I decided I can't live with the door gaps so I made some cuts on the inside down by the rear bottom corners of the doors. I put the come along across the top and pulled and checked, pulled, checked, etc. Then I was able to remove the shims and the doors now fit just like VW intended. I welded the cuts back up. I also needed to adjust the doors with the jack. Then I got right to work building roll bar reinforcements. I used 1 inch by 2 inch tubing. To make the bends by using some pie cuts. Then I curved them and rewelded. The first one came out amazingly well. Then when I tried to make the second one match things took a turn for the worst. I cut it apart and rewelded 3-4 times. I wound up with some pretty ugly welds so I tried to smooth things out with bondo. I think it will come out OK by the time it's all done. I do like the way the whole thing looks.
I got the roll bar braces welded in. While attaching them to the roll bar itself I welded tubes into the braces and inserted tubes through the factory bar. I left the bottom holes in the factory bar 3/8 inches, so the bar is trapped by the tubes. Not sure if that makes sense. I didn't want to weld to the factory bar because of the trim. I ordered some stainless button head bolts to replace the temporary ones that are there now. I triangulated the top with a strut brace from a Civic. I thought it was going to be too long when I ordered it (very difficult to find the dimensions when ordering) but it turned out to be exactly the right length.
Finished the roll bar bracing with one more Civic strut brace. I had to cut this one down and rethread the hole in the end. I didn't have the right metric tap so I "made" one out of a bolt by cutting grooves in it with the angle grinder. It actually cut threads pretty well but I got it in crooked so I didn't thread it as deep as I would have liked. I ended up with perhaps 3/4" thread engagement. I JB welded the rod end in place. I think it's pretty strong. Also, I installed the button head fasteners on the rest of the roll cage bracing.
Rear flares are done. I lightened the rear bumper structure, as I had done with the front. I'm kinda running out of stuff to do before the engine swap.
Interior is kinda done. I made a new cover for the center console, got both seats mounted, put in the carpet and reassembled the dash. The car is kinda done, except for the engine swap. I started doing the turbo install on the supercharged 3.8 Buick yesterday. I am gutting a blower to use for a turbo intake. I took out the rotors and made a block off plate out of the intermediate plate. I welded a couple of pipe fittings to the bearings and JB welded and pressed them back in. I plan to use one for a boost gage. So, here are some pictures. Is anybody reading this any more?
I hope to find a gray or black dash and carpet eventually.
What all did you have to do to make the block off plate like that? It's a great idea! Love the car too. Next project you need to do is put a rabbit body on a 2nd generation eclipse and "make" a Lancia Delta! I've wanted one of those forever and that was my idea for creating one myself but I have never gotten past the "this would be awesome" stage.
You could use a 3800 Camaro intake or a Holden intake if you wanted a factory aluminum 3800 series 2 intake. I've never been a fan of the blocked off blowers, they are ugly, and they probably hurt performance, at least I would assume they do. only downside is that the NA aluminum manifolds do have injector holes, so unless you're running 12 injectors, you'd have some holes to fill in.
It would be really neat if you could tuck the turbo and intercooler underneath somewhere and then you could have a raised flatbed in the back .Maybe mount some Subaru brat seats up there . I love this build , keep the pics coming .Is that your Ferrari or a customer car ?
It would be really neat if you could tuck the turbo and intercooler underneath somewhere and then you could have a raised flatbed in the back .Maybe mount some Subaru brat seats up there . I love this build , keep the pics coming .
Haha thanks. I really wanted to have the turbo exposed. I like exposed mechanicals, kinda like motorcycles. But it takes a lot of attention to detail to pull it off. I may not quite be there!
quote
Originally posted by wftb:
Is that your Ferrari or a customer car ?
With the work I do I doubt there are too many other Ferrari owners would let me touch their cars. Yes, it's mine. It's a 1995 F355. It was a bit of a project but I drive it now. It's actually my most normal car.
[This message has been edited by carwhisperer (edited 02-19-2016).]
Car is running pretty good. It's kinda fun to drive it without the air cleaner on because you can see the turbo impeller spinning in the rear view mirror. Drove it as far as the gas station a couple days ago. Making a deck lid now.
Got the engine cover in and put in a passenger seat. I had to use something narrower on the passenger side as the body is offset to the left on the Fiero chassis.
Thanks. Glad someone is still watching. I did make a video of driving it but it was poorly shot from inside the car so I erased it. I've only seen 2psi on the boost gauge so far. I think I have the line to the gauge restricted. I need to do some little things like bleed the brakes.
Took the car to the scales at the dump. 2920 pounds with a math teacher and 3/4 tank of fuel. So it looks like it came in right around 2700, which is right about what I predicted. I figured I'd be disappointed with anything over 2800 so I'm pretty happy.
Yah, I threw it on CL. Seems like I do that after getting a project on the road. Next I want to build a Harley with a turbo and a fat rear tire. But I don't think I'll sell it. I am widening the front suspension on the driver's side now to compensate for the offset body without using a wheel spacer.
I widened the front suspension on the driver's side to compensate for the offset body more betterly. I was running a wheel spacer there and it made a noticeable difference in the spring rate and scrub angle. I think the pictures kind of tell the tale. I've been driving the car a little, including to a car show and a VW meet. Have gotten a lot of positive comments and a lot of head scratching. The thing sounds so cool when you rev the engine. Way more like a V8 than I expected. And it's not really too loud. Next I plan to replace the mesh in the engine cover with sheet aluminum. You can really feel the heat radiating out of the engine compartment and into the passenger compartment. I also put some aluminum spacers under the driver's side to make a little more clearance on that side. But the car sat noticeably crooked so I took them back out. The driver's front tire still rubs some times but not nearly as bad as before the widening.
285's on the back and new flares on the front. Only problem is I'm stupid. I had the car parked on uneven ground and when I when I drove it on level ground there was major interference on the driver's front. So I cut a notch in it so I could drive temporarily until I get a new blank (trailer fender) to make another one. And I ordered more blanks to make the rears wider. Also added that diamond plate under the IC. I was getting hot air blown on my head from the turbo. This seems to have stopped it.
[This message has been edited by carwhisperer (edited 05-31-2016).]
Must admit these are the most unique off road customs that I have ever seen! Have you tried putting any of these vehicles through state inspection?
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
