Sep 1-10 2018
Build Time : 10 hours
Total Build Time: 635+ hours
Most of my time has gone in getting the car finished and ready for inspection/registration - while the minor issue of display is still present, I need to do some road tests to log data to figure out why the display is acting up... However, in order to do a road test, I need to have the car plated because I cannot be driving around an unregistered vehicle! So, I spent time putting everything back on the car to prepare for the test - the interior was put back together with the center console and passenger seat being re-installed. The front and rear canopies were put on, and all the wiring connected.. The rear view camera was final installed... The Wing was installed, and finally the hard top was put back on... The car is now ready!!
I will now start the inspection and registration process, and once that is done I can get back to pending items on the build:
1) Getting dash to display correctly
2) Getting hard top finished correctly (Im not happy with the gaps)
3) Getting a professional AC charge and 4 Wheel Alignment with Bump steer setup
4) Checking for a parasitic battery drain
Sep 27 - Oct 10 2018
Build Time : 20 hours
Total Build Time: 655+ hours
The car passed inspections and has been plated! Now I can drive it while the final part of the build is completed...
First post registration item to take care off was the hard top - due to slight differences in all chassis, my hard top did not fit perfectly despite spending many hours on it over the build... To get it to perfect, I decided to go ahead and add filler material to the bulkhead and rear aero trim panel to get the lines correct.. However, this means I will not have a gelcoat finish on the added material, and this was the reason to not add material before - I wanted the finish to be all gelcoat so the hard top would match the body.. Since this is not possible, I decided to go ahead and get the panels to fit perfectly, before tacking the problem of finish/color - which at the end was resolved by covering the entire hard top in CF to match the (real) CF side pod scoops and rear wing... Now my hardtop fits perfectly!
Along with the hard top, I also had to fill in the gaps between the window and body/top to prevent outside air from entering the cabin - this was done by adding foam strips and rubber trim in various places where gaps were present... Also, I took the time to add the door rubber trim to prevent water ingress into the cabin...
Next, I decided to finish the engine bay by finalizing the engine covers - the standard LS covers were modified to fit my engine, and then used as a mould to build CF engine covers.. Those were then painted with the Ultima logo and clear coated to get a great final look!
Next item on the agenda was getting a professional 4 wheel alignment and bump steer setup - The alignment was done but the bump steer has been left for the future as it already took 6 hours to do the alignment! The AC was also charged at an AC shop. The car can now be driven!
Charging the AC revealed a new problem - the engine tune was setup for a non AC vehicle - when the pdk powertrain was designed, the engine did not have an AC since it was only a development project... with the AC now working, the compressor was adding load at idle which the car was not programmed for... a simple fix: it needs to be tuned at idle to run with the AC running... This will be done soon once I get some time to take it to the shop :)
Also, small items were fixed: audio system tuned (sub+speakers), air leak in VRH tank sealed, battery/alternator warning light fixed, cats replaced with straight pipes, and finally the Ultima stickers pasted on the car...
The build is NOW COMPLETE! Well, it will go on with changes/mods/updates, but the build in itself is now done... Here is the final product:
Hard Top Version
T-Top Version
Convertible
