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DIY IROC RSR Conversion
Howdy all!
I'm shutting down my non-used blog and relocating my project here. I never should even have considered putting it anywhere but here. Duh... So this is the project. Convert this: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254606549.jpg to this: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254606621.jpg Should be pretty easy. I've read all the blogs and the projects on Pelican. How hard could it be? Actually, I started this project a couple of years ago. I haven't finished it but I'm getting close. Here's the story so far... |
Here's the car. It's a 1986 3.2 Carrera with 125k mi. I bought on eBay from Ann Arbor, MI. I flew up there, inspected it, paid cash, drove it home all in one weekend. Quite the experience. If you haven't done it, I recommend it. I booked a round trip flight in and out of the same airport on the same day. That way, if I didn't like, I just hop right back on the same plane and go back home.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254607038.jpg I brought it home and started not quite immediately tearing it down. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254607075.jpg BTW, the plan is actually to create a 1974 IROC replica... |
I decided to use all fiberglass parts. The wing came from GT Racing. As you can see from these pictures the decklid is a terrible fit. In fact, these pictures are actually from the second decklid. I sent the first one back. The seams weren't even sealed on it.
The wing will become on the most difficult things to make look right. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254607210.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254607258.jpg |
So at some point in these projects you have to grab a sawzall and cut into your car.
The first thing to do is remove the bumpers and all the junk on the ends of the car. This stuff weighs approximately 3000 lbs. The first thing to do is to fit up the new flares OVER the old flares. This will give you an idea to the extent that you can cut away. I also fitted the flares to the bumper the way would be on the car. You'll have to lift and tuck and shape the inner edge of the wheel arch so it looks right. It's also pretty important to make both sides equal. Although, it's worth noting that one person cannot look at both sides of the car at the same time so minor differences aren't apparent. I was never quite happy with it and I learned that this is best done with the wheels that you intend to use installed. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254608566.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254608608.jpg Once you have these mounted, take an indelible marker - or even a scratch awl and mark the edge of the flares. After you've removed the flares, make another mark 1 inch or so inside the outer one. This is a very important step. If you cut at the line you drew around the edge of the flares, there will be nothing to bond the flares to. Once you have your line drawn, grab your package, smoke a cigarette if you need to, then cut. It was a little nerve wracking to start with, but after a couple minutes, you figure, what the heck. Who cares. It's only an $85,000 Porsche that I wanted my whole life.... Well, that's what it cost new, anyhow. I didn't pay that. Obviously. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254607782.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254607818.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254607853.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254607879.jpg |
Next job was to strip the paint. The paint was old single stage paint. It was faded and cracked.
We did the car in two halves. We taped off the back half and did the front. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254610042.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254610392.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254610424.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254610449.jpg You can only get so much off with the aircraft stripper. After that you use a dual-action sander with 80 grit sandpaper, crank up your ipod and go to town. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254610477.jpg When done, retape and prime. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254610508.jpg This was wierd primer. I don't know what it was. I believe it was regular primer not hi-build. It didn't matter. Ultimately you sand and prime a bazillion times. |
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Next we hammer and dollied the lips to match up with the inner side of the fiberglass flares.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254611967.jpg Then you apply a bead of glue on the body http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254612002.jpg and on the flare. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254612066.jpg Here's a shot of the glue we used. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254612030.jpg |
One of the questions that I've seen is with regard to whether the flares should be bolted on. The answer is yes and no. The flares will be under tension when you put them on. The flare isn't just set onto the body. You'll have to bend the two bottom ends towards each other to get the right shape. I didn't get a picture of them, but you can see in some of the other pictures that the flares are held on with Cleco Fasteners. These are temporary. You drill an 1/8" hole through which you put the fastener. Since they're temporary, you can take them out, move the flare drill a new hole and see if it looks right.
Once you have it right, you glue them on. Then you take some sheet metal screws and screw them into the holes that you had the Cleco's in. This insures that it goes back on the way you wanted it to. Next is a very important step. After the glue is set - I left it a few days - your remove the screws. Stated another way, do not putty over the screws - take them out. Bondo has a terrible reputation - particularly amongst the Porsche crowd. But when you're putting on fiberglass flares it is a fact of life. I prefer Evercoat Z-Grip. It's spreads better and doesn't leave pinholes. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254612494.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254612528.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254612556.jpg When you sand these, you sand these, apply putty, then sand some more. I must've done this step 20 different times. Across the whole car body. One of the things I learned is that all show cars have putty on them. You put on thin coats and sand them almost completely off time after time. Once you get happy with it, you end up priming it, then sand it back down to the primer, then apply more putty, sand it, more primer, sand it, etc. You also amass quite the collection of sanding blocks. I bought a dozen different bricks from the paint and body shop. Ultimately, my favorite sanding tool ended up being a nearly completely worn out disposable sanding sponge that I bought from Home Depot. I wrapped it in regular automotive sandpaper, of course. Usually, the stick on type. Porsche's are curvy so the sponge worked great. |
Back to the Wing.
