Okay-I'm not just cutting it up, I'm installing an air ride suspension on this thing. The owner has given me permission to post a thread about it and the work I'm performing on this forum, and since my MIG just gave up the ghost on me I figured this was the perfect time to post it. (Anybody got a 220V Millermatic for sale?!?)

This car rolled off the assembly line as an '88 Pontiac Firebird, but you wouldn't believe it from the pics. Look at the doors-they're still Pontiac. The rear glass seems to be from a Caddy, and the rest of the car is all custom fiberglass. Maybe I'll get to the point where I'm building **** like this one day!

I told the owner that I wouldn't post his name or disclose any other info like that-not that I don't trust you guys, most everybody that I've dealt with on this forum has been great-but you never know who you're really dealing with online. I can tell you this: the car has been appraised and insured at $100,000 and there were supposedly only 20 of these made, whatever year they were made. Here's a few before shots (I've got a great "before" shot that I still need to scan to my laptop, too)...

 

Some more "before" shots...

BTW-this thing has a "nameplate" somewhere on the dash that says "Phantom" and, as you can see from the pics, somewhat resembles an older Rolls Royce Phantom. The exhaust pipes coming from the hood are fake-just bolted in place for the look. That's a TPI 350CI Chevy in case you were wondering...

 

Very nice car, there is a car close to where I live that looks just like that. I don't think it runs though because it's been sitting outside in the same spot for the last year. I'll have to stop and take pictures when I get a chance, just to compare.

 

you def need a cane, and tilted brim hat when driving that

 

Now we're getting to the good stuff-the air ride kit that was originally purchased was just a F/B kit, meaning there were only four electric valves, all 3/8" NPT with 3/8" OD lines. Since the gentleman that owns the car is older and is looking for pretty much just a good ride and the ability to lower the car and raise it to ride height, I helped him select a few more items to add to his kit...

From my experience, I'd never install just a F/B kit on any car/truck I'd own. Air pressure can move from side to side even through slight curves and really degrade ride quality and driving experience. We ordered four more SMC 3/8" valves to convert the kit to F/B/S/S. The Viair 280C 12V compressor he received with the kit is only rated at a 35% duty cycle, so we got another Viair compressor-this one a 380 with a 100% duty cycle @ 100psi. Both of these compressors will feed one five-gallon tank, each wired to their respective pressure switches through relays (the 280's psi switch will kick it off at 150psi and on at 90, while the 380's will run it to 175 and on again when the pressure drops below 145psi). This will put the brunt of the load on the heavier-duty compressor, keeping the 280's 35% duty cycle in check...

While I was able to slide by using modified S-10 truck "upper" 'bag cups (from www.suicidedoors.com of course), all the other bracketry (besides the circle plates-both uppers and lowers) is custom-made. I haven't made it to the rear of the car yet, but I have a good idea of how it'll be accomplished. I almost had the front ready to be plumbed when my 120V Lincoln decided to call it quits on me, so the work on it will be slow or non-existent until repairs/upgrades are made to the MIG. Here's some pics of the progress in the front suspension...

 

I really miss working in a fab shop and running a CNC plasma-I could've designed and built him new lower control arms in the time it took to build these with a torch and grinder...

 

The main goal of every air ride kit that I've installed before this one was to get the vehicle (truck-I'm an old-skool mini-trucker) as low as possible-usually by laying the frame and/or rocker panels on the ground. This car's a bit different-I've had a lot of planning, measuring, and engineering to do to keep the wheels and tires off of the fiberglass fenders, with enough space to compensate for when the rear is raised and the front isn't. I think I've gotten a good compromise in the front so far-check out these pics...

The lowest part of the side steps will still be around 7" or so off the ground when it's layed out, but the exhaust and front frame crossmember will only be about 1.5" from hitting. Yes, the car rests on bumpstops before the 'bag totally deflates...

 

I've got plates cut out to weld in the frame rails, and the last pic in the previous reply isn't quite finished-I was playing with the location of the lower bracket and the markings are where it needs to be moved. I'm kind of at a point where I need my MIG-right when it goes out on me. I'll take it to a good place across the river in the morning and hopefully I'll have it back soon so I can finish this thing up. Oh well-I think I'll work on the fiberglass stuff now...

I'll keep you guys updated on the progress...

 

Looks like a Zimmer.

 

I should search "Zimmer"-I've heard about his cars but have never seen one...unless I'm hackin' on one...

 

pretty cool.

 

Progress is kind of slow-I've got the MIG back and have the front almost completely buttoned up-just some more beads and a bit of primer and paint should do it. I still need to mount shocks in the front, but that'll be after the air ride is functioning...

I've been hacking up his air tank and figuring out how all the components will be mounted here lately. The cheap *** F/B kit he ordered only included a 2-port 5 gallon tank, so I've welded up four more 3/8" NPT steel male nipples to mount his valves to. He still needs a draincock for the tank, but that can wait for another day or two...

