Body Shell Preparation

<< Seam Glassing                                                Cockpit rear Window  >>

Major System Category: Body (Shell)
Task: Handle issues on body, prime and seal
Parts: Bondo, fiberglass, Primer (6 cans) and sealer (3 cans)
Prerequisite Tasks: Seam Glassing
Additional Costs: $150
Time Requirement: 40 hours
Date Started: July 20, 2013

Date Completed:  August 3, 2013
At the risk of stating the obvious, the body shell is the largest piece. However, overall it is pretty easy to work. The major seams are basically on top and visible. The one exception are vents forward the rear wheels.

My build has some non-standard additions:

1. The roof scoop. This is a optional piece produced by Factory Five.
2. Replaced the Hatch mesh with Vraptor Hatch louvers.
3. Added Vraptor body louvers.
4. Added Vraptor Side Scoop Louvers.
5. Added Vraptor Wing Mounts.
6. Rocker Panel Extensions. This is a optional piece produced by Factory Five.

This looked nasty all winter and most of the spring. It only came together after I got started using the long sanding block. You can see the buildup along the hatch in the lower right of the photo, and I had not started on the seams.

The roof scoop introduces another set of seams and fiber glass feathering that needs attention. The nice thing about this is everything on top of the roof and easily accessible. The seams are straight and give way to the long sanding block. It all looked very ugly for a long time. The Dura-Block kit is worth its weight in gold.

These louvers are straight forward. Both of these are Vraptor products.

The hatch and body louvers are pretty straight forward, and do not present much of a challenge.

The side scoop louvers have seams top and bottom. In addition, the area has to be cut, sanded and smoothed out. There are curves everywhere. The space is really small. The area that extend out from the top of the louver is a major hassle, because it is up side down.

The side scoop louvers are going to be trouble no matter what you do. It is just very difficult to get any direct leverage inside here. There are seams that need attention and it is just a big hassle. If you have a lift, it helps to raise the car to chest level so you can use your body to apply leverage.

The wing mounts need to be welded to the transmission bracket, and they are currently on order. I don't think I'll be making the rear body cuts until later this fall.

The rocker panel extensions go along the bottom of the car wheel to wheel. They are large enough to protect the vehicle  from some rocks and road debris.

The rocker panel extensions are carbon fiber. So they go on after the body is painted and final install has taken place. If you ordered these, then you don't have to worry about another hard to get area, which is the lip that fits under the chassis.

You can see the A pillar where the hood blends into the contour. I do not have the hood latched in these photos. This gave me fits. The hood scoop certainly better in this shot than the one above.

My car had three areas that caused me headaches:

1. The contour as the seam comes up from the hood along the A pillar. It worked okay on the passenger side, and gave fits getting it smoothed down the driver's side.
2. The driver's side area along the hatch had to build up, because the hatch settled lower on the passenger side. I had to add about 3/16" to this area so the glass sits flush on the hatch.
3. The area between the edge of the hatch and the rear edge of the car. There are two sloping contours that I had trouble getting them sanded right. Maybe I just don't understand how to sand concave shapes efficiently.
   
   

   

   This is another top down shot. The contours on the end of the car that border the louvers is where I had trouble with the seams. The hatch is not latched in this photo.

   
   

Roof (Sound Proofing)

<< Roof Scoop                                                             Next Link >>

Major System Category: Sound/Heat Proofing
Task: Apply sound proofing materials
Parts:
Prerequisite Tasks: Need to be finished with an area
Additional Costs: $100
Time Requirement: On going
Date Started: September 21, 2012
Date Completed: September 21, 2012
Sound proofing the roof is very straight forward. I cut four strips. The first three were a foot wide, the last was around 8 inches wide. I ran them front to back up to the slot for the roof scoop. I had to piece material at the front of the roof where it arches. This took about an hour, and proved worthy of a photo op.

B-Quiet sound proofing applied to the roof.

I'm sitting in the car, working on the sound proof. Notice the Fred Flintstone feet hanging out the bottom. Yaba Dada Doo!

