So it begins....... [Archive] - Page 2

tucker298

10-01-2017, 09:32 PM

sooooo its been awhile and I apologize! Let me catch you guys up to speed, the body is on and both doors close nicely. I've been super busy at work but Ron told me its been too long and we can't let the project get stagnant and he was right, it felt really good to get some progress on the build again. I'll update this with a lot of pics to follow but first I'll complain a lot lol. I know a lot of people complain about the body, and if your reading this Factory Five they are ALL right! I can't believe how poorly every piece of this body fits. Trying to explain away how ill fitting the body components by calling it an advanced build or saying all the hard work makes the end that much better is a poor attempt to sugar coat a sub standard body. If they had any pride in their products they would have listened to all these reviews and fixed it. Although I'm aware they attempted to with the Gen 2 body they simply didn't. This isn't a news flash to anyone that follows the forum but I had to say it to keep future owners aware that in no way has the body improved, at least up to body #436. I'm pleading with you Factory Five, please update your manual, please give us at least an option for an LS2/3 exhaust system for the kit, please at least pretend to care that your body's fit is substandard. Now that I've got that off my chest I'll proceed with the updates!

tucker298

10-01-2017, 09:43 PM

First off the weekend started off on the wrong foot with the previous owner buying the wrong hood hinges! I thought I was well prepared for this weekend by ensuring I had located all the parts for the hood install in advance but as we started looking at how to bolt the hood hinges onto the hood hinge brackets it became apparent, the previous owner bought the wrong ones!!!! now it was friday night when we found this out and I had to find a pair of C5 hood hinges stat! Luckily Raleigh is an hour away and their was a dealership that actually had a set of L/R C5 hinges new in box at their parts department! that stole a few hours from our Saturday morning but we were ready to finally start. I was curious if the hood hinges were C5 or C4 or any corvette hinges, they are not, I even looked to see if maybe the hinges were camaro hinges pulled by accident, they are not any generation of camaro hinges. I have no idea what hinges these things go to but they won't work for the GTM lol

tucker298

10-01-2017, 09:54 PM

but before we could attach the hood to the hood hinges we had to see where the hood wanted to sit and try to see how close that was to where it should sit. Well immediately after setting the hood down you could see this, like everything else with the body, was going to be a fight. The hood was off center line and was several inches high in the front. First we had to find out why the hood was sitting up so high up front and what was keeping it from coming down. The head light buckets were sitting on the hood hinge brackets. After much back and forth we figured the best plan was to cut the hinges as far back as possible in order to minimize the amount of cutting needed on the headlight buckets. After hacking up bracket and bucket the hood finally sat down and aligned in an acceptable spot. Not ideal still but we can work with it from here.

tucker298

10-01-2017, 09:59 PM

This part really irritates me, the wheel well lined up nicely so it makes a circle, and when you do this (on my car) it makes the hood about half an inch short from lining up properly at the back of the hood where it meets the doors. so its either line up the wheel well and extend the back of the hood or line up the back of the hood and re work the entire wheel well....... and seeing how ugly that meet up area is, where the hood meets the body and the door I decided to leave that area short so we can try and extend the hood to hide this area.

tucker298

10-01-2017, 10:04 PM

after fighting the poorly molded hood for several hours, actually attaching it was fairly easy. I haven't put the hood latches on just yet because the manual is really really vague about how high or low to place them and I didn't want to start drilling holes in the body with a guess. I'll figure that out and let you guys know what I find out. Shane if you have a technique for attaching the hood hinges and hood strikers please let me know!

beeman

10-01-2017, 10:05 PM

Nice to see you are making some progress!
What are your front alignment specs (ie don't screw with the wheel wells until you have it set)? How much caster?

tucker298

10-01-2017, 10:07 PM

tucker298

10-01-2017, 10:10 PM

and lastly Ron continued massaging the tail light buckets that he fabbed up to be able mount the tail lights that I wanted. Putting some body filler and sanding to get us another step closer to seeing those beautiful aftermarket 2nd gen camaro tail lights.

tucker298

10-01-2017, 10:12 PM

Beeman,

I'd have to get the sheet from my friend that did it for me, but I do remember him saying it was very close to the Z06 settings in the alignment machine.

tucker298

10-15-2017, 10:59 AM

thought this was a really cool video series about how to make some custom parts. I know the series is about making a mold but you can clearly see how using this technique could be helpful in a custom rear spoiler or from splitter etc. I'll probably try this for version 2 of my rear spoiler, the Styrofoam version came out ok but i'll see how this does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJMMI6fTU0A

tucker298

10-18-2017, 09:02 PM

I know its our rival lol but great builds just need to be shared! this car is top notch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXhkFQzSnss&t=17s

turbomacncheese

10-19-2017, 01:20 AM

OK. All the other SLC builds I've seen had DYMO tape and garbage inside. Looked cool from outside, but not much on the interior. That build right there....if FF doesn't go after them, it might be my long-term project after the 818.

carbon fiber

10-19-2017, 07:08 AM

We then moved onto the hatch, which was attached but need some trimming, not only did it need tons of trimming it was also warped. Like the doors, the manual says the hatch is intentionally made oversized so you can trim it, which by now I've translated to " we don't have a good body mold or quality control so we made it sloppy and you can figure it out" LMAO! Now Brent, you know the body is made so poorly so that you can learn fiberglass skills and become a better builder! Or FFR doesn't give a sh!t, one or the other. I've been trying for years on both forums to shame FFR to do something about the GTM body. I've seen so many sold at the go-kart stage because of the advanced bodywork it makes me sick. It's the single reason so many GTM kits are unfinished today. They don't care, they already got your $25,000. It really bothers me as a composite guy. One of the first things I was taught was to get your plug shaped correctly so the parts will be too. I've reduced the hatch glass replacement kit to $600 if you want one. It'll save sometime, vent heat, and give a clean roofline. Three things the FFR hatch can't do. Either way, keep at it and you'll have a nice finished product in spite of FFR. As far as the SLC, the bodies can be sanded and buffed in gelcoat they are made so well... Fran Hall is the man. (Sorry Dave) (Not Really Sorry)

beeman

10-19-2017, 10:50 AM

I won't rule out an SL-C build as well...I actually bought my GTM kit from Fran.
So how do you get out when you wreck that red one or have a fire, and lose electrics?

carbon fiber

10-19-2017, 07:53 PM

So how do you get out when you wreck that red one or have a fire, and lose electrics?
75642

tucker298

10-19-2017, 08:25 PM

if you read the comments on that SLC youtube video you'll see that those are 2005 Elise tail lights, so any future builder looking to swap tail lights theres another good option.

beeman, the one and only thing that kept me from considering an SLC was the windows don't roll down, I know that might seem trivial and i don't drive with the windows down very often but that really bothered me........and as I type this, lamenting about still having to do the windows I'm thinking to myself "was roll down windows worth all this?" lol

carbon fiber, you're really tempting me with that! i just towed the car to an exhaust shop to have them get my tips set right in the body and if that doesn't cost too much then I might be able to budget that!

turbomacncheese

10-19-2017, 09:02 PM

75642

bwahahahahahahhaa!!

tucker298

10-22-2017, 04:04 PM

75766 Optilux H71010451 Model 2500 Angel Eye 12V/55W Halogen Driving Lamp Kit

saw these fog lights on a former builders build log, was a grey gen 1, they're only $50 and look to be worth it! I like the halo look on the fog lights, i'm going to try and have halo rings on the brake light and an led strip under or around the headlights.

tucker298

10-25-2017, 10:44 PM

So I got the car towed to an exhaust shop to have them weld up the exhaust properly so it comes out where it should on the body. The exhaust was just welded up quickly while in the go cart stage but it was high when we put the body on, no surprise there. Great shop! was a little hesitant when I popped in to ask him if he could do some adjustment on the exhaust on my kit car and I showed him some pics of the engine bay and what needed to happen. He reluctantly said yeah bring it down and I'll make it right. Well when the flat bed truck arrived with my project car the whole shop came out to see and i fielded tons of questions haha he was very excited about the car and told me he was excited to work on it and I had to promise to bring the car back when it was finished. A few days later he calls me and tells me its done. He said he's never seen a project car get so much attention. Customers would randomly take pictures of it and ask about the whole time it was in his shop. The tow truck driver said people would just drive next to him and look at it, he's never seen an project car get so much attention. THEN I couldn't wait to take a quick spin around the neighborhood to hear the exhaust again and when I did a high school kid came running out of his house and asked me if he could take a pic of the car real quick. I know you guys already know this but wow this thing gets attention no matter what stage its in. It really motivated me to get back in the garage!

tucker298

10-25-2017, 10:52 PM

I've had this problem with an irritating squeal coming from the pulley system. I started to investigate it finally and sounds like the belt tensioner pulley that got relocated. I just ordered a new one (was pretty cheap) and hopefully its that easy, if not hopefully the belt isn't out of alignment via a misaligned pulley. None of the pulley looked like they were wobbling or out of alignment but we'll see. If you google LS belt squeal theres a TON of hits lol seems to be a common problem.

tucker298

10-25-2017, 11:00 PM

I added Tinos screen to my build to add more "tech" to the interior, there will be a removable IPAD grafted into the interior where the radio usually is that will manage everything from music to the windows, the tail lights will be updated with LED's and halo rings, The fog lights up front will also have that. Shaved door handles and poppers. I say all that because I LOVE the super car look and performance of the GTM and I'm trying to bring the tech and sophistication up to match. The last thing I had envisioned was an LED strip in the head light buckets like most newer cars. They seem to be very inexpensive and a lot of options, this is my first shot at looking for the right light for that job. I'll tie them into the fog lights and also the turn signal. According to the website when the turn signal is activated the white led turns amber and blinks with the turn signal. Cool concept, we'll see how it plays out, barely past the good idea stage right now.

crash

10-26-2017, 08:56 AM

You may want to contact Shane about the squealing. I believe he sells an upgraded pulley kit that was designed to address this very issue.

carbon fiber

10-26-2017, 06:19 PM

Yeah, the belt noise issue is common with GTMs. The FFR provided relocation bracket isn't strong enough and either has to be modified (weld on an addition that goes further to the drivers side for stability) or you can buy the bracket kit Shane sells that's beefier and has a threaded design that eliminates the factory style tensioner.7596875970Maybe they'll fix that on the GEN III;)

Aceflo

11-12-2017, 06:19 AM

if you read the comments on that SLC youtube video you'll see that those are 2005 Elise tail lights, so any future builder looking to swap tail lights theres another good option.

