1Gb Talon Rust Revival

[Dericsh]

Is that stud salvageable? It looks beyond that point to me but I don’t have much rust to deal with in my area. If anyone can save it, I’d bet you can.

 

[Silverspyder]

Is that stud salvageable? It looks beyond that point to me but I don’t have much rust to deal with in my area. If anyone can save it, I’d bet you can.

Hard to say, but I'm going to try. what's the alternative? I'm guessing the stud is pressed into the frame like the bumper ones are. I don't see any way to access the other side of it. I suppose drill it out and tap the hole might work if the metal is thick enough, but I doubt it. Grind smooth and weld on a new stud? I'm no welder so that's out.

 

[TK's9d2TSi]

Think it should be fine as long as threads above it are ok. @Silverspyder is that the stud that’s on the rear passengers side? I noticed that was the only corroded nut holding my tank when I was back there last week.

 

[Silverspyder]

Think it should be fine as long as threads above it are ok. @Silverspyder is that the stud that’s on the rear passengers side? I noticed that was the only corroded nut holding my tank when I was back there last week.

It's the middle one back there, but the passenger side doesn't look much better, Here's a better pic of them both.

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[Silverspyder]

I woke up yesterday and chose violence. I was going to get the damn fuel tank removed one way or another. Kept working on that stuck and rusted nut. This time I used an air chisel on it to try and shake it/cut it free. Just did more to mangle the whole thing.

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As you can see, the entire thing is completely mangled. Was time to pull out the cut off wheel. Because it's such a tight area, my Milwaukee mini grinder (with 3" wheel) worked great.

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But first, I needed to seal up the tank really well. Creating sparks and working around fuel vapor makes me nervous...especially since I can't smell it very well ever since I had covid a year and a half ago. My sense of smell is still jacked a bit. I used aluminum tape and sealed up the fuel sender opening and all the hoses before I went at it. turned my garage fans on high and began cutting.

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this is what's left of this goddamn nut and stud.

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she's finally free!! The hose clamps for the return line and vent were so corroded, I just cut the damn hoses. The top of the tank is in much better shape than I would have thought considering the rest of the rear before I began this whole journey.

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Now, the messy part...grinding and wire wheeling this damn thing. Not sure how I'm going to coat it yet, but priority is getting rid of as much surface rust as possible.

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Lots of little pea-sized and dime-sized areas of rust on this thing in seemingly random spots. Nothing too terrible, but it did cause some pitting.

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Next up is treating the rust, cleaning her up and I'll propbably POR15 the whole thing for some extra protection and then probably do what they did from the factory and paint the top black and redo the bottom with rubber undercoating. I also need to get back underneath the car and por15 the area where the tank sits, since I couldn't get to it when I did it the first time. I will also use RTM's stud repair kit. I had already done it my way in the past (drilled out the studs and threaded the holes and installed stainless hardware) but the repair kit is more solid and should last forever.

 

[Silverspyder]

Today's goal was to install the stud repair kit and get the tank ready for coating. I did a bunch more wire brushing and grinding. Tons of tiny little areas under the paint with just a bubble of surface rust. I think I got them all. I made a point to get around the sending unit hole really well.

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Next up before I drilled out the new holes and shored everything up for the repair kit, I needed to flatten the top where the original studs were. When I repaired this years ago, I drilled out the studs and threaded the holes, then used stainless steel hardware from below to act as new studs. With doing so in the car, some of the old stud material was left intact. Time to get rid of it. I used a carbide burr bit on my cordless dremel. Made short work of it and smoothed it nicely. I used some aluminum tape, sticky side up to try and catch some of the crud I was creating. As you can see it did a decent job.

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I used the supplied drill guide to make sure everything was lined up perfectly for the new repair kit. If you haven't seen RTM's repair kit, the premise is to drill the holes out, with adding a couple more to then install 1 or 2 c-shaped metal pieces, which you then bolt the sending unit to. Depending on how many studs you have missing determines if you use one or both of the pieces. I had no factory studs left, so I used them both. In all honesty, this thing is such a meaty piece of metal, that I'd remove all the crappy factory studs anyway and use these. These add a substantial amount of new metal to this flawed area of the tank making it much stronger overall.

