Originally posted by 355Fiero: A couple tricks learned over the years of glassing...
Thanks for the helpful tips Don. I'll try some of them on the RH shroud.
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Originally posted by Yarmouth Fiero: If I know you, you're out in the shop tonight trimming and buffing the piece before a photo shoot ha-ha-ha
As if you're not guilty of the same!
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Originally posted by Lonster: A small squirt of acetone will quickly dissolve the foam...
Thanks Lonster... I tried a rag lightly soaked with acetone to get the little tidbits out and it worked really well.
I got the big stuff out by whittling it with a box cutter. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be:
Once the biggest part of the foam was removed, the rest came out by simply pulling on the red tape. There was a thin film of sticky resin residue left over on the inside of the fiberglass beneath the tape, but it dried or cured overnight:
Here's the cleaned up shroud ready for final trimming:
The inside is relatively smooth, though the tape left a few marks. It's certainly good enough considering the job it has to do.
When I built up the foam mould, I made it longer than needed so once the resin hardened, I trimmed off about 1.5" from the interface with the radiator. I've got it fitting nice and evenly all around:
And finally, here's a bug's eye view just before he gets cut up into neat little slices!
The glass work turned out great Blooz. Now for the other side.
Do you think there would be any benefit to putting a small U channel rubber edging around the edge up against the radiator, not so much to make a seal but more to prevent the glass from rubbing on the radiator? We use a lot of that here and I may have some pieces in black left over that has a soft aluminum spline inside and a little rudder tang that keeps it snug in place on the edge. I'll drop some off the next time I am driving by. If you want to try it to see, let me know how much you need.
Great idea. I was thinking more along the lines of fiberglassing a small 90 degree flange all around and using some foam weatherstripping between it and the rad, but your idea is much simpler.
Another trick I used to remove the old foam core. Stiff wire brush (like a bottle brush) in a drill or die grinder. It makes a huge mess unless you have your shop vac taped to your drill but it makes quick work removing the foam buck.
------------------ yellow 88 GT, not stock white 88 notchie, 4 banger
That Hammerhead is a very cool craft. I have no interest in doing fiberglass work full time though. haha Done enough for my entire lifetime on my 355 panels that you and Blooz have and my 308 replica I am finishing now.... I think it is time to get a metal project so I can learn some metal bashing and not have to play with fiberglass any more.
Blooz;
The intake looks great. Have fun with the right side.
Cheers Don
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Originally posted by Yarmouth Fiero:
Looks really good Blooz. Can't wait to see the finished product. If I know you, you're out in the shop tonight trimming and buffing the piece before a photo shoot ha-ha-ha.
Great tip Don for working mat into and around tight corners. Are you looking for work as an FRP specialist? Google "Hammerhead USV-T" to see one of our products currently in use in your area on the West Coast.
Thanks Don. I have a few other things to address before I get to the RH radiator shroud. The first thing is getting rid of the engine bay side wall nearest to the old battery location... the black part in this photo:
A cut-off wheel in the angle grinder made short work of that!
With that sheet metal wall removed, it sure lays bare the structural members of the frame:
Here's the view from the engine bay:
Next, I made the clearance notch in the passenger side B-pillar for the radiator shroud. It went faster than the driver's side because I was able to use that side's chopped out part to mark the size and location of the notch on the RH side. To close up the notches on both sides and to regain some of the lost strength, I made some cardboard templates of the pieces needed, cut them out of some 18 ga. steel plate and formed them by hand (and foot!) over a piece of 4" round pipe I had laying around:
Once they fit just right, I tack welded them in place so I could measure the smaller pieces to close off the tops and bottoms:
Here's a close up of all three parts needed to finish the job:
I made up the parts and tacked them in place in about three hours for both sides. Here's the passenger side ready for final welding:
Now I'm ready to start the RH radiator shroud. I won't bore anybody with a repeat of what's already been done on the LH side so it'll be a few days before my next post. Thanks for watching!
Wow! 160,002 views! Thanks everyone for your continued interest!
