500_19B's Bugeye resurrection

[T-Steve]

Everything is looking fantastic. I sometimes forget how great WRB can be.

Even the little alloy coolant tank is cool. Thanks for showing all this stuff.

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[DrTrae]

Heck yeah, that's all looking great. I'm contemplating recovering my headliner and sun visors in black, and painting or dyeing all the plastic bits black. We'll see..
Did your fenders have the holes for the JDM side markers already, or did you cut them in?

[iafyock1]

That looks like it has come a long way!

[500_19B]

Thanks for the comments!

As for the JDM side markers, I had to find a replacement fender, and I ended up with a pair of fenders from a JDM car. I like the additional side markers, but I would not have cut fenders for them.

Have not had much time for the bugeye in the past couple of weeks due to other tasks. One of which has been doing rust repair on my nephew’s ‘07 Legacy Spec B, so at least one job was Subaru related!

Anyway, I finally had some time to work on the bugeye on Sunday and started with cleaning the driver’s side rear door glass. This window had remained in the door shell when it went to the paint shop in the lowered position, and stayed there until just recently, when I hooked it up to raise it to install the door handle etc.

I now realize that the shop did not seal up the door shell very well when painting, and I could feel a lot of overspray on the inside of the glass. I had to clean it away with a razor blade, which was time-consuming, but not difficult.

However, I then saw an area on the outside of the window with highly visible scratches:



It is hard to fully capture it in photos, it looked quite a bit worse in-person.

I am certain that these scratches were not on the window before, so I am not sure when they happened. That said, I was a little disappointed and worried that I would have to find a replacement window.

First, I decided to try the Eastwood glass polishing compound, which I had used before on a very minor scratch in glass, and it did work. I was afraid these scratches might be too deep though. The kit from Eastwood includes the compound (in the form of as dry powder that must be mixed with water), a backing pad (around 2.5 or 3” in diameter, I think) and the pad, which is some sort of dense mat.



For this job I needed the oomph of the rotary buffer.



The compound is much more abrasive than polish for paint, so it was necessary to completely cover the car in thin plastic sheeting to make sure none of the residue would end up on the paint. I left a little opening for the area I wanted to work on.

I used the polisher at 1000 RPM and started working. One must keep the polish damp and the glass cool. At first, it looked like I was not getting anywhere, but I kept at it and after quite a long time, I could see it was getting better. Eventually I was able to get it pretty much perfect. Although this was most of the afternoon on Sunday, I was happy with the effort and result.



With not much time left after that ordeal, I just added in the new window “felts” and the new door seal.



The inner guides ("felts"?) were in pretty good shape (replaced them anyway), but the outers were more “used”. Here are the new and old outers for comparison.



It was easy to pop off the outers once the inners were unbolted.
Popped on the new door seal. I could feel the difference between the new and old seal. They are kind of expensive, but I will replace the other three too, just will space out the purchasing.





So, one window is properly cleaned and had new guides. I expect I will have to clean the other of overspray in the same way, but hopefully I won’t find more scratching to deal with.

[monkeyposeur]

Cool, I've need that part number for those felt guides.

I have only tried at a junkyard so I didn't care if I destroyed it, but it is hard to get those door belt molding pieces of without bending or breaking them. Any tips?

Edit: Also, did you tig or mig weld that quarter panel on? I'm doing a sedan quarter conversion on my bugeye wagon and seeing how people are going about it.

[500_19B]

The part numbers for the window glides are:

Outer: 61256AE010

Inner: 62304FA001

For those side trims at the base of the window on the outside, after bending one, I realized an alternate way to remove it was to gently pry the end cap off and then I was able to slide it out and then get those clips off after.

I MIG welded the quarter in. I would probably have TIG’ed it if I still had a machine available at the time. I used to make custom bicycles as a hobby business and I had a very good Miller TIG machine, but I sold it when I moved as the new place did not have the necessary power. I ended up with a small Lincoln 110 V MIG machine for “around the house” work, so this is what I ended up using for the quarter. I had a lot more experience with TIG, and it gives you so much more control that I figured it would be my preference given a choice. However, after doing the quarter and now the rust repair on my nephew’s car with the MIG set up, I am not so sure…

On something like a bicycle frame (especially a custom one, made with high strength, thin tubing etc.), the weld cosmetics are very important (naturally the mechanical quality of the weld is too). On a car body, either way, you will be doing some finishing (sanding, glazing etc.) after welding before painting, so the cosmetics are not as much of a hurdle, but distortion of the sheet metal is the bigger factor. If a panel takes a wave, it will take a lot of work to get it out, and you may not be able to get behind the panel with a dolly everywhere to boot.