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Here you can see one of the pieces. I did a test fit to make sure all the bolt holes lined up and threaded in perfectly first. The second pic is of them both installed using the supplied button head screws. These screw into the pieces to secure them to the underside of the tank (these are completely new holes you must drill), then the remaining holes are for the sending unit to bolt into.

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I did a test fit of the sending unit to make sure everything lined up and bolted down perfectly.

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I then removed everything so I can prep for coating. I have some rust converter spray sitting around, so I decided to use it here because this is such a big area to coat. First, I washed the tank with soapy water, then wiped down with rubbing alcohol to remove any dirt and grease. I then sprayed 3 light coats of rust converter.

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It takes about 24 hours to fully cure and convert, but after 20minutes you can already see it turning the rust black. I wanted to make sure I got all the little pitted areas, so this method worked well.

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I'll let this cure all week, then next weekend I'll POR15 the top of the tank and topcoat it black. I'll also begin working on the remainder of the underside of the car.

 

[Widgmaster]

Wow..I haven't seen that product name in decades .. Mar-hyde is a great product... They also make a vinyl dye and it was the best you could get... No longer available in Canada?

 

[iugrad92turbo]

Im loving this build im doing a similar restoration to my 92.

 

[Silverspyder]

This week was all about getting the old lines removed and coating the fuel tank and underside of the car where the tank sits.

First, I removed the hard lines for the fuel return (rail to tank) and the vent line (tank to engine bay). These lines were pretty corroded and pretty much collapsed as soon as I moved them. I'll be replacing the return line with -6an teflon coated braided line and I'll probably vent the tank underneath the car in the rear using the stock valves like before.

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I decided to blast and POR15 this little shield piece that was adhered to the corner of the tank. It's also in pretty rough shape. I had to chisel off the large rust chunks before I could blast it.

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Here are some before pics of what I coated. As you can see, the underside of the car is still pretty rusty. This was after I wire wheeled and scraped off the chunks.

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After degreasing and metal prepping/etching, I went to work on two coats of POR15. Waiting about 2hrs between coats. I didn't do the entirety of the underside as there was no need to do the good spots. Next weekend I'll paint the top of the tank, undercoat the underside of the car and the bottom of the tank and shield, then install the sending unit and get it all back in the car.

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[Silverspyder]

Lots of topcoating and small details this weekend so far. Firs tthing was getting the fuel tank and accessories associated with it all buttoned up. Coated the top of the tank with a matte black and the underside in undercoating. same thing with the fuel tank shield...inside was matte black and outside is rubberized undercoating. I installed the RTM stud repair kit and got the sending unit installed as well.

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Same went for the underside of the car. I sprayed it with rubberized undercoating to offer it some protection. Looks a lot better too...now it matches all the work I did previously.

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I'm also replacing all the rubber hoses attached to the tank. Added some AN fittings while I was at it.

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The stock fuel tank drain plug was getting kinda round, and of course it's a bit rusty. I decided to source a new one as well as the fiber gasket. The bolt is slightly longer (5mm), but I went with stainless steel and it has a smaller head on it (17mm) compared to the stock plug (24mm). The gasket is a red vulcanized fiber typically used on Ferarri's...figured it was good enough for a DSM.

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Replaced the pads on the underside of the tank while I was at it.

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I POR'd the opening for the sending unit as this area can get a bit rusty as well. I needed to paint it again to match the inside of the car.

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Onto the fuel lines themselves. I am running all new -6AN fuel feed and return lines. So I got all the fitting installed on the hoses. I really like the ease of installing -AN fittings into PTFE hose. Cut hose, install the ferrule, jam the nipple into the hose and tighten it all up.

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Decided to make the fuel filter to rail line as well. Used black nylon covered line for this one to match the rest of the engine bay.

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installed the fitting for my -10AN turbo drain kit as well.

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I started to feed the new lines up under the car, but ran out of time, so I'll be continuing that tomorrow.

