Projects Multiply

[RClippa]

Like all projects this one took off on me. I couldn't stand the lower rub strip. I ripped it off when I got the car and just now got around to filling the holes left behind. I thought I would share this for others thinking about tackling something like this.

This is a simple process. As a disclaimer, I AM NOT A BODY MAN. I have however filled a lot of holes in sheet metal over the last few years. I found that for larger holes they need some backing make the process easier. This is where a roofing nail comes into play. Place the roofing nail through the hole. Tack it in place. Then slowly add tacks until the entire hole is filled. Now you can attack it with a grinder. I use a 4.5 inch grinder with a cutoff wheel to smooth down the welds. Then I follow with a flap disc to smooth it all out.

For smaller holes I add a lot of little tacks around the hole to strengthen up the metal. Then I slowly fill the hole with more tacks. Either way take it slow so that you do not warp the sheetmetal. You will probably also notice that the side markers are now gone too. The front reflectors just had two small screw holes. The rear had two screw holes and a large hole for the light. This hole was filled with a piece of sheetmetal cut to fit and then tack welded slowly around the circle alternating sides to reduce warping.

[RClippa]

Like the title says. Things multiply. The holes were all filled and I now had a lot of bare metal on the car. I taped off the top and primed over the raw metal. This looked like crap. So I took off another chunk. Time to prime the whole thing.

So this is some cheap primer because the following day I was going to start my new job. The entire paint job cost $50 and was done with supplies from Lowes. Sure it is nothing that will win a car show, but now the car is one color and the metal is protected.

I quickly followed the primer with paint. A good color is hard to find at Lowes so I took the easy way out and bought two quarts of satin black. I thinned the paint and tossed it in an HVLP gun and went back to work.

Here I just finished the first good coat. I layed down a scratch coat to give the heavy coat something to hold too.

[RClippa]

Of course you can see the light fading and there was still lots more to do. I ran off to pick up some more supplies and back to spraying I went.

This is a big mistake. Spraying at night attracts all sorts of crap, but I was in a rush to squeeze things in between rain storms. I finally finished up at about 11pm just in time to jump in bed and sleep for a few hours. The next day I came home and pulled the masking tape.

Not bad, I should have used some body filler but my goal was cheap and fast. Couldn't have professional results with those two requirements.

[RClippa]

So this lead to a new windshield gasket that I drastically needed. I was having trouble in the rain with water pouring over my feet while I drove. Today I got that installed and began to finish up my turn signal project. This project was spured on when I backed my truck up into the BMW. I broke the drivers lens and wanted euros but the price was too high. I decided to build my own lenses. Now I am stuck and can't decide which I like better. Each lens is made from acrylic and heat formed to the metal trim ring. The white one is sand blasted and the other is sprayed with night shades. Which one do you guys like better?

These lenses cost about $1.50 each and go right into the stock housings so I am not missing much if I screw it up bad enough. For the light holder I used a $2.99 holder that I found at AutoZone. This is mounted into the back wall of the signal hole with a 19mm hole.

edit: I am currently working on polishing up the aluminum trim and getting ready to reinstall all of the trim and the grill.

edit: opps wrong pics

[bcthomas122279]

I've been wanting to do that with the indicators. On your car, I like the dark ones better. How did you make those?

[RClippa]

Sorry I have been busy getting a 5-speed and starting a tube chassis for another project.

For the lenses I took a simple plumbers torch and some lexan. Cut the lexan to match the lens trim. I first made a template out of cardboard because it is easier to bend. Trace the pattern on the lexan and cut out the shape. I used a die grinder with a 3 inch wheel. Then I used the trim ring and some small clamps to hold the lexan in place. Heat gently with the torch to prevent bubbling. Eventually the lense will take the shape of the trim ring. I used my finger to press it in on the tight radius. Then the final product is sand blasted on the inside to fog out the reflective tape and light bulb. Then I put 4 coats of blackout paint and a couple coats of clear. The inside is lined with the aluminum duct tape to help disperse the light. The lense has to be epoxied to the trim ring. I am just using hot glue now while I wait to clean up the trim rings. I still haven't decided between cleaning up all of the chrome and aluminum or having it all powder coated gloss black.