Using your Corvette as a lathe
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,967
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From: Bradenton Florida
2017 C4 of the Year Finalist
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St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
Using your Corvette as a lathe
I have been doing some winter projects on my 82 CE. I just rebuilt and rebushed my TB's ( see other post ) . Last night I jacked up the car to change the fuel filter, and so I could run it in drive without running myself over while I balanced the Crossfire system. One of the steps involves running the car past 35 mph to reset the IAC's. That gave me an idea! My rim's looked like Crap, the previous owner clear coated them with about 12 coats of urethane clear that was yellowing and chipping off. I have blown most of the junk off the center of the finned sections with my pressure cleaner last summer when I went through the brakes, but on the 2 rear wheels the lip remained coated. The front rims flaked off long ago due to the heat from the brakes, and I have been able to polish the lip to a nice shine, and maintain that over the past year. I tried to sand the rear lip off before but that stuff was tough! So I have been living with nice front rims and crappy rears. Last night I thought while the car was idling in gear and the rears were spinning....why not try to use the car as a lathe and sand off the clear? Dangerous....Maybe, but nothing I haven't done before. So with it idling at 650, in first gear I started hitting the edge with some 120 grit paper. After about 5 minutes and a few sheet I wasn't getting very far. I decided to get serious, I grabbed a utility knife and using the point I machined the clear coat right off. I couldn't believe how fast that took off the old finish and cleaned up the lip! I then took 120/220/400/1000/and finally 2000 and finished up with some Mothers aluminum polish. Now I need to redo the fronts to get all of the crap out of the edges like the back. 20minutes and $0.00 spent! Here are the results!
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Found a before:
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[/IMG]Found a before:
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Last edited by kevakasper; Jan 20, 2012 at 09:47 AM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,967
Likes: 43
From: Bradenton Florida
2017 C4 of the Year Finalist
No-IL Events Coordinator
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,967
Likes: 43
From: Bradenton Florida
2017 C4 of the Year Finalist
No-IL Events Coordinator
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
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Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
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From: San Jose CA
If you're gonna do it, lift the wheels up so that they're at a more natural angle. (at which point, when the SHTF your car will be launching jack stands at you right before it runs you over.)
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,944
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From: The only Corvettes in Highett Victoria
kevakasper,
If you are so intent on using this method, you now know that you will have to fit front wheel drive to the car in order to do the front wheels, don't you?
Seriously, you should find a car with a live rear axle and use that. Continued spinning of the Corvette (rear) wheels at full drop will not be good for the U-joints.
Caveat Emptor.
Regards from Down Under.
aussiejohn
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2009
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From: Vero Beach FL
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2011
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From: Peoria Arizona
that sounds dangerous
Reminded me of a buddy of mine - he has a REALLY nice 72 Firebird (show car in it's day) which was in storage for a long time. He pulled it out and stored it in my garage for a couple of months while he finished his house. The car was filthy from sitting and his aluminum wheels looked like crap. I kept bugging him to clean the car and he didn't so one Saturday I polished up one wheel until it looked like a mirror. It worked - Forced him to clean the car and polish the other three wheels.
Reminded me of a buddy of mine - he has a REALLY nice 72 Firebird (show car in it's day) which was in storage for a long time. He pulled it out and stored it in my garage for a couple of months while he finished his house. The car was filthy from sitting and his aluminum wheels looked like crap. I kept bugging him to clean the car and he didn't so one Saturday I polished up one wheel until it looked like a mirror. It worked - Forced him to clean the car and polish the other three wheels.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2000
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From: San Jose CA
Instructor
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