Well...I guess I'm the new kid here so I'll start by saying that I just was banned from Old Europe for posting my opinion. After I got banned, all hell broke loose...people were pissed that I got banned and left the forum, my build thread got sad responses because now I can't finish it, one great member named F-I-E-R-O started a thread trying to get me reinstated and it got closed within the first few hours....Cliff Pennock was closing threads left and right....I really don't have any hard feelings due to the fact that I had finished off a mini keg when I posted my banning thread and racked up the last few negative ratings that I needed. I see a lot of you float between forums and I have to figure out how to get all of my info from that site over here without re-doing everything. Hopefully you guys like the build thread.
I'll be posting soon.....By the way, I like how one of the touchy words got changed to Old Europe
IMSA GT Build Thread
Moderator: Series8217
Well I hope to see your thread continued. Your build is a pretty interesting one and you seem to be taking the time to do it right. I hope to see you continue it here.
'88 Fiero GT- 3800 Turbo Best E.T. 11.36 Best MPH 121.50 (Sold and gone)
2021 Hyundai Veloster-N (SCCA Solo D-Street)
2004 Mazda RX-8 (SCCA Solo STX)
WNY SCCA-Region Auto-X Program Chair
2021 Hyundai Veloster-N (SCCA Solo D-Street)
2004 Mazda RX-8 (SCCA Solo STX)
WNY SCCA-Region Auto-X Program Chair
-
Shaun41178(2)
- Posts: 8368
- Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 7:12 pm
- Location: Ben Phelps is an alleged scammer
Like I said the easiest thing to do would be to just copy and paste all your posts over here then continue on from there.
I would def like to see you continue your build thread over here as well. I am excited to see how it turns out.
FYI you won't get banned from here for voicing your opinions.
Welcome.
I would def like to see you continue your build thread over here as well. I am excited to see how it turns out.
FYI you won't get banned from here for voicing your opinions.
Welcome.
KEEP IN MIND, THIS STARTED 3/11/07...I COULDN'T COPY MY POSTING DATES SO I WILL DATE THE TOP OF EACH POST
Alright guys and gals...as promised, here is the build up of my 87 GT. I bought the car last August and it has 94,000 mile on it. The guy I bought it from really took care of it and it has no problems at all.....so I decided to hack it up !!!! The kit is from the Fiero Warehouse and is one of the finest I have seen. I started today at 3:00pm and called it a day at 8:00pm. In that time, I was able to strip the entire car and test fit one of the rear fenders.
First off, this is one of the best tools for anyone to own. It allows you to push your car from side to side without starting it or having to do the old forward/back push while steering.
I will tell you that the best procedure for me was to 1-Remove all wheel well screws, 2-Drill out all of the rivets that hold the stock panels on to the car.They hold the rocker panels to the frame and also have to be drilled out from the door sill plates after you remove the covers.
I won't get too in depth with the destruction details but lets just say that I am using very little of the existing car so I had no concerns about saving too many parts. Here is the car with the molding removed....you can really save the existing tabs if you pry from the top of the molding rather than from the bottom.
This is the stock door with the plastic panels removed exposing the steel lip where the my new panels will mount.
Once the body panels are removed, you can focus on the rear of the car. First, remove all the sail panel screws and then the trim. Be aware that the factory used a slight adhesive so be careful with prying these out or you could snap them.I actually bought new windows so I took the old windows out. This is not necessary for rear clip removal. I will warn you that protection is needed if you decide to remove the old windows as they will shatter. After removing the trim and the tail light assembly, all of the necessary bolts and plastic fasteners will be accessible.
Before removing the rear clip, the roof paneling must be loosened. Remove the headliner and there are 3 nuts for the rear roof section and 6 bolts for the front section. The reason for loosening these is that the front section is hooked to the rear so they have to be unhooked. Carefully lift the front portion of the roof panel to unhook it from the rear. Once unhooked, all of the bolts can be removed from the rear clip and it can be lifted off the car in one piece. I will give you a warning for the novice builder...the fuel door latch is held in by one screw. To get to this screw, you have to remove your gas cap. Be aware that this is a plastic car and does generate static electricty. If you touch the screwdriver to the gas filler neck, you could be in for a surprise. I know,I know it probably won't happen but I just put the caution out there for you.Here is a pic with the clip removed.
After I removed the rear clip, it was time to call it quits for tonight but I decided to do a test fit of a rear fender. One member of the forum was asking about the difference between the stock look and the IMSA look. Here is your answer.
Stock........
IMSA.........
Not bad for the first day
Alright guys and gals...as promised, here is the build up of my 87 GT. I bought the car last August and it has 94,000 mile on it. The guy I bought it from really took care of it and it has no problems at all.....so I decided to hack it up !!!! The kit is from the Fiero Warehouse and is one of the finest I have seen. I started today at 3:00pm and called it a day at 8:00pm. In that time, I was able to strip the entire car and test fit one of the rear fenders.
