Dallara & K24: Recovering From OffRoad Experience

[lookforjoe]

Got some filler on the exposed metal before the rains came in

trying to get the corners right - looking at it from as many vantage points as possible

nose transition to vertcial is too soft - I need to get a crisper edge back

looks too pointy in the corner still, from this angle anyway.....

Looks like do-do from this angle

Need to add some material in from the outer fender edge, to start to get some flow into the front panel. That should help round it out

With the primer on to cover the exposed sheet metal ridge line, it is obvious there is also a wobble in the ridge at the peak to resolve

 

[Mechanogeek]

Gabriel REALLY likes the plastic bag the honeycomb grille material comes in

I, too would like some honeycomb grill material... It is referenced somewhere else on site, or if not, where did you get it (source and part #, please).

 

[lookforjoe]

I, too would like some honeycomb grill material... It is referenced somewhere else on site, or if not, where did you get it (source and part #, please).

Couldn't remember where I posted the link - it was in my other thread

120x40cm Honeycomb mesh

new link

 

[lookforjoe]

Got some work done on the nose after work today - finally got a fender ridge/ nose edge line I'm feeling OK about

Still needs detail work, but I have a clear demarkation now

 

[Mechanogeek]

Couldn't remember where I posted the link - it was in my other thread

120x40cm Honeycomb mesh

Thank you, Sir. I have now ordered what I needed. You Da Best!

 

[lookforjoe]

Bonded the vertical filler panels, then reinforced the backside of the panels with several layers of chopped mat fiberglass. Also reinforced with fibreglass the fender sections where the spoiler will attach. Then added several layers of bondo to contour the vertical fillers into the fenders. Added some more bondo to the right cover, it was a lttle soft going in to the vertical lip of the headlamp opening.

The top vertical area of the fender tip/nose had to be brought forward - to visually align with the center nose panel

Fiberglass on the inner corners

Several layers and filing back later

Starting to take shape - I do need to make some sort of guide that I can transfer side to side to check the contours - I've just been eyeballing it so far

Flow looks OK

Added some fibreglass & sandwiched steel reinforcement to the center of the spoiler

Pass side needed more filler after this to bring out the mid to upper section

In other news, MWB has my subframe section ready to ship - so motor work will be coming up soon

 

[kmead]

Looking good.

This is going to give a more X and particularly Dallara look with a monoblock appearance which is much less fussy. The previous iteration suggested a bumper in the form of the front.

To transfer heights from left to right you could bolt a board which stick out beyond associated body work to a known level feature of the car and then create a story pole which would sit on top of the board. Normally this would all be on a surface plate with the car centered in a box and then a reference ridge running around the plate to then carry measurements around the car, unrealistic in this case.

The board could be attached to the radiator mount or the added understructure you have created and braced level relative to the car. If possible you want to be able to install and remove it with ease so you can move the car as needed or work in areas and then reinstall it to keep carrying consistent and level lines to the car itself. The outside of the board should be the same distance from the front and sides of the car to ensure the same reference from your story pole.

 

[autox19]

Bonded the vertical filler panels, then reinforced the backside of the panels with several layers of chopped mat fiberglass. Also reinforced with fibreglass the fender sections where the spoiler will attach. Then added several layers of bondo to contour the vertical fillers into the fenders. Added some more bondo to the right cover, it was a lttle soft going in to the vertical lip of the headlamp opening.

The top vertical area had to be brought forward - to visually align with the center nose panel

Fiberglass on the inner corners

Several layers and filing back later

Starting to take shape - I do need to make some sort of guide that I can transfer side to side to check the contours - I've just been eyeballing it so far

Flow looks OK

Added some fibreglass & reinforcement to the center of the spoiler

Pass side needed more filler after this to bring out the mid to upper section

In other news, MWB has my subframe section ready to ship - so motor work will be coming up soon

View attachment 32653

I wish bondo was charged for how much ended up on the car after sanding. Given, I suck at bondo work, but so far on my wing I have went through an entire gallon and the entire wing still weighs less than the new gallon of bondo I got.

Odie

 

[lookforjoe]

Worked on the lower nose/fenders for a bit -

Going to leave it alone now until I get the rest of the nose sorted, then I'll go back & do all the detail work & take care of the seams by the hood.

