I took the week after Wheatstock off for a working vacation. I put the Pantero body molds thru a reconditioning process since they had been in storage for such a long time. Everything got washed several times, surfaced with 1200 grit, polished with 1500 grit, and buffed with machine glaze.
I then tried a layup in the biggest and most detailed mold. The layup consisted of a veil cloth, one layer of 3/4 oz. mat, and three more layers of 2 oz. mat. I used an iso type resin which is more heat, distortion, and weather resistant than the ortho type which most parts are commonly made of. This yielded a nice stout thickness of 6 3/4 oz..
After the layup was finished, I let it set in the mold for three days. Finally this evening I removed the part. It turned out pretty well.
This shot shows how well the detailing of the rear came out. Nice crisp edges. BTW, the white lines are clay that was used to putty the parting lines of the mold. End result is almost no parting lines on the produced part.
That's Blackram's '88 donor car in the background. It will become the first Pantera we produce from the molds, and it's construction will be the basis for the assembly manual.
Your building Pantera Bodies for Fieros?!? AWESOME! I might do a rebody down the line after all.
------------------ Calgary - August 1, 2004 Fiero Fiesta 1984 Indy Fiero 3.4/3100 Hybrid NA and... *ALL THROTTLE AND NO BOTTLE* http://www.gmpcm.com/ Killer ECM/ PCM tuning software and information
Oh god, I am so confused. I love the Pantera and the Fiero GT notchback. Ok, who can paste a Norm's fiberglass front end with a Pantera tail. I have chills.
Your building Pantera Bodies for Fieros?!? AWESOME! I might do a rebody down the line after all.
Yes, at least that is the plan. I'm resurfacing & polishing the molds and then verifying that they will produce a good true part. At the same time I'm able to verify the materials required, to verify the price.
The first set of body panels will be assembled onto Blackram's '88 coupe, and the documentation of that build will become the assembly manual. This will be on a cd with step by step instructions & photos.
Right now I'm not actually taking orders or deposits, although four people are on the list to recieve a kit, once we get to that point. I've estimated that the body panels will sell for $4,000 and so far the materials estimate has been right on.
The Pantera assembles onto a stock Fiero with no stretching or cutting ( except for a 6" square panel to allow moving the headlight buckets forward by 6"). It self aligns onto stock mounting points. It can be configured with either a tilt rear-clip or you can have the stock Pantera engine lid if you prefer.
I have the mold for the GT5 front air dam/wing, and I'm building the molds for the GT5 fender flares & rear delta wing.
Lookin' good Dave! I might have to come by and check that pantera out in person!
Rob D.
------------------ The Dirty Rat Chopped, dropped and just plain NASTY! Choptop Targa #1 383 Stroker MPFI with N2O 1" Drop 3" Chop 11" Brakes 19" Motegi Roja's wrapped in BFGoodrich Gforce T/A KDW-2 rubber RCC Coilover Suspension Updated Jan 21 '04 www.dirtyratracing.org
Rob, My suggestion would be that we have the next Bluegrass Fiero Gathering at Dave's place and then go on up to the car show just north of Cincinnatti. We could meet there in the morning and drive up to the show. Roger Garrison has invited us to attend, it should be a hoot.
Chester, you know anytime is good. Actually Ron had a good idea there. Maybe he can contact the group and set it up. I know both my wife and daughter plan to drive the GT on that trip, and I'm bringing the Pantera. It should be fun to meet Roger's group :>
The question is, are you wanting the flip/hinged nose or you like Norm's front end on a Pantero Rear Clip? The current Pantero has a rear clip that flips up, we've talked about doing the front in a similar manner. The nice thing about this kit, anything is possible.
Hey guys...thats fine. We will more then likely attend but wil be in the Blazer.
Rob D.
------------------ The Dirty Rat Chopped, dropped and just plain NASTY! Choptop Targa #1 383 Stroker MPFI with N2O 1" Drop 3" Chop 11" Brakes 19" Motegi Roja's wrapped in BFGoodrich Gforce T/A KDW-2 rubber RCC Coilover Suspension Updated Jan 21 '04 www.dirtyratracing.org
I wil be watching this closley as I have wanted a antera sine I was in junior high (a very long time ago) The prospect of building one the way I want it is very exciting. This may be a re-body that I would actually want to do. Nice work so far!!!
------------------ 85 GT 4-speed 3.4 pushrod, 390 Holley carb, Edlebrock intake, MSD 6A ignition. 04 Gran Prix exhaust tips, Ported manifolds and lots more to go. Richey
DRA, Does the phrase "Fat Chance" mean anything to you? I'm assuming you're talking about after the re-body and re-power is completed? Still trying to decide what motor/tranny is going in, considering another 4.9 or 3800 SC II. If you have a preference, you need to speak up now! You'll probably want it delivered also? Refer back to the first sentence, Please.
