I think I'm about to get my engine swap squared away. I have two problems to work out and hopefully, I've found the solutions to both and the car will be 100% very soon. I have gotten behind in my school work a little. Nothing late yet but I need to devote some time to getting that stuff caught up. If all goes well, I might be able to find a few hours this weekend to spend on the bumper. Right now, Jason and I are planning to get together on Monday morning to try to breathe some life back into this slowly dying project. That means we should have updated pics VERY soon!
Originally posted by Boostdreamer: Right now, Jason and I are planning to get together on Monday morning to try to breathe some life back into this slowly dying project.
geeze I wouldn't say dying makes it sound like ya lost all interest and we should start looking else where for our specialty bumper. I know you guys will get back on track when you catch up with life...
Yeah, LOL. Jason is going to borrow the crash cart from the hospital and we're gonna SHOCK it back to life! Haha. It is amazing how quickly things change. The Formula was sitting in a nice, clean, and organized half of my carport. Now the hood is up, there is stuff piled over the rear, and the car is surrounded by tools, jacks, hoists, jack stands, piles of oil dry, etc. we're gonna have to start with some serious housekeeping before any sculpting gets done!
Originally posted by Boostdreamer: Yeah, LOL. Jason is going to borrow the crash cart from the hospital and we're gonna SHOCK it back to life! Haha. Jonathan
YEP!!, YOU get an AED and YOU call 911 cause we are going to get it FIRED back UP!!!
Jason came over Monday and we got back on track. We reviewed what we were happy with and discussed what path to take on the rest. We spent a few hours on the lower half of the bumper. The sides are completed as far as this phase of development but the lower front still needs attention. We spent our time filling low spots and sanding high spots. We did some contour shaping on one side and we worked on making the "scoop" straight, level, and even. The air inlets to the radiator are getting a makeover also. So, as you can tell, we had a very productive session and we got a bunch done. I think we both got our enthusiasm re-kindled as well. We are planning our next session on Saturday and we should have pics worth posting next time.
Jonathan
[This message has been edited by Boostdreamer (edited 10-29-2013).]
We got together today for a session. We started a new phase today. We applied our first layer of Bondo! When it sets up, we can sand it smooth, fill in if necessarry, repeat. This is our final step in shape development. After we are satisfied with the Bondo work, we'll be ready to gelcoat and finally fiberglass!
While the Bondo doesn't look pretty at this point, I do have some sneak pics for you! We began work on a solid aluminum prototype grill insert! This is only one of our many ideas for grills and let me tell you, if we offer this option to the public, it won't be cheap. So far it has been very labor intensive and we were trying to rush it together! In these pics, the grill is NOT ASSEMBLED. The bars and spacers are only cut and stacked to give us and you an idea of what a final product will look like. Naturally, a completed grill will be uniform in appearance and the vertical parts will be properly aligned. This is just a sneak peak for feedback.
We are going to work some more on this and some of the finishing touches for gel caots and the forming the mould on thursday and friday. More pics of completed grill coming up soon too.
have you had a chance to figure the new increased cost with the grill... will make a big difference in if i can afford to stay in this dance or fade away.
have you had a chance to figure the new increased cost with the grill....
Well the cost of materials so far in THIS grill (the aluminum one) is around $45 per side. This does not include the labor of making them and putting them together for this is very labor intensive. The good part is that this grill is an "option" and is not included in the bumper itself but may be able to be purchased however we have not come up with a fair price on this one yet. There are other plenty of other prefabricated universal grill options out there which can be used and can be applied by anyone that knows how to turn a screw driver, those we may show a little later on after the fabrication of the grill we are currently working on.
OK, so here i cut the rods and lined up some of the 5/8" spacers and added some primer after I placed tape on the front side so I wouldnt get paint on it before buffing.
This is after i painted the grill and took off the tape, i had not buffed it yet
Ok, on this photo we had not sanded the bondo on the front yet but just placed the grill on the front lip and added the turn signal so you can see that it is hidden but can be seen at the same time from the factory location. the bolts would actually not be seen for they would be in the bumper itself to hold in place. I personally think this is BadA..!
Man, haven't been on the site for awhile.this is looking Great!! Are we getting close to a production of it? definitely looking at getting one of these when ready
Thanks for the compliments, guys! Always good to get feedback, positive or negative, so we know we're moving in the right direction!
The grill is pretty much Jason's baby. His concept and work. I helped a little but this was mostly him. I think he did a great job and he may have begun a sideline business without even knowing it! PM him and let him know if he needs to start a new thread!
While he was working on the grill, I've been sculpting the radiator intakes and the lower half of the bumper. The lower half is very close to being done and the upper half and the sides are as done as we can get them. We're still not satisfied with the symetry. Both sides absolutely LOOK symetrical but it is hard to tell with a naked eye that is seeing both halves at the same time. To overcome this, I have sketched out a device that will allow us to pinpoint any point on the bumper and see if it matches the other side. I'll be collecting the building materials this week and hopefully weld it all together this weekend. Then we will have very close tolerances and a very high quality product as far as fit and mirror image. It will also help us to make each bumper exactly like the last. Even if the mould gets destroyed, we would be able to use the device to copy an original and start over.
For me, this is the last week of classes. Next week is finals. That weekend is my Christmas party and the following day I'll be pulling my engine out again! When that is done, I will be out of state for about a week. It doesn't sound like we will be able to do much more before New Years. After the 1st, I'll have about two weeks free before classes start again. Hopefully Jason's schedule will be open at that time also.
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