In many cases, you put less total heat into the workpiece with MIG as you are melting the filler (which is also the electrode) in one end of the arc (not on the workpiece), and the parent metal (i.e., workpiece) in the other end. In TIG, you are first melting the parent metal with the arc, and then dabbing the filler metal into the molten pool, where it melts (so all the heat FIRST goes into the workpiece). However, the reality is that working carefully, one can control the heat in either method.

Although TIG has precision and control advantage, the plus for MIG is that it is super easy in any position. This became apparent to me when I was working on areas such as the butt seam on the bottom of the rocker: I could just lie on the floor and weld, one hand holding the torch and using the second hand for steadying. If I were to TIG that joint, I would have needed to figure out how to work the foot pedal and how to dab the filler in from that position, which I think would have been quite a bit harder than TIG from a more conventional position. The pedal issue could be solved with a TIG torch with hand control for amperage, although I have no personal experience with those, but I think they lose some of the fine control you get by dividing up the different tasks between hands and foot.

There is no right or wrong answer, but knowing what I know now, I would only choose TIG if I had good ways to get the work area (height/angle etc.) set so I could get a comfortable position to work the pedal and feed the wire.

The ultimate would be if one had a multiprocess set-up.

[monkeyposeur]

Thank you for the detailed response!

[500_19B]

A lot of extraneous stuff has been going on.

I unexpectedly found myself in the hospital for a few days. Thankfully all is OK now but I am behind on everything.

Prior to all that, I had finished up the welding on my nephew's car and was starting on the finishing glaze and primer. This weekend we will get back into that, and then hopefully finish the painting next weekend.

The job on the 911 is almost finished. While the rocker arms were out, I sent them to be re-bushed and to have the shafts polished. Now I am part way through putting it all back together. All the hard part is done, it is just reassembly.



In between all that, the poor bugeye has not been getting as much attention as it should. However, have managed a few little items.

Finished up routing and clipping in the front wiring harness and put the horns back on.



At the same time, got the front markers in place.





Previously I had installed the rear wing, but I subsequently noticed an area on the rear trunk lid where my polishing job was not up to snuff. The only way to properly deal with it was to removed the wing again, address the trunk lid and reassemble. A lot of work for seemingly no progress! Anyway, I also now have all the little details on the trunk underside (wire harness clips, bumpers etc.) all finished too.



With the main power steering lines now in place, I finished tightening the new hose clamps, but in the new sealing washer and put the weird plastic spiral back in.



Yup, very little progress! But, better than none I guess.

[D-Rodman]

Beautiful work, your car is going to be a gem.


Sent from my iPhone using NASIOC

[500_19B]

Finally got the 911 work finished and it is running great, which is a big fat check mark for the “done” column.



Also finished the paint work on my Nephew’s Spec B Legacy, so just polishing and reassembling left for this weekend.

So, I should be able to put more focus onto the bugeye for the next bit.

Started to tinker on a few items during this week.

Got the wiper arms refinished and installed. Used the 2K satin clear that I used on a lot of the underbody parts, and it turned out pretty similar to the original.





Also got the harness support bracket behind the battery spruced up and reinstalled.



The rain gutter trims are back on.



I painted up a bunch of other things in preparation for reinstallation, some of which I will get to this weekend.

[DrTrae]

Awesome! Everything is looking beautiful.

[500_19B]

This weekend was not too bad for progress.

The focus was getting the collectors, crossover, up-pipe and turbo back in the car.

Aside from new gaskets and hardware, I had previously painted the collectors etc. with VHT exhaust paint. Not the most high-end option but should be better than nothing.

The collectors and crossover were assembled first (as per the FSM), but the bolts were left slightly loose in case things needed to slightly settle in place when bolted to the engine.



This part all went OK except for the mistake of not putting the passenger side upper heat shield on first. Found out that it cannot be installed after. Eventually (after the up pipe was done) all of the heat shielding was added on.





After that was cleared up, next was the up pipe. I had previously found a Grimmspeed unit in nice shape. It was the version with ceramic coating. Also decided to add a Thermal Zero blanket for increased heat shielding.



Putting the up pipe in was OK, but I had to make sure the inner mounting bracket was pretty loose (I had originally torqued the bolts for it).



Next up was the turbo. Along with the turbo a new lower coolant hose was added in. I had a high-quality steel reinforced oil hose (the one in blue) hanging about, so that was subbed in for the oil return hose that connects to the bottom of the turbo.



Getting the turbo into place with the hoses properly connected was the usual awkward job where smaller hands would be useful, but we got there.

Things are starting to fill up back there. Still must add in the oil feed line and water hose from turbo to tank (upper).





Amongst that job, also found some time to get the freshly cleaned washer tank back in place:



And finished putting in the power steering reservoir with new suction and return hoses. Primed the pump by hand, and will add more fluid before start-up, but aside from that, the power steering system is all done.

[D-Rodman]

Everything looks beautiful


Sent from my iPhone using NASIOC

[500_19B]

Thanks!