First off, this is one of the best tools for anyone to own. It allows you to push your car from side to side without starting it or having to do the old forward/back push while steering.
I will tell you that the best procedure for me was to 1-Remove all wheel well screws, 2-Drill out all of the rivets that hold the stock panels on to the car.They hold the rocker panels to the frame and also have to be drilled out from the door sill plates after you remove the covers.
I won't get too in depth with the destruction details but lets just say that I am using very little of the existing car so I had no concerns about saving too many parts. Here is the car with the molding removed....you can really save the existing tabs if you pry from the top of the molding rather than from the bottom.
This is the stock door with the plastic panels removed exposing the steel lip where the my new panels will mount.
Once the body panels are removed, you can focus on the rear of the car. First, remove all the sail panel screws and then the trim. Be aware that the factory used a slight adhesive so be careful with prying these out or you could snap them.I actually bought new windows so I took the old windows out. This is not necessary for rear clip removal. I will warn you that protection is needed if you decide to remove the old windows as they will shatter. After removing the trim and the tail light assembly, all of the necessary bolts and plastic fasteners will be accessible.
Before removing the rear clip, the roof paneling must be loosened. Remove the headliner and there are 3 nuts for the rear roof section and 6 bolts for the front section. The reason for loosening these is that the front section is hooked to the rear so they have to be unhooked. Carefully lift the front portion of the roof panel to unhook it from the rear. Once unhooked, all of the bolts can be removed from the rear clip and it can be lifted off the car in one piece. I will give you a warning for the novice builder...the fuel door latch is held in by one screw. To get to this screw, you have to remove your gas cap. Be aware that this is a plastic car and does generate static electricty. If you touch the screwdriver to the gas filler neck, you could be in for a surprise. I know,I know it probably won't happen but I just put the caution out there for you.Here is a pic with the clip removed.
After I removed the rear clip, it was time to call it quits for tonight but I decided to do a test fit of a rear fender. One member of the forum was asking about the difference between the stock look and the IMSA look. Here is your answer.
Stock........
IMSA.........
Not bad for the first day
THIS WAS ON 3/12/07
Alright....day 2 of this build. As you saw, the first day was mainly for disassembly and inspection of all hidden components and wires. Today, I was able to remove the front bumper cover which is held in by screws under the front of the car on the left and right. Basically, you are removing the rubber dust protector from the bumper but leaving it attatched to the car. One thing I am slowly seeing about this car is that you seem to only need 1 or 2 sizes of torx bit, a 7mm and a 15mm wrench or socket....this is great !! Below is the pic of the front end which is just hanging on the factory bracket.
I also temporarily mounted the front fenders to get an idea of door clearance and hood clearance...this will require a little finessing to get it right. The pic above also shows the fenders mounted with the front end. I also mounted the rocker panels and sill plates. The sill plates simply slide over the sill mounts and the rocker panels slide down into the factory clamp strip and rivet from the bottom of the door. This strip is seen in my previous pics.
Here is an overhead view of a very rough constructed car.
Testing the wing....
Even though I am jumping ahead....let me know what you think about this Dodge Viper gas cap on the car.
A lot of the forum members keep mentioning about the wheel well size and how I need to open them up. I don't understand what you are trying to do. If I stay with a 15" rim, I don't see the problem with clearance. Here is a pic of the rear stock tire. Notice the amount of space.
To clear up any questions about the tire size that I will be using and what the difference in tire height will be, below is a pic of my tire and one that is pretty close to a common size. On the right side is a 225/50/15 and my rear is on the left at 345/35/15....there is almost no height difference.
Before I call it quits for today, I need some opinions about the paint job. I am painting this car myself and really like the scheme of the Valvoline car. I was thinking of painting it exact and even painting the sponsor decals on rather than using stickers. The pic below is from a forum member and I don't remember who it came from so I edited out the person. This is the paint scheme I was going to do. Anyway, tomorrow, I tackle the rear end and lighting brackets ( If I get that far ). I'll keep you posted !!!
I also temporarily mounted the front fenders to get an idea of door clearance and hood clearance...this will require a little finessing to get it right. The pic above also shows the fenders mounted with the front end. I also mounted the rocker panels and sill plates. The sill plates simply slide over the sill mounts and the rocker panels slide down into the factory clamp strip and rivet from the bottom of the door. This strip is seen in my previous pics.
Here is an overhead view of a very rough constructed car.
Testing the wing....
Even though I am jumping ahead....let me know what you think about this Dodge Viper gas cap on the car.
A lot of the forum members keep mentioning about the wheel well size and how I need to open them up. I don't understand what you are trying to do. If I stay with a 15" rim, I don't see the problem with clearance. Here is a pic of the rear stock tire. Notice the amount of space.
To clear up any questions about the tire size that I will be using and what the difference in tire height will be, below is a pic of my tire and one that is pretty close to a common size. On the right side is a 225/50/15 and my rear is on the left at 345/35/15....there is almost no height difference.
