Overclocker

So...background. In the heat of the afternoon, I'm roaring through the kink in the backstretch when the back end lets loose like it's on ice. We go around, through the grass, and hit the guardrail, sideways/backwards, at maybe 60-70 mph. Could be more, maybe less. I really wasn't looking at the speedo at the time. We roll twice and stick the landing perfectly. Got screwed by the East German judge, though, but we walked away, so I guess it's all good. Vehicle is D.O.N.E., but there are lots of salvageable parts. Some of which may be the wheels. One wheel has a visible quarter-sized dent in the inside rim and some scratches as it ripped out the hub and the brake rotor landed on the inside surface. The others appear to be OK, as they're still holding air. My concern is that they may be bent just a wee bit. If/when I sell these wheels, I need to make sure they're safe. I have a recommendation from a reputable source for Professional Wheel Repair. They're on my side of town, so it would be convenient. Anybody have experience with them? Prices look reasonable. I've never had wheels worth fixing, so I'm lost. http://www.rimprofessionals.com

I think that I figured it out. I threw my pad in the wash with some cloths that I was using for wiping down the areas that I'd previously polished. Once clean, the pad worked again. One for the n00b files.

Although I've not had the need to use them, I've not heard a bad thing about Columbus Joint and Clutch.

I'm working on my Ram SRT-10 with a newly purchased PC 7424xp and Menzerna PO83 on a Lake Country orange pad. I've been working the deeper scratches in the clear coat with 3M 1500 wet paper. I have, in addition to the orange pad, blue, white, black and green pads. My next finer polish step is Menzerna PO106FA. That's pretty much the extent of the good paint reconditioning stuff I have. I'm tired of looking at the fine spiderwebby lines in the paint. I've never done this before, so I'm a total n00b with this paint reconditioning thing. Does it usually take a a long time to clean up these marks? Should I be using a different pad? Should I try a more aggressive compound or pad? Is Mopar paint/clear coat simply really hard, and therefore, taking longer than I expect? Am I not using the 7424 properly or do I simply need to be more patient with the whole process? I've seen what is possible, and I'm is awe. Paint recon seems to be more of an art than a skill.

I've had Beeline do a few for me. They've done a good job. An alignment rack is one of the tools I'll be getting once I win the mega-millions, but until then, I go to specialists like these guys.

I was hoping to spend less than $300 for supplies on this project, but I suppose I could do $400 if I'm sure I've got the right tools. Now I read that a good electronic paint guage can be had for around $500. That's not a tool I'd use often. I'd likely use the polisher, however. On the other hand, it's not exactly a collector car. It has a cheap paint job. I have a garage. It's not a daily driver. I have time to do it slowly. Would a paint thickness guage be of much use on a re-paint without being positive that all of the factory paint was removed? Although I enjoy learning new skills, I'm wondering at what point I should just have someone else do it. The cost/benefit analysis could get a little iffy at the $400 mark.

It was good to meet you guys, too, (even though it was a total sausage fest!) Thanks for having me. I can only imagine the chaos and mayhem that might ensue at a more heavily-attended event. I look forward to future hang-outs, since I have very few real car-guy friends here.

I had my Omni painted several years ago. Most of the money went into prepping and repairing a few dents. I'm not sure what brand the paint is, but I believe I saw DuPont on the invoice. No clear coat. Most of the car is covered with rough areas resembling moderate-to-severe orange peel. I don't know what to do about it, but now I'm tired of looking at it. My spousal-unit bought me an inexpensive Craftsman 9" DA years ago. I used it with some Megs ScratchX and SwirlX and it didn't make a significant difference, although it did clean the surface of what I had. Polished the turd, you might say. So...what can I do about a bad case of orange peel on a black, non-clear-coated "finish"? I'm prepared to invest a little money on tools and supplies. After seeing this particular forum area, and talking with Doc a bit about his Yakuza-mobile at the newb meet-and-scare, I feel like I have a real opportunity to learn something new here. Thanks, fellas.

+1. That's what I've used on some old rubber stuff for my Omni. Just slather some on there and leave it for a while. 10+ minutes or so worked for me. Then I was able to work on it with a toothbrush after it was softened up.

Either I must be getting old, or the hoons are getting worse, 'cause they're really starting to piss me off.

I'll likely be there. Bummer on the food. I thawed out a small stack of burgers. I can still bring a cooler with some sodas. If it rains, there are plenty of shelter things there. If you see a black Dodge Omni buzzing around, flag me down. That'll be me. I'll look for some of your vehicles and see if I get lucky and find the right group.

