Lots of trimming and fitting today...getting closer to getting the rear grill installed. I also fiberglassed the right side grill housing. I'll still have to figure out the best way to secure the housings. I'd like them to bolt in place but I haven't figured out how to make that happen yet. Maybe some pics tomorrow...
When I got my kit, the front grills were glassed onto the edges of the openings. Ive been racking my brain for another way but im going to do the same. Ecept for the center front grille. Im going to weld in some box tubing and have the center grill on a hinge. Theres no way to tow the car right now except from the back. Im going to weld a big ol eyebolt or two to the subframe in the grill area so careless tow guy has something to latch onto. maybe an extension cable offa that so he doesnt hafta stick his hands through my grill n scratch me paint. bro yr car looks soooooo bad ass luvin it
When I got my kit, the front grills were glassed onto the edges of the openings. Ive been racking my brain for another way but im going to do the same. Ecept for the center front grille. Im going to weld in some box tubing and have the center grill on a hinge. Theres no way to tow the car right now except from the back. Im going to weld a big ol eyebolt or two to the subframe in the grill area so careless tow guy has something to latch onto. maybe an extension cable offa that so he doesnt hafta stick his hands through my grill n scratch me paint. bro yr car looks soooooo bad ass luvin it
shem
I've thinking about that front center grill as well. My original thought was just to use some adhesive and permanently bond it to the bumper. But as you mention, you really need to make it easily removable with a tow hook accessible. Maybe I can set it up with a couple of clevis pins, assuming it's possible to reach them either from under the front bumper or with the hood open. Then it could be removed without needing any tools.
Here's a pic of the rear. Still struggling a bit to get the right side grill / housing into place. The housing should slide in under the light, but it just doesn't quite fit... The inner lip of the two housings will also need to be extended slightly to fill in the gaps.
(Note that the spoiler is slightly raised in the pic... Lots and lots of alignment and body work to come...)
I can see the right side opening top isnt straight, thats whats hitting the grill. I did most of my heavy knockdown sanding w a belt sander w 50 grit. Just dont leave it in one place it levels stuff out fast. Then I cleanup w a palm sander. looking good
I can see the right side opening top isnt straight, thats whats hitting the grill. I did most of my heavy knockdown sanding w a belt sander w 50 grit. Just dont leave it in one place it levels stuff out fast. Then I cleanup w a palm sander. looking good
shem
There is actually a little bit of optical illusion stuff happening with the photo. The left and right side are actually identical. The problem is that the opening itself is a little too small. This forces the top of the housing to sit out slightly and exposes some unfinished fiberglass on the rear upper edge of the housing. The taillight (and fiberglass strip directly below it) need to be lifted by an eighth of an inch or so to allow the housing to slide under. This leaves two "straight" lines exposed (as seen on the left side). Also note that the fiberglass strip below the lights isn't actually "straight" It is slightly curved and has a corner about a third of the way along (identical to the taillight profile).
I find it helps to look at images of my car next to the real one periodically to ensure things are lining up properly.
I was able to get the passenger side rear grill to fit a little better. I also started to fix the inner edges of the grill housings which where completely unfinished and basically missing. I don't have any pics of the repair yet, but I'll post some once it's completed.
I've now got to create some type of bracket(s) to hold them in place.
Looks like you have some meat behind the grills. Maybe fb some bolts onto the back of the grills- then u could bolt them to the car
shem
I normally use bonding fasteners with 3M adhesive, followed by a couple layers of fiberglass to ensure things don't come apart. In this case, I will put a couple fasteners onto the lower part of the housing, and bolt them to the bumper (the easy part). However, I'll need a couple other fasteners on the upper part of the housing (or high up on the sides). Unfortunately, there actually isn't any "meat" for me to do this. I'll have to find (or make) a good spot.
I'm thinking that I'll add a stabilizing bracket to secure the taillight's position and angle (right now they just sit in fiberglass shells that are bonded to the bumper, but aren't particularly rigid. If I do this properly, then I can dual purpose those brackets as points to secure fasteners from the upper part of the grill housings.
Looks like it's been more than 3 weeks since my last post. I've been struggling with some pain issues and have avoided the garage somewhat. The big downside to that is that I have spent more time on the couch...shopping for parts.
I've worked a little more on the rear grills, but still haven't finished the final mounts. I'll get back to them soon. My main focus in the last 3 weeks has been waiting for some parts to clear customs.
I decided a while back that I wasn't happy with the active spoiler system. I ended up redesigning the system to match the oem spoiler system. I sent the design to "Big Blue Saw" (an online machine shop) and had them water-jet cut my parts. Took forever to clear customs, but the pieces finally arrived this week. I undersized the holes since I wasn't completely sure of the tolerances of the water-jet cuts. Once they arrived, I drilled all the holes to the correct sizes and made the pivot joints using 3/8" steel rod cut to length. I used a thin stainless steel washer between bars to improve the movement. I used standard washers on either side of the pivot joint, clamped everything tightly and the welded the washers to the rod. This made for nice tight pivot joints with minimal slack or play, but nice easy motion. I managed to get the first hinge mechanism together today. After I complete the other hinge, I'll make a frame to use for mounting the hinges. I'll use a 1/2" drive rod, and have it held in place with a couple of roller bearings, one at each end. Finally, I add a slow speed, high torque gear motor and connect it using a flexible coupling.
