my low budget dream car build

[bluebullet]

Yeah wirewheels and grinders can be a deadly combo.

If you have the time, look into a Makita or DeWalt pencil grinder. It's much easier to control, a variety of sanding discs/flapper wheels/metal die burrs and mini wire wheels fit, and much easier to control. I use that, a standard 4.5" grinder, a 7 and a 9 inch one from time to time. The last two pack a serious punch lol.

Some food for thought, perhaps try making a quick disconnect harness for your engine....twist plug on the firewall so in case the motor has to get dropped for any reason, one turn and the harness comes out with the engine.

[chrisbalich]

i'll do some looking into the pencil grinder. can never have too many tools! and i can imagine what a 7 or 9 inch grinder must be like. oi. the 4.5 can rip itself right out of your hand if you're not watching.

i like the idea of a quick disconnect. my original plan was to build, and route, the harness so i can pull it off the ecu, pull the grommet, and slip the connectors right through the tub. but a milspec bulkhead connector is a sweet idea.

[chrisbalich]

so i wasn't completely useless today.

pushed the heap out into the driveway to get some natural light.



i reinstalled the fuse block and the gauges. the dash and steering wheel are just sitting in place. not fastened in any way.




here you can see the grand canyon in my dash. if you hold it up to your ear, you can hear the ocean.


my neighbor was cleaning his garage today and found some heat barrier stuff he had leftover from a miata project. asked if i wanted it, like i was going to say no. immediately offset all those wonderful little holes i drilled in the decklid hinges friday by installing the pad on the rear shelf and seat backs. #weightweenie


i then swept the garage and got the p-car pushed back in on its side. now i have a whole half the garage to prep and shoot the removed panels & bits.

[tjabo]

Looks fantastic already!!

[ADDvanced]

Is that rust or just glue residue?

[obscene]

great progress!

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by tjabo

Looks fantastic already!!

Thank you, my friend!

Originally Posted by ADDvanced

Is that rust or just glue residue?

glue and 1000 year old fibres from the carpet/padding. i can scrape it off with my thumbnail. but i don't hate myself that much.
no more rust anywhere.

Originally Posted by obscene

great progress!

thanks! feels like i'm just getting to the foot of this mountain.

[chrisbalich]

well i got out of work late yesterday and then i was lazy when i finally got home.
got out to the garage late and had to do something. if i can make steady progress, i'll get somewhere eventually. even if it's only one little thing per day.

i was going to drill the hood hinges, but mine have this large ~3mm thick plate spot welded to the inside of the arch. i didn't feel like tackling removing that mother, so i looked around my garage to see what i could knock out. then, i saw my speedholes from Porsche Punx.

a bit of mock-up (not shown) and then mark-up (also not shown) and i was off to the races.


IF YOU DO THIS IN FLIP-FLOPS, REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR FEET UNDER YOUR BODY AND NOT OUT IN FRONT OF YOU. holesaws are awesome things. but they shower the ground in laser-hot metal shavings....that are sharp.

then, i tidied the edges with a hand file and admired my work with another mock-up.


it was nigh-on 21:45 by this time and i needed to figure out a way to affix this silly panel to my car. i have a plan, but i do not have the hardware to execute my plan. tune in next time for more bad ideas and mediocre execution.

[obscene]

what's the plan stan?

[tjabo]

Is that additional panel something you need to add? Seems to me like the play would be to just dimple the holes you cut and not add anything extra. But I know less than nothing about P-cars.

Just seems to me like you don't want to be adding metal.... Lol

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by obscene

what's the plan stan?

my plan is to bond 16 small stainless screws to the back of the panel. if i can get a strong enough bond on them, i'll be able to use nylock nuts from the back and have no visible hardware, but a removable panel. plus i can use washers to shim it and make a perfect fit if need be.
going to the hardware store omw home from work tonight to buy screws and some sort of epoxy/quicksteel/jbweld/snakeoil.

[75 911s]

S P E E D H O L E S

:-D

I like your take on them and excited to see how the screws bonded to the back work out. The dash crack isn't too bad. You going to fix or leave?

[brasch]

I love the look... I did thru holes with Rivet Nuts, but like your idea of blind studs. I would think about welding them on the back side, I have found these cars have a lot of vibration, so any epoxy like that may just break off...

