ThomasW's Two into One build

[RedTwilight]

3 hours ago, ThomasW said:

Thanks guys!

 

hopefully ill be able to ordee the remainder of the paint in a week or two.  Till then, its all about work and getting the rest of the body panels prepped and ready.  

 

 

Im debating on shaving the reflectors off the Terminator rear bumper and the antenna/emblem holes off the fenders. 

 

Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[Prokiller]

On 10/4/2017 at 11:29 AM, ThomasW said:

 

 

I feel the same about the reflectors, they dont really bother me.. im just a bit concerned they may stick out more with the copper color than they would otherwise. 

 

As for the others, my truck and the wifes car stays on Satellite radio or CD’s bc the radio reception in the mountains suck, so it sounds like i’ll be welding in some holes on the fenders. Lol

you can always get clear or smoked ones if red doesn't look right.

[ThomasW]

51 minutes ago, Prokiller said:

you can always get clear or smoked ones if red doesn't look right.

 

Hadnt thought of that..  not a bad idea. 

 

 

 

I was also looking at the factory tail lights and think i may have figure out a way to impersonate the Amber 99/01 cobra tail lights using the non amber housings... should be interesting. 

[RedTwilight]

Get the clear ones, then spray them with a candy orange that is close to the paint.  

[ThomasW]

Got home yesterday and then today I taped off along the edges of the painted area’s, hung the doors and installed the wiper motor and mechanism. 

 

Tomorrow i will likely mount the decklid and reassemble the driver side door, possibly pull the fenders and front end off the red car if its not raining to horribly bad so i can shave the antenna and emblem holes on the fenders..

 

 

[ThomasW]

Fender holes are welded in and ground down:

 

 

Also put some body filler over the areas so i can get it all smooth. 

 

 

Ive also got all the sail panels, all of the fenders, rear bumper and side skirts sanded.  

 

 

 

Currently i am debating on if i am going to permanently bond the side scoops to the quarters, or buy a replacement for the passenger side since 1/2 of the tabs are broken off.. or i could just fix it. Lol

[RedTwilight]

12 hours ago, ThomasW said:

Currently i am debating on if i am going to permanently bond the side scoops to the quarters, or buy a replacement for the passenger side since 1/2 of the tabs are broken off.. or i could just fix it. Lol

 

Why not go ahead and make yourself some custom ones with a carbon inlay?

Or just smooth it all in.

[ThomasW]

2 hours ago, RedTwilight said:

 

Why not go ahead and make yourself some custom ones with a carbon inlay?

Or just smooth it all in.

 

 

I have been thinking about doing about that to. 

 

Some kind of mashup between the saleen side scoops are the factory ones... but just one scoop, maybe something tapered and flatter so it fits lines.  

Edited October 11, 2017 by ThomasW

[ThomasW]

Originally i planned to just throw the stock GT style side scoops on, but there are things about those i didnt like. 

 

After looking at aftermarket ones, the only ones i sort of liked were the saleen style, but  even then, it was only marginally better than the factory ones. 

 

So since cold weather is knocking on our door steps and its unlikely the car will get completely painted before its officially to cold to paint, and time/materials is more abundant than $$$ at the time with Christmas for two small kids pretty soon, here i am with Secondary (or is it thirdly?) project, “Do your own side scoops”. Lol

 

 

First up was putting some masking tape over the side scoop area and drawing the approximate outline of what i plan to do with it.   I then covered the masking tape in clear packing tape (not shown). 

 

 

 

Then 3 layers of 6oz fiberglass were applied over the area and a layer of peel ply.  This will be left to cure overnight:

 

 

 

Tomorrow (weather permitting) i need to spray some epoxy primer on the fenders and sail panels, then i’ll start cutting out some of the wood pieces to shape the side scoops.   

 

The idea i have envisioned for the side scoops is similar to what some of the aftermarket scoops look like for the 2014-2017 mustangs.  

 

Im also waiting on parts to arrive to finish my Export style rear turn signals (minus the amber lenses).

[ThomasW]

i started cutting some wood pieces and came up with iteration #1.  This one has 1 1/2” of protrusion at the top:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not liking how much those stuck out, i tore it all apart and shortened the protrusion to 1” overall and ended up with this:

 

 

 

 

 

Iteration #2 looks much better and is more sleek.  It also allows the scoop to transition to the quarter panel to be nearly invisible.  I believe iteration #2 is what i am going to go with.

[LWARRIOR1016]

I wish there was a “love” button in here lol. 

 

How are you going to make sure the other side is completely identical to this one? 

