Another Vela Rossa install

[Dan_Austin]

I ordered a coupe kit from Reaction Research 10 days ago and lucked out that

John had business in the area yesterday, so I saved I pile on the delivery.

 

Since I knew it was coming, I stripped her down last weekend

 

I could only take a couple of hours for the delivery, so we had to rush the 

pointers, but I still felt OK to jump in today.  John pointed I needed to trim

a few brackets, so I had to call a buddy to borrow his angle grinder.  He showed

up at 2:00 and we shot the breeze for 45 minutes when another friend stopped

by unexpected to show the project to his kids.

 

Once every one was gone I got the cheek panels mounted.  I managed to get

the drivers side right on the first try, but had the passenger set back 5/16" of an

inch, which was easy enough to fix. 

 

The rear tub was a adventure by my self, but I have it in place as a dry fit, and the

door skins taped in place to get a look at the end game.

 

I have just less than four hours in the assembly, which is not a bad start.  I need to

pick up some duraglass next week and work on wiring harnesses.  The bonnet is

just resting in place since the hinge did not make it on the truck., so that is a task for

after labor day

Edited August 28, 2013 by Dan_Austin

[Boy from Oz]

Great start.

 

Are you going to leave the quarter windows or is there another panel to cover them over?

[Dan_Austin]

The quarter windows stay.  This is to be my daily driver, and with the way the locals drive,

I want to see them coming...

 

The kit does have optional panels to cover them, so I can always change my mind.

[Dan_Austin]

The first delivery of the C5 lights arrived.  I found a used set at quite a savings,

cheap enough that I only planned to use 2, with 2 spares or two to sell.  I have

ordered two more with a clear insert that will be my backup lights, which have

not been delivered yet

 

I need to decide if I want the secondary lenses on the bottom, top, facing

each other or apart. 

 

I am thinking that I am on the right track with the angled install.  I chopped up

a box with the basic shape of the lens, and taped them in place.  The missus

was calling for dinner, so this was just an eye-balled spacing and tilt.

 

The lenses do not separate from the housing, otherwise I would tape them in

place to test the visual appeal.  I do tend to think that the angle works better

with the tops leaning in, accentuating the wide hips.

Edited August 27, 2013 by Dan_Austin

[Dan_Austin]

The rear tub is requiring some trimming at the rear to get the front

to set down and align with the rocker and door jamb.  I just about

have it where I think it needs to be, although the arch is covering

part of the quarter window trim. 

 

I also mocked up a couple more light options-

Staggered:

 

Angled out:

 

I really like the staggered, but clearance will be hard, the angled out

arrangement is growing on me.  I also like it with a slightly shallower

angle on the outer lenses, say 30~35 degrees on the outer and 45

degrees on the inner.

 

 

Finally I placed the lights inside the valance in the angled out setting:

 

This was interesting, although hard to see in the photo, the lights are

sitting about 3" too high.  The lenses are curved and the peak is about

1/2" to 5/8" from the mount surface, combined with the steep curve in

the reflector and the 1/8"  thick pocket suggests I will be much close

to getting the inside clearance I want.  If notching the valance does not

yield enough space, I can then move on to relatively short pedestals.

 

 

 

[Dan_Austin]

My clear euro tail lights arrived yesterday so last night I cut the sockets

off one of the factory stub harness and wired up the tail/turn/backup

lights and confirmed the wiring scheme.

 

I need to hit the junk yard again for two more tail/brake light pigtails to

wire up the second set.

[Domzs]

I like . Looking good so far .  .

 

I planned to do this years ago . Just too many projects and keeping add more work to my to-do-list . Love the body style . I'll be keeping an eye on your project . Please post lots of pics .

[Dan_Austin]

Still waiting on a bracket and a few lights, so not much progress to be made.  So I

picked up some 2'X2'X1" high density foam panels to sculpt the taillight pods.

That project starts tomorrow, after I finish building the headlight relay harness.

 

It has been on my list for a long time, and it made sense to tackle with the front

end apart.

[Dan_Austin]

Headlight relay harness complete.  The high density foam cuts easy with

a fine tooth hacksaw blade and I was able to make curved cuts to follow

the lens housing shape.  Not as nice as a coping saw, but close enough,

and the foam sands nicely.