 

[iugrad92turbo]

Great job on that stuff man following i like the lines i have to redo my return one.

 

[Silverspyder]

Today was all about getting the tank back up under the car. Not too difficult, just kind of a pain balancing everything on my back.

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With the tank reinstalled, I could get the fuel feed line I made connected to the new sending unit.

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Next up was the cover. It's always been pretty nasty looking so I blasted it as best I could, then repainted in the stock gloss black.

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[Silverspyder]

Worked on the fuel lines this weekend. I prefer to route them using the stock mounting locations, but with rust taking it's toll on the clips, bolts and of course the new lines being bigger than the stock ones, that makes it difficult, so some time and modification is involved.
First, I installed the new filter. Love that pop of gold.

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Next up was taking care of the clips that hold the lines clamps/looms onto the underside of the car. I blasted them, primed and painted black. Most of these were in pretty rough shape. I also modified the plastic line separators to accept the bigger lines, but retain the stock brake line. Since, I was removing three stock lines and adding two new (larger lines), it was fairly easy.

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I used the stock mounting locations in all areas, except one near the tank here...the one on the top is the stock location, the other I used a self-tapping screw. Just BARELY enough room to route the new lines under the new mustache bar.

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Here are a couple of other mounting locations with the modified clips.

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[Bedicine]

Worked on the fuel lines this weekend. I prefer to route them using the stock mounting locations, but with rust taking it's toll on the clips, bolts and of course the new lines being bigger than the stock ones, that makes it difficult, so some time and modification is involved.
First, I installed the new filter. Love that pop of gold.

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Next up was taking care of the clips that hold the lines clamps/looms onto the underside of the car. I blasted them, primed and painted black. Most of these were in pretty rough shape. I also modified the plastic line separators to accept the bigger lines, but retain the stock brake line. Since, I was removing three stock lines and adding two new (larger lines), it was fairly easy.

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I used the stock mounting locations in all areas, except one near the tank here...the one on the top is the stock location, the other I used a self-tapping screw. Just BARELY enough room to route the new lines under the new mustache bar.

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Here are a couple of other mounting locations with the modified clips.

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Nice work, what bracket is that holding your fuel filter. Did it come with the filter?

 

[Vegas Smith]

Nice work. So cool to see parts being restored and protected for further use.

 

[Silverspyder]

Nice work, what bracket is that holding your fuel filter. Did it come with the filter?

That's the OEM bracket. You can look way up the posts somewhere to see where I refinished it and see the old condition of it.

 

[Silverspyder]

Finally finished up the fuel lines and got everything reinstalled and where I want it. One of the stock bracket location bolts was completely thrashed from years of that bolt being broken underneath the car. What I ended up doing (drilling it out would have been a HUGE hassle) was drilling a new hole slighter to the left of the old hole(which isn't even a hole anymore) and using an m8 RivNut to secure the modified bracket I made above.

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With all the lines firmly secured to the car from the tank to the front wheels, it was time to fish them up into the engine bay. I used the same routing as the stock lines and just followed the brake lines into the engine bay. I ended up securing the return line to the rail using the existing bracket to hold it to the firewall.

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Next up was reinstalling the wiring to the top of the FPSU. I'll be venting the tank using the stock valves, but will be routing out the back of the car instead. You can see one of the valves here.

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Now that I have the entire fuel system re-done, I wanted to just get some stuff off my garage floor and back onto the car and maybe get this damn thing started one of these days.
I reinstalled the battery tray after a thorough cleaning. You can also see where the new fuel feed lines come in from the right. I have it terminated with a 90 deg elbow feeding into the bottom of the filter. This method just barely clears the new shifter cables.

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Next up was getting the stock fan and the radiator hoses back on. they also needed a thorough cleaning. The J-pipe was also installed too. All with new clamps/hardware.