Roof Scoop

<< Mount Body Shell                                      Roof (Sound Proofing) >>

Major System Category: Body (Shell)
Task: Mount the roof scoop
Parts: Roof Scoop (Optional Part)
Prerequisite Tasks: Mount the body
Additional Costs:
Time Requirement: 5 hours
Date Started: September 6, 2012
Date Completed: September 15, 2012
The roof scoop is more than just a pretty piece to add to the GTM's exotic look. It is a functional air scoop designed to force cold air into the engine bay (in motion) and to allow hot air to vent from the engine bay (at rest). It is a molded piece of fiberglass that needs to be centered on the roof of the car.

Roof scoop from the front. The opening requires trimming.

Consideration: The instructions I found for this were in threads on the Factory Five Forums. The description of the item on the FF website indicates that some body work is required.

Rough initial fit. There is a lip that anchors to the from the wind screen opening.

These are the items I have identified so far:

1. The scoop is longer than the roof, so the end will have to be trimmed. I am pretty sure this is by design.
2. The intake scoop is not open. This needs to cut out.
3. The slot in the rear of the roof (basically close to the rear portion of the roll cage needs to be cut out. I am making mine 12 x 1 inches.
4. The scoops needs to be fiberglassed to the roof.

Rear of the roof scoop. The untrimmed section overlaps the hatch .

I did my measurements. The scoop is approximately 26 inches wide. However, do not assume the scoop itself is centered. Measure from the edge of the roof line to get an approximate center, then measure a center line as well. There is a front lip that helps to position and anchor the scoop.

The slot is marked for the scoop cut out. This be covered by the  scoop when it is installed.

I moved my slot as far back as possible. I wanted to leave enough material so as not to compromise the strength of the roof line supporting the hatch. It seems very light weight right now, but once the glass is installed, it will get significantly heavier.

The scoop after excess is trimemd from the rear end of the piece.

I need to double check where the slot exits the roof on the underside, to ensure it is on the engine bay side of the rear class. The roof scoop requires two different cuts into the fiberglass prior to install.

1. The scoop's front opening.
2. The slot at the rear of the roof.

This is the front cut into the roof scoop. I suppose this could be completed after the scoop is mounted, but it is much easier to do this when the scoop is on a bench.

I mounted a cut off wheel on my Dremel. I know other builder's use a reciprocating saw for this work, and I sure it is very fast. I was more interested in precision. The battery charge on the Dremel was up for each cut. After I cleared away the excess debris, I used a drum sander (also on the Dremel) to even out the edges.

This is the slot just forward of the hatch (that's a nice even gap on the hatch, if I sat so myself). The roll  bar is visible .

The final piece for the roof scoop is bonding it to the the roof. I checked with other builders blogs and build journals (there are no instructions for this entire procedure). Most people decided to go with 3M 8115 adhesive. Most people griped about the cost of the gun (approximately $60). I think it is a good investment! Chances are there will be something that needs bonding. I got a great deal on Ebay.

1. 8115 gun.
2. 2 adhesive packs
3. 6 nozzles

This is where the center of the scoop mounts. It is around 9 inches up from the edge of the window.

The 8115 system is very easy to use. I marked the areas of the roof that would act as the mating surfaces for the scoop. I put a generous amount of bonding agent down, troweled it with a spreader and then mounted the scoop per my measurements. (I measured this one multiple times.) I used a combination of clamps and weights. In my case, 8 lbs boxes of 9mm bullets. I set them down in a train on both sides of the scoop and let it set up over night.

This area is the band between the edge of the scoop and where it is raised for air flow to the back slot. This averaged about 4-3/4 inches. This isn't necessarily cut even on both sides, so you really need to measure from the edge of the car to the raised area of the scoop.

The final thing I did was run a bead of 8115 bonding agent along the edge of the  scoop - like a caulk line on a bath tub. The final touch is to glass the scoop edges into the roof and create a seamless boundary.

She is clamped down and weighted down for the night, The instructions say 4 hours to set up if the temperature is 73 degrees or higher. We're starting to see night time temps in the fifties so, I let her sit all night long (about 18 hours total)..