(Edit...forgot to mention...I'll be attaching a small steel angle piece to the top bar that bolts to the spoiler...the holes for this haven't been drilled yet so it may not be clear)
The other thing I've started playing with (just for a change of pace) is the engine cover.
It needs some finish work to smooth it out in places, then I'll prime and paint it. The center piece is actually made of carbon-fibre so that piece won't get painted. I'll also have to turn the right side cover into a plenum to feed air to the real transverse V8 engine below. I will add four Madza 3 throttle bodies. Believe it or not they are very similar to the Aventador throttle bodies, and conveniently they are readily available at the local Pick-n-Pull. I still have to clean them up and grind off the top coolant tube (the one feature that isn't on the Aventador throttle bodies).
[This message has been edited by Neils88 (edited 07-15-2017).]
Thats pretty slick man, I know the being stuck on the couch feeling when id rather be doing something outside. Slipped discs suck. Just installed some granite countertops yesterday, even w help my backs buggin today. Still jackhammered out some old fence posts n got the new ones in. Tomorrow may suck....
Second hinge complete. Very happy with it...nice and tight pivots. Slightly better than the first. This time I was clamping the pivots lightly as I welded them (though not too tight as I found out) and this greatly improved the joints. The first hinge is really good, but I may grind off one or two of the joints and redo them now that I know a better way of doing it.
Next task...the framing. I like the idea of the whole unit being removable as a single piece (like the oem unit). The first version wasn't done this way...each hinge was separately bolted to the car and individually adjustable. Sounded good in theory, but turned out to be incredibly difficult to get everything properly aligned.
Back to working on the car today. Much more fun when you aren't digging under piles of parts and debris just to find the car.
Of course one of the garage door cables snapped a couple days ago, so I can't get the door open easily now. Always something getting in the way. And of course none of the hardware stores carried the correct length cable (I don't have the correct tools so I can't construct/crimp my own cable ends). I've ordered a couple cables on eBay, but it'll be at least a week before they arrive.
Back to the car...
I started by removing the old spoiler lift system. I welded in a couple of bumper support beams to replace the parts I'd removed. The plan was to then build the new spoiler lift mechanism on a frame that could be bolted directly onto the new beams. After getting everything exactly how I wanted, I then discovered that the new hinges don't fit with the new framing. Had to cut it all out. I'll have to re-think how to install it all.
When I work in the garage, I have a duty cycle of 90% work, 10% cleanup.
Before, my period for this cycle was measured in days. I have since found that a ~2-hour period works better for me.
That is the correct way to do things. I sometimes fail to do this unfortunately and then the mess just creeps up on me. No one to blame but myself...and no justifiable excuse.
Oh, heck Neil. Have you noticed how bad my garage is in the background of my pics? I'm happy to get around it and I vacuum constantly to help keep the dust down.
Sorry about the other issue. I understand completely and I'm also confident you will nail it.
Oh, heck Neil. Have you noticed how bad my garage is in the background of my pics? I'm happy to get around it and I vacuum constantly to help keep the dust down.
Sorry about the other issue. I understand completely and I'm also confident you will nail it.
Bob
Come on Bob....your garage is spotless! My rule of thumb seems to be "work until the floor completely disappears..."
...and if putting these cars together was easy, everyone would have one... I think I've figured it out. Not much room for the hinges, but I'll squeeze them in there somehow.
I'm still flipping back and forth between two projects...the active spoiler mechanism and the engine cover. I took some time to work on the "fake" throttle bodies.
This is the Mazda 3 throttle body that I'm using (posted this pic earlier in the thread):
After cleaning them all up and sanding down the scaling, I ground off the top coolant tube to make them look just like the OEM Lambo throttle bodies and then cut out the butterfly valve (I'll need to use them as part of the air intake to the real throttle body so I obviously don't want any flow restriction). Finally, I masked them off and gave them a coat of paint to make them look like new again:
I finished correcting some of the issues I had with the engine cover. Unfortunately I still have some surface imperfections that I may go back and tackle later (they really show up with the camera flash). It's not perfect, but I'm still quite happy with it.
Thats looking good buddy! Whered u get that cover? i need one for my fierrari
shem
Nate at Inspire Composites made that up. I got the prototype...which needed a bit of extra work to correct some issues. It took a bit of work but I think it's almost there. He made some fiberglass throttle bodies, but I think the Mazda 3 throttle bodies gave a more realistic look.
Unfortunately, I was forced to take a month away from working on the car due to health issues. I'm starting to feel a little better so I was finally able to get back into the garage today for a few hours. I decided to start back just working on some simpler tasks. Today I re-installed the rear engine bay hatch latch mechanism about 3 inches further back from its original position. This was required to line up the latch with the hole in the engine trim covers. Of course I had originally installed the latch mechanism long before purchasing the oem trim pieces.
