Ferrari 288GTO build (Page 50/64)
dobie1 MAR 01, 10:50 PM
Hi everyone here’s the latest update.

I finally pulled the two rear deck hood parts from the molds and started preparing them for bonding together.
The first consideration I have is the grills (which still need to be built) will be 1” tall by what ever the hole length is.
Once the grills are installed I want them 1/8” below the surface of the hood plus a similar amount below the grill making
For 1 1/4” the final height . So I trimmed the upper half to 1” and the lower to 1/4” . The next item is to bond the two parts together, I’m using metal drywall J bead . This bead has holes drilled over the entire length giving lots of bite for the adhesive to a grip.




This is after the two halves have been modified to the right thickness.



This is the corner bead and how I’ll attach to the inside edges




I also completed the two brake cooling ducts , they came out pretty well as I’d hoped. I’ll modify as needed .
[IMG]https://images.fiero.nl/userimages/dobie1/100DA58A-FC1F-4D83-9D 5C-14321D84E9BA.jpeg[/IMG]

I’m hoping to get the car back soon so I can get back to finishing the body for paint.

Stay safe everyone
Wayne

[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 03-01-2022).]

dobie1 MAR 09, 10:21 PM
Here is the latest update, for those that have been following for soooo long🤪

I finally got all the metal strips attached to the 24 edges of the top half of the rear hood.


For the bottom half I took 2 pieces of 1/4” plate steel 3”x12” . I milled 3 recessed areas that a welded nut/washer will be secured
To allow it to slide for adjustments. I’ll then bond the steel plates to the fiberglass , before bonding the two hood half’s together prior to finishing the bonded edges for primer and paint.



I was fortunate to visit Bloozeberry this summer out in Nova Scotia and see his extraordinary build, I wish I had his talents.
Anyway I did a swap with him and got a set of hinges he designed for his car that will work perfectly for my build.



That’s it for now guys .
Stay safe
Wayne
dobie1 MAR 20, 03:21 PM
Well another busy week lots completed and still lots to go…

I got the rear deck finished this week , still needs some bodywork to be ready for paint but it all came together.
With the help of Don O. I got the rear deck hinges finished, and I must say They came out really good.

Here you can see the nuts welded to the rectangular 1/8” steel washers (Don O’s idea instead of large washers) they slide in the slots milled into the 1/4” steel plate



Then the capture plate milled out to the exact width of the nuts tack welded onto the main plate, this does two things one retains the nut/washer in place and second is a backup the to rectangular washer/nut when torquing down the hood to the bracket.



Then the whole assembly is bonded to the inside of the lower part of the hood using Pro Bond epoxy .


Then after applying Pro Bond on all bonding surfaces it was clamped for 24 hours to fully cure.

You can never have too many clamps


I have all the body panels (except for the rear body half) ready for final body work before painting


They have now been sprayed with slick sand and will be block sanded tomorrow (Monday)
The plan is to be spray 2K primer final seal coat on Wednesday weather permitting.

One last update on the HVAC/ Light switch touch pad controller, Don O. Completed the controller boards and had them built.
We received them last week, next is the Arduino controller programming. It’s coming together nicely.



That’s it for now
Stay safe everyone
Wayne

[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 04-07-2022).]

dobie1 MAR 23, 11:35 PM
Exciting day !!
One step closer as parts are one Color, albeit gray 2K primer all the preparation was worth it!!

Friday the parts were sprayed with slick sand a hi build primer , everything sat over the weekend.
Then After a couple days getting everything block sanded and ready

This picture shows the black speckles which is a guide coat when block sanding



This is after block sanding parts are wiped clean and degreased hung in preparation for spraying 2K primer.



Everything is sprayed with 3 coats of 2K primer.





I’m really happy with how the front spoiler vent holes came out, totally awesome.


Everything will sit until Monday to fully cure and then I’ll block sand with 320 grit sandpaper before paint..

One small problem that arose with the build is there is no place to attach to the car for towing the vehicle.
My idea is to attach a 2x2 1/4” steel Bar welded to the frame at the bumper level. Then I’ll drill a 3/4” hole thru both sides and weld a 5” threaded bolt in place. I will then take apiece of Dom steel pipe and weld some nuts on one end and a ring on the others . This allows a hook to attach to the screw in bar. A hole will be drilled through the body behind the fold down license plate. I’ll do something similar in the front once the grill is built and mounted to find a location.




More updates soon.
Stay safe everyone
Wayne

[This message has been edited by dobie1 (edited 03-24-2022).]

Sage MAR 24, 07:23 AM
WOW!.......now I have to clean my keyboard....after salivating all over it.

That's the reaction I had to your pics...it just looks SOOOOOO good!

I believe you should compile all your pics from when you started, assemble them into book form with instructional text accompanying the pics and publish it as a "how to" for building a proper fiberglass body from an existing car.

Your work is just plain superb.

Thanks for documenting your progress...it serves to inspire those of us who just can't seem to get motivated...or just plain don't have enough hours in the day to do everything that "has" to be done and leave a little bit of time for what we'd "like" to get done.

I can't imagine the anticipation of wanting to see it painted, assembled and on the road...but I know I for one am champing at the bit to witness it.

Congratulations on getting there.....it WILL be worth it in the end.

Thanks again for inviting us along for the ride.

HAGO!

dobie1 MAR 28, 11:54 PM
Wow thanks for the kind words Ted. My hope has always been writing this blog that anyone interested would get most of the information from it they would need to build a car. But your right there isn’t a lot of how to info on the hobby!! But you never know!!

Here is a update on this week’s progress.
I’ve been doing the final fitting on the rear deck hood before completing the body work. And hinge placement and installation.



Stay safe
Wayne
Trinten MAR 30, 12:45 PM
Wayne that is going to look awesome when it's done.

I really envy the patience and dedication it takes to become skilled at things like this. Not to mention innate talent. I simply don't have it. This is going to look awesome. I hope you are able to have it at the 40th - even if you have to trailer it there!
jdv MAR 31, 04:33 PM
Awesome build Wayne. Do you have any plans on selling the HVAC/ Light switch touch pad controller ?
RCR APR 02, 06:15 PM
Bravo, Wayne... I'll dream through your posts...

Bob
dobie1 APR 05, 10:39 PM
Thanks Trinten for the comments always appreciated!

jdv thank you as well , as for the controller, I’ll ask my buddy Don O. If he is interested in selling any controllers once we gets everything worked out with my car.

Bob , I’ve been wondering where you are on your build , did you ever use the inner scoop ducting I Sent you?
I’m looking forward to a update!!

Here is the last est updates on my build, I haven’t gotten anymore done with spraying the rest of the parts as planned.
I decided I needed to figure out and finish the rear deck hood hinge mounts and test the operation in case I needed to do any mods.

I mounted the hinges to the hood tested for full range of movement



Next I needed To start And establish the mounting point for the brackets, which in this case is the wood highlighted in green. This is a steel plate that I mount the body supports too highlighted by the blue line. The two black bars attached to the body are then supported to the same steel plate as the body supports. Highlighted in red.


Once that was established I then proceeded to mount the hinges to the support discussed above.



I drilled into the steel support and attached the aluminum hinges in place.



I still need to do some adjustments and mount a spring air arm to keep the hood up when opened. The real cars use
A manual arm to keep it open this is my upgrade.

Stay safe everyone
Wayne