bpd1151 Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 Thought it'd be best to get my Matte Gun Metal Black TSW's powder coated to a high gloss black instead. Just had these torn off, tires, TPMS, and weights removed in preparation for the process....... So the images above will be the last time these are viewed with the finish from TSW. Truthfully, I haven't been all that happy with the original matte finish, as not only has it not ever really matched the remainder of the gloss black throughout my SHO, but more importantly, the durability has been SIGNIFICANTLY less than desired. Therefore, I am hoping by having them powder coated, the new finish will not only draw in line the rest of the gloss black theme throughout my SHO, but simultaneously will provide a much more durable finished coating to withstand the test(s) of time. I'll re-post new pics once their finished and yes, I am trying to get this accomplished before Carlisle. One minor hiccup I've noticed, is since the weather has been warmer the last couple of weeks here in the CHI...... I've been able to roll my windows down more often. I noticed what appeared to be a developing exhaust leak of some sorts. Sure as poop...... looks like the measly 3" Flex Pipes that were installed in conjunction with my completely custom, hand built down pipes (1st ever of it's kind) have gone to crap. I'd imagine that with the amount of torque being placed upon them, they just didn't hold out. The mesh material is completely torn away on the front side of each flex pipe. So it looks like I'm gonna have to get these taken care of as well. Probably gonna have either an 8" or possibly even a 10" Flex Pipe installed in it's place. If I recall correctly, the OEM Flex Pipes are either of those two lengths, and installing 3" Flex Pipes was probably either just an oversight on the individual who fabricated my Down Pipes for me originally, or perhaps it was a cost cutting measure. Or possibly both. Not sure. Oh well. Live & learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 I;m not surprised that the flex pipes are leaking...I think ever Taurus/Sable we have owned has had to have the flex pipe replaced due to leaking...so I would expect more of us to see this problem as time and miles go by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 Will they be done in time for Carlisle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted May 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I've been assured they will, yes. Got 2 weeks to go still, so should be fine. It won't take much to remount them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I bet they will look awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted May 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I bet they will look awesome! I sure am hoping so..... I'm pretty confident they will. Anything that will help tie in my overall theme, as well ad provide better durability than the current Matte finish, will be a win win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mval Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 mike- like the idea of changing the color to black from the gray to match your theme. looking forward to seeing end result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Well...... surprisingly, my Powder Coater (http://winningcolorspowdercoating.com/) finished up PC'n my TSW's in the High Gloss Black Finish and told me to come pick them up today. Holy hell! I was blown away at the finished product! The results left me breathless and far exceeded even my own expectations. Here's a couple of teaser pics to feast upon...... Now it was highly suggested that I apply a fresh coat of wax to these, prior to re-mounting the tires, so taking advantage of a night off from work, that's exactly what I did. Gonna do my best to get these re-mounted and re-installed back onto the car, so I can get the heck over to the exhaust shop and get those flex pipes repaired accordingly. SHOdded 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Nice! Can't wait til you try them on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Have to admit they look great...and I normally am not wild about black wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tss Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 they look fantastic and I also can't wait to see them on your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mval Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 mike-look great. my new wheels are not all black but main part of the wheel is gloss black. waxing them before putting back on was what i did as well. i usually avoid black because of high maintaince. toughest part i've found is keeping black gloss looking nice from road dirt & brake dust. what i've found that i like is one of those raccoon brushes then use micro towels to first clean & then apply quick detailer to get that nice shine. would like your ideas to see if you have another way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted May 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2014 Thanks for the cleaning / detailing advice.... I'll be sure to report back my experiences accordingly. I had a snafu at the exhaust shop yesterday, and I'm not very happy about it. Wheels look good against the car though. New flex pipes were ordered, and due in tomorrow. So I'll post up more at that time....... Ugh **sigh** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted May 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Hey guys.... I tried posting this info earlier, however it appears my home network is having issues connecting to the forum. It's being worked on as I am being told. But thankfully I can still get on via TapaTalk. As such, please refer to this same link / thread which I updated here ---------> http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 That is one sad story. I hope it has a happy ending. Looks like we both had really great weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Mike, so sorry to read about this, almost unbelievable! Best of luck in getting it repaired quickly and to your satisfaction...please keep us updated. And hopefully the exhaust shop guy will