These are the tail lights that I have going into my build. They sell two versions of the LEDs, and neither of them are cheap. $200 US each.

Aceflo

11-12-2017, 06:24 AM

BTW ....love that your build is coming along. I've been gone a while...mother passed among other life things.
Good news is that I just poured the concrete for a new shop area yesterday. Going to be wiring and insulating the shop next weekend. Hope to have the shop complete before then end of the month.
The GTM should soon have a dedicated area now to get some much needed attention.

Keep up the good work Brent ....I'm learning a lot! :)

-Rick

tucker298

11-13-2017, 12:26 AM

Rick,

I can't wait to see pics and follow your build, its not too early to send pics of the garage! thats part of the build too!

tucker298

11-13-2017, 12:40 AM

So here's yet another issue with what you would think would be a very straight forward part of the build........

I wanted to put a few gallons of gas in the car and now that the body is on I was going to temporarily hook up the gas cap to the fuel tanks. There's a short black tube with two 90 degree bends that connects the two pieces. Well the black tube is flared at one end, the end that connects to the gas cap. The instructions say to cut the flared portion off and then simply attach it to the gas cap with a hose clamp .......seems easy enough. After you do that (for me at least) the black tube is now too short to connect to the gas cap!!! Anyone else have this issue or use a different tubing to connect the two?!

carbon fiber

11-13-2017, 07:35 AM

The manual is full issues. You need to physically check each new part of your build as you go. If you follow that manual all the time you'll have problems.

tucker298

11-13-2017, 10:18 AM

your point Jason has been proven time and time again, you'd think I would've learned by now lol

tucker298

11-13-2017, 11:14 AM

anyone have a fix for that tube from the cap to the fuel can? or run across this problem?

Shoeless

11-13-2017, 12:33 PM

I’m obviously nowhere near this far along, but I am finding myself doing a “sanity” check comparing what the manual is telling me to do vs. what I’m actually going to do at every step. It just sucks that something that supposedly was revised this year, or at least that’s what the cover states, is still full of garbage.

tucker298

11-13-2017, 01:35 PM

Shoeless,

I guess I'm just surprised I haven't heard of that being an issue before, although the manual is lacking the forum makes up for it! I wouldn't have ordered the kit if it weren't for this forum. I've tried to read every single thread on both forums and I've looked through all the weebly build sites I could find and usually I have a heads up that something is going to be a problem, I just haven't heard of this one yet.... or didn't remember reading it. Really, I don't remember being this frustrated with the kit during the go kart stage. It really seems to be the body portion that is lacking so much in detailed instructions and lacking in quality products.

tucker298

11-13-2017, 01:46 PM

Shoeless

11-13-2017, 03:43 PM

Think about all the fixes that Shane at Vraptor Speedworks has identified and provided fixes for! If it wasn't for him the list would be so much longer. Maybe the go kart stage was that much smoother because I ordered almost every one of his "fixes".

Yea I hear ya on that. I just landed in CT for business and should have my list of Shane fixes set by the time I fly home.

I do have a question. The sheetmetal piece on the passenger side in the engine compartment that has the cutout for the engine computer, did you mount yours there or cover it up somehow? I remember you saying you got a custom harness made, just can’t remember computer wise. I’m still dead set on a different EMS so I may need to cover this up.

tucker298

11-13-2017, 04:38 PM

if i remember right that cut out is actually for the fuse panel, I covered it it up with another piece of sheet metal and riveted it on, thats where I put one of the infinity box modules ( the infinity system doesn't require the C5 fuse panel). The computer has a bracket welded to the upper frame but thats fitted for the LS1 computer, Shane sells and adapter plate that allows you to mount the LS3 computer there, which is what I did.

Shoeless

11-13-2017, 04:58 PM

Perfect, thanks for that. Shane said he could make me some custom pieces to mount my AEM Infinity components, just need to get them and give him the dimensions.

I could use the belly pan sheet metal to close off this hole. I’m kind of on the fence about going with the louvered belly pans. Not that I’m planning on driving the car in the rain, I do live in south FL, and it’s not always avoidable. But then again, it gets hot as hell down here and need to get the hot air out of the car.

tucker298

11-13-2017, 10:23 PM

so enough talking and lets get on with some updates ! so the manual pretty much says slap the hood latches on and go, I'll expound on that a little bit because as of now its easy to see even when the manual gives directions I'm a little apprehensive. The latches' holes are slotted so where ever you decide to put the latches there will be play to be abel to adjust the latch up or down to get the hood to close at the right spot. I did use a little trick I saw on youtube that seems to apply here, I installed the latch and then set the striker in the latch, I then put tooth paste on the back of the striker and closed the hood. The first time I closed the hood there were no marks on the hood so i loosened the latch and brought it up slightly and repeated the process until there was toothpaste on the hood. The toothpaste made a perfect impression of where the striker should go and then I just released the striker from the latch, lined up the striker to the toothpaste outline and held the striker in place while I drilled the holes for the rivets. worked perfectly. Both sides were straight forward and no surprises on this one lol. I still need to route the cables and attach the release handle so thats for tomorrow!

Presto51

11-14-2017, 04:24 PM

Nicely done on the hood latches. Now your starting to think like a Hot Rodder/fabricator :cool:

The Stig

11-19-2017, 08:04 PM

Hi Buddy.

It's been a while... I've been following along quietly. I'm really interested in where you take your GTM build. I know that when you're done you're going to love it.

Have fun with the build as much as possible. It gets tough. Obstacles keep popping up. Especially for first time builders. But just try to remind yourself why you bought the kit in the first place.

When I met you at the Charlotte Autofair car show in April, I knew that yours was one that would be fun to watch. It was great to meet you and your family, and spend some time talking cars.

That part of the car show was fun... :)

The Build manual was written by a hand full of people at Factory Five, who have A LOT of experience building these cars. As such, there are some things that may have been glossed over because they just didn't think it was a big deal. And to them, it probably wasn't. I don't think it was intentional. I think they assumed that the builders would have the knowledge to bridge the potential knowledge gaps.

But, what I learned was that they are very happy to talk you through issues, and help you get through it. Factory Five is eager to help you if they can. They are good people and want you see you succeed in your build.

Take care, and enjoy!

Mike

tucker298

11-19-2017, 10:32 PM

Thanks Mike!

Some of it was just venting and most of it was to let future buyers be absolutely clear what they are getting into. Good to see you still checking in!

Made some progress tonight with the rear hatch, got the latch/striker plate and Shane's hatch props installed, I'm convinced I'm going to need to put a support piece for the rear portion of the body where the latch mounts for the rear hatch. There's just too much movement there for my liking. As well as, it makes the body pieces match up nicer with that rear body piece lifted just an 1/8th of an inch and the rear hatch closes so much smoother. So I have an idea for a bracket that will bolt above the rear transmission cage and angle forward and up to the back of the fiberglass part that the latch is bolted to. Will post pics of it soon.

Didn't spend much time problem shooting this but the hatch props from Shane aren't locking into place and unlocking by just bringing them to full extension. I tried changing the holes that they were mounted to the see if a slight change of angle was the solution but it didn't help, anyone experience that or know a trick to fix them so they stay open or close without me having to reach in and manipulate them?

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

11-20-2017, 09:11 AM

On the hatch props, you do have to reach in and pull them to release them or push them to lock. That is the way they are designed to work.

As for the rear latch, the bracket you describe to support the latch area is included with the kit. If you don't have it, then FFR screwed up and didn't ship it with your kit.

wallace18

11-20-2017, 09:51 AM

I did not get the rear hatch brace in my kit either. I had to call and have them ship it to me.

Shoeless

11-20-2017, 11:16 AM

I just did a quick look in my boxes and I believe the below picture is the bracket you are looking for. It should be in Box 3D if you do have it.

https://i.imgur.com/Fe6ueqE.jpg

tucker298

11-20-2017, 05:39 PM

No I didn't get that! Well that makes things easier, I wondered why no one else has brought that up before lol and I didn't see in the manual of them talking about that piece but I haven't been following the manual really closely so it could be in there and not have seen it. I'll go look through the manual now and see if its in there and how it gets installed.

Thanks for the input Shane, its NO problem at all doing that and would gladly do that over those gas struts!

tucker298

11-20-2017, 06:05 PM

Well once again I'm not impressed with the manual ............... yes it's in there (barely) once again this is a great manual for someone who already knows what all the parts are and what the next step is. Its in a diagram on page 462 but can easily be mistaken for the fiberglass portion that drops down that the latch bolts to. theres no picture of them installing the part like in the rest of the manual, and it never talks about the other end of the latch support? the top end goes behind that fiberglass portion that the latch gets bolted on but how does the bottom part get attached, or does it?!

RumRunner

11-20-2017, 09:59 PM

I used rivnuts and 1/4-20 bolts to attach the bottom to the frame/trans mount.

-Michael

tucker298

11-20-2017, 10:04 PM

thanks Mike!

Thats what I figured, hopefully I can get a drill underneath that back body area to be able to drill a hole on top of that frame\trans mount to install a pair of rivetnuts.

tucker298

11-26-2017, 10:23 PM

so the latch debacle is over lol here is the latch support installed with pics, what I believe the manual should've done but as always this forum will fill the void of information. Heres is a better pic of the latch support, not sure anyone that doesn't know what it is could recognize it by the drawing in the manual (Thanks Shoeless for the pic!)