It's hard to believe it's been nearly a month since my last update... the East Coast has just been hammered by snowstorm after snowstorm soaking up all of the time I usually dedicate to car-building. Here's a couple quickie off-topic shots of our car storage building showing the extent of yesterday's dumping. The roof is 15 feet high.
I did manage to find enough time to carve out the RH radiator shroud out of foam, fiberglass it, and trim it up. Here are the two (almost) mirror image shrouds:
I had a heck of a time trying to get the resin to kick over and harden with the extreme cold and windy weather we've been having. I heat the shop with a wood-fired boiler system which is usually good enough to keep the shop at 15*C, but I had troubles staying above 10* C (50* F). It took two days for the resin on this second shroud to harden. Other than my patience being severely tried, the only real impact was that more resin dripped out of the fibers than I would have liked. As I carved out the foam and peeled off the tape, some of the fibers stuck to the tape from lack of resin. Good thing it's not a structural piece. Lesson learned: wait for warmer days before trying this again!
Just for fun, I mocked up the two shrouds in the rear quarters to get a sense of how much surface area the radiators will cover. It's a lot easier to visualize here than it is with the same view of the chassis:
Here's a different angle of the same thing. Once the quarters are solidly mounted to the chassis, I'll fiberglass the shrouds to the body:
And finally, here's a shot from the inside of fiberglass body showing how the door scoops flow nicely into the radiator shrouds:
Next up: some radiator plumbing.
[This message has been edited by Bloozberry (edited 02-17-2015).]
Yeah, that winter you guys are experiencing is just not right..... To help you feel better, Victoria BC has our daffodils coming out and trees budding and the cherry blossoms in full bloom. I will be heading home a bit early today as my grass really needs cutting as well........ Sorry......
I have been where you are with trying to get the resin to kick off. The unfortunate part of my story though, is that the garage was attached to the house so we had to open windows in Calgary at -35* C to help get rid of the stench..... I wasn't very popular with the family...
You might want to check how straight that upper edge of the door scoop is... I see in your pics that it looks like the rear edge slopes down a bit? I don't remember getting that wrong with I rebuilt the door panels and made the scoop bigger but it might be worth looking at to get a larger rad opening to help get more air in. Maybe just the angle of the photo?
Keep up the great work and good luck with all the snow.
Holy crap Blooze, that snow drift is unbelievable. I was in Moncton 2 weeks ago when they had 3 storms in 1 week. There was a good load of snow to be removed. I hope your storage place is going to be OK with all that snow.
Thanks for sharing...and nice progress on the passenger side of the car.
Thank you everyone for all the interest you've shown in my build over the past couple years... it's been a great fun listening to the advice, comments, and praise. But I've come to a crossroads with Cliff Pennock.
I asked him to rule on the permissibility of threads that focus on a third party's car either for the sole purpose of ridiculing it, or its owner, or threads that degenerate into the same. He has apparently reserved the right not to make such a decision since he stopped responding to my PM's. That doesn't sit well with me. Of course my frustration with this website isn't limited to this issue. This is only the straw that broke the camel's back. The false, defamatory, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, and threatening nature of threads and posts permitted in Totally Off-Topic reflect one of two things or both: the administrator's unwillingness or indifference to enforce his own terms of use. The reasons don't matter much to me.
A forum where blatant racism, hatred, and abusive content aren't actively moderated is like a garden overtaken by bad weeds where the gardener prefers the look of any plant over just having good crops. So my only option is to uproot myself. I wish the many friends I've made on this site over the years good luck and happy motoring. Please do not PM me since I won't be monitoring my mail any longer. No doubt I'll pop up on some other forum in the near future.
Wow; I had never even seen Totally Off Topic... that's ridiculous, or at least jerks have made it ridiculous. Trouble is, (if you build it they will come....) providing a forum like that, and allowing threads an ever-wider latitude, will attract the people who want/need to spout their questionable rhetoric, whatever that may be. Can't figure out at ALL why this sort of sad crap is on a car-related forum. Go find some left or right wing political forum. I'm sure there are LOADS of them..! unfortunately.
