dfink takes over for "kurt b" - Page 9

dfink · 12-21-2009, 08:31 AM

This will be the finished hood. It will not look as good a lid made from a mold but that would at least double the cost probably more so this will have to do. Shouldn't be any worse than the doors after I get done with it but it is not going to be perfect.

450knotOffice · 450knotOffice's Garage

I'm really enjoying this!

Your bravery and resourcefulness are amazing. Keep up the good work.

dfink · 12-21-2009, 07:52 PM

OK more stuff
I have put on the 4th and final layer of fabric. I think this will make it stiff enough. I have done an initial block sand to get down the high spots. Now it will take a few coats of resin sand resin sand etc to get a fairly decent surface. Also some opinions needed on the rear flares. Explanation at the pictures.

These are taken after the last coat of resin before sanding.

Taken after a bit of block sanding. There is a window in the cure time where it is very easy to sand. Wait to long and it get real hard.

OK here is the problem. The bumper and the fender have different lips and contours. I knew I would have to extend but this will require a total rebuild of the end. I just don't have the time. I was thinking that perhaps a trasition could be made from sheet rubber. Yes kind of like a mud flap. This area will likely get the most rock abuse and so could help from that standpoint also.

No way this is every going to fit

The cut bumper with the flare.
Im thinking just fill the rectangle with sheet rubber screwed to the flare and the bumper. Perhaps some how angle the rubber as a transition.

something like this

dfink · 12-23-2009, 02:56 PM

More sanding on the hood today. I think the rest will be handled by filler. Pictures show a test fit with the fenders. I also need to see how much work the front bumper is going to be.

The fit is pretty good so on to finishing the surface. The back sticks up just a bit but that is good. It is sitting on the rubber seal. If I press it down it sits flush. This will make for a nice fit with the hood pins.

dfink · 12-23-2009, 06:00 PM

Still have to figure out transitions for the both the front and the rear but at least you can start to get an idea.

gsmith660 · 12-23-2009, 06:56 PM

I used to have the ends off of a chin spoiler years ago and they would have been perfect for you to make a mold off of to transition into those flares. in the back what about bringing that cut piece out to the edge of the flare and fill in the area back to the bumper.

dfink · 12-24-2009, 09:07 AM

Its hard to see in the pictures but the bumber is concave and the flare is convex. That was my original plan. The plan now is to use the flare as a mold for the transition piece. I just laid out a piece of glass on the fender. Applied the resin, and let it cure to a pliable state. Then rotated that piece down to the bumper. Will take a bit of massaging but it at least forms a base. Forgot camera this morning so pictures maybe tonight. We will be snowed in for x-mas so as long as I can get my 4X4 to the shop I will get a couple of unplanned work days. Should be able to get quite a bit done over the weekend. I have stocked up on supplies so should be good to go. May be optimistic but I would like to get the transitions done, the hood smoothed with putty and primed, the front fenders and flares primed. I will also need to reassemble at least 1/2 the front suspension inorder to test the fitment of the front flares with the 9" wheels and 11" tires. May have to cut and extent the front flares also.

paulgtr · paulgtr's Garage

hi kurt. have you got your own paint booth there? at some point my car needs a good painting

dfink · 12-24-2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulgtr

hi kurt. have you got your own paint booth there? at some point my car needs a good painting

Sorry not kurt doesn't have the car anymore. It is now Dave. No paint booth. I hung plastic in the shop to try and keep some sort of dust and overspray control. When it is time to paint the car I hope to beg some booth time from a friend with a body shop. If not then I will just have to paint it where it is and put up some dust particles. They come from nowhere.

gsmith660 · 12-24-2009, 10:02 AM

You know those flares look good like that. Are you going to use some welting on those and keep the bolts shiney I think would look really sharp?

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

Not 100% the same - but check out this guy that made a mold from the blue HD foam - you could do something similar with your flares -

Building a 32 express photos - Page 14 - The Hull Truth

BReyes · BReyes's Garage

hey what fun you'll have...