Before I call it quits for today, I need some opinions about the paint job. I am painting this car myself and really like the scheme of the Valvoline car. I was thinking of painting it exact and even painting the sponsor decals on rather than using stickers. The pic below is from a forum member and I don't remember who it came from so I edited out the person. This is the paint scheme I was going to do. Anyway, tomorrow, I tackle the rear end and lighting brackets ( If I get that far ). I'll keep you posted !!!
THIS WAS 3/14/07
I have had a few requests about the interior. Here are a couple of pics but keep in mind, it is under construction....notice the wiring hanging under the steering column. Regarding the build, I just started the proper fitting of the rear section. I plan to bolt the kit together and then glass the kit together for extra strength. I will try to post as many pics as I can but at this point, it will be like watching paint dry.....boring.
I have had a few requests about the interior. Here are a couple of pics but keep in mind, it is under construction....notice the wiring hanging under the steering column. Regarding the build, I just started the proper fitting of the rear section. I plan to bolt the kit together and then glass the kit together for extra strength. I will try to post as many pics as I can but at this point, it will be like watching paint dry.....boring.
THIS WAS ON 3/15/07
Alright, work has been hectic so I am a little behind in my schedule. This weekend, I will hopefully post a major update of this build. For today, I wanted to show you one other aspect of this build. Many of you already know this but some may not....the IMSA kit is not joined at the roof or rear bumper from manufacture. The stock clip is a one piece that you can just lift off the car. Due to this, a filler strip or joining strip has to be added to tie the rear section to the roof. Also the taillight section is not included. This also has to be fabricated. The first pic is of what I start with....the stock rear clip with the roof line marked out, and the taillight section marked out.
The next pic is what I end up with after the cuts are made. If you notice on the roof panel, I left the 3 mounting studs intact even though the IMSA kit covers the holes where the studs mount to the roof. I want the maximum strength so I will modify the kit rather than the factory mounting points.
This is where the roof piece will be installed and glassed in to the left and right side of the fenders. If you look close, you can see the center mounting hole and on the far side, you can just barely see the other mounting hole. This is where I will modify the kit to allow maximum strength.
Finally, here is the rough fitting of the stock taillight section. It will be glassed in after the rear bumper is properly mounted to the car. I also cut it so that all of the stock bolt locations can be used.
Alright, work has been hectic so I am a little behind in my schedule. This weekend, I will hopefully post a major update of this build. For today, I wanted to show you one other aspect of this build. Many of you already know this but some may not....the IMSA kit is not joined at the roof or rear bumper from manufacture. The stock clip is a one piece that you can just lift off the car. Due to this, a filler strip or joining strip has to be added to tie the rear section to the roof. Also the taillight section is not included. This also has to be fabricated. The first pic is of what I start with....the stock rear clip with the roof line marked out, and the taillight section marked out.
The next pic is what I end up with after the cuts are made. If you notice on the roof panel, I left the 3 mounting studs intact even though the IMSA kit covers the holes where the studs mount to the roof. I want the maximum strength so I will modify the kit rather than the factory mounting points.
This is where the roof piece will be installed and glassed in to the left and right side of the fenders. If you look close, you can see the center mounting hole and on the far side, you can just barely see the other mounting hole. This is where I will modify the kit to allow maximum strength.
Finally, here is the rough fitting of the stock taillight section. It will be glassed in after the rear bumper is properly mounted to the car. I also cut it so that all of the stock bolt locations can be used.
POSTED 3/18/07
Ok. I am a little disappointed with myself because this was supposed to be a major update and due to certain circumstances, I really fell behind with this update. I picked up a friend this weekend and I won't use names but uuuuhhhh it rhymes with Heineken !!!!! Anyway, lets just say I was in no condition to pick up tools on Saturday. What I did on Sunday, however, is remove the kit and started drilling and doing adjustments for the proper assembly of the pieces. Amazingly, I have only had to do one modification to the cars structure. I had to bend some of the rear bumper metal out of the way so that the rear clip fit perfectly.
This is really all I accomplished today.
And this is what is left of the original body.
I am waiting for my panel bonding adhesive to arrive and then I can start permanently mounting and glassing the body to the car.
For those interested, it was extremely difficult to buy this adhesive. It comes in a double tube and I get the stuff for about $35.00 per tube....no big deal. Where I start to cringe is the price of the gun.....roughly $255.00.....OUCH !!!! Oh well....I guess I need it.
Ok. I am a little disappointed with myself because this was supposed to be a major update and due to certain circumstances, I really fell behind with this update. I picked up a friend this weekend and I won't use names but uuuuhhhh it rhymes with Heineken !!!!! Anyway, lets just say I was in no condition to pick up tools on Saturday. What I did on Sunday, however, is remove the kit and started drilling and doing adjustments for the proper assembly of the pieces. Amazingly, I have only had to do one modification to the cars structure. I had to bend some of the rear bumper metal out of the way so that the rear clip fit perfectly.
