Bat #4355016

RonP

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I have never chronicled a build on this forum, but since this is a pretty special car (one of only 4 Taiga Bats built), I thought I would give it a try. Hopefully I will have enough time to keep up with things. Here is the car in it's current state:


The car is rusty in some of the usual spots, but the pans are great, some bubbling here and there, but it is in a lot better shape than I had thought. Stay tuned.
 

Nicad

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I think I will take my laptop in the bath with me to relax as this unfolds.
Already burnt out my period and commas keys doing that. Looking forward to seeing a Green BAT
 

Bwana

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When you removed the engine, did you take it out the top (hood removal) or out the bottom (front subframe removal)? Did you take the engine/trans out in one piece or spilt them and removed separately?
 

RonP

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When you removed the engine, did you take it out the top (hood removal) or out the bottom (front subframe removal)? Did you take the engine/trans out in one piece or spilt them and removed separately?

We took the engine out from the bottom, sans transmission. We carefully set it on jack stands and then raised the car up on the lift. That made it easier to put the hoist on the motor and pull it out.

@Peter:

Our plan is to do a nut and bolt restoration all back to original.
 

Peter Coomaraswamy

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Nice, it looks like whoever painted it white did a good job though- even got under the battery tray :) Hopefully they missed the wiper motor! Should be a great thread and I hope you are maybe able to point out some of the differences between the L and the regular CS's as you move along!
 

RonP

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More progress this week. We are almost done with stripping the car, just the upper dash and steering column, f&r windows, and some bits in the engine compartment.

 

TodB

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I'v seen firsthand what's under the paint of other so called high end coupe restoration shops and frankly, was appalled what I saw they did prior to their paint. I've also been to other shops who take the time to do it right. Put the two finished cars side by side, and you would probably not see any difference. As I am fond of saying, paint (or in the cases I've seen, multiple layers of paint) can cover a lot of sins.

Ron, as you continue with this car, I'd like to see the level of body work restoration that you do, i.e. stripping paint, etc. and the body work you do when you find out what is actually under the paint. Do you typically cut out the rust and/or poor previous bodywork? To what level do you remediate it or repair past ills? My feeling is that the devil is in these types of details and what separates a refresh from a true restoration.

This, of course, begs the question, what is the difference between a resto and a refresh, which might be a good topic for a separate thread. I was not meaning to derail this one.
 

RonP

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I'v seen firsthand what's under the paint of other so called high end coupe restoration shops and frankly, was appalled what I saw they did prior to their paint. I've also been to other shops who take the time to do it right. Put the two finished cars side by side, and you would probably not see any difference. As I am fond of saying, paint (or in the cases I've seen, multiple layers of paint) can cover a lot of sins.

Ron, as you continue with this car, I'd like to see the level of body work restoration that you do, i.e. stripping paint, etc. and the body work you do when you find out what is actually under the paint. Do you typically cut out the rust and/or poor previous bodywork? To what level do you remediate it or repair past ills? My feeling is that the devil is in these types of details and what separates a refresh from a true restoration.

This, of course, begs the question, what is the difference between a resto and a refresh, which might be a good topic for a separate thread. I was not meaning to derail this one.

Tod,

Great question! I don't do the bodywork, but do makes sure that all rust is removed. When I restored Rahal's Bat, we removed and replaced the rocker panels, strut towers, and the entire rear clip! It does take a lot longer to do, but the result is a practically new car. You are right, as when I bought the car it appeared to be rust free!!! It was nothing close to it, but the paint layers made it look like it was.
 

TodB

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It would be great if you could share some of the detail resto pics from the Rahal car (on a separate thread if necessary).
 

Peter Coomaraswamy

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Ron, just got through most of your photobucket. Anyone who wishes to purchase one of these cars should be forced (kind of like A Clockwork Orange) to look at each picture. If "a" picture says a thousand words my ears are ringing!
 
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