Thanks Monkeyman !! You're absolutely right the 288 is a sexy super car. I only hope that when my car is finished it will give justice to the real car.
I've been working on the spoiler vent the last few days, although the one I started with came out ok, doing it completely out of 20 gauge steel was more difficult than I originally thought. So I went back to the drawing board and started with a different approach. I used the steel for the top and bottom but sandwiched the polyester foam between them . I shaped the foam to give me the shape I needed giving me what I was looking for. I sprayed the whole piece with epoxy primer then painted it in the white I used for the other molds. I now have a working plug. I'll make a male mold rather than a female mold which all the other molds I made were. it may be difficult to see how I'm planning on installing the parts , I plan on cutting two 1 1/2" x 12" opening into the spoiler then attach the vent fill piece into the opening. Then finish the front for painting. Here is a photo of what Im looking for.
I've also been working on the front bumper , I found the dimensions were not exactly parallel over the full length so I needed to add to the outside of both ends to match the center section. I'll trim it up and finish it up with some bondo before I paint it.
[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 07-23-2020).]
Vent looks perfect. Finding and fixing those "little" things, like variances in the lines of your bumper....THAT'S what will make your "replica" stand above the crowd.....NOT that the crowd is all that big that makes up the people that would even ATTEMPT a project like yours. You are killin' it!
Thanks for visiting and the positive comments Ted and Shem Always appreciate the comments.
I have company for a week right now so nothing Really happening in the build at the moment. I’m panning on starting the Carbon Fiber Vacuum bag front hood build next week. Hope to have lots of pics And build details for everyone.
Stay safe Wayne
[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 07-29-2020).]
I worked on the hood mold getting it ready for doing a Carbon Fiber Layup. I lightly ground out a few minor flaws on the surface and spread some specially formulated repair putty into the areas. I sanded everything to 1500 grit finish then polished the entire surface. once that was finished I used a chemical mold sealer and then applied a chemical mold release.
The tape is applied to keep the perimeter free from free from mold release as the gum tape will not stick as well.
The layup is two layers of 6K 5S Carbon fibre then a layer of Lantor Soric SF ,this is a bulking material with great weight and strength it has channels over the enter surface to aid in resin flow. The sonic is 1" smaller than the width and length to allow it to be sealed in the part, then the last layer of carbon is applied.
After everything was stacked up and the flow media (red layer) ,vacuum bag attached and the suction and supply lines were attached I tested for a 30" pull the supply line was released and flow starts from one end to the other.
I'll leave everything under suction for 24 hours then well see the first part from the molds. Ill layup the bottom part next then bond the two parts together fingers crossed.!!!!
Thanks Bob I keep evolving ,watching videos has helped in learning new techniques
I pulled the part from the top side of the hood mold , a couple small flaws but very happy over all. I'll trim it up to the outer lines and get it ready to bond to the bottom half.
I layed up the bottom half of the mold today a lot of work getting it into all the angles and ensuring no bridging ,cross my fingers.
I pulled the second part from the lower mold today and trimmed it up, for the most part am very happy. I'll have to sand and prep a few areas , I also need to laminate some capture nuts on the inside for the hood hinges and lock /striker before bonding the two parts together.
just a side note the original hood that I molded weighed 59 lbs, the new one at this point is 10lbs !!!! the extra hardware and misc glues might add a couple pounds.
just a side note the original hood that I molded weighed 59 lbs, the new one at this point is 10lbs !!!! the extra hardware and misc glues might add a couple pounds.
Wow. OUTSTANDING ! I have a dumb question - will the finished hood be red like the rest of the car or carbon fiber looking ?
Wayne, you have surpassed everything I've seen up to now regarding DIY composite fabrication! OUTSTANDING job!
That hood looks great...and 10-12 pounds?????REMARKABLE!
The bagging is something I've always been "curious" about, and I've seen it done before, but not ever really tried it myself. Stellar work bud.
I still say, you're gonna be "swamped" with guys wanting to buy your kit. Your investment in making molds should pay off handsomely, provided you have time to fill all the orders!
Can hardly wait to see this masterpiece finished and fully assembled, in color. Will be awe-inspiring for sure.
Keep up the good job, and keep the updates coming!
Wow. OUTSTANDING ! I have a dumb question - will the finished hood be red like the rest of the car or carbon fiber looking ?
Hi Paul, no question is dumb😁 I plan on painting both front and rear hoods red same as the body. I’m only doing the hoods in carbon to Keep the weight down, for the pneumatic lift arms ,ultimately I would like to do the whole car in carbon fibre !! But realistically I’ll be doing the Rest of the panels going forward out of fiberglass.
Hi Ted Thanks for the positive comments,I always appreciate your thoughts. I keep making the posts on technics I’m using for the build ,I just hope that people aren’t getting overloaded with information or for some board and would rather just see the parts already Finished and installed.
... I just hope that people aren’t getting overloaded with information or for some board and would rather just see the parts already Finished and installed.
I'd rather just see them finished and installed on MY car .
Originally posted by dobie1: I keep making the posts on technics I’m using for the build ,I just hope that people aren’t getting overloaded with information or for some board and would rather just see the parts already Finished and installed.
Stay safe everyone Wayne
Not getting overloaded here. Some is beyond my understanding, but that just makes those parts useful in the future when I read them again and finally get it. It's ike missing things in a movie or a book the first time through. I was still getting parts of The Godfather II recently that didn't jibe before.
Thanks for the reply Sourmash , I'll keep the build going!!
So i'll post a bit on the fuel filler for the benefit of RCR (BOB) I originally used the Fiero fuel lid and fuel pot. I cut the filler pipes and installed a fuel safe rubber extension with a couple of stainless steel T-Bolt clamps. I installed it on the 308 kit much like your kit BOB.
