cup1981 Posted August 8, 2011 Report Posted August 8, 2011 (edited) Hey everyone - I just kind of inherited a 1978 Corolla Deluxe or Custom -- not too sure which one. I am an American living in Indonesia -- not too far from you all -- and I love classic cars. This one is a little out of my realm, as I am used to the classic V-8 muscle. I love new foreign cars, but classics are a new thing to me. A little about my situation. This guy owed me about USD 2,500, and I saw that there was no way he was going to pay me my money. So, with a little "convincing," he turned his car over to me and we are transferring the registration soon. The car is in solid shape, it has some small visible rust, but not too much. It has a newer paint job, but it's a typical "Indonesian" paint job (AKA paint on top of paint on top of paint on top of paint, on top of rust), so my plan is to get it to bare metal (or close to it) and do it right. The interior is mostly intact and solid, but again with the Indonesian paint job comes over-spray on everything -- interior included. I am planning to tear out the entire interior when it goes in for paint and having it patched and painted where needed. As this is going on, I will have the entire interior reupholstered and all that jazz. There are some exterior things it needs on top of paint (left-rear taillight lens, both front fender-mounted turn signals, bumpers [nimrods painted over the nice chrome finish], grille and new lock sets). The hardest thing I am finding -- or not finding -- are parts!! I cannot source any reasonable parts in decent shape in this country lol. People here annihilate their vehicles and rig them just to make them work. Any suggestions where I can get parts here, or if any members have decent parts that I can pay to have shipped here?? There is a dealership, but I don't really speak the language here, and I am sure the parts are obsolete and unavailable -- of course I did just get a stop lamp switch ordered there. Likely, the parts I need to restore it are unavailable though. I found some things on EBay in Singapore, but I get nervous with EBay. So anyways, that was quite a long intro to my situation, but hopefully you all can help me out with my project for the next year, or so. I will post pics some time tomorrow, as it is too dark to take pics now. Thanks! Edited August 8, 2011 by cup1981 Quote
Mason. Posted August 8, 2011 Report Posted August 8, 2011 Welcome to rollaclub mate, Just to clear it up, is the corolla a sedan, coupe or wagon? :) As for parts, Wreckers and ebay are generally your best bet. I'm sure there are others on this site who know alot more about that then I do, Looking forward to the pictures man, Mason Quote
cup1981 Posted August 8, 2011 Author Report Posted August 8, 2011 Welcome to rollaclub mate, Just to clear it up, is the corolla a sedan, coupe or wagon? :) As for parts, Wreckers and ebay are generally your best bet. I'm sure there are others on this site who know alot more about that then I do, Looking forward to the pictures man, Mason Thanks for the welcome, Mason -- that's my oldest nephew's name. My Corolla is a sedan with a four-speed manual and a 1,166 cc (1.2-liter) engine. Yeah, I was figuring EBay would be best, my dad got ripped off for about USD 900 on a 454-cubic-inch engine for his '66 Chevelle on EBay. That's why I am a little leery about big purchases on there. I guess I am protected as long as I am using PayPal -- as I understand. Wreckers here are a no-go, people just tape their wrecked cars up with duct tape and keep drivin' them lol. Any advise on good EBAy sellers? Quote
altezzaclub Posted August 8, 2011 Report Posted August 8, 2011 Welcome in! If you're going to bare-metal it get the strongest paint stripper (the one that contains phenol) and not the environmentally-friendly wimpy ones. Buy a Linbide-type tungsten bladed paint scraper (one you pull towards you and not push away) and carefully go for it. Mind the corners of the tungsten blades as they are very sharp and hard.. they will groove the steel if you make a mistake. Scrape the wet painty jelly onto newspapers and get an old spoon for cleaning internal curves, and wash carefully with soapy water after doing each area. It will rust very quickly, so WD40 or CRC or something with oils but not silicon in. We did parts of the girl's KE70- http://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/42407-the-girls-ke70/page__p__445727__fromsearch__1#entry445727 Quote
philbey Posted August 9, 2011 Report Posted August 9, 2011 (edited) Welcome! Always dig a car with a good background story. Sounds a little nefarious almost. Post up a rides thread here and keep everyone updated on your progress! http://www.rollaclub.com/board/forum/54-rollaclub-rides/ Edited August 9, 2011 by philbey Quote
cup1981 Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Posted August 9, 2011 Welcome in! If you're going to bare-metal it get the strongest paint stripper (the one that contains phenol) and not the environmentally-friendly wimpy ones. Buy a Linbide-type tungsten bladed paint scraper (one you pull towards you and not push away) and carefully go for it. Mind the corners of the tungsten blades as they are very sharp and hard.. they will groove the steel if you make a mistake. Scrape the wet painty jelly onto newspapers and get an old spoon for cleaning internal curves, and wash carefully with soapy water after doing each area. It will rust very quickly, so WD40 or CRC or something with oils but not silicon in. We did parts of the girl's KE70- http://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/42407-the-girls-ke70/page__p__445727__fromsearch__1#entry445727 Thanks for the advise altezzaclub. Typically, I would leave the stripping to a pro, but the body work here, as I said before, is kinda shady lol. So the WD40 will get rid of the surface rust prior to prepping the metal for primer, kinda like cleaning a gun? If so, after completing a section (i.e. quarter panel, fender, door etc.), I should eliminate the surface rust with WD40, prep the metal and primer it, right? I should put any body filler on top of the primer, right? This will be my first to-bare-metal restoration, so I am a little bit of a rook in the situation. Quote
