Monday, August 29, 2011

Don't angle grind your leg, and an Ode to Door Hinges

Angle grinders are not the best choice when exfoliating your shins.  Just saying. . .



I read this write-up about the Lexus SC400.  This is not a car I have ever given a lot of thought about in the past.  I used to think they were boring, pedestrian and slow compared to say a Trans Am of the same era.  But after reading that article, and going out and looking a bit, I have to say that Lexus is truly worth a second or third look.

Reference the door hinges.  That article goes on about them.  And yes, it's pretty silly to be geeked up about a pair of door hinges.  But you really do have to see these things to believe them.  I have no idea what posessed them to do this, but it's cool.



These hinges weigh about 5 or 6 pounds each.  And they were built to withstand the apocalypse.  No kidding.

Your usual door hinge is a simple tab and rod affair, with maybe a spring (maybe).  If you've ever owned a 70's or 80's era GM coupe (like my old Monte Carlo), then you know that door hinges are just not up to the job in these old cars.  I think the doors on that Monte Carlo dropped two inches the minute you pulled the latch.

Now the hinges and doors on my Camaro open and close like brand-new.  They just haven't been used enough to have worn out and sagged.  But they will.  So I'm giving some thought about retro-fitting these Lexus hinges in.  Just a thought.  There's plenty of room behind the fender for them, and I don't think the fabrication needed would be too tough.

If not, then I'll just keep them and use them somewhere else.  I know it's dumb, but it's kinda fun to look at them and think about how someone in this day and age would ever build something indestructible like that.  It flies in the face of everything this society is about.  And if they built the rest of the car like that, I am going to have to get one.



Now, onto the actual restoration stuff I did this weekend.  I received my POR-15 starter kit on Friday, and began prepping one of my A-arms and the transmission crossmember.  Prep was easy.  I took all the old scale and undercoating off the A-arm with a wire wheel (hence the shin).  Then it was just a matter of spraying on the Marine Clean, letting it sit a bit, then rinsing it off.  After that, I let it dry, and then applied the metal prep solution which left the piece looking like this:



After that, I just brushed on the POR-15 and let it cure.  This stuff is supposed to be pretty tough, and it seems like it.  I was careful, and didn't get it all over the place like I usually do with paint.  Solvents and strippers won't do much to this stuff once it's cured.



Once the POR-15 was well-cured, I hit the A-arm with a shot of Rustoleum Professional Enamel.  We'll see how that holds up.  But once it's done, it sure makes those old parts look much, much better.


Just for laughs, the crossmember.

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