RCR if you want these pieces for your build your more than welcome to have them , PM me with your address. Also Don O. Is going to take a bunch of pics of his setup for you as well.
I've now gone in a different direction with the GTO build with the dual fuel doors (only one is actually for fuel ) the other will be for something, just not sure yet.
Now back to the build on the hood... I made up some plates the I welded nuts too, then drilled a bunch of holes into the plate to allow the epoxy resin to flow all around. The epoxy will solidify the entire area giving rigidity over a wider area for the hood hinges.
Clay dams to keep the epoxy slurry in the hinge area
Some of you may notice the red flow media is still on the part, OK I screwed up I forgot to put peel ply down first . Luckly it is inside and will not effect anything. Thanks for coming by Stay safe Wayne
[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 08-11-2020).]
I got the lock catch installed today , as I did in the hinge area cleaned and ground everything to get a good surface for bonding the plates I fabricated with 6m screws welded in. I made up a epoxy slurry and glued the plates in with 5 min epoxy then layed 3 layers of carbon fiber.over the whole area to give a large area of support for the plates.
I did a trial fit to make sure everything works.
Next task to complete is to fab up some plates for pneumatic arms .
Thanks for visiting
Stay safe Wayne
[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 08-12-2020).]
A bit of a update I finished up the bumper finally finished sanding and epoxy seal primer then painted it in HotRod black
I also worked on the 4 driving lights disassembling them , sanding everything with 320 scotch bright pad then sprayed with epoxy primer then sprayed with HotRod black. I'm happy with the look they came out just as had hoped ,I mounted two of them for a peek 👍 next I need to redo the mounts for the lights , I don’t think they are sturdy enough to keep the lights steady while the car is being driven at speed. Going from 18 gage steel to 1/8”
stay safe wayne
[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 08-18-2020).]
I moved onto fabricating some brackets to mount the pneumatic arms , the difficult part was trying to figure out where to attach everything. I started with a set of arms that I had originally purchased for the rear deck from Rodney Dickman somehow I ended up with two sets so figured I might as well make use of the extra set.
Then it came down to where to attach the arms to the hood, as there isn't any extra room under the hood I elected to drill and tape to the hood hinge.
Then it just came down to making a bracket to attach the other end to the frame.
I then had to decide if I needed two arms or one ,I decided to mount two as I figured I could always remove one if I found there was too much lift on the hood.
I decide to try out my powder coating equipment on a few pieces to finish them off, the two grill light mounting brackets and the fender standoffs.
after blowing the powder onto the pieces into the oven it went
from start to finish the process was quick it only took 60 mins!!
Voila~
My resin and supplies arrive on Thursday so back to build and finishing the molds
Stay safe Wayne
[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 08-31-2020).]
With the help of Don and Phil I have removed the back end from the car To start the moldIn process. Looks like I’m going to be busy for awhile Knee deep in resin and fiber glasse mat😩 I‘ve moved the car out of the shop to give me the room. I need and to keep everything in a more controlled environment as I fibre glass moving into the fall months ahead.
Pics to come. Thanks for stopping by everyone Stay safe Wayne
One of the problems that came up when I was trying to reinstall the radiator over flow tank was that with the tank was too big now with the hinge rod installed. To solve this I decided to cut it down by 1 5/8".
final result fits like a glove!!!
I finally got the rotisserie built to allow me to (fibreglass) building the molds at all angles, I was concerned that the mat wouldn't stay attached in the areas upside down.
I'm hoping to start the final sanding on the rear half before painting it in preparation for molding.
I had to look that one up Ted , I’m old and hadn’t heard it before ,LOL...
The over flow bottle I used a plastic repair tool that body guys use when repairing car bumpers. You melt a plastic strand into the cut line and blend it into the surrounding plastic. Worked pretty good except when I water tested it there were a few leaks I just couldn’t completely water seal so took some epoxy With Cabosil to thicken and a piece of s-cloth And glassed the complete fill . I sanded it down turned out water proof and pressure tested to 14 psi.
I think that a good soldering gun with a flat blade attached would do the same job as the bumper repair tool. The epoxy lamination just guarantees strength and water tight container.
Quality is actually pretty good. I need to fab a bracket and find some right angle fittings. Should work for you, too.
Bob
Hi Bob That actually looks like a really nice unit Bob , I may look at getting one as a reservoir bottle for my intercooler and install it in the second fuel Filler in the right fender. Thanks for the link.
I was also wondering how you got that bottle back together lol. Good stuff! Ive used my soldering gun and melted bits of plastic to weld stuff back together. That rotisserie is bad arse! Ive used cabosil for invetred areas and it works good. Some hvac or heavy tape will hold it in there good too. Youre getting close man looking good sir
I've been busy finishing the back half of the car to get it into paint !! unfortunately it's the wrong color for now, but It is for the first time one color other than primer gray. I have to say taking the extra time to get the body perfect payed off , the paint laid down to give me a perfect surface to mold. I'm hoping to start molding in a few days as I want to give the paint a few days to fully cure.
the first pics are in Primer ready to paint.
and now for the painted version. pics were taken at night so not as good as some Ive posted
Stay safe everyone and thanks for stopping by
Wayne
[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 09-29-2020).]
Man, everything about this build just looks so top notch. I mean your work looks like something that came out of a factory, not a home garage. Loving this build!!!!
Thanks Bob, Ted and Andrew for stopping by and the comments.
So I started molding the rear of the car today ,my first step to expedite the process was to make the up the flanges .I attached them to the body to get a visual of what each piece will look like and to ensure they can be removed from the part once it is laid up. I'll start the layup tomorrow ,I hope to have the mold totally finished in 2-3weeks.
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