The front clip is officially fit. I have a little work to do at the front door gap to fit my liking but everything else is looking great and ready for primer.
[This message has been edited by Awalker W02 (edited 09-07-2020).]
I finished up attaching all the mounts on the passenger door skin, fiberglass the rear clip to one complete piece, and cast the ds door skin today. Very productive day today
[This message has been edited by Awalker W02 (edited 09-12-2020).]
Please tell me you have plans to eventually sell kits. I wanted to purchase an IMSA kit this year, but Tedd isn't making parts anymore, and I didn't have the funds to buy the entire business from Doug to get the molds.
Please tell me you have plans to eventually sell kits. I wanted to purchase an IMSA kit this year, but Tedd isn't making parts anymore, and I didn't have the funds to buy the entire business from Doug to get the molds.
At this point I am really undecided. I really won’t be able to tell anyone that until I get this one done completely. I am keeping track of hours and materials and I can tell you there is a reason most of the kits cost 5k or over. I am progressing rather quickly since I have been working from home since March. I have to have to car in primer by our October fall cruise to the Arkansas dragon.
Most of the body has some potential, but that rear bumper just doesn't do it for me. Looks like it sticks out a few inches past stock and looks a little out of place. Might be an area worth reworking.
Most of the body has some potential, but that rear bumper just doesn't do it for me. Looks like it sticks out a few inches past stock and looks a little out of place. Might be an area worth reworking.
Yep, that rear bumper is definitely on my list. I have figured a way to shorten it a bit. It also needs something else like a diffuser or something a little bit lower. I’m still working out the details but there will be some reworking done here.
Got some work done this weekend working on some finish work before primer and shortening up the rear bumper. I took about 2 1/2 inches out of the length of it and got it glasses back in. I still need to glass the underside but that will come when I remove the clip for paint.
I also have been working on a couple designs for paint and will be posting those when I get them finished.
[This message has been edited by Awalker W02 (edited 09-20-2020).]
Finished up the rear inner wheel wells. And did some finish work. I also went ahead and did a quick coat of primer just to see where I am at with my body work. I have a few areas that need attention but overall not to bad.
[This message has been edited by Awalker W02 (edited 10-04-2020).]
Have to add though, its definitely a "wide body"...but it's not an IMSA body. That's not a cut, just an observation.
You do very nice work, and that is going to look really nice when you get finished!
Keep the updates coming!
HAGO!
Thanks. It was hard to tell how wide it was with just the molds and once in primer it really looks wider than what I feel it is Just about 2 inches over each wheel in the back and only about a half and inch up front. It still needs a lot of work before paint. Some issues I knew about I just needed to see it in primer. I have also come to the realization it’s not the imsa widebody like I had hoped but still a great opportunity to build a car I have never seen before.
This body uses the stock rear wheel house liners, but the fender openings are full diameter? (unlike the original IMSA body that had smaller wheel openings)
This body uses the stock rear wheel house liners, but the fender openings are full diameter? (unlike the original IMSA body that had smaller wheel openings)
Yes it does work with the stock inner liners. I am still working on the front as this mold set was missing the front lip on the inside of the fenders but nothing that can’t be fabricated.
When are your 18x13 HREs and 335/30-18 Hoosiers coming in?
$$$$$$$$$. I’m a typical Fiero owner. Nuff said. Haha haha.
Wheels and tires will be coming in a year or two. It’s so hard to buy new right now when my tire tread is at 95% And with COVID I think the car has 250 Maybe 300 miles on it this year so far. But yes they will get some meat in the back.
Chris (ephkay) has figured out the offsets and spacing on his I built a few years ago. Just a matter of funds right now. Here is a picture he just sent me today. As he is working on exhaust but those tires.
[This message has been edited by Awalker W02 (edited 10-06-2020).]
285's fit under stock bodywork with stock suspension geometry... I'm closing in on a strut clamp extension design that *should* allow 18x11 and 315/30-18 to fit under stock bodywork.
By "under" I mean that the tire tucks inside the fender lip when the suspension is jounced to metal-to-metal contact. Due to "kingpin" inclination, the tire actually ends up a little outboard of the fender lip at ride height.