cup1981 Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Posted August 9, 2011 Welcome! Always dig a car with a good background story. Sounds a little nefarious almost. Post up a rides thread here and keep everyone updated on your progress! http://www.rollaclub.com/board/forum/54-rollaclub-rides/ Lol, yeah his situation was a little nefarious. We were renting a car -- prepaid -- for a year and the finance company repossessed it. He then put us through hell trying to get a replacement rental, and I eventually "convinced" him to give me his personal car. As politely as possible ;). As soon as I get done with work today, I will snap some pics and throw them in the forum. An aside note, this car is a wiring nightmare. Yet another of the things they rig up over here. If its broken, just run a hot-wire straight from the battery to the component... ugh... Fortunately, electrical problems are my specialty. My wife thinks I am crazy with how obsessed I am with eliminating the useless wires, but I want it clean. Quote
7shades Posted August 9, 2011 Report Posted August 9, 2011 I love a good expat story... May I ask how you ended up in Indo? My first guess: You're an engineer. Quote
cup1981 Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Posted August 9, 2011 I love a good expat story... May I ask how you ended up in Indo? My first guess: You're an engineer. Haha, it's really not too interesting of a story. I met my wife -- she's Indonesian -- when she was an exchange student in a college in the U.S. Due to her exchange visitor visa, she had to come back to Indo for 2 years, so I came with her. We have been here for about a year, and we have about another year to go. Quote
carbonboy Posted August 9, 2011 Report Posted August 9, 2011 Welcome to Rollaclub, with your methods of extracting payment you should fit in nicely here. :lol: When I'm using eBay, if the seller has a feedback score of LESS than 96.0%, I wont buy from them. Has kept me out of trouble so far! :) Sounds like you've got a bit of work to do, I look forward to seeing your progress in your rides thread. :yes: Quote
cup1981 Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Posted August 9, 2011 Thanks for the replies everyone. I posted a ton of pics here: http://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/53787-1978-ke30-project-solid-base-to-start/page__gopid__545537#entry545537 Quote
altezzaclub Posted August 9, 2011 Report Posted August 9, 2011 I should eliminate the surface rust with WD40 nope! WD40 leaves a thin layer of light wax on the surface, so it is a metal protectorant. To get rid of surface rust use one of the phosphoric acid products that convert iron oxide to iron phosphate. There are lots in the shops like Rustkill etc. Its no good for big/deep rust patches as it only treats the surface it can reach. Once you have clean bare metal I like to prime it then fill, but some people go straight on with filler. Remember primer itself is porous and will start rusting underneath. Keep it dry... Quote
cup1981 Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Posted August 9, 2011 (edited) nope! WD40 leaves a thin layer of light wax on the surface, so it is a metal protectorant. To get rid of surface rust use one of the phosphoric acid products that convert iron oxide to iron phosphate. There are lots in the shops like Rustkill etc. Its no good for big/deep rust patches as it only treats the surface it can reach. Once you have clean bare metal I like to prime it then fill, but some people go straight on with filler. Remember primer itself is porous and will start rusting underneath. Keep it dry... Sweet, thanks altezza. I would have never thought of that. I just remember cleaning light rust off my rifles with WD40 ages ago, so I assumed that's what you meant. I wonder if I can dig up all of the right stuff in this backwoods city I live in here in Indo lol. I would figure to prime then fill, since the primer would give the filler something to really adhere to. Oh yeah, I remember a buddy of mine primered his Chevy Nova and stored it for like 2 years in a musty shed. He came home to pick it up and take it to the south with him and it was completely rotten. He learned the hard way. Edited August 9, 2011 by cup1981 Quote
TOMsGPTurbo Posted August 10, 2011 Report Posted August 10, 2011 Hey Justin, welcome to Rollaclub mate, my wife and I just watched a travel doco on Indonesia - looks amazing Quote
cup1981 Posted August 10, 2011 Author Report Posted August 10, 2011 Hey Justin, welcome to Rollaclub mate, my wife and I just watched a travel doco on Indonesia - looks amazing Thanks, Tom! It's like a fine Picasso painting... From afar it looks like a wonderful piece of art, but up close it's a mess. Okay, it's not really that bad, but it has some major downside. I was hoping to visit Australia while I was here, but money got tight, then our son was born and that about closed the book on a trip "Down Under." Quote
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