The next thing to consider that since the body is on and you have to drill two holes into the top of the transaxle cage for the base of the latch support there isn't a whole lot of room and ordering a short/stubby drill bit just for this is ideal!

The pics explain the rest and for the guys behind me, there you go!

tucker298

11-26-2017, 10:36 PM

Tonight I started to wrap my mind around the door windows...... I've been dreading this lol. I at least got them roughly installed into both sides, I'm sure like the doors its just going to take a lot of moving them around until you find what works. I put one side in and something didn't seem right, I forgot to take out the welded in bolts on the top of the track posts! I vaguely remember the manual talking about that earlier and was able to find the part that talked about it. BUT my question is this. The doors don't want to close because the bottom of the post still have long bolts and one of them hits the door when you try to close it. I didn't see anywhere in the manual that addresses any change to the bottom of the posts? Just hit the excess with a grinder?

Also the big difference from adjusting the doors to adjusting the windows is this, the doors you can adjust a lot of different points with just how the hinges and latches attachment points, it seems like if the holes you drilled for the top posts are wrong you have to keep drilling new wholes to adjust them .... not ideal. BUT thats my initial assessment, also it looks like the passenger side front window track is already hitting the frame and might need to be bent/curved to get around it.... I'll let you know how it works out as I continue to struggle with them lol, I'll do my best to document everything and I'll post plenty of pics

Luckily there are a lot of videos and documentation of the windows being installed but almost all of them have the window motors being altered or new mounts fabbed up. I know the window won't roll all the way down but I'm not worried about just a little glass showing, as long as it rolls down far enough to get the drive through food inside the door haha.

tucker298

11-26-2017, 11:06 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l-37uPnFvI&t=8s

GREAT youtube video but not a lot of views so I thought I'd post it to make sure people can find a good window video

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

11-27-2017, 09:31 AM

The windows......you do NOT want to "re-curve" the window tracks. It won't work. The very first thing we do when we start assembling the doors is to cut the steel door frame in half. Right where the main weldment at the front of the door ends that the door hinges bolt to.....cut both square tubes off right where the gusset ends. Install the hinge part of the door frame just as the manual states. The latch....get it positioned perfectly BEFORE you start cutting or drilling any holes.....I've outlined this process on here before.....in short, grind/sand the door edges so that the door JUST FITS into the body opening with zero clearance at the front and back of the door. Drill an 1/8" hole thru the fiberglass centered perfectly in the chassis striker slot. Set the door in place and position it EXACTLY where you want it. Not close to where you want it.....exactly where you want it so that all of the body lines line up and the door is flush with the body. Then reach thru from the rear wheel well area with a pick or long 1/8" drill bit and make sure you keep the pick or bit completely square to the striker and poke thru the 1/8" hole to mark that location on the door. THAT is the exact center of the latch when the latch is closed.....so cut your hole and position your latch so it ends up in that exact position.

Once you have the latch installed and the hinge end installed, you can go back and put the steel door frame in that you cut in half. You will have to use the inner door panel to figure out how far inboard you can position the steel door frame. You want it as close to the door panel as possible. THIS is what is going to give you the clearance you need for your window regulator/window clamps to clear the door frame. We do this part with the door just laying out flat on a body stand. Keep stacking shims under the door frame and test fitting the door panel until we have it as high as we can get it and still have the door panel fit. The ends of the tubes should be able to be positioned so that they line up with and at least make contact with the cut ends of the tubes on the hinge weldment. Tack weld the tubes together and then you will have to cut some small chunks of steel to use as gussets to reinforce the joints an beef them back up. You don't want to bridge your gussets too far back on the tubes, or you will defeat the purpose and the window regulator will hit the gussets that you're welding in.

Presto51

11-27-2017, 10:27 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjqXvareM5A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxwccUtGzX4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4BmIjb6wnk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9_3FkCdzpY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKKWhL4wNXE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BhFUL_72jM

beeman

11-27-2017, 04:20 PM

I'm sure others will chime in, but I think you will be much happier with modding the door so that the windows roll all the way down.

carbon fiber

11-27-2017, 07:30 PM

I'm sure others will chime in, but I think you will be much happier with modding the door so that the windows roll all the way down.

I agree, it screams kit car. I'd also upgrade the seal for the door/body and door/door glass. They are super cheap and (LOOK SUPER CHEAP) and don't seal very well. The money and time to get the details right will be worth it, and it'll show in the resale value as well if you ever want or need to sell it.

tucker298

12-01-2017, 12:06 AM

you guys are probably right, I'll see what i can do!

tucker298

12-01-2017, 12:08 AM

on a separate note came across this GTM for sale, I feel like I've seen most GTM's via this forum or with google searches in the past and yet every now and again I'll see one for sale and think to myself "where did that one come from" lol
https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/2014/factory_five/gtm/100819833

tucker298

12-01-2017, 10:52 AM

and this one is a nicely built GTM! They took a lot of pics through the build process which is always cool.

http://www.classicgaragellc.com/Factory-Five-GTM-Thymon-Van/

tucker298

12-01-2017, 11:18 AM

BTW, thanks a lot for chiming in on the windows Shane. Sorry you had to put that out again but unfortunately it's one of those things you should just copy and paste every time it comes up lol. I'm always glad when you give input on my thread because I know its proven advice from all of your builds.

beeman

12-01-2017, 12:27 PM

I don't think I've ever seen that second car, looks great, I really like the wheels.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Factory-Five-GTM-Thymon-Van/i-LSCGdkS/0/f1075747/X4/DSCN1616-X4.jpg

tucker298

12-03-2017, 12:43 AM

one of my window motors did not have the 2 wire plug with a pig tail of a blue and brown wires. I googled it and can only find a whole power window harness? Does anyone know if I can just get the the 2 wire plug with pig tail that goes into the window motor?

tucker298

12-25-2017, 10:51 PM

well here's a post thats long over due, first off let me thank Ron for coming down and enduring the nightmare known as windows on the GTM, for the life of me I don't know why he would willingly subject himself to such torture lol but I sure am glad he did, I couldn't have it without him, he also give me my first lessons on fiberglass and body filler to which I will always be grateful.

tucker298

12-25-2017, 11:20 PM

during Ron's visit we tackled a few things but the first I'll complain about..... ummmmm I mean talk about are the windows. Sigh, where do I begin. Well let me start with this, we fidgeted and fidgeted with the window tracks to get them to line the window up perfectly with the window opening when it was all the way up. Let me save yourself hours of frustration, just accept that the window will NOT EVER magically roll up and sit nicely in the window opening, the curve of the window doesn't even match the curve of the body sooooo just get the window close and get to cutting and glassing. I'd say start with the pillar thats attached to the door, we taped the smaller glass window against the body and just cut the pillar and glassed it in flush with the glass. Now that the pillar is where it should be cut the lip on the pillar and the lip on the body that holds the window seals and tape them in place where they need to be and fiberglass. This will get you 90 percent to where the window seals need to be, after that just add more fiber glass to places that might need to raise the seals at certain spots and you can shave down some high spots if the seal has too much pressure. With this attitude towards the windows I could've gotten them done in half the time!

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tucker298

12-25-2017, 11:38 PM

Now there is a little more to the passenger side door of course. The window track is curved wrong once its in place and there's NOTHING you can do to make it work as it comes. When you initially place the window tracks in and adjust them as much as you can and roll the window up the window wants to dive into the car! The angle is WAY to steep and you quickly realize something drastic must happen.

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So you can either cut the window frame or do what I did (which Shane will be shaking his head about) which is bend the window track to less of an angle. Now there are good ways to do this and there's the way we did it at midnight after 14 hours of work, (stop reading right now if redneck engineering on a supercar is more than you can stomach) I placed the window tracks curved side up and measured how far the ends come off the ground, I then places one foot on one end of the track and placed my other foot on the other end of the track and it took my whole body weight to feel movement. I remeasured the distance the curved ends were to the ground and it was clear the track was now flatter. I did the same the to other track, trying to match the distance the ends were from the ground in an attempt to give both tracks the same angle. We put them back in and it worked!

tucker298

12-25-2017, 11:42 PM

Now there was still the bolt issue with the bolt head of the window holder hitting the door frame, I just grinded down the head of the bolt until it cleared. Also the windows still do not roll all the way down but I think I know what we need to do to remedy that, the window holder is hitting the window motor, just barely and also hitting the bottom of the door itself, just like in DIY's videos. I'll do what he did and trim the plastic body on the window motor and notch out the piece on the door that the window holder is hitting. To be clear I have not done this yet, but it worked for him and its looking like it will also work for me.

tucker298

12-25-2017, 11:45 PM

UPDATE, I did call Factory Five about this and they said I didn't have the most current door frames with my SN 436, and they sent me the newer ones that are suppose to be more curved to give better clearance so you don't have to bend your tracks, I haven't unpacked them yet and compared but I wanted to at least share that so you can make sure your at least working with the most up to date door frames.

tucker298

12-25-2017, 11:52 PM

LCD Gauges

12-25-2017, 11:59 PM

It scares me to read these window updates. It's the next thing to attack on my car and I've been
putting it off due to various reasons.

The more I read, the more I want to contract it out! Glad to see it's coming along for you.

