|
Due to the overwhelming positive response to the poll I conducted on this and other websites regarding the GT Bumps I decided to go ahead and build up the decklid. Thanks to everyone that voted.  My first task was to print out the outlines for the ribs. What was so nice about these ribs was that they were small enough to print out full-scale on my inkjet printer. I rendered the routlines at high resolution in 3DS Max and opened them up in PhotoshopCS. From there it was simply a matter of printing them in two parts. In this instance I overlayed the 4 outliines and printed them out on the same piece of paper. I photocopied the printouts 3x. Once for each set of ribs. Then using a scissors I cut each rib shape. This was transfered to the particle board with a permanent marker and then cut out with a jigsaw. I also cut some 6" wide strips of styrofoam with my hotwire cutter .
 The wood and styrofoam were glued together with liquid nails (Blue) and this was left to dry.
In the mean time I retreated inside the house for a spell because seeing as it was 116f (47c) and very humid (Yes it's painful!) I simply couldn't stay in the garage for extended periods of time. A while later I was back at it... Please click the Read More link below to view more pictures and diary entry.
You can see from this image sequence how the gt assembly was simply pressed down into the slots. The height and lateral location were verified and then the assembly was affixed to the decklid with more liquid nails.  The shape really started to look better once I filled the gaps in with more styrofoam. Using a lesson that I learned earlier, I made sure that the styrofoam was well below the surface of the ribs. If the styrofoam is too close to the final shape of the body it becomes thin and weaker than any eggshell. Although it looks solid the only way to find these weak spots is to press all over the body with your thumb. Wherever it breaks through, the foam has to be dug out and the area re-filled with a thicker layer of joint compound. I find that at least 1/8" thickness of the joint compound is strong enough. (I HOPE!). If it proves to be too weak I may end up having to cover the entire body with a single layer of 2oz fiberglass mat. I really don't want to do that. The shape of the fender and the contrast provided by the GT humps really give the car a much more aggressive feel that I really like a lot.
I want to give a big THANK YOU to my neighbor Justin who really helped a lot by serving as a sounding board and a source of encouragement over the weekend. Based on our discussions I made some changes to the shape of the side of the car lines and I am pleased with the results. As of 5:00pm Sunday the decklid was covered with an initial layer of joint compound, I was exhausted and quite possibly dehydrated. The call of the BEER in the fridge was too great and I called it a day. 
 Some time ago I was debating if I should swap out my stock 4AGE intake manifold/FI for a nice set of carbs and and a MegaJoltLightJunior ignition. The MJLJ is a standalone distributorless ignition system based on the Ford EDIS that you build yourself . Click here for more details on MJLJ . Well I built the MJLJ, acquired all the parts required from the junkyard, and I bought a set of quad carbs from a ZX9r on ebay... and it's all been sitting in a box on my shelf ever since. Of course since then I decided to go with forced induction. So I also purchased all the parts required to turbocharge my engine, with exception of a Megasquirt Fueling computer. I still have the carbs and the MJLJ and if anyone wants to trade with me these 2 items for a MegaSquirt I would be more than happy to do the trade. :)
|