285's fit under stock bodywork with stock suspension geometry... I'm closing in on a strut clamp extension design that *should* allow 18x11 and 315/30-18 to fit under stock bodywork.
By "under" I mean that the tire tucks inside the fender lip when the suspension is jounced to metal-to-metal contact. Due to "kingpin" inclination, the tire actually ends up a little outboard of the fender lip at ride height.
Yes and no. He has one but he hasn’t updated it in probably 6 months since he figured out the wheels and working on a new intake. But here is his personal page. https://schwamotorsports.co...irst-year-of-the-vr6
Thanks. I am going to reach out and ask one question. How do you control shrinking fiberglass? I have a couple spots that have puckered on its own. It’s nothing too concerning right now as I know I have a lot of fit and finish ahead of me, but just for future reference.
Not sure what "shrinkage" your talking about. All fiberglass has an inherent percentage of "shrinkage"....but in most cases, it's so insignificant and takes place over such a long period of time, it's basically inconsequential.
If you are getting parts that don't fit because of what you're calling shrinkage, I'd say there's something else that needs addressing.
Can you be a little more specific about the shrinkage you are dealing with?
Car is looking great. Kind of puts me in mind of a wide body that an outfit down in FL did back in the 80's or 90's, but sorry, can't remember who is was exactly. Theirs was a little bit more "extreme" on the WIDE aspect, but the body was all molded together, sort of how yours is coming along, and the wheel wells were particularly "eye catching".
Maybe somebody else remembers the one I'm talking about and who did it, and maybe even has a pic or two. I believe it (the car) was at the Daytona show one year too. It was painted gold.
Not sure what "shrinkage" your talking about. All fiberglass has an inherent percentage of "shrinkage"....but in most cases, it's so insignificant and takes place over such a long period of time, it's basically inconsequential.
If you are getting parts that don't fit because of what you're calling shrinkage, I'd say there's something else that needs addressing.
Can you be a little more specific about the shrinkage you are dealing with?
HAGO!
Shrinkage my be the wrong word to use. I just have a few spots that were straight when they came out of the mold and straight after primer, but when the cooler weather hit there are a few spots that are not straight anymore. Again nothing a little blocking and a reprime won’t take care of.
Sounds like you are talking about warpage as opposed to shrinkage. Not to "split hairs"...but they are different things technically.
Warpage can be caused by your mold not having sufficient bracing, or laying up your parts too thin (not enough layers of mat/cloth. Can also happen if you don't leave the part in the mold long enough to cure to the point it'll hold it's shape. All fiberglass (at least hand layup) takes quite a while to fully cure...like 6 months or more! Until it's fully cured, it's referred to as "green". You can take a part out too soon (less than 24 hours) and not have it warp too bad as long as you get it in place (where it'll end up) and fastened good. Just some stuff from my own experience, it's why I always leave my parts in the molds a MINIMUM of 24 hours.
Maybe you followed all those guidelines and still have the problem? Could also be not quite the right mix on resin to MEKP, or the lack of gel coat. The gel coat thing is sort of "grasping at straws" as an explanation, but doing the gel coat first in your mold, not only gives you a nicer finish to work with, but also helps stabilize the laminate.
It's been my experience, that warpage, 90% of the time is from the mold being warped, even if it LOOKS straight. Just my 2cents, since you asked! (Your results may vary )
Car is looking great. Kind of puts me in mind of a wide body that an outfit down in FL did back in the 80's or 90's, but sorry, can't remember who is was exactly. Theirs was a little bit more "extreme" on the WIDE aspect, but the body was all molded together, sort of how yours is coming along, and the wheel wells were particularly "eye catching".
Maybe somebody else remembers the one I'm talking about and who did it, and maybe even has a pic or two. I believe it (the car) was at the Daytona show one year too. It was painted gold.
HAGO!
That would be the B&B Spyder Widebody!
I thought that someone resurfaced (on Facebook?) with those moulds, but I haven't seen or heard anything specific!
