Elan #2, "Whitey"

[Candles]

I am suffering the same problems. When I first got the car 4 years ago, I spent 4 months rebuilding the rear suspension. At the same time I painstakingly scraped, brushed sanded and stripped the entire rear end of the chassis. I then repainted with 2 coats of smooth hammerite grey to match the rest of the chassis. Finally I coated with clear waxoyl so I could still see my handywork. I look under there now, and despite having been stored for many of the intervening winter months, it all needs doing again.

Now I am working on the front, which again has been partially addressed before, I'm going for: Wire brush/sandblast, followed by jenolite rust remover, followed by paint then a thick coat of either dinitrol wax or waxoyl. I appreciate this will stone chip and wear off but I'll just redo it as needed.

It is a f****** pain in the arse. Even the new driveshaft I bought, having been laquered and clear waxoyled is rusty as hell after only a handful of drives in the winter and then (unfortunately) storage for a few months. This will be getting the full works as well.

My hands are filthy but the Wilwood kit is beautiful!

Candles.

[Candles]

I could of course, stop whineing and just move somewhere hot!

[nitroman]

On my old car I learned the ropes. Once cleaned, I first went the clear laquer route and that still eventually rusted after a year or so. After using Boeshield T-9 the old-car is still entirely like the day I did it over 3-years ago. This is on the same part that rusted when laquered.

BTW I have learned that T-9 can also be used on painted surfaces and does not leave behind a streaky residue like the former "clear" wax I used which demanded lots of buffing. It is also great for the underside of the car because it cuts through oil & road-tar with chemical ease. Like the can says it is a mixture of waxes, lubricants & cleaners. It really does replace a lot of other products in my "tool kit" and I always use what works best, so using one product for multiple things is saying a lot for me.

BTW Boeing is located near Seattle, Washington; which is darn near the rain-capital of the United States, so they probably know a little something about humidity.

[GeoffSmith]

Matt,

Do you have a list of all the stainless nuts and bolts (incl. sizes) you used on the red car? If not, is there any chance of you starting one to share with us all?


I'm still interested in getting some of this T-9 stuff as it looks like it does the business, but the only UK link I've found to date is:

Marine Technology International Ltd.
122-126 High Road
London NW6 4HY
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7692 0830

Has anyone this side of the pond used it or found a supplier?

Geoff

[nitroman]

Costas, your generosity in getting me an oil-pan was not for naught. I dropped the subframe tonight, took out the offending bolt holding the tranny-cover on, removed the cover, removed my perfect-pan & replaced it with the one you provided, then bolted-back the subframe. Pretty good huh? I had to be ingeniuous finding a place to solidly support the car while doing all this.

Dave Meyers, how did you prep your pan before sending it to Jet-Hot? Did you remove all the paint first? What about the red-sealant, and if you did remove that, what did you use?

Thanks, Matt

[nitroman]

Like Nessy & Bigfoot & other such things, I have actual photographic evidence that a non-dented Elan oil-pan truly exists. Judge for yourself.

[Doug]

Matt, I thought that JetHot does the media blasting themselves, so I don't think you have to prep it at all to send it.

[nitroman]

They always chemically treat to remove oils or anything which will immediately affect their product from adhearing, but media blasting in reality is a crap-shoot. I have gotten pieces back which obviously where not done. When pressed on the point I actually had a salesman tell me "the better the surface condition of the part the better the result you'll receive."

I think every "technician" is under pressure to turn out as many parts as they can, and media blasting takes a long time. Even though they have a lifetime guarantee, it is of little comfort when you an item rusting through from within. If they had removed all rust in the first-place that would never happen.

[Sy V]

[Doug]

[Doc Fizzix]

Matt

You are going to have to top this one

[nitroman]

Not trying to top you Doc, just glad to have a good example to work with as even the car I just bought had a run-in with something. The pan is an interesting design with 2 stamped-steel pieces dropped one into the other then crimped on the edges; I suppose to increase its chance of survivability in an encounter with a foreign object. This I never knew.

I'm having mine finished in Jet-Hot sterling to match the exhaust. The only paint-scratched on the pan came when I had the 5 front-pipes fabricated for other people and they scraped the tubing against the paint on the pan when getting the fit right on all those pipes, so I'll not be doing that again! The JH coating will survive that sort of thing and allow me to polish it out using metal-polish, as it is much thicker & tougher than paint.

Sy, even post-picture I couldn't see those dents even looking from every angle under the light but I did notice 3 dimples where they put an intentional press to keep the "double-hulled" pieces of the pan in alignment. Two of those dimples do show in the picture but the 3rd does not. They are all straight in line marching across the middle of the pan.

[Doc Fizzix]

Not trying to top you Doc,...

You know I am just having a little fun with ya

I just got all my heat sheilds back from Jet-Hot, they look great!

[nitroman]

If you didn't think keeping the electrical connections on your boost-gauge transducer (red-thingy in the engine-bay, or gray cover on an S2) clean, consider that I took mine off, replaced it with new hose and cleaned both the ground & main connection and now the gauge moves VERY smoothly & in a linear, understandable way. I had thought maybe the gauge on this car needed a lube job! It used to move in a very herky-jerky way such that I knew I could not rely on it. Now it is rock-steady even at the most minimal boost.

Use metal polish instead of a file or wire-brush. I used to clean connections that way but it removes too much metal. Also metal polish leaves you with a nice shiny and smooth surface. Get a polish with SOME actual abrasive, not just a chemical cleaner like Mother's. I use Eagle One & although I'm not claiming it to be the best, it satisfies me as it has never scratched anything & saves me hours of work by requiring far less rubbing than Mother's.

[nitroman]

I changed the oil for the 1st time today on this car & forgot to remove the right wheel until I had the car jacked up, then it hit me. No harm done. Whoever put on the oil filter last time used a gripper & partially indented the filter. It sure was on there tight. It's good to have that area all cleaned-up and back to snuff. Now I have to change the oil on the Lincoln tomorrow. If you've ever seen the inside of a surface then you'd change your oil VERY often, as it sure will coat the inside of parts with a black filmy residue if not changed often. Mobil 1 will get dirty fast once you switch over to it as it cleans the deposits left behind by other oils.

Got everything boxed up to send to Jet-Hot... man are they gonna make some money off me this time! Well, living in FEMA trailers there in in Pascagoula they can use it. They are getting over 30 parts from me and I had to make a custom-end onto the 6-foot long box. Good thing FEDEX ships that size & weight & will pickup from my door.

I am sending in the whole thermostat housing all the way to the block (2 pieces) for coating which have been glass-bead-blasted. I removed all 3 electical fittings and will finally play with the fan-switch since I have to remount it anyway. I'll try the middle-grade 1st which comes on about half-way up the gauge for 10-degrees Fahrenheit as this will keep the car from getting too hot while still allowing the fans a rest.

Wait until you see my car with all the new shiny parts though!!! This handles about 95% of it and the rest will go later once I've removed it off the car with the incoming piece. Some of the parts from the old car I will not coat as they have too nice a factory finish.

[Costas]

Costas, your generosity in getting me an oil-pan was not for naught.

Glad I helped ya even that bit. I am always here for anything you may need in the future.

Costas

[nitroman]

Stinkin' pictures. Now stop harpin' on me!

[GeoffSmith]

[Doc Fizzix]

What is up with the other red one in the garage?

That is not the old crashed Elan, did you get another?

[Ashaman]

If it aint', its got some awfully funky white decals on the side & a strange roofline!