The ill feeling was probably from the welding fumes Ade, make sure you've plenty of ventilation, and maybe wear a paper partical mask.
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The ill feeling was probably from the welding fumes Ade, make sure you've plenty of ventilation, and maybe wear a paper partical mask.
usually wear my paint spray mask when welding / grinding - I think the last few days I've had man flu - my heads buzzing, eyes are sore and I keep sneezing snot everywhere!
Wife has no sympathy.
looking good mate, not looked at this thread since you was working on sorting the lights out, page 13.didnt read every post but still took 2+hours to get through it and was worth every minute. looks ****ing awsome mate and cant wait to see it finished, the front bumper i would go with the original design you put on paper. any news on when she will be done and whats the first show you going to as i will have to take the weekend off work to come see it. keep up the awsome work mate.
scott
chers matey - I'm aiming for Billing or Trax - Sept time...that'll be the external stuff anyway...I hope!
ok mate, will book them weekends off work lol, :thumb:
Saturday 09/02/2008
Well - been sufering with a right evil cold all week - evil snot, sore eyes, coughing, sneezing and a brain that felt like I had a head full of cotton wool. Also worked back shift all week so felt 10 times worse!
Anyway - set by alarm for 8am Saturday morning and forced myself into the garage 1st thing!
Started by finishing off welding the additional panel I'd made to the top of the slam panel. Went round all the edges and then ground back the excess. Now both panels are joined they give the top front section a pretty smooth finish. It still needs some work - more tidying up than anything else but it looks much better than the other rivitted bits and it adds more strength to the whole front section...(at this point I curse myself for not learning to weld when I did the rivetted sections!)
(before it was fully cleaned up -front looks a tad uneven)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0010.jpg
I then started cleaning up the wing extensions. I needed to sand back the 1st layer of filler I'd applied earlier in the week to get the basic shape then build it up further so it was flush with the original wing, following the new curve at the front. Here's a wip...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0009.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0007.jpg
As you can see from the last pic the top curve doesnt match the bonnet curve and between the lights and the bottom of the curve theres a small gap. It's only about 4mm so nothing a bit of filler wont sort out easily enough.
Next stage was to refit the lights and then skim the edges of the lights to where they wings butt up to them. I also skimmed the top curve to match the underside of the bonnet. Just before the filler totally cures I trimmed about a 5mm gap round the edges (except for the top) - this sounds like a lot but allows for light unit adjustments. The actual additional material once the gap had been removed was minimal which I'm pleased about as it means 95% of the extension is metal! Once set I then removed the wings and tidied up the inside edges, smoothing the excess filler back and blending it into the wing from the inside. this will be totally sealed with underseal once finally painted for added protection.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0018.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0022.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0020.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0019.jpg
Called it a night at this stage...
keep poping back to watch this thread mate! looks like its comeing along nicely! doing a top job getting those lisgts to fit factory!
looking awesome as usual... where do you get your patience from?
Sunday 10/02/2008
Didnt have too long in the garage today as the wife wanted me to photograph her jumping her horse! Spent most of the morning cleaning up the wing extensions I'd skimmed the night before.
After much sanding I gave them a quick coat of primer to get a look at how they were coming along.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0031.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0027.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0032.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0033.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0034.jpg
The next task is to tidy up the lines. I need to extend the classic nova arch bit that sticks out on the wings as well as the line that runs the length of the car. The last bit is to make a straight line that the bumper will butt up against at the bottom of the wing...
I then left the wings whilst the primer was curing and started work on the bumper...began by making a template for the underside of the lights - I figured I'd start from the top and work downwards so started by making the section that sits directly under the lights and grill. After I'd made a card template for one side I flipped it over and was chuffed to see that the reversed side was an exact fit! At least I now know my wings and lights are set up properly!
before I had chance to start hacking up chuumky of polyeutherene foam sheet it was 2pm so had to shut up shop! Just getting going as well...
:roll:
lol - ar$ing about in me garage is my patience time. Jobs mental and I find I can really unwind in the garage...Quote:
Originally Posted by chimp007_uk
I am the typical man - I love my space - and the garage fulfills (nearly) all my needs...
lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingfil0032.jpg
OMFG!
i efffin love it ade
Nice read and the car is outstanding!
