Major GTX1 Surgery...
- Thread starter Kip Ewing
- Start date
Triheart7
GT Owner
- Aug 25, 2006
- 4,436
GTX1 hard top headed to the rally
Over the past few weeks, there has been extraordinary activity on the roof.
With the Rally upon us, obviously, this one has to get wrapped up.
You will recall from prior posts, one of the critical decisions was how to execute the rear window. This was an important stylistic decision, but (more so) an important one for water sealing.
The styling was worked out, prior to a full assessment of feasibility or tooling.
The model looked cool enough to just commit!
The rear window structure ended up being a really difficult thing to pattern and tool. It ended up being a part that was die-locked in about every direction!
The tooling ended up being quite complex. We ended up producing the rear window frame in two parts and bonding them together. While I don't have the photos of the tools, here's the finished part.
The rear window frame needed to be a separate part. Until we see how much variation there is in the later cars we modify, we need a way of managing this cross-car variation.
To bond the window frame to the roof, we place the window frame onto the body, with the quarter-inch sheet wax gap we used for patterning.
Once we were satisfied with the placement of the window frame, we bonded the roof to the window frame.
After the window frame was bonded in, the next step is paint.
Normally, this would be pretty straight forward.......................................
However; this was a custom color.
I went into the booth after the base was sprayed and about freaked out.
It was green....
We'll, at least a very green shade of silver!
The paint store I have used exclusively for over 8 years totally botched the color match and the color they gave me for the stripes was the same color as the body....... Then they didn't want to re-mix it that day.
Not good. Depending on how they handle this, I'll be choosing a new shop for paint.
Panic time.
After another round of mis-matched color and another panic, the second paint source stayed late and got a perfect match. Perfect color, perfect metalic, right on! If you need paint in the Detroit area, go to GNE in Hazel Park and ask for Rob. These guys will probably be getting my account.
So here we go, into the booth.
With urethane paint systems, the color goes on flat, and it looks pretty splotchey. The magic happens when you put on the clear.
Once 4 coats of base are down, we lay out the stripes.
We were really lucky to have Larry Hornsby lay out the stripes.
Larry worked at the Saleen plant where the GT's were built and is one of the best painters I've worked with. He is really, really talented.
After the stripes are layed out, we mask the pattern.
Shoot the stripe color.
And then the clear.
After this, I didn't get a lot of photos.
It was officially crash time.
The audio system had to go back in.
The interior had to go back in.
The roof had to be assembled.
Etc.etc.etc.
Basically, a 24 hour crash-and-burn session that seems to be part of every show car build I have done in my life.
So, this is what we ended up with;
It really turned out pretty cool and I am really, really proud of what my crew has been able to execute on this one.
We need to finish the molded details on the ends of the seals, so the car will be coming back after the Rally.
I really want to thank the owner for asking me to do this.
It has been a remarkable project; technically and creatively.
It's also been a great chance to get a functional roof on the GTX1 that is really integrated with the car's appearance.
Next post - Austin!
Over the past few weeks, there has been extraordinary activity on the roof.
With the Rally upon us, obviously, this one has to get wrapped up.
You will recall from prior posts, one of the critical decisions was how to execute the rear window. This was an important stylistic decision, but (more so) an important one for water sealing.
The styling was worked out, prior to a full assessment of feasibility or tooling.
The model looked cool enough to just commit!
The rear window structure ended up being a really difficult thing to pattern and tool. It ended up being a part that was die-locked in about every direction!
The tooling ended up being quite complex. We ended up producing the rear window frame in two parts and bonding them together. While I don't have the photos of the tools, here's the finished part.
The rear window frame needed to be a separate part. Until we see how much variation there is in the later cars we modify, we need a way of managing this cross-car variation.
To bond the window frame to the roof, we place the window frame onto the body, with the quarter-inch sheet wax gap we used for patterning.
Once we were satisfied with the placement of the window frame, we bonded the roof to the window frame.
After the window frame was bonded in, the next step is paint.
Normally, this would be pretty straight forward.......................................
However; this was a custom color.
I went into the booth after the base was sprayed and about freaked out.
It was green....
We'll, at least a very green shade of silver!
The paint store I have used exclusively for over 8 years totally botched the color match and the color they gave me for the stripes was the same color as the body....... Then they didn't want to re-mix it that day.
Not good. Depending on how they handle this, I'll be choosing a new shop for paint.
Panic time.
After another round of mis-matched color and another panic, the second paint source stayed late and got a perfect match. Perfect color, perfect metalic, right on! If you need paint in the Detroit area, go to GNE in Hazel Park and ask for Rob. These guys will probably be getting my account.
So here we go, into the booth.
With urethane paint systems, the color goes on flat, and it looks pretty splotchey. The magic happens when you put on the clear.
Once 4 coats of base are down, we lay out the stripes.
We were really lucky to have Larry Hornsby lay out the stripes.
Larry worked at the Saleen plant where the GT's were built and is one of the best painters I've worked with. He is really, really talented.
After the stripes are layed out, we mask the pattern.
Shoot the stripe color.
And then the clear.
After this, I didn't get a lot of photos.
It was officially crash time.
The audio system had to go back in.
The interior had to go back in.
The roof had to be assembled.
Etc.etc.etc.
Basically, a 24 hour crash-and-burn session that seems to be part of every show car build I have done in my life.
So, this is what we ended up with;
It really turned out pretty cool and I am really, really proud of what my crew has been able to execute on this one.
We need to finish the molded details on the ends of the seals, so the car will be coming back after the Rally.
I really want to thank the owner for asking me to do this.
It has been a remarkable project; technically and creatively.
It's also been a great chance to get a functional roof on the GTX1 that is really integrated with the car's appearance.
Next post - Austin!
Piana
GT Owner
Mark06GT
GT Owner
Triheart7
GT Owner
fjpikul
GT Owner
AtomicGT
GT Owner
You ROCK, Kip, you made a car begging for a solid top look better than the original FGT. Most excellent effort. Skilled craftsmen, hats off! :cheers
Kirby Vieira
GT Owner/B.o.D
Wow. That is absolutely incredible. The top actually improves the look of the GTX1 which was already a masterpiece. It captures and accentuates the most powerful design lines of the X1. Unbelievable. Congratulations, Kip. :cheers
shelbyelite
PERMANENTLY BANNED
- May 10, 2007
- 1
JohnMichaelSawyer
GT Owner
- Apr 24, 2006
- 55
I simply cannot find the words for the finished look nor could I have ever imagined the finished product. I have never seen a more beautiful GT. GTX1 owners please do not take this the wrong way, but the GTX1 was always something of a novelty to me. It looked fantastic but was never a real consideration because of its lack of finish. It looked like a concept or show car to me, not a production model. This car looks better than a standard production GT. Congratulations.
Last edited:
H