Oliver (5) wanted me to post this pic, because he thought it was about the coolest thing in the world. He and Garrett (7) were trying to convince me to put the engine in the FRONT so they could put seats in the back and ride back there.

Cute kid. Don't you wish you were his height when working on your teener?

Nice LED modules. Grote does a lot of vehicle lighting, especially trucks.

For the front markers, what angle of dispersion do those lights have? This is an issue with LEDs as most of their light is perpendicular to the board which they are mounted on.

I'll know when I get them this week. If they are too "narrow" I was going to remove the LEDs that were in there and solder some with a better dispersion pattern in place.

I was also thinking about splitting the pattern in half to have the bottom half act as marker, the top half act as turn signal flasher.

Something like this...

(Edit: I did that upside-down. The marker lights should be on the top, and the blinker on the bottom. Same size split though. 4 LEDs for the marker, 6 for the Flash.)

That's what the rotisserie is for! I figure the money I spent on it will pay off in spades as far as my BACK is concerned!

If those LEDs are like others, the maximum intensity is 90 degrees from the board. Thus if you mount them with the slant of the front marker lens, the maximum light will point upwards in that direction. Some light will project parallel to the road but most will be aimed upwards.

Can you do different intensities with the front markers? If so, just blink the whole thing at a higher intensity for better visibility.

I was planning on angling it in the bucket a bit so it'd be more parallel to the road. I'll know how much room I have in a few days.



I can...and will see how it looks first. I was going to go for something like the Italian light setup with 2 bulbs.

Ok...last post today. More "digital progress" but I figured out all the dimensions for the new center console tonight. Mocked it all up in Sketchup, and I'm getting closer.

I'll to the top of the dash tomorrow and try to get the backpad done as well. This is really pretty helpful, as I can take measurements and then input everything so I don't waste a bunch of material.

I'm going to cover the piece with the Alcantara I scored today. Found 96" X 60" piece for $175. This will give me enough to do the seat centers and all the oter bits and pieces I'm hoping to cover. I'd LOVE to make it out of fiberglass, as the weight may get pretty significant if I'm using wood, but we'll see what kind of time I have in the end.

Anyways...here's a pic of the center console.

Doh! You missed your turn. You were supposed to take the Holland Tunnel exit!

I had something similar in mind. However I flipped the led to the top. Easier to read and glance at.
I am rethinking that as well. Maybe a mount that I can actually reach while locked int my seat..

Worked on my door brace last night. I need to stretch out 1/8" on the top of the pass door. Came up with a good brace for now. Just need to replace it with one that presses against the door plates now so I can weld everything else up.

Since it's sub-zero and snowing sideways, I decided to work on stuff in the house today. I did a thread on it ( How To: CptTripps' Cat-Eye LED Light mod ) but here's what my front marker lights will look like.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K80jWrQ03p0

Garrett (7) was my helper today. He mostly just sat by the heater and kept me company. That was A-OK by me.

We built door braces and welded them up so we can get the rotisserie going. This is going to help a LOT as I finish up the welding on the flares, and contemplate a roll-bar idea I have.

"sub-zero and snowing sideways" Yeah right!
Have you come up with plan on how you will add nomenclature to your cockpit panel.
After I got back from my 2 day camping / surf trip, up north, I found this:
http://www.pulsarprofx.com/DecalPRO/Vertic...Porche_911.html
911? No respect.

That was yesterday! Today I had cabin-fever and wanted to get some work done!

That decal system looks interesting. I was going to do vinyl and then clear-coat over, but that looks a lot nicer. I actually least have that laminator at the office, so all I really need is the kit. Hmmmmm.

I just ordered the "starter kit".

Looking at this, it's pretty much exactly what I was looking to do, so we'll see how it works out!

Watch the installation video though. The installation process is more complicated than I was hoping, but in the end, should look pretty outstanding.

Got the braces welded in to place (on plates) last night, so I'm ready for "full-rotisserie-action" tonight. I've GOT to get this things stripped the rest of the way down so Mr. Sandblast Guy can get started with his part.

The "expander" I made up (still attached at one end in the photo) worked well enough for me to stretch out the gap by 1/8" before I braced it. I plan on re-welding the hell hole repair the PPO did, and I believe that'll ease it up enough to the point I won't have to worry about it springing back.

I also worked on my "Rendering" a little bit. Used a pic of my actual rims and calipers.

