12 year olds and cars - Kathryn's Fiero (Page 24/175)
ARKaiser JUL 11, 12:31 PM


or maybe
hookdonspeed JUL 11, 05:37 PM
eh, ignore this, was trying to suggest a plate, but just didnt look right lol

[This message has been edited by hookdonspeed (edited 07-11-2011).]

rambozotheclown JUL 11, 09:04 PM
after the LS7 swap, you could use RMBL BEE... lol
BlackEmrald JUL 11, 09:13 PM
I'm 18 and am jealous of the access you have to parts and equipment, Kathyrn!

If I had what you have, My car would be so cool like yours!

I hope you appreciate all your dad is doing for/with you. Many of us never had that kind of time with our dad.

It's going to look sweet when it's done! Congrats and stick with it!

------------------
1986 SE V6 Auto. 114K miles.
1995 F-150 4.9l Straight 6, Port and polished head, oversize valves, mild cam.

dobey JUL 11, 10:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by rambozotheclown:

after the LS7 swap, you could use RMBL BEE... lol



Probably a thousand Dodge Ram owners trying to get it already.
montage JUL 12, 02:44 PM
Just simply awesome!! Congrats to you Kathryn very impressive and belated B-day. I had tears in my eyes reading this and way to go dad. I hope my son has as much gumption as you do taking on this task and more importantly keeping up with it. I have an 88 formula waiting for him. I will definitely show him this thread and hope he gets some of your enthusiasm...again totally awesome! Oh and kadoos for the members support they are a great bunch!
michhiker28 JUL 12, 10:31 PM
Hey all, thanks again for all of your support of Kathryn, special thanks for helping her to find a plate that she might like.....a little less thanks for trying to help her convince us to give her more power...lol! I think we have setttled on a 3.4pr with a more aggressive cam. We'll see where we end up. Anyway, after another good night working on the car I promised Kathryn I'd post some pics for her. So here we go.

As Kathryn has been saying she has been doing some sanding....she has done a bit and has a lot more to go. Here is where she was the other day on the back decklid.




She managed as you can see to get the spoiler off on her own.


Its in good shape but needs sanded and repainted like the rest of the car.

Some of the other pieces she has worked on at home have been the passenger side rubstrips....cleaning off all of the old rattle can paint down to the plastic and then prep for paint.




So we started to take the lower bumper off and found this some rust. So Kathryn needed to clearn that up and wire wheel it







We also got the carpet out of the trunk, and look at the cool holes we found!





and of course there is the obligatory rust on the parts of the undercarriage back there. It wouldn't be a Michigan car without a little rust cancer.




And we needed to encapsulate the front end and spray it as well.
At least this metal was just surface rust and easily fixed.





Of course a big part of the reason that we wanted to let Kathryn do the project was so that we could spend time together....and we have accomplished that. But it was also important that Kathryn learn some new skills, we figured that this would actually be a cheap graduate course in so many things. We figured that she would learn:
Painting
Body Repair
Interior Repair
Hard Work
Dedication
Commitment
Etc.


Tonight she started to learn a new skill and something she has not done before. WELDING!

So here are some photos of her Uncle Bob giving her her first welding lesson.





Of course as you can see from the photos she was pretty nervous from the noise and the big sparks...lol, but you can't learn from 10 feet away sooooo.



It is important to get a little bit closer, and then....it is time to solo







And here is the result of her first attempt.



She's learning a lot!!!

-MH
blackrams JUL 13, 09:00 AM

quote
Originally posted by michhiker28:

And here is the result of her first attempt.



She's learning a lot!!!

-MH



I've got to be honest here, that bead looks better than some I've put down in the past. Keep up the good work! Excellent, Just Excellent!

------------------
Ron

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 07-13-2011).]

kathryn JUL 13, 09:49 AM
okay wielding looks terrifiying lets just put it that way at one point i had pressed my back all the way against the sand blasting cabinet.
i was doing just fine until i'd hit the points where big sparks would come out of no where and make me jump so i felt pretty good when even with a hammer the metal pieces wouldn't come apart so....i just hope that in some way or another i can get my car to stick together.
thanks for keeping up but just a before the hand warning i'll be leaving sometime tomorrow and will only be back not this saturday but the next one.
so there may or may not be updates. but i will try and get on to just say hey, so just warning you all nothing interesting will be happening for just over a week.
-kathryn
MadMark JUL 13, 01:09 PM
Kathryn:

Welding is an art. With the start you have it looks like you could become a very good welder. By art, I mean you cannot read a book to become a good welder it takes an inate skill combined with practice. Keep practicing and you will do quite well. As you get more used to the welder and the arcs that it generates you will appreciate what it can do for you. One caution is to make sure you are well covered so that your skin is not exposed. Somehow the little weld sputters find their way onto your skin if you don't take care and the light from the welding arcs can give your skin a serious burn similar to a bad sun burn. Of course make sure your eyes are always protected. I am sure that your dad has taken all of these precautions, but it probably wouldn't hurt to hear those cautions reinforced by someone else.

Have a great time.