Discussion
End of day 4. All alloy paneling completed, battery installed, pedals installed, handbrake installed, radiator and thermos installed, water lines installed. Tomorrow with install the heater and a/c unit, brake lines, master cylinders, and start on the wiring.
Can't wait till the second shipment turns up cause the way I'm going I'm going to run out of things to do very soon
Can't wait till the second shipment turns up cause the way I'm going I'm going to run out of things to do very soon
Well day 5 is over and got what I wanted done and a bit more. Got the A/C and heater in as well as the lines for it installed, master cylinders and brake lines installed, wiring roughed in, tail lights and number plate lights installed, headlights installed.
One thing I wanted to check was I wanted to put the cabin body work back on but I didn't get a steering column in the first lot of gear. Am I going to be able to get the column installed with the body work on the car?
One thing I wanted to check was I wanted to put the cabin body work back on but I didn't get a steering column in the first lot of gear. Am I going to be able to get the column installed with the body work on the car?
02PRUV said:
Well day 5 is over and got what I wanted done and a bit more. Got the A/C and heater in as well as the lines for it installed, master cylinders and brake lines installed, wiring roughed in, tail lights and number plate lights installed, headlights installed.
One thing I wanted to check was I wanted to put the cabin body work back on but I didn't get a steering column in the first lot of gear. Am I going to be able to get the column installed with the body work on the car?
That is some seriously fast work!!One thing I wanted to check was I wanted to put the cabin body work back on but I didn't get a steering column in the first lot of gear. Am I going to be able to get the column installed with the body work on the car?
I think you would struggle to install the steering column first time with the bodywork on. It's not particularly difficult but you do really need to be able to see what your doing.
Have you painted the inside of the GRP yet?? If not I would recommend that you do it, looks a lot better and gets rid of the smell as well.
02PRUV said:
One thing I wanted to check was I wanted to put the cabin body work back on but I didn't get a steering column in the first lot of gear. Am I going to be able to get the column installed with the body work on the car?
Depending on how much you like lying on your back and work underneath the dash board 
pilbeam_mp62 said:
Why are you in such a hurry ?
Let's see some pictures to check whether you are making a decent job of it.
Regards
I want to drive. Not spend forever building. Pics will come soon.Let's see some pictures to check whether you are making a decent job of it.
Regards
Got the front and rear clam painted on the inside today, LS intake installed, and started to install some grills
UltimaCH said:
I hope bits don't fall off when you drive her and realize you forgot in your hurry to complete to tighten some nuts and bolts
Mate this is a big lego puzzle. It's so easy to put together it's funny. If I had all the pieces I recon I could have this thing built and running with no assistance (other than lifting the big items) in 5-6 weeks. Everything fit's where it's meant to go. Maybe it's just me. The stuff I've built in my garage in the past makes this a walk in the park.
Try building your own BMW E46 M3 turbo setup. Mine is making 502rwhp on 14psi at the moment. Or a Mk2 Escort tubeframe it, fit a 2JZ, 9 inch diff and make 600rwhp in 880kg. Then multiple engine conversions in others cars. All things that aren't designed to fit. And when you start installing things other stuff won't fit. So your chopping and changing things all the time. An Ultima is just a breeze compared.
02PRUV said:
Maybe it's just me. The stuff I've built in my garage in the past makes this a walk in the park.
Try building your own BMW E46 M3 turbo setup. Mine is making 502rwhp on 14psi at the moment. Or a Mk2 Escort tubeframe it, fit a 2JZ, 9 inch diff and make 600rwhp in 880kg. Then multiple engine conversions in others cars. All things that aren't designed to fit. And when you start installing things other stuff won't fit. So your chopping and changing things all the time. An Ultima is just a breeze compared.
The fit and finish of the aluminium panelling will tell us whether you are doing a good job, or not. The fact that you were very keen NOT to fit the floor double-skin (which takes some time to get right) tells me you are rushing it, maybe at the expense of a quality finish, but the pictures will tell us....get them posted please.. Try building your own BMW E46 M3 turbo setup. Mine is making 502rwhp on 14psi at the moment. Or a Mk2 Escort tubeframe it, fit a 2JZ, 9 inch diff and make 600rwhp in 880kg. Then multiple engine conversions in others cars. All things that aren't designed to fit. And when you start installing things other stuff won't fit. So your chopping and changing things all the time. An Ultima is just a breeze compared.
pilbeam_mp62 said:
The fit and finish of the aluminium panelling will tell us whether you are doing a good job, or not. The fact that you were very keen NOT to fit the floor double-skin (which takes some time to get right) tells me you are rushing it, maybe at the expense of a quality finish, but the pictures will tell us....get them posted please..
I didn't say I wasn't keen to do the double skin I just wanted to know the reasons for it. That was all. I also thought at the time I asked that the skin went over the seat tub as well and was worried about head room (hadn't read through the manual that far when I asked). I did all the alloy including the double skin in 3 days. It's time consuming but it's not rocket science.Why do you say the double floor takes time to get right? It's actually not that bad if you don't install one sheet then the other. If you trim the panels, drill them and prep them at the same time. Then install them one after the other it's easy. I can see if you actually follow the manual 100% and install the bottom panel and then come back to do the double skin oh my god that would be a nightmare. But I think a little bit more logical than that. You can even prep the radiator section and drill the panel for the rivots and use the bottom panel as a template for the double skin radiator panel. Saves measuring and marking all over again. But again if you follow the manual and install one before the other you just made 10x more work for yourself.
