84 XR-7 Project June 29, 2015, 02:16:04 PM I meant to start work on my 84 months ago, but I've been super busy with the cruise I went on, wedding, and just this past weekend, part 1 of our wedding parties. The plan keeps changing, except for it getting stripped and redone.Today's post is about my starting point. I removed my body kit, which I thought would have been a lot more difficult. I knew I had a decent amount of work just on the body. I'm pleasantly surprised that it isn't worse than it is. Only 3 holes, 1 of which is the driver front floor. I'll need some sheet metal, but the car is as solid as it was when I got it.^^This is why I needed another front bumper. To make the kit fit I had to cut all that away. Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #1 – June 29, 2015, 02:20:37 PM This all looks familiar...I've done this same thing half a dozen times in my life. Sorry to see all the rust but it happens. Still love your color combo. Very cool.You putting the kit back on when you're done? Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #2 – June 29, 2015, 10:44:53 PM Wow that is really really orange! :)I like it. And don't worry Jerry will be along momentarily to tell you how trivial that rust is LOL Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #3 – June 29, 2015, 11:50:09 PM As long as the structure is solid (frame rails, torque boxes, rockers, underside) the rest is cosmetic and easily fixable. Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #4 – June 30, 2015, 01:30:15 AM If you want, i can make you feel better by taking a few detailed pictures of my cougar. Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #5 – June 30, 2015, 12:51:07 PM My camera settings are a bit off, believe me, my grass is NOT that green. The orange is a little too bright in these pictures.Structurally the car is as solid as rock...a very flexible rock. I'll be taking care of that in the coming months with through floor frame connectors and some other stiffening mods. It'll need it with the future power goals I have. Just needs a few cosmetic fixes. I thought it was going to be much worse under the kit.The kit is staying off. I really liked it when it was first put on. Then as the years went on, it became a nuisance. The front and rear need minor fixing from tow strap damage. The skirts need major work, the driver from the wheel off my brother had happen to him, my side pipe got pushed into it, and the passenger side ripped almost completely in two from removing it. The kit also has prevented me from lowering the car more than I have already. It still had truck ground clearance in the front when parked on pavement, not very aggressive looking.I'm still torn on what to do with the color. The combo really worked with the kit. I don't know if it will so much without it. But it's really difficult to picture how I'd incorporate the orange into a black base without it looking weird. The scoops with the silver just work, but a black hood with orange scoops, or even silver, wouldn't look right I think. Then the grille. I'm lost on what to do with that. The chrome isn't holding up, but painting it silver with black in between the fat bars wouldn't look good. I have a lot running through my head for paint, but I have to concentrate on fixing the body, stiffening the chassis, and getting ready for the engine/trans this year. Paint will be last and is planned for winter 2016/17 at this point. Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #7 – June 30, 2015, 10:04:40 PM +1 On the Competition Orange. With the dark trim around the windows and your headlight buckets it would work. Maybe light window tint would also look good against the orange as well. Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #8 – June 30, 2015, 10:09:31 PM Quote from: ZondaC12;449315Wow that is really really orange! :)I like it. And don't worry Jerry will be along momentarily to tell you how trivial that rust is LOLLOL...... very funny Pauly Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #9 – June 30, 2015, 10:16:33 PM It all looks familiar to me too... that'll keep you out of trouble for a while Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #10 – July 01, 2015, 11:17:55 AM Quote from: daminc;449358that'll keep you out of trouble for a while For a little while, until it's time to break in the engine Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #11 – July 01, 2015, 12:18:28 PM The usual spots. Always loved this car. Can't wait to see it back together! Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #12 – July 06, 2015, 02:50:32 AM On Friday, I gutted the trunk and pulled the rear bumper off. Found an additional hole on the left side where the rear bumper holes are in the quarter panel. Non-structural and not visible with the bumper on. I won't be too picky about how that gets fixed.Pulled all the sound deadening off the trunk floor. Only good thing about a 31 year old neglected car is that stuff peeled right off for the most part. Pulled the carpet and removed all the jute backing by pressure washing it off. I don't know what I'm doing with the trunk yet. It might stay bare with some custom side panels to prevent things from flying around and putting dents in the quarters....again. Learned that lesson the hard way. Carpet is in decent shape but will need to be dyed if I use it. Unlike the interior carpet, I can't get the trunk carpet new.Also found that my Cougar...a car...is better at killing mice than my actual cats...who play with mice. Found about 6 in just the trunk! About 6...because I found just fir and goo in the driver side plastic compartment thing.This Friday I hope to tackle the front. I don't know how far I'm going to get. I'd like to at least get the front bumper off. If I feel up to the challenge, I'll have the header and fenders off too. I also need to free up some space so I can start to gut the interior. Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #13 – August 01, 2015, 06:22:19 PM It has been awhile since I have been online. But this looks like it will be a good rebuild! Good Luck! Quote Selected
84 XR-7 Project Reply #14 – January 12, 2016, 02:05:57 PM Finally got the mess sorted out in my dad's pole building. Got the car inside and started tearing into it. We're a few months behind now, but we should be fine now that it's inside with a decent amount of working room. The hood is going to get completely stripped. These bubbles popped up about 2 years after the orange went down. No idea why. The factory paint was in good shape when we got the hood.Trunk was pulled apart during the warmer weather. There was a puddle in the rear part of the spare well. Don't know where it came from as the seal isn't in too bad of shape and all the holes that are exposed would have put the water in the side pockets.Pulled all the trim off. Have to strip it and decide on color.A few years back, my cousin hit a golf ball, or should I say shanked, and it bounced off my parked car. It was a lucky shot, lucky for a few reasons. First it didn't break the window, second it didn't dent the quarter, but most lucky, for me anyway, of all, it hit the quarter window trim.....at the EXACT location of one of the can't be replaced because no one makes them plastic clips. :raspberry So I'm in need of a passenger quarter window trim piece with plastic clips intact. Please keep me in mind when scouring the junk yards please. Passenger side strut tower just needs a light blasting and new paint.Driver side needs a little more attention, but it appears to be surface rust. So I'm happy there.I hope to update this much more frequently now. This is the only major project I have planned for this winter. Hopefully come spring my wife and I have our own space to call home. I don't like using my dad's garage, but he's on board. We just need to have the body and chassis work done this winter to remain on schedule.I really wanted to do a video series about this build. I'm not much for being in front of the camera though, especially talking. Maybe if I get over that I'll do some videos. I'd really like to start a regularly updated YouTube channel. I can't be any worse that some of the that's out there...and somehow get hundreds of thousands of views. Maybe I'll do a few once the engine stuff gets underway. Maybe a trans video, or converting my TC rear to 5 lug. We'll see.As I mentioned above, keep an eye out for any 4 eye Cougars with good quarter window trim. I'm going to have a large list of one off things I'm going to need in the coming months. Such as all the rubber stuff for the doors. I plan on getting the Steele Rubber kit, but that doesn't include the most important pieces...the window channels. Mine are rock hard and have shrunk 5 sizes.Thanks for looking and keep checking back. I hope this build gathers the momentum it needs to get finished for the 50th Anniversary. Quote Selected
Topic: 84 XR-7 Project (Read 28138 times)
previous topic - next topic