This was more of a craft project than bodywork. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614047.jpg We decided to lop the wing off the fiberglass decklid and graft it onto the original decklid. It seemed reasonable because that's sort of what Porsche did. But, not like this... http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614076.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614108.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614148.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614176.jpg I don't know how to explain this. We used everything from fiberglass to putty to paper mache and dog fur. It's amazing. It came out pretty well, though. |
More sanding and priming.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614635.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614665.jpg More sanding and priming http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614715.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614770.jpg More... http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254614800.jpg |
The car did have a little bit of rust. I guess that only figures since it came from Michigan. Actually, the guy I bought it from had bought it only a few months earlier from a guy in Florida.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615006.jpg Had to install the oil cooler mouth next. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615031.jpg The panel came from Patrick Racing. It was a straightforward cut and weld. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615069.jpg Notice how perfect my welds are? I learned from Chip Foose. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, "you don't have to be a good welder, just a good grinder". I'm good at grinding. ;-) http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615109.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615152.jpg |
Now you'll look at these pictures and think: "didn't you do this a few months ago?" Well, yes I did. But we had what I'll call "Chemistry Failure". The epoxy reacted with the primer negatively. It would cause the paint to bubble right where the screw holes were. I figured this would go away as soon as I was able to let the car cure in the heat of the day. Trouble was, it was cold outside. Once it warmed up outside, I left it in the sun for a few weeks and the bubbling never stopped. Ultimately, we chose to take our mulligan. It was heart rending.
But we powered through it and welded on steel flares. Having done both, the steel is easier and requires less putty. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615583.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615653.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615698.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615743.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615789.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615825.jpg One of the things you might notice in this picture is the bumper. It's fitted up nicely now. This was a side project that I haven't really documented very well. Making the bumpers look good and fit required hours of work. These are the original GT Racing bumpers that I bought when I started the car. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615890.jpg You might notice the change of venue. During this time, my buddy and I had collected so many derelict cars that we had to rent some shop space. We were simultaneously restoring and repairing 2 Ferrari 308's, 2 Pantera's and 2 911's. I don't recommend this. You can have too much of a good thing... |
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254616604.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254616634.jpg More sanding and priming. Here you can see a guide coat applied. This helps you tell what's been sanded and what hasn't. At this point you're using 600 grit sandpaper. After you finish with the 600g, go over with 1000g. All this is done wet. Poke a hole in a water bottle cap and keep it wet. |
Here we hung and laid out all the misc. parts around the shop and painted them.
Both bumpers were replaced with MAShaw bits. We spent hundreds of hours trying to make the GT Racing bits fit and look good. The MAShaw pieces bolted up perfectly, had a very good fit and finish and required very little work - in comparison to the GT Racing parts. We still spent 20 to 30 hours working them. Also, the upper lip of the GT Racing front bumper was unreinforced. The MAShaw had a 1 inch roll that makes the whole thing stiffer. You can see this in some pictures of cars on this board. It shows up as a wavy top edge of the bumper. The MA Shaw is much straighter and stiffer. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254616854.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254616875.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254616939.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254616963.jpg You can also tell from the pictures of the front bumper that the lower edge of the bumper is rolled down. This adds extra stiffness. This picture also shows our wonderful paint "booth". We just use the whole shop. We clean it really well. Then we cover all the tools. Then we wet the whole thing down with water. This keeps the dust controlled. Basically we don't worry about dust specs. We bury the part in clear coat. Everything comes out when you wetsand it. And we wetsand it down to 2000 grit. It looks like glass when we're done. |
Finally, the big day is here.
It's painted. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254617942.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254617981.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254618016.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254618048.jpg Now it's time to wetsand and reassemble. This brings us current. The last project I completed was to strip the black off the trim and repolish it. I'm in the process of reinstalling the trim. I'm doing the interior this week. |
Wow, nice job. I am about a month behind you in progress, hoping to be all done early spring
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Very nice. Sure like to see what you did for bumper mounts, especially the front.