see the error of his way and make things right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHOdded Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Really sorry to hear about your SHO, Mike. Hope you and the exhaust shop can work out an amicable settlement (let cooler heads prevail). Would have been great to have you at Carlisle, with or without the SHO! bpd1151 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Mike, I could hardly sleep last night thinking about you and your car. Thankfully no one was injured, but I can't imagine how you feel...I know how I felt when mine got damaged. Just know I'm thinking about you and hope everything works out for the best...please keep us updated. Feelin' for ya! bpd1151 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted May 31, 2014 Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 Yes, it is a terrible thing to happen and the worst timing too. I know you will get her back in shape but it still stinks having had happened at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2014 Thanks to all of you for the supportive words. I am still fairly upset about this situation. Rightfully so I'd say. I'm torn. I mean part of me blames myself for trying to make sure the car was in tip top shape prior to travelling as far as intended, the other part of me is questioning whether or not I should've just lived with the exhaust leak noise and said "F it". Who knows. But at this juncture, my time and effort is solely being centered upon getting the car back up to snuff. As far as the Ford National's go..... yea, the timing couldn't of been worse. In the same token, I had ZERO intentions of bringing a damaged, messed up, F'd up SHO to an event of such magnitude. Not to toot my own horn, but I recognize that my SHO is literally one of THE most talked about late model SHO's out there, and as such, it just wouldn't be right for me to represent likewise, with a damaged ride. I hold out hope that next year will see a great opportunity for me to re-focus and double down my efforts to continue I take the steps necessary, between now, and 2015, to make sure my SHO's mod list continues to expand, continues to excite, and continues to generate the interest that she has all along up to this point. First thing's first however, and that entails locating a new / different exhaust shop to pipe in these new 8" flex pipes. A set back, but all will be better. I know my rear bumper had started "yellowing" a few years back, and that even to an untrained eye, it appears terribly mismatched in color between the other panels it butts up against. So I intend on having the body shop sand down and re-shoot the entire rear bumper (where it's white) when they perform the other repairs to those areas the exhaust shop damaged. So maybe it was meant to be. Who knows. Now that the wheels have been PC'd in Gloss Black, that's one more thing I wanted to accomplish, so meh....... trying to stay focused on the positive's Thanks again to all. Lot's of pics please from / of Carlisle...... know that I will be salty about missing out. Gggrrrrr...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted June 1, 2014 Report Share Posted June 1, 2014 Hang in there bud. You have overcome set backs before and I know you will again. Just bad timing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pejohnson Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Sorry to hear your challenges on the SHO. Hoping for a quick recovery. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 From everyone in attendence, the unanimous feeling was that had you made the show, you would have taken home the first place for modified SHO's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted June 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Mark...... that's very VERY nice of you to post what you did regarding people's opinions about my SHO and what "may have happened" had I'd been able to go. Moving along, I was finally able to source a completely different shop to perform the necessary exhaust repairs to the damaged / blown out Flex Pipes. Thanks entirely to my good friend Jeff (who also happens to be my one and only Official Photographer of my SHO). I was incredibly thankful for their talents and they were incredibly appalled at the damage caused by the original shop who attempted the repairs and subsequently F'd up my car for lack of better terms. Jeff commented, as did this new shop's owner and employees, that they routinely work on cars much lower than mine, without any problems whatsoever. Mostly "Ricers" and heavily modified vehicles that have been lowered and/or incorporate lower front chin spoilers and/or splitters up front. So anyhow, here's a couple of images of the new Flex Pipes installed. They're 8" double walled stainless steel. Hoping these last much longer than the 3" shorties originally used in the fabrication of my 1st ever of it's kind, catless DP's..... So my car goes in this Monday to the body shop, to correct the body damage, and I'm also having my rear bumper (just the white portion) re-sprayed. I'm also sneaking in another project for them to accomplish as long as she'll be down for these repairs. It should be both functional, as well as being considered aesthetic in nature. So stay tuned for updated pics within the next couple of weeks if all proceeds well. mjhpadi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Ahhh, Haaa, I was wondering if another project might sneak in while the repairs are being done! Good for you! Thanks for sharing the photos, the installation of the 8" flex pipes looks very clean...very nicely done. Although, as I've stated previously, these seem to be the weak link in the transverse engine exhaust, as 2 of the 3 Taurus/Sables we have (not counting the SHO) have had to have them replaced. But that being said, I am almost certain that those all use the shorter version of the flex and I agree that the longer flex should perform better (i.e. last longer). Can't wait to hear that the repairs are complete and to see the new project! Hope everything proceeds without a hitch! Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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