Another RSR Clone Project - Update 4

tom1394racing · 12-23-2004, 12:01 PM

More progress this week at the body shop. My dream project is really starting to come alive. The first coat of signal orange went on and, as usual, Auto Associates does not disappoint. The shell has been painted and the front fenders, hood and bumpers are being fit. Most of the fiberglass body parts are from GT Racing with the exception of the front fenders that come from Getty Design. Auto Associates has found that the best fit for the front fenders is achieved with the Getty fenders and that the GT flares give a better replication of the RSR look. The next steps are the bonding of the front flares and then final fitting of the front and rear bumpers followed by final paint. Some photos:

R/R Quarter

Front View

Engine Compartment

Trunk Compartment

Rear Wheel Well

In the meantime, I have begun to teardown the '78 3.0 liter that I am using for the powerplant. I am still debating single vs twin plug. The attached photo shows that I have discovered that my Cylinders are Alusil (markings & non-magnetic). The plan is for PMO's, either 9.8:1 or 10.5:1 compression (depending on the twin plug decision), headers and a GE80 cam.

Engine Teardown In Progress

Please keep your comments and suggestions coming. I look forward to them.

TRE Cup · TRE Cup's Garage

beautiful work and great color!

Avery · 12-23-2004, 04:37 PM

Awesome color.

Shuie · 12-23-2004, 04:41 PM

Nice work! Are those RSR pistons? Definitely dont look like stock CIS pistons.

makaio · 12-23-2004, 04:42 PM

Very nice!

My only question is, wouldn't it be easier if the front fenders were just one piece, instead of bonding the flares on? Are turbo front fenders not the correct flare?

randywebb · 12-23-2004, 04:56 PM

I'd at least bore it for twin plugs - won't cost much and you won't need to pull the motor if & when...

Chuck Moreland · 12-23-2004, 07:11 PM

If you twin plug, you'll never look back and say "I wish I left it single plug". I don't think the opposite will hold true.

geof33 · 12-23-2004, 07:30 PM

I'd send back the non flared fenders and get the correct RSR flared fronts as one piece. The turbo fenders are different.

Bonding FG/FG is fine, but seems to be a pointless step unless you are doing them removable for some reason. Cost is also an issue. With pre-flared fronts it's much cheaper in the long run and you can get a gas flap delete and run a center fill...

tom1394racing · 12-24-2004, 04:11 AM

Thanks for your comments:

Regarding the pistons....They should be stock CIS pistons as the motor was advertised as a stock '78 3.0 from an SC with 80K mileage.

Here's a better look at the pistons. I've got them packed in boxes so I can't give P/N at the moment. If someone can't confirm CIS visually, I'll pull them out and post a better pic with P/N marking to confirm.

Regarding the two piece fender construction.... Auto Associates has built a number of the RSR and RS clones. They have found that the non-flared Getty front fenders provide a better fit to the doors and hood than the one piece flared fenders from GT. They have also found that the front flares from GT provide a much better replication of the original RSR flares. The fenders do not have the side filler for the gas. We will be using a Fuel Safe cell with under- the-hood fill. While this makes for a much more complicated installation, it provides the best combination of fit-up and replication of the original RSR flares. See Jim Newton's RSR clone that won a Parade concours trophy at the 2003 Parade.

TRE Cup · TRE Cup's Garage

Getty now makes a new one piece rsr front fender for the 69-73 cars.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 12-24-2004, 08:51 AM

Looks absolutely beautiful, but why would they paint part of it when needing to then work around that paint when fitting plastic parts?

My experience has been that you'll put a fender (really any part) on and take it off 10-15 times with light sanding/shaping each time to get it to fit properly. Granted, they've got a lot more experience than I do, but they'll still have to mount/dismount 5 times to get it right.

why worry about scuffing new paint, even if it's getting another coat?

tom1394racing · 12-25-2004, 04:19 AM

The paint in the photo is only a first coat to confimr the color choice. The entire car will get another coat once all of the body fit-up has been completed.

Jack Olsen · 12-25-2004, 04:42 AM

Looks great!

Mr9146 · 04:49 AM

Jack, why the hell are you awake and on-line right now?

My excuse is that I'm at work ... I work in radio so I'm expected to keep insane hours on Christmas

michel richard · 12-25-2004, 05:28 AM

Those are definitely CIS pistons

Shuie · 12-25-2004, 05:51 AM

Yes, CIS. The first pic fooled me.

Jack Olsen · 12-25-2004, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr9146
Jack, why the hell are you awake and on-line right now?

I'm in Stockholm for Christmas. And I brought the laptop.

Two Porsches spotted so far. A Cayenne and a black 996 coupe. Nice to see them out in the snow.

Chuck Moreland · 12-25-2004, 08:10 AM

Jack, looks like the Grand Hotel. I stayed there some years back. The group "Hansen" was checked in (that dates it). Dozens of pre-pubescent girls were hanging out in front on the sidewalk, they wouldn't let them in the lobby. Too young for me.

Jack Olsen · 12-25-2004, 08:38 AM

No rock stars this time, but that's it.

Very nice country, this Sweden.

konish · 12-25-2004, 10:38 AM

Jack,
Funny, I just saw a Cayenne last night. You know, the more I see them, the more I REALLY like them. I've seen plenty of the Touraeg's, but the Cayenne caught my eye from a 1/4 mile away. Not sure if it was the paint...or what(?). Stockholm sounds like fun...

R/
Dustin