Going Deeper

"Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness" (long-voyager-2nd-edition) 07/09/2019 at 12:34 • Filed to: Body Work, Mopar, Caravan, cruiser van

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Made more progress on the 92 last night. Got the patch panel welded in and a layer of filler over it:

It’s pretty straight, so one more light coat should fill it in perfectly. Then I set out to throwing some primer on spots that ended up bare metal after feathering. She kinda looks like a patchwork quilt right now:

I managed to get about 1/4 of the roof feathered out and primed as well:

The road so far:

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HoustonRunner > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/09/2019 at 09:59

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I’m driving our van today since the Burb is at the dealer for a recall. I keep the driver info screen in the gauge cluster on the mileage screen, and since most of the trips are 1 to 3 miles at a time, it was at 14 when I got in this morning.  My commute is about 40 miles each way, and most of that is with the cruise set at 72.  The Distance To Empty calculation slowly went up the entire drive, and I think the MPG was up to 18 when I parked.  Clearly Chrysler didn't spend a lot of time working on that algorithm, since I did not make gasoline during my drive.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > HoustonRunner 07/09/2019 at 10:07

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I’m quite interested to fill the new van up and actually check mileage. It’s ranged from 33 mpg down to 21.2 on the average readout, finally settling in at 26.3 mpg.

I’m hoping it accomplishes better economy than my 1992, which can pull 27 mpg hwy and averages 22-24 mpg in mixed driving.

HoustonRunner > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/09/2019 at 10:27

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Does the Dodge version have the “Eco” button in the center stack? I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually looked up what it does, but my experience is that it just mutes the throttle input.

With it off the throttle is pretty touchy (compared to my Burb), with it on there is clearly more input needed to get the same response from the drivetrain.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > HoustonRunner 07/09/2019 at 10:29

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It does. I never turn it on, but I’ve found it comes on automatically after cruising for a certain period of time, to which I usually turn it back off because the laggy throttle drives me nuts.

I’m used to direct cable throttle, so I like “touchy” throttles.

HoustonRunner > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/09/2019 at 11:43

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Interesting, I've never noticed it coming on automatically.

MM54 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/09/2019 at 17:49

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Do you mix up very small quantities of 2k primer for this sort of patchwork or is this of the canned variety?

The spray pattern suggests the former but you must have the patience of a saint to deal with that plus cleanup for such small work.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > MM54 07/10/2019 at 06:59

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It’s canned.

It’s Bondo gray filler primer, I just have a steady hand with a rattle can ;)

MM54 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/10/2019 at 17:31

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Do you take it back off before final prime/paint? I’ve always been hesitant to spray 2k over rattle can primer for some reason.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > MM54 07/11/2019 at 07:00

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I do not. I only spot prime what needs to be primed because priming over paint is a terrible idea.

Once everything is spot primed and sanded, I lay down a coat of sealer:

Then start laying base coat once the sealer tacks. If you let the sealer dry, you have to scuff it out before you can lay base coat.

MM54 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 07/11/2019 at 12:03

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Awesome, thanks. In m y (limited) experience I’ve put a coat of build primer over well-scuffed paint without issue, but who knows how well that would hold up long term. I will definitely keep this in mind as I continue to piecemeal the bodywork on the chevelle together!

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > MM54 07/11/2019 at 12:20

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I don’t know how much truth there is to it, it’s something I was taught years ago when I started doing body work, and it stuck.