Corvette GSR Build - humble beginnings

[JunkGTZ]

Still sorting this project out. Haven't had a tremendous amount of time to work on it. I'm rethinking the fender flares and have fashioned a hood out of aluminum sheet with the center bulge of the original on top. Most of my attempts are not only to adapt it to the chassis, but to also get rid of some weight. I added some interior plates for mounting on the chassis and for starting to make a partial roll cage. I will have some time in the next month to work a few things out. My hope is to have all the mocking up of the various parts done and putty it, sand it and primer it by Memorial Day. I'll try and post progress pics with the next update.

[JunkGTZ]

I've not gotten to filling the seams where I cut the body, but have worked on taking some of the weight out such as making a hood out of aluminum flashing and then making what will eventually be a dash and a rear interior deck where the body mounting nubs go through. I also made the rocker panels with the side exhaust outlet to see how it looks. There is still much to be done and the fender flares are not yet sorted, but I am working on it. I cut the side vents behind the front wheels out and am working on some larger ones out of the aluminum. I also have to close up the gap in the vent panel below the windshield. In the meantime, I built a roll cage out of aluminum tubing which is glued together. It's very light and with a little filler in some of the joints and paint it should work out well. Here's some recent shots included.

[JunkGTZ]

Moving along slowly - I ordered some aluminum sheet and came up with a more satisfying treatment for the fender flares and worked on clearances. Right now they are held in with tape and I need to work on solutions as to both attaching them, and then melding them into the body. I also patched an did the first spray of primer , but have a long way to go with that too. I do want to have a nice finish on this vehicle, but there is so much other work to do that I won't be dealing with that for quite some time. The challenge here being both my inexperience, and the fact that I am improvising my way through this. I did some sketches when I first started but no blueprints. I am experimenting as I go along and have lots more ideas to implement, but the process is slow for each item. Here's a few shots of the progress.

[Dougritt]

Very cool Larry!

[JunkGTZ]

Thanks Doug. Slow going right now. My school year has started up so I have little time to work on it until my schedule eases up. I never envisioned it would go as slow as it has, but I'm new at doing this much fabricating and fitting. Some things take several attempts. I'm glad I'm not doing a scratch build , because then it would never get finished!

Measure twice, cut once......and have some extra materials just in case!

[JunkGTZ]

Here's a look at what I am envisioning for the vette. I've fitted an aluminum formed side vent but was originally going for the shark gill slits. I had made some out of poster board but there were a lot of pieces and given this will be a runner, I was concerned they might be too fragile, hence I am going with a simpler one piece. So that brings me to the wing. I am going towards a more modern GT look, an FIA GT3 type vibe. These are just mocked up out of poster board until I have some time to fabricate to real deal.

[JunkGTZ]

Did some work on the wing and rear spoiler. I decided to pull the wing in more or less even with the back of the car because this will be a runner in my driveway and I might back into a low lying shrub on a rare occassion. Having a wing that hangs out like the previous mock up would likely asking for trouble in that case. I think the wing over the rear spoiler works better in appearance as well. I made a previous wing out of aluminum sheet, but it was pretty stout and heavier than I expected so I made this one out of aluminum flashing and it weighs next to nothing and with the leading edge being folded as it is, it is still plenty strong. My list of to do's includes completing how I will fasten the flares to the body (they are only partially fastened). Then cleaning up the body over the firewall - most likely pulling it apart and doing it again and figuring out the windshield since I will not be using the original for weight savings. I also have to figure out how I will fasten the center bump of the hood to the aluminum. I am toying with trying to remake the hump in aluminum for weight savings, and for stiffness. The plastic one has some pieces grafted on to the end and is a little fragile. Here's a look at the tail as it is now.

[strevo]

Very cool Larry! I would remake the hood as 1-piece from aluminum. You could take a large sheet, form the hump into it, then cut the perimeter to size. And for attaching the fender flares to the plastic, you could possibly use some micro-screws to screw through the metal into the plastic, then cut off the end of the screw and smooth it out. That would probably be more secure than gluing them on. Of course, the sturdiest option would be to make a mold of your finished body and lay up a new one in fiberglass, but that would be a lot of work! Although, if you did it that way you could always mold more if the first one gets damaged! Of course, this is your build, so do whatever feels right for you. This thing looks really cool!

[JunkGTZ]

Thanks Steve. I wish I had the skills to make a fully formed body out of fibre glass. I have even thought about trying to render it in foam and do a vacuum formed version of it but that would take a large amount of time and with work and family I stay very busy. I am only able to do a little at a time, and figure this experience will help me along to larger undertakings in the future Lord willing.

I am curious as to how I would go about doing a one piece hood as you suggest. Would I make a wooden buck similar to the Lincoln project and hand hammer it into shape, then fill with some body filler and paint? I might be able to pull that off if I have a soft enough alloy. I tried to get some similar to what license plates are made from because I found it quite easy to bend and shape, but the alloy I purchased turned out to be a little harder - still workable, but not as soft. Maybe I can flatten a few license plates! Got a number of those lying around. A one piece hood would be ideal and the shaping of a buck is within my skills. What kind of hammer would I need to shape it? Would a leather mallet or something like a band instrument repair dent hammer be useful? If you have any experience with it, I'd love some pointers. Thanks again.

[strevo]

I think a wooden buck would work perfect to form the hood over. It's been a while since my metal-working days, but a small wooden or brass hammer should work. Remember to start with a piece much bigger than the final size of the hood to allow for trimming off any wrinkles, etc. Also the metal will tend to work-harden as you form it, so you may need to anneal it every so often so it doesn't crack. Worst case, you could still cut out the newly formed center bump and attach it to the hood you have now. I'm sure xken (View Profile: xken - ScaleMotorcars) could give you much better advice since he is a metal-working expert.

[JunkGTZ]

More questions. What does annealing involve? Heating the work? Should I start with a ready made flat piece from a supplier (which I have) or could I flatten one of my license plates (which are softer) and work that? What about the indentations for the radiator vents? Could I cut those with a chisel? Any answers would be greatly appreciated. I'll also messgae xken. thanks.

[JunkGTZ]

I think I answered some of my own questions by looking into some things on the web. I'll post more om what I found later, but it looks like if my buck is any good, and I do it right the aluminum will be easy to shape. May have to wait until winter break to try this though!

[strevo]

Here's a youtube link on how to anneal aluminum:

[JunkGTZ]

Thanks - I found that as well as some other info. I will give it a try!