Category: Progress
Bumper Update 9/7
Last night I sanded the main bumper down and shot everything with a coat of black semi-gloss.
Bumper Update 9/5
Last night’s progress: cleaned with Acetone, primered, and bondo’d. While I had everything out, I filled in the holes on the driver’s door, scuff-sanded the softtop hardware, and got as much ready for paint as possible.
Bumper Progress
After Finn went to bed, I used the evening to wire wheel the rest of the bumper. This section went a little faster because I wasn’t dealing with as many compound curves, but there were still a few areas I couldn’t reach with the angle grinder. After taking off the rest of the high spots, cleaning it all up with the flap sander and wire wheeling flat areas, I covered all of the welds, angles, and unsanded sections with a liberal coat of POR-15 and let it sit overnight.
Tonight it’ll get a rubdown with some acetone and then a coat of etching primer; while that’s drying I’m going to mix some Bondo together to fill in pinholes and other imperfections.
While I had the POR-15 open I put a coat on worn sections of the soft top bows and hardware. Tonight I’ll scuff it with some sandpaper and get it ready for a coat of paint as well.
Mirrored.
I got a little time this afternoon to drill some holes and tap for screws, and the result is a side mirror that I can actually use:
It’s about freakin time. The whole setup is really set up for a more upright window pillar, so the final angle I wound up with pointed the mirror outboard and upwards. I wrapped the end in a rag and bent it with a pair of channel locks, and wound up with something useable. While I was at the hardware store I added one of those little rounded puck mirrors for blind spots.
Update: Here’s a shot from the driver’s seat.
Small Progress
With Finn’s help, I was able to pull the new bumper off and replace it with the original on Saturday. I also mixed up a little bondo and filled some of the larger holes and valleys on the swingarm, as well as the exploratory divot I made in the bondo skim on the driver’s door.
The mirror came in on Friday, and it looks great; I shot the mounting bracket with primer and let it sit to dry. I need a #107/5mm steel bit to drill mounting holes, and then I can tap them for the included screws.
While I was out there I also took the soft top bows apart; they’re looking rusty and beat up. The lever bracket is the worst, so I hit it with the flap sander. All of the mounting bolts are stripped, rusty, and worn, so I picked up stainless steel replacements at the store. When I wire wheel the bumper I’ll hit the ends of the bows themselves and then POR-15 everything that’s bare metal; then I’ll shoot it all with the same semi-gloss black I’m using for the bumper.
Thinking about Jen driving the Scout got me to thinking; the RPM band is a lot lower in Peer Pressure than it is in our Honda, and it would be great to have some indication for shifting (instead of by feel). Tiny-Tach makes a tachometer that installs simply by wrapping a wire lead around one of the spark plugs and grounding the other; it’s a little ugly but the price is good. Plus, there isn’t as much guesswork with installation as with a mechanical tach.
Bumper Progress, and a Tune-Up
Mama gave me a much-appreciated mental health day today, so I went out and got a bunch of stuff done on the Scout. My main goal was to get the bumper sanded and prepped for paint. It’s been a few months since I mounted it, and the bare metal has been indoors for all but two rainshowers. I took the swingarm off and attacked it with a wire wheel and flap sander:
Then, after I’d got into every crevice and crack I could reach with the angle grinder, I hit all the welds, oblique angles, and areas I couldn’t reach with POR-15.
While I had the brush in hand, I coated the frame reinforcements and a bunch of other small areas that needed attention, as well as the shoulder belt mounts that were welded in to the rollbar.
After that had set and tacked for a few hours, I hit the whole thing with etching primer:
Then, because I had the time, I did a bunch of small projects that were on the list, including a set of new wires and plugs (something I’ve been meaning to do since I bought the truck). This is what I ended up with:
They’re Champions. I replaced them with Autolite 85s. I’ll be curious to pull a few next spring and see how they look compared to these. The wire set I used was Belden/Federal Mogul 700259, and it was perfect.
I drilled four holes for the front legs of the rollbar and put in new grade 8 bolts. Luckily, with all of the hardware I’ve been purchasing over the last year, I had exactly the bolts, washers, and nuts I needed without going out to the store.
