This maybe the first IMSA widebody UN-build on Pennock's.
The story starts like any other, I like the widebodies but I balked at the 5k to join the club. I did find a complete set of body panels from a member here on the list, but they were true race panels (very thin) and vintage. While figuring out what to do with the DSP parts another IMSA car came up for sell, or half an IMSA. So for the price of a IMSA front clip, I got a whole car.
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The wheels did not come with the car, sigh. The car was an 85 GT with a 4 speed, good motor and a new clutch. But a deer took out the front end. Great northern climet interier, all the vinyl parts looked new. So I swapped them for my Texas warped crap.
The rear clip was held on by large sheet metal screws. Notice the crease in the frame above the door post. It was an omen, later on I find the car is way bent.
The rocker panels were held on by rivets and screws and copius mounds of body putty.
Both fenders have stress cracks here and there. I think I'm going to have the panels media blasted so I can attemp to get it sound again. Interesting thing here is the molding is part of the fender. I have another fastback IMSA and the molding is a seperate piece.
The molding on the door was screwed in by two sheetmetal screws and the lower rocker bolts to the front and rear fenders and over lapse onto the door sill. It was supposed to be riveted like the factory ones to the standing seam on the chassis but the fiberglass had no holes drilled for it. From what I hear you have to grind the ends of the rocker panel down to get it to fit between the fenders. Of the two pairs that I have, they are almost paper thin and easly damaged.
I did get one fender with the car but for some reason the back part was sawed off.
The inside shows the inner flange. The IMSA fenders is really just wider at the bottom, at the top the wheel open is lower but actually about the same distance from the chassis as a stock fender. The IMSA fender does have a different coke bottle shape to that I like, but I'll be opening the well up above the beltline like the real race fenders. I'll probably just cut out the flat part of the inner flange.
You re-use the factory panel behind the tail light by glueing it to a piece that part of the rear bumper. It makes for some crappy fit issues.
The bottom of the bumper looks just like a factory one.
Inside sail panels had fiber glass tabs to screw into.
They had an assortment of screws and rivets under the sail panels.
This car had both of the rear liners still. They did not fit really well, there was an 2" gap between the liner and the inside fender lip. I found rocks, gravel and packed silt all the way up to the door. Inside the rear fender in front of the tire, the fender wraps under the car about 6" making a terriific place to grow mushrooms.
Under the rear clip you can see how much they trimed off the bumper parts.
Here's that acre of mushroom farm inside the rear clip. You can see by the road grim silhouet of the fender liner.
The airbox was pretty crude, dryer hose and duct tape. The gas filler was just barely hanging on and was not sealed from the road grime getting past the fender liner. There was a lot of dirt around the gas cap.
The IMSA panels are just moments away from breaking away from what's left of the factory clip.
It appears the only cutting tool they had was a 4 1/2" grinder.
You can see the center bumper section, and the tail light part bolt to the fenders.
I'll have to really go back and get another factory clip and re-mount like Russ did his. It's the only way to keep all that glass from flapping around and get cracks again.
This was the last shot of the rear clip still in one piece. I had my daugter help me put it on the other car and we snapped the roof piece off. Looking close at the joint you could tell they used only resin and filler to attach the IMSA fender to about an inch of what was left of the under panel of the roof.
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yellow 88 GT, not stock
white 88 notchie, 4 banger