Anyway... I won't go look at it again. No reason to. I will go look for 'wherever you pop up' and can think of ONE really suitable forum... ;-) Your skill and knowledge, and willingness to document it and present it, then EXPLAIN it, are the REAL things that make this forum valuable. I hope you won't pack all that in; you are performing such a massive service to so many and inspiring even more to 'give it a try'.
Again, all things that I would suspect any credible forum would WANT... real quality threads and knowledge. Keep in touch, one way or another! Have a GREAT day, as always... GP
Blooze, you will be missed as you are one of the few people that keeps this place interesting. I still have your email address and I am likely a member on the forum you are probably moving to, so I doubt we will lose touch with each other.
One thing you will likely regret is your use of PIP... You can't hot link any pics somewhere other than PFF when you use PIP. So you will have to reupload every pic, go through every post in your threads and swap out the links with their new location... a monumental pain... for those of us who have detailed threads and post lots of pics. That is why I continue to use a paid photobucket account... If I want to duplicate my built threads on another forum, I just copy and paste each post and I am done.
I understand your feelings but I wish that there was a way you could reverse your decision. I enjoy the o/t threads along with the technical threads and wish that they didn't overlap like they sometimes do. There is lots of animosity in the o/t threads and I find that unfortunate but I learn things there too. Your threads always inspired me even though I can never live up to your standards.
[This message has been edited by dratts (edited 02-23-2015).]
Wish that it wan't so, but I do understand the sentiment.
I'm just hoping you either indicate where you might be posting the continuation of your build, or that I'm able to figure it out. Seems a shame to have followed along this far, only to not be able to see the finish.
I just want to say one more time, how much I appreciated all the help you've given, and the information you've shared with me, and everyone who looked at your build and wealth of tech/ construction info.
I may still have your email, so if I try to email you to find out where you may be posting, don't delete me bro!
As a young recently graduated mechanical engineer I gravitated towards this car due to the level of engineering some members put into their builds. It really is an engineer/gear heads dream, the Fiero, due to the potential it has with the right engineering and level of fabrication. As someone who has learned over time to take pride in perfecting my work and holding myself to a standard higher than anyone else holds me to, you are the kind of person I look up to, creating amazing designs and equally amazing work to do something truly unique. I have checked in on this thread every single day since 2010 when I joined this forum. I am extremely disappointed to see you go, and I hope I can find where your thread starts up again, wherever that may be.
A forum where blatant racism, hatred, and abusive content aren't actively moderated is like a garden overtaken by bad weeds where the gardener prefers the look of any plant over just having good crops. So my only option is to uproot myself. I wish the many friends I've made on this site over the years good luck and happy motoring. Please do not PM me since I won't be monitoring my mail any longer. No doubt I'll pop up on some other forum in the near future.
You'll be missed. But I will say uprooting and removing yourself also removes your chance to make a difference here.
Sadly, I am not on the forum nearly as much as I use to for some of the same reasons listed by Blooze - granted, I've never contacted the moderator to complain, I simply moved on to other things. My Fiero is still a constant and hobby that I enjoy, but the "camaraderie" on the forum just ain't what its cracked up to be (my opinion). This thread is one of my favorites, and I will miss seeing the remarkable creativity and workmanship unfold as this car becomes a reality. Best of luck
I hope you stay around. I tune out those that I think are to negative. This World has negative people everywhere you go. We cannot change that. I accept that I am not perfect, so I just assume that others are not either. I regret some of things I have said,.... so,.. I can give others a chance to reflect on what they have said it is only fair.
Thanks for your contributions Bloos
[This message has been edited by Rickady88GT (edited 02-25-2015).]
Well said, Rick. There are negative people throughout the world and we can't change that.. nor can anyone else including the forum moderator. If you learn to "self-moderate" by tuning others out that you don't care to hear from, you can coexist with those you disagree with.
I think I looked in the off-topic section once or twice in the 11 years I've been on this forum. What I saw didn't interest me, and I haven't looked in there again for years. I'm here for the technical discussion. Not everyone is, but if you tune them out it doesn't matter.
