letterman7
Honorary Admin
Ohh.. very nice! I may have frenched in the lights and smoothed the section between them, but I like where you're going with this!
Pog's Sterling (CCC293)
- Thread starter vpogv
- Start date
I left it open because the entire recess will be painted flat black and I didn't want to separate the lights from the license plate area. What is throwing me is the back, gray part of the lights. I currently plan on painting them the same flat black, but I do have the option to enlarge the holes at anytime and completely recess the two lights - but I will wait until I am just a little further with finishing .
Day off work so I took care of some house projects and then got some quality garage time in. Here is the dash with the finished pod. Plenty of room for my gauges and other fun stuff - doesn't look half bad either.
That was a few days ago - fast forward to today and I pulled the dash out, yanked the steering column and brake lines, then took off the canopy followed by the body. Time to put down the pan gasket and get this body mounted for good. While the canopy was off I flipped it over cleaned up the old canopy gasket and mounted the dome light from a 90's Ford Escort (to be painted black).
Took a few minutes to go over the suspension components that I took care of almost 4 years ago now -pulled the front sway bar off only to notice that the ball joint boots are cracked and will need replacing. Might as well pull off the torsion arm and pull out some of the torsion leafs to help with the rough suspension.
That was a few days ago - fast forward to today and I pulled the dash out, yanked the steering column and brake lines, then took off the canopy followed by the body. Time to put down the pan gasket and get this body mounted for good. While the canopy was off I flipped it over cleaned up the old canopy gasket and mounted the dome light from a 90's Ford Escort (to be painted black).
Took a few minutes to go over the suspension components that I took care of almost 4 years ago now -pulled the front sway bar off only to notice that the ball joint boots are cracked and will need replacing. Might as well pull off the torsion arm and pull out some of the torsion leafs to help with the rough suspension.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Looks good, Pog! I'd try to recess that light, though. You'll find you'll be hitting your head on it from time to time.
Gasket is down and the body is back on, all the holes lined up and new stainless hardware is down. *rock on* I am curious what others have done to seal up the back two corners of the body where it doesn't meet up with the pan (see below). Nic suggested window putty - other thoughts?
time907356
Member
Pog,
My first thought was a product called "Great Stuff" - an expanding foam in a can that we can buy at hardware stores. It may not be the best idea though, and I'm not sure if it's available where you are though.
I have a question for you; in some of your first pictures, you car has a similar problem to mine (Cimbria #3). The front wheels have a lot of under-camber. what are your plans to correct the problem? I'm not sure if just letting the front down will solve the problem, and may even cause other issues, like wheel well scrub. My first and second cars didn't have it, but the third (not here yet...) definitely does
I don't want to submarine this thread, so you can pm me, or reply on one of my other posts. Thanks, and the work is phenominal! I'll refer back to it when I need to glass some stuff...
My first thought was a product called "Great Stuff" - an expanding foam in a can that we can buy at hardware stores. It may not be the best idea though, and I'm not sure if it's available where you are though.
I have a question for you; in some of your first pictures, you car has a similar problem to mine (Cimbria #3). The front wheels have a lot of under-camber. what are your plans to correct the problem? I'm not sure if just letting the front down will solve the problem, and may even cause other issues, like wheel well scrub. My first and second cars didn't have it, but the third (not here yet...) definitely does
I don't want to submarine this thread, so you can pm me, or reply on one of my other posts. Thanks, and the work is phenominal! I'll refer back to it when I need to glass some stuff...
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Looks good, Pog. Window putty, oddly, was what appeared to be used on one of my cars, though it dried out over some time. Once you have the body back on and tightened down to the chassis (I see the VW weatherstrip on the side rail, do you have it on the back "hat" as well?), personally I'd go to the local big box hardware store and find a small roll of self-adhesive rubber roof membrane (or call a local roofer to see if they have any cut-offs from jobs) and simply slice and apply to close the gap. Any smaller areas can be filled with silicone or rubber caulking.
I can get the foam but that will hold water vs. keeping it out so would rather find another way. As far as the front wheels - I am not quite sure what you are referring to. The front wheels are a little close to the fender lip but camber isn't bad. Nothing has been aligned so I am sure it's off a bit but nothing extreme. Can you give me a picture to help me understand and hopefully I can help more.
