Pearl white coupe revival

[ottawa coupe]

Well, heard something today that could very well kill this whole project.....

Supposedly the rules for safety inspection are changing in the new year and they are going to be insanely strict. They say that if the car is not 100% stock, then you're not get a license plate. 100% is an impossibility of course.

So now i gotta decide if i just toss primer at the bare metal, throw it together and get it thru before the rules change or slow it right down and wait till it is realized that the proposed plan is unworkable and common sense rises to the top....

downsides to rushing are once the windshield is in, it's not coming out. I cut the cabby's wiring harness in the back seat so i need to splice in the coupe's rear section as well as remove the roof and automatic transmission wiring. That'll take time to study up on.

What will probably be the biggest problem in terms time will be front brakes. While i have drawings for them, getting them machined in a timely fashion locally is unlikely....

Ugh.

They REALLY want us to go broke buying new cars.....

[Rikki Kitto]

Wow that's some intensive work going on there buddy well done

[ottawa coupe]

well, maybe much pearl clutching for no reason. the inspection standard will not change, but the ministry will be remotely looking over the mechanic's shoulder while performing the inspection. big brother and all......

the inspection standard as written is actually pretty reasonable and leaves things pretty open and define what OEM standard means. so, given that i am using 99.99% oem parts (just from 14 different cars lol) i should be ok.

basically, i am not scared enough to burn the midnight oil and get this running by december. whew!

[newsh]

well, maybe much pearl clutching for no reason. the inspection standard will not change, but the ministry will be remotely looking over the mechanic's shoulder while performing the inspection. big brother and all......

the inspection standard as written is actually pretty reasonable and leaves things pretty open and define what OEM standard means. so, given that i am using 99.99% oem parts (just from 14 different cars lol) i should be ok.

basically, i am not scared enough to burn the midnight oil and get this running by december. whew!

That's a relief!

[ottawa coupe]

Well, not so fast. It would seem i will have to play a bit of a game.

The root of the issue is they use the term "oem standard" for a lot of things. They define that term and it boils down to using oem or quality parts. I can prove that pretty easily for all things with 2 exceptions. The brake ciper adapters i will have made for the front and the wheel spacers needed for the 5x112 conversion.

Rarity of the car may be on my side so what i COULD do for the caliper adapter is get a number punch set and stamp them with the rs2 adapter part number and say it's a rare european part. That should sort it. Maybe.

I will have to confirm with a shop their stance on wheel spacers. I would really prefer NOT to buy a set of wheels with the right offset just to roll thru the safety.

The engine swap should be ok as it will be brought over whole hog from a newer car and i won't be altering it or deleting emissions equipment. The exhaust has a resonator and muffler just like the original so that should pass too.

So, i need to play a game to a level that a mechanic is willing to stand behind and support me in fighting the man.

The rules as written are reasonable and i should be compliant with quality parts. But it will just take one paper pushing dipsh!t at the ministry to ruin my day it seems.....

ORRRRRRR. I act now and get a "safety certificate" online. Not really into that idea but hard to know how screwed i will be otherwise.....

[ottawa coupe]

Well, to get my mind off potential regs issues, decided to try n make things a bit prettier. Polished one of the tailights to see if they would still come up well and quite happy how well they are under the crud.

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Also finished up the headlight washer delete panels on the front bumper, turned out pretty well.

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unfortunately i feel that this means the procrastination is over and i hafta get on with the sanding

[ottawa coupe]

So, an interesting series of developments sine i was last here. The caliper adapters got me thinking. Made up the cad models from the drawings i got from brydon and sent them out for quptes from local machine shops.

Holy crap.

Even those online machine shops the machine them in china weren't particularly cheap either. What to do?

Well, hopped on kijiji (online private sale ads, no idea what the euro equivalent would be) and whaddya know, there's a small cnc mill that will do steel in light passes for all of $200 more than my quotes. I've always wanted to learn this stuff and i have more parts for other projects on the drawing board....

So i'm currently not turning wrenches but sitting in front of a screen learning the cam functionality in fusion 360 instead. I think i am making some progress. I figure i should get a handle on the software before i buy the spendy tool that would end up collecting dust if it turns out i am too dumb for it lol.

By chance, i believe i will be heading to the area the mill is currently located for a work trip in a coupla weeks.

So, could be an interesting winter making chips and sanding bodywork this year....

[Jaswan]

Would you like a euro rear number plate surround?

[ottawa coupe]

Thanks for the offer but the opening on a euro tub is shorter than our plates are so you either need to cut the tub or cut the plate. So while mine no longer has threads for the plate mounting, i will have to perservere and fix it somehow.

I have been getting a bit more anxious in my search for seats. Every now and again i find a b3 partout down in toronto but the sellers never respond. I have a pair of c4 seats from a car i parted a few years back. I had thought of using them, now i am unsure. It looks like only 1 point matches up. Sure, i can easily sort out a bolt hole at the front, the rear seems a bit more complex an affair to get right. It IS a tight squeeze but it does look like it could work though. I have seen mention of people putting them in in threads here but the photos are long gone. Any pics of a successful modification would be greatly appreciated!

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[david1980]

The euro manual ones are about a 30 min. Swap each side to mod. The us/cad ones are a lot more involved.

[ottawa coupe]

Well, found a pair of good b3 ones for a decent price.

5 hours away in upstate new york. Getting away to make the trip is gonna take some doing but will likely be the best answer....

[david1980]

Anywhere good in upstate ny?

There's only a couple of people I know up that way that mess with these anymore.

[ottawa coupe]

Saugerties. So no, nowhere good lol. I think it's just a dude clearing out a stash built up 15 years ago.

And yeah, no one SANE messes with these anymore . Seems that every part search is a reminder that this has to be my last build....

And yes, the procrastination on sanding has continued!!!! The kids brought home a slight cold from their first few weeks at school. That's my current excuse and i'm sticking to it lol

[ottawa coupe]

The end of procrastination is near?? Got the bare metal spots etch primered at least and masked off the sills. I am gonna mask off the interior tomorrow to minimize the cleanup needed after the sanding, filler, sanding, priming, sanding nightmare begins.

Oh goodie.

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[david1980]

Ok Yeah I don't know anyone down that way except maybe jack Cameron dean who used to break cqs.

Cory is up near Syracuse and peter is in Buffalo ny. not many others.