April 1, 2017
Build Time Today: 2 hours
Total Build Time: 206 hours
Not much time at the workshop today as I had to get back to real work and catch up on missing days...
I spent time cleaning up the driver sidepod grill area - the extra sikaflex showing in the opening was slowly cut and trimmed away to leave a clean finish. It took quite a bit of time to get this done, but I wanted the final look to be perfect
I also trimmed the fuel tank foam wedge (about 5mm reduced) and the wedge was glued to the drivers side pod
April 2, 2017
Build Time Today: 6 hours
Total Build Time: 212 hours
Happy Birthday to Me!
I took a day off work to celebrate, and did that by working on the car!
First item on the agenda was finishing the driver side pod - with the mesh and foam wedge in place, the only item left was to install the extra cooling fan - I am doing this now because last time it was very difficult to get the nylon zip ties in position to hold the fan from inside the side scoop after side pod is installed... Now, with the side pod on the ground, it was much easier to turn/twist and get a good, clean fit...
Expanding foam was then put on the fuel tank, and the driver side pod placed on the chassis.. sikaflex was applied to the chassis rails, and the side pod was final fitted using rivets along the underbody chassis rail the vertical side pod rear flange - which had to be drilled in location since I had forgotten to do that earlier! It was a challenge to get the side pod in position since I was working alone, and the foam wedge makes it very difficult to compress the side pod was simultaneously trying to get some rivets into the pre-drilled holes!
I then worked on the passenger luggage pod again - I have finally received the balance of the lift kit, and now have the final details needed to prep the pod - I need to make holes for airlines between the compressor (in the luggage pod) and the tank (behind the passenger seat)... THe luggage pod was temporarily placed in the chassis, and pilot hole drilled in the pod and into the passenger side panel... The pilot hole was then enlarged in both places to a 16mmX12mm hole, and rubber grommets installed in both holes...
Rivnuts were installed in the passenger luggage pod in the previously drilled holes for the ECU bracket
A hole was drilled for the air/water seperator and a zip tie holder riveted
I then worked on the driver side GRP cover that sits infront of the side pod - it is slightly longer than needed, and will not sit flush against the chassis as it rubs the side pod GRP... so the cover was trimmed until it fit perfectly, and then holes were drilled underneath for the chassis rails - and the chassis was drilled as well for the same... Two more holes were then drilled in the bottom face for the water drain holes needed by the AC and the windshield gully pipes...
The passenger cover was also similarly trimmed and drilled for the same... Both covers were then sprayed with a rubberized black paint to give the final finished look I am hoping for...
Finally, the extra sikaflex in the passenger side pod grill area was trimmed and cleaned up...
April 3, 2017
Build Time Today: 4 hours
Total Build Time: 216 hours
The driver side side pod area was finished today - the GRP cover was riveted to the chassis with the use of some sikaflex, and the cill cover was also installed using sikaflex and only riveting in the inner side...
All the wires were temporarily zip tied to the chassis in preperation for lowering the chassis to the ground later this week - I will again be travelling this weekend for a couple weeks and need to send the chassis/car to the interior trimmers to get that done while I am out of town.. That means I need to get all the sidepod works finished prior!
The passenger luggage pod is finally ready for installation: it has all the holes needed for the AC, Fuel on Demand, VRH, and Looms...
The pod was heat proofed using fatmat and foam insulation, and then riveted on to the chassis along with the extra chassis support panel on the lower edge... The compressor was then installed in the passenger pod while access to the bolts is still easy...
Finally, in preparation for installing the passenger side pod, the foam wedge was glued to the passenger side pod, and the AC condenser was taken out of its box and 2 cooling fans were installed on the condenser...
April 4, 2017
Build Time Today: 2 hours
Total Build Time: 218 hours
The passenger side pod was installed after applying foam tape to the fuel tank... The girls helped out in placing the AC condenser in position while placing the side pod onto the chassis.. The pod was riveted on, and then the GRP front cover was also riveted... Finally, the cill cover was riveted along the inner edge...
April 5 2017
Build Time Today: 2 hours
Total Build Time: 220 hours
Today was basically getting the chassis off the dolly and on its own feet! The rims/tires were removed and installed, and the entire chassis was lifted off the dolly and lowered slowly to the ground - I first lowered it onto jack stands, and then slowly lowered the front and rear sections seperately to the ground - I had to do this as I have the VRH installed and I wanted to make sure the modified air cups do NOT hit the chassis/other parts when moving around... Once firmly on the ground, I had to raise the front height as it was too low - sitting just 40mm off the floor! Once happy with all the wires/parts being secured, the 'car' was loaded onto a recovery and sent to the trimmers!
I now will be out of the country till the end of April - so next update will be at the end of the month...
April 7-28 2017
I spent the last few weeks on the trip of a lifetime! I travelled to Patagonia (South Chile and South Argentina) and had an amazing experience! Trekking 75 miles on the W Circuit at Torres Del Paine, Kayaking 55 miles on the Seranao River, Glacier Walking in El Calafate ...
Back home and back to the build soon... once I catch up with work!