<VV> Turbo Odyssey Part 17 -- Trimmings

[Norman C. Witte]

This post may be viewed on-line at

www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/17.htm

My brother Rich and his family were in town from Tennessee for the week of
the Fourth of July, so not too much happened on the car until today. It is
some consolation that I got this nice picture of Rich and Sharon's daughter
Baylee:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7387.JPG

While we're at it, I also got this picture of my daughter Caitlin:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7346.JPG

But enough about cute kids. On to reaaaally important things, like car
parts.

When I disassembled my bumpers I noticed that the middle three brackets were
painted body color and the rest were black. I suppose this is because from
certain angles the middle three brackets can be seen. So all the brackets
except the front three center ones went to the powdercoaters to be coated
ink black.

As to the three center brackets...

When the car went to be media blasted, all the doors were removed. They were
then painstakingly reinstalled and realligned. Unfortunately, the trim
castings were not on the quarterpanels. When the decklid was reinstalled, it
was aligned with the ends of the quarterpanels, which was of course about a
quarter inch too far forward. I did not notice the misalignment until I
installed the rear grille behind the rear window. When I closed the engine
lid for the first time, the front corners of the deck lid made two nice
divots in the fresh paint of the grille. Since there were a few other paint
touch up issues, I figured the brackets might as well be painted.
Here are the painted brackets:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7556.JPG

Some more "before" and "after" pictures. Here is the exhaust system I
removed from the car:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7553.JPG

I bought a new exhaust system from Clarks and sent it to JetHot for their
ceramic coating. The idea here is that the ceramic coating will prevent rust
and keep heat inside the exhaust system. This will increase boost and make
the engine run cooler. Here is an "after" shot:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7553.JPG

Here is a picture of the rest of the system:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7555.JPG

Today I worked on getting the trim around the windshield header installed.
This was challenging. The most difficult part is getting the trim installed
in the correct order at the top frame corners. I think that the best order
to follow for late convertible header trim (which I did not follow) is as
follows:

1. Center trim top trim piece. This is the broad trim across the top of the
header.

2. Inside "A" pillar trim (these are plastic).

3. "A" pillar foundation trim. This is a flat piece that has goes under the
stainless channel that holds the "A" pillar weatherstrip. Three screws hold
the weatherstrip trim and the foundation piece in place. Install the
foundation trim only with the screws temporarily.

4. Header corner trim piece. This is the piece pictured below:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7559.JPG

It slides down into place over the header trim, the foundation trim, and the
"A" pillar interior trim. It does not do this easily, especially if the
windshield reveal or the "A" pillar weatherstrip channel have been
installed.
5. Windshield reveal trim, rear view mirror, visor pivot/top catches and "A"
pillar weatherstrip channel.
All of this trim gets strip caulk behind it.

This was the task for today. Despite the fussiness of it it went reasonably
well. Having this trim installed makes a dramatic difference in the look of
the car:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7560.JPG

Next I worked on installing the passenger side window. It's a thankless job,
but if finally got it properly aligned. That done, I installed the fuzzies
(also from Clarks) and called it a night.

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_7561.JPG

The driver's side regulator is missing one of its little plastic wheels, so
I will have to come up with a fix for that.
And since I am in the mood for off-topic pictures tonight, here's a picture
of a really sweet tuner:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/TU-9900.JPG

I think I've done enough damage here. Later.

Norm Witte

www.wittelaw.com/personal