Top work mate - Can't wait to see it done :)
Friday 15/02/2008
Off work today (working this weekend though :mad:) so I thought I'd get the base of the bumper sorted out.
I actually started some template stuff earlier in the week but was having a brain dead moment over how the grill sits. On the New style Astra the bottom of the V sits flush on the top of the bumper with the clips on the bottom of the grill clipping into the back of the bumper - which are hidden by a slightly raised bit. However I couldnt replicate this in mine because the grill sits a bit lower so I wasted ages trying to work it all out. In the end I decided to cut a notch out for the V until I got the basic shape of the bumper sorted out then I can go back and work on it in more detail...
So - the 1st task was to make the top section of the bumper. The rest of the bumper will drop down from this (much easier that way). I'm using non resin reacting foam board to form the basic shape.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0102.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0103.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0100.jpg
This is a very rough outline - the main objective is to get the underside sorted, work out where the holes for will line up with the grill and ensure the curve of the lights and the top of the bumper are even.
This took a while to do...
The next step was to build down. I took some measurements from a standard GSi grill and added a further 5cm (which would represent an standard splitter) to get the depth right. I decided to bond large 20cm x 30cm foam board sections to the underside of the top section.
These are 5cm thick and will form the base of the bumper from which everything else is built on to (or carved in to).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0106.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0108.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0105.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0111.jpg
These images show a very rough base but give you the basic idea.
Once its smoothed back I will make a base section which will run the entire length of the bumper (for strength).
Before I can do this though I need to add the sides.
And before I can do that I needed to ensure I had a flush line on my wings.
After applying a skim of filler and whilst I waited for it to dry I smoothed the lines on the bumper front down to give a smoothish base to work from.
nice1 mate, did them pics from Mr Samples help you?
certainly did. I'll most likely take the bits either side of the V right down - like an inverted curve.
this thread never fails to amaze me, the work and detail your putting into the project is amazing, it reminds me a lot of "joff's" twin dash turbo beast, keep up the hard work and i hope to see it over the summer.
iain
Sunday 17/02/2008
Working again today but finished at 2 so by the time I got hime (3.30) I skipped into the garage to finish off the base of the front bumper...
I started by cleaning up the sides of the wings so there was a smooth line from which to line up the bumper sides.
I then cut out sections of foam and bonded them onto the rest of the bumper I started the other day. After some rough shaping the bumper started to take on a "bumper" feel -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0155.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0156.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0157.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0153.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0154.jpg
The next task was to ensure the depth of the bumper was correct.
Your standard GSi bumper is about 35cm deep from lights to underside. Add on a 5cm splitter and your'e talking your standard modded Nova bumper depth. So in theory the bumper should be about 40cm deep.
I needed to confirm this and had a dead brain moment again for a bit as I tried to work out the current ride height of my car in relation to the base of the bumper and the ground - obviously without an engine everything is considerably higher. I remembered that with my engine in and my 60mm suspension drop the distance between the top of my wheels and arch was literally about 2cm so afetr messing with a tape measure and lining up the foam bumper with the existing GSoi bumper I had I wasted probably 30 mins just to come to the conclusions I needed 5cm - basically the original quick workings I'd made
D'OH!
The foam board I'm using is 5cm thick which is convenient so the next task was to make a template for the base of the bumper and cut out some foam strips which would help strengthen the bottom of the bumper, line up the curves and give it the depth I wanted.
Heres the result -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0159.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0158.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0160.jpg
As you can see it's got a much bigger presence.
oops posted same thing twice
Sunday 17/02/2008 continued...
The next task (after I'd swept my dusty garage floor and removed all the foam cut off) was to smooth it a little and then rough out the basic look of the bumper...
Here's the original design I'd drafted several years ago (see page 7 of the thread) -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...raftfront1.jpg
which is based on the OPC Corsa body kit (pre latest faceflift version) with a bit of the new style astra in for the grill section...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/danga/1537-1.jpg
Here's the quick draft layout I did before calling it a night. Note nothings really lined up properly yet...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0162.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0163.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0164.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0165.jpg
The next task is to cut the bumper about and start to shape it...
Oh - and add the little corner bits on the sides I seem to have forgotten!
looking good ade cant wait to see it finished :thumb:
that look farking awesome Ade! Although I don't know if it the angle of the photo or something, but it kinda looks like its falling away from the car... Maybe a stronger line around the bottom of the grill and between the lights?
