While that thread continues with more ideas & input still going on, I've decided to cover my Finale Roadster build up thread here. If I tried to cover this build in that thread, it would have been like shooting at a moving target as people push the PS image that Aus did into a finished product that I wouldn't necessarily want to build.
While these 2 threads should compliment each other well, this will be the build thread, the other one will be the idea thread.
This is what We are working towards, by Aus....
Here we go.
We started this day by looking thru my "Field of Dreams" to find a good donor car. The one we picked has a very good chassis & an ugly body.
The 1st part of the dis-assembly process takes place right in front of the dumpster
We should be thanked for removing another aftermarket sunroof from circulation.
.......... Archie
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11:13 PM
PFF
System Bot
Master Tuner Akimoto Member
Posts: 2267 From: South Florida,USA Registered: Jul 2003
I can't wait to see how this turns out, I did a few photoshops in the other thread and like the overall idea. Obviously everyone has different tastes so I made my own changes, but either way this will be cool.
------------------ 1986 Fiero SE
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11:36 PM
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
Well I will be adding this one to my favourites. Check the other thread Archie. I added a bit to the other design. Not necessarily to build but to show what could be done with add ons that are not part of the original moulds.
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07:23 AM
KissMySSFiero Member
Posts: 5542 From: Tarpon Springs, FL USA Registered: Nov 2000
I guess this is a stupdi question, but I'll ask anyway. Is the Finale Speedster body in production, a prototype, etc... Hoping this will be a kit. I'm wanting to buy a Fino shortly, but can easily wait if this is going into production.
What type of frame reenforcing is needed. Can the average garage hacker do this ?
Let me give you today's update & answer some of your questions.
Only one guy (Rob) worked on the Roadster today. Getting ready to do the frame stiffeners before we cut off the roof framing. We spend a few hours getting the Plasma cutter hooked up to a 230v line. Usually on a convertable Fiero or any Fiero chassis that has the roof removed permanetly a Frame stiffener is put underneath the car to try to keep it straight. That usually works pretty good & takes 90% of any flex out of the car. However with everything we are going to put on this car I want that chassis 100% solid. So while we have this apart We're going to add some steel inside the car to really make it rock solid. Back when I built the Suicide doors on the Stinger, We WAY OVERBUILT the hinges and framing around the hinges & the door frames to be as solid as possible. It's a lot easier to overbuild it now than re-build it later. Considering the little accident Jeff had with the Stinger door, it would be interesting to know if He's glad we overbuilt it from the get go. I'm figuring that we will be adding about 100 pounds to the weight of the finished car. Anyway We'll be showing you all the steel work & We'll show you how we will evaluate the stiffness when we're done with the steel work. We added about 80# to the Stinger by overbuilding it & I'll bet that Jeff is a lot happier with that extra 80# than he ever thought he'd be.
Now to answer some of the questions.
Philphine & others asking about the LS1: All the prototyping is done on the LS1 stick shift kit & it's been undergoing testing and documentation for a week or more now. Most of the parts are now in production and a couple of them are done already. We'll have more details on that as the build of this car continues.
Please note that all of the pictures I've been posting for more than a year now & all the pictures I'll post on this thread & other threads are Hosted on my own web site & are not wasting Cliff's server space.
KissMySSFiero: Right now the plan is for this one to be a stick. However the design work on the Automatic version is about done. I plan on driving this car a lot & I like sticks better.
Black-Azz-GT: As I picked the pedals off of a Daisy...... "It'll be a 4.9...It'll be an LS1....It'll be a 4.9...It'll be an LS1....It'll be a 4.9...It'll be an LS1....It'll be a 4.9...It'll be an LS1" It was close but I picked the LS1
blakeinspace: It's an '87 I think, stock Fieros all look the same to me.
grathke: The Fino & Finale both use the same rear clip, just the way the part is trimmed is the only difference as to wether it's a Fino or Finale rear clip. We do plan to take molds off of the parts we develope for this roadster & plan to make those parts available to those building kits at home.
linenoise: I gotta get back to that Fever thread, I have at least 50 more pics to put up there.
Someone asked when the car is going to be done......... That depends on how busy we are over the next few weeks. Right now we have only one customer car under construction and it's the 1st time in at least 6 months that we've had the time to play. I'm sure it won't be done in time for Fierorama but it will definately be done long before the WOW show. Heck my next chop top should also be done by then too.
I think that should cover it.
I also want to formally introduce you to me "Crew".
From the right.... the Tall one is Rob, He's been with me for >3 years. 24 years old, just became a Daddy last month. In the middle is Kris, 21 He's been with me for >2 years & just became a daddy this last weekend. They are more like family than employees, they're both kinda shy but great kids. They're trying to teach me how to be hip, I think that's what they call it now days. These 2 guys are sharp, If I would have know as much about cars when I was their age, I'd be a millionare by now. The fellow on the left is Terry, Summer help, this is his last week back to H.S. soon. But He'll have something to tell his grandkids someday.
Archie
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12:23 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
... They're trying to teach me how to be hip, I think that's what they call it now days. ...