FYI: I'll have some more updates for your system in the morning. :cool:

tucker298

12-26-2017, 12:10 AM

Again like the windows we could've saved ourselves some time by just accepting it was way off and go right to cutting and glassing. To remedy this problem we drew a line we knew would give us enough and even a little more because we couldn't chance going through this process and being wrong, knowing we could add body filler later if the cut was too big. So the line was drawn and the cut was made. With a new gaping hole in the body that was several feet long and almost and inch wide the problem solving began on the best way to glass this, We ended up just using painters tape, the tape was easily wider then the hole and we were able to put a curve to the tape rather than taping it taught which would have caused the tape the have a tight angle. We did several layers of just resin on the tape to harden the tape so we had something to work on when we laid the fiber glass down. This technique worked like a charm.

these are the pics of just the tape before resin sitting in its place
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and here they are glassed over
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now we just had to ad some filler to get the gaps right!
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tucker298

12-26-2017, 12:12 AM

now some of the red from the hatch was showing on the inside of the window, so I thought, easy enough, I'll just trim it back so it doesnt show from under the glass, well even that can be frustrating because when I trimmed it back I blew a hole on both sides of that as well, no big deal I just filled it but still .... why?! lol

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tucker298

12-26-2017, 12:15 AM

even got around to getting the vents in the hood! this took a little longer than I thought because i hadn't put a lot of thought into it but theres a lot of cutting to do on the vents to open up the holes to go into the hood and of course some cutting to get them to sit in the hood, and they still didn't sit very well on the hood so i needed some weight to keep them flush but it wasn't too bad

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tucker298

12-26-2017, 12:17 AM

all in all it was a battle! but I had someone there to listen to my complaints and help me through. I feel like we got ALOT of the heavy lifting done on the body and I couldn't have done it without Ron! After a week like that, you make more than just a super car, you make a life long friend... thanks Ron!

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tucker298

12-26-2017, 12:22 AM

I'll never know why it flips my pictures when I upload them lol

carbon fiber

12-26-2017, 07:51 AM

When I called on the door frames, I also informed them that, incase they didn't know, the rear hatch glass is too big for the body! Dan at Factory Five assured me that it is a tight fit and just to trim the body back a bit and the window will fit..........so I tried that. Me and Ron made our marks on the body and took the glass on and off about 10 times because i knew the didn't have a lot of body to work with and kept taking just a little off at a time. We eventually blew right through the body, it wasn't even close. Heres some pics to show you how far off it is, the main problem was at the bottom corner of each side.
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and here are the pics of how much body needed to be sanded back to allow the glass to fit

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Man, if only someone made an affordable GTM Hatch Glass Replacement Kit that avoids all that bs fiberglass work, matched the shape of the roofline, vented the hot air and weighed half of what the FFR supplied glass does! That would have saved a ton of work, and looked better!:cool: Sorry dude, couldn't help myself. You see what I was talking about now though right!?78209

beeman

12-26-2017, 05:50 PM

Wow Brent! I know the glass requires trimming, but that's crazy! Looks like you went a good inch beyond the recessed area, I wasn't aware of anyone posting that they had to carve that much out...
If there's one redeeming value to fixing these issues, it's that you are learning some awesome fabrication skills! :p

Shoeless

12-26-2017, 07:27 PM

Great updates Brent!!!

I hope you are enjoying your time down here in the sunshine state :cool:

tucker298

12-26-2017, 10:58 PM

carbon fiber,

trust me, the whole time we were working the rear hatch I was contemplating why I didn't just do some creative accounting to get your hatch lol

tucker298

12-26-2017, 11:05 PM

Hey Beeman,

You are very right, I hate that it took so long to get that stuff done BUT it forced me to learn a new skill and thats the only positive I can think of for such a bad body lol

carbon fiber

12-27-2017, 07:59 AM

You've got a great thread going, this shows what you really have to do to get the body right. That's good info for guys building or contemplating a GTM build. Keep up the good work, It'll be well worth it when you get to the finished product. Ron is a saint to put himself through that part of the build over and over to help others! We appreciate you man!

Presto51

01-01-2018, 06:59 PM

Thanks for all the kind words. I guess you can say I'm a half bubble off center, but how can you put a price on lending a hand to great people :confused:

Now how about those stock tail lights :rolleyes:

Presto51

01-28-2018, 05:44 PM

Well we all love them, right?

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Love to hate them, is the most favorite/popular answer I've heard. (Disclaimer: I'm in that same camp as well )

When first talking to Brent, the tail light conversation was brought up, and like everyone, he wanted an option that didn't break the bank, and looked OEM as possible.

Oh yeah something that went with the general shape of the GTM :confused:

Presto51

01-28-2018, 06:06 PM

beeman

01-28-2018, 06:13 PM

Wow, that is quite the rendering, unlike anything I have seen on here! Do you have a CAD model of the GTM??

Presto51

01-28-2018, 06:45 PM

No CAD model, just some ole hot rodder faith :rolleyes:

Shoeless

01-29-2018, 06:23 PM

I agree, I need a guy like you to help me do some color renderings for decision purposes. All be it, I am way far away from doing body work, I keep dreaming about it.

RumRunner

01-29-2018, 06:37 PM

Shoeless

01-29-2018, 09:30 PM

When I was deciding on paint schemes, I had Murray Pfaff come up with about 20 different designs. We then settled on one and tweaked the colors until I was happy. He even sent me a 12" speed shape with the actual colors painted on so I could get a feel for how the colors played on the curves.

http://www.pfaffdesigns.com/index.html

Here's an example of the some of the designs/colors, and the one I finally went with.

-Michael

That’s just the guy I need to put together something amazing, interior and exterior options. Not to mention making a poster of the “final” rendering to put on the wall to reference when I’m cursing myself for choosing this build LOL.

tucker298

01-31-2018, 09:01 PM

Micheal,

I've never seen those renderings, thanks for sharing those with us! I'm really surprised how much I like the cream and tan car with the orange stripe. Just goes to show that sometimes you have to see it to actually decide what you like or don't like.

tucker298

01-31-2018, 09:21 PM

Sorry that the thread has gone dormant, thanks Ron for posting a few things to keep it somewhat alive lol. Thanks for posting that Brockmeyer design of yours, I was blown away by the detail of that drawing the first time you showed it to me. Ron won't toot his own horn but that drawing is so unique because Ron had a lot of input into that drawing. It takes a guy thats been in the community awhile to be able to get that type of visual product.

So back to the car, I've been so busy with the holidays and taking care of a few things at work that needed a lot of attention I haven't made a lot of progress. I did get in there the other day and finally got the windows to roll up and down via the infinity box system using my phone over the wifi network, as alway there tech support was great and figured out the problem with just a few questions.

I want to tackle the door poppers next, I ordered up a few small flat mount pulleys so i can mount the popper (actuator) on the base of the door and use the pulley to change the angle of the wire up to the latch. Saw Gene do it in his video blog and thought it was an easy way to crack that nut.

Tina's new display is finally done and should be at my place next weekend hopefully! He's been working hard on getting the system figured out so and has been great with giving me updates on what he's working on and when he thinks he'll have it figured out and wrapped up. I didn't dare rush him because I knew given some time he'd put out the right product. I wish I had half of his technical knowledge!

I ordered the Marquez billet aluminum 70-73 taillights about 6 months ago! Looooong story but they could use a lesson from Tino in customer service and communication. They promise me they will have me the tail lights in 3-4 weeks..... we'll see.

So with the taillights coming in and Tinos dash coming in, I'll finally be able to wrap up electrical and get everything nice and tidy and wrapped. Once that happens I'll finally feel like its ok to button up the frame with all the aluminum panels.

So there's where I'm at and where I'm going in the near future, stay posted for some pics of what is hopefully some near future progress lol

tucker298

02-02-2018, 04:42 PM

Help! Lol

So I’m not a suspension guy and when I read about tuning suspensions I can’t believe how technical it can be with all the adjustments. That being said I’m having an issue with one tire!!! Three are sitting pretty inside the wheel wells and one is OFF! The front passenger side tire is too far forward in the wheel well! It needs to come towards the rear 3/4”. I even measured the driver side distance from front wheel to rear wheel and it’s exactly 3/4” shorter than the passenger side distance from front to back. Since the passenger side rear tire is in the center of the wheel well it don’t want to move it and all the adjustment needs to come from the passenger side front wheel. I don’t understand why it’s so far off and why I can’t get enough caster adjustment? Is the front suspension mounts welded wrong? Is this a common issue? How do I fix it?

beeman

02-02-2018, 07:00 PM

Have you had an alignment yet? Are your LCA cam bolts in similar position side to side? Don't expect much caster with FFR setup, maybe 2-3 depending on how much camber you want.

Roger Reid

02-02-2018, 07:02 PM

What are your front and rear caster, camber suspension settings? Also is your car a gen 1 or 2?

tucker298

02-02-2018, 09:57 PM

It’s a gen 2 and yes I had the car aligned professionally when it was in the go cart stage, I was told at the time that it was maxed out caster wise and wasn’t completely symmetrical with the other side, but they said it was close. Well sometimes close is all you can get with this GTM and I didn’t really notice it until the hood was on and tried to open it and one side kept hitting the wheel and the other didn’t, that’s when I noticed the wheel being further forward than the other tires and I can’t unsee it lol

tucker298

02-02-2018, 09:58 PM

I’ll get yo guys those numbers soon

tucker298

02-03-2018, 10:09 AM

Crash,

Will your shim kit give me slightly more caster adjustment?

Roger Reid

02-03-2018, 01:43 PM

The adjustments on the front are controlled with the lower mounts whether they be with the stock snail cam or Crash's shim kit. To obtain maximum caster, the rear lower control arm LCA is normally maxed out (outward) with the front LCA adjusting for camber. Then you live with whatever caster you get. If the right front wheel is too far forward in the wheel well you may be able to adjust it rearward, maintaining the camber equal to the left side. What you will loose is caster on the right side. That's why we're looking for the numbers on camber and caster. If the camber and caster numbers were close to equal left and right with the right front wheel too far forward. In that case the right upper control arm frame mounts need to be modified to pull the ball joint rearwards. This would allow you to adjust the lower snail cams to pull the wheel rearward while maintaining equal left/right caster, camber numbers.

To modify the upper control arm UCA frame mounts (tabs welded to the frame), it may be as simple as filing (rearwards) the round hole in the tab into a slot. You can get a little more rearward motion by angling the front slot outward and the rear slot inward to angle the control arm. The whole idea is to move the ball joint as it connects to the upright (rearwards). Take a look at the clearance between the rear UCA and the frame to see how much you can move the arm in towards the frame and rearward. File the slot accordingly.