How about some sunshine from Florida.

dfink · 12-24-2009, 04:41 PM

Well I decided to go ahead and make transitions. I am not sure of the final outcome but I think they will work OK. Once again I am camera challenged so pictures will come later. I basically am using the flare as a mold for the transition. Lay a single layer of glass on the fender. Once cured I just rotated it down onto the bumper. By making a few slits in the single layer I could make it fit the new contours while still keeping the outside lip. I tried a couple of methods. The first was the cling wrap. This worked and made the first side. For the second side I decided to try tapeing the flare. I used blue painters tape. I then waxed the tape. Don't know it that did anything or not. Then I directly put a coat of resin on the tape to help wet the glass cloth. Then did the cloth. Once cured to the pliable stage I was able to peel the layer off the fender. This worked very well and gave a much cleaner smoother piece to work with. I will need to do the fronts also but they are long and straight. So I plan to make a piece based off the back of the front flare for the oposite side. This will give a piece that is better suited than the way I did the rear.
Also I did a test fit on one side with the new wheels on the front. I will be tight but I don't think I will have to extend the flare.
A blizzard here in Nebraska so I may not make it out to work on the car tomorrow. I can make a lot of progress when I get an entire day.
Anyhow A Happy Holiday to all.

dfink · 12-26-2009, 03:46 PM

Finally I got some pictures of the transitions. Still need some finish work but the rears are structurally done. The front I just got started on.

The front bumper has not been cut yet as I wasn't sure how I was going to make the transition. After taking the impression from the back of the front flare on the opposite side. I attached to the bumper and adjusted for the correct posture. I am letting it hard cure like this. I will then mark and cut the bumper then attach the extention. Once attached I will make it a few more layers thick. Probably three total layers.

JonT · 12-26-2009, 04:12 PM

Looking good Dave. Could you extend the glass into the wheel well area a little further then trim back to improve the curve of the wheel opening a bit?

dfink · 12-26-2009, 04:39 PM

If you are talking about the the front I think it is the angle the picture is taken. It basically follows the line of the existing bumper. Doesn't look too bad first hand. If talking about the rear. What you see is pretty much going to be what you get. I don't really like it but it is functional. If I really wanted it to look good I would need to by turbo bumbers that are already flared. I just don't have the skills or the time to do any better. Car still needs to be done by mid March.
The bumpers are extremely time consuming. It doesn't look like much was accomplished but there is a lot of work there. The fronts I am not going to reuse the portion I cut off. The extention will be all that is there. The bumper is very difficult to work with because of its size and awkardness. There are also many little mixes of resin. Each side has at least 10 applications. I am not very talented with the "Art" of body work. There is a reason I do computers and body work. I also have a very low sanding tolerance. I have to sand everything by hand because the power equipment just makes too much dust. The extentions will get smoothed with a bit of putty to take out the divits.
It didn't help matters any that the glazing coat I put on the entire hood didn't set up. 24 hours later and it finally will sand a bit. Personally I would prefer that the back of the rear wheel well opening not continue the curve past the flare. I don't like that it keeps curving till the bottom. The left side looks better than the right side mostly due to the process I used to make the extension piece. I had a 78 corvette. I wasn't perfect either. I was told that if you ever find a perfect vette it has been redone. They all had imperfections in the bodies.

dfink · 12-26-2009, 04:45 PM

I think something like this would look better.

gsmith660 · 12-26-2009, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfink

I think something like this would look better.

Thats good lookin you my friend are a steely eyed fiberglass man I am looking forward to seeing the final product.

dfink · 12-28-2009, 07:46 AM

A couple more pictures of the extentions.

The tape taken off

A view from the inside of the fender

The right front setup to do the hard cure stage

dfink · 01-04-2010, 09:58 AM

These transitions are taking a huge amount of time. It is amazing how crappy something can look just from the application of primer. I just cant seem to get away from them looking like a crappy putty job. I am probably not using enough putty.
After primer
Flares look great
Fenders look great
Hood looks better than I expected will go with good instead of great
bumpers do not look so good at this point.