Archie
Just don't start walking around with your underwear handing out and your pants below your butt. Then again, it may be a little less shocking then that bend-over-butt-crack look that has worked for you for so long!
hey archie, something i've been wondering since i first saw a finale.. with the fenders being nice and snug around the wheels, are most of the fino's and finale's riding at the stock ride height? or lower? how lowered? tired of the fiero monstertruck wheel wells
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10:50 AM
LZeitgeist Member
Posts: 5662 From: Raleigh, NC, U.S.A. Registered: Dec 2000
Originally posted by Archie: From the right.... the Tall one is Rob, He's been with me for >3 years. 24 years old, just became a Daddy last month. In the middle is Kris, 21 He's been with me for >2 years & just became a daddy this last weekend. They are more like family than employees, they're both kinda shy but great kids. They're trying to teach me how to be hip, I think that's what they call it now days. These 2 guys are sharp, If I would have know as much about cars when I was their age, I'd be a millionare by now.
Archie
Rob and Kris are the ones who worked on my Automoda conversion, and were fantastic to work with. I was never, ever worried for a second having these guys (and Archie) working on my 5x trophy-winning Formula.
I hope I get to be i your neck of the woods again someday, Archie. After spending a week up there with you guys, it feels like a sort of 'home away from home'.
------------------ Patrick W. Heinske -- LZeitgeist@aol.com 1988 Red Fiero Formula Convertible
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11:49 AM
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
Just don't start walking around with your underwear handing out and your pants below your butt. Then again, it may be a little less shocking then that bend-over-butt-crack look that has worked for you for so long!
ROFLMAO
You don't know the half of it.... or should I say you haven't seen the half of it.
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07:20 PM
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
When you are doing a project like this it's not all glory. It doesn't all just fall together like you might think & it's the work underneath that makes the finished project perfect instead of just ok. There's a lot of the dirty work to do before you even get to start mounting the body.
Today we spent a few hours this morning flogging the GT40 before getting back to the new car (NEED A NAME for this thing). It's a tough job to get the testing done on these things but someone's gotta do it.
As I said yesterday the right side framework under the rocker panel was bent a little like this.....
So as part of our frame stiffening, we decided to cut out the bent section of the rockers and weld in a heavy wall pc. of 2"x2" box tubing. We did this to both sides of the car. Here is the rocker after the section was cut out....
& here is the drivers side after we fitted & welded in the 2x2 box
We also welded in some 1-1/2" .250 wall angle iron up the rears corners of the passenger compartment on the outside.
more to come
[This message has been edited by Archie (edited 08-19-2004).]
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07:55 PM
PFF
System Bot
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
Additionally we plasma cut & welded in some 3/8" steel plate on both sides of the gas tank tunnel & up the rear bulkhead.
Also to help stiffen the car, we welded in a 3/8" plate on the outboard wall behind the door openings.
We have several more hours of welding to do tomorrow yet. Then it'll be time to make the 1st cuts on the roof framework to evaluate how stiff the car is then.
I'll be back tomorrow with more.
Archie
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08:03 PM
GTFiero1 Member
Posts: 6508 From: Camden County NJ Registered: Sep 2001
Looks like you are strengthening that car pretty much how I had discussed with an automotive engineer over here on regards to chopping a Fieros roof off. An x-brace is pretty useless compared to this method unless the x brace is seam welded to the chassis, which none ever are. The way you are strengthening this car is the way auto manufacturers do convertibles. Beef up the areas where the stress will be taken.
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09:27 PM
NotAFieroAnyLonger Member
Posts: 4413 From: 75762/Texas/USA Registered: Dec 2003
This look's like a great project for you and the guy's! I know that this will be done and done right!! My question is do you do all that extra stell to stiffen your choptop's the same way...??
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09:56 PM
Archie Member
Posts: 9436 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Dec 1999
NotAFieroAnyLonger: We do extra stiffneing on the chops too but not the same as this car.
GTFiero1: I already have the tooling to build a double "X" under the car. That X frame uses 3" x 1" box tubing & welds to certain places on the underside of the car. I made that tooling years ago when I build several T.R. convertables. Yes, stiffneing will be addressed in kits.
AusFiero: Correct, Thanks.
Archie
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10:07 PM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
I was never, ever worried for a second having these guys (and Archie) working on my 5x trophy-winning Formula.
High praise indeed! I know how anal LZ is about his car!! (seriously, that's very high praise from him)
quote
Originally posted by LZeitgeist:
I hope I get to be i your neck of the woods again someday, Archie. After spending a week up there with you guys, it feels like a sort of 'home away from home'.
Yeah. You spend a week at Archie's shop while they transform your Formula, and you never even got a RIDE in a V8 Fiero? How in the heck can you make a pilgramidge to the holiest of Fiero sites and not pray?
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11:06 PM
LZeitgeist Member
Posts: 5662 From: Raleigh, NC, U.S.A. Registered: Dec 2000
Originally posted by Formula88: Yeah. You spend a week at Archie's shop while they transform your Formula, and you never even got a RIDE in a V8 Fiero? How in the heck can you make a pilgramidge to the holiest of Fiero sites and not pray?
LOL! Yeah, well, that's *your* 14-year dream... my 14-year dream had just come true as it was.
Besides, now I have a reason to be your wingman when you go up for your swap...
------------------ Patrick W. Heinske -- LZeitgeist@aol.com 1988 Red Fiero Formula Convertible
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11:15 PM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
We'll be working on it everyday.