I use Crash's shim kit. It will give a little more adjustment at the extreme ends of adjustment. The shim kit also will not budge after setting it. a big bump or pothole could cause the stock snail cam adjusters to shift.

tucker298

02-04-2018, 06:26 PM

I can't find the print out sheet that they gave me when I had the alignment done, the guy who did it is a friend of mine and of course remembers the car and remembers the caster not matching but said he's almost positive the numbers were within an acceptable range of each other and it wasn't way off. I'm not sure if that helps at all and I'll keep looking for that sheet.

Has anyone heard of this issue before? remounting the upper A arm bracket seems like it might be the easiest option. If crashes shims can give me the movement needed then thats a win/win. Sigh its just another obstacle I have to figure out that I feel like I shouldn't have to. Everyone accepts the body fitment issues, but now I have suspension mounting issues?

tucker298

02-04-2018, 06:39 PM

well onto other deficiencies on the car lol, the hood never really lined up well with the rest of the body to make a flush wheel well, I either had to cheat the hood forward or back backwards. So I decided to keep the wheel well as lined up and extend the hood back. This will help mask that ugly area where the three body parts come together, the hood, the body and the door.

tucker298

02-04-2018, 06:51 PM

While Ron was doing his magic of extending and sculpting the hood, I moved on to the door poppers. Well I call them poppers but to be more specific they are actuators. The actuator is too long to attach directly to the door latch so I had to move it to the bottom of the door and used a small pulley to redirect the cable to the latch. The infinity box already has power wires designated for the actuators so powering them was easy, they weren't a fancy brand, just a pair i bought off eBay, they work great so far and have plenty of force to extend the door latch. Once the latch is open the door just swings out nice and slow.

tucker298

02-04-2018, 06:56 PM

and lastly, I started to tinker with the iPad mini integration into the dash, I bought the dash kit from soundmanca and he has a quick video that shows how he grafts them into the dash. I peeled the leather off and cut out an opening for the dash kit and epoxy'd it in. I'll put some body filler to smooth our the lines and sand it all down.

beeman

02-04-2018, 07:41 PM

Take a pic of you right and left cam bolts on the front LCAs, I'm curious :cool:
Edit: not trying to sound demanding

tucker298

02-04-2018, 09:16 PM

haha no offense taken! I appreciate you and Roger and anyone else that is trying to help me figure it out! My Driver side front tire is still aligned and set, that one is centered. I just want to make sure you know the passenger one has been messed with by me since being aligned. This weekend while messing with the hood and needing to raise and lower the hood over and over I decided to mess with the passenger front tire because everytime I raised and lowered the hood it hit the tire because the tire was too far forward. So I decided I'd get under there and see how exactly how much caster change i can get without caring about camber. I need to move the tire back 3/4" to center it in the wheel well and I was only able move the tire back 1/4" and of course the camber is way off. Just wanted you to know that and I'll try and have them posted by tomorrow.

Shoeless

02-04-2018, 09:33 PM

Hey Brent,

Obviously I’m way behind you, but while putting in my PFADT bushings and pins in my upper front suspension, I ran into the driver side forward UCA mount different than the passenger side. I had to swap the bushings (one side is thicker than the other) to essentially move the pin without moving the location of the control arm. This tells me they screwed up welding the tabs on mine. Hopefully my quick fix doesn’t come back to bite me when I get to alignment time.

Question. Will your iPad work with Tino’s system and the Infinitybox?

Thanks,
Sean

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

02-05-2018, 09:49 AM

We've never had an issue with getting where we needed to go on the front alignment on a Gen II. We normally set the rear cam bolts all the way outboard (max caster) and then use the front cam bolts to get to the camber we're looking for. If there is a bit difference side-to-side on caster once we get camber, then we fiddle with the rear cam bolt on one side until the camber and caster match the opposite side. Yes.....the hood can be an issue if it is mounted too far to the rear of the car. We normally end up adding quite a bit to the rear edge of the hood on the passenger side to get it to match the body.

LCD Gauges

02-05-2018, 10:04 AM

Brent,

The Gen 1 hoods have the same issue with lining up near the outside windshield cowl, and fender lines.

I feel that I'll have to cut/splice/and glass at least one side to get the alignment proper.

Hey Brent,

Question. Will your iPad work with Tino’s system and the Infinitybox?

Thanks,
Sean

Yes, the LCD Gauges are a stand-alone design. My system uses dedicated sensors, so there's no interference with the Engine PCM, or any
other 3rd party electronics.

tucker298

02-05-2018, 08:14 PM

heres the pics of the driver side, the first pic is obviously the front bolt of the lower A-arm and the second pic is the rear bolt of the lower A-arm

beeman

02-05-2018, 09:13 PM

Sounds like your driver's side is in a good position relative to your fender? Can you post some pics of your passenger side cam bolts? If your alignment guy was focused on camber, he may have equalized the camber side-to-side which can be achieved in more than one cam bolt position. Think of the wheel hub position on the C5 as being adjustable in a 3D sphere. The boundaries of the sphere are limited by the UCA's (fixed) and each arm of the LCA (variable length via cam bolts). The hub position defines your caster and camber. So maximum camber will occur with the cams kicked all the way out, but that will only give you midrange caster.
My point is that you probably aren't running maximum camber, so there are 2 points in the adjustment sphere that will give you the same camber reading but different caster values. As you approach maximum camber, these 2 caster values approach becoming equal (they meet at maximum camber). So if your alignment guy isn't paying attention, he can give you equal camber side-to-side but slightly different caster (such as hub moved 3/8" forward on one side, 3/8" back on the other side) which doesn't seem like much but moves one wheel back 3/4" compared to the other side. If you get your alignment in a car without a body on it, very hard to notice!
Or your tabs may be welded wrong :cool:

tucker298

02-05-2018, 10:32 PM

Bee man! Thanks for the info! And yes the diver side is good where it sits in the fender. I’ll get you the pic of the other side but I’m not sure how it’ll help because it’s not in the same position that the alignment guy left it at, it’s way off because I just wanted to see if I could do anything on either bolt to get the wheel to move backwards a 3/4” but I’ll post it if you really want to see it lol I do appreciate your and Shane’s input and I have a feeling we’ll get to the bottom of this and it may not be the cars fault like I originally thought, but we’ll see.

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

02-06-2018, 09:33 AM

With your cam bolts like that on the LH side, I'm surprised you have any caster at all. FFR moved the upper control arm mounts back 1" on the Gen II so that you could get more caster out of it. The way you have the cam bolts set in your photos is taking out all of the gains that FFR gave you by moving the UCA mounts as you have the lower ball joint set in almost it's most rearward position instead of trying to set it in it's most forward position. We adjust the rear cam bolt on the LCA as far outboard as it will go to get you max caster. Your rear cam bolts are adjusted almost all the way inboard. As beeman explained above, you can use both cam bolts to achieve the same camber but different caster. If you swapped cam bolt positions and ran your rear cam bolt all the way outboard and your front cam bolt a bit inboard, you'd probably end up with about the same camber you have now, but 10x more caster than you have now....which has to be close to zero or maybe even negative?

crash

02-06-2018, 10:41 AM

I can not stress this enough. If you have not checked already, make sure your suspension parts are not bent. As we discussed on the phone, I have never heard of someone running no caster and still having FRONT of tire clearance issues. Something is not right either in the suspension or the frame.

tucker298

02-06-2018, 09:50 PM

I can’t thank you guys enough for all the replies, this has been quite the learning experience for me. I now have a good idea of how to move forward and fix this issue that might have been person induced. I’ll start the process of elimination and I’ll be sure to update you guys on what I find.

tucker298

02-06-2018, 09:50 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj2ZKfV4acQ&feature=youtu.be

tucker298

02-09-2018, 10:51 PM

Well she fights me every step of the way lol but to be honest some of the fighting can be traced back to me as the problem and not the car lol soooo what I thought would be a pretty straight forward process, wiring up the brake lights, was an all day and several phone call process. I won't bore you with the whole ordeal but the long story short is this. ........ I'm still waiting on the 70-73 Camaro machined aluminum housed new lenses to come in from Marquez, I'm still excited to see them I think they are dang near art work on the car, so I figured since they should be coming in soon I'd go ahead and wire up the buckets so when they do get here I won't have to wait to see them lit up. I replaced the lights with some new led boards from digitalis, they have a sequential mode too. So not wanting to wire up the whole thing (brakes, turn signals, flashers etc) and have something not work, I just wanted to wire up the brake lights and test them first. The plan was to keep roughly wiring up each function and test as we go for ease of trouble shooting. Well I wired up the brake lights and they lit up but acted really funny. Some didn't light all the way up, some lit up but blinked. Well after running down all the wires and grounds, I called a digitalis. Well the lights all have to be wired completely up first so they can talk to each other or else they won't work properly. By trying to test after every step I actually induced the problem. Live and learn, even brake lights are "smart" these days lol.

Presto51

02-10-2018, 04:31 PM

Thinking about, I pitched this idea of using the 1970 Camaro taillights. They're budget friendly, OEM looking, and the right shape.

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But he wasn't sure how they might look. So I sent him this concept rendering that I had made awhile back

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He really liked the look, but needed to keep his exhaust pipes coming out of the center of the rear body panel.

Adjustments had to be made .

Looking at a rendering, even if it is done by one of the best, (Eric Brockmeyer http://www.brockmeyerdesign.com/), you never really know how it's going to look on the real car, especially when you deviate from the drawing.

So a road trip was in order to do some beginning mock ups, to see if Brent liked the idea, and see how it would look on the actual car with the exhaust in the center of the rear body panel.

First we started with a rough outline of the taillights, to see if we're on the right track

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The look was good. Since I don't have the body at my close disposal, Brent traced out the GTM rear panel with some cardboard, which I took home to start the, how are we going to pull this one off, thinking process.

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Well It's a start :rolleyes:

Presto51

02-10-2018, 05:13 PM

I thought I would start off, with running down to the local office supply store to get some foam board, which is easy to cut and hold shape, and if you make a mistake, not expensive to redo.

