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GTM Gen1, #105 Fires Up!

94K views 644 replies 50 participants last post by  00SS_M6LS1 
#1 ·
It's a go!!! :w00t:

Just a little setback with the cam sensor harness, but the motor is alive. Alive, but not all well...just yet.



By the end of the video there's a tiny backfire, and then the engine dies. Could be lack of fuel again as I
was repairing the AN cross-over connector. I'll check the level, and do it again later.

The HP Tuner scan shows an odd trend for B1/B2 Injector pulse width which jumped from an average of 4.8 msec
to 12 msec quite rapidly. Something leaned out, and the computer tried to compensate.



My gauges are not working except the tach., so that's my next order of business. Power is there, and signal
lines are connected. Must be my method of connection:
I= 12V switched power
G= Ground
S= Sensor signal
Seems good to me? Power is there on I, and S.

I'd really like to get this go-kart testing done before the snow arrives. This weekend will be dedicated to getting the
engine locked up, and wires trimmed, tucked, and loomed.
 
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#114 ·
Markers

These are the markers that I have been looking at:
Lotus - 2008 Avora

Aston Martin - Vantage - I will be going with this set just because they are smaller
 

Attachments

#118 ·
Got out for another drive today. Set the speedo for KM/H over the MPH scale.

I don't think I'll ever see 200 MPH on the streets, so changing the calibration
to Kilometers makes sense for me (less brain power required to convert from
the Yankee system while driving too :smoke:).

Here's the table that you can edit for changing the speedo cal. All of you
Canadian GTM owners might enjoy this simple mod if you own the Autometer
gauge with the miles per hour scale:



Also found out my fuel gauge needs a slight tweak. The engine started running
rough on the way home. Saw the fuel pressure dropped by 16 PSI!
By the time I rolled into the driveway, it was running like crap - good thing
she didn't leave me stranded!

She? I meant HE!
 
#119 ·
If you need an overflow can, Mr. Gasket makes a fairly nice one for about $15. My only complaint is that the mounting hardware is lacking in comparison to the polished can, and anodized caps.
They included a worm gear clamp, and a cheap looking flat piece of drilled aluminum - no thanks. I think I'll use a stainless band clamp, or chrome bracket for an MSD coil instead.



NOw that I've had my fix kickin' around the streets, I'm going to shift focus to the doors, and getting the body primed. The last couple of days have been spent trimming the excess
from the contour of the doors. From there, I'll be sanding everything again with proper stroke patterns, and grit. I've been reading quite a bit about fiberglass prep, as well as taking
the pro advice from Steve, and Michael. Soon enough, I'll have it all looking decent with a solid primer application.

Here's where I'm at with the driver door. It shuts smoothly, but there are some waves along the seam. I'll have to be conservative with how much material is removed because the
scissor door hinge installation will probably change the gap spacing. The final trim, and fit will have to be done over the Winter.


As you can see from the swirl marks, the sanding strokes are incorrect. Why must we use a criss-cross motion? I figured small circles
would promote a smoother, and flatter finish? Does the criss-cross allow for better adhesion of the primer (like a cross-hatch will for
oil on the cylinder bore)? I can't find an answer to that question through my reading thus far.
 
#120 ·
Crosshatch or circles

Tino
The pattern of your sanding has nothing to do with how well the primer adheres by itself. If you look at the marks a DA sander leaves its a lot of little circles. The reason one sands in straight diagonal lines is most important when doing the rough bodywork and trying to make sure the panels have no waves. As you progress to finer and finer grits it's easier to see when you have removed say the 36 grit marks with the 80 grit sandpaper. If the 36 grit marks are going in one direction and you sand with the 80 grit diagonally across the 36 grit marks you will know you've sanded enough when you can no longer see the 36 grit marks. Sand with 180 diagonal across the 80 etc. If you sand in the same direction with both grits you wont be able to distinguish one from the other. Once you're down to the final sanding with 400 - 600 grit it really doesn't matter how you sand as long as you get ALL the 180 marks out. 180 marks will show in the paint. Especially on flat areas like doors.
Hope that helps :001_tongue:
Steve
 
#122 ·
Question:

How many of you have a major offset at the rear tires? One side is almost one
inch offset from the fender. I'm thinking a thicker spacer on the driver's side is
the most effective way to correct this issue?



I might as well deal with the radius of the wheel wells too. They are not as
symmetrical as I'd like.
 
#127 ·
Hey Tino,

All this is, is the fact that the body naturally angles to the left by about an inch. This warp happens during the molding process. The manual says you need to center it at the rear by measuring the top of the wheel guard against the top of the rear shock mount, left side and right. The problem is that the body doesnt want to sit there on the rear splash guards and the diffuser alone. Thats why i designed my own exhaust trim plate out of thicker aluminium and so that you can bolt the plate to the transaxle frame that you saw once before. With that plate, you can put the rear end exactly where you want it and it'll stay there. You rivet the plate to the body as per FFR instructions and the bottom lip of the plate bolts to the trans frame after you have measured the wheel guards left to right.
 
