We got an amazing story to tell even if Cliff decides to remove this thread.
I can see no reason for Cliff to even remotely think it necessary to remove this thread. It is simply a work log for detailing any and all work, good or bad, done to my car.
I can see no reason for Cliff to even remotely think it necessary to remove this thread. It is simply a work log for detailing any and all work, good or bad, done to my car.
Was not saying he would. This is the most free forum by far of all I visit so I know he wouldn't. Would have been only by request by you since all the bad MAACO story will be here forever for good or bad. Glad that 98% of it is a great reference work log as you said.
Information damaging to MAACO can be removed by the OP via the edit function......
Strip the interior of your car prior to giving them their third chance!
I have thought about that, and would not like to "remove" it for say, as many of the posts refer to it, and even quote things I have said. If things turn out well this time with the car, I will probably go back and "redact" what I have said hehe. I will make notes in each post linking directly to a new post stating how the problem was resolved and such.
Yea, I think everyone is right, I need to get everything out of the car.... fun fun.... I just now finally have it about 90% done on the interior. On the other hand, I know it needs to be done to take it back up there....
Well, my car is back in the paint shop again as of Monday morning. We went over all of the paperwork as to what is to be done to the car to correct everything item by item, and then we both signed the paperwork. I printed 2 copies of everything that we then signed, so we both have originals.
I was at work when CaptnDean stopped by the storage yard where I have the parts car, he pulled the fast back clip off by himself. That was totally unexpected! Mine had a crack above the tail lights, as well as a crack over the right quarter window, so this was perfect! I did the routine 2-3 hours of removing the 30 year old caked on 3M tape from around the quarter window openings. I have done that twice now, and never want to do it again! I then gave it a good wash down, and will get it to Maaco, and they are going to sand, prep and paint the clip separately.
Actually, Maaco said whatever parts I could provide OFF of the car, he would be grateful, as it would be easier for them to paint the individual pieces and ensure they are done right. I was happy to oblige! Dean & I took off the rocker panels, rear bumper, side scoops, deck-lid and hood. I also removed all side moldings, marker lights, headlight doors, cowl, gas cap surround, tail lights, Fiero Fiberglass's side scoops, emblems, and sun roof tracks.
Many special thanks to Dean for really, REALLY helping me out with my car. I could not have done, or known how to do half the stuff without his help!
I took the replacement fastback clip to Maaco today. I do not have access to a standard pick-up truck....... but......... there is always another way to do something when you need to!
They have most of the parts ready for paint, the hood, trunk, rocker panels ect. They have started to work on the rest of the car, and it looks really good so far. I will just be relieved when I get the car back, and I can put it back together one final time.
I am taking my car back to Maaco to have it repainted.
They asked for me to drop the car off on December 1st and give them 1.5 weeks, with a hard and absolute time of 2 weeks to have the car complete and ready for me to pick up.
Today is December 15th.
I'm a little apprehensive about asking, but... What's the word?
I held them up over a week getting the rear clip to them. So I actually was the one that put them behind a little bit.
I stopped by today, and they car is pretty much sanded down and ready for a final coat of primer. They have already sanded the car all the way down, and did the "mist primer" to sand and look for imperfections. The deck-lid is also ready for primer. The hood was being worked on, as well as the rear clip when I stopped by today.
They actually started prepping the existing clip before I brought the replacement one to them. This was taken last week, since then the side scoops have been removed. They have some "Speciality body man" that is going to come in in the next couple of days to remove the rear clip. The mirrors also still need to come off.
He said the main body (doors, roof and front fenders are all that's still on the space frame) could be sprayed this upcoming Friday.
Personally, I would rather they take a little extra time, and I will let that slide. I far prefer that than them rushing just to get it done. What I will not allow is for it to be pushed aside and delayed like before. As long as I see progress on it when I stop by each time, I am happy
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 12-15-2014).]
Glad they are willing to work with you on this and make it right!
We are praying that things go smooth and the car comes out better than you expect. It would be nice for them to go above and beyond considering all the epic failures they delivered.
------------------ Please forgive my typos, I'm typically posting via cell.