I’ve just had bad experience with gel coated products in the past hiding air bubbles under the surface. That was more from bad workmanship with the parts manufacturer than product though, and I’ll be honest going onto this I didn’t have much experience with anything this big so I wanted to ensure that I getting the glass laid down right. The last wide body I did I didn’t build off of a mold but I did allow all the glass to sit for 6 months after I built it before I painted it again. I just assumed that my warpage was from an inconsistency in the thickness in areas of the hand laid glass and it all curing at different rates. Everything stayed in the molds for 24 hours after being laid out except my wheel wells but the went right into place after I popped them off. I still have the fronts to do, as well as fixing some gap issues that don’t meet my quality. But I figured it best to wait the 6 months as I did on the blue car to address the issues otherwise I’m just going to be readdressing them again.
Yep...."voids"....something every fiberglasser works to "avoid"....but inevitably, all have had to deal with at some time, either in their own work, or in prepping somebody else's.
The hell of it is, the part looks "perfect" until you start sanding....the more you sand, the thinner the gel gets, the more likely you're going to expose a void. That's what experience and the roller are for.
Very hard to get a part done without a single void, but it has happened on occasion. I, and I'm sure everybody else who hand lays parts, strives to not get voids, but they are kind of "inevitable" That's why the prep work before paint is so critical with glass parts. Gel coat is supposed to be fairly thick, (like 20mil), but it usually isn't. Voids occur most commonly in corners and "sharp" bends...that's one of the reasons mold makers usually try to observe the 3º rule. That means that even if a part is supposed to be 90º...it's usually best to keep it 3º shy of that. Also makes it easier/better to pull the parts out of the molds.
One way to help "avoid voids"....is to after putting the gel coat in your mold, applying a "slurry", ( kind of like duraglass, but you mix it up yourself with resin, talc and mekp), into the corners, sharp angles in the molds after the gel and before the reinforcement. Sort of "rounds" any corners that may be hard to get the cloth/mat to conform to, more "gradual". Anyway, you already know what you're up against doing the finish work with no gel, so have at it!
If you have places where your reinforcement is thinner than others, then that's probably where you're getting your warpage. 3 1/2 layers of ounce and half mat is pretty much industry standard for a part, but whatever you use, it should be uniform thickness.
You do good work, so do it whatever way you know works for you. What you've done so far looks completely acceptable, considering you are more than willing to put in the time/effort to bring it to the point of a stellar finish.
HAGO!
Yes Rob, that's the one! B&B also correct. Boy I'm tellin' ya'.....after you get your head full of crap for more than 6 decades....some of it starts to all sort of "run together"...and it's often difficult to stop the rolodex at the right spot! I guess the color is actually more of a "bronze or copper" than gold, but that IS the car I was thinking of. Man...the wells on that do stand out, don't they!
[This message has been edited by Sage (edited 10-22-2020).]
Well 6 months of rest is almost up so it’s about time to get back in the ball game working on this body. Just one crack has shown up and just a warps as the glass shrank. No I’ll start working on making all my gaps even and make sure the body gets blocked straight. I think I’m going to modify the bumpers at the lights to look more like the 87-88 coupe bumpers
Here is a look at the fiero as we got back from our trip in October. As you can see things were a little frozen.
[This message has been edited by Awalker W02 (edited 02-28-2021).]
Was playing around a little bit trying to stylize the rear a bit more. This is just a rough photo shop and I may play with the design a bit more. The spoiler is going to change as well. Not sure if I’m going to m just widen it and mold it in or if I’m going to go back factory with it.
Any ideas or comments?
[This message has been edited by Awalker W02 (edited 03-09-2021).]
Finished up my last customer so it’s time to get some work in before the next. I recast my driver door skin as I was having some delamination issues with my fist. That panel was the first time I had cast from these molds and the largest cast really I have ever done so it was a trial to be honest. I then moved to the front wheel liners and fiberglassed in the ps arch I had to move the whole opening forward about a half an inch to center the wheel so some additional body work was needed and as you can see still in progress. My next objective is to figure out if I want to proceed with moldings or not? I have some half round Urethane adhesive molding. They will get painted but Thoughts?
[This message has been edited by Awalker W02 (edited 06-23-2021).]
