IR89 - back in action.

[ImpulseRocket89]

ARGGHH! I got the door panels off with nearly zero problems or damage to anything, but the second I started removing the upper trim panel where the grab handles are I ran into plastic breaking issues. I removed both handles just fine, but the front and rear clips both broke no matter how careful I was with removing them. I even followed the exact instructions in the factory workshop manual with no luck. I hope I can find a way to repair them

Any suggestions on how to get the other side off so I only have to repair one? As much as I would like to reduce the weight of this car, a completely bare interior just doesn't rate super high on my want list...

Picture of what I am talking about

[Piazza_man]

Try giving Clive from IPTOC a PM. He might have some available. If not then Elkygem might have some of these trims/clips.

[ImpulseRocket89]

I guess it couldn't hurt to try. I may be able to repair them, but if the price is right then new ones would be even better.

[ImpulseRocket89]

Most of the rest of the trim came off with minimal to no breakage, except for one piece that was already broken in 3 places and couldn't be avoided. It's a piece I actually don't entirely care about anyway, so no loss lol.

Deleting the sunroof is a lot easier than I first thought. The support is actually bolted on from the bottom and then sealed with seam sealer. Hard to tell because this pic ended up coming out like shit. In any case, aside from the auto-belts being removed, the upper header panel, and the dash, it's barren on the inside. Speaking of the auto-belts, I came to a realization today that removing the system entirely eliminates the ability to re-install the A-pillar trims. So I either have to gut the rail and leave that section bolted in place if I wanted to keep said interior trim or go full race car bare. Unless I can find a very early Impulse that didn't have the auto-belts and steal it's interior bits.




I found an interesting way to check for and fix rocker rust on the JR's if you don't mind removing the rear interior panels. Mine are better than I thought, but one side needs a little attention if I don't want it to turn into serious rot eventually.

Drivers side, which was actually in decent shape.




Passenger side, which was strangely the worst of the two. My last JR was the opposite, with the drivers side being the nasty one. Most of this appears to be surface rust.




I also started to take apart the nose of the car, but ended up stopping after I got the hood, grille, and headlight buckets removed. I also removed the cowl cover and found the a-typical collection of dirt, pine needles, helicopter seeds, and other misc flim flam. I did remove the inner fender liner and splash guard on the drivers side. I only had to break half of the bolts in the process, and then noticed how rusty the hardware was behind the bumper cover is, so I soaked it all with some PB and decided to attack it tomorrow. I also found a bunch more weight reduction goodies to remove in the process lol







Oh, and more shiny stuff arrived in the mail today.

[Piazza_man]

Love the shiny stuff. How much weight are you hoping to remove out of the car?

[ImpulseRocket89]

Love the shiny stuff. How much weight are you hoping to remove out of the car?

Unsure at this point. It's hard to decide what route to go. Most of the weight I would save by rocking a gutted interior would come back with a 5 point (4 point with cross bar) "cage", but even if I managed 100lbs it would be something. There really isn't a whole lot of weight that can be saved on these cars. However, one place I know I could really trim down the weight is the front and rear bumper cores/frames. I just have to do it in a way that won't affect the safety of the car, which is the tricky part.

Speaking of weight reduction... Removing the factory tar-backed sound proofing just kind of started happening as I went to measure something. About 2/3 of the way done and that box already weighs a good 50+lbs. I just have to get whats left next to the rear seat area and both front footwells. There are a couple of areas where there is a lot of sticky tar and/or seam sealer that I can't really get to budge. Time to go get some dry ice I think.

[Bugle]

Did yours have those rubber mats with furry stuff between the carpet and floor? They weigh a fair bit..

You'd like Aussie bumpers, hard plastic and the bumper support is heaps lighter, you can see how much less steel there is in it. Tow hook is directly off the right bumper mount instead of the 2 hooks off the support. Front is pretty much the same deal. Damn US crash regs..

[ImpulseRocket89]

Did yours have those rubber mats with furry stuff between the carpet and floor? They weigh a fair bit..

You'd like Aussie bumpers, hard plastic and the bumper support is heaps lighter, you can see how much less steel there is in it. Tow hook is directly off the right bumper mount instead of the 2 hooks off the support. Front is pretty much the same deal. Damn US crash regs..

Oh yea, it had the fluffy foam/rubber matting across most of the lower floor pan, a couple of thermal insulation packs over the hump that the catalytic converter sits, a bunch of foam and tape at key spots, some type of thick matting on the rear quarter panel on the inside, two sound proofing bags in the lower rocker/rear quarter area, and even more foam padding on top of that. Then all of this dynamat like stuff that I have to crack off with a chisel. I would have to weigh it all, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the carpeting and all of the sound proofing under it didn't weigh close to 100lbs all on its own.

It's no wonder these cars rust out in the rear rockers so easily. Moisture and dirt get in easily, but gets trapped there and sits.

As far as the bumper cores go, I may have to use your pictures as an example on how to trim mine down. That shows the difference in the rear, and I know that the fronts are probably worse still. Losing a bunch of weight of the very nose of the car would be one of the best places too, since these cars are so nose heavy.

I really need to go get a good scale. I just keep forgetting.

[ImpulseRocket89]

I've been keeping myself busy. The body is almost completely torn down. Wiring is almost entirely pulled out. I just have the hatch and passenger door to deal with on the body, and then I can start to patch a couple things... including one rocker panel.









Just for reference purposes, a picture of the emissions air pump that sits behind the bumper. That is the Drier of the AC system next to it on the left.

[Piazza_man]

Looking good. But how did you manage to remove the rear lights. I have my HBLs I want to put in but I can't seem to budge the originals out. Any tips?

[ImpulseRocket89]

It's not that difficult really. First remove the light bulb panel from the housing assembly. There is a bracket on the back side of the lights that is held on by 10 small nuts (either 8 or 10mm, I can't remember off hand). remove all of those and the bracket should come free. From there just apply pressure to the housing from behind and it should come free. If the seals are old it may take a little bump or two to get them started.

In essence, the tail lights are clamped on to the body with that bracket, and the seal helps hold it in place while also keeping out water.

You may end up destroying those rubber seals too. Mine were so dry rotted and stuck that they split in a couple of places whilst trying to remove them. I have to think of a way to seal them again with some kind of rubber strip, or if all else fails, a good bead of silicon.

If you want some detailed pics of the tail lights, let me know.

[Piazza_man]

Yeah I took the nuts out but can't seen to remove the inner rear plate/bracket. Mind you that was a few months ago since I tried it so I might give it another go. Was your inner bracket lined with that black sealer. I figured mine was lined with something because it seems to be stuck on.

[ImpulseRocket89]

No, the only seal on my tail lights was the outer seal between the housing and the body. Did you remove the plastic section that the bulbs are inside of before trying to remove the bracket? On mine, you have to take that off in order for the bracket to come free. Also, on mine there are flexible metal hoops that hold the wiring harness in place. You have to bend those back and pull the wiring harness free of the bracket, if your current tails have those.

[Piazza_man]

Yeah I removed the lamp holder panel but I'll have another look at the clips.

Edit: I think what I was doing wrong was trying to push the studs through rear plate which I was trying to leave in place. The rear plate looks the same as the HBL one so I didn't want to change it. From what you're suggesting the rear plate needs to come out regardless.

[ImpulseRocket89]

Aye, the rear plate separates from the housing on the inside, and the housing pushes away from the body on the outside. It doesn't come apart smooth and easy though. I had to finagle mine around a bit to get them to come free, but otherwise it is pretty straight forward.