Wanted to see what it would look like with the 70 Camaro taillight assembly behind the panels

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Sent the pic to Brent for approval, it was now time to figure out the next step :confused:

tucker298

02-13-2018, 09:59 PM

Shane,

I saw that you said a fair amount of GTM’s that come through your place have have infinity box electrical systems, do you have a wiring diagram for the C5 steering column? Are you grounding the +12 to chassis ground and then running the master cell wires to the corresponding wire ( ie turn signal )?

tucker298

02-15-2018, 03:43 PM

Or anyone that knows

beeman

02-15-2018, 05:25 PM

Should be able to find it somewhere in here

http://www.tuningconcepts.com/Cars/C5/Manuals/

tucker298

02-16-2018, 01:00 AM

Thanks beeman, but I actually have the pinout already, I was just seeing if there were any nuances with the infinity box system when it came to wiring it up.

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

02-16-2018, 09:13 AM

Yes, all of the power wires that would normally be B+ in the column connector (Z, X & W?) end up being wired to ground and then your Mastercell inputs wire up to each output in the connector.

tucker298

02-19-2018, 12:13 AM

Thanks Shane! By the way, got the fog light mounts from you. Made installing the fog lights so painless and fast.

tucker298

02-19-2018, 12:15 AM

Has anyone switched out the bulbs in the headlights for a more pure white? Or done an LED bulb swap? If so post some info please!

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

02-19-2018, 09:23 AM

Thanks Shane! By the way, got the fog light mounts from you. Made installing the fog lights so painless and fast.

Thanks!! Glad they worked out for you!

tucker298

07-29-2018, 12:21 AM

I'm back! Been home a few weeks but didn't want to hop right back in the garage too fast and risk dirty looks from the wife lol. I spent a little over half a day in the there and it was SUPER productive. I finished wiring the headlights and the foglights getting all the wires loomed up and zip tied. I had the wiring in the doors just ruffed in and I routed them properly and loomed them as well. It feels really good to have most of the wiring hidden in looms. The last problem spot I have is the dash which is also roughly wired, I need to make a quick call to Tino to double check on some things and I'll be able to tackle that as well. Then finally with the wiring done I'll be able to close up the body panels which is a milestone I've been waiting on!

tucker298

07-29-2018, 12:31 AM

Heres a few pics to prove it happened

the first pic is the dash wiring mess that I need to clean up after I get the system working
the second pic is the wires in the door, finally wired right without house style wire nuts holding the wires together
the third pic doesn't look like much and that's what makes me so happy about it, the black wire looms just fade into the back ground, so different than what it was before!

tucker298

07-31-2018, 11:48 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TprJFbHfJhc

tucker298

08-01-2018, 12:00 AM

so the video shows my new "upgrade", I never liked the steering wheel that came with the car and I wanted to clean up wiring and this just made sense, the steering wheel is definitely and upgrade and the buttons on the steering seemed like a subtle but trick idea. I actually wanted a quick release too but there aren't any wires and contacts for the two buttons on the steering wheel, there is one set of wires but that is for the horn. I want to walk the quick release around the fab shop at work and see if anyone is willing or able to adapt that quick release to have the two buttons be able to work with it.

89678896798968089681

tucker298

08-01-2018, 12:07 AM

I also got my front camera wired up and tested, I got a hold of infinity box and they are putting a new tab in my interface for my rear and front cameras, the rear comes on when it gets put in reverse but I'll also be able to manually turn either of them on while I'm driving via my camera tab.

RumRunner

08-01-2018, 06:44 AM

Brent,

The "nod and thumbs-up" from your young diaper-wearing apprentice is very cute!

Keep up the good work (on the car and the kid)!

-Michael

tucker298

09-02-2018, 11:23 AM

Sorry for the lack of updates, but its from the lack of progress lol. Life is just BUSY right now and I'm waiting for my gauges\screen to come back from Tino\procision auto. I sent it back for some software updates that he had. I had bought one of the earlier models from him and like any good business that deals with technology he is always making his product faster and better. He has been so easy to work with, I would highly recommend anyone interested in his products to reach out to him. I could be doing some much needed body work while I wait for the electronics to arrive buuuut I'm just finding time hard to come by. I guess this is part of the up and downs of the build process and can't wait to get back to weekly updates.

Shoeless

09-02-2018, 05:50 PM

Brent,

Glad to hear from ya. I was going to give you a call the other day to see what you have been up to, but realized when I upgraded phones, not all my contacts came over. Shoot me your number so I have it to ask questions LOL.

You mentioned that you needed to get a hold of Infinity Box to "add a new tab in your interface." I plan on running similar front and rear cameras. Can you elaborate on the background and the need for this? I just got my system in a little while ago and am figuring out where I want to mount everything shortly.

Sean

tucker298

09-08-2018, 04:53 PM

hey Sean,

I wired up my rear camera to turn on when it gets put into reverse but I also wired it so I can turn it on with one of the open wires from my infinity box system. I also used another open wire to wire up the front camera. I wont use a switch to turn them on because I want to run everything I can with my iPad, so I needed infinity box to reprogram my settings to add a camera tab and under that tab will be a button for the front camera and the rear camera.

beeman

09-08-2018, 09:04 PM

I don't know much about Infinity Box, but I'm assuming that the video signal doesn't go through the unit, the unit uses relays to pick the video channel? Are you using some kind of video switch that is activated by the IB?
I just ordered one of these yesterday, reviews are actually really good for the product but bad for the instruction manual. But we don't need no stinkin manual.

https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Video-Switcher-Output-Camera/dp/B00B155G5M

tucker298

09-09-2018, 03:56 PM

Infinity box only provides power to things, I'm using it to provide power to the cameras. The display of the video is being handled by the rear view mirror I bought which has a dual video input, which ever video input has a signal\power is the one it displays. I don't think this is the one I bought but its close to it.

https://www.amazon.com/AUTO-VOX-Inputs-Adjusting-Brightness-Hyundai/dp/B00J863EI2/ref=sr_1_18?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1536526234&sr=1-18&keywords=rear+view+mirror+with+camera

beeman

12-05-2018, 08:47 AM

Brent -
Have you done any more work on your spoiler? I'm planning on doing something similar, I really liked what you had posted so far.

tucker298

12-20-2018, 01:51 PM

hey Beeman,

So sorry its taking me so long to read this and get back to you, the car has been collecting dust with some electrical problems and life just being busy and now the holidays, BUT I still plan on getting in the garage right after Christmas and knocking out some of these problems and getting back to making progress! I haven't moved forward on the wing, I just got the concept of it figured out as I wanted to figure out the direction I wanted to go with the body as a whole before I started on it. I Planned on molding it with spray foam to get the look and then wrapping it in fiber glass to finish it off. I started molding it with Styrofoam by using a carving a knife to cut it out but it wasn't the best. With spray foam, if I cut it down too far I can add more which I found out the hard way I cant do with Styrofoam lol.

Shoeless

12-20-2018, 06:08 PM

Hey Brent,

Glad to see you post, life does get in the way every now and again. Keep at it and she'll be done before you know it.

I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

tucker298

12-28-2018, 01:59 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQObIEItxCc

my brakes have been BAD the few times I've gokarted the car. I was working on some wiring under the steering wheel and noticed the bias bar is loose. I don't know what right looks like because the guy before me installed the brakes but I've had to redo most of the things he did so it wouldn't surprise me if this is wrong. Could someone tell me for sure that this is wrong and what it should look like?

tucker298

12-28-2018, 02:20 AM

Soooooo HUGE day today for me .....and Tino lol I've been busy with life and haven't had a lot of time to concentrate on the LCD-I gauge system that I bought from Tino. The gauges would come on when the ignition was on but when the car started it would basically reboot. Had me and Tino scratching our heads for awhile and the few suggestions Tino had were dead ends. Then Tino has me get a bunch of various measurements with my multimeter and we find out that the voltage is dropping during the engine cranking significantly enough to cause the reboot. After a few different capacitor and resistor combos we figured it out! What a relief and although there is PLENTY of other work to be doing on the car I wasn't doing it and apart of it had to do with the fact that the gauges not working for awhile was kind of demotivating. Well with the gauges now staying on through out the start up process we can get the various gauges reading correctly and I can finally wrap up wiring, that will be a huge step for me. Since the gauges are now working I was able to clean up a lot of wiring and start thinking about getting all the panels back on the interior! Cant wait to have this buttoned up so I can solely concentrate on the body!

Heres a few pics of progress, the footwell of the driver side has been a tangled mess of wiring for sometime. It good to see it cleaned up easily and the few wires left will get cleaned up too

some pics of the LCD-I system laid out, the wiring is still rough but I'll get the rest cleaned up when I know the gauges are reading properly as well, me and Tino have a call set up for tomorrow to get those all on line.

some pics of the body panels getting placed back on, again I'll finally be able to set them inplace permanently when I know I don't need easy access to the tunnel for wiring issues.

beeman

12-28-2018, 07:24 AM

Glad to hear the gauges are ready for action!
When you say permanently installing the tunnel panels, I would encourage you to wait until it's time for carpet to make anything permanent. I'd just put in a few rivets for now. Sometimes I think I try to get a section of the build 'done' like that only to find out later on that I want to change something or I forgot something.

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

12-28-2018, 09:29 AM

On your brake bias......yeah...that's not right. If you have the paperwork that came with the pedal assy, it tells you what the max clearance is there.....if you don't have the paperwork, I would think Wilwood probably has that info online somewhere. There should be very little "slop" there....like maybe a couple of those shims worth.....not a 1/2"!

Presto51

12-28-2018, 12:26 PM

Brent AWESOME Update. Can't wait to see Tino's system up and functioning like it should .