Trying to push harder on this, as it is taking way too long!

That said, just when I think it is going to be easy, something ends up taking way longer.

In this case, it was the turbo oil feed line:



I thought it would be a matter of minutes to throw in the nicely reconditioned item, but it took me more than an hour as access is really tight (and I had to partially take apart one of the up-pipe support brackets and the lower coolant hose). Anyway, it is on now, as is the coolant hose from the tank to the turbo. Now it is just the boost controller and downpipe missing from that corner of the engine compartment.



I originally had planned to replace the front O2 sensor just to be certain, but when I saw how much they cost (and combined with how easy it is to access), I decided to re-use the old one. We shall see if that is a good idea or not.





Then switched gears to some of the trim items. I started to replace the front window felts when I noticed that one of the attachment bosses on the window pane was corroded. I decided to take the glass out so I can remove the rust, and then I will epoxy prime and paint them for protection. Actually, once the glass was out, I could see it was only really one of them that had rust. I also took the passenger side window out, but there was not really rust on any of them, but I will paint them anyway now that the glass is in my basement.





The front window gussets had actually been replaced a few years back, so they are in good shape, but I did the usual painting on the metal parts for added protection. Of course, now that the front glass is out, I cannot install the gussets for now.



That pretty much took up the amount of time I had to work on the car, I just finished up by putting the door closure switches back on.

[500_19B]

This weekend included some other tasks for family members, but I found a fair bit of time to work on the Subie.

That said, the work was pretty fussy, so the progress is not so amazing.

When the car was in the accident, the upper trim that arches over the windows, A-pillar and C-pillar was damaged. I had assumed I would just replace it, but then I saw how much they cost (close to $400 per side) and realized I should try and repair.

Here is how it looked after the accident:



I had to straighten it at the bottom, but there is a heavy plastic insert bonded to the bottom on the inside, which made it difficult to straighten. Plus, it is aluminum and soft. Eventually I got it close to straight, but still needed a skim of filler.



I decided to paint both sides with satin 2K clear. Masking it was tedious, as there is the rubber edge all along the top side, but eventually they were ready to paint.



The satin clear is a little glossier than the original (I think), so if I had it to do again, I would choose the matte clear. However, I think it looks OK and if we really want it to be matte later, then matte black vinyl wrap material could be added.

Prior to paint, all the plastic screw grommets were removed, and I put new replacements in to ensure the screws would be tight.



The refreshed trims look good, I think.





Here is the side from the accident, which looks much better. If you look really close in the light, the contour is not perfect, but it is very close.



At the same time, the metal mounting bosses on the windows were painted.



After that, I managed to get the windows back in the doors and put in all the new window felts on the three remaining doors I had not done yet. Now the glass is firmly in position and travels smoothly on the felts.

[DrTrae]

So cool. I'm definitely going to have to do the same thing to my doors and trim when I get to that point. Both of the trim pieces on my car sort of pop out at the bottom.

[500_19B]

Took a week to travel to Nova Scotia to watch my son's team launch their rocket at Maritime Launch Canada. The launch went well... it was a two-stage design and it reached 45,000 feet.

Got back Sunday night and thoughts returned to the bugeye.

The new engine compartment fuel hoses, damper and filter are all in place. All of this is new, but just OEM. Attaching the hoses to the hard lines by the brake booster was difficult, but eventually got them all on fully. If I had known, I would have waited to put the brake booster and master cylinder back in until after I had the fuel lines!





In between, the upper window seals and B-post trim panels went back in.

[500_19B]

This weekend we put in the new water pump and timing belt/rollers etc., which I think is the fourth time for this car. However, this is the first time doing it without the A/C condenser and front-end bodywork installed, and it was very nice!



The AC compressor went in next, just mounted so far. Must get a bit of PAG oil to lubricate the O-rings before connecting the lines.





With the AC compressor in place, the alternator could finally go back in, so the front of the engine compartment is getting pretty full again.





The cooling fans etc. on the original radiator were looking pretty ratty:



Super-cleaned everything and painted the motor housings with the 2K epoxy primer etc. and reassembled to the Koyorad radiator.

[500_19B]

During the week, where I have the odd bit of time here or there, I am slowly working on prepping the exhaust.

I have a Blitz Nur Spec cat-back (purchased in 2004) which is in pretty good shape with the exception the the forward flange on the mid-pipe:



The downpipe is an Injen unit, but it was partially crushed in the accident. It is probably still usable, but I am going to replace it.



The Blitz mid-pipe necked down to 2.5", but with a 3" downpipe, that obviously is not optimum.

When I measured the Blitz main pipes and the downpipe, it became apparent that the downpipe tube would sleeve into the Blitz tube.

So, I cut the bad flange off of the mid-pipe and cut the flange and straight section of tube from the downpipe:



And the two do sleeve together really well.



