[FUZZY]

Just added the new billet rear license frame that I made in the shop. Wanted something different that would go with the paint scheme. Went with the tear drop design for the back up lights.

Also my new wheels came in last Thursday from Newstalgia wheels. Talk about being disappointed when I opened the boxes. Wow, I couldn't belive my eyes that these top of the line rims were of such poor quality. The rims were very dull, had 400 grit sand scratches the were poorly polished over, pitts in the material, nicks from a slip of the polisher, and weld splatters on the inside and outside of the wheel surface. In my opinion rejects (close to junk). I don't blame Newstalgia (as I have made them aware of the problem about the company that produced the wheels. They have reponded in a prompt manner and are customer satisfaction oriented), but I do blame the company that produced these wheels. I have written them two letters of complaint, to two different people, so far with no reply. I'm not going to mention the companies name any more until this matter is settled. I've given them plenty of time to respond, so I did the next best thing, which was, to take them out of the boxes and resand each and every part with 1000, 1200, 1500, and 2000, grit wet paper, then compound polish the aluminum to a shine, Jewelers rusche them to a deep shiny finish (the way they should have been for the money), and finally hand polished with some Flitz metal polish. After 16 hours of labor and $50.00 in materials, they are now acceptable enough to put on the SSR. At this piont that company is not getting credit for the wheels, but instead I will apply a custom made SSR applique in the center caps in place of their brand name.
A company that is supposed to be the top of the line product in the market place that releases this poor of a quality product, and no reguard for customer service and satisfaction, doesn't deserve recognition on my display board at the car shows.
Perhaps it's my perfectionist attitude towards my workmanship that makes me insist on the perfection from others as well. Especially if I have to fork out good hard earned money for that product.

 

[Flassh]

Fuzzy,

Great job on the license plate mount.

Congrats on the photo win - didn't mind coming in second to your craftsmanship.

Sorry to hear things didn't go SMOOTHLY with the wheels - definitely not what I would expect from a premium product.

Mine are on the way from Colorado to Newstalgia to be mounted, and I'll call them tomorrow for a heads up on their condition. Should have them in a week or so, and I'll let you know how I made out.

Went the same route with polished wheels for my Sonoma - took them out of the box at the tire shop, and went home without mounting the tires - it was a lot of work to make them look good, but I started with $200 Eagle wheels, not premium 600 - 800 wheels.

I went the full meal deal on these - paid extra to have the sides of the spokes and the back half of the hoop taken to full show polish - that should at least eliminate the weld splatter.

I'll post photos when they are mounted.

Ray

 

[Flassh]

Details under the hood

Last weekend's project - repainted under the hood - too bad GM didn't make a couple more passes with a spray gun - would have been a lot less work.

Redid the engine cover, fuse panel cover and the alternator. Waiting for the Vararam intake to become available before deciding what else to do.

Did two show this weekend - surprising how much interest there was in the bits under the hood.

Ray

 

[wildcat66]

Love it Flash, Who mixed the color? It looks right :thumbs On.


Noticed you didn't paint the prop rod?? Why not?

 

[Flassh]

I'm waiting for next winter - taking it and a few other bits off to have them chrome plated.

Paint was mixed by the local NAPA store.

Ray

 

[living2be]

Hey Flassh....where did you get the chrome inserts for the engine cover?

 

[Flassh]

I was going to let you guess for a while, but---

They are made of 3/16" #5356 aluminum welding rod. I cut them to length, used a grinder to shape the tips, and polished them.

They haven't worked out as well as I thought - so far. I epoxied them into place, and they looked great at first. I had the SSR to two shows this weekend, and it appears the epoxy didn't like the heat of the engine area - the epoxy is gradually letting go.

I will attempt to reattach the loose sections with a metal weld epoxy - hopefully that can withstand the engine heat better.

I originally wanted to drill, tap and instal small studs into the rods, but ran out of time to get it done, and tried to take the quick and easy way out.

Ray

 

[FUZZY]

Rods

Flash,
I had the same idea, but also ran out of time. I will have some time again this next week (no concrete to poor or bobcat to run), so I'll try to accomplish them again.

 

[Flassh]

Hey, Fuzzy

Let me know how you make out - the rods look great, and got a lot of attention at the show, but they aren't holding very well. The paint was cleaned with plastic prep, and I scuffed the grooves, and used 80 grit paper to scratch the backside of the rods. They held great until the heat got to them. I'll try high heat JB weld next.

One hint with the rods - the number markings are every few inches on the rods, but all in the same line - make sure you polish the opposite side. I also had to stay with the hard buffing wheel - tried the really soft one for a final buffing with rouge, but it grabbed the rod and turned it into a pretzel.

Ray

 

[FUZZY]

engine cover

I worked on the engine cover rods today, as well as the polished strips for the air box.
I did drill and tap the aluminum rods, to run M3-.50 x6 button head machine screws from the back side into the rods. I drilled about 90% through the rod and tapped it as far as I could with a regular metric tap (couldn't find a bottoming tap anywhere in this town). This is very tricky and shouldn't be attempted by those who are not machinistly inclined.
I am still working on the minute pieces for the Vortec letters and sweeping circle design. These will also be polished aluminum. These are quite intricate, so they may take a while. The first piece of the sweeping circle took me over an hour to create and polish, but it fit perfectly and looks great. will work on more tommarow.

 

[living2be]

I worked on the engine cover rods today, as well as the polished strips for the air box.
I did drill and tap the aluminum rods, to run M3-.50 x6 button head machine screws from the back side into the rods. I drilled about 90% through the rod and tapped it as far as I could with a regular metric tap (couldn't find a bottoming tap anywhere in this town). This is very tricky and shouldn't be attempted by those who are not machinistly inclined.
I am still working on the minute pieces for the Vortec letters and sweeping circle design. These will also be polished aluminum. These are quite intricate, so they may take a while. The first piece of the sweeping circle took me over an hour to create and polish, but it fit perfectly and looks great. will work on more tommarow.

Your ride gets sweeter and sweeter looking Fuzzy! I worked in a machine shop for many years Fuzzy and also found bottom taps hard to come by so I learned to make my own. If you have a grinder with a fine grinding stone, just take a tap of the size you are using, put the tip straight into the stone and grind away the tip until the starting threads are gone. You will have a beautiful bottom tap! Try not to overheat and burn the end while you are grinding.

L2B

 

[FUZZY]

Vortec letters done

Spent most of the day hand carving the vortec lettering and the sweeping circle designs for both sides of the engine cover.
Talk about hard to handle with out burning or grinding off some fingers. These pieces are very intricate and tiny.
Once I had them fitting properly, I polished them and set them aside.
Decided to sand and reclear the palstic pieces in the engine bay. They had a little too much orange peel the first time around. This time they turned out beautifully. :thumbs
Tommarow I will reassemble the billet pieces I made, and then reinstall them in the engine bay.

 

[JeffDBFl]

Excellent job Fuzzy. Can't wait to see it in person. :thumbs :thumbs

 

[Flassh]

OK, Fuzzy

You win - your polished aluminum letters trump my red paint. :lol

Redid mine over the weekend - drilled and tapped the aluminum rods, used 2-56 allthread and nylock nuts - much better than the first attempt with epoxy.

I won't even try the metal letters at this stage - upper management indicates I've been neglecting my yard duties.

Ray