Neil's Aventador build (Page 57/74)
Neils88 JUN 17, 05:33 PM
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...
shemdogg JUN 17, 07:16 PM
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
Neils88 JUN 17, 08:32 PM

quote
Originally posted by shemdogg:

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.
Neils88 JUN 18, 07:08 PM
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...)
shemdogg JUN 18, 07:25 PM
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
Neils88 JUN 18, 08:15 PM

quote
Originally posted by shemdogg:

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).
Neils88 JUN 24, 10:52 PM
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.
shemdogg JUN 24, 11:18 PM
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
Neils88 JUN 25, 12:04 AM

quote
Originally posted by shemdogg:

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.
Neils88 JUL 15, 10:06 PM
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).]