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1254615890.jpg
Newbe welder question here. When you stitch weld the flares on do you fill in all the gaps with more welding so there are no pin holes?, Or do you fill in the smaller gaps / pin holes with plastic filler? The rear side of this flair looks like you've added more metal than on the forward side. Did you add more welds to the front half or is this as far as you went with the welder. Beautifull looking car by the way. |
Sail,
This pic shows it tacked on. We did fill in the bead. It's mig welded. I don't seem to have any pictures of the seams though. Ideally, you should be able to put a bead all the way across, then sand it down to flat metal. There should be very little putty needed when you're done. |
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I just looked through my pics. I don't have any. I have to pull the bumpers off again in the next couple of months so I'll take pictures then. There's nothing to them. On the front they're basically just an l shaped bracket made out of a piece of 3" x 6" aluminum plate. The bumper is secured across the front of the trunk with 4 bolts and under the bumper with another 3 or 4 per side. I also need to fab up some steel braces between the body and the bottom of the bumper. On the back, I did the same thing but the bumper didn't have any mounts. I had to glass in some metal that i could mount them to. |
Fantastic. There is so much work involved it's crazy. I applaud all the DIYers for this - it's as much about the journey as the final product. Although the final product is a great dangling carrot to keep you motivated!
Keep the updates coming. I appreciate insight like your experience with the fiberglass fender arches etc.... Tom |
Subscribed. Cool project!
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subscribed and looking forward to the final product!
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Sub'd!
I to am interested in how the bumpers mounted up as I plan to us M A Shaw stuff. Particularly the rear bumper. I've seen they offer FG bumper mounts... would they have helped? They don't seem to specify front or rear in the catalog??? Very nice job BTW |
Progress.
The doors are reassembled. Except for the retainers. I also got the fuel door and release cable reinstalled. You might see the dash in place but it's installed properly. It came from a 993 so there's a little fitment issue. I'll sort that out this weekend. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257560216.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257560266.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257560313.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1257560358.jpg My interior guy was supposed to come do his thing today but he stood me up. Hopefully, I can get him out soon. The carpet and headliner are next. Hal |
Hi,
Any update? you can run but you can't hide, tell us whay happend to this project :) |
So I got a little side-tracked. I got a new job and it's been really hectic. I'm back at it now.
Late last month, I sorted most of the electrics. Got the lights and wipers working again. There's still some weirdness but it's getting there. Probably due to imperfect grounding - here's a hint; clean all the threads on your ground studs after you paint. This is definitely more of a "do as I say" than a "do as I do". http://forums.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/confused.gif http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1277592458.jpg |
Two weeks ago I took to my buddy Louis' interior shop. He did a great job. It now has the headliner and the carpets. I used the Perlon carpet set from our host and the cream headliner in leather - also from Pelican.
The seats are original. I'm planning on replacing them with something more period correct but haven't decided what yet. The dash pad is new. It's a used one from a 993. It doesn't quite fit right. You can also see the dash isn't detailed yet. It's on my list but not at the top. Maybe tomorrow. This pic was taken today. It took me two saturdays to install the sunroof. One saturday to figure it out, then a week to get the two tiny parts I couldn't find, then a second saturday to actually do it. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1277593046.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1277593068.jpg |
It's mostly complete as of today. I ordered new polished aluminum trim for the front and back glass. That came in Friday. I'll call the glass guy this week.
