Over the last 12 months I have been slowly acquiring everything I want to install into my car. (For anyone wondering, Snowgoose was printed on a wood box I used in my previous install in my last FTO and the name just stuck
) I have broken down this project into different stages consisting of:
1) Painting interior panels
2) Re-laying all current electrical things
3) Engine servicing and tuning
4) Alarm, Remote start 2 way paging system
5) Boot panels + Sub and Amp
6) Computer, DVD, TV, Playstation 2, GPS and red liquorice dispenser
7) Scissor doors
Finally a Complete ResprayThese need to be done in no real particular order but something to the effect of what I wrote.
What I’m working with:
FTO GPX Black, GT wing, white Advanti 18 “ 5 spoke mags, sh!test interior paint job i have ever seen, weird untasteful stickers in attempt to make it look like a race car
Painting interior panels
I decided to start with the thing that was bugging me the most as the previous owner decided he would paint the panels as well, he obviously had never heard about the inventions of the Spray can or Primer. I completely stripped my car of all panels and even seats to make for an easier work place. Every single panel took me about 5 – 6 hours each of Stripping, sanding, filing, sanding, scrapping, and more sanding. I had to remove every trace of his paint but in doing so also required to remove the leather texture that EVERY panel has in the FTO. I started with a power sander (finishing, not belt) with 120grit then 120grit by hand then 240grit, then 600grit, my god I'm over sanding and I still haven’t finished all the panels.
Painting seemed somewhat easier; I was using a white vinyl dye so I only needed about 3 light coats instead of 8 – 10 of primer 20 mins between coats. Then 3 – 4 coats of white..Just until I was satisfied it really was white, 30 mins apart. I left them for at least 6 hours then before putting 3 clear topcoats on. (The first test piece I did a week ago went yellowy as the top coat was not UV resistant, easy fix) I’m now back at work and about 80% through the panels, luckily I am able to sneak out the back where I work and throw coats on here
Re-laying all current electrical things
If I spent my entire week sanding I’d end up with arthritis before the week was out, not to mention going crazy. So I took the opportunity to clean up the electrics of the car. The previous owner left not only under body neon’s, 2*12inch subs and a cadence amp and a 5 inch monster tacho (why the hell do you need this!? The car has a tacho...) in the car but about 8 large neon’s attached to the inner roof and in the boot. I took out the back seat to reveal the chaos of cables; I could not see the metal under the seat due to the sheer amount of cables entangled there. At first I thought I could leave some to use in the new setup but scratched that quick and ripped out the lot. During this project I often asked myself “what the hell could have been going through his mind when he did this?â€
Seriously, I wanna see how this is shaping up!
was in hurry burning, didnt even look at size