This is really all I accomplished today.
And this is what is left of the original body.
I am waiting for my panel bonding adhesive to arrive and then I can start permanently mounting and glassing the body to the car.
For those interested, it was extremely difficult to buy this adhesive. It comes in a double tube and I get the stuff for about $35.00 per tube....no big deal. Where I start to cringe is the price of the gun.....roughly $255.00.....OUCH !!!! Oh well....I guess I need it.
POSTED 3/31/07
Well guys and gals, I have not had a chance for a major update do to work and my supplies just showing up on Friday. Now that I have them, updates will continue on a more regular basis. The first quicky is the roof panel. First, I was able to remove the factory skin from the rear roof panel plate and set it in place to test the fit.
I then trimmed the plate to fit under the new fiberglass panels and trimmed the factory skin to fit within the new quarter panels.
These will all be bonded with 3M panel adhesive and then the gaps will be sanded, beveled, and filled with fiberglass filler. I will post more pics tomorrow of the surfaces being bonded since I was not ready to use the adhesive today. The next small item was the rear wing. I was told that the proper way to install this was to "split" the rear decklid and insert the wing flange under the opening. Then, it is bonded to the decklid. I am also going to be adding nuts to the bottom of the wing and bolting the wing to the decklid as well as using the panel adhesive. These are to be sure that the wing doesn't move even after I glass the wing in to the rear lid. First, I set the wing on the car and positioned it for proper fit. I then marked the edges with a Sharpie and used frisket masking to trace the contour of the flange.
I then cut the frisket and removed the excess and the wing. I placed my cutout on my marks that I made with the pen.
I then cut along the line with a dremel tool. I used such a small tool just because I am limited on space and could not afford to have a fiberglass cloud in my garage....plus, it is very accurate. I then "split" the lid with a screwdriver.
I then slid the wing under the split and checked for proper gap.
Here is a look from the underside of the lid.
This is what the gap looks like until it is sanded and filled to fit the wing properly.
This is the wing with the lid opened. Notice how important it is to keep the decklid contour lines straight???
Well guys and gals, I have not had a chance for a major update do to work and my supplies just showing up on Friday. Now that I have them, updates will continue on a more regular basis. The first quicky is the roof panel. First, I was able to remove the factory skin from the rear roof panel plate and set it in place to test the fit.
I then trimmed the plate to fit under the new fiberglass panels and trimmed the factory skin to fit within the new quarter panels.
These will all be bonded with 3M panel adhesive and then the gaps will be sanded, beveled, and filled with fiberglass filler. I will post more pics tomorrow of the surfaces being bonded since I was not ready to use the adhesive today. The next small item was the rear wing. I was told that the proper way to install this was to "split" the rear decklid and insert the wing flange under the opening. Then, it is bonded to the decklid. I am also going to be adding nuts to the bottom of the wing and bolting the wing to the decklid as well as using the panel adhesive. These are to be sure that the wing doesn't move even after I glass the wing in to the rear lid. First, I set the wing on the car and positioned it for proper fit. I then marked the edges with a Sharpie and used frisket masking to trace the contour of the flange.
I then cut the frisket and removed the excess and the wing. I placed my cutout on my marks that I made with the pen.
I then cut along the line with a dremel tool. I used such a small tool just because I am limited on space and could not afford to have a fiberglass cloud in my garage....plus, it is very accurate. I then "split" the lid with a screwdriver.
I then slid the wing under the split and checked for proper gap.
Here is a look from the underside of the lid.
This is what the gap looks like until it is sanded and filled to fit the wing properly.
This is the wing with the lid opened. Notice how important it is to keep the decklid contour lines straight???
POSTED 3/31/07
Ok, now is a little tip for the front fenders. I am just showing the drivers side in this post. The stock hood has a very nice curve to it but the IMSA fenders are straight as a board. To correct this, you either need to add fiberglass to the front or remove fiberglass from the "bow" in the hood. I am going to be removing the curve. To do this, I realized that I had a really cool tool from my building days. It is a laser level on a tripod. The laser does not bend with the surface which allows an accurate measurement of the curve. This is a view from the drivers side pillar looking forward along the fender.
Here is the fender with the lights on....notice the way the fender gap changes from the front to the rear...It is wider in front, and thinner near the middle and them gets wider towards the rear.
And here are the markings after the laser is turned off.
Ok, now is a little tip for the front fenders. I am just showing the drivers side in this post. The stock hood has a very nice curve to it but the IMSA fenders are straight as a board. To correct this, you either need to add fiberglass to the front or remove fiberglass from the "bow" in the hood. I am going to be removing the curve. To do this, I realized that I had a really cool tool from my building days. It is a laser level on a tripod. The laser does not bend with the surface which allows an accurate measurement of the curve. This is a view from the drivers side pillar looking forward along the fender.