That Concave Seven makes my boy parts feel funny.

Hey Fellas: I'm hosting a cruise-in at Westerville Central High School to benefit the American Cancer Society. I'm a cancer survivor since 11/1/02 and I'm just trying to give back a little to the organization that helped me out. It would be great to see some of you freaks there. Sorry for the late notice, but I felt awkward posting an event so soon after joining. My spousal-unit said to just get over it...so here we are. I'll likely have my Ram SRT-10 and Omni GLH there. http://www.otterbein.edu/home/fac/tpindell//carshowflyer1.jpg

Is there a list of stuff needed? I can bring a few things. We had a gradulation party here last weekend, and I have some frozen burgers left over.

I'm searching the forums for just this type of info. Did your friend ever get around to getting this done? I'm desperate to find a reputable dealer and ditch my own plastic Tupperware liner.

That's a Chevy I could drive. A fine piece of hardware. I'm searching "rhino" for my own truck and this thread popped up. How's the Rhino Liner holding up? I desperately want to ditch the Tupperware liner I have now.

I just bought a bottle of Megs ScratchX, a bottle of SwirlX and a bottle of Gold Glass liquid at O'Really?'s last night. I think the total was about $35. Did the door of my truck with the ScratchX and a small electric DA. I had a series of fine scratches in it as if somebody briefly hit it with a high-speed buffer full of rubbing compound. As I'm a complete n00b with detailing, I hesitate to use a pro-style tool that would cut too fast. I was able to remove about 98% of the damage with this stuff. I have a bad case of fine spiderwebs on the rest of the truck likely from my ham-fisted "washing". (I have a nice sheepskin mitt. What happened?) The SwirlX aught to clean that up nicely if the ScratchX did as well on the heavier stuff. http://meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G10307 http://meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G17616 http://meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG_G7016

I'm a low-timer. I got my Private Pilot at THE Ohio State University under their part 141 flight school at Don Scott Field. I did instrument ground school after my check ride, but that's as far as I went. Learning to fly ain't cheap even in a little bug-smasher Cessna 172!

Thanks! A few over 90,000 miles on it at the moment. I bought it with 86,000. I really should drive it more. It appears that it's never been apart for a clutch or head gasket either, so I'm fairly confident it's not had the odo flipped. The turbo has started to smoke a bit on warm start-up, but that's about right for a 23 year-old turbo with that indicated mileage. If we wind up having the picnic at Sharon Woods, I'll bring it to add (a little) old school boost to the occasion.

I don't have anything planned for that day. Count me in. I can bring a cooler of sodas or something. Sharon Woods is a really nice park.

Thanks. I've always enjoyed those 87-92 Rams, too. That classic, big chrome grille means business. That's a fine example you've got there. It's difficult to find one of that generation in such good shape.

http://faculty.otterbein.edu/tpindell/omni/omni1_small.jpg It's a standard non-intercooled Garrett-turbocharged 2.2 with the A-525 5-speed transaxle. Typical OHC 8V aluminum head, iron block, cast crank. Very primitive compared to what's available now. I haven't done much to it, really. Mopar Performance ECU, G-valve, 2.5" JRB exhaust, KYBs, the usual guages. It needed some minor cosmetic repairs and a paint job when I got it. (Rust free! In Ohio!) It's actually very very very dark red with the finest (smallest) metallic flake I could get. It might only have 165-170 hp, but it's got maybe 180-190 lb/ft of torque, so it's still fun and easy to drive as long as you enjoy massive doses of torque-steer from a suspension that was never designed to handle much more than 90 hp. I hesitate to do too much since the factory gearbox is made of cheese. When the trans blows chunks (and it will) I have a lightly beefed later model unit in the garage ready to go, along with pratically enough spares to build another Omni. Sorry to ramble, but I love this little POS.

Thanks, man. The show in Dublin? It was likely me. The only other -10 that I know of in the area is a black one that lives in New Albany.That was a nice show. I was the guy dropping the purple fliers for an American Cancer Society cruise-in. (I don't intend on winning anything, but if I'm going to hand out fliers, I feel like I need to contribute to the cause of the hosts.)

Not me. I grew out of that about 20 years ago...

No specific plans yet. I've only had it a few years. The T-56 feels like I'm stirring a box of rocks sometimes, but I'm not sure what I can do about that. A 2/4 drop might look nice. The exhaust note could be a bit more pronounced. There was a -10 at the Mopar Nationals last year with a Billy Boat exhaust and headers on his -10 and...just...wow. But that's in the "More than you can afford, pal." category. Right now, I'm OK with it being that weird red truck.