My AE86 Corolla Part 3 - Prep and Paint the Bay

Picking up from part 2, my buddy Colton and I prepped the bay for paint. To clean it up a little bit, we shaved the battery tray and the washer revisor, which gives the car a cleaner look when it's all together. I did not take any photos of drilling the welds and prying them off, but this is what they looked like after a little bondo, some sanding, and a layer of primer!

We took a wire brush to the rack to clean it up and sanded the rest of the bay.

When the bay was ready to paint, I skipped out of work a little early to lay down some primer and paint.

With the car rolled into the driveway, and masked with some newspaper, I started to lay primer.

With the primer down, I added some base coats, using some Montana Gold 'Copper Chrome'. 

Topping it with clear and it is really started to take shape! (Man...maybe I should paint the whole car this color!)

Here is how it looked after it all was dry and back in the garage.

After this, it started getting cold (Winter 2012/2013), so I pushed it aside and did a little here and there, but not much until the following spring!

My AE86 Corolla Part 4 - Spring Time!

My AE86 Corolla Part 2 - Cleaning and Organization

Now that I have the car in the garage, it desperately needed to be cleaned up after sitting in the elements for 4+ years. There were nuts, leaves, pine cones and all kinds of other stuff in the car that need to be cleaned out! We started with some vacuuming and soapy water to clean the car up... nothing is worse than a dirty dust-covered project sitting in the garage!

Inside and outside are clean, so time to start on the bay!

With the fenders and the bumper off it made the bay area super easy to access for cleaning! Bill and I used a shop vac and cleaned all the pine needles and acorns out of there! Everything was starting to take shape!

Next up was to take a look at some janky rear suspension...

As you can see in the second photo, there are lag bolts holding the rear end in the car... Oh man, what have I gotten myself into?

For the time being, I tossed on some normal bolts (ordering proper hardware before the car gets driven). The rear is now somewhat centered, and it looks good enough for the time being!

Let's see how the front looks:

Along with the car, I received some T3 (Techno Toy Tuning) Front Coilovers, with camber plates and RCA's (Roll Centered Adjusters). The car also had some UEO tie rod ends, but they looked like they might need some work, which I'll address later.

Coilovers installed and setup with a great ride height for the car/wheel combo, no need to change anything. Now all I need is some brakes up front!

Stay tuned for...My AE86 Corolla Part 3 - Prep and Paint the Bay!