Finally, I did some exploratory surgery on the driver’s door to see how/if I could mount the OEM mirror I have sitting on the shelf. The measurements I took for Mike don’t line up with what I’ve got at all; the plate welded to the inside of my doorskin is shorter than the one on my spare in the garage, and mounted rearward by about 4″. So I’ve got two options: a new set of Ranger mirrors like Mr. Scout has, or drilling and tapping a new hole in the plate and one in the door for the mirror I’ve got. Either way, I’m going to have to skim some Bondo over the holes from the old one.
Update: Peer Pressure was running choppily and the exhaust stank of oil after the tune-up, so i figured I hadn’t seated one of the plug wires properly. After work today (I drove her in three days this week) I popped the hood in the garage, grabbed my Leatherman, and reseated all eight wires. This time I pulled the rubber covers back, made sure I saw the connectors click onto the head of each plug, and pushed the cover back down. Voila. She started right up, idled smoothly, and runs better than she did before. Problem solved.
Posted on | | Leave a Comment on Bumper Progress, and a Tune-Up | Posted in Bumper, Progress, Repairs
Lugged.
I picked up some basic lug nuts for the tire carrier this morning. Last weekend I got 10 minutes and cut one of the three bolts off the mounting plate (the one that was angled inwards) and test fit the spare; it’s tight but it will work.
Mr. Scout is going to bring my original bumper standoffs back from Chestertown this Friday, and I’m going to swap out the new bumper for the old so that I can put it on some stands and get it cleaned, encapsulated, primed, and painted. I have to pick up a little bondo and some JASCO Prep and Prime from the ACE this weekend. It’s supposed to etch the metal, encapsulate and convert surface rust into a zinc oxide finish. Then a little bondo work to fill in any holes, some basic sanding, and then etching primer.
Edit: Jasco Prep and Prime isn’t carried by ACE anymore, or Lowe’s, as far as I can tell. It shows up in searches on their website but it’s unavailable for web purchase. My local ACE tells me they can’t order it from their warehouse.
Shoulder Belt Install, Part 2
Done. With the right bolts and the correct angle mounts, things went smoothly. New 1.5″ bolts went in the top mounts. I put new 1/2″ bolts in the floor for each of the outside anchors, and one on the driver’s side for the receiver mount. The mount on the passenger’s side was not set up with a welded nut underneath; I reused the bolt, lockwasher, and nut in place.
The receiver stalks are tall, but I wish they were about 2″ taller. I’m going to find some kind of bumper to stick on the back of each stalk so that they don’t scratch the side of the console.
The belts fit perfectly across the shoulder and snug across the waist, and feel just right.
Shoulder Belt Install, Part 1
Update 2021: the original vendor for my belts isn’t selling them anymore. I found another vendor here with a comparable belt, sold individually. The key is the 12″ stalk for the female side of the belt, which should be tall enough to stick up over the edge of the seat.
This weekend I carved out a little time to mock up and test-fit my seatbelt mounts. First, I consulted with Brian about his setup to see what he’d done. His solution was to use the rollbar feet to mount the takeup reel and drill a hole into the face of the step to put in the other side of the belt. The loop obviously went in over the shoulder on the rollbar.
My setup needed to be a little different, because the rollbar I’ve got is mounted differently than Brian’s. The plate that mounts his rollbar has four bolts going down into the floor, while mine has an L-shaped plate that mounts on top of and in front of the step. So I have to use the two bolts on the face of the step, which isn’t a big deal:
I’m going to reuse the original mounting position for the lap belts on the floor, because the hole is drilled through one of the structural crossmembers under the tub. I found out that the bolt currently in the driver’s side is too short, so I picked up a longer one to replace it.
As for the shoulder loops, I’ve been through about four different bolts trying to find the right fit. I originally bought plain and flanged 1″ bolts to use here, but the flanged version was too thick to allow the plastic cover to fit over the housing. 1″ didn’t seem long enough, so I went back to get 1.5″ bolts this morning to replace them both. I also had to buy a 1/2″ fine-thread tap to clean out the driver’s side mount; the welder burned a little too close to the edge and blobbed up the threads.
I’m waiting for the rest of the mounting kit to arrive, mainly just for the angle brackets so that I can put in both receiver stalks. Here again I’m going to use the original mounting points for strength and safety. Once this job is done, I can start disassembling the bumper and get it cleaned up for paint; I got caught in a summer shower this morning on the way to work and I don’t want it rusting any more than it already has.
Posted on | | Leave a Comment on Shoulder Belt Install, Part 1 | Posted in Progress, Repairs, Seat Belts