the shop thread was getting a bit long and this build will take up a lot of it so I decided to give it it's own build thread.

the person that was building the car is a great builder but with the way the world is now his time is taken up by just getting by so the car has set for a while.
I was contacted buy his customer about finishing it and it just so happened I knew the car and builder before he ever called me. so I whent and looked at it and aranged to get it to the shop to finish it for him. it does have a long way to go. I will keep this thread up to date on the progress and it should be fun for all.

this is what I am starting with......
enjoy
D.

This should be interesting...

------------------

Steve
Aka. "SmoothGT"
1987 GT 4.9L~V8 ~4T6OE
SmoothGT~II

Will keep this one on my watchlist.

I'd rock it just like that.

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86 SE ChopTop 4 Speed 3.4 "The Short Bus"

"For Sale"

Nice, even has a targa top.
Any type of drivetrain in it yet?

quote Originally posted by 17Car: Nice, even has a targa top. Any type of drivetrain in it yet?

yes it has a drivetrain you tell me what it is

LOL!

we will be getting started on this one next week.

It looks like a 2.8 v-6 to me......with a really good engine cover

quote Originally posted by DL10: It looks like a 2.8 v-6 to me......with a really good engine cover

BINGO ! that was quick LOL!

The EGR sorta gives it away. 0_o

quote Originally posted by CrazyBernie: The EGR sorta gives it away. 0_o

Yea, not all the covers are on it yet. still need the right side cover and the intake tubes.

Hey did you pick that up from Gabe? If so he is a really cool guy. It looks like his D&R, those front bumper rollers give it away. I know his work well. Nice find and I hope you got a great it for a great price.

quote Originally posted by DL10: It looks like a 2.8 v-6 to me......with a really good engine cover

I was going to say a 2.8 with a cheesy fake plastic cover on it. I hope that is not a part of the finished car.

Other than that, it looks promising. I love the Lambo rebodies.

quote Originally posted by RUNDLC: Hey did you pick that up from Gabe? If so he is a really cool guy. It looks like his D&R, those front bumper rollers give it away. I know his work well. Nice find and I hope you got a great it for a great price.

Yes it is one of the cars Gabe was working on but life got in the way so the owner asked me to finish it for him. Gabe is a great guy. I look forward to finishing the car for the owner and Gabe may stop by from time to time to lend a hand on the car.
D.

That'll keep you busy for a while!n Have fun!

Those bagging this engine cover should admit it is the best looking and most realistic engine cover we have seen. A fiero enthusiast will of course see the dogbone and know it doesn''t belong on a lamborghini but then there is the rest of the public. A replica is just that a replica so why not replicate the engine bay other wise make a custom car so your engine won't seem out of place.

This one will start getting a lot of TLC this week. it will take a day or two to figure out all the wires, it is a big nest of them all over the dash
first up will be to get the car wired and running then finish the body.
I wiil keep you all posted.
D.

Make sure to mount the rear tires facing the right way.

Other wise looks like a nice car!

quote Originally posted by Custom2M4: Make sure to mount the rear tires facing the right way. Other wise looks like a nice car!

HA, HA! they where not on the car when we went to get it and we just threw them on with a few lugs.
D.

Out of curiosity, what does that use for weatherstripping and bracing for the targa top?

If thats a Warock kit, good luck with the roof. My removable top fit so poorly, I threw it away and built another from scratch. It took 4 people and rubber mallets to beat it on, Fit fine on the engine cover. Gas fill was on the wrong side. And after buying an OEM Lambo windshield (over $1000), it missed fitting the frame by 2 inches in some places. Ive built quite a few kits and this one was trash. I finally got so fed up, I sold it 3/4 done and gave the buyer beware to the new owner. It had no interior work done, but it did have a new 2.8 and purdy replica Lambo wheels.

it is not a warlock kit it was made by D&R. we where able to start tracking the wires today. this part will take most of the time
so no new pics to post yet.
D.

A bit of advice, avoid the rear harness! Run your brake lights direct from the switch and you can tie into the turn sigs from the front. It will save some time, however if Gabe or you for that matter have found a better way go for it.

thats a great looking kit so far! cant wait to see the finished product.

