Photos Unboxed: Sealing The Engine Bay
Due to unforeseen circumstances and my father’s death in June 2019, the AE86 project took a bit of a hiatus; we put the build on pause until we felt it was right to get back at it. It wasn’t until we returned from Japan in September until we started to move on with the project again. I was hell-bent on getting this thing finished, but life always seems to throw a curveball when you least expect it, and it reminded me to slow down and enjoy the ride.
In early October, we started moving on the project again with the shell sitting in Flip’s shed in limbo after we painted the bottom end and sealed the inside six months later. With the bay in primer, we began sanding it down to get out all the imperfections.
Flip used a high build primer to smoothen out any imperfections or give it the best shot. It was such a nice feeling to see all these shades of misery get coated with that primer grey. It felt like real progress after sitting as a bare shell for over two years.
Once we primed the engine bay, we started sealing it up to get it ready for the final coat of paint, the final colour that would live on this thing for the foreseeable future. I can’t begin to explain just how excited I was to see this moving.
We also gave it a quick interior scotch and aired it out with the compressor to find as much of the sandblasting sand as possible.
I’m blessed to have sound mated that know what they are doing that are willing to help on this build. Otherwise, I would lose track of certain aspects of it, from what sort of primers to use down to how we can execute the ideas I’ve had in my head.
Once we had the shell aired and prepped, we left it in good company and let the seam sealer do its thing.
Sometimes it is nice to step back and take in the situation, building my dream car with my mates, surrounded by the most fantastic vehicles you could ask for. It’s something il never take for granted.
I hope you enjoyed this little ramble and accompanying photos. I’m going to be posting a lot more of these over the next few months.
Cheers
- Neil