#123 ·
Hey Tino, don't forget to wear a respirator when you paint. Primer too. And if you are using a catalyzed primer, (which you should be!) a charcoal respirator won't cut it. It doesn't filter the really nasty stuff called isocyanates. Fresh air hood only. ESPECIALLY with clearcoats!

Charcoal respirator is good for the water-borne colour coats, but never, never clears.
 
#124 ·
Hey Tino;
I ended up sending my speedo back to the manufacture and they changed the face plate to km/h, also had them insert the high beam light and teh turn signals into it. total cost was somewhere around 40 bucks. I think it cost more to ship then for them to change it out.

Not sure if you got to the window stage in the doors, but just have to say...be patient. it will work.
 
#125 · (Edited)
Hey Dave,

I read about the gauge conversion, but having the MPH face doesn't bother
me because the numbers are calibrated properly. Now I can tell people we're
going super fast, and mess up their sense of speed. :cool:

The windows, and door internals are in progress. I'm not worried about getting it
right, I just like to complain a lot.

Get some pics of your car up soon! It seems like you're pretty close to road testing?
 
#129 ·
Thanks for the feedback guys.


I spent some time aligning everything today, and it's much better now.
Tomorrow the rear aluminum bracket will be installed which will hold it all in place.

Mj., I like your tube idea for the cooling system hoses in the tunnel. Good move.
 
#130 ·
Almost bang on with the body alignment! After measuring, and leveling
everything in sight, the rear bracket was installed. Now the tires, and
trunk lid are sitting in their rightful place.

The wheel alignment has not been completed yet, but it's pretty close (as is the ride height). I'm not going to set anything in stone until the wheels have been setup, however
my procedure was to align the body to the frame/cage, and not the wheels. If anything, i'll rework the wheel wells to conform to the roll cage, and wheel alignment.
It just seems like the right thing knowing the body is not true. Anybody disagree with that logic?

Wheel to body centering after adding the rear bracket:



Leveled the entire car. Used the frame as the reference. The cross bar, and the transmission mount are centered,
and also serves as the visual reference. The levels sat on the body, and trunk lid while the laser indicates the centerline
of the frame.


Three bolts used to hold the rear in place. I'm also going to use an industrial glue between the
back side, and bracket before 'glassing the bracket to the body. The license plate covers up
the bolts very well.


The only major clean-up will be the lip of the trunk to the body. It's nearly square,
but there are several high, and low spots that require attention. I think shaving the
edge of the trunk should allow the lid to sit more flush with body lines at either side.
 
#132 ·
Looking forward to seeing this car all one shade/colour! The last two days have been spent cleaning, degreasing, and taping the body.

Tonight I'll be applying filler to all the uneven areas, and sanding down the rough spots that I never finished. With all the new
info that I've gathered about body prep, I'll have a good guideline to follow.

Just a few more areas to cover-up, and then the fun begins.


 
#133 ·
If you would like an interesting exercise, take a tape measure, put the end on the centerline at the rear license area where you have marked with a green line and then run the tape along the bumper lip around to the rear wheel well opening. Maybe yours will come out different, but mine was something like 3" different side to side.:eek:hmy:
 
#134 · (Edited)
I just called Ferrari Parts Dept. for a price on the F430 diffuser.

Then he said, he's not sure if the fins are included. He thinks they are separate
and cost $700-$800 each (x4). I'm expecting an email with the update.

Hmmm...it's a toss up - My left arm, or an F430 diffuser? Let me think about it. :yawn:

EDIT: The fins are included, but it's made of plastic? I never thought I'd see that material used
on an exotic trim piece! Needless to say, it's out of my budget, and knowing it's not carbon fiber
doesn't make it desirable at all. If anyone else wants the details, I have a bill of materials, and a
PDF exploded view of the assembly. Here's the quote



Mike, I'll get those measurements asap; I'm curious to know!
 
#141 ·
Thanks guys, I like your style! All the fun happens on Saturday, so I'll have a drink
for both of you.

Back to biz on this crazy body work.

This is the rear quarter after filling in pin holes, and sanding 220.
There is a slight hump in the second photo that is noticeable with light.
I'll have to knock that down a touch more!



High spots, and low spots. Second photo is what's left after 220 blocking.
I'm going to spray some guide coat on tomorrow, and block with 400 to check for more uneven areas.



Driver's side air duct. Wow, I hate this part the most. The panels were far from even, and
all the tight corners, and curves makes it very difficult to sand. After four hours, I'm still left
with some holes, and apparent uneven surface.

Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
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This is the driver's door brace after two coats of spray-can yellow. A bit of orange peel
effect going on, but I'm not going to bother sanding this down as it will be hidden from view.
It looks pretty smooth, and well adhered for a hand-job (< :lol: )


This is the gun I picked up last year. It's a high volume, low pressure, gravity feed. The installed tip is a 1.4.
I'm hoping this will be good enough for the priming stage; maybe a different tip will be required.


If nothing else, most of the swirl marks are disappearing from the initial rough-up of the body (when I completely had
no clue how to sand). The criss-cross hatch pattern at about 30 degrees intersect is the motion I'm using now.
 
#142 ·
After a good wash, and tack, I gave a few spots a healthy dose of guide prime. A bit more than required...yes, but
it helps me to see the imperfections.

To my surprise, the side air duct turned out much better than expected considering all the parting lines, and steps
before the body work began. More filler, sanding, repeat.



Easier to see the wave along the bottom where the three pieces join.
It wasn't as pronounced without the guide layer.


Lots of work remains in the corners, and more pin holes after the last cleaning.
Spot putty should fix those I'd imagine.



I used several light sources, with different angles, and intensities to find errors.
After this stuff cures, and shrinks, I'll add a thin layer of filler (or putty) to the low
areas, and block it again.





Body guys really do earn their money. It's easy to see that I'm out of my league, but it's
going to have to suffice until I can afford the real thing.

It's going to be a long Winter spent in the garage.
 
#143 ·
Here are some exciting pictures for you all! Doing a second round of filling, and blocking to correct the low spots.
These are the before, and after areas that are shown in the previous post. It will be FUN to see how it all progresses...
like watching paint dry?

I used the widest applicator to ensure the block would conform to the curve of the body.
The filler is spread about two inches on either side of the low spot, so it should sand out nicely.



This may not be a low spot, but the filler shows through the guide coat and gives the
impression there may be the slightest dip. Maybe I'm over cautious, but I'd rather be
safe than sorry!



Filler to fix the bigger air pockets in the gel coat, and spot putty for the tiny air bubbles.
I knew this area needed more work before spraying the guide layer, but having all the different
shades, and transitions made it difficult to see where all the problems were.



I'm also getting leads on 2K primer that will work with the 3M products that I've used. I'm not sure when I'll
be ready to prime; at this rate, I'm taking nearly a week to prep one rear quarter! On the bright side, they say
the filler should sit for at least a few days to allow shrinking, then block to the final grit prior to priming.
 
#144 · (Edited)
A few points of interest for those following along:

- The Scion FR-S diffuser (aka lower bumper assembly) is $318.22 + tax from the dealer. That's about 10x less than Ferrari's plastic part.
With a little work, I think it will look really nice. I'm going to check one out up-close, and make a decision before the primer stage happens.

EDIT: added photo (don't mind the spoiler, that's not exactly what I'm going for!)


- I've picked up a thermal adhesive from Thermo-Tec for the inner tunnel, and fender aluminum. The idea is to keep the pinging from rocks
to a minimum, and isolate the heat in the tunnel, and engine cover/firewall. This stuff is about 1/8" thick, and appears to have great damping
on top of thermal properties. The outer tunnel is covered with a fiber-foil material on my car, so having this stuck inside should really help
knock down the heat. It's thin enough to fit under the console, and engine cover without interfering with anything behind it.



My father (whom is my partner in crime) also contact a friend of his about paint & primer. He mentioned a paint MFG, or brand called, "Diamond".
The only reference I can find to automotive paint bearing any similarity is Diamond-Kote which seems to be a clear coat protective finish.
Has anyone heard of Diamond paint? If so, can you link me? Google defies me.
 
#145 ·
Hey Tino;
looks like your on the road to completion. I've been stalled with ordering some parts, but managing to work on some wiring.
I am wondering about the idea of putting the thermo-tec stuff inside the engine cover that is between the seats. the heat may actually cause this to peal off, which would have bad results. I would like to do the same as I do not want to remove the covering on this piece to add sound deadening to the inside. Has other builders done this and how has it held.

sand, clean, sand, prime, block.....keep it up.
 
#146 ·
Yes Dave, I'm getting closer to a better looking build. I fought with myself for
most of the Summer because tuning the motor, and joy riding was more important
than getting the yucky body work finished.

Now I'm finally biting down, and hope to have the entire car ready for primer
by month end. One dilemma is whether the alignment should be done before
the snow arrives. That means I'd have to drive it once more, then remove
the body. Most of what I've read encourages that the wheels are aligned
before fixing the wheel wells.

At the moment, I'm finishing the driver's side air intake, and rear quarter.
If all of this checks out after another guide coat & sanding, then I'll move on.


The door assembly begins. Power windows, door poppers, then scissor hinges.
I'm in for a stressful project I'm sure.
 
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