DRA, Does the phrase "Fat Chance" mean anything to you? I'm assuming you're talking about after the re-body and re-power is completed? Still trying to decide what motor/tranny is going in, considering another 4.9 or 3800 SC II. If you have a preference, you need to speak up now! You'll probably want it delivered also? Refer back to the first sentence, Please.
Ron aka: Blackrams
Ron, prefer the 3800SC with the original 5spd but would settle for the 4.9. Delivery? Nah, I'd be quite happy to drive it back to GA. How about 20 X the original purchase price on the 88, am I getting warmer? LOL
DRA, Just so that I understand, you would like the Pantero Body installed and I presume painted with a 3800 SC conversion for 20 times what I paid you for the car orginally. Let me think............................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................>
Does the phrase "FAT CHANCE" mean anything to ya?
But I am seriously considering a 3800 SC Swap with the orginal tranny. If nothing else, I think it will be a great highway car.
------------------ Ron aka: Blackrams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 07-16-2004).]
Not yet, Please remember, the Pantero Project is pretty much a week end project. Dave and I both work full time and honestly Dave is doing all of the work, I'm more of a cheerleader till the glass work is done then I'll do the rebody work. Be assured, when there is something to see, it will get posted promptly.
There has been some progress. I've cleaned and rewaxed the rear clip mold, as has to be done after producing a part. The mold is in 4 big pieces, now ready to be reassembled for the next layup. I used the designers recomendation for a layup schedule on this first part, and in general I think it worked out just fine. I did become very familiar with the quirks and pecularities of the mold during the layup, and that's just what I wanted. I believe I can see a few areas that I might want to throw a little extra glass into during future layups. Nothing major, just a little built in reinforcement in hinge or support areas.
I can honestly say that the only problem I had was with my gelcoat gun: it didn't want to lay the gelcoat on as wet as I would have liked. However, the gelcoat worked ok. I'm doing some practice shooting to try & solve that snag. The layup went fine. The first layer of cloth took forever, but each of the following layers went on progressively faster and easier...learnign curve thing.
And I've cleaned, polished, buffed and waxed the door skins, and the front trunk lid & liner. These get one final coat of wax, and they are ready for a layup. The nose clip is next, and if all goes well, I'll address it on Sunday.
I'm trying to gear up for a layup next weekend, of at least the door skins & trunk lid & liner. We'll see if the nose clip gets in there or not as things develop.
I'll post a few pics of the molds tomorrow evening....Bluegrass Fieros has a run up to a show in the Cincinnatti area tomorrow morning.
Wow!!! We did a test fit of the rear clip today. I got so excited, I had to go home and change my shorts. Man, this is looking good. Sorry, didn't take any pictures. Will try to next weekend.
Ok, this is what it's all about. The mold surface has to be in whats called a Class A1 Surface condition. To get there, each panel is evaluated for repairs, if needed, and surface condition. These molds mostly needed only washing, and then a buffing with 1500 grit polish and then a buffing with machine glaze. Then 5 coats of parting wax are applied, with an hour between coats. Talk about elbow grease.
The previous panel and these three others make up most of the rear clip. The orange mold has nothing to do with the Pantera. When the time comes, the panels get bolted together to make a bigger one piece mold.
And this is a one piece mold, for a door skin.
Once the panels are ready, We'll cut the cloth and get things ready. More as it happens.
The release system consists of the layers of wax, two wet coats of PVA, seen here, and the gelcoat, seen below.
For gelcoat, I'm using a polyester sanding primer. While these coats are drying, patterns are made and the cloth is cut.
The first layer of cloth is a 3/4oz. mat. This forms a protective skin between the gelcoat and the remainder of the layup schedule.
In some detailed areas, a thinner veil cloth is applied first. In some areas a slurry of thickened resin is used as a putty to ensure the cloth sticks to a tight edge or corner. The rest of the process is to apply a total of 6oz. of mat, in 2oz. layers. Each layer is applied, allowed to go thru the heat generating part of the cure cycle, and the next layer is applied.
Well, we're all finished with the layup. So the shop is cleaned up and we wait for three full days. The really fun part is pulling a fabricated part out of the mold. Nice to see the results "being born".
In the middle of this layup, Blackrams came over and we took a break to remount his rear clip.
As you can see, the clip fits the stock Fiero chassis easily.
And even though this is a dry fit, the roofline aligns in what looks like just the right spot.
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