 

I started by mocking up a full valance to see what it would look like:

 

I like, but do not want to completely fill the void in the valance, so I

cut up a couple more 8" high panels, copied the lens holes to the

smaller pieces and started shaping the pod curves.  I may end up

removing a bit of the outer edge to make the pods symmetrical, or

maybe not.  Once I decide that I need to tackle my first glassing project

and cover the foam pods.

 

The pods will solve, or at least greatly improve the clearance issue.

 

Edit-  I just notice the tape on the left pod sagged before I got around to

taking the picture.  That will be corrected before I make any cuts on the

tub.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Dan_Austin

[Dan_Austin]

Still waiting for my hood bracket, so I spent the week shaping the tail light

pods. 

 

Mid-week I placed the shaped, but not sealed/glassed pods and

marked out my cuts, last night I took a deep breath and made my initial

cuts.  The good news is that the pods will completely solve my

clearance issues on the passenger side.  The bad news is driver

side has seen repairs in the past, and is not quite square.  I needed

to trim the lower valance to make room for the right side turn signal.

 

I have not bonded the tub yet and can remove it to make adjustments

for clearance, so this is actually working out nicely.  The tub looks

intimidating, but I can easily place it and remove it by myself.

 

My first attempt at glassing my pods was just short of a disaster.

The shop I bought my epoxy resin from was remodeling and could

not cut my desired 3oz woven e-glass, and offered a 'comperable'

tape.  It did not want to hold a curve and kept pulling away from

my carefully carved pods.  The 'just short of' was achieved by removing

the misbehaving glass before the resin fully hardened.

 

I am now attempting to just resin coat the foam so it is not fragile, and

revisit the need to glass it later.

 

Not wanting to end the day on a downer, I finished soldering the tail light

harnesses and mounted the lights without the pods-

 

Once I figure out how to finish the pods I can be confident in bonding

the tub.

[Fauxre]

Hi Dan.  Just found this thread today.  

 

Looks great.  

 

I like your solution to the clearance issue.  I may try my hand at making pods for my tail lights.  I could use a little more room back there.  

I also applaud the decision to keep the quarter windows.  They are probably the most distinct feature of the donor Z.   The hard vertical edge created when blocking them off, doesn't mesh with the curves of the fenders and hatch, IMO.

 

Keep those progress pics coming.

[Dan_Austin]

The hinge arrived on Thursday, but I have not even opened the box yet.  I moved our corporate

HQ last weekend and the local Telco managed to bork my WAN and internet deliveries., so

no free time to play.  Those problems were resolved yesterday, so the hood goes on tomorrow

and bonding is likely next weekend.

 

I am fairly happy with the pods.  If the local TAP Plastics is done remodeling I will pick up some

3oz fabric and try my hand at covering them, otherwise I plan to see if a local custom stereo

shop that makes enclosures will accept a non-stereo job.

[Dan_Austin]

The hood is mounted and the headlight buckets installed, mostly.  I need to pick

up some specialty bolts to finish, but the cutting and sanding is done.

I also finished rerouting my cold air intake since the tilt nose hit it hard in the

original location.

 

 

Need to install a pair of Quik Latch mini hood pins and cut in the washer nozzles,

and start bonding panels.  Next weekend maybe...

[Dan_Austin]

A few more small items knocked off the list.  I borrowed a welder and

finished tacking the trimmed rear wheel arches.  I also welded in the

hood stop.  The welds look better than the photo, and I really did not

care to make them pretty.

 

While I have the front end apart I finished mounting the idle valve and

plumbing it and the valve cover breather into the cold air intake track.

 

I found my headlights were canted a bit, despite trying to ensure the buckets

went in level.  Instead of cutting up the fiberglass I opened up the notches

the buckets.  Not that I have the lights in I can see that I did have the

relay wire up correctly, so that is another item crossed off.

 

The one other item handled so far is cutting in the Quik Latch Minis.

I ran a 1/4-20 tap down the original hood bumper mounts and used

a 3"4 hole saw (very slowly to avoid splintering)  The nut for the latch 

did not feel right when tightened on the fiberglass, so I cut out a couple

of 1.5"X3" tin strips and drilled those to be large washers.  The latches

are nice and tight, and if they do not hold well enough, I can also step up

to the full size Quick Latch, I just wish they have a size in between the mini

and full.