Also just to let you know I'm not rushing at all. Out of the 5 days I've worked on it I have had a birthday party to got to. Had many people coming over to check out the car. Sunk beers one whole afternoon just admiring the car (with no work getting done on it). So I definately wouldn't say I'm rushing at all. Also I have no need to rush. The next shipment of parts are a month away still. All I have left in this shipment that is do-able is body grills, wiring, luggage compartments, fuel tanks and the headlights. So it's even pointless rushing. But I can work through and get it done and pull the BMW out again and crank up the boost and do some more tuning before the next ship gets here
Here was a quick pic on day 2:
Edited by 02PRUV on Wednesday 20th April 14:00
Edited by 02PRUV on Wednesday 20th April 14:14
Edited by 02PRUV on Wednesday 20th April 14:44
Looks good in that photo.
I can understand that it would probably be an easier and faster build if you have previous experience as you seem to have. This is our first such project and has taken a long time.
One thing I will say is that the bodywork most certainly isn't like a jigsaw puzzle (taken absolutely ages), so lets see how you get on with that
I can understand that it would probably be an easier and faster build if you have previous experience as you seem to have. This is our first such project and has taken a long time.
One thing I will say is that the bodywork most certainly isn't like a jigsaw puzzle (taken absolutely ages), so lets see how you get on with that
AndyandChrisGTR said:
Looks good in that photo.
I can understand that it would probably be an easier and faster build if you have previous experience as you seem to have. This is our first such project and has taken a long time.
One thing I will say is that the bodywork most certainly isn't like a jigsaw puzzle (taken absolutely ages), so lets see how you get on with that
Previous experience is a massive help. I've stuffed up many times before and learnt the hard way a few tricks I can understand that it would probably be an easier and faster build if you have previous experience as you seem to have. This is our first such project and has taken a long time.
One thing I will say is that the bodywork most certainly isn't like a jigsaw puzzle (taken absolutely ages), so lets see how you get on with that
Also I have tens or thousands of dollars of tools in my garage. All collected over 14 years of working on cars. To give you an idea I didn't need to go to the shops to buy anything for this build. That helps a lot too The bodywork shouldn't be an issue at all. The factory prefitted it for me for shipping so it's a case of mount it back on and line up the couple or rivots they put in already
Easy 
Edited by 02PRUV on Wednesday 20th April 14:26
Buddy go for it foot to the floor, dont waste time enjoying the build. Its all about driving it.
After the initial thrill of the first few parts.. the build excitment then goes out of the window and all you want is for it to be complete.
Use the forum as a showcase rather than a court room that judges you. With no one on here knowing you from adam, im surprised anyone can comment on how quick you have built your car. You may have a ten strong team with you. Who knows? More importantly who cares as long as your happy.
I didnt have a garage full of tools, or a team of ten, but im sure if i had help on hand and a huge budget i would have really gone for it.
Good luck matey.
After the initial thrill of the first few parts.. the build excitment then goes out of the window and all you want is for it to be complete.
Use the forum as a showcase rather than a court room that judges you. With no one on here knowing you from adam, im surprised anyone can comment on how quick you have built your car. You may have a ten strong team with you. Who knows? More importantly who cares as long as your happy.
I didnt have a garage full of tools, or a team of ten, but im sure if i had help on hand and a huge budget i would have really gone for it.
Good luck matey.
02PRUV said:
The bodywork shouldn't be an issue at all. The factory prefitted it for me for shipping so it's a case of mount it back on and line up the couple or rivots they put in already Easy
Wish we'd have done this Easy Edited by 02PRUV on Wednesday 20th April 14:26
Good for you, looking forward to seeing more pics as you progress and totally agree with the above.
Mjpmark said:
Buddy go for it foot to the floor, dont waste time enjoying the build. Its all about driving it.
After the initial thrill of the first few parts.. the build excitment then goes out of the window and all you want is for it to be complete.
Use the forum as a showcase rather than a court room that judges you. With no one on here knowing you from adam, im surprised anyone can comment on how quick you have built your car. You may have a ten strong team with you. Who knows? More importantly who cares as long as your happy.
I didnt have a garage full of tools, or a team of ten, but im sure if i had help on hand and a huge budget i would have really gone for it.
Good luck matey.
I don't know why people are carrying on about this being quick. I work smart and I've had previous experience. Hell maybe reading this might inspire more to build knowing that it doesn't have to take 2,3,4,5 years to build like most of the info I found around the net.After the initial thrill of the first few parts.. the build excitment then goes out of the window and all you want is for it to be complete.
Use the forum as a showcase rather than a court room that judges you. With no one on here knowing you from adam, im surprised anyone can comment on how quick you have built your car. You may have a ten strong team with you. Who knows? More importantly who cares as long as your happy.
I didnt have a garage full of tools, or a team of ten, but im sure if i had help on hand and a huge budget i would have really gone for it.
Good luck matey.
I'm enjoying the build cause it's pretty easy compared to my other builds, but I enjoy the end results more. The build isn't a hobby for me. It's the necessity to get the end result.
The only help I've had is lifting the body off and the chassis on the dolly. No other help at all. Far out I couldn't even get the chassis flipped to do the underneath panels cause I didn't have the help so I got on my back and drilled it all laying on my back. To be honest even if I had the people to help I probably wouldn't even use them. I'm not real trusting in others abilities
Edited by 02PRUV on Wednesday 20th April 14:56
Edited by 02PRUV on Wednesday 20th April 15:00
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