New tools!  After squeezing out the 3M Windshield Urethane with a $5 Chinese caulking gun, I realized that wasn't going to work.  I ordered a Cox 41004-2T Ascot, designed for high-viscosity caulking.  Also, a Mayhew bronze punch and Ajax air hammer punch.

I started sanding the firewall, and realized it needed more work.

More mud; more sanding.

Against my better judgement, I sprayed some Upol high build primer because I was having trouble seeing the shape.  This shit sucks. 

Ready for another round of real primer.

Papa Fazz hit a deer last week in his Toyota. 

Close enough lol.

I shot the firewall with epoxy primer.  It still needs more work than I thought, but it's pretty close.

I decided to practice with the 3M urethane glue since I have never used it before.

Cut the tip in a long V shape to get a thin, tall bead

I also wanted to see how long the tube would last, so I squeezed it all out.  One tube should be more than enough for the whole firewall, I will bond it this weekend.

The cycle begins...

Evercoat Rage Extreme

Mud

Sand

Mud

Sand.

I think it's ready for a coat of primer, the final block sanding will be done after it's bonded into the car.

I'm going to bond it with 3M 08690 windshield urethane (similar to the OEM adhesive) with the 08682 primer.  After the glue hardens, I'm going to remove the bolts and weld the holes shut.  I'm also going to weld the insert in place, that's what all the tabs around the edge are for.

This area needed rebuilt, I wasn't happy with the gaps:

Nothing a little cutting and welding can't fix!

I started bodywork on the firewall insert.  I covered the welds with Evercoat Tiger hair. 

This is really wicked shit!  The only practical way to cut it is with 40 grit on the DA.  After sanding, there isn't much left.  The rest will be filled with a skim coat of regular putty.

Some action shots

It still needs a lot more work, but it's getting there.

Fro stopped out for some more gunsmithing.  And a juice box.

I had to mill the stock on his Remington .308 for some modifications he has planned.

The kitties helped.  They always help when I'm in the main shop building.

I pushed the car outside today to spray some epoxy primer on the firewall.  There were a few bare metal spots from the mods I made earlier and some welds I touched up.

PPG DP40LF epoxy primer.

Bodywork begins!  I'm starting with the firewall.

It warped quite a bit during the media blasting, so I need to tweak it to fit.

I need to redo this area, I'm not happy with the inconsistency of the gap between the firewall insert and the firewall.

This area isn't supported by bolts because I already cut them off during the firewall modification.  I need to clamp it tight while the glue cures, otherwise it will cure with this gap.

I made a little clamp.  I tacked this part to the body:

Then I made this wacky thing so I can clamp the firewall tight against the body.

Nice tight fit!

New hammers!  I bought a 5-pack on ebay in pursuit of the BF616 - one of the 2 Snap-on hammers I needed to complete my collection.  The rest are either sold or for sale (One BF604 left)

It's an interesting little guy.

There is room to squeeze one more in there! 

Friday night I prepped a few more things for black paint.  I had one more oil filter to paint, this one will be black with silver logos.

Paint! 

Everything on this bench turned out really bad.

Alternator plastics:

Distributor cap

Starter end cap, oil fill cap, alternator pulley, power steering pump adjuster, and distributor.

I finished the reassembly of the alternator.

I had previously stripped and tinned the leads on the windings, I crimped them together and soldered them.  I forgot to take an 'after' pic of the solder, but I'm happy with it.

Some of the sensors are color coded for their location.  New color code: black.

I finished working on the engine/transmission assembly for now, this week I'm moving on to the body itself!  I plugged or masked all the holes and covered it in plastic.

I wish I could take decent quality pictures.

Ready for the next step!