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Blue Mu

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Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Sun Dec 29, 2013 6:22 pm

This is my 92 Mu Manual 2.8T
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I bought it to be a little different. I recently sold my XR6T ute as it was time for a change.
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The last red GT Rspec came up at the right price with the dealer so I jumped on it. Whilst I drove it daily for 3-4 months, its to good of a car for that . Whilst I love it and jumping on the loud pedal everyday, it was frustrating taking it to clients houses and I was not getting the enjoyment from it as I should be. 0-100 in 4.4s and another 8s to get to 200.
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I thought about getting another ute but decided I wanted something a bit different and the Mu fits the bill. My partners father has one and its been used and abused as a builders car in NZ for years and has over 300000ks on the clock and has barely missed a beat. Its got character and I am enjoying taking things apart to fix them. I think the Mu is scratching an itch I have to own a classic car as well. Something that sits in the garage and gets tinkered with over time. Whilst I dont have the time for a classic or the money to restore one I am enjoying having the Mu around. Driving it is fun. I actually found the car for sale here. I bought it sight unseen from up in Cairns and whilst it appears to have not had to much of a hard life the previous owner was a little over enthusiastic about its cosmetic condition. The paintwork had failed on the bonnet and the rest of the car required a huge amount of work with the machine polisher to make her presentable. Other than that the aircon didnt work, passenger window switch not working and a little rust in some stone chips as well as a small amount of surface rust on above the rear window. The air filter was all but perished foam in the airbox but after a check and clean of the intake and turbo everything seems good. No movement in the turbo vanes so I am pretty happy. I had my mechanic give it the once over including cooling system flush, complete timing belt kit change including the water pump. Couple of small things to monitor but no alarm bells on a 21yr old car.
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First job was to get into the engine bay and rip on everything thats not needed including some old wiring for an alarm system and some funny little spotties.
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I got rid of the EGR valves although I haven't pulled all the vacuum lines out as I didn't see the need to. The car definitely runs smoother with it gone. That said though the air con up doesn't seem to be working any more. With all the crusty broken vacuum hoses it worked, with new hoses connected up as per threads here it doesn't seem to happen. I have just set the idle control on the dash to around 800-900rpm as that seems to be the sweet spot after tightening all the loose bolts on the underside of car causing rattles. I got the blanking plates from ebay and made the exhaust one myself. I couldn't get the long studs out of the intake manifold so had to improvise with the square bar acting as a big washer to hold the plates on. I did snap one of the exhaust manifold studs unfortunately. Luckily it snapped leaving just enough thread to get a nut on to hold the blanking plate down.
I also put in a catch can to filter the oil vapour from the crankcase breather before it re-enters the intake.
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I also got my hands dirty changing the aircon compressor to cool the car now its summer. The old owner told me the old compressor had a leaky seal that cant be repaired so I had to sort a new one and hope that was all that was wrong with the system.
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It ran super cold for a couple of weeks but has dropped off. Theres a pressurising sound coming from the fan behind the glovebox so I am assuming I might find a leak somewhere. If that was on a new car it would mean a trip to the dealers to be dicked around with. I am looking forward to pulling it all apart and nutting it out and then get it regased.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Sun Dec 29, 2013 7:09 pm

The next decision was what to do with the failing paintwork. I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to wrap the car and have a play with the process as its kinda my industry. I wanted to go for a matte finish to further make the car stand out from the crowd. I thought about these 3 colours
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I was pretty set on the orange but seeing all 3 layed out like this definitely had to be the blue. The yellow looks to much like normal faded paint and doesn't really work with the matte effect. The next problem I faced was sourcing the blue. Turns out alot of the high end cars that are wrapped are done so with either custom finishes specially printed for them or by using a glossy finish and then rewrapping again with a matte clear. Both expensive and not really worth it considering the car was less than $5k. Same goes for having it done professionally. Australia was just not competitive with pricing and 3 days after I placed the order a Texan company had 35ft of matte blue wrap at my door. Its a colour called Riviera 911. Slightly lighter than the BMW above but quite nice, kinda like Fords Bionic colour rather than the Nitro of my ute.
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With my Christmas break it was time to strip the car and see how I get on with the wrap. Initially I prepped the car a few weeks ago by removing the rubber strips on the sides of the car as well as the "Sport" stickers that were peeling off. This took ages and less heaps of residue as they had baked into the paint. Some of the rubber sections also pulled some small sections of paint with it. Luck then I was covering it all up. I also fixed the small touches of surface rust with converter and then a squirt of no primer rust kill paint. Again fortunate that its all getting covered up.
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Once Christmas day was done I got into stripping down the car of parts that would get in the way.
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The more keen eyed viewer may notice I have repainted the rear step and bar. I didn't get any photos but when I do the front I will.