1984 Indy Fiero SE Pace Car Replica #770 "SE" Stormtrooper Edition Rescued, resuscitated and reversibly modified! (I'm so not done yet!) Poly all round & Black Drag DR-34s Frt: 225/45 on 18x8 (47 offset w/ 8-9mm spacer) 1.5 coils cut off 1984 WS6 springs Rear: 265/35 on 18x8.5 (45 offset) Coil-overs w/ 10 inch 300lb springs & 7 inch sleeve
Stopped by Maaco today, and they honestly have not done much in the past week, which is kinda understandable with Christmas and all. It is pretty much all prepped, primered and sanded, and are telling me that it could be done by Friday.
At this point, I am more concerned that they take the time to do it right, and not rush it just to get it done. I have been stopping in frequently, and so far that seems to be the case.
Anyhow, I have been slowly purchasing all the electronics for the car over the past year. A new alarm system with remote start, new head unit, the windows 8 Slate for the CarPC software, a new amplifier and the speaker door panels from the Fiero Store.
As for the stereo system, I am not looking to rattle my license plate or my teeth, just a nice clean sound in the car with a decent amount of bass at a reasonable price. I think I found something that fits all of those criteria.
A slim 10" sub-woofer with very good reviews on Amazon for $115. This is the best one that I have found for a decent price, and good reviews. There are a few slim subwoofers in this size category, but the reviews on most of them are terrible!
Here is the one I went with:
Totally coincidentally, it is black and blue as is the rest of the interior of my Fiero. (It is a matching blue to my Mr. Mike's seats "electric blue" I might add!). This is a nice bonus, but NOT something I considered while reviewing different ones. I am concerned about reliability and sound far more than the looks.
I am going to put it behind the passenger seat on the firewall. The dimensions for it on Amazon's site are incorrect, as they are the dimensions of the box that it ships in. The actual dimensions are 12 1/2" high 14 1/2" wide and 2 3/4" deep.
It is probably going to be a while before I get all of this hooked up, but I will post a review of the sub woofer when I do get it installed and working, as it seems like a nice fit for the Fiero's limited space.
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 12-26-2014).]
I actually picked up that exact same sub a few weeks ago. I have not put it in the car yet, but I tested it on a stereo in the house and was pleasantly suprised with the sound. I plan on putting it in my car in the next few days. I wish you the best of luck with yours!
I actually picked up that exact same sub a few weeks ago. I have not put it in the car yet, but I tested it on a stereo in the house and was pleasantly suprised with the sound. I plan on putting it in my car in the next few days. I wish you the best of luck with yours!
Great! It is always good to hear someone post positively on something you bought, that you don't know that much about I was thinking if it was not enough, I could put one behind each seat. I would then need to find another spot to mount the amp though.....
A few weeks ago I got a compressor, and posted a thread asking for help choosing a paint gun, and got a lot of great tips and recommendations.
Well, I painted my first parts yesterday, the engine vents for my Fiero. I used a black Valspar paint made for tractors, and sprayed it with this gun. I have read TONS of reviews on that paint, and all of them are good. It dries with a nice hard finish (Mix in hardener before using). Without the hardener, it will still eventually be a nice hard paint, but it can take over a month to fully cure! I used the mixture of paint, hardener and thinner that is recommended on this page.
Anyhow, I think these came out AMAZING considering I have never used a paint gun before. I did a lot of spraying with colored water over the past week testing and becoming familiar with all of the settings on the gun, fan pattern, pressure and paint to air mixture.
On another note, I stopped in at Maaco today, and they have the main car painted. They also had the undersides of the decklid and trunk painted, and are going to do the other side along with other parts for the car in the next day or so. They say they want to keep the car another week after it is painted, as they want it to cure so they can color sand and buff it out. I am glad they are doing this, as there was quite a bit of orange peel in the paint when I looked at it today. They said they put 3 thick/wet coats of clear on, to give plenty room to cut-n-buff, and still leave a couple coats of clear for depth.
Here are a couple pictures from today's visit: (Note: It was a drizzly gray day here today, and the paint does not look so good in this light, as it reflects the gray color of the sky. It REALLY shines in the sun, and looks a deep midnight blue metallic at night.)
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 01-19-2015).]
While waiting to get the car back, I have been practicing with the new compressor and paint gun. I have been painting a lot of small parts to put the car back together with. The rear deck lid hinges and cross springs, hood hinges, nut, bolts, interior pieces ect. They are coming out really good so far. I am using Valspar's Enamel Tractor Paint. It has very high ratings for finish and endurance. None of the parts in the photo have been clear coated, that is just the black paint alone.
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 01-19-2015).]
