LakotasRose

If you are taking votes Dave....I vote for BLACK!! :thumbs:

Rolling Thunder

Hey Mike, good to be back. There for a while I didn't think I had a chance at finishing this thing. When I need inspiration I just look at your 502 and remember what started me on the trek. :cheers:

71coupe - Thanks, I think it'll turn out okay. I want everything on the car just a little exagerated, but with one hand holding on to the true vintage look and feel. I do love the way the 15's look "meaty" in the spokes, and the BFG's fill the flares. :yesnod:

Believe it or not Deb, the final color selection may just come down to a vote. If you remember, my car was originally going to be a "flag" car. After 9/11 there were just too many of them. I'll still find a way to make a patriotic statement, but not as originally planned. I am definately open to suggestions.

Well the company has finally left so I'll glass in the flare tomorrow.

Dave
:seeya

LakotasRose

I remember you wanted to do the patriotic theme..and I agree..too many of them out there now.
OH good! another POLL! :rolleyes: :D

Make sure you take pics!!! :yesnod:

Rolling Thunder

It's been slow going today, between working in the garage and getting rid of snow, so here are the results from the garage. No, there won't be any incriminating evidence on the snow shoveling. :jester

Here everything is ready for the first layers of glass. Holding the contour of the flare required that clamps remain in place and only allowed for small sections of the splice to be done at one time. This also allowed some stress relieving as the repair was made. You can see that I have ground a bed for the glass layers, tapering the existing glass down to nothing at the edge and removing the gelcoat about 1" either side of the gash.






More to come, Momma says time to eat....




[Modified by Rolling Thunder, 6:02 PM 1/16/2003]

Darkness

Its looking good :cheers:

Rolling Thunder

As I'm able to remove clamps and hardware, I prep the next section for glass...


Here you can see the contour match at the top of the well. To me that was the most critical part of the task.



Keep in mind that this phase is about shape, not strength or surface finish.



You can see a short overlap area where the first section adjoins the second. These will be ground uniform before the top layers go on.



All covered, except for the cut through the face of the well flange that allowed the for excess cutoff. I was surprised that I only had to remove about 1/2" in the length of the relocated wheel flange. That by the way, is why this had to be worked from one end of the seam to the other as opposed to starting at the top of the well and working down both sides.


So much for the first three layers. Next, the surface will be sanded to determine how much more glass and resin is needed to get a smooth finish. Then there will be 3 layers applied from the underneath for strength and cushion from stone pecks.



Callin' it a day... :seeya

Dave



[Modified by Rolling Thunder, 6:44 PM 1/16/2003]

67HEAVEN

Nice work, Dave. Thanks for the updates. :thumbs:

Rolling Thunder

Thanks 67, just cranked up the heater in the garage (13 degrees outside, brrrr) and waitin' for it to warm everything up. Hope to get the outside rough sanded and final 2 layers of glass build up on. But first... more coffee! :yesnod:

Dave

74-Roadster

Good morning Dave! Looks very good! After looking at the photos above, I looked at your original pics you sent me. It looks like you located the flare properly. I've seen sooooo many that look like the flare was slid back about 1"-2" too far and the wheel and tire don't end up centered.

Very nice work and great pictures for others who are preparing to do there first fiberglass work.

You have a good day. And would you believe it was 21 degrees in DFW this morning? Brrrrrrrr is right.


[Modified by 74-Roadster, 8:15 AM 1/17/2003]

SmokedTires

Dave, it's looking really good as usual :thumbs: . Your making some good progress !

Smokehouse69

Dave, it is a real pleasure to see your work, you are a craftsman and an artist! More pics as you continue. I hope you are keeping all your pictures and notes, you could publish a pretty nice how-to book with them after Rolling Thunder is finished.
Let me know if you need any help putting one together after it is all over. I'm not much with Fiberglass, but I can write like a *****! :D

Rolling Thunder

Thanks Glenn. The location of the flares has to be established by the tires, keeping them centered in the well. That was one reason for leaving the rear connected at the bottom. Matching the contour from the front would have let the well opening move aft about an inch. Doing it the way I did, should leave an equal clearence all around even with the new smaller radius of the well.

DFW 21 degrees? Man that's just not right. :lol:

Mike - Gotta keep this thing going, I really want to to be :auto: by time to go to BG. You may as well start convincing AMY that you're coming back this year. :cheers:

Steve - Thanks Buddy, but let's wait to see this thing with paint on it. I might be more qualified by then to do do a "How not to" :banghead: book. :lol: Seriously, I am trying to document the project, but it pales in comparison to some of the fantastic cars on this sight. Mine is the poor boy version of projects. :)

Time to go check the temp in the garage. :seeya

Dave

Rolling Thunder

Here is the flare after some sanding. This is the time to remember that half of the fiberglass you put on has to come back off. Believe me, it's a lot easier and less messy to put on than it is to sand off. :smash: The initial goal is to bring it all down to the level of the gelcoat on either side of the cut. When it gets there, any craters remaining will be filled with more fiberglass. My rule of thumb is: if it looks like you could finish it with a little bondo, DON'T. Put more glass on instead. :smash:










[Modified by Rolling Thunder, 11:12 AM 1/17/2003]

NHvette

Wow dave - moving fast on those.
I know what you mean about the heater.
You pretty much have to plan on working several hours ahead - so the
garage can get warm enough.

So, you are close to getting it all levelled off. What do you put over the rough
sanded fiberglass ? skim coat of panel adhesive, bondo, or Eckler's gel coat ?
maybe just a coat of sealer/primer ?

:seeya

Rolling Thunder

Good question Dave. Nothing but primer at this stage. It helps get rid of optical illusions from dealing with the three colors on three materials. Most of that will get blocked off later anyway. All I want is a smooth surface to give the painter. It'll be up to him to seal, prime and color coat.


[Modified by Rolling Thunder, 1:51 PM 1/17/2003]

74-Roadster

Dave, Looking very good.

Do you have a homemade plastic booth around the car? And do you wear a carbon filter mask and goggles or something special?

Darkness

You really wanna finish it before the end of the year!!! :jester
Looks good :cool:

LakotasRose

It looks great Dave!!!!!! :thumbs:

Rolling Thunder

Glenn - I did rig up a plastic tent on the side I'm working on. This time of year there is enough static cling in the plastic to catch a majority of the dust. If not, just spray a little water (squirt bottle) on the plastic. I use a 3M mask with P95 filters, and I squint alot. :lolg:

Darkness - Yes I do, and thanks! :cheers:

Deb - Tell Jim I could use some help and that my garage is warm! :lol:

Back to makin' dust.....

Rolling Thunder

Okay guys, Momma says I've eaten enough dust for one day (and I ALWAYS listen to her :D ). Still need to take a little more off and then fiberglass the last little section on the front side. It doesn't appear that I will have much to fill in way of craters, so this side should wrap up tomorrow. These three pictures should give you a pretty good idea of how it's going to turn out.