[Psychorugby]

31 minutes ago, LWARRIOR1016 said:

I wish there was a “love” button in here lol. 

 

How are you going to make sure the other side is completely identical to this one? 

 

Should be able to flip the wood templates over and cut a mirror image.

[ThomasW]

18 minutes ago, Psychorugby said:

 

Should be able to flip the wood templates over and cut a mirror image.

 

 

Exactly.  I made doubles of everything as i was cutting parts.  They wont be perfectly identical, but the differences will be slight enough no one will notice. 

 

The driver side is rough trimmed for now.  I have to trim the inside of the opening to the black line, trimming it to here will ensure there is no body line change into to scoop. 

 

[ThomasW]

These are ready for a layer of fiberglass on the exterior surfaces:

 

 

[ttocs]

are you going to make a mold and pull them out or are you going to just use the wood and glass as the final structure?

[ThomasW]

15 minutes ago, ttocs said:

are you going to make a mold and pull them out or are you going to just use the wood and glass as the final structure?

 

 

Wood and glass as the final structure.  Its going to be a pain in the ass, but i’ll glass the backside of the scoops to seal them from any moisture. 

[ThomasW]

I glasses the exterior surfaces last night, then this morning i trimmed the excess, modified the base (removed a portion) and glassed the backside.  I had a small strip of scrap CF, so i added a few pieces on the unsupported areas and as well as the inlet lip of the scoop to help stiffen things up:

 

 

Since i removed a portion of the base at the inlet area, it exposed the three holes that are used to mount the factory pieces.  

I’ve got a few ways i can cover those up:

 

1. Weld them shut, grind flush and leave the factory “ledge” where the scoop indentation is.

2. Use some G10 fiberglass sheet to build a ramp from the ledge edge to the inside surface of the scoop snd bond into place. 

3. Do #2, except use a piece of metal and weld it in place. 

 

Currently, i think im going to go with option #3. It’ll be more permanent and will look much better i think. 

 

I also figured out i have to paint the inside surface of the scoop prior installing them as there is going to be no way to get the inside surface covered with paint at the bottom if i wait till after its installed. 

 

[ThomasW]

Home for a few more days, so when the kids are in school, i get a little bit done. 

 

 

I got the epoxy primer sprayed on the fenders.  I originally planned to prime the hood and sail panels as well, but then remebered i had to finish up the side scoop stuff, which will need some epoxy primer as well, so i only did the fenders. 

 

For those wondering, i havent even used an entire quart of epoxy primer on the entire car (yet), im about 2/3’s of the way through. 

 

 

 

I also made up some templates (from a cereal box) for the side scoop filler panel.  I then used that to cut the metal panels from that scrap door panel.  Here it is held in place with some magnets. Tomorrow i’ll clean up the area where it’ll get welded in and start welding it in place... then more body work! 

 

[Blackmage]

 

[ThomasW]

I welded in both of the filler panels today and then ground down the welds:

 

 

Then i slapped some body filler on to smooth it all in.. i’ll sand it tomorrow:

 

 

 

I also sanded the backside of the scoop lips smooth, did some filling and cutout the CF filler panels that’ll block off the inlets. 

 

[ThomasW]

Moar Paint!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RedTwilight]

It's all looking good.  Can't wait to see the finished result.

[ThomasW]

One more.. all the parts have been cleared, now they sit to cure.

 

Unfortunately this is likely the last of the paint work i’ll get done with how the weather is changing.   Hopefully i’ll get some extra warm days this winter to keep my sanity and spray some primer. 

 

[ThomasW]

1 hour ago, RedTwilight said:

It's all looking good.  Can't wait to see the finished result.

 

 

Thanks man, with the weather getting cooler, im going to have to find other projects to do... the CF radiator cover, firewall cover and a front splitter all seem like good places to start. Lol

[RedTwilight]

35 minutes ago, ThomasW said:

 

 

Thanks man, with the weather getting cooler, im going to have to find other projects to do... the CF radiator cover, firewall cover and a front splitter all seem like good places to start. Lol

 

I've got a pair of export side mirrors that the bases could use a covering of Carbon Fiber if you've got time.

[ThomasW]

40 minutes ago, RedTwilight said:

 

I've got a pair of export side mirrors that the bases could use a covering of Carbon Fiber if you've got time.

 

Funny you mention that, im going to try and do an overlay go my factory mirrors, i just need to order the CF at some point. 

[White95]

More!

[ThomasW]

Parts come Off and Parts go On, never ending saga. Lol

 

 

Currently waiting on the hood to dry so i can Prep-all it and get some color on the bottom side possibly. 