Ok, I got the car back from Maaco today! WooHoo! Now I can start the tedious process of yet again reassembling it.... side scoops, rockers, sun roof tracks, moldings, markers, lights, hood and trunk hinges, hood and trunk, the cross springs for the decklid (Boy is THAT going to be fun!), gaskets, seals bumpers..... fun fun fun!
Anyhow, some of the main body has been color sanded already. They asked me to put the car back together, and bring it back, so they can then do the bumpers and other parts on the car. The rear bumper is very flexible, and almost impossible to lock down well to color sand and buff it out off of the car. The spoiler has been color sanded and buffed, and it looks like glass!
They burnt through an edge on the fastback clip while color sanding, and completely sanded the entire clip back down, and repainted and cleared just yesterday. So that also has not been color sanded, as it needs to cure for a good weeks first.
It was getting late, yea, not really THAT late, just the fact that it starts getting dark at around 5:00PM here now, so I will post a couple pictures tomorrow.
Ok, I got the car back from Maaco today! WooHoo! Now I can start the tedious process of yet again reassembling it.... side scoops, rockers, sun roof tracks, moldings, markers, lights, hood and trunk hinges, hood and trunk, the cross springs for the decklid (Boy is THAT going to be fun!), gaskets, seals bumpers..... fun fun fun!
It is a powered Sub. It can be hooked up wither way, to an amp using RCA cables, or with speaker wire directly from the head unit. Follow my link in the post above about the amp for more information.
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 01-29-2015).]
It is a powered Sub. It can be hooked up wither way, to an amp using RCA cables, or with speaker wire directly from the head unit. Follow my link in the post above about the amp for more information.
I thought so but then when you said this it threw me off:
quote
Originally posted by JohnWPB:
I was thinking if it was not enough, I could put one behind each seat. I would then need to find another spot to mount the amp though.....
Ahhh I see what you mean! What I meant to convey is I am putting my amp behind one seat, and the sub behind the other. If I go with two subs, I would need to find another place for the amp, so I could put a sub behind each seat.
Originally posted by JohnWPB: It was getting late, yea, not really THAT late, just the fact that it starts getting dark at around 5:00PM here now, so I will post a couple pictures tomorrow.
HUUMMM arent you a couple of days off the TOMORROW word !!!!! COME ON get cracking and post those pics !!!!
Sorry, been working, and it gets dark really early here. (I HATE this time change! ! ! ! ! !) There is not too much to see yet, as the car is all apart.
In the mean time, here is a photo of my guest room that has been taken over by car parts till this weekend. In there are the rockers, hood, trunk, spoiler and engine grates.
CaptnDean will be coming over this weekend and helping me put her back together. When it is together, I have to take it back to Maaco, where they want to color sand parts that have not been done yet, and re-check everything.
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 01-30-2015).]
Is there any concern over setting a recently painted item down on something, even fabric? The only car I had painted was painted panels on so I guess I dont know.
Originally posted by 2.5: Is there any concern over setting a recently painted item down on something, even fabric? The only car I had painted was painted panels on so I guess I dont know.
Not that I am aware of.... the parts were painted a week ago and then went into the oven. They then sat there for almost 2 weeks before I brought them home. That should be enough time to be hard enough to rest on fabric. At least I hope so! I do not see any ill effects when we brought the hood and deck lid out to install today.
Not too much progress today thanks to the Fiero store..... I ordered the rivets to install the rockers on Sunday night. I paid the extra shipping for 2-3 day. So my thought is, ship Monday travel Tuesday and Wednesday, and arrive on Thursday. Nothing on Thursday, Nothing on Friday, and nothing again today (Saturday).
Anyhow, CaptnDean came over and helped me a lot today. We were able to get the hood and the decklid on. I know that does not sound like a lot, but what a ROYAL pain it was to do the hinges / springs for the read deck lid! The tension was not the problem, it was the fact that we learned, after pulling out the Service Manual, the hinges had to be taken apart. The security torkspit screw has to be removed after the hinge is attached to the car. This way it can be rotated around, and lined up correctly.
Anyhow, here are a couple pictures.....
This is where the car is now, still pretty disassembled inside and out:
Here is Dean holding the hinge in place and getting ready to put it in:
[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 02-01-2015).]
Originally posted by JohnWPB: Not that I am aware of.... the parts were painted a week ago and then went into the oven. They then sat there for almost 2 weeks before I brought them home.
Oh you are good then, mine wasnt baked, and I actually drove it to Frazee less than week after it was painted. I was probably nuts.