He'll have to remove the quarter glass so I can install the trim piece. For some reason, I thought you put this in after the glass. Serious brain fade on my part there so I'll be taking a mulligan. I believe by next week it will be materially finished. Of course, it's a project car so there will be changes. Here it is as of this afternoon. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1277593269.jpg |
Hi,
Good to see that you are back at it. Please tell us more about the steel flares, are they turbo flares or Iroc flares? Many thanks. |
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I need to clean out the garage. I have extra parts I didn't use. I have a complete set of flip out windows. I didn't realize you had to cut sheet metal to put them on until after I had painted the car - doh! |
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Then on the bumper, I bought some 1" sheet metal flat bar with holes already cut in it from Home Depot. I got the galvanized stuff so it wouldn't rust. I then cut it to fit into the bumper and fiberglassed it to back of the bumper. You have to be careful measuring and all that so it fits in the right place but if you take your time it's really no problem. Then the flat L-brackets that I made get mounted to body. Once you remove the shock that holds the original bumper you can see that there were holes above and below the shock that the shock bracket was mounted to. Use these holes. They're threaded. I even used the original bolts. Then I clamped the bumper onto the back of the car - it didn't fit quite right so I took a 2x4 and a jack and pressed it up next to the body. Then marked the holes on the bracket. Once you bolt it all together it comes out looking pretty good. Both bumpers also mount to the underside of the wheel arches. I used riv-nuts so I didn't have to worry about bolts. I put in 2 or 3 per side. (2 in the front, 3 in the back). My front bumper didn't quite match up perfectly. I set the spacing and everything for the flares using the GT Racing front bumper and it was evidently different from the MA Shaw bumper. So I had to build a spacer between the body and the bumper. I set it up with poly bushings. Once I got those all ground to the right depth, I then created a full width spacer out of a 1X2 piece of Ash from Home Depot. I believe I have a precedence for the use of Ash in Porsche's. Remember they used to have racing hoods with wood bonded to the underside to maintain the arch. Hence, I don't feel too bad. Plus, it made a great thing to screw the "smile" to. I didn't have any good pictures on the archive. I went out and took this one this morning. It shows what I'm talking about for the most part. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1277655108.jpg It's painted silver because that's what color the nearest spray can was. You can also see that on the back mount you have to notch it out to clear the light panel. It's pretty straightforward. |
Hi,
love to see some pictures of your Pantera and Ferraries also. Please, Please.... |
By popular demand. Here are some of the other cars we restored over the last two years.
This is the orange pantera. It will become the white pantera in the bottom image. That's all I have of it - sorry. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278160941.jpg This is the blue pantera. We got it in blue. It looked pretty similar before and after. It was an earlier restoration that we took back to mostly metal, welded in a few replacement panels and painted back blue. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278161111.jpg The motor is killer - it's a 409 stroker with roller everything and quad webers. It's like a four wheeled hyabusa. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278161148.jpg The back tires are huge. They're 15" wide bluestreak sports car special rain tires. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278161498.jpg Another shot of the blue pantera. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278161640.jpg This is a friends 308 gtb. It's very nice. We didn't touch it. This pic however shows both Ferrari's we did and both Porsche's. The second Ferrari is the white car beyond the Red Ferrari in the shop. It will eventually be painted black. I don't have any completed photo's of it on this PC. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278161839.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278161876.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278161910.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278161938.jpg These four pictures are of the Red Ferrari. It was a 1979 308 GTS. It was one of the last carb cars - interestingly it was badged as a 308GTSi and all the documents and stuff said GTSi on it but the VIN decoder showed it as a carb car. Guess it was a flying fish - so to say - transitional species. This car was a cosmetic refresh. Lots of scrubbing and buffing, refresh the interior, rebuilt the carbs, put in a new water pump, replaced all the hoses, etc. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1278162213.jpg Here's my July 4th Family Picture. A |
Forgive my ignorance, but I have a few questions about your prep and paint. Im smack in the middle of bare-metal resto of our '67 and could use some advice...
1.) Do you suggest applying the body filler / bondo to the bare metal? I have the car down to metal and need to fill in some spots with filler. 2.) What did you prep the metal with before applying the body filler and primer? TSP? Anything like that? Or did you just rough sand it.... 3.) Is it generally safe to use the "Bondo" brand filler? I understand thickness is the real issue, just curious that you used a different brand. Thanks! |
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1.) bare metal is fine. 2.) wax and grease remover first. sanded to 250 grit. 3.) bondo sucks. Z Grip is much thinner and easier to spread. This makes it easier to spread thin coats. Also, you don't get pinholes in it. You'll also need a top layer. I forget what I used. Shop at a real body shop supply house, not an auto body store. H |
Hi,
Amazing collections of cars! Have you done anything new to your Iroc conversion? Let us know. |
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We're taking our car down to bare metal, most of the paint has been removed now while we do the ugly job of replacing rusted out panels. The car is basically sitting bare in the garage... 1.) Would you suggest sealing it with something while the welding work is done? Maybe a light coat of something? I haven't noticed any surface rust appearing but then who knows. 2.) Are all primers created equally or is there one you suggest using? My fear is that I spray with a primer that isn't compatible with the topcoat. 3.) What is your basic paint layup? Metal -> primer -> single-stage? Can I just spray down primer to the metal and be good? I've heard people use the term "epoxy sealer", stuff like that. 4.) How many coats of primer do you lay down? Thanks for the advice man, this is really all new to me. |
Wow...just WOW! Iroc car came out Beautiful...and the blue Pantera is wicked too!
Need to get the Houston crowd motivated for a big fall get together! Cheers!!! Einar |
Wow this is a serious project! Excellent work.
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