My From Start to Finish 6.0L Build

[Fless]

Not knowing how durable the bumper surface is, I'd say paint it. Those things take a beating.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Not knowing how durable the bumper surface is, I'd say paint it. Those things take a beating.

If you don't paint it, the sun(UV) could eventually damage it. Might turn it chalky or just make it brittle. I'd paint it--something, flat black automotive paint maybe?

 

[Rocket Man]

Yep I agree- paint it or UV will have it’s way and it won’t last long.

 

[iamdub]

Yep, I can see the confusion I caused. So the front bumper cover was delivered as “paint ready” and is essentially a flat black. The body side moldings have been painted flat black to match the current bumper cover color. I like the look of the black front. So the question was - should I slap some paint on the already flat black bumper cover.

I gotcha now. I agree with the others- paint it the same as the side moldings. That unpainted flat black will steadily get lighter until it's a light smoky gray. It'll be lighter on the top surfaces. It'll also be damaged from direct UV exposure.

Painting it will ensure it matches and stays matching. I like the contrasting color scheme.

 

[RAMurphy]

@Fless @Tonyrodz @Rocket Man @iamdub Thank you all for the input. So it is settled, I will paint the bumper cover the same flatblack I used on the body side moldings. I will do this when the body paint arrives and I have the vehicle back for a long weekend in the near future.

I was able to get the Vibe in for alignment yesterday morning and they made the appropriate adjustments. Drives great. My daughter picked up her car yesterday evening and she teared up when she saw it - she absolutely loved it, big smile on her face as she drove off. Makes the time and effort so worth it.

So terribly hot and humid here (90+ and real feel over 110) the last several weeks. I'm so glad to have A/C in my garage - a father's day present several years ago from my better half.

 

[RAMurphy]

So, another cost set back on my build. After 60K miles it is time to put new tires on my wife's 2020 Subaru Crosstrek. Wow, the cost of tires has gone up. Looking at three tires: Continental Crosscontact LX25, Firestone Destination LE3 and Michelin Defender 2. All three receive great ratings. I've actually have continentals on my Tahoe which I absolutely love. I also put the Firestones on my daughter's SUV (she paid for them) and they ride extremely well. Of course I also have experience with Michelin. Not a surprise the Michelin are the most expensive. Not even considering the original Falken tires.

 

[RAMurphy]

New tires for my wife's car ordered from Tire Rack.

I was hoping to have my new engine built before my next oil change. That won't happen. This being summer and all the work I have been doing on the house, helping/supporting my family and camping - I've put another 5K miles on my baby. Ordered my AC Delco filter and Mobil 1 synthetic oil (5W-30). Will be changing the oil on Friday. Expected high 98 with a real feel over 115. I guess I will be firing up the A/C in the garage again.

 

[RAMurphy]

When I decided to build this engine, I also decided I wanted better control of my upgraded electric fans. As I was purchasing and collecting the rest of the parts (minus the costly heads) I needed for my engine build the past several months I also procured an updated solid state fan controller from autocoolguy.com. This component allows me to properly adjust and control when the fans kick on from a temperature perspective, but it will slowly increase the speed as required based on the temperature of the coolant. It slowly engages the fan and ramps up as required. When you turn on the A/C it will kick on both fans gently to a level you select at the controller (from 10% all the way up to 100%). It also has a failsafe feature that allows you to kick both fans on at 100% with a switch in the cabin (I already have a switch for my current setup). My brother installed one of his units several years ago on his major upgraded Ford Mustang and loves it. My plan is to install this on my current set up to give it a try until my new engine is completed and installed. Goal is this weekend if time allows.

 

[RAMurphy]

Finished both the Oil Change and the upgraded fan controller install. Started early in the morning, because I knew it was going to get hot. Even with AC in the garage, by late afternoon to early evening the AC struggles to keep up.

Oil Drained

Topped of Oil Filter with Oil

New Filter installed and drained pan bolt torqued down properly

Last of the 6 quarts

From my catch can - not bad after 5K miles

 

[RAMurphy]

The controller was a bit more time consuming. But I did lay out, determine routing and cut wires to rough lengths last night. The directions provided were easy to follow. On one end of the controller you have a Ground and Two Fan Wires. On the other side a Battery, Ignition, Ground, 2 Sensors, Air Conditioning and finally the fail safe.

Started by draining the radiator and installing the cooper pipe and temperature probe on the lower radiator hose. This was the hardest part of the install.

I wired up the controller