why isnt this thread a sticky yet?

 

Good question

 

you do realize of course you are now my personal hero right?

 

Yep, just search for "Home-built bumper grille ducts" and you will see a big thread with pics of the process of building the bumper from scratch, all freestyle design based only on my imagination.

As far as the sticky part, I hate being the center of attention. I am really kind of a shy introvert, which is why I do this kind of hardcore work on cars, telescopes, model airplanes, etc. It is a creative outlet for my imagination and this thread, as well as the bumper thread were just relaxing diversions from the building process. All of your questions, comments and encouragement have kept me going so thanks everyone!

But if you guys want me to, I will sticky it. Just tell me how to do it, sorry to say I don't know what to type in and where to do that type of thing.


Here is the result of some shaping with 320 grit wet sanding on a rubber pad (1 hour):



I think I will get the topcoat on everything tonight or tomorrow, so the bumper will be yellow soon.

 

for you other do-it-yourselfers: just a note on the hanging of the parts to paint them, if you are painting mettalics you need to have the parts
in the natural position they are on the car, otherwise the paint may not match.

 

wow really nice job so far

and you even customized that bumper yourslef
i am more then impressed with your work.

wow i really cant wait to see that car done.

 

I ran out of primer last night so I had to shoot some more today. Here are the pics:




I thought you guys would get a kick out of seeing this scene again, right after finishing the clean-up (of the tools at least).



Here is a hint of my next in-depth and picture illustrated thread:



If you look at the ports very carefully, you will notice that one looks a little weird. That is just the beginning . . . . .

 

88teg, this thread (dont know why its NOT a sticky yet - someone PM a mod! ) is amazing

if your making a thread showing how you rebuilt your 13b, that would be.. indescribeable how cool it would be.

if you do it in depth, including showing how it bolts together (which is general stuff but still) it would be probably the most informative thread here.. because it shows you how to entirely rebuild your 13b!!!

 

That is basically the idea. I have not rebuilt it yet but I'll have the camera handy during the job. I will also show porting the manifold, airflow meter, elbow, and NA six ports and sleeves. And of course I will eventually show the cold air box that the drivers' side bumper duct will feed air to.

 

 

The avatar is a picture of a homebuilt experimental airplane called a Dragonfly. One day I will build one . . . the plans quote 1200 man hours of work (aka 4 years of building) and about $8-10000 in matarials. They fly at 180mph when at cruising altitude and only need 80hp to do it. I would make a streetported one rotor engine, like shown in this atkins photo:

 

I've got to tell you... this thread absolutely rocks... heh, I check a couple times a day to see if there are updates...

::sniff:: You're my hero man! ::sniff::

 

Dude,

You have given me motivation to get going on my 91' NA!

 

Wow! Thanks guys, I am really glad my project could spread around some inspiration. I've sure needed to see other people succeed when I was doing my first big projects as a kid. Tomorrow I will do the final surface prep and do some topcoating in yellow. I figured five hours was enough time spent working on a Saturday.

 

cant wait to see the final product!

 

impressed by your dedication. BTW, i kinda liked how the bare metal looks just as you had completely stripped it. Any of you guys know what would it take to be able to have your car showing this color without out rusting? Could it just be clearcoated? It looks like the Delorean, it's futuristic looking.

- Carlos

 

didnt mean for the plane, the pic is a symbol of you, you being the man with all the skills and aking a sick thread *lol*

- James

 

damn, thats one sick bridgeport i wanna hear that baby idle but like ive said tweice already on this post, you kick *** man. im in the process of doing a complete writeup with pictures of engine rebuild but yours will probally be better, my english sucks.

Daniel

 

Today I was sick of painting and especially wet sanding, so after doing some more spot putty filling I permanently installed my tail lights, license plate and holder, rear lock cylinder, center brake light, and Mazda emblem.



I decided against painting the light frames because I couldn't figure out how to get the glue to let go which was holding the frames to the lenses. My masking patience has just about run out at this point and I do like the black frames over the yellow.

I also decided against painting the Mazda emblem and hatch frame because having some black back there contrasts the yellow and (I think) makes the car more interesting. Of course I am leaving the rub strips yellow and painting the mirror frames. Some OEM touches weren't quite to my taste but overall, I like the look of the S4 cosmetics. I really love how the Gsl-Se rims look on the car.

 

Seriously... Ill pay if you do mine

 

dude you really need some series5 tailights and a stock spoiler. that paint job looks grrrrreat.

 

thats a pretty long drive for you just to gt your car painted. . .. you living on mars and all.

- James

 

REALLY, I wish I could make and sell bumpers and do paint jobs and just quit my day job. But I will be quitting it anyways in three months for school. I want to be a Civil Engineer when I grow up . . .

I doubt you would save any $ by avoiding Maaco. They won't get any dust in your paint job like the little bits that are in mine (they have real spray booths). Just spend $500 on a paint job with a reputable shop and it should be equal to or most likely better than this one . . . my paint alone was $370. But if I hadn't stripped off the old paint or done anything with the engine bay, underhood or door jambs I could have got enough paint for a couple hundred bucks less.

Anyone considering painting your car JUST DO IT!! Don't be afraid of making mistakes, and trust me, you will learn how to wet sand out runs and orange peel really well.

 

Maaco... reputable? Hah The reputable shops around here want 4000$+ for a color change. Ive heard too much bad **** about maaco leaving windows down while spraying, having cars broken into on their lots, leaving windows/hatchs open and having weather damage done and sticking the owner with the repair bills. Not to mention their less than ideal masking. But I was thinking of ripping my car apart and masking it all off and then having maaco do it. They couldnt really screw up on it but in 2 years the paint would probably fade and look like *** again.

 

Hmmm, yeah I see your point. With a color change the only tricky part would be the hatch up where it hinges on the body. If I were a painter with paying customers I would remove the hatch completely like with my car and just put it back on when done. It takes fifteen minutes to remove or reinstall it. You have to be strong to lift it off, though, as it is about fifty pounds in weight.

Yeah, sorry man, I would paint yours but I need to get this car done and move out of this house.