Here is the fender with the lights on....notice the way the fender gap changes from the front to the rear...It is wider in front, and thinner near the middle and them gets wider towards the rear.
And here are the markings after the laser is turned off.
POSTED 4/7/07
So today was a day of messy adhesives. I finally got all my adhesives and fillers and started to bond the front and rear sections together. The first step is to prep the surfaces by sanding down to bare fiberglass and then cleaning the surface with lacquer thinner. The next step is to do a test fit to ensure that all of your previously drilled holes line up. The adhesive that I am using is made by 3M, requires its own 2 piston gun, and it is pretty expensive but since this is a car that I would like to last another 20 years, I'll go with only the best products. The gun auto mixes the resin and hardner in the applicator tube so you simply apply a bead to both surfaces, spread the adhesive with a spreader and bond the surfaces together. I have about 90 minutes of working time before the adhesive sets up. This is a look at the rear section bolted together and bonded.
I also bonded the roof panel to the factory skin. I have already fitted and cut it to the proper dimensions to fit the new rear end.
For those of you who want to do this build, I can tell you that it is a great project to take on if you have the desire to do this. Since I am in the bonding/filling/sanding/priming stage, the updates will slow down a little because filler can only dry so quick. I will try to do a "bulk" update once a week with plenty of photos. Hopefully by tomorrow, I can make another post about the fitting and bonding of the rear wing. I am going to add a few extra mounting points to the wing so stay tuned.....
So today was a day of messy adhesives. I finally got all my adhesives and fillers and started to bond the front and rear sections together. The first step is to prep the surfaces by sanding down to bare fiberglass and then cleaning the surface with lacquer thinner. The next step is to do a test fit to ensure that all of your previously drilled holes line up. The adhesive that I am using is made by 3M, requires its own 2 piston gun, and it is pretty expensive but since this is a car that I would like to last another 20 years, I'll go with only the best products. The gun auto mixes the resin and hardner in the applicator tube so you simply apply a bead to both surfaces, spread the adhesive with a spreader and bond the surfaces together. I have about 90 minutes of working time before the adhesive sets up. This is a look at the rear section bolted together and bonded.
I also bonded the roof panel to the factory skin. I have already fitted and cut it to the proper dimensions to fit the new rear end.
For those of you who want to do this build, I can tell you that it is a great project to take on if you have the desire to do this. Since I am in the bonding/filling/sanding/priming stage, the updates will slow down a little because filler can only dry so quick. I will try to do a "bulk" update once a week with plenty of photos. Hopefully by tomorrow, I can make another post about the fitting and bonding of the rear wing. I am going to add a few extra mounting points to the wing so stay tuned.....
POSTED 4/13/07
So today, I took off the rear lid and started on the rear wing. Since I had already made the cut in the decklid and posted that previously, I will just get into the permanent mounting of the wing. First, I test fitted the wing and make sure that everything lined up.
I then drilled 8 - 1/4" holes to really sucure the wing to the decklid and again did a little test fit with rivets to ensure nothing moved.
After the test fit, I added 1/4" extra wide washers on the wing at the holes that I drilled to give the rivets something extra to grab on to. These were glued with the panel adhesive. The next step was to prep the decklid for the adhesive by removing all of the finish in the areas to be bonded.
I then applied the panel adhesive to all areas to be bonded and assembled the wing with the rivets around the edges.
The next step was to bond the front of the wing to the stock skin. This is fairly easy since the skin is already loose from the cut. Simply pry up and glue.
Once this was dry, I used an Evercoat Vette Panel filler to fill in the 1/4" gap between the wing and skin. This actually took about 3 coats and I will apply 1 more tomorrow. I am really against any type of filler so I am trying to use as little as possible. The wing looks rough but trust me, it is smooth as glass. One thing you may notice is what appears to be black "runs" at the edges of the filler at the body lines. This is the area underneath the paint and primer. When you remove these coats, it creates a small dip in the panel at these locations. I will also have to build these up slightly to keep the smooth transition from panel to wing. After one more coat of filler, it should be ready to go.
For those wondering, this is the adhesive that I use. It is a "must have" for this type of work. Be prepared to pay for the quality,however....$35.00 per tube and $250.00 for the gun....OUCH.
Anyway, they say rain for tomorrow so hopefully, I'll post more images on Sunday.
So today, I took off the rear lid and started on the rear wing. Since I had already made the cut in the decklid and posted that previously, I will just get into the permanent mounting of the wing. First, I test fitted the wing and make sure that everything lined up.
I then drilled 8 - 1/4" holes to really sucure the wing to the decklid and again did a little test fit with rivets to ensure nothing moved.
After the test fit, I added 1/4" extra wide washers on the wing at the holes that I drilled to give the rivets something extra to grab on to. These were glued with the panel adhesive. The next step was to prep the decklid for the adhesive by removing all of the finish in the areas to be bonded.
