70 Camaro - Boise, Idaho

[Goosesdad]

Some progress pics.
73591

73592

73593

[214Chevy]

Niiiiiccceeee!!

[Spiffav8]

This is my favorite thread. Always something amazing happening. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[syborg tt]

I agree with Curtis - this is also my favorite thread.

Since I finally took some time off of work this week. I was able to read this thread from the beginning and the attention to detail, your skills, the ideas and your ability to execute them is just incredible. I can't wait to see what happens over the next year.



I almost kinda want to see what you come up with next and maybe use some of your idea's on my car.



Thank you again for sharing your knowledge with all of us.

[Goosesdad]

Wow! Thank you very much for the compliments!! Extremely kind. The talent, encouragement and willingness to share in this community is incredible. Couldn't do this project without everyone here. I've received truckloads of help and advice and met some fantastic people. I'm extremely thankful, so many class acts! And Marty.. you and that PT-crack dealer (Tim McGilton) started me on this journey. Then all of the rest of the dealers here on LatG kept me buying!

[Goosesdad]

More progress on the plug for the mold. Wanted to see it in one color so I put the first coat of primer down. Should be a pretty interesting mold.
Lots more to come, A/C vents are next.
73615

73616

73617

[Spiffav8]

Does the vertical piece between the trans tunnel and the bottom of the day angle towards the driver like the dash does? Hard to tell from the one mock up pic.

[Beechy]

Does the vertical piece between the trans tunnel and the bottom of the day angle towards the driver like the dash does? Hard to tell from the one mock up pic.

Curtis, that's called a center-stack. Cos the audio and other components are typically 'stacked' there.

[Goosesdad]

Hey Curtis. It will be squared up,not angled. Messed it with it quite a bit to make sure all the controls were in reach even while belted in...i originally thought it would be angled but wasn't necessary and it allowed me some room for a storage shelf on the bottom. And just looked better.

[Spiffav8]

Hey Curtis. It will be squared up,not angled. Messed it with it quite a bit to make sure all the controls were in reach even while belted in...i originally thought it would be angled but wasn't necessary and it allowed me some room for a storage shelf on the bottom. And just looked better.

Always a balance between function and look. Sounds like you’ve achieved both. Well done!

[bkswede]

Just amazing watching your progress - your creativity and ability are incredible!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[214Chevy]

Very nice!!

[Goosesdad]

Just amazing watching your progress - your creativity and ability are incredible!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Very nice!!

Always a balance between function and look. Sounds like you’ve achieved both. Well done!

Thank you!!

[waynieZ]

I like the way the dash come out, nice job.

[Goosesdad]

More progress on the plugs for the molds. I know it all looks a little rough but thought you might enjoy the path. Of course all of this will get ripped out and trashed after the molds.
73788

73789

73790

73791

[Spiffav8]

More progress on the plugs for the molds. I know it all looks a little rough but thought you might enjoy the path. Of course all of this will get ripped out and trashed after the molds.
73788

73789

73790

73791

Love it!

[bkswede]

Looks awesome - I’m sure you’ve mentioned this already, but what are you using for the lcd screen and who is making the gauges for you? Combination of both is going to look great!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goosesdad]

Looks awesome - I’m sure you’ve mentioned this already, but what are you using for the lcd screen and who is making the gauges for you? Combination of both is going to look great!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks!
I sized the space for the large Garmin GPS and also their track map device (Catalyst) - to be interchangeable. Not 100% sure here but wanted the space sized large enough for options.
Plan on using Speedhut or Classic Instruments.

[spinedoc]

This is such an amazing thread! You possess some amazing skills. I am loving how this is looking. Thank you so much for sharing.

[Goosesdad]

A bit more progress on the mock up of the molds. Placement of the side AC vents proved a little challenging. With the door bars and the lowered seats, really needed to keep a space for your feet to move through without having to pull your knees all the way up to your chin! Snaked the ducts between the roll bar and the A-pillar. So, had to keep them up a little higher than planned but as Curtis says (well, really all of us)...form meets function. Had my poor friends climb in and out of this thing about 50 times so I could watch and learn.
73916

73917

73918

[CJD Automotive]

Great work and looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing the progress.

[syborg tt]

A bit more progress on the mock up of the molds. Placement of the side AC vents proved a little challenging. With the door bars and the lowered seats, really needed to keep a space for your feet to move through without having to pull your knees all the way up to your chin! Snaked the ducts between the roll bar and the A-pillar. So, had to keep them up a little higher than planned but as Curtis says (well, really all of us)...form meets function. Had my poor friends climb in and out of this thing about 50 times so I could watch and learn.

This car just keeps getting better and better and better.

[Mad_Monte_Carlo]

Very nice work, I'm looking forward to seeing it completed. What kind of foam are you using to make your molds?

[Woodsie]

I don’t know how I managed to miss this thread until now. Just read it every bit of it. Like a great book that you can’t make yourself put down. Absolutely incredible work. I can’t wait to see more.

**I just realized that was my first post. Wow, been lurking around for a while.

[Goosesdad]

Very nice work, I'm looking forward to seeing it completed. What kind of foam are you using to make your molds?

Just spray insulation foam. Sorry for the late response!

[IMPALAMAN1]

after it is done where are you going to run it in ID? or traveling with it.

[MODO Innovations]

Patiently waiting for more update pictures.:)

[214Chevy]

Patiently waiting for more update pictures.:)


:beavis:....yeah me too!!

[Goosesdad]

after it is done where are you going to run it in ID? or traveling with it.

Definitely travelling, no real track options here just yet. Portland and Salt Lake are close enough but certainly hit others/Optima.

[Goosesdad]

:beavis:....yeah me too!!

Patiently waiting for more update pictures.:)

Hi Guys - thanks for the interest!!
Long story, but in short, my wife has always wanted an pre-40's truck and a friend was selling this 39' Ford, so we bought it and I started down doing it in parallel with the Camaro. That, of course, wasn't a recipe for success and given that the original plan was to leave the body on the '39 completely alone, I planned on a 4-5 month project if I fully concentrated on it. So , put the Camaro in the garage and focused fully on the truck. Of course the project morphed, but should be done in the next 2 months. Patina Paint job is 90% done, cab is off to the interior guy this week and 90% of the truck has already been test fit.

Back to the Camaro in November and going to hit it hard.

I have been working with an artist on the artwork for the Camaro Project Name, should have that soon. Otherwise, it's collecting a bit of dust for a couple more months.
76380

76381

76383

76382
Here is the homemade patina paint job we are doing. Cavalry Blue with colored acids for the patina, with matte clear on top. Yep, I know, I've put clear on top of "rust/oxidation" which will clearly fail someday, maybe soon. We knew it would a science project but Lisa really likes the patina look, she just couldn't love the original green. So after a fair bit of metal work (rust repair, we left some of the dents to , we sandblasted the entire truck, masked off some strategic areas, epoxied the areas that would be blue, sprayed the blue, feathered the edges with a DA, used acids for the patina, then cleared it.

[syborg tt]

This TRUCK is AWESOME !!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sick71]

We need updates on BOTH projects!!

PLEASE!!

[Goosesdad]

We need updates on BOTH projects!!

PLEASE!!

This TRUCK is AWESOME !!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi all. I've been periodically lurking but honestly had to stay away from the LatG drug! I bit off way more than we originally planned on this truck but really trying to build something cool for my wife, so set the Camaro aside and have been full tilt on this thing. It just grew and grew in scope! Real, real close now. A few little details and then it will go back to the interior shop for carpet and then a couple days of bolting up the fenders etc. It's all been mocked up, just leaving them off as they are so big, makes working on it a pain.
77763

77764

77765

77766

77767

77768

77769

77770

77771

[camcojb]

You are quite talented. :thumbsup:

[syborg tt]

John,

The truck looks fantastic and I can't wait to see more of your work and I love the seats !!!

[Ricochet]

No way... A project got a little out of control?? Day it isn't so? 🤣🤣

Keep up the great work!! Happy wife happy life... It I am looking forward to seeing that amazing Camaro done.

[WSSix]

Might need to change the title of this thread or start a new one just for the truck. It looks fantastic. Keep it up! Good luck.

[Goosesdad]

More pics
77773

77774

77775

77776

77777

77778

77779

77780

77781

77782

[syborg tt]

Absolutely stunning.

On a side note where did you get that firewall grommet ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goosesdad]

Absolutely stunning.

On a side note where did you get that firewall grommet ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Marty! Thanks!
The one in the center of the firewall is from this Dorman kit. It's barely OK, does the job but the ears are small so it's not terribly secure. I'm going to anchor it in the cab with some weather strip adhesive. I also used a couple of these bulkhead fittings (second pic), got them from a local electrical panel shop. Sorta big and not real attractive but without going to a Deutsch connector, these did the job.

77800

77801

[Goosesdad]

More pics.
77802

77809

77803

77804

77805

77806

77808

77807

[Goosesdad]

Leaning toward orange, something similar to Dodge's Go Mango. Want some metallic but staying with Base/Clear so it can be repaired.

[waynieZ]

I'm a sucker for a pretty second gen! I love the front splitter.
I can't think of a word to tell you what I think of your work, the pick up looks amazing, so neat and well thought out. The interior looks great, I love the distressed leather.

Keep the updates coming.

[two-piece]

Looks killer man, I love the orange.

[Ricochet]

Rendering looks killer!! Can never go wrong with Orange!

[syborg tt]

I kinda have a thing for Orange.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goosesdad]

Thoughts?

[camcojb]

Cool background!

[Tinker]

Certainly has the big"foot" thing down!

[214Chevy]

Thoughts?

I like it...

[garickman]

Thoughts?

I'm diggin' it!

[syborg tt]

You need to head over to your local bike shops as there are some wicket colors on bikes now a days.

Here is my fat bike in orange.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220601/972576e25775046eb2393dca6ff1a177.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goosesdad]

Truck's finally on the road, back to the Camaro! Starting the door panels by mounting the speakers.
79054

Lot's more to come here but this is the beginning.
79055

I know this all looks terrible right now but it's just the plug for the mold of the dash...lots, lots more to come.
79056

The door panels will blend into the dash and the kick panel.
79057

[camcojb]

Nice to see you back at it! :hello:

[OLDFLM]

Is the pod on the left side of the dash for a vent or a tweeter?

Can't wait to see what you come up with for the door panel!

[Goosesdad]

Hey Ty! Thanks. Yep, it's the surround for the vent.

Is the pod on the left side of the dash for a vent or a tweeter?

Can't wait to see what you come up with for the door panel!

[214Chevy]

I like what you've got going on here.

[Jimbo1367]

It’s always nice to see how custom touches are accomplished.

Thanks for sharing

[syborg tt]

Stop...Your killing me with all of your idea's and I can't wait to see how the doors turn out.

[Spiffav8]

Love it! That's going to be epic. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Cramer4918]

I just binge read this entire thread in one sitting and all I can say is, "WOW!" You are quite talented with some mad skills and are not afraid to tackle anything. I would have to consider you a "Jack of All Trades. Master of ALL!"

I can definitely appreciate the amount of time and effort you have put into every detail of what you do, Sasquatch and the Classy Ford. My hat's off to you sir!

I'm looking forward to the next progress update. :thumbsup:

[Goosesdad]

Thanks guys - appreciate the kind words.

Beginning the door panels with a fiberglass base. Started with 1/4" plywood screwed down tight so it replicates the shape of the door as it curves in both directions. This will be a make-shift mold, will get removed and discarded. Painted blue as dark colors help with seeing air bubbles while laying up the 'glass.
79132

Masked off, 3 coats of release wax and 2 coats of PVA mold release.
79133

2 layers of 1.5oz mat over the entire panel with an additional 3" wide strip of 1.5 oz. around the edges for some extra rigidity. Vinylester resin.

Lots more to come.
79134

[Goosesdad]

Let them cure overnight and pulled out of the car, trimmed the 'glass. Plywood(blue) discarded.
79144

Panel clips installed. Now the fun begins!
79145

[camcojb]

Looking great John. What area of Boise are you in? Looks like you might be using an RV garage as a shop, or do you have a dedicated shop building?

[Goosesdad]

Looking great John. What area of Boise are you in? Looks like you might be using an RV garage as a shop, or do you have a dedicated shop building?

Hi Jody - Thanks! Live in an area called Hidden Springs, about 15 min from downtown Boise, you in town? coming over to help sand? Beer frig is stocked.
I built a shop next to my house back in 2013, has worked out pretty well except it could be bigger!
79147

79146

79148

[camcojb]

Hi Jody - Thanks! Live in an area called Hidden Springs, about 15 min from downtown Boise, you in town? coming over to help sand? Beer frig is stocked.
I built a shop next to my house back in 2013, has worked out pretty well except it could be bigger!
79147

79146

79148

That looks awesome! Wife and I will be there tomorrow. Have a list of houses to look at and make sure we still like the area. We're putting our house up for sale, cannot afford California any more.

I currently have 4.33 acres and two small shops. The smaller one is 1200 s.f. and mainly used for equipment storage (tractor, sweeper truck, mowers, etc.) The one next to it is 1400 s.f. which works fine for me and a buddy, but could always use more space. I'm trying to determine if I can make an RV garage work. Gives me the height for a lift (which is a requirement), but square footage is a lot smaller than what I currently have. Ideally I'd have enough property to have a separate shop, but we're also trying to stay on a budget. I found a perfect place for me, but the wife doesn't like the interior of the house lol.

This is my current setup.

[waynieZ]

Good luck on your house hunting.

[camcojb]

Good luck on your house hunting.

Thanks Wayne.

[WSSix]

Jody, you do know it gets cold in Idaho, right? They also have this white stuff called snow that falls from the sky during the winter. It's a form of what we call rain which is water falling from the sky.

Only kidding. I've been to Idaho one time on my way to Yellowstone and found it gorgeous. Would love to visit again. Not sure I could tolerate the snow enough to live there though. The mountains and evergreens though, wow! Good luck house hunting.

John, glad to see you back on the car. I love seeing the process you go through to make all these parts. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing.

[SuperBuickGuy]

That looks awesome! Wife and I will be there tomorrow. Have a list of houses to look at and make sure we still like the area. We're putting our house up for sale, cannot afford California any more.

I currently have 4.33 acres and two small shops. The smaller one is 1200 s.f. and mainly used for equipment storage (tractor, sweeper truck, mowers, etc.) The one next to it is 1400 s.f. which works fine for me and a buddy, but could always use more space. I'm trying to determine if I can make an RV garage work. Gives me the height for a lift (which is a requirement), but square footage is a lot smaller than what I currently have. Ideally I'd have enough property to have a separate shop, but we're also trying to stay on a budget. I found a perfect place for me, but the wife doesn't like the interior of the house lol.

This is my current setup.

we upgraded when we moved from the Puget Sound

the shop (60x64) and house
https://i.imgur.com/4wvyjMo.jpg

and had money left over for upgrades.... best of all, I see the sun on a regular basis (which wasn't true in Seattle).
we were aiming for Idaho - near Spokane, but the deal and my wife's employer came along and this was simply too good to pass up....

[Goosesdad]

I promise there is a plan here! I know it looks rough right now, ok really rough!, but it's just the process. Lot's of goal posts to kick between here most notably, trying to keep getting in and out (not to be confused with in-n-out) as easy as possible with the door bars. Blending those speakers to the kick panel sounded like a cool idea but they are right in line with with your feet as they swing out so they will likely get kicked a bit, sorta knew it was a problem but no choice so it's inked. And positioning the door pull and door lever so they clear the bars and don't pinch your fingers but still work for closing and opening the door. And keeping some level of cool design. And these doors are double concaved so keeping the panel tight to the door is important. Hot glue and scrap wood are your friend - Ha!.
79201

79202

[syborg tt]

Nice


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[waynieZ]

No doubt you'll figure it out, and it will be killer just like the rest of the interior.

[Jimbo1367]

Looks good John. People just don’t see what you’re envisioning. We will, I’m sure it will be stellar like rest or the build.

How do you like your Milwaukee cordless drill? Is it a brushless one? How’s the battery life? I’ve been eyeballing them , LOL.

Keep up the great work.
Jimbo

[two-piece]

Looks like its going to be killer. So much talent.

[73Cuda]

Just binge read this entire thread. Amazing work and thanks for sharing the fine details and explanations! The truck as well is a piece of art, would love to see more of it.

Beautiful house/shop setup by the way.

[Goosesdad]

Thanks guys!!

Man, did life happen these past couple of months. SEMA, Round 2 of the "SEMA flu" aka Covid (Round 1 was Nov.2019...suspect many of you did as well), the normal flu, 30 year Anniversary, a scare with a lump in my wife's breast (benign), mother-in-law trip and fall - Hip, 2 weeks later 2nd fall - other hip! Did a little work on the Camaro but not enough! AJ (Camaro AJ) was kind enough to get me the wiring diagram for these 2015 power mirrors, bought new mirrors and a new switch, got the wiring looms/plugs from a junk yard. Wired it up, all works. I know these mirrors won't fit or look right as is, but I plan to heavily modify and see if I can make them work. I really like the idea of power mirrors and these seem like a good option. Will do all that later but needed to make sure I could get them to function before finding a home for the switch in the door panel. I will update some of the door panel pics tomorrow.

[waynieZ]

Hi John, first glad your wife is okay, that's a scary thing. Do they work through a body module or just power and wiring?

[two-piece]

Glad your wife is ok buddy.

[WSSix]

Family first even the MIL. Glad you all are ok and hope you had a good holiday season.

[Goosesdad]

Hi John, first glad your wife is okay, that's a scary thing. Do they work through a body module or just power and wiring?

Glad your wife is ok buddy.

Family first even the MIL. Glad you all are ok and hope you had a good holiday season.

Thanks guys! All good, yep.. scary time for sure.
Wayne - just power and wiring no other interaction with any modules or computers. Piece of cake.

[cpd004]

Glad to hear she’s doing ok.

[camcojb]

[B]Thanks guys!!

Man, did life happen these past couple of months. SEMA, Round 2 of the "SEMA flu" aka Covid (Round 1 was Nov.2019...suspect many of you did as well), the normal flu, 30 year Anniversary, a scare with a lump in my wife's breast (benign), mother-in-law trip and fall - Hip, 2 weeks later 2nd fall - other hip!

Went through the same with my wife last year, except it was confirmed as cancer. Caught it very early and after treatment she's doing great. I'm very happy things turned out good John. :thumbsup:

[Goosesdad]

Went through the same with my wife last year, except it was confirmed as cancer. Caught it very early and after treatment she's doing great. I'm very happy things turned out good John. :thumbsup:
Thanks Wayne! Glad your wife won! Hope everyone here is encouraging the women in their lives to keep up on those tests. Seems we both have early detection to thank.

Thanks again everyone for the well wishes!

[Goosesdad]

I didn't go a great job of documenting the process here, frankly I changed my plans about a gazillion times so it wouldn't have made sense anyway. I will take better pics during the passenger side.

I think it came out pretty good and solved the problems at hand. Couldn't completely solve the problem of your feet clipping the panel (near the speaker) when you are getting out, getting over the door bar and pulling your leg in tight with the supports on the seat is just tough. Maybe I need to take some yoga and limber up!
I know it looks like a lot of body filler but the bulk of shape was created with florist foam and then a thin layer of fiberglass cloth, then a sweep of filler. Panel is actually fairly lightweight.
79653

I will blend the upper plastic panel into the lower here, still to come.
79654

Tried to carry the arm rest such that it followed the door bars, not really to hide them but just made sense to the eye. These two pieces are removable and actually pretty complicated hollow parts. I'll get some pics during construction on the pass side.
79655

I don't like the way the arm rest cuts off the speaker but I couldn't get around this, made a couple of attempts but they just didn't look right. I am going to make a lower flange on the speaker grill right about the arm rest so it appears the cut off circle was purposeful. It's gonna mean some work on the press to reshape the speaker grill.
79656

The door pull is bolted to the door so it not only is sturdy for closing the door but also serves to pull the door panel in tight.
There will be an separate insert panel here. Plan for now is leather on the entire door panel with the insert being either carbon or alcantara.
79657

[Goosesdad]

This is the plug for the lower dash panel. I'll mold this when I do the molds for the dash and then make fiberglass parts. The headlight switch and the mirror control will go in this panel.
79663

79664

79665

[dhutton]

Amazing things going on here!

Don

[Goosesdad]

Some filler primer so it's all in one color. Will make a few adjustments but this is close. The company that I got the door pulls stopped making them, only had blue ones left, they'll get re-anodized later once I choose interior colors.

79666
Will blend the plastic upper panel into the lower next.
79667

79668

79669

[214Chevy]

Looks really good. I like them!!

[garickman]

The level of talent you possess is mind boggling!

[Spiffav8]

The flow is spot on IMO. Way to bring vision to life my friend. :trophy-1302:

[Jimbo1367]

Those door panels look fantastic.

[Goosesdad]

The flow is spot on IMO. Way to bring vision to life my friend. :trophy-1302:

Those door panels look fantastic.

The level of talent you possess is mind boggling!

Looks really good. I like them!!

Thank you very much!!!

[Goosesdad]

Gauges arrived.
79759

79760

[Goosesdad]

Started the passenger side. Had to lower the mechanism. I'm using 69' Camaro mechanisms with the Lokar cable pull and the Ringbros lever. Steve Lenning (Carbon Camaro) gave me the mechanisms about a million years ago!
Had to open up the inner door structure in a few places to make room for the cable and mechanism so I added a few reinforcements so the door pull would still be solid.
Also ran the cable through a couple little setups of a teflon bushing anchored with an Adel clamp.
79761

The Lokar cable pull comes with a pulley. It all comes together very well and is a solid and super smooth open.
79762

Now the fun begins, foam and fiberglass! The MDF ring is just a spacer to space out the door panel to make room for the speaker and speaker grill. Will make sense in later pics.
79763

[Tinker]

Gauges arrived.
79759


120mph speedo?
I think someone underestimated this rocketship. Lol

[Jimbo1367]

120mph speedo?
I think someone underestimated this rocketship. Lol

LOL. I’m sure he’ll never go over the speed limit. LOL

WHAT gauges are those? SpeedHut ??? Those look great.

[Goosesdad]

120mph speedo?
I think someone underestimated this rocketship. Lol

LOL. I’m sure he’ll never go over the speed limit. LOL

WHAT gauges are those? SpeedHut ??? Those look great.

Well played!! LOL.
Yeah, struggled here. SpeedHut just came out with these new gauges and the only option they have right now is the a GPS speedo that maxes at 120. They will do the trans input coming soon but I needed to pull the trigger now so I can take the next step with the dash. Guess I'll have to stay away from 4th gear!

[Goosesdad]

Here is the start of the foam work.

[Goosesdad]

Have the sill plates mostly inked, just the overall shape....lots more to come here with these. Needed them placed to insure the door panels fit. Boring but important.

[Goosesdad]

More boring details..... Ripped down a 1/2" piece of MDF to 1/4"wide, then hit it with a half-round router bit and then cut some kerfs in so it would bend.
79766

Then CA glued it using a scrap piece to keep the radius accurate.
79767

[Goosesdad]

A little fiberglass repair tip someone might find useful. Had to lower the door lever so had to relocate the hole in the door panel.
79768

Scape with masking tape and a little release wax on the masking tape. Resin doesn't stick to masking tape much but wax insures an easy release.
79769

Hot glued the scrap to the front of the door panel.
79770

This the back of the door panel with the glass laid down with a little vinyl ester resin.
79772

Resin cured and backing removed. Once sanded down the patch will disappear. Boring, but it might help someone.
79771

[Goosesdad]

IT GETS WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER!! The seemingly chaotic approach here - makes me laugh too.

The foam for the speaker cover was mostly carved to shape and then covered with drywall mud in order to smooth to the final shape. This is still wet, sanding to come tomorrow, then I'll show how it gets glass'd and then how the foam and drywall mud gets removed.

The center section for the insert has the 1/2 round molding glued down and first sweep of filler laid down.

The rear foam is shaped and will be covered with glass, today. The wood was recessed a bit so the glass would have somewhere to anchor. Given the door panel is concaved front to rear and top to bottom, both this rear glass'd area and the front speaker area, actually add rigidity and keep the shape of panel once it's all cured. You can sort of see the horizontal relieve cuts in the plywood in the rear, that plywood is not only for the esthetic looks as it adds some dimension but it's epoxied to the flimsy fiberglass panel so it holds the vertical concave. If you go back a few posts, you'll see the scab'd on blocks that helped me clamp this in place tight against the door while the epoxy dried.

Lots of goal posts to kick between here (maneuvering around the roll-bar) while trying to make it flow and look right. And trying to keep it as light as possible.
79774

[Goosesdad]

This florist foam is a nice lightweight medium for giving dimension to fiberglass, it shapes incredibly easy and polyester resins won't eat it.

As I need to keep the door panel anchored to the door to keep it's shape until the glass sets up, had to laminate it on the car. While the resin will stick to the foam, because the glass will be hanging vertically, the weight of it would just peel away and fall to the ground. So a quick brush of some really hot resin, let it tack up a bit and then 2 layers of cloth were laid down.

This pic is just after that first sweep of resin.
79775

Then with the 2 layers of cloth laid down. This will get a sweep of filler to blend it into the panel. That front edge looks rough because it's puposefully not feathered in so I don't grind it away while smoothing it into the door. This will lock in the vertical concave of the door panel.

79776

[68454RS]

Amazing work and I appreciate all the fiberglass tips you can give, I'm in the process of building a Factory Five '33 Hot Rod and it's all fiberglass.

[Goosesdad]

Amazing work and I appreciate all the fiberglass tips you can give, I'm in the process of building a Factory Five '33 Hot Rod and it's all fiberglass.

Thanks! Your '33 looks like it's gonna be a ton of fun!
There is some good fiberglass tips, humbly, a few pages back. Hope they help.

[Goosesdad]

Blending the passenger side of the lower dash into the center AC panel and the door panel.
79787

Here is a bottom view of the center AC vent panel.
79788

Here is the back view of that panel. This is the just the wooden plug for the fiberglass mold. Thought you might enjoy the behind the scenes comedy of construction here!
79789

Using 2 sided foam tape as the .065" spacer between the interior panels to make room for the leather.
The gauges, head unit and AC switches are of course only paper copies, keeping the real parts safe in the box!
Once this is done, I can get back to the center console. Still up in the air with how it will lay out.
79790

[WSSix]

Where did you learn all of this fiberglassing work, John? Love seeing the boring steps. Helps me understand how it's done.

[Goosesdad]

Where did you learn all of this fiberglassing work, John? Love seeing the boring steps. Helps me understand how it's done.

Hi Trey! I worked at a shop called Odyssey Engineering when I was in college, a million years ago. We built all kinds of race car bodies and such but mostly Funny Car bodies. Got to spend time with the likes of Bernstein, Prudhomme and Kalitta, building the plugs and molds for their cars. Best job I ever had though the fiberglass dust in my lungs probably is gonna kill me.....I bet we all wish we wore masks when we were young! Glad this is helping you.

[Goosesdad]

Made the plug for the last part of the dash. Right now the thinking is the final parts will get covered with leather and then the inserts will be carbon.
79801

Lots more to come here, those holes will get filled in for the final plug, before a mold is taken...just needed access to screw it up to the dash for now. There will be an additional piece to cover some of the AC evap but that will get made after the center console is done. Next.
79802

[Goosesdad]

Here is the speaker pod done. Drywall mud.
79803

A quick coat of primer to seal up the drywall mud.
79804

Then 3 coats of wax....don't get wax anywhere that you want fiberglass to stick....in my case the thin areas in front and back of the pod. That is where the pod gets anchored to the door panel. The a coat of PVA mold release, that is the green tint.
79805

[Goosesdad]

Same idea here as before with the rear section, when laminating sharp angles and doing it vertically, mix up a hot batch of resin, brush it on and let it tack up a bit before laying down the fiberglass cloth. It just helps anchor the glass down while you are wetting it out with a normal mix of resin. That only works with "cloth", doesn't really work with "mat". Cloth is your friend when doing funky shapes and sharp angles, mat won't lay down right in those cases. Though you do need at least 2 layers of cloth if you want it to be rigid.
79809

Wetted out. Good tip.... Remember this process is totally back@sswards for how you would normally do fiberglass in a mold. But if you ever do it like this, it will mean that you are going to sand/smooth the 'glass. So...get some "surfacing wax" and mix it into the resin. The wax will rise to the surface and create a layer that allows the resin to cure better/harder for sanding. I know that probably doesn't make a lot of sense but it works great. In this case, I didn't mix it in the resin for laminating but then mixed it into a final batch that I just brushed on the already laminated part, sorta heavy, you can see the runs. Doesn't matter as this will be rock hard and will get sanded off.
79810

Another good tip....make an acetone station for Al pans for cleaning brushes and rollers. I have a dirty pan and then a final rinse pan. When done, just pour it in an old container and take the hazardous waste depo at your local landfill.
79811

[Goosesdad]

The rough-in of the 'glass done, door panel removed and the foam/mud removed.
79815
Still have lots of clean-up to do.
79817

[Goosesdad]

Top is a piece of plastic that was cut with a CNC router, using it for 2 purposes: To provide a perfectly round reveal for the speaker grill and to provide a flat surface for the speaker grill to latch to.

Bottom is the wood platform for the arm rest. The 4/4 hardwood is used for a sturdy mounting surface for the arm rest so it stays stout if someone uses it as brace getting in and out of the car.
79818

Plastic ring epoxied into place.
79819

[Goosesdad]

Start of the arm rest. Florist foam, rounded with a 1/2" router bit, glued down to the wood.
79820

Front half of the arm rest.
79821

First of 3 layers of fiberglass cloth.
79822

[Goosesdad]

Fitment mostly done.
79823

79824

79825

[Goosesdad]

A bit more progress on the arm rest. Beginning of closing off the end and the back with glass. Also removed the foam where the arm rest goes over the door pull. Lots more to come.

This is the end, ready to be capped with 'glass.
79834

Just a scrap piece of wood, masked....then a wet layer of 1 1/2 oz of mat.
79835

Flipped over and set down on the arm rest
79836

Resin completed cured
79837

Scrap of wood popped off.
79838

Sanded smooth and the foam removed in the area of the door pull.
79839

79840

[Ricochet]

Good lord - this thing just keep getting to whole other level! And being garage built by YOU makes it that much better! Major Props!!

[Goosesdad]

Good lord - this thing just keep getting to whole other level! And being garage built by YOU makes it that much better! Major Props!!

Thank you Brent. Means a lot!!

[Goosesdad]

Prep'n to close off the back of the arm rest. Also fixing a little error, if you look in the left corner you will see the glass pulled away from the foam when I laminated it, just the spring tension in the cloth. You can see it raised up that corner and is a high spot. If I just sanded it flat, it would go through to the foam, so opened up the foam a bit...more to come, see below. That masking tape has release wax on it.
79848
Wetted out a layer of 1 1/2oz mat and rolled the air bubbles out. Also I cut some small pieces of glass and put them into the opening in the foam, upper left. This will provide some glass to back that high area up so when I sand it flat there will be glass backing it up and no-harm/no-foul.
79849
Set the arm rest on it and weighted it down to press it into the wet glass.
79850
Resin cured and popped off the bench/tape.
79851
First trim and ready for the next step.
79852

[Spiffav8]

This thread never disappoints.

:popcorn2:

[68454RS]

This thread never disappoints.

:popcorn2:

Agreed :king:

[Goosesdad]

A bracket with Rivnuts, welded to the door. The door panel slides over it and then when the armrest bolts on, it pulls the panel in tight so it doesn't rattle.
79858

With the armrest installed.
79859

Looking up from the bottom of the armrest.
79860

Backside of armrest.
79862

Same process of sealing up the front armrest extension.
79861

[214Chevy]

Excellent craftsmanship!!

[Ricochet]

This things continues to be another level! Well done!

[Goosesdad]

Thanks guys!!!

[Goosesdad]

2 steps forward...1 step back. No fun if we don't share the mis-steps.....

I struggled with the look of how the arm rest cut off the speaker at the bottom but I really like the how the arm rest sits on top of the door bar when the door is closed. It really looks good when you are inside with the door closed. Probably making a big deal out of a non-issue, but thought a little return on that speaker opening might finish off the look. It didn't work, as you can see. Looks bad and while I knew I was going to have to modify the speaker grill, it just made that fit way to tight.

Cutting that lower section off today and going back to just letting the arm rest do it's thing. Once it's covered with black leather, it will mostly disappear anyway.
79927

79928

Here is the driver door with the arm rest done. I'll make the pass side like this today.
79929

The door pull will get done black later but just had to ditch the blue anodizing now! Easy Off oven cleaner eats it quick. Definitely doesn't leave a pristine Al finish so I wouldn't count on it if you want useable bare Al but good enough for just removing the anodizing.

The two right most metal brackets are welded to the door so they solidly anchor the armrest and make for no flexing when the door is pulled closed.
Somehow drilling 6 holes in that metal bracket makes it lighter!!
79926

[Goosesdad]

Arm rests completed. The inside of the door pull area will get covered with leather so I smoothed it so your fingers don't bump square edges.
79942

Made the upper section flow into the door panel. Used plastic welder (super hot soldering iron) and shaped these areas. And filled the door lock hole. All will be covered leather.
79943

79944

79945

Underside.
79946

[camcojb]

:king:

[MODO Innovations]

Very nice!!!

[214Chevy]

I'm loving the door panel design.

[Goosesdad]

:king:

Very nice!!!

I'm loving the door panel design.

Thank you!!!!

[Goosesdad]

Finishing the center console. I wanted to use some factory parts as the basis of design here. Not sure I would do this again as blending plastic, fiberglass and MDF presents some challenges that most obviously just solve by doing this out of metal. But I'm down the path so I'm sticking with it.

All of this will get covered with leather but one of the problems I haven't been able to solve is getting any glues or filler to stick to this plastic. I've been using a plastic welder and plastic filler rod which works great for getting the general shape down but smoothing is difficult. Would be great to use body filler but it doesn't stick. I've tried every version of plastic glue I could find. Nothing sticks, might as well be putting the glue on wax cause it just peels off.

Not a real big deal as the leather will hide most of the imperfections, just would make shaping this easier.

Started a while ago with some used parts sourced from the junkyard and some new (cup holders) from eBay. Morphing it all together over the next few weeks.
79976

I built that rear piece (gray) long ago. The EStopp is under that area.
79977

Started a little storage area under the waterfall.
79978

Beginning the waterfall.
79979

Here is the start of changing the center console shape. Started with the swoop (drivers side) and modified it to go straight. This will make sense later but you can see where the plastic welder was used to reweld the section flat after I cut it and then used heat to flex it flat. The welding process works real easy but as you can imagine, the plastic doesn't sand very well so smoothing it would be awesome with some filler. Anyone have any thoughts?
79980

[CJD Automotive]

Really liking how this is turning out.

Back in the day, we used to take shavings from the parent material and add them to a cup of acetone. Acetone melted the abs and made a slurry past. You then wiped that on as a filler. You need to burn a small sliver and see what type of plastic it is. There are charts online that tell you by the flame color or smoke what type of plastic it is, I can't remember off the top of my head. If it is ABS, the other option is a two part Fusor epoxy for ABS, but that gets real expensive, quick.

[Goosesdad]

Really liking how this is turning out.

Back in the day, we used to take shavings from the parent material and add them to a cup of acetone. Acetone melted the abs and made a slurry past. You then wiped that on as a filler. You need to burn a small sliver and see what type of plastic it is. There are charts online that tell you by the flame color or smoke what type of plastic it is, I can't remember off the top of my head. If it is ABS, the other option is a two part Fusor epoxy for ABS, but that gets real expensive, quick.

Thanks Craig!!! Will try.

[Goosesdad]

Mold for the extension of the center console underway. Of course the PVC and the rest will get discarded after the 'glass work......next weekend.
80096

80097

[214Chevy]

Super nice...I can see the vision.

[Goosesdad]

Just some chip board for the backing of the make-shift mold. The PVC's diameter is exactly perfect such that after the glass is laminated, the overall diameter will match the plastic center console. Once covered, this should all flow together with just a seam between them.
80129

Hard to see because I used surfboard resin which is clear - but 2 layers of 1 1/2oz of fiberglass mat laid down. No real reason for using this resin, just have a bunch of it from some Carbon Fiber projects.
80130

[Goosesdad]

Kick panels laminated.
80146

80147

[camcojb]

Very nice work John!

[Goosesdad]

I know all of this looks super rough but thought sending some of the process would be enjoyed. Not promising perfection but fine tuning is coming soon.

Everything that is currently wood (dash and lower dash panels) are just "plugs", I will make fiberglass molds of these plugs and then make proper fiberglass parts as the final piece.

Made a quick cardboard template of the glove-box-delete panel and intended to make a wood mold from that....the cardboard ended up straight and stout enough that I decided to skip the wood mold process for this very simple part.
80354

Some radius work with filler.
80355

A splash of filler primer for a final sanding.
80356

2 layers of 1.5oz mat and 1 layer of cloth.
80357

Fast forward quite a bit and have this panel mounted in place. Fair bit of work to get the flanges to hold this piece. Still lots of clean up to be done but making this panel easy to access and remove was important as I'm going to mount some electrical behind it..

And really paying attention to the panel gaps here to account for .090 for 2 layers of leather or alcantera - keep the interior guys from hating me later.

Taking every opportunity to keep ingress/egress for your feet at least reasonable without being a yoga instructor. Not much room with the door bars but compromise is always part of our lives!
80358

Pulled the passenger side of the center console off it's mold so I could reinforce some of the sections.
80359

[dhutton]

This is like magic for me. Amazing.

Don

[Goosesdad]

This is like magic for me. Amazing.

Don

Thanks Don.

[Goosesdad]

More of the process; getting the flanges for the glove box delete panel all spaced properly so the gaps will be correct when the real parts get covered.
The glove box panel and the center console sides are the final parts, all others will get molded and lightweight parts made from there. Soon.
80426

The fuse block will be accessible behind this panel so it needed to be easily removed.
80427

80428

Was a balance of making the panel cover as much of the evap as possible but still leaving some room to swing your feet through.
80429

[Goosesdad]

Engine is getting close.
80454

80455

80456

[camcojb]

:thumbsup:

[89 RS]

Nice work, looking good!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[68454RS]

This is like magic for me. Amazing.

Don

Yep, absolute Wizardry

[syborg tt]

The interior is really taking shape and I am looking forward to seeing covered in leather.

[two-piece]

Looking great man. Love the progress.

[Goosesdad]

Thanks guys!!!

[Goosesdad]

This is the plug for the panel below the steering column.
80498

The plug smoothed and primed with plastic hot-glued in place for a flange in the 2 piece mold.
80499

The mold completed, with the plug still in it.
80500

Same, other side.
80501

Breaking out the plug from the mold.
80502

All broken apart.
80503

Mold cleaned and ready to laminate the part.
80504

Yes, lots of work for a one time use mold...for a part that is getting covered and will basically be hidden from view.
80506

[jarhead]

I would pay admission just to watch and learn. Awesome stuff!

[Cramer4918]

I would pay admission just to watch and learn. Awesome stuff!

I'm there with you. A lot of skill and knowledge being displayed.

[Goosesdad]

Thanks gents! Honestly, no voodoo here - glass is easy stuff for the talent in this group!

Laminated.
80510

Here the part out of the mold.
80511

80512

[dmc69]

Amazing craftsmanship! You are an artist! I can't wait to see the interior finished.

[Rallycamaro]

Man, finished reading through the end of August on pg. 66 I think. When I went out of the thread it now only shows 3 pages and stops in June. Weirdness going on here.

Great build. I can't believe you've stuck it out this long. Patience of a saint to build it over 10 years. But, then again, that's also why it's so nice.

[camcojb]

Man, finished reading through the end of August on pg. 66 I think. When I went out of the thread it now only shows 3 pages and stops in June. Weirdness going on here.



You might try logging out of the site, clearing cookies, and re-log in.

[Goosesdad]

Set the engine and trans in this weekend. Not permanent, have some details to work out with the dry sump and the headers. It was pretty satisfying for sure!!
80596

80597

80598

80599

80600

[camcojb]

Looks incredible.

[WSSix]

Not going to lie. I completely forgot how good the chassis work was on the car, lol.

[syborg tt]

looks fantastic and I want more pictures.

[Goosesdad]

Not going to lie. I completely forgot how good the chassis work was on the car, lol.

looks fantastic and I want more pictures.

Thanks Trey! I did wipe off the cob webs for the pics. :lol:

Thanks Marty - more pics coming.

[Goosesdad]

Random pics because I'm not producing anything noteworthy!
80730

Adding some dimension to the waterfall, more coming.
80731

Adjusting the storage compartment.
80732

Filler doesn't stick great to this soft plastic but good enough to just be a final smooth. Pretty sure I'm going with leather cover here. Like the rest of the interior parts I've built, just trying to give the interior shop a baseline to work with, then let them sprinkle their voodoo on it.
80733

Hung the center section just to measure for the axles.
80734

[two-piece]

Looks fantastic buddy. This thread is where I got a lot of inspiration from early on in my build.

[Goosesdad]

Had some challenges on my plate this last year, mostly under control now...so glad to be back in the shop.

Adding some dimension to the waterfall.
81439

81440

81441

81442

Put down some black epoxy to give the wrap a good surface.
81443

81444
Had originally planned to do these inserts in carbon fiber but the shapes have tight enough 90's that the only right way to do is make molds and vacuum bag them....going with wrap instead, either carbon look or brushed metal look.
81445

[Goosesdad]

Working out the center console insert.
81446

81447

81448

81449

81450

[WSSix]

Glad you're back on this, John. Love seeing this one come together.

[camcojb]

Great work as usual. :thumbsup:

[two-piece]

Looks great like everything else. Glad to see you’re making progress.

[Goosesdad]

I wanted to move the leg bolsters out a few inches and add some better lateral knee support. Template first.
81496

Using plastic for the mold to extend the fiberglass. While prep'ing the seat and grinding the existing glass down, found that Cobra uses a layer of Kevlar embedded in the fiberglass. Little hidden cookie, nice!.
81497

Created a rolled lip to match the rest of the seat. Will 'glass them this week.
81498

[Goosesdad]

Gelcoat done
81517

[Goosesdad]

Glass'd the seat extensions
81546

81547

Broke out the make-shift mold pieces and swept a little filler.
81548

Primed to seal it up. Paint later. Interior shop can redo the foam.
81549

81550

Final test fit of the seats, belts and center console.
81551

81552

81553

[Goosesdad]

Tested my rearview mirror. It's the commercial version of the mirror in the current Cup cars. Real nice piece, had the price that you would expect! The camera is motorized and you can adjust from the mirror. Image is crystal clear and video appears seamless, at least from what I could see with the car in the shop, trees were moving in the wind and it was smooth.

81558

81559

[Goosesdad]

Started the final steps to the door panels, adjusted the path a bit. Plastic welded most of the shape, this is the inside of that addition, a layer of plastic was laid on top of this.
81667

The arm rests were originally 2 pieces, didn't need to be so I made them a single piece. Better with no seam.
81668

Looks like a lot of bondo (Everglass) but it's a relatively thin skim to get the shape accurate so the leather lays flat. Filler doesn't stick well to plastic at all, even with adhesion promoter. I would've preferred no filler but just can't get it perfect with the plastic iron and sanding.
81669

[syborg tt]

John, I can't believe all that you are doing to this car and I look forward to seeing all your posts.

[jarhead]

WOW!

[Goosesdad]

Hi guys. Hope all is well.
Started making the molds for the 3 lower dash pieces.
Made some mounting boards and did some final touch up filler/sanding.
81753

Just some rattle can black epoxy to give a solid/glossy finish on the plugs, helps the mold not get stuck on the plug.
81754

Made some mold flanges out of sign makers plastic. Held on with hot glue. Made the round, cone shaped flanges for the AC ducts on a 3D printer. The little mold locating nubs are just sticky back cabinet bumpers with a little clay to smooth out the transitions and fill voids.
PVA mold release.
81755

Gelcoat down. When you have white gelcoat and you want to make it red with dye but don't purchase enough dye, you get a pink mold.
81756

First 2 layers of glass down. This will cure overnight and 3 more layers tomorrow.
81757

[214Chevy]

Amazing work!!

[syborg tt]

What the Heck !!

This car keeps getting better and better and better. I can't wait to see your next post.

[Goosesdad]

Thank you!!! Glad you're enjoying!!

I totally appreciate this looks messy and archaic. It is! While I'm building these molds so they would be stout enough for reuse, they are still done with less attention to detail than normal as the final parts will be covered with leather so hyper clean molds is trumped here by get'n it done. Parts will be stout and clean.

More pics of the molding process. More flanges and gelcoat below. For sure brushing gelcoat, instead of spraying, is less than ideal. Again, still good just not the exact proper process.

All three of these will be 3-4 piece molds.

81763

81764

81765

[Goosesdad]

Fiberglass mat doesn't like to fold 90 degrees without leaving air pockets. You can use fiberglass cloth in those cases but another path that I like is using "chop strand". Basically just chopped up glass in various lengths, in this case I'm using 1/8". When I make the actual parts, these 90's will also be a problem and I will use an even finer version which is basically fiberglass powder.
81766

You just mix it with catalyzed resin, ending up with a wet paste and then brush it into the corners. Quickly and rough, no science.
81767

Then lay mat on top of that and squeegee out the air bubbles with a brush and a roller. This will force the paste into the corners and small areas. You can see it here, sorta darker. But note how the mat is very flowing and there aren't hard bends. This will be very solid with no air pockets.
81768

[Goosesdad]

Began cutting the dash insert for the gauges and switches.
81780

81781

[Goosesdad]

Molds done. On the second pic, you can see where I got the gelcoat to thin on the flange of the center piece. No big deal, won't even fix it as it's on the flange of these one time use molds! The rest is good enough for these parts.
81786

81787

81788

I know it seems like a lot of work for molds that will only be used once and for sure these molds are a long way from being perfect but they are straight, flat and stiff. They will make great parts. More to come in the next few days.
81789

[Goosesdad]

Gelcoat sprayed in molds.
81816

81817

Parts laminated and fresh out of the molds. A bit of clean up needed but the parts came out as planned.
81818

81819

81820

81821

[WSSix]

Nice work as always, John!

[Goosesdad]

Thanks Trey!!

Parts mostly cleaned up and ready for the interior shop to cover with leather. Still not sure what I will cover the metal center with, time will tell.

Mounted the AC controls, other switches coming soon.
81825

81832

81826

81831

81827

81828

81829

81830

[camcojb]

Great job as usual.

[Goosesdad]

GPS/Track mounted.
82066

82067

Switches mounted, 3D printer ordered, cover for switches coming soon. These are from Iron Works in Bakersfield CA. I did modify them a bit to prepare for the cover I will print, trying to keep it tight so the maximum amount of the handle portion of the switch is exposed. Just the handle will poke through, not the entire switch, so I had to machine the switch down a bit. Started with a mill but it was risky to clamp so built a jig and went old fashion with a bandsaw.
82068

82069

[Goosesdad]

Hope everyone is doing well!
Final sand on the dash before prep'n for the mold.
82133

Embracing the chaos and messiness of making the flanges for the mold. Looking like this mold will be somewhere around 20 sections. Rattle can black appliance epoxy to seal up the bondo and primer.
82134

Rough and quick is the only way to describe this process right now. Hot glue, scrap wood are your friends to hold down the sign makers plastic!
82135

[Spiffav8]

I so dig this thread.

[Goosesdad]

Thanks!! Glad you enjoy! This forum...people.. rules.

[Goosesdad]

Release agent, Partall, brushed on (no pic), let dry...couple hours, 2 coats. Then white gelcoat, also brushed on. Lots of differing thoughts on how long to let it dry before glassing. Most will only let it dry a couple hours so it's still tacky for the best bond, I subscribe here as well. However, if the gelcoat isn't thick enough, the resin will eat it and you end up with alligators that need to be repaired later. I've done multiple funny car bodies with the gelcoat curing overnight and never had a delamination. Controlling thickness with this shortcut of brushing on the gelcoat is near impossible so letting it cure for 8 hours solves that risk, probably doesn't bond as well but since these molds aren't for commercial use, all good.
Why brush instead of spray? Less cleanup, faster but for sure will introduce small air bubbles. If this was a mold for a body panel or something that we wanted perfect gelcoat, spraying is the only way to go. I will spray the gelcoat for the actual parts, like in previous pics.
82140
Those little bumps are just sticky back cabinet bumpers, they create alignment pins so the mold sections go back perfectly. Yep, brushing gelcoat upside down is a mess and isn't perfectly flat but for a mold that will likely make one part or even 20 parts, absolutely fine.
82141
Done in multiple sections so it will come apart later, if it was done in one or even 2 sections, given the angles of the part, the mold could get trapped and it wouldn't release. This is the first 2 sections.
82142

[syborg tt]

Release agent, Partall, brushed on (no pic), let dry...couple hours, 2 coats. Then white gelcoat, also brushed on. Lots of differing thoughts on how long to let it dry before glassing. Most will only let it dry a couple hours so it's still tacky for the best bond, I subscribe here as well. However, if the gelcoat isn't thick enough, the resin will eat it and you end up with alligators that need to be repaired later. I've done multiple funny car bodies with the gelcoat curing overnight and never had a delamination. Controlling thickness with this shortcut of brushing on the gelcoat is near impossible so letting it cure for 8 hours solves that risk, probably doesn't bond as well but since these molds aren't for commercial use, all good.
Why brush instead of spray? Less cleanup, faster but for sure will introduce small air bubbles. If this was a mold for a body panel or something that we wanted perfect gelcoat, spraying is the only way to go. I will spray the gelcoat for the actual parts, like in previous pics.
82140
Those little bumps are just sticky back cabinet bumpers, they create alignment pins so the mold sections go back perfectly. Yep, brushing gelcoat upside down is a mess and isn't perfectly flat but for a mold that will likely make one part or even 20 parts, absolutely fine.
82141
Done in multiple sections so it will come apart later, if it was done in one or even 2 sections, given the angles of the part, the mold could get trapped and it wouldn't release. This is the first 2 sections.
82142


The dash is looking fantastic. I can’t wait to see it complete and possibly steal some of your ideas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cramer4918]

It is looking Amazing! The amount of time and effort going into just the dash and center console is mind blowing! It will be a rolling work of art when you’re done!

[CamaroAJ]

If you get bored working on your car you're more then welcome to come help me with my interior.

[Goosesdad]

If you get bored working on your car you're more then welcome to come help me with my interior.

It is looking Amazing! The amount of time and effort going into just the dash and center console is mind blowing! It will be a rolling work of art when you’re done!

The dash is looking fantastic. I can’t wait to see it complete and possibly steal some of your ideas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you!!!
Marty...it ain't stealin' if there is a beer involved! See you at Sema.
AJ - Sign me up to work on that masterpeice!!

[Goosesdad]

Appreciate any advice here.
The original plan was to drive the dry-sump pump from a pulley behind the crankshaft pulley. However, a 4 stage pump will not fit here with a DSE subframe...without significant modification to the crossmember, engine mounts and the exhaust. Significant is an understatement.

Aviaid has suggested this drive pulley which would mount on the front of the crankshaft pulley which would pull the pump forward. It doesn't completely solve the problem but makes the modification manageable. It will require that I build a custom mount for the pump but it seems doable.

The fear with some I've spoken to is the torque on the crank, bearings and the pulley with this hanging off the front.

Though some think it's no problem.

DSE doesn't know of anyone running an LS7 with an external dry sump pump with their subframe.

Appreciate opinions and any advice.

82289

82290

[CJD Automotive]

The fear with some I've spoken to is the torque on the crank, bearings and the pulley with this hanging off the front.
Though some think it's no problem.
Appreciate opinions and any advice.


While it does stick out a good bit, remember there is no tension on a dry sump belt. The drive mandrel and spacers are aluminum, so don't weigh much, and small in diameter, so not much centrifugal force. Unless your spinning it 10,000 RPM, I wouldn't be too concerned. I'd probably be more concerned with belt protection on a street driver. Not sure if you have a belly pan under the nose/engine? if so, I'd still want some protection from top in case the serpentine belt cam off, or broke, so that it wouldn't knock the dry sump belt off. Maybe that's overkill, but I put a shroud on mine. Very least, set up an oil pressure safety that kills the engine, in the ecu.

[CamaroAJ]

Thank you!!!
Marty...it ain't stealin' if there is a beer involved! See you at Sema.
AJ - Sign me up to work on that masterpeice!!

I'll send you the address lol

[Goosesdad]

While it does stick out a good bit, remember there is no tension on a dry sump belt. The drive mandrel and spacers are aluminum, so don't weigh much, and small in diameter, so not much centrifugal force. Unless your spinning it 10,000 RPM, I wouldn't be too concerned. I'd probably be more concerned with belt protection on a street driver. Not sure if you have a belly pan under the nose/engine? if so, I'd still want some protection from top in case the serpentine belt cam off, or broke, so that it wouldn't knock the dry sump belt off. Maybe that's overkill, but I put a shroud on mine. Very least, set up an oil pressure safety that kills the engine, in the ecu.

Much appreciated, I will shroud as you suggest and I agree with the loss of pressure engine kill. Thanks again!!

[Goosesdad]

Mold is done, giving it a full week to cure before busting it out. Finally! 19 section mold. That was tedious.
82322

82323

[Tinker]

The hours of labor in this project is unbelievable. Are you keeping track of them or is it something you really don’t want to know? Lol
You truly have an impressive one of a kind car. Keep up the great work because we are all dying to see this one completed.

[Cramer4918]

.

The fear with some I've spoken to is the torque on the crank, bearings and the pulley with this hanging off the front.

Though some think it's no problem.


That will not be a problem at all. Think about the guys running the 6-71 and 8-71 blowers with the pulley mounted to the balancer. I’m sure the tension on that belt is nowhere near what’s needed for the blowers.

Everything looks amazing! You have mad skills! 🤙🏼

[Goosesdad]

The hours of labor in this project is unbelievable. Are you keeping track of them or is it something you really don’t want to know? Lol
You truly have an impressive one of a kind car. Keep up the great work because we are all dying to see this one completed.

Thank you Chris

[Goosesdad]

That will not be a problem at all. Think about the guys running the 6-71 and 8-71 blowers with the pulley mounted to the balancer. I’m sure the tension on that belt is nowhere near what’s needed for the blowers.

Everything looks amazing! You have mad skills! 🤙🏼

Great point, appreciated! Thank you Matt!

[Goosesdad]

Mold done, demo'd the plug. Some cleanup on the mold before making the actual part.
82401

82402

82400

82403

82404

82405

[syborg tt]

I'll send you the address lol


See you at Sema


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goosesdad]

See you at Sema


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking forward to it!! See you there.

[Goosesdad]

Gelcoat on the mold.
82593

[Goosesdad]

Demolding the dash, pretty fun actually.
82799

82800

Demolded and washed off most of the PVA mold release. Ready for cleaning up the flanges and then fitting in the car.
82801

[Spiffav8]

Watching the process on this drove my OCD crazy. It's just such a mess, but out pops this badass piece and I'm amazed. :lol:

[syborg tt]

Watching the process on this drove my OCD crazy. It's just such a mess, but out pops this badass piece and I'm amazed. :lol:

That is actually what I was thinking.


What is worse is I am building a 2nd gen and now I kind of want one these dashboards.

[Goosesdad]

Watching the process on this drove my OCD crazy. It's just such a mess, but out pops this badass piece and I'm amazed. :lol:

That is actually what I was thinking.


What is worse is I am building a 2nd gen and now I kind of want one these dashboards.

Thank you and you are so right, it's a mess and it doesn't let your brains ick factor off the hook until it's completely done! It is painful for sure.
Marty...I still have the mold, call me if you want to discuss. It obviously won't fit 100% in your car but that's the cool part with 'glass, you can manipulate it however you like.

[Goosesdad]

Here's some more of the ugly'. Pulling the kick panels off the reverse mold. Lots of clean up and making the flanges/mounting brackets to come.
82887

[Goosesdad]

Hand grabs anchored. Mounting brackets welded to the cage, will modify the A pillar cover to give a bit more room for your knuckles, after the dash and kick panels are completely anchored. These make it easier for these old bones to climb over the mini door bars.
82888

82889

[Goosesdad]

Making progress on the brackets for the dry sump pump. Plastic prototype for now, more to come once I have the actual pump not a mockup. Will definitely need to modify the K-member for oil fitting/line clearance but just a small amount.

83082

83081

[syborg tt]

Well, I didn’t want grab handles till I saw this post.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Goosesdad]

Fit, cut, test, fit, cut, test.....
83373

83374

[waynieZ]

Nice! Definitely will be worth it.

[RKROEGER]

Impressive work. Thanks for the updates

[Goosesdad]

Here is the process for the flanges between the dash, the A-Pillar and the kickpanel. Wood brackets hot-glued to each piece and the connected together with some scrap sheet metal. Did this for most of the interior panels.

Did this in the car so the brackets are in the exact position.
83691

Then pulled it out of the car and put it back together on saw-horses.
83692

Then laminated the flanges, these will connect the parts together with bolts and rivnuts. Interior guy may modify this but that's above my paygrade.
83693

[Goosesdad]

Printed some plastic molds to help make hand reliefs in the A-Pillar covers. I tried to keep the hand grabs tight to the A-Pillar so they didn't stick out funny and always knew I would have to modify the cover to provide space for knuckles.
83694

83695

[Goosesdad]

Printed a bezel for the GPS/Track Computer.
83696

83697

Some more test-fitting
83698

83699

Fab'd the thresholds.
83700

[214Chevy]

Very nice work!!

[camcojb]

Very nice work!!

:king:

[ScotI]

Very impressive.
A bunch of effort for sure & it looks like you nailed your vision.

[Roscoe03]

That dash looks like a fighter jet cockpit! 🤘

[Goosesdad]

Thank you guys!!!

Will mount the fuse panel above the trans tunnel for easy access but need to mount it vertically to not interfere with the AC ducts. Printed this plastic bracket. ABS plastic and it's only 20% solid so it's light but I couldn't break it by hand. Made the areas with bolts 100% solid for added strength (not shown is I used threaded inserts that I melted into the holes and also used nylocks to ensure the fuse panel never came loose. Yep, sorta enamored with this 3D printer, certainly opens up options. I will make an access panel in the side plate for the center console, coming soon.
83855

83856

[CamaroAJ]

I don't know how I did things before I got my 3D printer. I takes build quality to a whole new level.

[camcojb]

I want one!

[Goosesdad]

I want one!

Do it Jody! Bambu Labs just came out with a new one that allows larger prints as well, that said my X1C is pretty good. I'm telling you this stuff is beyond easy. I know AJ will agree, total game changer. Possibilities are endless. I use SolidWorx to draw, I am fortunate to get a military discount but even at full pop, it's not stupid $$. There are a number of others, Fusion 360 seems popular as well. I do have a bit of CAD experience but there are some awesome YTube vids that even a total beginner could do complicated parts very quickly, no special computer requirements, I use a fairly standard laptop. Then you dump those files into the "slicing" software for the printer and for the most part you are off to the races, that software takes care of it from there...mostly. However, it has about a Gillion things you can adjust if you desire, for example, that fuse block bracket, making sections of it solid where the nut inserts went! Beyond easy is the only way I can describe it.

[Goosesdad]

I'm doing the dash inserts and the waterfall/center-console center section with carbon overlay. I agree, CF is sorta overdone these days but I think it works for my interior and will give a bit of contrast to the mostly black interior. I will use Matte clear for the final coat so it should look good.

Did a bunch of test pieces with some of the test prints of the switch panels to figure out how to cut the holes for the switches very accurately. Have no choice but to cut out the carbon by hand so really need to keep the plastic edge clean and unbothered by the epoxy resin, so it can but used as a guide for filing the edge straight.

Seems crazy but the process was to back it with masking tape (yellow), brush multiple coats of mold release (green) over the tape and let it get on the super thin edge of the plastic opening. Then fill the void with hot glue so the carbon had something to rest on so it would stay flat and not sag into the hole.
84032

Then a fairly thick coat of epoxy, tinted black. The CF weave isn't tight so it needs the black backing. Let it tack up to only a finger print. Then massage down the CF, keeping the edges tight (that's the only real trick).
84033

Then lay down a couple of layers of clear epoxy to seal it down.
84034

Now sanding the epoxy flat in preparation for the matte clear. I'll be here awhile, needs to go to 800grit.
84035

[camcojb]

Very impressive John. :thumbsup:

[CamaroAJ]

[B]
Did a bunch of test pieces with some of the test prints of the switch panels to figure out how to cut the holes for the switches very accurately. Have no choice but to cut out the carbon by hand so really need to keep the plastic edge clean and unbothered by the epoxy resin, so it can but used as a guide for filing the edge straight.

Seems crazy but the process was to back it with masking tape (yellow), brush multiple coats of mold release (green) over the tape and let it get on the super thin edge of the plastic opening. Then fill the void with hot glue so the carbon had something to rest on so it would stay flat and not sag into the hole.


You could have printed a insert to fill the button holes from the back and made the clearance tight enough that you could have used clay or way to fill the gap so your edges stayed crisp.

I don't know how you'd do it in your software, but in fusion you can build a box around the part and combine using your part as the cutting tool to get a new body.

https://youtu.be/ICh4lK_CfdE?si=2xrMMQOxb4EYLia4

I have the X1C also, I'm ordering the H2D in a few months I think. I want the first few batches to get the bugs worked out first.

[Goosesdad]

You could have printed a insert to fill the button holes from the back and made the clearance tight enough that you could have used clay or way to fill the gap so your edges stayed crisp.

I don't know how you'd do it in your software, but in fusion you can build a box around the part and combine using your part as the cutting tool to get a new body.

ICh4lK_CfdE

I have the X1C also, I'm ordering the H2D in a few months I think. I want the first few batches to get the bugs worked out first.

You are so right!! Didn't even think of that!! Rookie over here!!!!

[Goosesdad]

Fuse box access panel done. Realizing this is sorta boring!
84153

[camcojb]

Yeah, but it's progress and progress is cool! :thumbsup:

[jarhead]

Do it Jody! Bambu Labs just came out with a new one that allows larger prints as well, that said my X1C is pretty good. I'm telling you this stuff is beyond easy. I know AJ will agree, total game changer. Possibilities are endless. I use SolidWorx to draw, I am fortunate to get a military discount but even at full pop, it's not stupid $$. There are a number of others, Fusion 360 seems popular as well. I do have a bit of CAD experience but there are some awesome YTube vids that even a total beginner could do complicated parts very quickly, no special computer requirements, I use a fairly standard laptop. Then you dump those files into the "slicing" software for the printer and for the most part you are off to the races, that software takes care of it from there...mostly. However, it has about a Gillion things you can adjust if you desire, for example, that fuse block bracket, making sections of it solid where the nut inserts went! Beyond easy is the only way I can describe it.

Agree with John, I have the X1C and have never printed before, it's pretty easy to figure out. I also downloaded the Personal free version of fusion 360 and watched allot of youtube to learn it.

[Goosesdad]

Sand, sand sand. 120 to 400. More interesting pics coming.
84387

Fire Bottle and Battery mounted.
84388

[Goosesdad]

Hope everyone is doing well! Been an interesting few months around here, we decided to move and build a new house so I've lost my shop for now. Living in our rental...3 car garage. So I'm working on jack stands for now. Yeah, that's some first world problem BS complaining...right!! Certainly not lost on me, but still it's a pain at my age! More to come, I've got some catching up to do.
85373

[camcojb]

Hey, I sympathize with you John, I'm in the same boat. However I did finally pull the trigger on a lift and am getting it next week. Working off the ground sucks when you're used to having a large shop and lift.

Congrats on the new house!

[Tinker]

Oh man,
Projects are hard enough without moving parts…twice.
Good luck with the new house and hope all your parts and pieces make their way with you!

[Goosesdad]

Hey, I sympathize with you John, I'm in the same boat. However I did finally pull the trigger on a lift and am getting it next week. Working off the ground sucks when you're used to having a large shop and lift.

Congrats on the new house!

Oh man,
Projects are hard enough without moving parts…twice.
Good luck with the new house and hope all your parts and pieces make their way with you!

Thanks! All true! In a few posts my complaints will go away. Good stuff! I've got some great friends!

[Goosesdad]

Way back when I did the new rockers and the inner fenders, I had one of those brain switched off moments. I did this weird intersection having the to-be-painted-bodycolor rocker facing the tire. Dumb.
85387

So I corrected. Cut out the rocker cap and recessed it back.
85383

Cleaned up the metal work.
85384

Ready to fill in the fiberglass inner fender
85385

Done. Ready for primer.
85386

[Goosesdad]

Extremely fortunate that I have some great friends...close friend has a local hot rod shop and he has very graciously offered to let me work on my car at his shop for a while, Kenny's Rod Shop. Beyond awesome. Access to every tool you could imagine and the best part is he and his guys are super talented and always looking after me with hands, help and killer advice. Kid in a candy store.

Had it transported a couple weeks ago. Only the second time she has been on the ground with shoes on.
85410

85411

[Goosesdad]

First task was to template the rocker skirts. Always had this concept in mind but again having experts standing next to me with "move it 1/4" or "instead of a 1" radius try 1 1/8". Some next level advice!!
85412

85413

[camcojb]

That's awesome!

[WSSix]

Good luck with the move, John. Hope it's not too far away.

Car looks great sitting on its wheels.

[Goosesdad]

Good luck with the move, John. Hope it's not too far away.

Car looks great sitting on its wheels.

Thanks Trey!