(Sent You a PM)

Ron

tucker298

12-29-2018, 09:17 PM

well as always its two steps forwards and one step back lol. We did finally get Tinos system working and talking with car and we both thought that we had gotten over the hump and it was downhill from here....... well the gauges aren't reading right but as always Tino has been with me all the way through this and I'll send the LCDi box back and he'll go over it with a fine tooth comb and I'm certain were close to figuring this system out. I wanted THREE things from this build, iPad controlled car(got it), LS3 power plant (got it) and modern gauges that are on par with the rest of the car (working on it). Having these gauges is costing me time and I get a little frustrated with it but I really think it'll be worth it when its all said and done. Soon give me a few weeks to send back the unit and for Tino to work his magic and get it back to me. Unfortunately, with Tino being in Canada it slows down the turn around time because of customs but as always theres plenty of other things to do while I wait.

tucker298

12-29-2018, 09:20 PM

Presto51

12-30-2018, 03:35 PM

Here's one thing going my way lol the driver door has bothered me for awhile, it's not lined up just perfect the way the passenger side door is. So I thought i would take a few minutes and adjust it just slightly and make it right hahaha 6 hours later it closes the way I want it to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9fVm-fBNKQ

Awesome and it opens with your app so it's smooth as butter?

If the answer is yes then the only thing we have to say is..........That's your Huckleberry right there! :cool:

Ron

LCD Gauges

12-30-2018, 08:24 PM

I'm curious to find out why things work on this end and then stop working when they cross the border.

It must be that American air, or something? Maybe too far down South for electrons to move properly?

well as always its two steps forwards and one step back lol. We did finally get Tinos system working and talking with car and we both thought that we had gotten over the hump and it was downhill from here....... well the gauges aren't reading right but as always Tino has been with me all the way through this and I'll send the LCDi box back and he'll go over it with a fine tooth comb and I'm certain were close to figuring this system out. I wanted THREE things from this build, iPad controlled car(got it), LS3 power plant (got it) and modern gauges that are on par with the rest of the car (working on it). Having these gauges is costing me time and I get a little frustrated with it but I really think it'll be worth it when its all said and done. Soon give me a few weeks to send back the unit and for Tino to work his magic and get it back to me. Unfortunately, with Tino being in Canada it slows down the turn around time because of customs but as always theres plenty of other things to do while I wait.

tucker298

12-30-2018, 11:14 PM

I can assure you things move slower here in NC than other places lol but we'll get it figured out!

tucker298

12-30-2018, 11:32 PM

ok random AC duct question time, sorry if this has been addressed somewhere but I haven't seem it and I didn't see it in the manual but I only did a real quick search:

1. What do you use to secure the AC ducts to the AC unit itself? I saw wallace use some SS screws and just screwed them to the plastic sleeve coming out of the AC unit and I'd imagine he applied some type of epoxy as well?
2. I've seen in other builds guys cut a hole in the sheet metal above the AC unit for the ducting, any words of advice for this? size, what to use to protect the cut metal from cutting the ducting?
3. I don't know why but I'm reluctant to rivet in that large panel in case I need to get into the AC unit for any repairs but I feel that way about the tunnel too lol. Is there any reason NOT to rivet that large sheet metal piece that tops off the front of the interior?

tucker298

12-31-2018, 03:29 AM

just saw the AC portion of Jamesfr58 thread and it answered a lot of my questions but if anyone has anything else to ad i'd love to hear it!

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

12-31-2018, 09:50 AM

1. We use cable ties.....have to make sure the hose is fully over the flange and then make sure the cable tie is below the barbs that hold the hose on and tighten the cable tie as tight as possible.
2. You have to seal each hose up so that you have zero air that can flow from the tunnel into the cockpit or you will have massive heat flowing into the cockpit. Yes, we cut individual holes for each vent hose. I just sand the edges of the holes with sand paper to smooth them out so they don't cut the hose.
3. I would not recommend riveting that top tunnel panel in place until right before you're ready to install the body for the final time. You lose access to pretty much everything under the dash once that panel is on......get all of your wiring, duct-work, suede and carpet installation, brake/clutch pedal adjustment, etc done before you rivet that panel on.

jamesfr58

12-31-2018, 01:42 PM

Looks like you have a nice build underway, like seeing what other come up with and everyone here tosses around ideas and something good usually come out of the discussion. I have to give credit to Shane (VRaptor) on the A/.C ducts, he was the one you warned me about making sure the ducts seal off so no air from the tunnel can enter the cockpit area because even I did it wrong the first time. It is educational and informative reading the others post and finding out where to get the after market parts that improve the quality and performance of our projects. Will check in from time to time to see how it goes !!

tucker298

12-31-2018, 01:42 PM

tucker298

12-31-2018, 01:45 PM

Hey James! I completely agree with what you said, I couldn't have taken on this build without the members of this forum! Sorry I've been away from the forum for so long, It looks like I'll have some more time to get out there in the garage and get some much needed updates to my thread and help build this GTM library for future builders.

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

12-31-2018, 03:51 PM

as always thanks for the reply Shane! that AC ducting sheet metal with the holes...….. sounds like another part you could sell? it wouldn't have to be the whole size of the sheet metal just a section that can be cut out and overlapped onto the actual large sheet metal piece and then riveted/epoxied together!

I've actually already sold quite a few of these....without being listed on my website. Just took care of that:

AC/Heat Vent Hose Patch/Seal Panel – $19

http://vraptorspeedworks.com/acheat-vent-hose-patchseal-panel/

tucker298

12-31-2018, 08:55 PM

That’s awesome Shane, I already ordered it! Lol

tucker298

01-12-2019, 05:36 PM

So to be honest I was getting really frustrated with the car. Things weren't progressing the way I wanted them to. I don't have a timeline per say on the car but I need to be moving forward at least lol. Heres a list of small things that were adding up to become an issue and made me start to question the cars progress and start to ask myself if this is still the right project car for me.

1.endless belt squeal, changed a few pulleys and changed belts but it always came back
2. The WIFI module in my car seemed to have erased its parameters
3. alignment issue of not enough caster
4. can't get my digital gauges to work after a lot of time and effort
5. rim hits A-arm if turned too far
6. Driver door not shutting just right
7. hard time finding time/losing interest

The alignment issue that I had brought up earlier where something was off, the passenger front tire measured a half inch shorter than the driver side and putting the tire not centered in the passenger front wheel well. Also I had a strange issue where the driver side inside rim would actually hit the A-arm if you turned it all the way left. So those have been an issue for months now and I'll address these first. Well I was finally able to get a trailer and my friend with the alignment machine to be free on the same day. Towed it back to this shop an hour away in the rain and put it back on the machine we did what shane said about finding caster first and then get the camber numbers and things lined up MUCH better also allowed us to adjust the tie rod so the rim doesn't hit the A arm any more. We were able to initially get 7 degrees of caster which was way too much and pushed both tires to the front of the wheel well. So I used a life line and called Shane and we decided that 4 degrees would be enough. We pulled the caster back to 4 degrees and the tires centered up in the wheel wells for the most part. The passenger side at least measures the same as the driver now but its still not centered in the wheel well, yes I know the hood is on straight I went through a painful and long laser line process to make sure it was. So we'll have to do some body work to make the tire centered but I didn't want to do that until I knew I wasn't just covering up a mechanical problem.

On the way to get the alignment re done I didn't do a good enough job of waterproofing the car i.e. I forgot to put the cover on the power cell in the back the car to waterproof it, I started have electrical issues, fans pulsing, starting not working etc. we tool apart the power cell and blew it out with compressed air and the car at least started and got it on the lift for the alignment machine but when I came back a few days later to pick it up (the rain finally stopped) it didn't want to start again. Soooooo it was now a chore to get a car that doesn't run on and off a trailer. I can make this a lot longer but below is the list of things that almost crushed me again and what happened.

1.endless belt squeal, changed a few pulleys and changed belts but it always came back- found a small coolant leak on the coupler connecting to the water pump, found out that coolant on a belt makes a HORRIBLE squeal and nothing gets rid of it that I know of other than replacing the belt, tightened the clamp, added another clamp and new belt and no more squeaks! nothing is more embarrassing then showing off the car with loud belt squeal!
2. The WIFI module in my car seemed to have erased its parameters- still not sure why that happened but infinity box sent my config files and reloaded it onto the box, took all of about 5 min
3. alignment issue of not enough caster, finally got it back to the shop and aligned it in the right order and fixed it!
4. can't get my digital gauges to work after a lot of time and effort, Tino sent me an updated just today with positive news and I think he figured it out
5. rim hits A-arm if turned too far, fixed during alignment
6. Driver door not shutting just right- got off my lazy but and fixed it!
7. Starter issues, Jay at infinity box saved me from spending hundreds on a replacement cell and trouble shot it and fixed it and works fine!
8. Might be a power drain on electrical- need to look into this!
9. hard time finding time/losing interest.alot of the little issues got resolved with just some focus and some got fixed with enough time and patience, but after all the little things got fixed a quick go kart ride around the neighbor hood and the motivation came rushing back!

tucker298

01-12-2019, 05:42 PM

Ron told me that this car is lady and that she is, Miss Adventure. She enjoys the chase, she likes the attention, she knows she's worth it and won't just come together for anyone. But like any good girl that enjoys the chase she knows if she plays hard to get for too long she might lose me and seemed to have thrown me a few bones to keep me in the game lol

RumRunner

01-12-2019, 06:27 PM

Brent,

Good to hear that you're working through the issues. Make a list. One thing at a time. Finish it, and move on. Before you know it you'll be done! Good luck, and keep up the work!

-Michael

beeman

01-12-2019, 06:36 PM

Glad to hear you are feeling better about the build. I've been burned out at times, I'm sure everyone has. There are a lot of abandoned builds, half completed builds that get sold. For me, when things get tough I just try to focus on getting one thing done. The build is intimidating, but really each step is not. Your build so far is top-notch, hang in there!
How much camber did you manage to get with 4 caster? For a street car, I would agree with maximizing caster. Might not turn quite as fast but who cares.

tucker298

01-13-2019, 05:51 PM

bee man, I took a pic of it the setting while he was wrapping it up, l'll post it shortly.