As one of the few people on PFF who knows Blooz personally, I can honestly say that he is even nicer in person and its always a pleasure to visit his place. While I have only known him the last few years since I joined PFF, I can imagine that his decision to pull up stakes did not come easily and without great thought.
I am sure we are all adults here and very much aware of how the world works, including online forums. We are fortunate enough to live in countries that promote free speech and free thinking. As we know, that can sometimes open up a can of worms with regard to personal beliefs and ideologies. Of course, as its been pointed out many times already, you can choose not to read the written words and turn your back on the ideas and thoughts that others have expressed. But what do we do when we feel that the words and thoughts of others have crossed what we consider our moral boundaries, that "proverbial line". I'm not talking about politics, gun ownership or hockey......... I'm talking about racism, bigotry, religious intolerance, persecution of others because of their social status, their ethnicity, their country of origin. How do we turn our backs to such hatred and negativity when it goes against what most of us consider to be wrong with a capital 'W'. Despite the enjoyment and satisfaction we might get from being a member of this forum and participating in one or more of the sub-categories, whether we actively contribute or simply sit back and read what others post, how do you simply turn your back? Doesn't being an active member of PFF mean that while you may not agree with every point of view, you generally agree to support the forum and its structure to open and diverse discussions? If that is what membership means, then when you find yourself at a significant moral crossroad regarding continued support of the forum, your only option is to cease being an active member. It is quite likely that most of us have had to make such a decision at some point in our life, whether it be in regards to participation in online forums, social groups that we grew up with, personal relationships gone bad..................... we have found it necessary to move on because we found that we were no longer enjoying ourselves or comfortable with what we were experiencing.
To that end, I apologize to Blooz for posting this in his build thread, however I didn't want to add to the thread in Trash Can and I didn't want this to get lost in the vastness of T/OT.
Finally, I will add my voice that I hope he pops in on the forum from time to time to share his knowledge and experience...... or just to say " nice job on the project". I do personally feel lucky that I will continue to work with Blooz on our project cars outside of the forum because he is a helluva nice guy and has the most awesome workshop I have ever been in.
I will miss him .At least the thread and all its great tech info and drawings will live on . And I will miss the help and advice he was polite enough to send my way by PM too .Some other forums require your full name on every post .Seems like a good way to stop the negativity .
Sad to see you go Blooze. Please post up one more time with a link to somewhere you'll continue the documentation of your build. Don't leave us hanging!
Sad to see you go Blooze. Please post up one more time with a link to somewhere you'll continue the documentation of your build. Don't leave us hanging!
Thank you everyone for all the interest you've shown in my build over the past couple years... it's been a great fun listening to the advice, comments, and praise. But I've come to a crossroads with Cliff Pennock.
I asked him to rule on the permissibility of threads that focus on a third party's car either for the sole purpose of ridiculing it, or its owner, or threads that degenerate into the same. He has apparently reserved the right not to make such a decision since he stopped responding to my PM's. That doesn't sit well with me. Of course my frustration with this website isn't limited to this issue. This is only the straw that broke the camel's back. The false, defamatory, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, and threatening nature of threads and posts permitted in Totally Off-Topic reflect one of two things or both: the administrator's unwillingness or indifference to enforce his own terms of use. The reasons don't matter much to me.
A forum where blatant racism, hatred, and abusive content aren't actively moderated is like a garden overtaken by bad weeds where the gardener prefers the look of any plant over just having good crops. So my only option is to uproot myself. I wish the many friends I've made on this site over the years good luck and happy motoring. Please do not PM me since I won't be monitoring my mail any longer. No doubt I'll pop up on some other forum in the near future.
Sorry, but any and all of us are able to not "clique" on any link that we choose. Much like the "click" that berates you and other's, they too have the power to stay away from unwanted threads. Some choose wisely. Others do not.
As far as the owner of this forum not PMing back, well that is his choice. Or, perhaps he is actually busy doing non internet related things? But to take your ball and leave, that is one's own decision.
Google "Hammerhead USV-T" to see one of our products currently in use in your area on the West Coast.
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Or, perhaps he is actually busy doing non internet related things? But to take your ball and leave, that is one's own decision. 