Spent time last night stripping the tub and getting her ready to head over to the sand-blaster this weekend. The pile of things for the powder-coater is getting bigger and bigger too.

Picked up the windshield today. So I've got that taken care of now too. If I can get the tub back from sand and primer by next weekend...I'll be ahead of schedule for being on the road by April 15th.

Cool project!

Watch out for those turn buckles for tensioning the door opening! They hurt when they explode.

Shit ton of work done today in the garage. Went in at 9a...left at 6:30 to watch the game. Got the tub cmpletely stripped...except for the steering rack. I'll get that off tomorrow and I should be able to get the tub to the sand blaster on Tuesday!

I'm a little discouraged at the Hell Hole repair. Looks a little suspect, and there's a lot of bondo up top. Also, the battery tray is BOLTED into place. That's just strange.

I also have a pile of crap to take to the powder coater tomorrow. A-Arms, Dust Covers, Struts, and a bunch of random stuff.

I bolted my tray in also. I figured it would rust, so when it did, I would just u-bolt and bolt in a new one. Jon Lowe suggested it when I did the hell hole on my 914.

Come to think of it, theres no rust on that tray, and I use AGM batteries.

Also glad to see the decal system, I was heading towards vinyl myself, but this system will let me do other things also, so yeah. Nice to see its what Mark used for his quad gauge, now if I can just figure out the proper font.

After watching the "Orange 75 Project" for several months, I'm starting to think about the rear trunk, and how I can maintain access to the motor, while keeping my trunk intact as well.

I'm not sure on ALL the dimensions yet, but this is the general idea. Put a hinge up there to let me mount the computer and wiring, then be able to lift it up if needed. The green box is my hYdra-EMS computer, and the blocks are the screw-down terminals for marrying the stock harness to the aftermarket ECU.

Dropped off a ton of stuff to the Powder Coater today.

Front suspension, brake dust guards, and a mess of other little knick-knacks. This is the box that's being powdered a "Muted Chrome" while the other pieces (not pictured) will be the green.

I snapped a pic of what the combo should look like together.

sweet!
Those will be pretty when completed.

So, I had an idea on the way home about the steering wheel. Since the top of the wheel is normally in the way...why do I need a top to my wheel?

I had an extra Momo wheel in the garage, so I thought I'd play a little bit.

Here's the wheel I had. I played with some tape to see what part I'd want to take off.

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Then...I got to cuttin!
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I used parts of the "discarded" foam to make caps for the cut part.
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Then to the University of Google for a "Baseball Stitching 101" class. Played with some old vinyl I had that I was considering using for something else.
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Boy...do I ever suck at baseball stitching! Let's try again with a piece of scrap leather.
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Better...so I cracked out the Alcantara I'm gong to use for another part of the build. Let's see how that goes?
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What I learned, was that if I can pre-cut the holes and keep them uniform, this isn't going to be too hard. Time consuming...yes. Hard? Not really.

Here's where I landed for the evening. Not too bad for about 1h worth of work.

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I'm going to cover the rest of the wheel later this week when I get some other stuff in. A template would be the next step. I REALLY don't want to waste any of the Alcantara. It's about $120 per yard.

Interesting solution! Ever thought of going to a bike shop and picking up some handlebar plugs and tape? They've got some options for covering!

Naaa. I'm going full custom.

Covered the center tonight and I'll have the Alcantara seen up for the rest of the wheel tomorrow.

I'm really starting to see the theme come together. What an awesomely gratifying process. Now if I can just get the body don't likety-split, I'd be a happy dude!

Like!

That tub better not come back with big surprises.

My biggest fear! I'm already aware of a mess on the pass-front quarter, but past that it'll be the worlds worst game of "Hide & Seek"

She's ready to go. Just waiting on my trailer.

Cut out the bottom and it will look like the steering yoke on a plane.
Hopefully your face will not come in contact with the modified wheel

Powder coating a strut with the insert in place???
Does that concern you. Excessive heat??

Just like Knight-Rider! That's exactly where I got the idea. If I cut the bottom of this wheel, I'd likely jab myself in the wedding-tackle if I got in an accident. I do worry about my forehead on the center though.



No...I lost the only wrench I had to remove them.

They're shot and have new ones at the house already. The guys there are going to pull/pitch them for me. I only taped them off so I could prime to prevent rust since I media blasted them a while ago. They'll be sand-blasted again before powder, so I'm not worried.

I'm "back in the garage" this weekend, and hopefully, can take the car to the sandblaster (finally) tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm re-working the center console. I picked up a JVC In-Dash nav system, and that frees up the dash area for the rest of the gauges. So I moved the switches down below. I'm also incorporating an 8" sub into the area where the back-pad normally resides. It'll throw against the firewall. Should be cool.

Here's what it looks like in my "digital garage"

Sent the steering wheel off to Alan Gun of Alan Gun Leather in Plantation, FL. http://www.aglausa.com/

I sent some pics and a description of what I was looking for. I got a very detailed reply that told me he was not only paying attention, but that he'd care about it too. So I sent it off yesterday, and he called me this morning to go over everything. I'm REAL excited to see what it looks like when I get it back. Should be perfect.

Just realized I have 65 days till I need to be on the road. So that gives me just over 9 weekends to bang out a VERY long list of custom stuff. I better get cracking!

::: heads to the garage :::

Will be interesting. He has a mix of good reviews and bad.

Well, it was a wheel that came with the car and I don't have a lot into it. So, for the $200 it'll cost me, it was worth the risk.

Got busy in the garage today. Garrett helped me put tools away and scrape the tar off of the interior.

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Then I started mocking up the dashboard and center console.

This looks a little wide, so I need to measure with the seats in and see how much space I have to work with.

This is what I'm going for though. I'm not going to have dash pads at all, and plan on covering the metal with vinyl and Alcantara.

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I would drop a drivers seat in there and see how the console works with your arm and the shifter. For Me I would be bumping into that stuff all day long.

I thought the same thing. The back pad is about the same size as what you have in there, so that should be okay, but best to check. The center console comes close the accel. pedal. I dislike stock center consoles because of how they crowd the pedal, and I know I'm not alone. Something to think about.

Don't forget to install the throttle pedal before your final console design. This is one area I still need to refine to a more comfortable position.

Now you gotta keep the roof on- when it rains your dash and console are gonna get soggy...

Yeah, I've been thinking about pedal placement a lot. I started pondering that area, and I'm going to try cutting out an area like this. I can take most of that area out. That'll give me plenty of foot room.

Mocking up what I scribbled earlier...this should give my feet all the room they need, and still hide all the wiring. All I need is enough for the back of the Nav box, the rest is relatively small wiring to the switch panel.

I decided to do a lot of the welding before I send it to the sand-blaster. Reason being, the areas with rust aren't where I'm welding, and I'd rather have them etch-prime the whole tub so the primer gets in all the cracks.

Started the evening welding up the rear trailing arms. I'm not sure I have the tubes in the right spot. Their instructions said one thing, the pictures told a different story. I'm going to wait till my brake parts come back from powder before I finish this part up. I'll put the press together and get the hubs out later this week.

Then I started buttoning up the flares. I'd thought about AllMetal at one point, but McMark talked me out of that route. So I started the long process of filling about 200 gaps on two fenders tonight. I don't have any grind wheels, so that part will have to wait till I can run to HF tomorrow. Got the whole Passenger side welded up. I'll do the other side, and my Engman kit next.

I also fixed the only hole in the floor. There was just 2-3 places it perforated, so I cut a new piece and put the bends in. Welded up nicely. Again...I need grind wheels!

Last thing I did tonight was start pondering where the radiator will go and be routed. I think I'm making a case for running both down the pass long. I can get the other tube out of there, and fashion a steel "case" to put it in at the passenger's feet. Don't know...still thinking.

The Sciricco radiator I got is dual-pass all aluminum, but both hoses are on the same side. That's what got me started.

Something like this.

Is use a heat shield of some kind to keep the heat to a minimum. Both hoses would fit in the long.

Alternatively, I could run one through the long and the other through the center channel.

Spent 2-hours in the garage and got all the paint off. MUCH easier with a grinder and 3-4 3M disks!

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BUT...it looks like I have a bit of a mess in the passenger front quarter. Thinking I may need someone to cut one off of a body for me. This thing is chewed. Going to take a lot of work...or a panel. Thoughts?

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Quick tax tip: if you hire Garrett as an employee you don't have to pay taxes on him. Not until he turns 18 anyway. Kids are an excellent source of cheap, tax-free labor.

Just saying.

Well dang...must be wrinkled just ahead of the flare weld line then? I'm sure someone has a fender in their stash with that section intact...