I don't think it'll take a week to get the rear finished, once I actually start on it. I need to get about two feet worth of 4.5" ID pipe and another foot or two of 5.75" OD pipe to build his rear brackets so I won't have to weld the uppers in place. I think we'll be better off welding his lowers to the axle (on the stock spring perch), but I'll make the uppers a bolt-together two piece deal that'll be long enough to fit in the stock upper spring seat and still be easy to tighten the air spring mounting hardware and air line fitting. Oh well-I'll start on that next week...

Here's some pics of the progress so far...

 

More pics...

 

And a couple more...

I should have some more pics here in another day or two...

 

That just might be the ugliest car ever. I especially like the clothes drier exhaust's on the fenders. Or maybe the fake wheels on the sides are the best part, it's hard to choose just one favorite.

 

horrible....waste of time, metal and brain cells to think up of something that stupid.

 

You should see how some of the car's been hacked together-the guy that appraised it for $100K must've just seen pics of the outside...

I've got a massive list of things that are bugging me about this thing, but the biggest part is that the guy won't even spend a bill to fix the steering. I spent almost an hour taking measurements and trying to figure out the right center link and steering parts (since nobody knows what the front frame clip is from), then another hour trying to explain to the owner what bumpsteer is and why he needs to replace his existing center link to no avail. His reply, "Well, can't I just use the one I have and get longer tie rod ends?", still pisses me off when I think about it. And he talks this thing up like it's the best car in the world. It would be worth it to build a few of these things because there's obviously a market for them, especially since the shoddy work performed was valued at so much, but I wouldn't pay for one. I'd rather build a truck or something fast...

I've been pretty aggrivated at this guy for a while now-I'm spending all my time and energy working on his POS and he wants it done. If I'm going to put my name on it, I'm not going to hack it up like the original builders did. I don't work FAST-I work slow when making custom **** like this. You can't rush this kind of work. I could've had it done by now, but the devil's in the details and I've spent WAY too much time and effort perfecting a flawed car. The original builders didn't even weld the front frame clip in square-it's over 1.5" off at the control arm mounting points! The fenders aren't level! This car really should've appraised for more like $15 or $20K. It is truely a "hack job" if I've ever seen one...

I can be negative about this thing since I'm putting so much effort in it, but there's no need in you FC/FD guys being so negative. There are thousands of fabricators like me and Minitruckers that think working on an imported sports car is a waste of time, energy, and brain cells. I love my FB, and I'll do what I want to it, but I'm not posting how bad your car sucks in your threads. Callsign Vega and Frisc, go back to the lounge where you belong...

 

y are you even on this board if you think imported sports cars are a waste of time??? Go take this thread to a minitruckin forum aint noone here interested in putting air ride on a rx7 or a 1988 POS..... and I could care less if you post something horrible about my car!!

 

and a minitruck that you can drag the frame on the ground is what?... a goal everyone should have???

 

I didn't say I thought imported sports cars are a waste of time, re-read my post. I simply stated that there are SMART, SKILLED, and WELL EDUCATED fabricators (like myself) that have their own opinions. Most people with my skills tend to build custom bikes, trucks, or hot rods-not RX-7's and Civic's. Most of the minitruckers that I used to associate with hate imports, or at least the "ricer" types. I can appreciate ANYTHING that somebody put time, effort, and energy into-whatever it may be, no matter if I could build it better or not. Somebody made a crapload of money producing 20 of these things at this poor quality level one year-I may not be willing to shell out (or even have) $100,000 to buy one of these things, but I can appreciate the custom work that was done. It may not be my "cup of tea", but it's been built by somebody other than the factory and I can appreciate that...

Even though my FB isn't up and running right now, it's nowhere near stock. I've got over $4k in the suspension and steering alone, and I'm not even finished with that area. I'm not 'bagging my '7, but it's going to sit low, like I prefer 'em. And truthfully, I've never even seen your car, Frisc, so there's nothing bad I can say about it. But you can bet that even if it's bone stock I won't be the one making fun of it and telling you that it sucks-I'll be too busy working on my own **** and my projects to do so. And I'd NEVER be the one to say something like what you said about the "Phantom" I'm cuttin' up-you've got to respect EVERYTHING custom, no matter how tasteless it is. The sad thing is, that most likely neither one of us will ever own a car that's valued as highly as this one's appraised for. No matter how much money you sink in an RX-7, it most likely won't appraise or sell for anywhere near $100K. I like all the generations of the '7's, but I can appreciate more than just the kinds of vehicles that I own and drive...