Best of luck with this project!

the last few days we have been working to finish up another car I had in the shop before this one but we have had a little time to sort some of the wires and find things that still needed to be done. because we did not start this one I want to make sure to look over every part so I know it has been done.
I will keep you posted with more next week.
D.

yesterday and today we were able to work on the Lambo and I will say this I have my work cut out for me on this one
the first thing I wanted to do was to get the car running and today we fired it for the first time but it does have a few things we need ti fix. the plugs are bad, and the car had no coolant in it so we looked over the lines and filled it up to find that the heater line has a hole in the hard line under the car
we also had to remove the starter and install some shims as well as a long list of other little repairs.

also we wanted to fit all the body parts and interior parts as well to make sure they all fit as well as make sure we have all the parts we need and yes I am missing several.

I will post more later...
D.

Got some new parts in today for the Lambo.

Hey now... Where'd ya get that sweet AC controller sitting on the dashboard........

I take it from the looks of those HUGE rotors and multi piston brake calipers that this machine will be on the receiving end of some serious Horsepower? I know If I could afford to build a Lambo kit I would definitely not be satisfied with the stock engine..... Any clues? peace

Pete

Uhh...brake details, please?

Let's see
the AC controler came from you a while ago, the customer bought it for the last builder.

and as far as the brakes they are Wilwood 6 piston Cailpers that are a direct bolt up to the HT mounts for the 4 piston setup. no mods required.

the car will still only have the stock 6 cyl. motor but the customer wanted the big brake look.
D.

Why do kit car owners have to do this? *sigh*


Rest of the car is looking good... The Fiero makes a good Diablo.

[This message has been edited by carbon (edited 07-30-2010).]

When done "right", it's actually convincing.. Unfortunately that costs $$$. I once saw a Diablo kit at Carlisle that I had to climb underneath to figure out it wasn't a "real" engine... Of course, that must make it an even bigger pain to work on. I can imagine it's not easy to climb over the body to work in the bay on that thing!

here are some pics fro the open house.
D.











It still has a long way to go but we wanted to put it together for the show.

Wow, that has come a long way! It looked great in person!

Friday we got the 6 piston Calipers on the car as well as worked on several other parts of it as well.
D.

quote Originally posted by whodeanie: It still has a long way to go but we wanted to put it together for the show.

Already a beautiful car though. Too bad it doesn't have a V12.

I love the look of the car... the color is an odd choice but it really suits the car nevertheless in my opinion. It's hard to tell if the engine bay covers are as convincing in real life as they are in the photos, but I think they're a pretty neat idea especially if you're running a stock powertrain. One thing I'd be just a little concerned with is airflow through the engine bay. Most mid engined cars exhaust a lot of heat through the top of the decklid so how is airflow managed under those all-encompassing engine covers?

Also, it doesn't look like there's any accommodation for the radiator up front... was it (or they) moved to the rear of the car under the taillights? Any pics of that? What radiator(s) were used? Keep the pics coming!

quote Originally posted by whodeanie: the shop thread was getting a bit long and this build will take up a lot of it so I decided to give it it's own build thread. the person that was building the car is a great builder but with the way the world is now his time is taken up by just getting by so the car has set for a while. I was contacted buy his customer about finishing it and it just so happened I knew the car and builder before he ever called me. so I whent and looked at it and aranged to get it to the shop to finish it for him. it does have a long way to go. I will keep this thread up to date on the progress and it should be fun for all. this is what I am starting with...... enjoy D.

What a project & what a good work you have done Dean.

quote Originally posted by whodeanie:

That photograph right there shows why this is a VERY proper build, even before seeing the doors open and the car complete.

Here's why.

Many Diablo Roadster replicas have issues with either the front trunk or the rear decklid not opening "properly". Now realize what "properly" is. Sure they open just fine. What very often happens though is that so much focus is put on making the cockpit doors open correctly (Dean can probably atest to the build hours that have likely been put into just the doors themselves. I'd imagine it's been a lot of time.) that the trunks are neglected in the interest of time. Look at the multitude of Diablo and Countach builds out there from the front and direct rear and you'll see what I mean. There's always some sort of fitment issues that actually do not become seriously apparent until the trunks are open.

That rear decklid shot, open with the roof panel attached where it normally stowes away on the real deal, is a money shot. On the real car, you're supposed to be able to open the rear trunk with the roof panel on the car. However, if the decklid isn't hinged properly, it either can't open up with the roof on it (it pivots too far upwards) or it potentially has to be made to pivot further towards the back of the car. The way it opens now is spot-on to a real Diablo Roadster. That may have been a hinge system that came on the kit, or Dean is simply that good into details. I don't know. Either way, it's right.

Things like this are what separate a "kit car" from a "replica".