Shoeless

01-14-2019, 09:49 AM

Hey Brent,

Glad to hear you are getting back on the horse so to speak. Life had gotten in my way over the last few weeks and haven't done much on my GTM other than think about it. Not to mention some unexpected expenses popping up on my boat, its a little discouraging. I do walk by it every time I go in and out of the house so its a friendly reminder that she wants my attention :cool:. I need to make a small list and knock those things out one by one to get the progress going again.

crash

01-14-2019, 03:38 PM

Presto51

01-15-2019, 12:38 PM

Unfortunately I have not been taking this advice, but force yourself out into the garage for an hour or two every night/day. You will end up doing SOMETHING positive, even if it is only going over stuff in your head or making a list. Do it. It will prove worth it.

Brent,

Good to hear that you're working through the issues. Make a list. One thing at a time. Finish it, and move on. Before you know it you'll be done! Good luck, and keep up the work!

-Michael

Brent,

Great idea, do a list and remember:

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."—Dale Carnegie

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."—Confucius

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."—Martin Luther King, Jr.

And Most of All Remember What Journey says:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8craCGpgs

Ron

jamesfr58

01-19-2019, 02:53 PM

Brent I think we all have moments like this I know I have when its the third time of taking something apart and putting it back together just a little different trying to make it all work as it should. But like crash stated as time I just make myself go to the shop and then when something goes as planned it lifts my spirits and I get recharged to continue on to the next thing. It has been and great experience and on in which I can keep my engineering skills up a little and keeps me out of the house which sometime is a good thing. Good luck and hang in there it will all come together …….

tucker298

02-18-2019, 10:52 PM

was gone for work for a bit and now i'm back trying to get Tino the info he needs for my gauges. I got the resistance number for him on all the sensors except....... my fuel gauge. That wire, which I'm getting my reading from is the one that runs from the gas tank all the way through the tunnel and ends at the computer module. Sooooo to get no reading must mean it is not connected to the sensor. My buddy who works on a lot of corvettes says those sensors are fairly common to go out and that I should've put a new one in to begin with. He also said its not uncommon to install them incorrectly to give a bad reading ( float stuck up or down or something I can't remember) Soooo I'll be dropping the passenger side tank and taking a look . Good news is I haven't put the panels back up and its easy to get to. 2 steps forward..... I step back lol

LCD Gauges

02-19-2019, 12:09 AM

If it was stuck up or down, you would still get a reading.

Try removing the harness and probing the pins inside the connector.

Sometimes the prongs will be loose or broken preventing continuity.

Check both sides of the connectors, and try to measure resistance on the fuel tank side of the connector before pulling out the tank.

tucker298

03-04-2019, 11:45 PM

Good news and in a way bad news at the same time. The GTM as we all know is quite the beast of an undertaking, it probably should be taken on by retired guys or single guys haha. I've just been pulled in a lot of different directions for what I thought was going to be a short time and now it just seems like with 4 kids and moving up in my job that this is just the new normal. My goal was always to do all the work myself or as at least take it as far as I possibly could. With Ron's help I've started the body work and have definitely made progress, I'll always be appreciative of this forum and members like Ron who will drive down from Maryland to NC to show a stranger the 101 of body work. We had some long but fun weekends and he gave me the ability to do so much more on the car's body than I've had time to do. I'm not on a time line per say BUT the timeline needs to have an end in sight. So I've gotten a bid from a local body shop and will have them finish out the body. Its bitter sweet because the cars timeline will be rapidly moved up but I wanted to do most of the body work. I know, I know, be careful of who you let work on the body of the GTM. I've read the horror stories and I know theres no guarantee that with all this guy says that he will be able to deliver. He has done several factory five cars but not a GTM, even though we all know theres no comparison but knowing the fact he's down fiberglass cars before makes me feel better. He came over to my house to look at it so he knows exactly what he's getting into. Wish me luck, I'll be posting updates every time I go see her. I'll be gone for a month and won't drop her off until I get back so it'll still by a little while but as soon as I get back I'll be dropping her off and he says he'll be waiting on me and my GTM will get a whole crew working on her until she's done and she'll never be a side project. He says the right things...... we'll see.

WIS89

03-05-2019, 10:04 AM

Tucker-

I completely understand the whole life getting in the way issue. While I understand how it can be frustrating, frankly with a wife and four kids, I think it is expected! I admire your ability to keep plugging away in spite of the challenges that life keeps throwing at you! You have my respect brother.

Good luck with the body shop. I hope they exceed your expectations, and it turns out beautifully! Maybe the time that gets freed up by not having the body work to worry about, will allow you to get other things taken care of.

I will look forward to your updates.

Regards,

Steve

beeman

03-05-2019, 01:51 PM

There's no shame in letting someone else do GTM bodywork!!!
Keep us posted!

tucker298

09-05-2019, 01:09 PM

so i'm still alive and so is the project, we all knew the body shop wasn't going to keep its original time lol but lucky for them I'm not in a huge rush and they've been doing good work when they get around to it. They are a newer shop in our area and what would be worse than them going slow would be them not making it and closing so I've been patient with them and they've been good at communicating with me. They have a good problem which is very busy and just not enough people to keep up with it as well as finding the right people to work there. So as they work through all that as a new business I've been patient and in return they've been very appreciative. I'm just not the person to come in and be an Ahole and try to push things along by yelling or demanding things. They actually found a fairly large putty pocket in right at the lip of the wheel well that they might have missed had we moved to fast so its even had its up side. The pocket of putty started out as a pin hole that ended up being a big pocket of putty right behind a thin hard layer. At the end of the day I've waited years for this GTM and a few more months to see it painted wasn't going to kill me...... well it finally made its way into the booth!

tucker298

09-05-2019, 01:10 PM

I will never know why this sight decides to put some of my pics randomly sideways

well after that black sealer cures they are going to put the base on then the shiny stuff! So it should be gloss black in a few days!!! I'll keep you guys updated.

beeman

09-05-2019, 01:46 PM

Nice to see you are getting closer! Looking forward to seeing pics of the finished paint!

tucker298

01-29-2021, 10:39 PM

So here’s an update that is a looong time coming. The paint and body shop took about a year and 11k to “finish” the job. I was out of the town when the body shop owner called me with bad news. The cars paint job turned out bad and his shop manager has been fired for mismanaging projects and lying to him. The owner isn’t a body guy himself and owns a couple different businesses so he isn’t there day to day. He told me he knows my car has been there too long and would like me to come in and look at it. He was right the paint job was horrible, pops in the clearcoat and what looked like dust particles in the clear coat too. The part of the body that wraps underneath the car wasn’t even painted.... it broke my heart to think I’ve waited this long for this product. He told me he has a trusted guy taking over the shop to make things right, he said he’ll have it sanded down and repainted and get the car to the state that was agreed upon ie not just painted but glass in, headlight buckets in and weather stripping. Basically leaving only the interior left. Well I had no other options, I had already paid for the job. I stressed that I’ve waited so long and I can wait longer but needed an actual timeline for this. They said 90 days! Well that was a year ago, they have repainted the car and it looks great from my perspective, they said they even fixed some of the issues from the last guy ie smoothed out some spots, worked a little more on the tail lights to make them look perfect. The new shop manager is super nice and does great work when he does get around to working on it. I get it, they are not making any more money on my car by working on it, they have to work on cars that keep the doors open. I’ve never been a jerk although some days I really want to be, but they don’t work on my car much now and they like me ..... pretty sure being a jerk won’t help. I wish more than anything I would’ve sent the car to Vraptor Speedworks. The only reason I didn’t was because Shane had a waiting list and the first guy said he’d have it done in a matter of months. This has put a strain on my marriage at times, it’s added stress to an already stressful job I have. It’s been tough to say the least. I was getting ready to sell it a couple of weeks ago when they finally wet sanded and polished the paint job ...... and it looked so good I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. That being said if someone sees these pics and wants to make an offer I’d have to consider it lol. Maybe there’s light at the end of this tunnel after all, they get a few things done every week but at this rate it’ll still be months before they are done with the rest of the list ie weather stripping, inserts, tow hook, the brakes need attention and I have a bad electrical drain which my infinity box inReserve should at least keep from allowing the battery to completely drain but it doesn’t. Soooo that’s the update. I’ll keep you posted as things progress.

tucker298

01-29-2021, 11:29 PM

Pics

Ajzride

01-29-2021, 11:46 PM

It looks amazing, your patience will pay off.

tucker298

01-31-2021, 02:50 AM

I’m sure someone has solved this or can give me some advice, the tubes that connect the gas tanks to the gas caps, the ends are flared on the end and I believe the manual says go cut that flare off but when I did the hose is too short?! Has anyone else had this problem or use a different hose to connect this?

VRaptor SpeedWorks, LLC

02-01-2021, 09:37 AM

Depending on what tanks you have, sometimes the flare fits and sometimes you have to trim it back to the point where you can get a clamp on the smaller part of the hose to get it clamped to the neck on the tank.

dlud

02-01-2021, 11:08 AM

With my tanks I had to cut the flared end but that made the tube too short. I added in a 2" coupler to make up the distance. https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Inch-Hose-Barb-Splice-Coupler-Mend-Repair-Connector-Fitting-Adapter/143811639803?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

crash

02-01-2021, 12:42 PM

Body and paint can be such a nightmare. Every time I have to have someone else do body and/or paint work it takes a long time and everything is always, ALWAYS done incorrectly. I thought maybe that's why the more expensive shops charge more, but NO. They screw things up just as bad, if not worse, than the cheap places. I guess all the chemicals get to those people or I am just "lucky". I even got to the point where I thought maybe it was "me". But no, the last job was my wife's car that was taken to a shop without me being involved and insurance paid for it. A blown tire took out a bunch of stuff. $7,000 later and the vehicle is all screwed up. I thought the paint work was at least done properly, and it was just that an idiot put the car back together, but yesterday I noticed something coming up through the paint and clearcoat! UGH! I hear that guy "Da Bat" does some good work? If true, I would track him down as finding a good paint and body guy is near impossible.