ohh boy am i glad this one got an update!!! :thumbsup:

Nice tools.

Nice job on the door hinges Mike.
Sorry about the damage and paint issues, but like you said now you and address some things on the firewall.
Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year!

Thanks guys.

Well it's been a while since I last updated. Haven't been in the shop for a while. Had a block off with the girls out of town a while back, but ended up with a sinus infection and -25 celcius (without windchill) weather made me not want to head out. Well the girls are gone again and I hit the shop.

Thought I'd get the other door done. Weld on hinges gone

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010397.jpg

Template from donor door

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010398.jpg

Template in place

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010399.jpg

Holes marked

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010400.jpg

Drilled some holes

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010402.jpg

Then out came the die grinder with cutting tip

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010401.jpg

After about 20 minutes of sounding like I was at the dentist

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010403.jpg

Before I put the door on, I thought I would rebuild all the hinges first. So had to take the passenger side door back off and did all the hinges.

Here's what you need to rebuild each pair of hinges (one side)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010396.jpg

For those that want to rebuild their hinges, here are the part numbers from Classic Industies

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010390.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010391.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010392.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010393.jpg

First thing I had to do was grind off the ends of all the pins

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010386.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010387.jpg

Once all the ends were ground off, I used a hammer to pound the pins out. They cam out pretty easy. Once all the pins were out, the new ones went in. It's pretty straight forward though.

Before rebuild

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010388.jpg

Rebuilt

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010394.jpg

Decided to replace the spring arms. Since I don't have the tool GM used to split the end of the pin, I decided to weld it in place

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010404.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010405.jpg

The passenger side hinge is pretty basic. You just replace one pin. In the picture that has all the parts, you'll see that the pins have brass bushes on them. The one with the same size bushings is for the passenger side. The one with the different size bushings is the driver's side.

The rebuild of all the hinges went really smooth expect for the driver's side with the spring. It turned out to be quite warn out. I didn't want to get a new one though, so I decided to fix what I had. First I had to run it through the cabinet blaster to get the rust off it. I then noticed that the area around the bushings were quite warn.

One of the holes wasn't that bad so I was able to put the bushing in and run the pin though. This allowed me to figure out where the bushing was supposed to sit on the side that was really warn out. You can see the area around the bushing where it's warn.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010410.jpg

Broke out the welder and built it up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010408.jpg

After some cleaning up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010415.jpg

The pin fit nicely. Hinge back together

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010416.jpg

And it works

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010418.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010419.jpg

Called it a night there.

Also made a new purchase recently. I had a 2007 Nissan Murano that I was selling privately. I got a call from a dealership claiming to have a potential buyer and wanted me to bring it in so they could see it. I thought "what the hell, I'll humour them and see what they have to say". Well they got the last laugh. I left that day with a 2011 Ford Fusion. I know I know....it's a Ford. But it's get mid 30's for fuel economy. Can't argue with that. Plus full leather package, awesome stereo, sunroof, etc. It's a really nice car.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010380.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010382.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...P1010383-1.jpg

Nice work Mike!


I've had the Fusion as a rental car a couple of times and really liked it!
Like it way better than the FBI Crown Vic I had for the Grand National Roadster Show... that thing drove like a real POS.

Awesome progress :cheers:

Thanks guys.

Time for an update. Not a huge update, but it's one none the less....and as always lots of pics.

I've wanted to make some 2x4 wheel stands for a while, just needed to actually do it. So I did. The back ones are 18" x 16" and the front ones are 18" x 12". I wanted to add extra boards on the ends just in case the car ever rolls. Here's how they turned out.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010454.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010457.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010458.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010453.jpg

I originally put 2x4's on each end of the front stands but thought it would be better to use some 2x6. Looks better.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010468.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010467.jpg

I also picked up a couple new tools. Aluminum floor jack from Costco. It was only $100 so we'll see how it holds up.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010463.jpg

Also got some rubber pads for both floor jacks

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010466.jpg

The other day I got a surprise in the mail. I got an envelope from the dealership where I bought my Fusion. I opened it up and to my shock, it was a cheque for $1000. I went online and realized that they had a $1000 cash back offer during the time period when I bought my car. So I thought I would treat myself. I've wanted to get a new tap and die kit for a while so I picked up the Irwin/Hanson 76 piece. I forgot to take a pic so this is taken from their website.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ie-set-895.jpg

Well enough of that and onto the progress on the car. I decided that it was time to work on the filler neck. Damn it has taken a while to get it all into place. Here's some pics of how it progressed.

When I first got the Ridetech filler neck with their gas cap, I noticed that down tube was set off to a slight angle to accommodate for Camaros. I wanted mine to go straight down so I ended up cutting it so it could be welded on straight. I took it to a local welder and you can see the butcher job they did on welding it back together.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010420.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010423.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010436.jpg

I decided to use 2" exhaust for the filler tube going through the floor

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010422.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010427.jpg

Test fit going through the floor

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010438.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010441.jpg

Once I got the angle where I liked it, I started to fill in the holes in the floor

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010452.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010451.jpg

This allowed me to put the bottom of the tube on and finish it. The tab sticking out is going to be welded to the floor to make it more sturdy once welded into place.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010482.jpg

Once I had that done, I found out that I cut the hole in the floor too far forward. So I had to make a patch. Since the area where the patch was going was rounded, I used a round piece of steel and a body hammer to shape it.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010474.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010475.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010477.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010480.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010471.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010473.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010481.jpg

And here's an idea of how it will look in place. What would you guys suggest that I do to the inside of the filler tube to prevent it from rusting? I'm not sure if I should paint it or not as it will have gas running through it, but I want to try and stop any rust from coming while I complete the car.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010484.jpg

Here's how it will look from the back. The bumper will cover it up

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010487.jpg

I also realized that I have never posted any pics of the Ridetech filler cap in place. Here's a few

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010443.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010444.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010445.jpg

I also bought a couple new parts. First thing I got was a LS3 valley cover. I was reading another thread that was discussing PCV valves. I checked my current valley cover and found it doesn't have a pcv tube on it. So I checked ebay and found a 2011 Camaro take off valley cover for $15.95. With shipping it cost me $50 but still a lot cheaper than buying a new one. I also ordered a Norris Motorsports PCV catch can. Should be here next week.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010428.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010429.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010434.jpg

Here's the one currently on the motor

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010432.jpg

I also found on another thread where someone bought some cup holders from a poker supply store. I really didn't like the size of the cup holders that I have, so I checked a poker supply store. I picked up 4 stainless holders for $32 shipped. I can't fit a pop bottle into the new ones, but cans and the bottles of water that we buy fit, so they will do

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010459.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010470.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010469.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010460.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...9/P1010461.jpg

We're heading to Vegas (yes again...it's just so cheap to go) on Monday so I have a couple new parts waiting for me at the border. I've got new valve covers and my serpentine kit waiting. The nice thing about getting the serpentine kit out of the way is the only two big items I have left to buy is the gas tank and the radiator. It's very very faint, but I can actually start to see the light.

Yaya for Tim Hortons! haha