[2manyT/A'S]

Nice Job!

[The Boss]

WOW!

[Alvin]

Hey Bob, couple Qs:

1. How do you move the lift in/out of the garage w car still on it; wheels imbedded/recessed in 4-corner posts, or? .

1.b. To roll it in/out do you use cable and electric motor, or?

2. Knowing that the temps were low and appears high humidity, what are you doing to prevent "flash rust" on all of those bare areas? Assume that it was too damp to clear, yes?

BTW: Please let us know what you do w the NSX and any links to that build I'd appreciate, as I'm interested in most all brands, make & model vehicles.

[Judge273]

Another great weekend of progress!

[Bentwheelbob]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Hey Bob, couple Qs:

1. How do you move the lift in/out of the garage w car still on it; wheels imbedded/recessed in 4-corner posts, or? .

1.b. To roll it in/out do you use cable and electric motor, or?

2. Knowing that the temps were low and appears high humidity, what are you doing to prevent "flash rust" on all of those bare areas? Assume that it was too damp to clear, yes?

BTW: Please let us know what you do w the NSX and any links to that build I'd appreciate, as I'm interested in most all brands, make & model vehicles.

Alvin - the four post lifts come with removable wheel assemblies that function on the lever and fulcrum principle. See this attached youtube video. I usually have a neighbor come up and move it with his riding lawn mower and a tow strap, but this weekend he was unavailable and three men and my Child Bride just pushed it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7VCCJeTSZA

While it was nasty outside, the Hot Rod Garage has gas central heat. I cranked up the heat to 75 and turned on the two 24" fans on the back wall to dry it as quickly as possible. I also used a leaf blower prior to bringing it in to remove as much moisture as possible. There was much flash rust I could see, but prior to painting I'll probably wipe it down with Eastwood Afterblast which works well.

Not much to report on the NSX. It's as pristine as can be and is happily napping under it's winter cover. There really isn't much to do to it besides keep it clean, maintain it and drive it.

[redonred81]

Excellent.....What you guys do on a weekend would take most of us 3 months to do, maybe 5 for me lol .Great job guys.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Bentwheelbob

Alvin...

Not much to report on the NSX. It's as pristine as can be and is happily napping under it's winter cover. There really isn't much to do to it besides keep it clean, maintain it and drive it.

Bob, while catching up on reading Hemmings digital editions, ran across this and thought you might enjoy this:

[Norwood]

Nice work Bob, Dave and Tristan, How about a picture of the driveway under the car when you were done.

[The Boss]

I'm sure they power washed that as well - probably got off all of those Armor All half moons too.

[Bentwheelbob]

Well, most of the powdercoating is back and I am happy. The parts look really good. Still waiting on the master cylinder and inner fenders. I had them use 60% gloss on anything body related, and 50% on parts associated with the drivetrain. Honestly, I cant't tell much difference. The cost for what you see plus the MC is ~$400, which works out to a little more than $17 per part. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but it is a price that I can accept for the quality of the work and the durability. Here's a couple of pictures.

[roundportponchos]

Bob, looks great.... would love to bring Tylers 78 blue W72 down

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Bentwheelbob

I am so completely stoked...Back when I was 15 years old in 1978 I would spend summers at my grandparents in Hart County, Ky. My grandfather was a subsistence farmer and raised 5 kids on whatever he could squeeze out of 114 acres. Four of the kids were boys and they all became engineers. A Phd Chemist, a Phd Nuclear, a Masters Metallurgical, and a BS Metallurgical. Growing up they all had to share a bed. My dad was the eldest and the first to die when I was 9 in a hunting accident. My mom was a saint (and still is), but I was angry ass as a teenager because....In the summers I got sent to the farm to give me and mom recuperation time.

It was great for a young boy. I spent summers fishing the local ponds, working the hay wagon on neighboring farms, shooting groundhogs, suckering and cutting tobacco, and smoking cigarettes in the caretaker shed of the Aetna Grove Baptist Church cemetery. My grandfather John Henry Bennett was my best friend. He was also a Pontiac man. In the summer of 1978 his 1974 Catalina needed to go to his dealer in Munfordville, Kentucky for service and a tune up. At the dealership in the showroom was a gold Trans Am. It was love at first sight. I took back to the farm with me a 1978 Pontiac sales brochure and every night I would lay in bed and look at that car and try to figure out what would be required, and how long it would take, to save enough money to buy it. At the end of the summer the brochure came home with me, but eventually the dream faded away and was replaced by other dreams.

As it turned out it would take 36 years before the dream became reality. Many cars have come before it, why I am not sure. I could have bought one long ago, hard work, determination and luck eventually meant that money wasn't the issue. I have the Green Truck, Red Car, Yellow Car and Black Car, but I never really chased the Gold Car. It seems sort of like one of those facebook romances between men and women who knew each other in High School and 30 years later connected on facebook. It started out innocently, but quickly became an obsession as they remembered what they wanted so long ago.

Well I wanted a Gold Car long ago, and now I have one. It should get delivered in the next 7 to 10 days and I can't wait. ....It's got all the good stuff - Y88, W72, WS6, M21, 3.42 Posi, tilt, gauges.....It a 53K survivor with original paint and pristine interior. It needs some work, mainly under the hood. There's something funky about the dark blue paint on the intake, and the guy who checked it out for me said the right side head also was that same dark blue. We'll see, it'll be part of the adventure and I look forward to that

Here's some pics....

Bumping this OP # 1 for review of how far we've come along for the ride so far. Thxs for sharing Bob.

[Bentwheelbob]

Well, a lot got done today, but none of it big. The exhaust manifolds got a first coat of POR 15 manifold paint; the rotors got cleaned up, media blasted and are undergoing paint, and the same for the calipers; Dave continued to strip stuff off of the front subframe; and the steering linkage got broken down and partially media blasted and painted.

A couple of other things were the dust shields got cleaned up. This car is in amazingly good shape. Everything is coming apart easily, and there is very little rust or corrosion. I'm surprised at what good shape the dust shields are in, but maybe it's not that uncommon. Also, I've noticed that a lot of bolts are painted sort of a Pontiac engine blue. The bolts in the tie rod adjuster and the rear transmission mount for example. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason, but it's definitely factory.

Here's a few picture's. They'll be a few more once the painting gets finished.

[78 TA KID]

I was told by a Pontiac mechanic If the bolts were painted blue they were metric.

[roundportponchos]

Originally Posted by 78 TA KID

I was told by a Pontiac mechanic If the bolts were painted blue they were metric.

That is right

[Grand73Am]

In the late 70's, when metric fasteners were phased in, the metric ones were medium blue in color. The standard fasteners were not color coded.

[78 TA KID]

Cool just as I thought.

[Bentwheelbob]

That's kind of what we thought, but the adjuster bolt had a 1/2" head and a 13mm nut and the transmission mount bolts also were SAE. The clutch bolts were also painted and I'll check them tomorrow.

[Grand73Am]

A 12mm bolt head is very close to 1/2", so a 1/2" wrench will work on it.

[2manyT/A'S]

Metric bolts on the tie rod adjuster sleeves........interesting.....

Might be fun to compile a list of metrics used on a 78 VN build.....

Trans mount for sure....(both sides)

Remember....only 12 more bolts....and you won't have to work around all that sheet metal.....

There is NOTHING as nice as a powdercoated rad support.....