Started figuring out the spoiler/grille surround attachment. I'm going to make it removable.

16" from lip to crease line. Don't recall what I had with the original spoiler

Same clips I used for the C30 rockers

With the general plan decided, I worked on the fender skirts, where they were all torn up. Bonded an "L" channel to the square section already bonded from original install. That gave me a concrete line to follow.

Small forward tab is for the spoiler corner

using fibreglass reinforced bondo for all this

This side, I had to build up the vertical line also

Checking the overall flow

Both verticals have a little bit of a wobble about halfway down, and in the fender crease line wrap around

 

[Mike Schofield]

Thank you, Sir. I have now ordered what I needed. You Da Best!

Gah!! Does not ship to Canada! Correction, it does ship to Canada but for a huge amount. It’ll be $120 Canadian. Is it worth it? I want to use it to replace the metal screen from the rear valence to the bumper to accommodate for my muffler...

 

[DanielForest]

Gah!! Does not ship to Canada! Correction, it does ship to Canada but for a huge amount. It’ll be $120 Canadian. Is it worth it? I want to use it to replace the metal screen from the rear valence to the bumper to accommodate for my muffler...

Or you could do what people do in the good ole days for their 4 tips Ansa-thru-the-grill (unlike the other model that exit underneath the valence), they just cut part of the grill.

 

[quattrorules]

Just search ebay for the same product from different sellers, shipping costs vary greatly. I noticed one seller in China that will ship it for $14.99. Good, if you're willing to wait a while to get the product.

47.2"x15.7" Universal Plastic Racing Honeycomb Diamond Mesh Grill Spoiler Bumper | eBay

Material: ABS plastic. ABS plastic material, durable and flexible. Detail Image. Quantity: 1pc.

www.ebay.com

 

[lookforjoe]

Just search ebay for the same product from different sellers, shipping costs vary greatly. I noticed one seller in China that will ship it for $14.99. Good, if you're willing to wait a while to get the product.

47.2"x15.7" Universal Plastic Racing Honeycomb Diamond Mesh Grill Spoiler Bumper | eBay

Material: ABS plastic. ABS plastic material, durable and flexible. Detail Image. Quantity: 1pc.

www.ebay.com

Problem is that one isn't honeycomb - it's diamond mesh when you check the pics. I've seen a couple like that that say Honeycomb, but actually not...

 

[lookforjoe]

Worked on the inner supports (cut from targa roof remnants) that will retain the grille surround and the headlamp 'bucket"

Have to resolve the intersection of the spoiler/grille support/marker surround - the original layout had the grille surround at more of an angle

 

[RZSR X]

I'm liking the direction of the front end! I have two questions thought: First why would you work on the body before figuring out any and all of the mechanical questions including the engine? Is this because you have parts on order and are making good use of your time by working on the body? And two: This one cracks me up! Why are you in effect rolling the yellow stripes back out of the way instead of just pulling them off?

Sad to see such destruction in the accident to such a beautiful X but enjoying you detailed rebuild as I'm sure many forum followers are.

Keep up the great and insanely fast progress!

 

[lookforjoe]

I'm liking the direction of the front end! I have two questions thought: First why would you work on the body before figuring out any and all of the mechanical questions including the engine? Is this because you have parts on order and are making good use of your time by working on the body? And two: This one cracks me up! Why are you in effect rolling the yellow stripes back out of the way instead of just pulling them off?

Sad to see such destruction in the accident to such a beautiful X but enjoying you detailed rebuild as I'm sure many forum followers are.

Keep up the great and insanely fast progress!

Thank you.

Yes, that is the gist of it. I used the stripes as a visual guide/reference markers for some of the revised work, so easier to leave it be & remove it as needed. I'll pull them off the forward section when I do the final prep.

It doesn't really matter what the extent of the mechanical issues are, I will fix whatever it turns out to be. There is nothing that would cause me to give up on this & throw in the towel, as it were. That said, I'm hoping it's just the oil pan. I'm going to suspend the drivetrain, drop/cut off (if I can't access the mount bolts) the subframe, change the oil pan & start it up. I just want to hear it before I drop the drivetrain, which is the plan either way as I want to address the residual coolant smoke on startup. I'll pull the head, inspect & change the gasket, head bolts, etc. While it's out I will address the AC compressor mount ear that cracked.

