80 Intruder Refresh

[SkiDog74]

Thought I'd share some pics of my current project. Got this Intruder with an 82 LTD, at first I was just going to ignore it; but it kept looking at me funny. It's pretty complete and a solid low mileage sled.

[SkiDog74]

So at first I figured I'd give it a nice bath, shine it up and call it good.




Sadly it wasn't quite good enough for me. I really need help.

[SkiDog74]

Next thing I know pieces started coming off.

[SkiDog74]

This was totally unacceptable, so out came the grinder and wire wheels.




I'll post the results tomorrow. Thanks for looking.

[Interceptor398]

Progress!!  They really are good sleds.  Simple and reliable.

[SkiDog74]

Agreed. The Intruders are usually treated as a throwaway sled, kind of a shame really. If you compare it to it's competition in the 80's it was one of the best. So I started out with a 1/2" drill with a Kobalt wire wheel. Was not impressed, switched to Harbor Freight wheels, they lasted longer but still not good enough. Here's some pics of the results.


I then decided to take my brother-in-law's advice and bought an angle grinder and a knotted wire cup. Huge Improvement! It may not be quite as good as sandblasting or acid dipping but it's a hell of a lot cheaper and does a decent job.

I finished grinding last nite but was too tired to take pics. I'll put them up tomorrow. Thanks for looking.

[jimvw57]

Looking good!!

Have to agre with you. I always overlooked the Intruders as my first Kawi was an Invader and I liked the idea of a liquid cooled sled. Once I got my Intruder, I decided they are not so bad . Seems like it is not as picky as the 4/6 I have...

[SkiDog74]

Here's the finished product after wire wheeling. Got most of the rusty scale and loose powdercoat off. If I was doing a true restoration I would probably have it dipped, but this is a low cost operation so this'll have to do.

[SkiDog74]

Next I decided to do some polishing before painting. I started with 600 grit, then 800, 1000, 1500 and finished with Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. Tried using a Mothers Powerball and liquid polish, but it wasn't as good as old fashioned elbow grease.



I'm relatively pleased with the results, but I think I'll use 2000 grit and some paste polish on the LTD when I do it. That's all for today. Thanks for looking.

[Lloyd (ljm)]

 Looks good !

 I have a couple Intruders, I might have to give one the same treatment

[Joel]

Looks great, revive another one. Joel

[kawhead]

looking good....i've always wanted to port an intruder to invader specs......

[SkiDog74]

Thanks guys. I plan on masking everything tonite and painting this weekend if all goes well. I've never ported a fanner before, although we'll see. It's got a date with a 440 f/c Exciter this winter so ya never know.

[SkiDog74]

Well I wasn't able to completely finish painting over the weekend, family still comes first. I was able the spray some Loctite rust inhibtor Fri nite and the self-etch primer Sun nite though.



Prime coat went on well but it'll need a quick wetsanding to get the dust and dog hair out . Need a booth. More to follow soon hopefully. Thanks for looking.

[SkiDog74]

Well it's been awhile since my last post due to waiting on paint. I finally finished the topcoat this weekend, I did the first coat last weekend and then had to let it cure for 7 days before laying a second coat. I used Dupli-Color high gloss black enamel.



I'd give it an 8 out of 10. There's no fish eye, orange peeling or runs, but there is some dried overspray due to the fact my fan isn't strong enough. Overall it's better than what it was, but not as good as factory. Lesson learned, next one gets powdercoated. Now for some reassembly!