I then applied the panel adhesive to all areas to be bonded and assembled the wing with the rivets around the edges.
The next step was to bond the front of the wing to the stock skin. This is fairly easy since the skin is already loose from the cut. Simply pry up and glue.
Once this was dry, I used an Evercoat Vette Panel filler to fill in the 1/4" gap between the wing and skin. This actually took about 3 coats and I will apply 1 more tomorrow. I am really against any type of filler so I am trying to use as little as possible. The wing looks rough but trust me, it is smooth as glass. One thing you may notice is what appears to be black "runs" at the edges of the filler at the body lines. This is the area underneath the paint and primer. When you remove these coats, it creates a small dip in the panel at these locations. I will also have to build these up slightly to keep the smooth transition from panel to wing. After one more coat of filler, it should be ready to go.
For those wondering, this is the adhesive that I use. It is a "must have" for this type of work. Be prepared to pay for the quality,however....$35.00 per tube and $250.00 for the gun....OUCH.
Anyway, they say rain for tomorrow so hopefully, I'll post more images on Sunday.
POSTED 5/5/07
Sorry about the lack of updates. My wife and I are expecting our first son so my focus is on her and our soon-to-be child. This week, I wanted to give you guys a pretty good option for an intake. I recently won an APC Universal Intake kit on Ebay for $20.00. It contains the filter, chrome pipe, adapters, clamps, smog hose, and a really cool heavy duty flex pipe.
I mounted the rubber adapter and the flex tube with the supplied clamps to the stock air cleaner mount.
I then test fit it into the car. It fit perfectly and gives me the ability to do whatever I need with the intake. What is really funny is how much tubing they give you. You literally can run this from the stock airbox to the roofline if you wanted.
You can also run this from the stock intake manifold all the way to the side vent and use the aftermarket air filter if you like. It gives you plenty of flex tube. You just have to worry about the vacuum hoses and make adjustments for the fit.
This intake was available for about $60.00 from Jegs racing. I don't know if they stock this anymore.
I am still adjusting the front end of the car. I was told that this is pretty difficult and I am finding out that this is true. Like they say...."It's the little stuff that kills you"
Hopefully, I can post more pics soon. I only post pics of my progress on the build so progress is very slow now. Hopefully, I can get more photos posted soon.
Sorry about the lack of updates. My wife and I are expecting our first son so my focus is on her and our soon-to-be child. This week, I wanted to give you guys a pretty good option for an intake. I recently won an APC Universal Intake kit on Ebay for $20.00. It contains the filter, chrome pipe, adapters, clamps, smog hose, and a really cool heavy duty flex pipe.
I mounted the rubber adapter and the flex tube with the supplied clamps to the stock air cleaner mount.
I then test fit it into the car. It fit perfectly and gives me the ability to do whatever I need with the intake. What is really funny is how much tubing they give you. You literally can run this from the stock airbox to the roofline if you wanted.
You can also run this from the stock intake manifold all the way to the side vent and use the aftermarket air filter if you like. It gives you plenty of flex tube. You just have to worry about the vacuum hoses and make adjustments for the fit.
This intake was available for about $60.00 from Jegs racing. I don't know if they stock this anymore.
I am still adjusting the front end of the car. I was told that this is pretty difficult and I am finding out that this is true. Like they say...."It's the little stuff that kills you"
Hopefully, I can post more pics soon. I only post pics of my progress on the build so progress is very slow now. Hopefully, I can get more photos posted soon.
POSTED 8/4/07 UPDATES SLOWED FOR A WHILE DUE TO MY CHILD BEING BORN
Alright....finally back to business !!! Today, I focused on one of the harder parts of the vehicle.....removing the curve from the hood, trimming the front facia, and lining up the front end to fit perfectly. I wanted to leave a 1/4" gap all the way around the hood. Since this is not a perfect fit kit, I also had to be aware of the rocker panels in relation to the front fenders and how the doors open with the lower door panels.
First, I measured and marked the hood to make it straight. The blue tape indicates my cut line. Keep in mind that the IMSA kit has straight fender lines, not curved like the stock hood.
While the hood was off the car, I then trimmed the edge of the from fascia to increase the gap between the front of the hood and the fascia.
Here is a picture with the hood roughly installed after the trimming was complete.
After adjusting the fenders and the hood hinges, this is the gap that I wanted...
For some reason in this pic, the gap looks incorrect but it is 1/4"....must have been the camera angle
Now I just need to clean up my cuts, round over the lip of the hood so the edges are not sharp, and do a little minor filling of the front fascia to level it with the front of the hood. While taking a break from this part of the build, I decided to draw and cut the intake port and test fit the screen that I will be using. I am also making an air box to fit behind the screen.
Tomorrow the work continues......until then
Alright....finally back to business !!! Today, I focused on one of the harder parts of the vehicle.....removing the curve from the hood, trimming the front facia, and lining up the front end to fit perfectly. I wanted to leave a 1/4" gap all the way around the hood. Since this is not a perfect fit kit, I also had to be aware of the rocker panels in relation to the front fenders and how the doors open with the lower door panels.