I decided that now would be a good time to fibreglass and finish the inside of the rear hatch...of course this has now opened a can of worms. I had a slight misconception with respect to the way the hatch glass is mounted and finished...I've discovered that there are supposed to be some small external platforms that the glass rests on. The glass is then secured to these little platforms with an adhesive (windshield urethane). Of course, nothing ever goes together easily. I've created templates of the three glass panels using 1/4" MDF which has allowed me to get the locations of all the cut-lines on the hatch. I had to do a lot trimming on the hatch (and move some of the hatch's inner metal bracing), however once the platforms are in place I'll finally be able to finish the inside of the hatch. Right now I'm aiming to use smoked acrylic for the permanent panels, unless I can find a place that can cut and temper flat glass based on my MDF templates.
Neil; I've been following your build lurking in the background & I have to say - as a custom car builder - this is absolutely fantastic work & execution. I just hope you're keeping track of the hours to some extent for insurance purposes. You can get laminated safety glass (think windshield) cut without having to temper it. You can get it in tinted too. I had some made for my side windows on my shortened VW. It's about 1/4" thick, so you might want to check into it/have them made before you make the surrounding area for thinner glass. HTH, ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
I thought about using laminated glass, since it stays together should it ever break...much better than the mess caused by exploding tempered glass. As long as I can find it in a flat sheet then it would be a good option, especially since laminated glass can easily be cut by a waterjet, unlike tempered glass. Having said all that, another guy building the same replica has a few contacts in the glass industry. He is checking costs for getting a small group purchase. I've paused on the hatch briefly while I wait for the quotes, then I can match everything to his hatch dimensions.
Unfortunately, although my active spoiler system worked perfectly, it of course doesn't quite fit in the available space. It would have required that I notch the engine trim which is not going to happen. I wasn't in the mood to redesign the system...again...so I've opted to use the active spoiler system from a Crossfire. I picked up a used one for cheap. It fits perfectly, and works perfectly. The only thing I'll have to add is a potentiometer to measure the exact angle. It comes with two micro switches to indicate the upper and lower limits, but these won't be of any help (well the lower switch can be used, but not the upper switch). The spoiler actually opens much higher (angle) than needed at it's full height, but once I get the potentiometer installed then my controller can regulate the positions. I built a mounting frame and the unit just drops in place and will be secured with the stock mounting bolts. I welded the spoiler attachment brackets to the metal frame (internal stiffening for the spoiler) that I had created. This allows the spoiler to be unbolted from the hinges with a couple of hex screws per side (these brackets also allow for a little bit of alignment adjustment should it be needed later on). After the spoiler system and the spoiler internal frame were installed, I was able to mount the top fibreglass piece to its frame using urethane adhesive. I added a foam core and finished it off with fibreglass. Just fairing the surface now. A lot of work for a side of the spoiler that will only be visible if someone is a couple feet off my bumper while I'm driving at 70mph.
This pic shows the trimmed down hatch framing, plus the mounting frame for the active spoiler system
The Crossfire spoiler system attached to the spoiler
Spoiler frame and foam core
Fibreglassed and fairing in progress (note cutout for the brake light)
The spoiler is about 5/8" thick and nice and rigid.
I was attempting to get some more prep work done on the spoiler...until my trusty orbital sander decided to be dramatic and started to spit out internal parts. I'll try again tomorrow...hopefully the new sander will be more cooperative.
I think I've figured it out. Not much room for the hinges, but I'll squeeze them in there somehow. 
Otherwise you may begin to feel ill again with the upcoming NHL season about to start. 
It would have required that I notch the engine trim which is not going to happen. I wasn't in the mood to redesign the system...again...so I've opted to use the active spoiler system from a Crossfire. I picked up a used one for cheap. It fits perfectly, and works perfectly. The only thing I'll have to add is a potentiometer to measure the exact angle. It comes with two micro switches to indicate the upper and lower limits, but these won't be of any help (well the lower switch can be used, but not the upper switch). The spoiler actually opens much higher (angle) than needed at it's full height, but once I get the potentiometer installed then my controller can regulate the positions. I built a mounting frame and the unit just drops in place and will be secured with the stock mounting bolts. I welded the spoiler attachment brackets to the metal frame (internal stiffening for the spoiler) that I had created. This allows the spoiler to be unbolted from the hinges with a couple of hex screws per side (these brackets also allow for a little bit of alignment adjustment should it be needed later on). After the spoiler system and the spoiler internal frame were installed, I was able to mount the top fibreglass piece to its frame using urethane adhesive. I added a foam core and finished it off with fibreglass. Just fairing the surface now. A lot of work for a side of the spoiler that will only be visible if someone is a couple feet off my bumper while I'm driving at 70mph. 
I'll try again tomorrow...hopefully the new sander will be more cooperative. 