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Next was FMIC and bumper. My FMIC was filthy so i gave it a good cleaning. I'm not one for polished end tanks and what not, so I just cleaned her up really well and got her back on. I also used compressed air to blow a bunch of crap back out the front.
Before:

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After:

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Installed with bumper:

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Headlights and sidemarkers were up next. This reminded me that many years ago, one of the side marker mounting tabs broke off on me. I made a metal plate and secured it on either end. It may not look super pretty but it's solid as hell and doesn't budge at all.

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installed: Heat shield re-installed on the exhaust manifold too.

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Before putting my IC pipes back on, I wanted to address my stock CBV...I forgot to take a picture, but I wanted to change it from the old copper color I painted it a few years back to something more in line with the new color scheme. You can kind of see the old color here under this thin coat of primer.

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Decided to paint it gold to add another subtle pop of color to match the new fuel filter.

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I've got all new LED bulbs coming this week to change out the lights on the front end...then I'll continue putting her back together...

 

[Silverspyder]

Getting a lot of little things done today to hopefully get her back together and get her on the road a bit this season...

today, I started with the intercooler piping. Getting it reinstalled. It's been so long, it took me awhile to remember the exact orientation of the piping.

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Broke several t-bolt clamps. I've never had this happen before, let alone 3 times! Good thing I had new ones sitting around.

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I also replaced all the lights up front with LEDs...including the headlights. If you need to know bulb sizes: headlights (low beams) are: 9006 bulbs, sidemarkers are: 168 and blinkers are: 1157NA

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I reinstalled the battery as well...Odyssey battery.

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Then, the intake with UNI filter.

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I then spent some time shortening the turbo oil drain line to make it fit perfectly.

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[Widgmaster]

You have to be proud of all this work brother. Your bay looks very clean...You are an inspiration to us all. Thanks for sharing

 

[Silverspyder]

You have to be proud of all this work brother. Your bay looks very clean...You are an inspiration to us all. Thanks for sharing

I appreciate you saying that, thanks brother!

 

[Silverspyder]

Going over a lot of the small stuff lately just putting the car back together. I went over the fuel lines again from tank to engine bay just to tidy things up and make sure they are securely fastened to the underside of the car and not in the way of any moving parts...especially in the rear.

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I then swapped out the oil drain plug with a magnetic Greddy unit and while I was under there I noticed the NPT plugs for the spare oil housing ports were looking nasty af, so I replaced them with new 3/8" brass NPT plugs. I replaced the oil pan a few years back so it's still looking pretty.

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Next up was cleaning and reinstalling the inner fender liners with new hardware. I ran out of time before I could get the smaller forward pieces installed. That'll be next up.

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[Silverspyder]

A little of this and a little of that this weekend. Still getting the car put back together. Got all the fender liners/bumper supports installed. I'm using all new clips as the stock ones are pretty janky at this point. I like these ones as they are more flush and give a more "clean" aesthetic.

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Since I got those on, I could put the front bumper cover back on too. She's starting to look like a car again.

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I needed to reinstall my coolant overflow can as well since I attach it to the passenger side front fender liner. I have a write-up on this install somewhere on this site if you're interested.
First, I needed to get it cleaned up again...

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It's tucked up under the air filter

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Next up were the two rear fender liners...no matter how much I scrubbed, they just never looked clean and has a brownish tinge to them since they are 30yrs old. I had them installed, but it didn't look right with an all new rear.

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So, I decided to put a couple coats of undercoating on them so they'll match the rest of the wheel well.

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I think they turned out pretty well.

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Here's a pic of the rear-end as she stands now.

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I then moved on to the interior. I had the center console all torn apart so wanted to get that and the new shifter all taken care of. Little did I know, if you want to use the stock center, you need to modify it slightly as the shifter linkage on the shifter base itself will rub.

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Carving out a notch on both the lower and upper sections of the center console was simple enough.

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There was no way the stock shifter boot collar was going to work here, and I did want to use the stock one, so I simply cut a slit so it would fit over the new shifter and used a black stainless zip tie to keep it in place. I think it turned out looking pretty clean. Looks almost stock and absolutely no binding on the console or anything now.

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I had a brand new e-brake switch sitting around, so while I was had the center console all torn apart I wanted to get it switched out too. Only one screw and one connector.

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