Finished cleaning Monte undercarriage.
#1
Finished cleaning Monte undercarriage.
After reading on here how some members are experiencing rust problems with their Monte's I figured I needed to be pro-active and see what the condition my undercarriage was in. And if needed do something to arrest any rust and retard any future potential rust conditions from developing.
Whew, spent a fair amount of time laying on my back scrubbing the Monte's undercarriage to remove all the grease from the engine cradle, floor pans,wheel wells, suspension, fuel lines etc. Used a citrus based degreaser, plenty of soap and water and a butt load of rags. After this I was able to assess the metals condition and did find a few spots where the roll bar had been welded in place rust was starting, and many areas where the factory protective coating was all but gone. Applied a Rust converter to stop the rust, applied a paint primer and moved on to the next phase.
Masked off all the parts I did not want to have the new rubberized undercoating spray getting on to. Took another MCF members advice and used dollar store aluminum foil to mask off areas. That trick worked real nice. Applied 7 cans of undercoating to the whole underside, all the nooks and crannies of the frame and the car body underside itself. Laying on my back, I was half black when the job was completed.
So now the exhaust system looked old, and being a bonehead like I'am decided to paint that now. Had to reverse mask all the areas I did not want to have the Silver high temp paint overspray messing up. Again used foil / tape. Used a paint thinner to wipe down all the exhaust metal before painting.
Have a huge car show this coming weekend (over 700 cars last year) so all will look extra sharp. Plus now the whole underside to include wheel wells is able to take the road salt and everyday grime and I don't have that concern in the back of my mind rust is destroying my car's underbody. During the time underneath I did find 3 things to repair too. Exhaust rubber hanger broken, cutout wire bundle cable tie broken, wires hanging loose and a strut upper cushion ring was out of place and getting into the springs, had to remove the strut, take it in and have the part reseated.
Utah Car show this weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMPYtEr0DY
Whew, spent a fair amount of time laying on my back scrubbing the Monte's undercarriage to remove all the grease from the engine cradle, floor pans,wheel wells, suspension, fuel lines etc. Used a citrus based degreaser, plenty of soap and water and a butt load of rags. After this I was able to assess the metals condition and did find a few spots where the roll bar had been welded in place rust was starting, and many areas where the factory protective coating was all but gone. Applied a Rust converter to stop the rust, applied a paint primer and moved on to the next phase.
Masked off all the parts I did not want to have the new rubberized undercoating spray getting on to. Took another MCF members advice and used dollar store aluminum foil to mask off areas. That trick worked real nice. Applied 7 cans of undercoating to the whole underside, all the nooks and crannies of the frame and the car body underside itself. Laying on my back, I was half black when the job was completed.
So now the exhaust system looked old, and being a bonehead like I'am decided to paint that now. Had to reverse mask all the areas I did not want to have the Silver high temp paint overspray messing up. Again used foil / tape. Used a paint thinner to wipe down all the exhaust metal before painting.
Have a huge car show this coming weekend (over 700 cars last year) so all will look extra sharp. Plus now the whole underside to include wheel wells is able to take the road salt and everyday grime and I don't have that concern in the back of my mind rust is destroying my car's underbody. During the time underneath I did find 3 things to repair too. Exhaust rubber hanger broken, cutout wire bundle cable tie broken, wires hanging loose and a strut upper cushion ring was out of place and getting into the springs, had to remove the strut, take it in and have the part reseated.
Utah Car show this weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMPYtEr0DY
Last edited by ZIPPY02; 05-14-2012 at 08:45 PM.
#4
looks good, is that a magnaflow merger? did it help with the rasp these 3.8's are nitorious for? i have been thinking of doing one when i get around to doing my exhaust,
#5
Looks really nice. I was just under mine and it looks a lot better then I thought it would. I do have a little rust on the a arms and front suspension parts but thats it. I suprised too after 6 michigan winters.
#7
~ For the Love of a Turbo Chevy Monte Carlo S.S. ~
Thanks `Greg for posting/sharing your
lastest endeavor to improve your
May Monte of the Month
from the bottom `Up.
Attention to detail 4-Sure
Your Investment of Time and Money
reflects your dedication to keep your
Monte in Top Condition.
Your Monte is just not beautiful, it's
also Powerful.
Utah Car show this weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMPYtEr0DY
Super Vid with some SuperSuper Rides.
Thanks for sharing your vid &
your detailed improvements.
Your Investment of Time and Money
reflects your dedication to keep your
Monte in Top Condition.
Your Monte is just not beautiful, it's
also Powerful.
Utah Car show this weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMPYtEr0DY
Super Vid with some SuperSuper Rides.
Thanks for sharing your vid &
your detailed improvements.
#8
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mentor, Ohio
Posts: 12,236
It looks REALLY nice! Keep an eye on that rubberized undercoating, as I've heard it has big tendency to flake off in a year or so. If it does and you end up re-doing this effort, look into a system called POR15. They had modified their instructions over the years.
Basically, get rid of any chipping/flaking pieces of debris, apply a "metal prep" product (DO NOT appliy any body fillers or primers, the closest you can get to bare metal the better, but if you have solid paint, don't worry about it, the POR15 will protect the paint), follow it's instructions, then you can spray or bruch paint the POR15 on the surface (anything I've done with POR15 was brush painted). If you spray it, you MUST use their paint thinner to keep the rust inhibiting properties. After the POR15 is applied they recommend top coating it if it will be exposed to UV light.
Just food for thought. Hopefully the rubberized undercoating you used is better then what I've heard of. Time will tell, but awesome job, it gives your Monte a "clean" look under neath!
Basically, get rid of any chipping/flaking pieces of debris, apply a "metal prep" product (DO NOT appliy any body fillers or primers, the closest you can get to bare metal the better, but if you have solid paint, don't worry about it, the POR15 will protect the paint), follow it's instructions, then you can spray or bruch paint the POR15 on the surface (anything I've done with POR15 was brush painted). If you spray it, you MUST use their paint thinner to keep the rust inhibiting properties. After the POR15 is applied they recommend top coating it if it will be exposed to UV light.
Just food for thought. Hopefully the rubberized undercoating you used is better then what I've heard of. Time will tell, but awesome job, it gives your Monte a "clean" look under neath!