12 year olds and cars - Kathryn's Fiero (Page 17/175)
blackrams JUN 13, 11:37 AM

quote
Originally posted by michhiker28:

Second, we have Kathryn registered for the site, but her approval to post just came through this morning. I am sure that you will be hearing from her in her own voice soon. I know that she is excited to share with you all.

\-MH



Glad she had a great birthday but, what's her screen name? I may need to ask her some information on how to do some things. Is she available for a couple of jobs? I've got a couple of Fieros that need restored.

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Ron

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 06-13-2011).]

michhiker28 JUN 13, 02:22 PM
She should be posting soon...under the user name of Kathryn.

--MH

Wait till you see her seats Blackrams, she did an awesome job on them this weekend....with some help from Dad.

michhiker28 JUN 13, 09:51 PM
As promised, here is a couple of updates

We had a good birthday, I have to tell you that Kathryn was almost in tears reading through all of your well wishes and notes. It meant a lot to her, and as such it meant a lot to me, so once again thank you.

She ended up with a number of nice presents, some books, movies, nail polish, etc., but a lot of fiero parts as well. Including new carpeting, caliper paint, some tools and tool box, DIY STU dew wipes, powder coater, etc.

Some new Timken wheel bearings all around and seals


A wonderful gift from the folks at FieroFiberglass who are letting her pick a set of custom quarter panels!
She was absolutely speechless!!!!


A set of LED marker lights from Danyel and the Widow!
Her biggest fans in Canada!


A big box of suspension components from Rodney Dickmans...all new ball joints, and a rear strut for the back deck.....nice.


And some nice new shiny exhausts!


Finally, some nice new Mr Mikes seat covers, console cover and firewall cover


Overall, a pretty good birthday!

--MH
michhiker28 JUN 13, 09:56 PM
Once you have the parts of course you have to do something with them.....So Saturday morning it was time to get started. Kathryn decided to do something easier first

So the first thing up was the install of the Mr. Mikes console cover.


That didn't take to long and made for a very nice result.


Then on to the firewall cover


That was a bit trickier. You really need to stretch the cover to get it tight and get out the wrinkles. Kathryn did a pretty good job and Dad helped, but still not sure that we did as good as we could. This might get redone yet again...We'll see. Of course once she got that far she was curious to see what it would look like mocked up with the console and the firewall and then with the console, firewall and the seats.





Not bad for a days work.

--MH
michhiker28 JUN 13, 10:06 PM
Then for the last two days we have been working on the seats, or I should say, Kathryn has been working on them with Dad's help. For those of you that have been considering a Mr. Mikes kit, let me just say you should have no hesitation. The product is top notch in quality, the instructions are easy to follow, and Kathryn was able to do a lot of the work on her own. The first seat Dad took the lead on, the second one Kathryn did most of the work on.

First thing to do is to strip down the old seats, so a good time to use the new tools.


Then you have to cut into the existing seats so that you can expose the wires that need hog ringed.


Then you have to turn the seat covers inside out so that you can install them. Here Kathryn is doing the turning....


Time for some new foam to build up the seat a bit.


Tada, here is the first seat bottom or cushion done.


Finally, you need to reassemble the seat back and the cushion.



You end up with this when you are done. That is the first seat done. Then you need to work on the second seat.


Here Kathryn is hog ringing on the new cover. A bit of hard work to find the right places and a lot of arm strength for a 13 year old girl in order to attach the rings, but she managed it.



And then reassemble the second seat


And that is as far as we have gotten through tonight. The seat tracks need to go back on now. We will be down working on her car again tomorrow night. Finishing the underlayment on the floor, and probably starting to pull some suspension pieces....and doing a bit of sandblasting.....the project continues. I am sure that you will all be hearing from Kathryn shortly.

-MH
miketria JUN 13, 10:58 PM
Kathryn, you are truly lucky to have a dad like you have. And you guys are doing some pretty awesome work and I am totally jealous of your color scheme as it is incredible. Anyway, happy belated birthday and keep us posted!
michhiker28 JUN 14, 09:35 AM
Quick question for the group....

Is it better to paint the car with the panels on or paint the panels off the car?

-MH
Danyel JUN 14, 09:51 AM
It all depends ... for the Widow it was all panels off ... most members here do it panels on which is easiest ....

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My build Thread
http://www.tylerstoy.com

fierofool JUN 14, 09:57 AM
If you're changing color it's probably best to remove the panels so that all edges and underneath fasteners will be painted. You can better mask the back sides to reduce overspray, too. You'll need to pull off all the aero trim pieces anyway. You could leave the top and rear clip on the car. The front portion of the top is difficult to remove without breaking the A pillars, and the rear clip requires a bit of work.
michhiker28 JUN 14, 10:51 AM
Sounds like panels off is the best approach, since she will be doing ALOT of sanding and a color change...the car is kinda black now, since the PO rattlecanned a lot of it...so all of that needs to come off, and then the car underneat that is red. Panels off, Sand, Sand, Sand, and prep, then paint then panels back on! Got it!

-MH