IMSA GT Build Thread

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:01 am

Your work is absolutely top notch.

Just a couple things though, both of which I realize aren't my decision, and the first of which would be very difficult, and time-consuming, to change. I really don't like the 55 on the door level with the bottom of the car. Maybe it's the angle, or the paint, but the top being off just screams out at me.

Next, it'd be a shame to have such a beautifully done car, with such a pig under the decklid. This car deserves something unique, something high performance, and low weight. I can't think of much better than a 3.6 DOHC. And it came with a manual tranny too. It'd be a rough, expensive swap, but you could have 255-305hp stock, pass emissions, and all of the benefits of the technology.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:06 am

*drool*

fieromadman · Post by **fieromadman** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:18 am

Of course I have an engine swap, and that engine swap is legal in CA with a stick, so you know I'm going to tell you to do that swap because that car deserves more power! I think that you would be very satified with the Twin Dual Cam's personality in that car. Give it some consideration!

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:21 am

I agree the TDC is a good candidate, but it's just too heavy, and too underpowered for such an amazing car on the outside. The 3.6 is better in every way, except it costs more, and will be harder to swap. Worth it IMO.

*Edited out sig so Steven doesn't get sand in his vag* :la:

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:30 am

Aaron wrote:I agree the TDC is a good candidate, but it's just too heavy, and too underpowered for such an amazing car on the outside. The 3.6 is better in every way, except it costs more, and will be harder to swap. Worth it IMO.

The 3.6 is prohibitively harder to swap. It has never been done in California. It would be legal if done correctly... but it will be tough.

I would just do a 3.4 DOHC to get it on the road with a simple swap that has a decent amount of power. It's super easy to do a California-legal DOHC swap with either a manual or automatic transmission.

fieromadman · Post by **fieromadman** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:40 am

Buy a set of cams and do some basic mods to the DOHC and you've got more power than the 3.6 that has no aftermarket at all. I bet Steven's smog legal car is putting down as much power as a 3.6 would. Plus the 3.6 would have to be auto, wouldn't it?

Trust me, I like the idea of the 3.6 too but it's just not practical yet to swap.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:45 am

fieromadman wrote:Buy a set of cams and do some basic mods to the DOHC and you've got more power than the 3.6 that has no aftermarket at all. I bet Steven's smog legal car is putting down as much power as a 3.6 would. Plus the 3.6 would have to be auto, wouldn't it?

Trust me, I like the idea of the 3.6 too but it's just not practical yet to swap.

No, the 3.6 was available with a manual, and would be just as easy to smog as the 3.4. You just need to keep all of the emissions equipment. It isn't just the max power, with the VVT and such, the 3.6 has a really wide torque curve, and is bullet proof. Plus it weighs significantly less, and doesn't have the problems that the 3.4 does.

I would tend to disagree. It's no more difficult than a N*, and people are doing those left and right.

drumwzrd · Post by **drumwzrd** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 10:41 pm

Since I just got back into town after a business trip, I focused on one of the parts that had to be made from scratch. I removed the vinyl trim around the windshield and made the windshield hold downs tonight. Here is what I started with.....aluminum stock:

A little shaping:

And installed for a test fit. I plan to replace the windshield, clean up and paint where the vinyl trim normally goes, and delete the trim all together. It should look pretty clean when completed.

The first thing was to lay a nice coat of primer over the front end and then wetsand it to make sure everything looked ok. I then sprayed a line of silver right below the moulding line and continued this all the way around the front end.

Once that had dried, I masked over the silver with the proper width tape to create the silver stripe and also masked off the upper portion to spray the black.

Once that had dried, I masked the bottom and sprayed the white on top.

After removing the masking tape, the silver stripe could be seen.

I will tell you it is a pain in the A$$ to move the car back and forth between garages to do bodywork in one and paint in the other. Fortunately, the rest of the paint for the front end is all airbrushing so I can do that where it sits and I am working on that right now and will post pictures later on tonight.

