The thin lines near to the oval circles will be back up lights? or what are those markings? Also, will you make a new location for a lock to the trunk? or delete the Trunk itself?
Thanks for the compliments. Now, to answer some questions:
The little rectangles I drew next to the tail lamp pods are for the spoiler mounting brackets. Those brackets are for the prop rods that will hold up the back of the spoiler. Look back to the spoiler test-fit photos and you'll see what I mean.
The reverse lights will either replace the reflectors in the rear fascia, or will go on either side of the license plate. I haven't decided yet.
The decklid lock will remain in the original location. The decklid will also retain the stock hinges... but not the springs. They will be replaced with gas struts.
The driving lights are Hella Optilux model 1300. If I remember correctly, the retail price is around $40. The Hella headlamps and Hella driving lights compliment each other very well.
Last night, I started laying up the tail lamp section. Here's the result of that work.
So far, there's only the gel coat and 2 layers of glass fiber cloth in there. So I can't break the mold loose yet. I need to build up more fiberglass in there first.
I'd also like to mention that with the decklid, I'm trying a couple new things. First of all, I'm using a real mold release agent (PVA). Up until now, I've been using stuff like furniture wax, car wax, beeswax, etc. Second of all, this is my first time using a gel coat. My gel coat on this project is just resin mixed with microfibers.
Oh, and in case you're wondering what that piece of wood is for, it's to create a ledge along the bottom of the tail light section. The ledge will increase the structural strength. By the time I'm finished, the ledge will also extend across the fenders.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
There isn't anything really exciting going on now. Basically just layup, wait, sand, clean, repeat. It might take a week before the tail lamp panel is ready to break free from the mold. There's still a lot of fiberglassing to do.
Here's what it looks like right now:
I also bought some rope today. Let's see if anyone can guess what it's for.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
Now you all get to see what the rope is for. After making the ledges on the bottom edges of the decklid and fenders, I used the rope to reinforce them. In the photos below, you see the rope hot-glued in place.
Here's a close-up.
The rope itself doesn't directly reinforce the decklid. But when I lay fiberglass over the rope, it forms a fiberglass tube. That's what reinforces the body panel. Below, you see the end result.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
I tried one more "rope trick" today. This time, I'm reinforcing the spoiler mounting area on the back of the decklid... just in case the spoiler actually makes some downforce.
Below, you see the two pieces of rope hot-glued in place.
And here they are covered in fiberglass.
If you look closely, you can also see that I've started filling the voids behind the tail lamp pods with foam. When finished, the foam will fill up to those black lines I drew under the tail lamp pods. Then the foam will be covered in fiberglass.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
I haven't posted any photos lately, but have been busy working on the decklid. There just isn't anything very exciting to show you. However, I finished the fiberglass fabrication on the decklid today. The foam that I talked about earlier has been cut to shape. And it's been covered in fiberglass. This completes the underside structure of the decklid, and finishes tying the tail light panel into the decklid. Below is a photo of the fiberglass-covered foam.
Today, I also finished the spoiler mounting hardware. I had to make some finishing touches on the mounting brackets, along with a couple runs to Ace Hardware for various nuts & bolts. Tomorrow, you'll be able to see the spoiler attached to the decklid. But this time, there won't be any duct tape involved.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
OK, here's the close-up shot of the spoiler mounting hardware.
I wanted to avoid the "erector set" look. So I took some steps to simplify and streamline the design. First of all, the mounting brackets have a simple and elegant shape. Second of all, the lower mounting bolts (the ones going into the decklid) are carriage bolts. I think they look better than standard bolt heads. Also notice the acorn nuts on the prop rod bolts.
I also started working on (what's left of) the rear clip. But I'm in a hurry to get ready for work. So those photos will have to wait.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
Since the fiberglass fabrication on the decklid is finished, I'm now doing the fab work on the rear clip. After chopping off the rear half of the clip, it suddenly becomes really lightweight. Go figure!
But I still wanted to shave off a few more pounds. So I decided that the black triangular trim pieces (the ones above the engine grates) were going to be deleted. This also allowed me to delete the underlying support structure for them. Below, you see photos of the rear clip before and after chopping out the no longer needed support structure.
Oh, and here's an interesting coincidence. These mounting holes are perfectly placed. It's almost as if the GM engineers intended for the rear clip to be cut here.
That saves me some work.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
In case you're wondering, they're 4" diameter LED lights. I'm going to mount them so that there will be no grommets or bezels. I'll be providing details on that soon.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
Now you get to see how I mounted the tail lamps. First of all, here's a side view of one of the lights.
Notice how the body is stepped on the sides. I used this to my advantage. I made the holes in the decklid just big enough for the red lens portion to go through, but not the rest of the body. Then I put brackets behind the lamps to trap them in place.
First, I molded an aluminum bracket into the decklid.
Then, I added a cross-brace to press against the backs of the lamps.
You can't see it in the photos, but the cross-brace has felt pads between it and the tail lamp housings, to prevent rattles.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
Thanks for the compliments. Basically, I'm taking the original styling and "kicking it up a notch", as Emeril Lagasse would say.
BTW, the wheels are 17x7" Nippon F-2, purchased from eBay (Rota Slipstream knock-offs?). They're lightweight, too... about 17 lb each. But unfortunately, I haven't seen any of the 17" ones on eBay lately... just the 15" and 16" ones.
I've finished the wiring for the tail lamps. In order to maintain a somewhat factory appearance, I routed the wires through the decklid structure, alongside the trunk release wiring. The only visible part of the tail lamp wiring is the section that splits out to the two sides. See photo below.
Now it's back to work!
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
The decklid and rear clip are almost ready to install. Tomorrow, I'll be putting on the final touches (some sanding and a coat of primer). Then, on Wednesday or Thursday, the parts will be installed. I wanted to have the parts installed by Thursday afternoon, so I could show them off at the Central Florida Fieros club meeting. It looks like that's gonna happen.
The next photos you see will have the parts installed on the car.
I'm halfway through the swap as I type this... just stopping for lunch. The old rear clip and decklid are off. They didn't come off without a fight, though. The top center mounting bolt on the rear clip was spinning in place, and wouldn't come out. With a little bit of grunting and swearing, the problem was resolved.
I promised the next photos would be with the body panels installed. So no nekkid Fiero pics.
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I got the body parts installed today. The bad news is that, by the time I finished, it was too dark to take photos. So you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning.
Sorry for the delay. Maybe I can make up for it with some car pr0n? I hope you have a good internet connection.
It's still pretty rough around the edges. But I'll get everything smoothed out in due time. The important part is that it's built and in working condition. Now, I think I need to do something with that beat-up old nose. Hmmm...
Oh, I forgot to mention that in addition to the cool custom look, my car is now 20 lb lighter. Every little bit helps.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-02-2017).]
Sorry for the delay. Maybe I can make up for it with some car pr0n? I hope you have a good internet connection.
It's still pretty rough around the edges. But I'll get everything smoothed out in due time. The important part is that it's built and in working condition. Now, I think I need to do something with that beat-up old nose. Hmmm...
Oh, I forgot to mention that in addition to the cool custom look, my car is now 20 lb lighter. Every little bit helps.
This is an awesome piece of work so far. Very nice!
I wish somebody would produce a tail light housing replacement or a panel or something that looks just like this section outlined in red:
The round lights recessed in the bottom and protruding at the top (so that the face sits perpendicular to the ground) are very ferrari like. If I could get a tail light replacement for my notchie like that I would buy it in a second. I know there are square ones available, and the pisa units with a whole bunch of tiny round ones but this style suits me best!
