And so it begins...

[RamAirZ]

Nice progress!

[Buffy]

Well the engine is at the machine shop, new crank has arrived and the tranny is out getting freshened up. While all that is happening, I am left to address rust and grime.

Dirty engine bay:


Preparing to blast the grime:






Squeeky clean:




Rust time:





A VERY rust rear sway bar:




Front and rear bars:


I am trying to decide now if I should replace sway bars or not.

[samneil2000]

Sand and paint or powder coat? Would that stay on a bar that flexes like the sway bar?
You've got some serious rust under the front end. Are you scuffing and rattle-can-ing or have some other fix in mind? I need to do this on mine. The front bumper bar is completely rusted out, and I need to get it out of my VX and do some sanding and painting.

[Buffy]

I am using Master Series Coating that RamAirZ turned me on to. The wife and I are sanding, grinding, scraping all the rust we can find. Once that is done we will apply the coating. It is some good stuff that will stop rust and prevent it from returning.

CalMini sells new sway bars that are advertised as 40% stronger than stock but the price for the pair is 340.00. Kind of pricey but I have not priced OEM either. If I do not replace them I will take them to the powder coaters and let them blast and coat.