I layed down the pinstriping for the red stripe. The warp in the center is where the front end goes to a point. When I took the photo, it gives the illusion of a crooked line but the line is very straight.

I then masked the rest of the area and airbrushed the red stripe.

And the final result. Starting to look like my goal

A couple more things that are going on right now. I layed the stencils for the logos on the front end. I am using more modern sponsor names to mix the old and the new

Here are the stencils layed out

And 90% completed

I am just waiting for the orange to dry on the K&N logo and then I will finish airbrushing that and install the hood later tonight.

Here is the car with the hood mounted. The top picture is a little dark but the second shows a little better. I had to custom mix the orange for the K&N logo so it is taking a long time to dry so don't pay attention to the white sticker on the fender

I am clearcoating the entire car in one spray so that is why all of the panels look dull right now.

drumwzrd · Post by **drumwzrd** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:45 pm

Sorry about the lack of updates. I have been on a business trip to Arizona and painting a few Harleys for some friends of mine.

So I layed out the decal stencils for the rear logos and airbrushed them.

And when I removed the decal stencils.....

And with the window temporarily in place. Keep in mind that neither the car or the quarter windows have clearcoat on them yet. Compared to the original car

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 12:31 am

Fucking spectacular. As usual. You put every other car on this forum to shame.

jelly2m81 · Post by **jelly2m81** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:06 am

This dude has some serious talent!

Very kick ass!

drumwzrd · Post by **drumwzrd** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:59 pm

Thanks guys for the nice words. Hopfully, the real car sells for a decent price this Sunday. This is the closest I will ever come to owning the real thing and still be street legal so I really want it to look awesome.

p8ntman442 · Post by **p8ntman442** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:00 pm

you may get to ride in/drive the real thing if the new owner sees what your doing.

drumwzrd · Post by **drumwzrd** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 2:30 pm

Quick update. Right now, all the clean up work and re-assembly is being done. I still have to spray the rear molding red, spray the door handles and side marker lights red, order the wheels and tires, and finish the rear vents, and install the new windshield. The car has an intercoat clearcoat just to protect the logos. I will spray the final Urethane clearcoat when I am happy with the re-assembly. I just finished spraying the crest on the sunroof and am waiting for that to dry. I was going to have it span past the sunroof and on to the roof but it just didn't look right. Here is how it looks as of right now.

More to come......

p8ntman442 · Post by **p8ntman442** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 2:33 pm

:love10:

fieromadman · Post by **fieromadman** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:32 am

REALLY impressive work!

That thing better at least have a NASTY sounding exhaust to compliment it when it's done!

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 2:52 am

*drool*

drumwzrd · Post by **drumwzrd** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:59 am

Just a quick update. I finished the crest on the roof and really don't like it because I had to paint on the glass which will eventually all scratch off. This is the only part of the car that I will actually use a true decal. I have chrome vinyl for the outline and red for the inlay. It will also be larger like the original car.

This is a teaser pic from today. I applied the first coat of clear to protect the logos. I will sand them down to where there is no "lip" around the edges of the logos and then clear over everything with Urethane. This will ensure that I won't feel any bumps where the logos are.

Also, here is an item that showed up. I ordered this from another member. A gas filler from an F-16 fighter jet. I will probably use it on my next build.

drumwzrd · Post by **drumwzrd** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:06 am

I had a brand new set of Fiero Store GT lenses that I sold because I was going to hack them up so I bought a delam set from a member. The plan is to move the "Pontiac" upwards and add "IMSA" underneath. When I received the lenses, I helped the delaminating process along.

I then marked the rear of the lenses and cut a line to form a square. Then I popped off the remaining black filler plastic. I then sanded any remaining adhesive and applied my decals for a test fit. Came out pretty damned good looking. I cannot wait to paint these. They will look stock with the "IMSA" added to them.

CincinnatiFiero · Post by **CincinnatiFiero** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 9:50 am

Looks awesome, more updates please!

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