Maybe - dunno, could be alright... i'll get back to you lol
Actually if you dig the centre section of the bumper out like to opc corsa then I think it will solve it :)
it probably was falling away - its only held in place with 2 clamps at the side so the weight will have pulled the nose down slightly so under the V of the grill its probably about 1cm too low...
Ade
wow
Looks awsome that bumper - Will be good to see it with all the wee cut outs :)
Just P/S'd it - wanna see it ade, or wait till your done?
i may of allready asked this.. but will she be at pvs08?
i just absolutely laughed out loud. i am totally amazed. if your models werent testament enough to your effort and detail, this certainly is!
well done ade :thumb:
theres a whole lotta pages to search through, and I don't recall any engine plans? is that top secret? lol
That front end looks absolutly quality ade !
I'm still slightly hesitant as to how it's all going to blend together (i.e the Roof/window lines ; as you can't really change them) But i'm sure it'l get there in the end !
I dont think I'll be there for PV show - although I'll probably turn up myself.
Pushing for VBOA but realistically I "may" have the external bits ready for Trax.
TBH the full car isnt going to be ready till next year....
Engine wise I'm keeping it standard - 1.6 GSi with cone filter. Hopefully will get it rebuilt. make it last...
annoyingly VBOA is the same weekend at T-in the park and I'm having probs getting time off work.
GRRR
Still very much a WIP ad, it was a quick attempt to start with:
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6141/adejj4.jpg
nice 1 Ade.
yoza
looking good mate, brings back memories of when i made a bumper for a uni project (must be 6 years ago now :eek: lol )
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z...Picture127.jpg
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z...Picture185.jpg
i know how much work went into making that, you're doing the whole car you nutter lol
Dave I remember seeing a thread on that bumper years ago!
lol
Ash that's pretty cool - the yellow burnt my eyes though! Make it more like more like custard yellow lol
pretty cool though!
Thursday 21/02/2008
Day off work today and after a visit to the dentist tat left me ?200 lighter in the wallet (only had 2 fillings and a feckin clean!) I ordered a few parts from my local Vauxhall garage and courtesy of Ali who works there (who also used to own a 2ltr nova until recently) got a nice discount!
:thumb:
orders bolts and a few connectors but also placed an order for an OPC opel Grill with a honeycombe section like this one -
http://www.madle.org/ms05sopel.jpg
The stripe that surrounds the badge I'll paint to match my cars colour - yellow or Anthracite - not sure yet...
Bit of a sin that It's gonna be "trimmed" down to fit me Nova but with the bottom section nice and smooth it will fit much nicer with my bumper.
Speaking of which I spent most of the afternoon shaping it.
Started by measuring and drawing the design then bonded on a layer of foam to bring the side panels out to the right depth -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0003.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0002.jpg
I then smoothed these down so the top section blended in with the lines under the lights.
The next step was to cut the lower vent out -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0007.jpg
The centre support isnt bonded inplace - just for show. It's now starting to feel like a bumper!
I then fettled, cut, bonded and sanded away until I had something that resembles a cross between an Astra bumper and an Audi!
The following pics show the bumper pretty much complete from a frontal perspective. I need to work out the position of the fog lights as well as add some more detail to the bottom (the centre section will be trimmed and rolled so it flows back) -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0009.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0018.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0019.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0020.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0027.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...erhole0023.jpg
Heres one with the foam photoshopped in primer grey-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...hole0008pr.jpg
The only bit to add to the front is the 2 lower slats that sit on the corners of the lower vent mouth (there will be reflectors in these).
the sides still need finishing off too.
However I cant help thinking there's something missing. the sides seem too flat/dominant. I'll need to look at some kind of surround for the fogs...
Was thinking of Audi A3 lower fog light/vent slats (theres a paid on ebay just now) -
http://www.dandsauto.com/images/inve.../Audi%20A4.jpg
perhaps something like these (the slats and the fog surround mounted on a honeycombe back pattern perhaps)
Might I suggest moving the fogs outwards, adding some nice big driving/spotlamps, and headlight washers?
http://www.xen0phobiak.f2s.com/novaload/ade.jpg
Something like this?
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2.../Cars/ade1.jpg