Body/pan gasket goes all the way around so good on 90% of the body with the seal - although I will have to get creative with where the transmission goes through the body to get it as water tight as possible. I will look into the roofing material - not a bad idea and probably the cheapest. Thanks Rick.
here's another thought. how about fiberglassing a lip in that corner? makes something about 1/4" thick so it matches the curve of the tub, and the 90 degree of the chassis. Then bolt that down to the chassis, over the gasket, at the same time you do the body. Then glass it to the body. You'll have to drill a hole in the corner, though the gasket though. But it just might work.
time907356
Member
I hate to say it but it's the angle of the pictures that makes the front camber look way off. The front is good the rears have a bit of negative camber due to adjusting the torsion bars a bit for a slightly lower rear. With a straight beam, good ball joints and good spindles you shouldn't have any major camber issues in the front. Do you have an adjustable beam? Are you sure the tubes on the beam are straight?
time907356
Member
No, I don't know anything for sure, as I haven't seen the car yet, only pictures. I've seen this with multiple cars, including VW's. We significantly unload the suspension in the front with these projects, and sometimes keep them unsprung to fit large wheels in the wells. I just don't know why some look this way and others don't
I can tell you that the red Cimbria scraped the wells with 240 50 15's up front, but the camber was neutral. The guy that built the yellow Cimbria did it 30 years ago (original builder) but can't remember a lot of his work. I know it's a real problem, and that there will be a fix, but just not sure what it is...I may start another thread on the subject, or hit Samba.
I can tell you that the red Cimbria scraped the wells with 240 50 15's up front, but the camber was neutral. The guy that built the yellow Cimbria did it 30 years ago (original builder) but can't remember a lot of his work. I know it's a real problem, and that there will be a fix, but just not sure what it is...I may start another thread on the subject, or hit Samba.
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letterman7
Honorary Admin
My bet is it's all in the photo angle. I have that photo from the KitCars site up, and the front wheels look fine, but the back looks cambered in. I've personally never really noticed any other kits, Sterling/Cimbria or otherwise, that have canted front wheels. Wait till you get the car... I'll reckon it'll be just fine.
A bit of work done this week since I have the interior and canopy all off the car. Instead of explaining here is a list of what I did:
1. Painted the rest of the interior tub a flat black to tide me over until I can do the upholstering down the road.
2. Stripped the canopy gasket off, filled, sanded and painted the inside of the canopy.
3. Clamped on the rear "bumper" with a light coat of kitty hair to get a nice flat line with the car body.
4. Reglassed the front bonnet that was cracked and misshaped to get a better curve than I previously had gotten.
5. Laid a layer of glass on the interior canopy panels that were all cracked and wavy - This did not work as I hoped. Dave @ SSC recommended just getting a panel upholstered. Thanks Dave!
6. Pulled out one of my rams that had been leaking and will be resealing the fittings.
Sadly when I put on the first coat of paint on the inside part of the canopy I don't think a few sections were 100% dry from wiping them down and I got some crinkled areas I need to sand out and repaint which I will do this weekend.
1. Painted the rest of the interior tub a flat black to tide me over until I can do the upholstering down the road.
2. Stripped the canopy gasket off, filled, sanded and painted the inside of the canopy.
3. Clamped on the rear "bumper" with a light coat of kitty hair to get a nice flat line with the car body.
4. Reglassed the front bonnet that was cracked and misshaped to get a better curve than I previously had gotten.
5. Laid a layer of glass on the interior canopy panels that were all cracked and wavy - This did not work as I hoped. Dave @ SSC recommended just getting a panel upholstered. Thanks Dave!
6. Pulled out one of my rams that had been leaking and will be resealing the fittings.
Sadly when I put on the first coat of paint on the inside part of the canopy I don't think a few sections were 100% dry from wiping them down and I got some crinkled areas I need to sand out and repaint which I will do this weekend.
Got the canopy painted and back on as well as the seats in before taping up the windows to keep the dust out while I get back to sanding the dash then the rear. Had a few minutes this past week so I cut the rough openings for the rear corner reflectors/blinkers and trimmed up the glass work on the front bonnet cover then placed that on. After that I stepped back in shock that the car is starting to show signs of progress.
time907356
Member
VPOGV - What did you use to paint the seats? I'm assuming you have flexible vinyl upholstery that you're re-coloring here, not the fiberglass/aluminum seats themselves.
I think you misread that. I painted the canopy and put the seats in; didn't paint the seats or seat covers - yet. I have sprayed dyed both interior panels before but not seats so I really can't say how well one product works or another for the fabric. For me I will be completely redoing the upholstery when it comes time.
Been doing a bit of sanding lately on the dash trying to get that finished up. Thought I was done fixing the front bonnet but after seeing it set on the car it's going to get reglassed to fix a 1/4" droop in the middle that is pretty visible. It never ends. *explitive rant*