First, I measured and marked the hood to make it straight. The blue tape indicates my cut line. Keep in mind that the IMSA kit has straight fender lines, not curved like the stock hood.
While the hood was off the car, I then trimmed the edge of the from fascia to increase the gap between the front of the hood and the fascia.
Here is a picture with the hood roughly installed after the trimming was complete.
After adjusting the fenders and the hood hinges, this is the gap that I wanted...
For some reason in this pic, the gap looks incorrect but it is 1/4"....must have been the camera angleNow I just need to clean up my cuts, round over the lip of the hood so the edges are not sharp, and do a little minor filling of the front fascia to level it with the front of the hood. While taking a break from this part of the build, I decided to draw and cut the intake port and test fit the screen that I will be using. I am also making an air box to fit behind the screen.
Tomorrow the work continues......until then
POSTED 8/7/07
Ok, today I wanted to get as much done on the rear of the car as possible. The first thing was mounting and aligning the rear clip. Since this is not an exact fit using factory mounting locations, a measurement must be made to ensure that the clip is centered on the vehicle....if it is not, you will have a 10" wide wheel on one side and a 12" on the other
Once the measurements were done, I attached the clip by only the rear bumper mounting points. I still have to install the side intake so I need the flexibility of being able to move the front portion out to work. I also temporarily installed the gas cap door and one of my new tinted quarter windows from Ken Hines products.....just to tease myself
I really wanted to attack the taillights today because this kit is very unforgiving with the rear end !!! Nothing lines up and this probably is one of the more labor intese areas as far as cutting, filling, sanding and almost making it custom for your particular vehicle. There is a trim strip that covers the bumper at the trim level and it is a pain to get this piece to fit under the lights. Lots of fab work and here is what I came up with today.
Tomorrow, I am hoping to finish the wing and get it mounted. I have some custom nascar air ducts coming this week. They are a split intake so one of the 3" pipes goes to the intake and the other goes to the rear to add cooling to whatever...brakes...engine?? I am making both side intakes work on this car. There is no point in having fake intakes....this isn't a Mustang
Ok, today I wanted to get as much done on the rear of the car as possible. The first thing was mounting and aligning the rear clip. Since this is not an exact fit using factory mounting locations, a measurement must be made to ensure that the clip is centered on the vehicle....if it is not, you will have a 10" wide wheel on one side and a 12" on the other
Once the measurements were done, I attached the clip by only the rear bumper mounting points. I still have to install the side intake so I need the flexibility of being able to move the front portion out to work. I also temporarily installed the gas cap door and one of my new tinted quarter windows from Ken Hines products.....just to tease myself I really wanted to attack the taillights today because this kit is very unforgiving with the rear end !!! Nothing lines up and this probably is one of the more labor intese areas as far as cutting, filling, sanding and almost making it custom for your particular vehicle. There is a trim strip that covers the bumper at the trim level and it is a pain to get this piece to fit under the lights. Lots of fab work and here is what I came up with today.
Tomorrow, I am hoping to finish the wing and get it mounted. I have some custom nascar air ducts coming this week. They are a split intake so one of the 3" pipes goes to the intake and the other goes to the rear to add cooling to whatever...brakes...engine?? I am making both side intakes work on this car. There is no point in having fake intakes....this isn't a Mustang
Last edited by drumwzrd on Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
POSTED 8/8/07
Well, I got a little sidetracked today when my order from the Fiero store came in. The IMSA body has the older grooved moldings formed into the panels. My 87 has the smooth moldings so I could either round over the IMSA or change mine to grooved.....I went for the grooved look. Fiero store offers the reproduction grooved side marker lights and used grooved door moldings as well as the grooved caps that are behind the door handles. Here is a pic of these nice new lights and used moldings.
This is a picture of my current molding and the IMSA front fender molding.
Here is a pic of the factory GT side marker with the round molding built in. Notice the cutout on the fender....these would never work.
After some cutting and filing, the fender is ready for the new side marker.
And as usual....nothing seems fit on this vehicle so....I cringed doing this.....I filed the new marker lights to fit the fender
Here are a couple of pictures of the marker fitted.
On this pic, you really can see the amount of work it will take to "line up" the IMSA grooves with the sidemarker grooves. Before I prime the car...as a final step, I am going to "harden" the lines on the body. Right now, they are too soft and flowing....I want them to be sharper to match the marker grooves.
Also, my intake scoop came. This is going to be pretty nice when I am done. Since I am using a fairly open screen for the grille on the intake, you will be able to see into the scoop....it should look kinda cool I am using these on both sides.
Well, I got a little sidetracked today when my order from the Fiero store came in. The IMSA body has the older grooved moldings formed into the panels. My 87 has the smooth moldings so I could either round over the IMSA or change mine to grooved.....I went for the grooved look. Fiero store offers the reproduction grooved side marker lights and used grooved door moldings as well as the grooved caps that are behind the door handles. Here is a pic of these nice new lights and used moldings.
