It has been about two months since I started my project, so I figured it was time to start a build thread.
In the past, I built a Lamborghini Diablo replica kit from NAERC on a stretched 84 fiero with a V8 Archie SBC kit and big brakes kit. Unfortunately I lost this car in 2011 during the flooding due to tropical storms in our area. The car was completely under water for three days.
Here is a pic of what it looked like:
I am now building a replica Lamborghini Aventador, not from a kit, but building the body from scratch. It will be on a stretched 85 fiero with a 3800sc and a f40 6 speed.
Here is a picture of a real Aventador that I am styling after:
The first step is to build a "plug". This is a full size mock-up of the body. It will be used to make the molds from. Made from plywood and body filler. In this stage I call it my "Lumberghini".
The plug needs to be finished smooth, any imperfections in the plug will transfer into the mold. Here it is after bodywork and primer:
A fiberglass mold is then made on the plug:
When the mold is released, it is a "negative" of the actual part:
The part is then made from the mold, using gel coat and fiberglass. Here are three finished parts that I have made so far. Two fenders, and a hood:
I am working on the front bumper next, I will post more as progress continues. Feel free to comment, I like to here other peoples ideas and opinions.
[This message has been edited by mkman (edited 07-23-2013).]
Great start up thread! Of course threads like these always make us beg for more pictures and info though Here's a bunch of questions I hope you can expand upon:
How did you get from a flat plywood skeleton to those lovely complex curved fenders? Surely it can't all be filler. Any pictures of the process? What filler are you using?
Are you simply using your artistic ability to eyeball the symmetry of the curves from one side to the other or do you have another method?
Most of us realize that building the exterior to look like something else is the fun part, but the "down -in-the-ditches" part is making those outer skins fit the Fiero chassis underneath and still pull-off the look. Are you just making the outer skins for now and working on fitting them later or do you have some other plan?
What windshield are you using?
What wheelbase and track are you working with?
Once you start a thread like this it's like a living thing... you have to feed it regularly!
How did you get from a flat plywood skeleton to those lovely complex curved fenders? Surely it can't all be filler. Any pictures of the process? What filler are you using?
Are you simply using your artistic ability to eyeball the symmetry of the curves from one side to the other or do you have another method?
Most of us realize that building the exterior to look like something else is the fun part, but the "down -in-the-ditches" part is making those outer skins fit the Fiero chassis underneath and still pull-off the look. Are you just making the outer skins for now and working on fitting them later or do you have some other plan?
What windshield are you using?
What wheelbase and track are you working with?
Here are a few answers to your questions:
Yes the curved portions of the fenders are mostly bondo, shaped by hand.
The symmetry from side to side is done by making two identical pieces of plywood, a left and a right, then positioning them measuring off the wooden support structure. Center line was marked out using a rotary laser. For the curved areas, it is mostly done by sight and feel, and a few measurements here and there.
I will "fit" the body after it is complete. I am attaching aluminum angle to the back side of the body panels to use as mounting points later. I will just have to weld supports off the fiero frame.
The windshield is a 94 honda accord 2 door. It is almost a perfect match to the lambo.
Wheelbase will be 101.5", not exact to the real lambo, but will work well for the fiero dimensions with a 8" frame stretch done in the passenger area. this will locate the firewall in the perfect place for the body. I don't have figures for "track" yet, but there will be some widening involved. The overall width at the front axle is 72", and the rear is 75". Wheel offset, brake setup, and bolt pattern adapters will all effect how much I will need to widen the suspension.
Wow... this is an ambitious project! ...making panels from scratch, stretching the frame 8", chopping the roof, new suspension, all new glass, 3800sc with F40... I've subscribed. How long have you been at it so far?
I started building the wooden body 2 months ago, I started the first fiberglass pieces about 2 weeks ago.
I still have more work to do one the wooden structure before I can make anymore fiberglass parts. Door skins will be next, then side skirts, rear quarter panels, rear bumper, engine cover, and roof. After the body is mounted to the chassis, I will start making interior parts.
I don't know what your ambition will be after you complete this car for yourself, but if you decide to upgrade the molds into high grade tooling molds, you may have a nice small business on your hand. The Aventador kit car market's current state is dismal. Either the cars look nothing like the real thing or the segment is littered with frauds & scams. With the Aventador being such a desireable car among the automotive populace, people will pay good money for a well-tooled Aventador body. My only obvious concern would be Lambo themselves coming after you since you are replicating a currently-produced car, but if you're willing to take that risk you could probably produce a good handful of bodies from a higher grade tooling mold and sell them for a whole lot more than what current kit car bodies go for.
The plug looks superb though. You have some serious skills. Very much looking forward to the rest of the process, and I know you'll do a superb job, yourself not being new to kit cars so you probably already have a very good idea of the intricacies involved in one's construction.
Do you belong to the Lambo clone forum? The old kit car forum (mad mechanics) lost most of it's Lambo builders to the clone forum. The best looking build, Murci me, has now been banned from the Lambo clone forum too. People just seem to get into big arguments for no reason. You have impressive body skills. The best Murci body's were from John Watson who splashed his parts from an actual Lambo. That's how he did his 355 Ferrari body's too. Expensive to acquire the real body parts for replication though.