This is where I am up to at the moment
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I can totally see why it cost $3000k+ to wrap a car if there is a couple of guys working on it. I am finding its taking 2hrs+ with me and missus to do a panel. It takes some getting used to to work the wrap. You have to be extremely careful with it and it can be very frustrating. Air bubbles are not really a problem but creases whilst stretching the wrap can get frustrating. Its pretty pliable with some heat applied and stretching it hard over contours seems to be the way to go rather than slowly applying it a small section at a time. Anyways more to come as I continue before the new year.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby slightlydodgy » Mon Dec 30, 2013 5:12 am

That a pretty impressive finish If you don't mind what did the wrap itself cost? How durable do you reckon it would be in the scrub?
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Mon Dec 30, 2013 6:15 am

When done professionally the wrap manufactures like 3M etc can give up to a 10yr warranty against failure. I would be happy if it lasted 3yrs, it may even out last the car lol but I hope 175000ks is not all she has to give. It will be down to how well I have prepped the panels will wax and grease remover and then how well I have got it to stick around the edges. Some places are really hard. The top corners of the bonnet and leading edges of the door especially as there is no room to get fingers in to mould it to shape and then stick it down firmly. Apparently the glues used are pressure sensitive and wont activate until the wrap is rubbed into place and air is released through tiny channels. I do know in a couple of small sections where the wrap has been applied then pulled up to release a crease, pulling it up was enough to lift the clear coat off of the paint. Not ideal as the wrap shows everything that is beneath it. But perfecting was not what im after. The wrap would never be flawless on my paint anyway as its just to ordinary to start with. Out in the bush it will be no worse than your regular paint finish against scratching etc. I suppose it could snag and tear, but for me the Mu is not going to be spending to much time in the bush. Maybe some quick solo runs but I also have a Dual Cab Ranger that is set up for touring and extended trips away.
All up landed at my door with a couple of applicator squeegees it was about $520AU.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:06 pm

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The last thing to do was sort the wheels out. Fortunately I know a mobile touch up bloke who bought his van over and helped out. It was a shitty job as we had to get rid of all the corroded clear coat on the alloy that was lifting and flaking.
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We used a grinder with some kinda of scotch pad that stripped the clear right off without eating in to the alloy. Then we primed them, painted them matte black and then added a splash of Shadow Chrome with a matte clear. The matte black on its own just looked to plain and the wheels still looked old and dirty. The shadow chrome flick changes it up and ended up matching the front grille. Polished the centre caps just need some new nuts.

This was wear we got up to with the last few dregs of sunlight last night
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Its by no means perfect but I am very happy with how its turned out. Theres a couple of small areas that are not stuck down 100% because I physically cant get my fingers in or a tool to stick the wrap down. A small section around the rear guard was fine when I layed it but when it sat out in the heat today has tried to shrink and in no longer a straight edge. Couple of small air bubbles in deeper panel creases have appeared as well after some heat but a pin was enough to smooth it all out again. The passenger door handle looks a bit ordinary as I couldn't get it fully removed which left not way of getting the wrap tight in around it. Fingers crossed it lasts a little bit.
We finished up painting the front bar after doing some basic rust conversion and kill rust painting. It got gloss black with clear on the bumper and a bumper black on the plastic underneath. The nudge bar got gloss on the tube and matte on the insert. Got it fitted up and out into the sun today
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Really happy with how far I got over the Christmas break. Couple of things to still do like paint the rear tailgate hinges. I also need the aircon seeing to sometime early next week.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby geeves » Wed Jan 08, 2014 6:05 pm

love the light blue
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Thu Jan 09, 2014 5:18 pm

Fixed a pinched O Ring in an aircon pipe that was letting the gas out. So another $220 for a fill and let hope it stays in there this time.

Couple of bubbles have appeared in the wrap, all in the deeper body crease at various places around the car. A needle gets the air out and it sticks back down again alright although the drivers door has something dodgy going on and looks a bit crap. Not that you would notice until up close. If it bugs me I can fix it. With the crease through the door, I can make a nice cut along the top edge and re do the whole lower section of the door and you will not spot the join.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby haven » Thu Jan 16, 2014 1:30 pm

The standard blue is my favourite colour! And you went to all that effort for a hideous uqua looking colour? :(
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby geeves » Thu Jan 16, 2014 2:08 pm

With that wrap you could colour key the wheels as well
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:44 pm

haven wrote:The standard blue is my favourite colour! And you went to all that effort for a hideous uqua looking colour? :(

:lol: Its a sky blue, but does get a greeny tinge as the sun gets low in the sky. The standard blue is quite nice but looked like shite on mine. This is just different and as its not glossy but a matte finish, it turns plenty of heads.

geeves wrote:With that wrap you could colour key the wheels as well

Your right. You can can wrap the wheels in any finish you like. For shits and giggles I wrapped the centre of the rear wheel caps in the same blue. It looked ridiculous.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:41 pm

Managed to find an original uncut key Image
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby Jagd100 » Mon Jan 20, 2014 9:32 am

man lot of effort for an old truck !! good practice doh for other cars
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby haven » Tue Jan 21, 2014 1:59 am

Uncut key! Wow that's impressive.
"Jagd100"'it's not that old a truck and they are certainly worth the effort to fix up :) they don't make them like they used to.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:15 pm

Its all about the Mu's character for me. They are tough, easy to work on and has little quirks they would just be annoying in other cars but add to ownership with the Mu. I drove to the airport a couple of weeks ago and found that when using the rear window heater the radio goes to static, turn it off and the music returns. :lol:
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby haven » Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:04 am

haha love it. i know what you mean about quirks. mine used to create radio static when the wipers came on. pretty sure it was just an earth problem but i kinda liked it. :P
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:40 pm

Air con is crap again. Not impressed, dont mind that its not working but the fact I have to deal with the local aircon guy again. He just comes across dodgy and seems like he is taking you for a ride the whole time.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Sat Jun 07, 2014 6:49 pm

Bit of an update. After dicking around with the local auto sparky and my aircon and 3 visits to try and fix it I took it to some one else. They spent around 1.5hrs with the car and did a few leak tests after fixing the ORing issue. Its been good for around 6 months now. The stinker though was that the all the work the new guys did was cheaper than the 10min visit and gas from the other mob who claimed it couldn't be fixed and needed new lines and fittings.
I have also installed this light bar.
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Had to make a bracket from 25sq alley mount it on the nudge bar. Pretty happy with the result and have it wired up to highbeams for the country roads out here.
The standard high beam is pretty weak
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and with the new bar
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Will need to get out in the morning and tilt it up ever so slightly. Super bright though and fine on the road but a slight tilt should through the LED light down the road a bit more. Its bright but doesn't seem to "throw" light as much as normal spotties.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby geeves » Sat Jun 07, 2014 7:42 pm

had to remove one word from your post. If you read your post at work and your it dept was monitoring youd get a call to the bosses office
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby rancidpunx » Sat Jun 07, 2014 7:48 pm

Lol, should have written bankers. That wouldn't have set off the alarms.
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Re: Blue Mu

Postby geeves » Sun Jun 08, 2014 6:46 am

leds in general dont have the long distance of a proper spotlight. They are more for close work which as your pictures shows they are very good at. Not sure how NZ law treats these if used on road.
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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