bb80sc/TRE/AutoInno Back date project progress pics.
 

With every project comes a battle. Keep in budget vs deliver quality. This project is like the rest. Even though TRE provided some of the best fiberglass available, there are some details that just don't make the grade. The gas filler bucket is a very difficult element to create in fiberglass. It was my standing that to make this one good enough I would have to spend way too much time seeing to the minute details and even then I know it wouldn't be the best that could be done. So we met in the middle of budget and quality. Dave donated a fender that the filler bucket would be removed from and then grafted into the glass fender.
Even though it took most of the day, there is NO comprimise in the finished product.
Here are some pics of the process.(the camera somehow getting switched to low resolution is just a hint of how crappy my day was) Forgive the low res images.
Donor fender
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128053837.jpg
the donor section being fitted to the 'glass fender
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128053944.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128053967.jpg
I'd have a couple shots of the adhesive and blending process but I left the lens cap on and didn't get squat( told you it was a crappy day)
Finished result
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128054129.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128054156.jpg

Nice work!


I can't wait to see the final product.

oooh ooooh ooooh. D@MN Kevin, you are amazing. And Tyson, you think YOU can't wait to see it :) This is going to be a very special car. Oh, and Kevin, I just sent Dave an email about a "Light weight not having a sunroof" :)

Oh did I mention the third element of conflict? SCHEDULE!!....although I do have have a non sunroof roof at the shop. Now where did I put those saw blades???????

I've heard that the sunroof adds anywhere from 35 to 47 lbs. Whatever it weighs it's in about the worst place you could have unwanted weight.
So here's how we dealt with the sun roof.
Front and rear shots of the sunroof laden roof skin removed by opening the drip rails and lifting out the roof panel.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128999473.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128999488.jpg
Once the old panel is removed the new panel is prepped.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128999554.jpg
The panel is held in place with vice grips while the drip rail is "folded" back over. A bead of panel adhesive and folding the drip rail back duplicates the factory method.
A close up of the drip rail. More messaging is needed at this point to make it look perfect.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128999954.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1128999964.jpg
The corners of the roof panel have to be welded along with a couple spots on the inner side of the pillars. I'll get some pics of that later.

Wow, nice work Kevin. She is really coming along nicely! Cannot wait to see her in Viper green! Thanks for the update!

Kevin, with all the work going into the roof, would it be worth while to remove the drip rails? You know for aero and clean look. Just wondering.
The project looks great and lets hope its done in time for Xmas.

This is a topic of much debate. As for aero advantages. The drip rails IMHO do more to create defined zones as the air passes over the top and down the sides of the car. The area that would benefit the most would be the leading edge of the A pillar. It would be far easier to fill this area with a lightweight filler of some sort.
As for clean looks. It would be great to shave the rails. It is a ton of work but looks great when it's done.

Kevin, a crappy day in the shop for you would still be one for someone like me that would be filled with so much craftsmanship and skill that I'd spend months bragging about what I'd done to anyone who would listen.

I'd take a lot more pictures, though. ;)

Thanks Jack I guess it's all just a matter of perspective. When I have a crappy day all I see is paint that even at $100.00 a quart doesn't match. How could Grand Prix white have too much yellow in it. Grand Prix white doesn't have any yellow toners in it! Or just about the time you get that new panel in place the dam* phone rings and it's a freakin telemarketer trying to sell me pens. Or my bank that wants to charge me a $30.00 overdraft fee even though they have a $3,800 insurance draft on hold for 5 days. Thats the kind of crap that consumes my days.
I really love what I do, I just hate doing it as a business.
The things I get the most satisfaction from are the things you don't even see when the job is done.
I'll try to take more pics though, as you suggest.

Sounds like it's time to put plan B into action. Would you like to come up this weekend and we can talk? Rod will be home and could use some help burning fuel in the atv's.

great work Kevin...with you TRE and Tyson out west I often wonder why I am in Germany.

Sure, Dan, spend more of my $$ :) :)

There is another thread a few days back about all the stuff being done to her... Hope to have her mid-Nov sometime, but have not discussed firm timelines. I keep adding stuff.....

bumped

Kevin, can you elaborate on how the new roof is "glued" on? I'm just not seeing it...like how is the drip rail "folded" over? thanks!

Give me some time and I'll try to find some detailed pics of the process. It'll be easier to show you than to try and explain.

Watching Kevin work is like watching Picasso paint or De Niro act.

Nice job!

Now if I could just get paid like either one of them...............
Thanks Scott.

Kevin, keep the posts coming (if you have time, that is)!:cool:

I love watching this sort of thing. It's amazing to watch the transformation from a "work in progress" to the finished product.

This is it. I've sanded my little fingers to the bone, filled pin hloes untill I saw them in my sleep and I can't go on any longer. May as well put it in the booth and shoot it!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1129335998.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1129336013.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1129336026.jpg
now where did I leave my new roller?