Even before I'm finished with my FB, I'll probably build another minitruck. I want to build a custom chopper one day, too-my tattooed body would look good on a rat-rod style flat black chopper. I've owned and built 4x4's to go-carts, and unless somebody just absolutely has NO taste and just makes a mockery of a car/truck/vehicle/whatever, than I can look at it and realize how much work was involved in building, customizing, and creating a piece of mobile artwork or machinery. To talk down about a vehicle that you can't even afford, especially one that was completely custom and hand made just makes you look like a fool. Open mouth, insert foot...

Maybe I should've worded that last post a bit better, because it seems like at least two of you didn't understand what I was saying-but this one should clear it up. I love my FB, and I may do some modifications to it that most of you guys wouldn't do, but that's me, that's what I want. If I were a homosexual and wanted to mold a twelve-inch ***** in the hood of my car then I'd do that-because I can. I know there's always going to be negative people out there, but just try to imagine the work involved in the next car that you're going to say something bad about. Imagine how many hours were spent on any given area of that vehicle before you go sticking your foot in your mouth again. Then ask yourself if you could honestly do better work then they did, and keep in mind your latest project(s). If you paid somebody else to do the work to your own car, then you don't even have a right to even think bad thoughts about somebody else's...

 

Yeah, I'm almost positive that is a Zimmer. Horrid cars, lol

http://www.zimmermotorcars.com/

 

LOL. Looks like they got their hands on a Mustang as well:



Adam: Sounds to me like you know your ****, and that's worth a nod of approval in my eyes.

What an odd concept, though, huh? Chop up modern day pony cars (if they can even be called that) and turn them into something that looks more like an old Bentley or something. Goofy.

Cool stuff though. IMO, anything that requires that many one-off pieces to work deserves at least a little respect.

 

Seriously??

You yourself commented on the poor quality of the build yet you still defend the work .

I would think someone looking to project an image of a "smart, skilled, and well educated fabricator" you would look to distance yourself from shoddy work.
In the end, you have to ask yourself to what point or purpose are you defending the work?
For me respect is earned and you sure as hell do not earn it through tasteless substandard work.

 

Nice work!

 

Good point, Revere. I should've rejected this job, and I would've if I had known what was in store for me. My gosh, the steering shaft has 6"+ of play in it, and the list of quirks and all the things that are wrong or incorrect on this car amaze me. But the bottom line is this: I don't own the car and I'm not going to buy the pieces to correct everything that's wrong on it for a penny-pinching rich man. I've done what I can do, and I've pointed out all the problems that I've seen and noticed to the owner. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink...

The work that I've done to the car will make it stand out even more. A car like this tends to draw attention, and it's not everyday you see one with an adjustable suspension. And no matter how badly it was constructed to begin with, the exterior looks alone will always attract a crowd-no matter where it goes. It may be pointless to try and defend it, but I'd do the same if some absent-minded minitrucker was talking **** about one of our RX-7's. There are some people out there that have absolutely no clue how much time and effort are involved in creating something TRULY custom. Even though most of the previous work on this car is shoddy, it still took somebody a long time to construct it...

Believe me, I've seen my share of tasteless and substandard work-hell, I live in Kentucky! We're not all inbred and rednecks, but you couldn't possibly imagine what some of those that are consider "cool". The import scene in this town is nonexistant-and the cars that are modded are usually all bolt-on ricer wannabes. Most of the minitrucks around here are poorly done (or were, when I was more involved in that scene). I've seen some nice ones here lately, but I've also seen my share of substandard work on some. For most people, that's the way they have to start-cutting and hacking up their own vehicles with what most would consider substandard work when they first start out. Hell, I learned how to weld building my first truck, and I'm sure a few of those beads would be substandard to many. But that's how I learned, I couldn't afford to go to welding school or MIT-I cut, chopped, and rewelded until I had it right. Then if something broke, I fixed it. The smart ones are the ones that learn from their mistakes and don't make them a second time, especially on somebody else's vehicle. So instead of calling the "ricer wannabe" in the lane beside me a poser or call his work substandard, I try to incourage him to keep at it on his own vehicle until he knows what he's doing and can do the work right. This car could've been the first built of the 20 or so that were made that year-or maybe a new guy built the steering and did the fab work on the front frame clip. I don't know, so I'm not going to say all these cars are hack-jobs-just this one has some "flaws" that can be fixed, and maybe a few that can't. I'm a perfectionist with my work, so the 1/4" or 1/2" here or there to me is a big deal where it may not even matter to most. The owner of the car sure doesn't seem to care, but that's not really saying much...

Anyway, I may be a "perfectionist", but please don't mistake that as calling myself perfect. I'm far from it. Just try to imagine the time and work involved in the next custom vehicle you see before saying anything bad about it. Don't be too quick to judge-it's not your car and just maybe it's the next "Jesse James" that's just learning how to weld or the next big tuner that's only starting to learn what he's doing. Treat others the way you want to be treated, and the same goes for their vehicles, too...