Beretta 2017 Autocross Spec D-prepared

[Amateur]

For the most part, I'm pretty much done. I didn't bother painting the driver side door because I need a new one since the metal on the inside is literally fractured. I'll snap a pic later, it's actually really weird where it cracked+ the obvious dent on the outside.

I still have to do a little more wet sanding to even out the coat but now it looks the project car part lol. Really, I want to see how long this paint lasts in everyday elements so 3/30/16 starts day 1.

[Money pit Beretta]

Not too shabby. Never had any luck with a spray can, so it looks good to me.

[Amateur]

^^Thanks.
This is what I meant about the door fracture



I also took some black gorilla tape and lined the headlights as an appearance trick to make the headlamps look better fitted against the notorious panel gaps the Beretta has.




Also +1

[Money pit Beretta]

That door is nasty. With the way the outside looked was thinking someone had the door open and backed up into something. If it was that then it must have been one hell of a hit on rear part of the door.

Those old headlight seals do a better job of filling the upper gap, good luck finding some. The tape does seem to help the look. Is it going to stay?

[3X00-Modified]

Door will do that from vibrations while driving... I think both the Indy and my Pink car have small fractures starting that I need to tack up.

[themixer]

wow i have never seen that happen before to any of my berettas!

[Amateur]

Door will do that from vibrations while driving... I think both the Indy and my Pink car have small fractures starting that I need to tack up.

Well that explains a lot, I guess I learn something new about these cars everyday.

Bring on the Beretta Pics!

[Amateur]

So I'm keeping this science experiment of a paint job going, choo choo! I decided to take it to the next level and give the car more durability for Operation Superthrift by give it a solid coat of plastidip glossy clearcoat.



Make no mistake, this is actually more of a satin finish than a real gloss. It's my first time using plastidip and it was a fun experience. it's really easy to handle and I find the ideal coat is sprayed from 6" away with a 50% overlap.
Also Moneypit, In the end I decided to ditch the headlight liner and instead opted to add some shims to adjust the headlight fitting better.

Here's the results from todays experiment:

[Money pit Beretta]

Ah, so pushing them forward makes them fit better. How thick were these shims?

[Amateur]

^It was 1/2" to level it out. The beretta eyes were derpy as one was going up and the other down.

Aww yeah, finally got that Mustang Mach1 chin spoiler all the cool kids are putting on their 'rettas these days. Can't beat it for $60.
Because racecar:



Also Speedhunters had an article back in February about drag racing in Qatar. Low and behold, somebody actually races a Beretta halfway across the world.

[Money pit Beretta]

Oh so the side adjustment is loose then.

[Amateur]

Finally got around to installing the Mach 1 lip. I give it a 2/5 for difficulty.



The install was pretty straightforward. The center hole aligns perfectly with the Beretta's center hole where it's generally riveted because that's where the air funnel is mounted for the z04 kit...which I don't have because ain't nobody got time for that, but seriously, my four banger doesn't need it, cooling is a nonissue.

From there, you need to drill out every other hole because nothing will align since it is a kit meant for an OEM Mustang, not a Beretta.



It's up to you where you want to drill, just as long as it's secured. Also, I suggest upgrading the standard phillips screw/nut combo that comes with the kit to a normal hex bolt one for future ease. When those phillip screws get rusted, which they will, you're going to be strippring heads. I used the phillips screws because I'm a masochist like that.

Also, around the edges it would behoove you to cut some slits/wedges into the lip to add an extra degree of flexibility to better fit the Beretta bumper.



Presto!

[1988GTU]

Now your beretta will want to go after crowds of people and hit things!

[Amateur]

Now your beretta will want to go after crowds of people and hit things!

[Amateur]

Sooooo, The engine is doomed. The deathcloud came back with a vengeance when I fired her up yesterday! And apparently I'm leaking antifreeze and I have no idea from where. all the normal culprits like gaskets/hoses/tank looks totally fine and it's an external leak too. Whatevs I'm so done with the Beretta and am selling it.

JUST KIDDING, as if i'll sell this awesome car that drives me crazy. I need my dedicated race car.
So I did what any rational owner would do in times of crisis. I bought a damn low mileage longblock with 57,000 miles! get this, for $500. It has a 3 month warranty, so i mean, how could I not buy it. The tranny in it right now has about 65k on it, so the motor is right in that ballpark.

I've never seen such a clean 2.2 in my life. That radio flyer hauled me around when I was a kid, now it's hauling engines!