Plastic Fantastic 2

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I've seen a few cars done like this, I thing they space the fender out at the bonding strip.

Maybe not as easy as what you are suggesting.
 
beautiful car and beautiful job... dang.

I was watching Bitchin Rides (Kindigit) and their Mercedes gull wing build. I saw the car at SEMA, so I really watched with interest how they fixed the issues with that car. the one I found most interesting was when he was rebuilding the fender and made basically an air mold using dental floss as the backer.... I think doing that, then tape, the foam behind it, then laying glass and resin would be a pretty straight-forward way of doing it.... but with fiberglass, whatever way works for you is the right one. What I wish they had described was how they kept their gloves from becoming hairy with fibers as they worked the glass mat into place.

there is a side-issue for me. I glued the flares on with the same adhesive GM uses to adhere truck bed sides - I suspect that if I tried to take it apart there, I'd fail badly.
 
first some CAD
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then some lay out
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dang, I even impressed myself with this freehand
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then a few bends and fitting
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​​​​​​​which is where I stopped for the night.
 
Looking good! One thing worth mentioning... the C5 suspension is designed with a certain scrub radius in mind. A wheel that fits this will likely open up your available wheel options considering how popular the C5/6 platform is. Cost savings from off the shelf wheels may help with your re-flare decision
 
carrying on
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even clears the radiator support
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lots of finish welding to do but it's driveable now.... which means I'm taking it apart further
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time to eyeball for the coil overs
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tomorrow the springs arrive but I think the next step will be finish bolting the front support in place, cut the 4 body bolts, remove a couple hoses and wires then lift off the chassis.editededited
 
springs came
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time to make a lower control arm mount
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the rear is going to require a bunch more work to make it work (which really isn't a huge deal - the entire purpose of this was to solve the rear suspension issues and now spend $12,000 for a bandaid).editededited
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the issue is the shock needs to lean at least 20 degrees over and preferably 30
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and it will... just have to remove that redundant frame rail

front isn't bad, but it has an interesting issue
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see the stabilizer.... it interferes.... but doesn't on the driver's side.
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this tank may end up on the car - or at least the expensive bits...edited
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in the vein of recycling... I had a bunch of parts cut for a guldstrand rear suspension... not using the system, but the parts make great upper shock mounts
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ah turkey day.... not much accomplished other then driving 400 miles
but still time to talk ofsets
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whether anyone likes it or not, 20s is all that fit... .20x10 front 20x12 rear (though this could go to 14 if I so choose)
front 2 3/4" = 69.85 mm,edited 20x10 - 254 mm width.edited divide by 2 = 127.edited 127-69.85= 57.15 mm or 58mm positive offset on a 10 inch rim (which is a custom size, the best I've found is in the 40s)
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rear 4"
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math 20x12 = 304.8/2 = 153.9-101.6 (4 inches) = 52.3.... interestingly, the rears tend to be nearer zero or further out in the 70 range.

oh yeah and one more thing.... yes, that is suspended on the spring
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did that by welding tabs on the top
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hopefully Sunday I can start making the rear suspended

next up, I'll probably buy the tires to double check my measurements. One thing, though, about the front is if I extend the flares 1/2", then there are off-the-shelf solutions. That said custom wheels start at 600 and go up from there, so at some point, I may just say heck with it
 
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bmw 750il wheels work
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and yeah, Custom Image Flares got me again.... the opening isn't the same right to left; that said, it's not a huge thing to fix - but it does give flesh to the warning I got from the guy whose C3 was the template for the flares (don't finish the flares until you have the wheels)
but the offset works
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and it doesn't hit the wheel opening when turning
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thankfully the right side is correct.... so it's just a matter of copying
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back side looks good.... the 'real' wheels will be wider, but this, for now, works
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''
*sigh*
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I should point out, that the wheel will be out about another 1/2" in the front - because of the rotor and the brake mounting bracket.... so it was going to get changed anyway
 
Lookin' really great. I like those wheels too.

A quick question - Are the jack stands holding the front arms at full compression? I didn't see a comment earlier, I suspect so, but inquiring minds...

Cheers - JIm
 
so to more detail.

............................

another tip - the front control arm hole is 3/4" lower then the rear hole.... this picture is close to where it needs to live
Use the hole where the lines are drawn (rear) - those holes are supposed to be in the same spot on either side.edited That said, trust but verify.
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I'm considering angling the lower control arms on my replacement crossmember this winter. I'm curious what angle that 3/4" difference ends up making. Have you measured it, or if you can just give the the center to center measurement of the lower control arm I'll just do the math.

Thanks.
 
leveled the nose and it is close enough that I'm not going to mess with it - Keep in mind that I'm painting this black (or a dark color) so edges really blend

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progress pictures
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I need to brace the rear assembly, before the body lift
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then I need to lay the coil over over... so that's a notch
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how, in all that's holy, does fiberglass look like it rusted?edited
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ughedited
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​​​​​​​thankfully I have sawzall blades.
 
a few minutes and got it on the ground
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a bit of frame notching
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and voila a roller again
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it does need the wider rear tires..
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front brakes - I finally decided to go backwards. I cut the ears off the C5 spindles thinking I'd fabricate a bracket that attaches to the hub bolts. I seriously over thought it. The current plan is to cut the height of the ears down, drill new holes, then build a backing plate for the ears (to add strength back). Photos soon, hopefully while we're milling them
 
moving along time to make the coil overs permanent
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it's getting close to time to get a few more tab plates lasered out
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so when I do the finish work, all this will get boxed and finished
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for now it's strong enough to drive
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all I did on the lower arm was redrill the hole
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now to connect the steering wheel to the front
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basically, take the u-joint off the top and replace it with the lower one.... and in this case, had I not had the u-joint, I may have done this a bit different....edited
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heat removes it
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test
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the issue
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basically heat puts the new one back on....edited
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and now it steers.. what's left there is to replace the motor mount and clean up the frame... which I'll do when I pull the body off (likely Sunday)
 
hateful task ahead
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but I finally afforded myself a power bleeder for when I get brakes
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random rear picture
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so I have new spindles and plan b is this
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I'll mill the tabs into spindle and basically take the same amount off both the spindle and the caliper.edited I figure the reduced metal thickness will be offset by the tabs being against the spindle/hub..edited
 
No, I haven't forgotten this.edited My friend with the mill is on vacation until early next year, so the front brake/spindle mods get to wait, also I have a stack of postponed projects that really need movement (e.g. Colorado air compressor, rack, lights, sliders; Suburban stuff).edited Also, the next step after the brakes is pull the body off.edited That, of course, fills my shop and lift - so the other projects plus my wife's craptastic Jeep JK Rubicon (which is leaking coolant, again) means I need to put this on a 2 month or so hold... leaving the body on the frame makes it far easier to move.

in other news, I've been building a plasma table so I can make nice pieces for the frame work that is soon to come
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