How much of this car can be built before you absolutely need the donor parts? For example I know you can probably start drilling and clecoing some of the panels, interior?, bodywork? I know the roadster body depends heavily on there the parts sits once the roll bars and side pipes, quick jacks and all come through it, but can you do this body first? Thanks!
Yes, you can get most of the alum panels fitted and cleco'd in place, and yes, you can do the bodywork first. The only donor parts you'll really "need" to get most of the bodywork done is the hood hinges, latches and latch strikers. Once you have those pieces, you can pretty much get all of the bodywork done. I would highly recommend ditching the FFR hatch latch if it's a Gen I GTM and getting a 'Vette hatch latch to put in it's place. If it's a Gen II, it will already come with an appropriate hatch latch. (at least I assume so.....haven't pulled it out of the box yet on the gen II, but the instructions look like a conventional latch.)
Once you're past doing bodywork and alum panel fitting, you're pretty much going to need all of your donor parts to start in on the mechanicals.
__________________ Shane Vacek-VRaptor SpeedWorks, L.L.C. Supplier of Many Custom Products for the GTM! GTM's & SL-C's Custom Built for You! http://www.vraptorspeedworks.com
Uh, I was reading the forum and just watched the first 8 videos on youtube by "Fastthings" on fitting the body and the doors. That was very discouraging. It looks like he spent weeks trying to get the door to fit the body. I also heard him say he is a body guy. Has anyone got these to fit that is a "normal" person? How hard is it?
Being a body guy or not really doesn't have anything to do with fitting the doors. They're not like any production car door, so there are no similarities. It's all just a matter of using your brain/common sense to figure out the problems as they pop up. About the only thing that will help you is direct experience with GTM doors. The first set of doors I did on a GTM probably took me a week to get right too........but now I can get the door fitted, hinged, latched so that it opens and closes the way I want and fits the body the way I want in less than a day. That includes cutting the door frame in half and welding it back together, making my own door striker from scratch, reinforcing the hinge plate, etc.
__________________ Shane Vacek-VRaptor SpeedWorks, L.L.C. Supplier of Many Custom Products for the GTM! GTM's & SL-C's Custom Built for You! http://www.vraptorspeedworks.com
As I have said in the past, it would be really great if someone like Shane would offer their services on the doors. Either as a prefabbed setup, if possible, or in the form of, "hey it will take you a week to do these doors, or you can pay for my plane ticket and a few hundred bucks for my labor, and I will take care of your doors in a day or two"!
As I have said in the past, it would be really great if someone like Shane would offer their services on the doors. Either as a prefabbed setup, if possible, or in the form of, "hey it will take you a week to do these doors, or you can pay for my plane ticket and a few hundred bucks for my labor, and I will take care of your doors in a day or two"!
Hey Crash
You do know why there’s a reason Merlin took his magic secrets to the grave with him
__________________ "May you be in heaven a full half hour before the Devil knows you're dead".
Being a body guy or not really doesn't have anything to do with fitting the doors. They're not like any production car door, so there are no similarities. It's all just a matter of using your brain/common sense to figure out the problems as they pop up. About the only thing that will help you is direct experience with GTM doors. The first set of doors I did on a GTM probably took me a week to get right too........but now I can get the door fitted, hinged, latched so that it opens and closes the way I want and fits the body the way I want in less than a day. That includes cutting the door frame in half and welding it back together, making my own door striker from scratch, reinforcing the hinge plate, etc.
I keep saying it Shane, take a couple of hours to document the changes, people like me will pay you over and over again for the knowledge. just sayin',
I would love to only take 2 days to do them instead of the week it took you the first time! and I am not as good as you!
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