My other expensive hobby - 1963 Sunbeam Alpine - Adventures in Cars

[OlongJohnson]

Bondo

Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. My understanding is that Bondo brand body filler contained asbestos until about 1983, off the top of my head. So I would be extremely careful when disturbing it if I didn't know the stuff was significantly newer than that. Cans of filler can sit around for awhile if they aren't being churned through in a body shop.

[RevolverRob]

Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. My understanding is that Bondo brand body filler contained asbestos until about 1983, off the top of my head. So I would be extremely careful when disturbing it if I didn't know the stuff was significantly newer than that. Cans of filler can sit around for awhile if they aren't being churned through in a body shop.

Hmm. No way to know for sure.

Fortunately, I have been grinding it down while wearing a respirator with P100 filters in it. I'll be sure to blow out the the garage while wearing the respirator. And set up my shop fan upwind if the particles and use it to push it out past me.

It's a little late to avoid disturbing it. Fortunately, most of it is ground out and maybe one more grinding sessions left.

[Maple Syrup Actual]

Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. My understanding is that Bondo brand body filler contained asbestos until about 1983, off the top of my head. So I would be extremely careful when disturbing it if I didn't know the stuff was significantly newer than that. Cans of filler can sit around for awhile if they aren't being churned through in a body shop.

I am starting to suspect you just have a fixation on asbestos.

[OlongJohnson]

I am starting to suspect you just have a fixation on asbestos.

I'm a fan of reading MSDSs.

It goes back to when I was 15 and started working in shops, and the crusty old guys warned me about hazards I hadn't even thought about and how they could go wrong. Around the same time, a friendly old dude in the neighborhood was taken by fast-acting leukemia (feeling fine one day, in the hospital in the big city three days later and gone in two weeks). It really bugs me when people affirmatively express the belief that if it hasn't killed them yet, it can't be harmful. I've been called "Mr. OSHA" and "the canary" (referencing the coal mine application, not the cousin of the stool pigeon) by friends.

[HeavyDuty]

My understanding, gained from years of underwriting asbestos risks, is that so long as it is encapsulated it poses very little risk. I personally wouldn’t worry much about chipping it, but no way would I finish sand old Bondo. Grinding it out, I’d use serious precautions like Rob is taking.

[RevolverRob]

I'm glad OJ brought it up, I was unaware that Bondo may have contained asbestos. I can't guarantee it is actually 'Bondo' filler used in the car and I don't know when the car was 'corrected' and painted. So, it's better safe than sorry.

While I'm not overly concerned that I will have prolonged exposure to aerosolized fibers, it's worth knowing and taking some remedial cleanup action this weekend, in addition to proactive measures in the future. Bearing in mind my father died, just a year ago, from a leukemia-type cancer likely caused by industrial exposure to benzene, I'll err on the side of caution when potentially exposing myself to industrial hazards.

Just so folks know and the info is out there.

Remedial Measures:

1) Open the garage door and blow as much dust as possible out of the garage, while wearing my P100 respirator.
2) Use a damp cloth to clean surfaces and mop the garage floor with a disposable mop.

Proactive Measures:

3) When I have to finish grinding it out, I'll create a positive pressure bubble of plastic around the front of the car, sealing it and using a box fan to create positive airflow into the bubble. This will contain as much of the dust as possible. Then, when done, I'll just collapse my plastic bubble and haul it out with the dust reasonably well contained.

Maybe that is overkill, but overkill is underrated.

[RevolverRob]

Well, I thought I was going to yank the engine and gearbox this weekend. But as I looked it all over, I realized I was going to have to take the intake manifold and exhaust header off the engine first...and that ended up taking me nearly six hours with rusted bolts that were impossible to get to.

Still, tons more space under the hood now...

http://instagram.com/p/CHoHY_-pyFZ/

[RevolverRob]

Productive day. Submitted a post-doc proposal and then feeling kind of brain fried I did this:

http://instagram.com/p/CHtaIf9JFzZ/

[RevolverRob]

So KPower Industries has three different adapters for fitment between a K-series and a BMW gearbox. When I called the KPower folks (pre-Covid) a quick convo with their lead engineer basically lead me to realize that the Mazda gearboxes weren't worth the hassle, his words were, "If you don't have a Mazda box, don't buy one. Source a BMW the Getrag 260 or ZF 5 or 6-speed from an E36 or E46."

___

I found this Getrag 260 in Ohio on Ebay and convinced the guy to meet me halfway, in Indianapolis. $340 and 40 bucks in gas later...sitting in my garage. The local cost on a Getrag 260 is about 850 bucks - IF you can find one. I was going to use the ZF 5-speed, because it's a little easier to find, but it's also bigger in case size, and has a 1:1 5th gear. Where as the G260 has a 0.81 overdrive 5th gear.

The 260 is bigger than the original Rootes box, but not really that much larger. And in terms of overall length it's nearly 8" shorter. So, in a genuinely rare turn of events for a 5-speed/engine swap into an old British car, I'll have to lengthen my driveshaft, instead of shorten it.

http://instagram.com/p/CIMDctppjD5/

[OlongJohnson]

I always thought the ZF in the M3s shifted smoother than the Getrag 250 in my E36 325is. The only E30s I can remember driving were M3s, so no comparison between Getrag 250 and 260.

The Miata tranny shifts nicer than either, but won't hold power unless you find a six speed. Which would take awhile.