This is a picture of my current molding and the IMSA front fender molding.
Here is a pic of the factory GT side marker with the round molding built in. Notice the cutout on the fender....these would never work.
After some cutting and filing, the fender is ready for the new side marker.
And as usual....nothing seems fit on this vehicle so....I cringed doing this.....I filed the new marker lights to fit the fender
Here are a couple of pictures of the marker fitted.
On this pic, you really can see the amount of work it will take to "line up" the IMSA grooves with the sidemarker grooves. Before I prime the car...as a final step, I am going to "harden" the lines on the body. Right now, they are too soft and flowing....I want them to be sharper to match the marker grooves.
Also, my intake scoop came. This is going to be pretty nice when I am done. Since I am using a fairly open screen for the grille on the intake, you will be able to see into the scoop....it should look kinda cool I am using these on both sides.
POSTED 8/12/07
Today, I started to ajust the gap on the roof line. This IMSA kit is open in the center so you have to cut out the center section of your stock roof and use it. The front seam lines up perfectly with the skin of the forward roof. The rear area does not line up however. The lip is off by about the thickness of the material so sanding is not an option.
Here is what I started with.
This is what I mean when I say that the back lip does not line up.
After drawing a line across the skin and directly above the factory mounting strip, I cut a groove across the roof and removed the rear piece.
After cleaning the excess old adhesive and strands, here is the part ready to be glued...notice the lip of the factory mounting piece on the roofline.
One the glue has been applied, the part is assembled and taped to hold it in place. The purpose of me cutting and regluing the strip right back on is that the cutter bit is about 1/8" wide. It removed just enough material to allow me to remount the piece and have the part fit almost perfect.
Here is the adjusted piece. The "before" picture is the 3rd one down and this is the "after"
This will be my end result when done. I am removing all seams and blending the rear clip into the roof to make the car really flow.
Until next time......
Today, I started to ajust the gap on the roof line. This IMSA kit is open in the center so you have to cut out the center section of your stock roof and use it. The front seam lines up perfectly with the skin of the forward roof. The rear area does not line up however. The lip is off by about the thickness of the material so sanding is not an option.
Here is what I started with.
This is what I mean when I say that the back lip does not line up.
After drawing a line across the skin and directly above the factory mounting strip, I cut a groove across the roof and removed the rear piece.
After cleaning the excess old adhesive and strands, here is the part ready to be glued...notice the lip of the factory mounting piece on the roofline.
One the glue has been applied, the part is assembled and taped to hold it in place. The purpose of me cutting and regluing the strip right back on is that the cutter bit is about 1/8" wide. It removed just enough material to allow me to remount the piece and have the part fit almost perfect.
Here is the adjusted piece. The "before" picture is the 3rd one down and this is the "after"
This will be my end result when done. I am removing all seams and blending the rear clip into the roof to make the car really flow.
Until next time......
POSTED 8/12/07
Well, I didn't know the adhesive would dry so fast so here is another update. I am a firm believer in using as little filler as possible. I hate cars that are 90% Bondo. Here, I filled in the gaps lightly with Vette Panel Filler. Tomorrow, I will remove all of the excess filler from around the joints and add a little more to finish filling the gaps.
Well, I didn't know the adhesive would dry so fast so here is another update. I am a firm believer in using as little filler as possible. I hate cars that are 90% Bondo. Here, I filled in the gaps lightly with Vette Panel Filler. Tomorrow, I will remove all of the excess filler from around the joints and add a little more to finish filling the gaps.
POSTED 8/14/07
So today, I made the rear clip one with the roof panel and I finished the roofline as planned. I put on 1 coat of House of Kolor primer to check my work and make sure everything was smooth. Here is the finished product.....and yes, I am changing the sunroof weatherstrip so I didn't care about the overspray !!
I am also going to shorten the roof trim piece. Originally, it went from the front fender, over the door, and down to the rear of the quarter window. In the first and second picture, you will notice a slight change in the roofline just above the quarter window. It looks like a mistake but this transitions the roofline up to the quarter window body line. Now that this car is slowly coming together, it is really going to kick a$$ when I'm done....if I say so myself
So today, I made the rear clip one with the roof panel and I finished the roofline as planned. I put on 1 coat of House of Kolor primer to check my work and make sure everything was smooth. Here is the finished product.....and yes, I am changing the sunroof weatherstrip so I didn't care about the overspray !!
I am also going to shorten the roof trim piece. Originally, it went from the front fender, over the door, and down to the rear of the quarter window. In the first and second picture, you will notice a slight change in the roofline just above the quarter window. It looks like a mistake but this transitions the roofline up to the quarter window body line. Now that this car is slowly coming together, it is really going to kick a$$ when I'm done....if I say so myself