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by tjabo

Is that additional panel something you need to add? Seems to me like the play would be to just dimple the holes you cut and not add anything extra. But I know less than nothing about P-cars.

Just seems to me like you don't want to be adding metal.... Lol

The finished trim panel is aluminum and weighs less than the circles I cut out. Plus the dimpled holes are already in a straight row and are all uniform. My 3” holes are close, but not quite and they’d bother me being all wonky back there.

Originally Posted by 75 911s

S P E E D H O L E S

:-D

I like your take on them and excited to see how the screws bonded to the back work out. The dash crack isn't too bad. You going to fix or leave?

I plan to either wrap the dash in some form of suede or flock it....eventually. We’ll see how big of a hurry I get into as I get closer to driving it.

Originally Posted by brasch

I love the look... I did thru holes with Rivet Nuts, but like your idea of blind studs. I would think about welding them on the back side, I have found these cars have a lot of vibration, so any epoxy like that may just break off...

I thought about brazing something on there but don’t want the discoloration from heat as I plan to leave the speedholes raw aluminum. If the epoxy doesn’t work, I’ll do something sturdier.

[chrisbalich]

forgot to go to the hardware store omw home last night. so i started prepping the fenders for epoxy. i was cleaning the filthy buggers when i realized i hadn't yet rolled the lips. so i did some more cleaning and then rolled the passenger lip. all i used was a hammer, wire rack, some wood thing that came out of the 911, and an old sheet as a cushion. not the tightest roll i've ever done, but these fenders may yet get sold in lieu of some fiberglass boys. so i didn't want to go overboard and 'ruin' them by affecting the factory lines.




the driver's side had a huge bead of caulk/seamsealer/rubber the whole length of the lip. so i had to cut that out, then grind out the remnants, and then seal it back up with some paint before i could begin the roll. so i should be able to knock that out tonight and then get them sanded ahead of epoxy.

[DHE11]

Aside from a nice touch of personal customisation, your weight savings holes should prove functional as well....

My previous car had the deep 964C2 style rear bar and light assemblies, and it was amazing how much air gets trapped back there. Video footage and all the dirt streamlines in the wet show up the various air paths trying to find any way out....
Can see on the newer 911 race cars they basically have nothing behind the rear wheels now.
That’s one of the reasons I liked and kept the early rear bar, it’s much higher and smaller so less to catch the air.

Keep up the modifications, and the suspense of what your going to tackle next...

[ADDvanced]

Fiberglass fenders never fit right or look right; the radii on edges are always fat/cheap looking. Steel is real!

[VWLoosenuts]

nice work. love watching the progress

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by DHE11

Aside from a nice touch of personal customisation, your weight savings holes should prove functional as well....

My previous car had the deep 964C2 style rear bar and light assemblies, and it was amazing how much air gets trapped back there. Video footage and all the dirt streamlines in the wet show up the various air paths trying to find any way out....
Can see on the newer 911 race cars they basically have nothing behind the rear wheels now.
That’s one of the reasons I liked and kept the early rear bar, it’s much higher and smaller so less to catch the air.

Keep up the modifications, and the suspense of what your going to tackle next...

i had always thought of those holes as being a great way to dissipate radiant heat from the exhaust. hadn't even considered the potential for that panel to be a parachute.
i'm going to keep chipping away and try to remember to do all the little things on all my lists. i swear half of this project is managing all the task lists i've written.

Originally Posted by ADDvanced

Fiberglass fenders never fit right or look right; the radii on edges are always fat/cheap looking. Steel is real!

steel is real. hence my Reynolds 520 hardtail mtb in the age of carbon!
i'd have no problem re-radiusing the arches on FG/CF fenders. it's the lbs i'm after. i know there are concessions to be made for FG/CF....and they're all in the fit & finish. one way or another, i'm going to get this hog down to 2200 wet. and if that means FG/CF fenders, hood, decklid, roof, quarters, seats, dash, whatever, then i guess that's what i'll do. but that's the end goal. right now, i just want it back together so i can work on the driveline, suspension, and brakes. so i'm going easy on the steel fenders in case they become trade-bait.

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by VWLoosenuts

nice work. love watching the progress

Thanks, Jeremy!