle in place.




Installed the tires/wheels onto the chassis to get it to ride height.


Removed the interior's lower panel and bolted the body to the chassis.


I like how the body rests on top of the chassis rails giving it that Roadster appearance.


Interior reassembled and moved to the lift table as that was all the time I had for the night.









Thanks for looking.

 

[WoodsTruck]

Super sharp.

I envision a wall standoff bracket to hang this wagon up when not in use.

 

[zmotorsports]

Super sharp.

I envision a wall standoff bracket to hang this wagon up when not in use.

Thank you. Yes, been toying with some type of wall mounting apparatus for when he gets too big for it and it is no longer in use. In talking with my son last night, we agreed it can be stored in the shop when not being used as it will more than likely be spring before my grandson can use it. I don't think I'll sell this one as I kick myself for selling my son's 25+ years ago. I didn't have the room to store it but I think I'll make room to store this one.

The wife came out to the shop last night when she got home and was kind of surprised at how it has turned out. She said "I thought you were just going to quickly fabricate a frame and some steering, not build a show piece?" I explained to her what scope creep or project creep was and showed her exhibit A.

 

[red94chev]

Looks amazing Mike! I'm sure your son will be proud to pull that around.

 

[MP&C]

Looks like the peanut gallery won out.

Heck with those guys Mike. Tell them to build their own damn wagon.