Plastic Fantastic 2

[SuperBuickGuy]

continued on the back undershelf


and worked on the upper radiator mount


now to weld and bolt it in place


I plan on gluing it all down when it's done... rivets and epoxy.

 

[bobs77vet]

very nice, are you putting a battery cut off back there?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

More Covette
so the old shelf was this size

still haven't decided whether I'll just fiberglass these boards or make aluminum.... tomorrow's decision

radiator mount

 

[phantomjock]

Lots of cool work being done there! Just a quick question - how is the timeline looking for making your "planned" event? Have they slipped the entire schedule/reset - or?

Keep on pressing - looking great!

Cheers - Jim

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Lots of cool work being done there! Just a quick question - how is the timeline looking for making your "planned" event? Have they slipped the entire schedule/reset - or?

Keep on pressing - looking great!

Cheers - Jim

weather is the biggest issue, I need 50 degrees in my shop to do any body material .... it's supposed to be at least 60 degrees during the day but it's been struggling to get to 50 (and may snow Friday night).. but we will see. Likely tomorrow night I'll start finishing the inner wheel wells. Next week is predicted 60s

That said, work has slowed down but it's not insignificant (I work for myself and have employees)...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

now it's getting somewhere... not sure where, but some. where


now a full dry fit





hood latches

easiest way to find the bottom of the hole


and then


success, red thingy in the hole


hood line up... what a pain

with a shim, I got one side pretty close, still need to do some kind of block on the other side




not quite done with the radiator... now I need to block all the ways air can bypass the radiator.edited If I don't, it will overheat
​​​​​​​

 

[rtj]

One benefit of the relatively low cost of c3’s, is the cutting them up for making mods. :thumbs:

This will be a blast to drive, I’m sure.

With the gym closed and home projects getting done, it is time for me to get my junkers running.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

One benefit of the relatively low cost of c3’s, is the cutting them up for making mods. :thumbs:

This will be a blast to drive, I’m sure.

With the gym closed and home projects getting done, it is time for me to get my junkers running.

I don't think, at least in my lifetime, anyone is going to complain about this car getting cut up.. sure, it was a 4 speed car - but with a bent frame, so even the notable bit was garbage...

about the gym, I'm feeling pudgy - it's been nearly a month since they closed them here...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

the bent edges... there could be another bend or two before this is done


back apart to clean the edges for gluing, screwing and riveting

and removal of unneeded pieces


best way to remove undercoating.... irony is I'll reapply sound deadener once this is all together



goes here, notice also the undercoating is gone


ugh



inner fenders (or how to make flat metal curvy)


but it looks better in the end


other than a bunch of dirt, it doesn't look like I did much of anything... and for the record, the left front had far less coating...
​​​​​​​

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

make it pretty, waiting on rivets, otherwise I'd have glued this down tonight
​​​​​​​
time to fill the last hole


layout

getting close


upper radiator block
first fit

close

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

More aluminum work


then cad work



chop chop


then aluminum



back to the radiator

who knew I would get excited when rivets arrived


CAD overs
​​​​​​​

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

In news, I ordered different accessory brackets for the motor.edited I need to move the power steering pump up to clear the rack, then it interferes with the alternator... so I'll move it to the other side... hopefully that stuff arrives next week.
Onward
air cleaners... I sure have a bunch of options... and another on its way.. i really, really, really don't want to cut on the hood... and I think I can get away without it... crossing fingers


radiator
first step is rebuilding the bracket

then melting stuff

then more welding


and more test fitting


closer

now bolted in place... still need to do something about the ends to make them pretty, but it's functional now


hood pins
the line (dark) is where the pin needs to be

now it is


other side



need to finish that up... it's becoming warm enough that I may be able to glue panels in place tomorrow... once that dries then epoxy the holes up... the coat the floor with sound deadener...edited

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

of course what that means is I start body work and wiring... I would love to outsource the bodywork;... but where's the fun in that?

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

so beside cleaning the shop, I got one more thing in the done column
the other pin


and voila
​​​​​​​

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

today was mostly cleaning the shop and reorganizing.edited The next step for both the Corvette and the Buick is bodywork so I opened up some floor space

but onto the car first, resolving the power steering issue (I didn't)


then I took some thinking time on my dirtbike

then got these for free, yes, downhill is in my future

I guess I own 2 Jeeps now, I think I overpaid
pulley install starter pack


then I found the right pulley - too bad the pump is too small for what I'm doing

back to the pump

the problem is the pump is about 1/4" forward - and there is no room to go back...


I still need to resolve the alternator issue but that is for another day

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

let's start with the air cleaner
this is what's hitting

had to dig in my fitting bone pile for a 90* elbow

fixed


still need to buy a filtered top.. what I have is too think and too cheesy
epoxy time

cut a bunch of strips

then start plying them on there

and inner fenders the aluminum is meant as a backing.edited I could have used wood, but that would require coating both sides.

starting to refine my technique on this side

somewhere I read that using glass to coat the strips would help. It does

the steps.... first dump some resin on the glass then put glass strips on the glass

let it soak (maybe 30 seconds max)

flip it over

then stick it in place


it's a messy task, but once you stick it up, let it adhere for a bit (push it onto the place), then come back a minute or two later and push it again to get the resin to come through.edited Tomorrow I should finish... tonight was hole-filling, so it was only one layer.... next lay up I'll do a couple more layers and that should hold it.edited The entire goal here is strength.edited I'm going to rubberize coat it so it will be unseen once done

 

[phantomjock]

I use glass often to make flat fiberglass parts. It helps to wax it - sounds weird - but it works. A couple of coats, buffed each.

If you have a piece that is curved - you can use plastic packing tape - leaves lines, but easily sanded out of your finished product. Another tape is silver refrigeration/H-Vac tape. Wax, wax (5 times is best) buffing between each. If you are going to make a complex part - like my fender flares, you'll want some PVA. here's a quick link to those products; http://www.uscomposites.com/moldrelease.html

Also have a few wedge shaped shims to help separate from your mold surface.

Hope you have gloves already - Harbor Freight is OUT!

I kind of run through the whole process here: http://www.vettemod.com/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=94 It coves the results of using different composite core materials as well as some of the fabricating details.

Keep on "Itchin' for Fun!"

Cheers - Jim

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I use glass often to make flat fiberglass parts. It helps to wax it - sounds weird - but it works. A couple of coats, buffed each.

If you have a piece that is curved - you can use plastic packing tape - leaves lines, but easily sanded out of your finished product. Another tape is silver refrigeration/H-Vac tape. Wax, wax (5 times is best) buffing between each. If you are going to make a complex part - like my fender flares, you'll want some PVA. here's a quick link to those products; http://www.uscomposites.com/moldrelease.html

Also have a few wedge shaped shims to help separate from your mold surface.

Hope you have gloves already - Harbor Freight is OUT!

I kind of run through the whole process here: http://www.vettemod.com/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=94 It coves the results of using different composite core materials as well as some of the fabricating details.

Keep on "Itchin' for Fun!"

Cheers - Jim

very cool stuff - thank you for sharing it.

At this point, I'm just adhering the various parts - not making new pieces - but if I ever do this again, I'll use that to make molds and pieces... that would be much easier and have a far better result. ... so much information good information out there...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

yesterday's work turned out fine...edited



today's work is going to have to be redone... that said, I get to play with filler and epoxy tomorrow so that should just great.

 

[BBShark]

You just gave me an idea. The right front fender was replaced on my car and they cut off the inner fender splash shield flange. So now there is a gap. I was looking for some fiberglass "L" shape that I could bond in there but maybe some aluminum pieces would work as well?