Lastly, I'll deal with the undercarriage damage to the swaybar frame mounts & water pipe/tunnel - that's the part I'm not looking forward to.

Depending on how that goes, I may do the DS floor pan at the same time.

 

[RZSR X]

I'm sure if we took a forum poll on what is the repair X owners were least looking forward to working on it would by far be the water tunnel repair!

If I remember correctly I spent like 6 months removing (with about 1.5 feet of clearance from the floor of the X to the garage floor), reworking the box to fit the 4 Nascar SS pipes (all in the tunnel) and then remounting. But even though my X isn't near finished I can smile knowing the tunnel is complete, thank God!

By the way as long as you were siting in the X after the crash at idle and not WOT with the pan blown there isn't likely to be any damage to the internals. I've watched videos of engines running without oil for an amazingly long time before damage.

 

[lookforjoe]

Got a little work in on the headlamp / nose after work. I found that I have to move the whole assembly back about an inch, or the outer lower edge of the lamp will be too close to the fender edge. As it is, it will be close. Looks like it will be similar to vintage offset and depth, judging by lower outer corner

After reworking the upper support brackets I installed the lamps to determine the amount that has to be removed

Spacing out the lower supports

EDIT - I had forgotten about the Jolly Club X1/9 Dallara pics referenced in my Dallara Stripes thread - I couldn't recall how the headlamp surround was treated on the original, since it's unclear in many of the usual search results -

Not sure that there is anyway I can recreate the softer inner scallop of the surround - and the ridgeline across the middle really needs to be there - loks like it starts just inboard of the tow hook

I also note that the grille opening is both wider and harder-edged.

 

[kmead]

I would try to avoid opening up the hole towards the fender side. At least as little as possible.

A couple of questions.

I see an additional thickness of material to the radiator side screwed to I assume the steel of the car. Your brackets are then screwed through this. Can you cut out the area of the added side plate to move the lamp towards the radiator By that material thickness? Each millimeter you can move the lamp over reduces the amount your opening needs to intrude on the fender radius.​

Is the lamp servicable from the inside? Can the brackets be made such that the lamp can be removed from the back? This could allow you to make the coved opening the Jolly Club car shows.​

Can the lamp be moved backwards at all?​

Reducing the opening (if some of the above questions answers are yes) to better match the face of the lens of the lamp and gaining the radii at the corners rather than the sharp hard cut corners would be much nicer if it can be achieved.​

 

[lookforjoe]

I would try to avoid opening up the hole towards the fender side. At least as little as possible.

A couple of questions.

I see an additional thickness of material to the radiator side screwed to I assume the steel of the car. Your brackets are then screwed through this. Can you cut out the area of the added side plate to move the lamp towards the radiator By that material thickness? Each millimeter you can move the lamp over reduces the amount your opening needs to intrude on the fender radius.​

Is the lamp servicable from the inside? Can the brackets be made such that the lamp can be removed from the back? This could allow you to make the coved opening the Jolly Club car shows.​

Can the lamp be moved backwards at all?​

Reducing the opening (if some of the above questions answers are yes) to better match the face of the lens of the lamp and gaining the radii at the corners rather than the sharp hard cut corners would be much nicer if it can be achieved.​

Thanks for the input Karl.

This was/is how I built the headlamp installation: Some latitude is built into the positioning due to the elongated mount holes of the Bronco unit

They have to be installed from below/behind no matter what. There is no room on the inboard side to position the unit further inboard, I already removed as much material as I could from the housing backplate/support on the inside edge. The lamp almost touches the frame rail as it is, I positioned them outboard about 1/8" from the added fiberglass reinforcement/support panel to make sure I can adjust the lights.

I think I can remove some of the inner support and taper it inward from the frame rail to produce the scalloped recess vs. the straight panel that's there now - won't be fun to do, but I think it will look better. The vertical grille surrounds really need to be much thinner to emulate the original - but I think a large part of that is just due to the scallop going further inboard, and the lack of an opening below the H/L for a marker lamp on the original.

I'm definitely going to add more radiusing in the corners - it just looks better, nevermind the structural benefit. I will also have the covers.