 

[RedTwilight]

That color is going to really look good on the entire car out in the sun!

[Psychorugby]

Wanna come paint mine lol?

[ThomasW]

1 hour ago, RedTwilight said:

That color is going to really look good on the entire car out in the sun!

 

It does!  I actually had it outside this past sunday so we could do motor mounts on my buddies 96GT, it looks AMAZING!   Unfortunately i completely forgot about getting pictures. Lol

 

 

ive got some color sprayed on the underside of the hood and the forward A pillar sail panels.  Clear will come tomorrow as its dinner time!

[ThomasW]

1 hour ago, Psychorugby said:

Wanna come paint mine lol?

 

Lol. Honestly if i wasnt so damn cheap, i would have paid someone to paint this one.  I now understand why is $5,000+ to color swap a car (the cheap way).  I’ve also got two more projects to paint after this one..

2002 Supercrew F150 (probably going to go Avalanche Grey) and the 99 GT (probly Berylium Orange or Sonic Blueish).   Then my wife asked me this morning how long it would take to repaint her Ford Edge.   

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2017 by ThomasW

[Psychorugby]

15 hours ago, ThomasW said:

 

Lol. Honestly if i wasnt so damn cheap, i would have paid someone to paint this one.  I now understand why is $5,000+ to color swap a car (the cheap way).  I’ve also got two more projects to paint after this one..

2002 Supercrew F150 (probably going to go Avalanche Grey) and the 99 GT (probly Berylium Orange or Sonic Blueish).   Then my wife asked me this morning how long it would take to repaint her Ford Edge.   

 

 

 

 

I'm not even color swapping really... just "adding to" Rio Red. I can't even find the time to body work the engine bay, let alone the trunks that I owe you...

[ThomasW]

3 hours ago, Psychorugby said:

 

I'm not even color swapping really... just "adding to" Rio Red. I can't even find the time to body work the engine bay, let alone the trunks that I owe you...

 

Well that makes it easier! How close to WV are you?

[LWARRIOR1016]

@ThomasW how difficult was it to hang your doors and get them lined back up correctly. Im thinking about removing mine and painting it all separately like youve done but Im honestly scared to pull the doors. 

[ThomasW]

1 hour ago, LWARRIOR1016 said:

@ThomasW how difficult was it to hang your doors and get them lined back up correctly. Im thinking about removing mine and painting it all separately like youve done but Im honestly scared to pull the doors. 

 

Honestly it wasnt to bad.  I purposely didnt sand those areas completely flat bc there was an indentation in the paint where the doors were hung by the factory while the paint was still soft. I just lined the doors up with those indentations and they were practically perfect going back on. I say practically bc someone had moved the driver side door hinge at one point instead of replacing the hinge pin. 

[ThomasW]

I shot the clear on the parts i sprayed with color yesterday.   I got a run on each of the A pillar parts, but considering its cooler than what the reducer is for and i was spraying them hanging upside down, it could of been worse.  They will likely flatten out now that i have them hanging vertically and what does flatten, i’ll just wetsand out. 

 

 

Here’s the hood.  Originally i had planned to smooth the entire underside, but after 3 hours and 30 sheets of paper on the DA, i decided this was good enough.  I’ll put some textured black of grey on the textured partof the hood at some point. 

 

 

 

I also started working on filling the gap on the 94-98 sail panels where it gets larger along the quarter panel at the aft end of the sail:

 

 

I put 7 layers of masking tape where the gap is the largest to build up a gap that is similar to the rest of the sail panel, then covered the masking tape with clear packing tape:

 

 

Here it is with the quarter in place showing the amount of material needed to fill the gap:

 

 

 

Once i get a few other parts that need a little repair prepped and ready, i’ll fill in the gap with the same flexible Hysol i used on the rear bumper repair.

[Psychorugby]

2 hours ago, ThomasW said:

 

Well that makes it easier! How close to WV are you?

 

Tampa, FL... close enough?

[ThomasW]

2 hours ago, Psychorugby said:

 

Tampa, FL... close enough?

 

Lol. Would have been 18 months ago, i lives just south of Sarasota, FL then. 

[ThomasW]

Im still thinking about doing a set of sail panels similar to the Saleen extreme’s.  So i took the stock sails that were on the car and cut one up to the shape im thinking of..

 

 

The part that is missing will get replaced by a carbon fiber piece.  Currently i am deciding if that CF piece will go the full circumference of the 1/4 window, or just in the area that was cut free.