Will use a sleeve band clamp, at least at first. Depending on how it works, I may subsequently weld it.

Now I am working at restoring the cosmetics. The mid-pipe is starting to look better, but I still have quite a way to go. It is something I will just chip away at in between other work.



The rear pipe/muffler will also be done, but it should go quicker as it is pretty bright as-is, so I will not have to start with as coarse a grit.

[500_19B]

OK progress this weekend. Not as spectacular as I had hoped, but not bad either.

The main item was getting the front part of the engine room close to complete. Rotated the engine a few times by hand to verify the belt timing, set the small belt guides to the right distance etc. and then put back on the covers and torqued on the crank pulley.



Next up was the condenser and connecting the AC lines. As it is, I am short one size of O-ring so there is still one connection to go.



Then the radiator went in. Added new OEM hoses for good measure, but I used some other clamps that I prefer.





A few little details also done in the driver’s side rear area, such as a new brake booster hose and putting in various small clips and stuff related to hose and wire routing to get everything back to “original”

[CNY_Scooby]

I'm always looking forward to updates on your bug eye. What have you been using to clean up the exhaust pipes?

[500_19B]

Originally Posted by CNY_Scooby

I'm always looking forward to updates on your bug eye. What have you been using to clean up the exhaust pipes?

I purchased a set of sanding/polishing discs & backing plates from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0B3MJSJ7T?...t_details&th=1

This kit can be used with a drill. There is a 1/2" thick foam interface pad, which I am using between the backing pad and the abrasive disc (which helps conform to the round tube). I used the 240 grit on a few areas that were rougher to start, then used 400 on the whole part and then started progressing up the grit range from there. The picture was taken after I finished with the 800 grit (not using water or compound, just dry).

I plan to continue progressing through the grits (the finest sanding pads in the kit are P10,000). After that, I will switch over to wool pad and then foam pads. I am not sure what compound(s) I will use. I probably will try Meguiar's metal polish first and see how I like that.

When I get to that point, I will post the results I get.

Thanks!!

[500_19B]

Worked on a lot of small details and continued cleaning up old bits to put back on, like the airbox upper etc.

The final small coolant hoses are in, and the airbox/MAF are back.





Also finally got the one remaining O-ring I needed to complete all the AC connections.



Went through the front underbody area to check torques etc., as most jobs get done over multiple sessions so it is easier to miss something.



Started to put the boost control solenoid back in. This was it when it came out:



Now the bracket has been restored and all the hoses are new, but still the original boost solenoid.



I had been back and forth on this dozens of times, and I had pretty much decided to just use the old one (which still functions) and see. But then I saw a bit of a deal on a new one from Japan (10% sale until August 1st) and decided to just get it. that will take a few weeks to arrive though.

[500_19B]

Been continuing with the exhaust. For the mid-pipe, I sanded to P2000 and then switched over to an old wool pad with the big rotary buffer. For the compound I used Mother's Mag polish from the local Canadian Tire store.

I got it to a level that I was OK with. It is not mirror-perfect, but decent enough:





Next up was the rear pipe:



In the accident, the muffler section did get a shallow dent and some scrapes:



Not going to worry about the dent, but I did want to get the scrapes mostly out.

Used an aggressive P80 disc and eventually they were mostly gone.



Then started progressing up through the grits and I am at P1000 now. Still a ways to go, but getting there.



The aluminum heat shield has some galvanic corrosion near the holes. At first I though to replace, but I was amazed to find that this piece costs $66 up here in the great white north! So, I decided to use some high heat epoxy and thin aluminum sheets.



Stage one is done, now I will put in the holes and slots and then glue a second layer from the inside.

[500_19B]

Messing around with a lot of small stuff that has been time consuming.

FINALLY happy with the parking brake adjustment. It turns out I made an error in the assembly on the passenger side. I let the upper stay come out of position at some point while installing the shoes and did not see it (it was almost in the right position). The result was that the brake would not apply equally (the equalizer would move more on one side than the other) and I was not able to get a short lever travel within the adjustment range of the nut at the lever, even with the shoes adjusted to be slightly rubbing the drums . It took a while to figure out what I had done wrong, but once corrected, everything adjusted up perfectly.

Catching up on small details not yet done, such as the rear ABS sensors (I had to get one new replacement.).



The exhaust shield repairs are done. For the center shield, I had it re-plated (yellow zinc), but there had been some corrosion between the double layer of sheet metal at the end. The corrosion was removed in the plating prep, but that area in between was now not really protected (there is not much of an electric field in a closed space), so I sealed the edges with epoxy. I decided to paint both the aluminum and the steel shield with the same high-heat paints I used on the collectors and crossover.



Also finished the clean-up on the rear muffler.



The scrapes are gone, and just the shallow dent remains.



Like the mid-pipe, it is not a perfect finish, but I am pretty happy with it.