Been busy at work for the past couple months, so not as much progress as I would have liked. Still working on making fiberglass pieces. I have the door skins made, and now have molds made for the side skirts/door sills. I will post some pics as soon as I get a couple more parts made. Next will be the rear quarters, then the deck lid, and the rear bumper. That will take a few more months, after that I will start on the chassis modifications.
Finished the 8" frame stretch and extra reinforcing for removal of roof. Started to get the brake upgrade fitted up. started rough fitment of body panels.
we need to be friends. Hi I'm paul gold i am one of the founding members of D&R replicar. I currently have a 6.0 diablo replica built on a 88 formula GT. My next project I'm currently working on is the Lamborghini Veneno Replica in which i to will be fabricating the body. Yes a huge undertaking but working at D & R i will also be utilizing my fiberglassing skills. Your work looks great and is inspiring. Good luck. Im here in Las vegas so if you are ever here let me know.
I can't believe you just glossed over all the important stuff! I think there are lots of us that would like to know and see what you did to stretch and reinforce the frame.
I can't believe you just glossed over all the important stuff! I think there are lots of us that would like to know and see what you did to stretch and reinforce the frame.
Sorry about that, wasn't sure how much interest there would be. Here is what I did.
First I built a frame jig out of some 1.5" C-channel, made sure it was square and level. Then I placed the fiero on the jig and bolted the front of the car to it. I made some C-channel brackets that would slide front to back on the jig, and temporarily welded them to the back section of the car. This would now allow me to cut the car in half, then slide the rear section back, while keeping everything level and keep the two halves lined up.
Here is a pic with the roof cut off, and the car cut in half.
After the cut was made, I removed the rocker panel area and front and rear pillars from the frame.
The next pic shows the new rectangle steel I added to reinforce the frame. The red arrow is 5" x 2" main beam, the yellow arrow is a 3.5" x 3.5" front pillar, the blue arrows are 3" x 2" welded to the upper portion of the rear frame, and one going across the car that ties the main beams together. The cut area was then filled with 16ga sheet metal.
Do you belong to the Lambo clone forum? The old kit car forum (mad mechanics) lost most of it's Lambo builders to the clone forum. The best looking build, Murci me, has now been banned from the Lambo clone forum too. People just seem to get into big arguments for no reason.
That's cause Eddie is over there starting s__t with people and apparently he's got higher ups to back him up.....
He complains about people not building anything yet non evidence of his 5 proclaimed builds....
This is great work! I'll be watching closely since I'm getting ready to work on my Murcielago project. Just doing the engine swap into my 88 right now. Taking things slowly, in stages, so I get it done right. I love that you took the time to make the molds yourself.
Couple of questions...
-You chose to make smaller individual panels rather than larger panels (such as the full front as a single molding). Any particular reason or just easier to handle the molds? Are you worried about alignment issues? -You chose to do the stretch in the passenger compartment instead of stretching the engine bay (cradle). Any reason to chose this method? You get more leg room, but I'm 6' and have tons of room in the Fiero as it is. I plan on stretching my cradle, since that gives me some extra space in the engine compartment which is better for air flow around the 4.9 (and the eventual turbo). I would also normally worry about the structural integrity for a stretch in the cabin, but I think you've done a great job of stiffening the cut so no issues there.
2.5 - I usually only get weekends to work on the car. My job and family have my weekdays pretty full.
jschmidt95 - i am building doors from scratch, using glass, window motor/tracks from a 99 2 door saturn.
quote
Originally posted by Neils88:
Couple of questions...
-You chose to make smaller individual panels rather than larger panels (such as the full front as a single molding). Any particular reason or just easier to handle the molds? Are you worried about alignment issues? -You chose to do the stretch in the passenger compartment instead of stretching the engine bay (cradle). Any reason to chose this method? You get more leg room, but I'm 6' and have tons of room in the Fiero as it is. I plan on stretching my cradle, since that gives me some extra space in the engine compartment which is better for air flow around the 4.9 (and the eventual turbo). I would also normally worry about the structural integrity for a stretch in the cabin, but I think you've done a great job of stiffening the cut so no issues there.
I am new to fiberglass forming, I was trying to break up the work into smaller more manageable pieces. I found the bumpers to be a challenge due to the complex shape, I'm not sure if I could have handled a full front clip in one piece. Alignment may be a challenge, but I might bond the panels together to ease this.
My last kit car was stretched in the engine bay, this is great when a larger engine or turbo set up is being installed. I will be installing a 3800sc, very common install for stock fieros, so no fitment issues there. My diablo kit actually was tight for anyone over 6', I am 5' 5" and fit perfectly into that car. From doing stretches using both methods, I would say that the passenger compartment is easier to keep the two halves of the car aligned correctly. Also, if you are making a car with a removable roof, you will need to support the passenger compartment anyway.
Where did you find the drawings for this? This is a very cool build for sure!
I did not have drawings or plans. This is where people usually get a chuckle - I used a set of digital calipers and took measurements off a 1:18 scale die cast model, then upscaled the dimensions.
Got the front bumper mounted to the car. Built a windshield frame from square tubing. Purchased some leather racing seats. Mounted a new steering column and steering wheel. Built a "roll bar" from square tubing.
I did not have drawings or plans. This is where people usually get a chuckle - I used a set of digital calipers and took measurements off a 1:18 scale die cast model, then upscaled the dimensions.
Nice, I've heard of people doing this before but I've never seen it in action!
Here's a bunch of questions I hope you can expand upon:
