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| Building my Metro Supercar | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 31 2011, 11:28 PM (19,349 Views) | |
| Coyote X | Apr 4 2016, 06:38 PM Post #181 |
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I didn’t get much time today to work on the car but I managed to get a few things done. First thing was level out the new trunk lid lip. I started by clamping a pvc pipe to the back to hold the slight curve I need. I tried measuring out a straight line for the trunk lid since it would be easier to make but the rear body is not made square enough and no matter what it doesn’t look even. A slight curve keeps it from being noticeable. Once it was straight I covered it with packing tape to keep the trunk lid from sticking to it. I cut a bevel into the top so the new material will have a better bond. After that I put the filler back in place and laid a layer of fiberglass over it. The shape is only approximately right but it is such a large area it is hard to get everything right in one pass. My plan is to let it cure for a few days while I am at work then when I get back on it I can remove the support from underneath it and cut and form that single layer a bit better. Once it is close to where I want I will build it up and join it into the old body panels good. That should give me enough thickness to get it nice and flat and be thick enough to mount a trunk latch in it without breaking over time. |
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| Turbo Dan-O | Apr 4 2016, 07:05 PM Post #182 |
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Obsessive Car Detailer
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Glad to see you working on her again Rick! |
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| Coyote X | Apr 10 2016, 09:12 PM Post #183 |
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It has been cold and terrible weather for fiberglass work so not much has been done the last week or so. But the weather is looking better now so it is time to get the work on the trunk lid going again. I have 5 layers of chopped fiberglass over the first mesh layer now. It is starting to look good and won’t be long before I have it thick enough to work. I figure another 3 layers of chopped fiberglass and maybe a layer of mesh on top to make it look nice should be about right. I need to build up the thickness of the back edge a lot more. I will probably put about 6 layers on it. Then after getting the top cut off I can go back under it and put several layers and get it to about 1/3 inch thick. It should hold up good and not warp or do anything for a long time if I make it that thick. I will let this part set up and dry for a few days and maybe by Wednesday I can get the last few layers done. |
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| Coyote X | Apr 20 2016, 08:00 PM Post #184 |
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Still working on the trunk lid. I have it thick enough now to be nice and strong. It is pretty close to level now and you can finally start to see what it is going to look like. I haven’t had much time to mess with the car but that just gave the fiberglass plenty of time to set up I guess. I put the last few layers on it today to get it up to full thickness. It is now slightly thicker than the stock fiberglass so it should hold up to being used as the edge of a trunk lid without much problem. I still need to build up the back it is kind of thin and will need built up pretty good. I will get it built up then sand the whole thing down nice and level. I will probably go ahead and try out putting gel coat on and see how it works before I cut the lid free. Once the lid is free and reinforced on the bottom with some metal bracing I will start putting the finishing touches on the wing and make it in fiberglass. |
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| Johnny Mullet | Apr 20 2016, 08:06 PM Post #185 |
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Fear the Mullet
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| Coyote X | Apr 30 2016, 03:42 PM Post #186 |
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anyone want to help me work out the bugs on my livestream setup? http://vaughnlive.tv/rickt
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| Coyote X | Apr 30 2016, 09:54 PM Post #187 |
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I have enough fiberglass on the new section of trunk lid to make it good and strong. It just needed some sanding and it is about done. The fiberglass is in the right shape and angle. It will need a bit more finish sanding and a good coating of gel coat to finish it but for now it is good. I will do the finish work on it when I do the rest of the bodywork. Next up is to cut the top off the trunk lid and get that part working like I want it to. The hard part of modifying the body on this car is nothing on it is really square or the same from one side to the other. Making a template to cut one side and then flipping it over to cut the other side wont match at all. The only thing that can will look right is to just line it up with what looks right. The easiest way I have found to make a complex curve that flows well along the lines is to use PVC water pipe.I taped it in place along both sides of the trunk and adjusted it to make it look balanced and as even as I could get it. After it was taped down and as even looking as I could get it I used a marker and put a line on the body to cut. I didn’t have enough blades for my saw to get the job done so That seemed like a good place to stop for the day. I plan on making the cuts down the top of the body then lifting the car up and cutting through the fender wells and anything else that needs cut to get the lid free. I can then reinforce the lid and the body to hopefully make it all work out right. Edited by Coyote X, Apr 30 2016, 09:58 PM.
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| Coyote X | May 17 2016, 11:34 PM Post #188 |
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I worked out how to attach the hinges to the roll bar. It was hard to get them lined up and attached. I ended up bolting a plate onto the hinges and welding the plates on to the roll bar after I got it lined up right. After getting it welded in place and making sure everything worked like it should I then unbolted the hinges from the plates. I could then drill and bolt the plates down while the weld holds it all in place. I then cut the welds and spot welded the hinges back on to the plates. The trunk lid now can be removed by taking the 6 bolts off that hold the plates to the roll bar and the trunk lid is free. I will measure and find a set of gas struts to hold it open once I figure out how far I want the lid to stay open. Once I get the rest of the work done on the back end I will get a key and latch setup mounted to the back. I probably won’t put a cable operated remote release on it and just put an electrical release sometime in the future. |
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| Coyote X | May 25 2016, 09:21 PM Post #189 |
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With the trunk lid cut free and the back of the car mounted I need to get it all squared up good before I can build inner fenders and stuff. I tried a few different things to get everything to sit square and finally came up with a way to get it all lined up. I clamped a section of 1 inch square tubing to each side and shimmed it out to get everything sitting right. It was a simple way to hold it together and didn’t need any duct tape. Now that I have a nice even gap around the trunk lid I can start to build up a lip in the trunk to seal the lid when closed. I am not completely sure what I am going to use to make it. I need something strong enough to not let the fiberglass warp over time so I am thinking of forming up something out of metal and fiberglassing it onto the body similar to how I did the expanded metal on the hinge setup. I thought about trying to use foam to make a form and fiberglass that in the car. I will work on some ideas and see what works best. One good thing will be if I can keep the inner fenders separate from the fenders I can make the whole back body easy to unbolt and drop off the back of the car without all the hassle of the one piece trunk lid. I will work on that after I get everything framed up stiff and can keep it from warping. Here is what the back end looks like with all the mess cleaned out of it. It has way more room than it did before. Once the inner fenders and trunk area are done it should work out perfect. |
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| Johnny Mullet | May 26 2016, 06:38 AM Post #190 |
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Fear the Mullet
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Looking good! |
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| idmetro | May 26 2016, 06:54 AM Post #191 |
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Looks great! At this rate you could make GeoPalooza... |
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| MR Bill | May 26 2016, 07:06 AM Post #192 |
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Keep up the good work Rick. |
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| Coyote X | May 26 2016, 09:52 PM Post #193 |
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I need to get the layout on where everything goes figured out. So before I start making the flange for the trunk lid to seal against I need to come up with how the rest of the stuff is going to fit. The first thing is the wall for the storage area. I used plastic from Speedway motors for it since it is easy to work with and pretty strong. I had to start with making a template out of cardboard then cutting out the plastic to fit and adjusting it to seal to the fenders tight enough to be water tight once it is all done. I didn’t get it finished but it is in place so I can get an idea of how much room I have to work with. It will give me plenty of storage room and once the inner fenders are put together and all of it is done, the back of the car will be much more usable than it was stock. The engine will be a bit harder to get to but I am hoping the car is reliable enough I really wont have to work on it that much once it is on the road. |
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| Coyote X | May 26 2016, 10:03 PM Post #194 |
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I bet I still itch 6 months from now as much fiberglass work as I have done lately.... |
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6:43 PM Jul 10