 

I picked up a gallon of Kevlar reinforced body putty and will be bonding the tub

tomorrow morning.  If that goes well I may do the doors too.  I am debating removing

the doors and laying them flat to make the panel easier to install, although that will

make it harder to tweak the panel alignment, so maybe they will be bonded on the

car...

[Dan_Austin]

Started at 8:00 since my extra hands for the big day had to leave early.

I had laid out the tub and had already prepared the body.  Neither I nor

my buddy had worked with body filler before, so we did not recognize

that the cream hardener had separated sitting on the shelf at the parts

store.  After 40 minutes we guessed the problem, pulled the tub and

mixed a second batch.  That one setup very fast, but after the 'dry' run

we had plenty of time.

 

With the tub on my buddy departed, and I started looking at the door skins.

I figured I would start the passenger side, so if I screwed it up I would not

be looking at it on a daily basis.  Well I did not screw it up, but after the

bonding set I realized plan to not cut the handle pocket was not a good on.

The handle fit perfect, and even the mount bolts just slipped right in, but were

not long enough to put a nut on.  So I ended up pulling the window and regulator

to make enough room to reach in with a 4" angle grinder and cut off wheel to

cut the pocket.  It worked, and was drama free, but boy did it suck putting the

window back in my self.  This is what I should have done and what I did on

the drivers side-

 

With the doors on she is basically complete.  I need front turn signals and to

mount the license plate, then I can start the DMV process.

 

I have one panel left to bond, and that is the spoiler, which has to wait until I can

pickup a bit of strapping long enough to span the deck for clamping-

 

One bit that does not show up well in a photo but I am pleased with is the door edges.

I was able to feather and smooth out the filler to dress the 3/8" gap on the rear and

smaller gap on the front-

[tamo3]

Looks great!

Someone should buy another Vela Rossa kit

 

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/4137173389.html

So cheap!

[Fauxre]

Looks great!

Someone should buy another Vela Rossa kit

 

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/4137173389.html

So cheap!

Wow...that is a great deal.  But actually, that's not a Velo Rossa kit.  

 

It looks like some one has adapted the VR cheek panels to a Merlin body kit.

 

 

Wish I had the space... and an understanding wife...I'd snatch that up in a minute.

 

With the doors on she is basically complete.  I need front turn signals and to

mount the license plate, then I can start the DMV process.

 

 

Dan, forgive me if you've already answered this question, but why are you going the SPCNS SB100 registration route?  Isn't the Z already registered as your daily driver?  If you're already smog exempt, and don't participate in the bi-annual inspections, i would think that you should able to keep registering it that way and avoid all the SB100 hassles.

[Dan_Austin]

She is a young '76 so she still has to pass sniffer and visual.  Sniffer no prob, visual

now way no how.  I thought to use the other loop hole for vintage/classic cars, but

I do not own a second qualifying vehicle, so no carrier would issue the appropriate

insurance.  Not one of them cared that my weekly commute was only 12.5 miles.

So a VR kit and the SB100 route keeps her on the road without resorting to tracking

down 35+ year old parts to meet the visual requirement.

 

I may be too naïve and optimistic, but since I've owned the car and major parts for

years as a registered vehicle I do not expect major issues with the DMV or CHP.

The brakes were rebuilt earlier this year, so that should be an easy pass.  Which

leaves lights, and the one check that gives me pause.  If the shop checking is

particular, the housings are ECE and not DOT.  I also did not plan to install marker

lights, which I have read can be an issue for some shops.

[Fauxre]

Aww, for some reason I thought you had a 240...makes sense now.

 

With a current registration card and pink slip, DMV should be a breeze.  And as long as the donor has never been reported stolen, CHP should be smooth also.   

 

Tip: Take some tools along to your vin verification for removing the old vin plates.  The CHP inspector has to to take them before issuing you a new vin number/plate.   I had to make a second trip a week later.  Just don't mess with them before the inspection.

 

As for lights... it's a kit car now!!  The housings are of no consequence. And unless you're building a trailer, marker lights aren't required.

I called the shop that did my inspection and asked what specifically they would be looking for.  When he told me he would adjust the headlights to make sure they were within the proper range, I realized, that by mounting mine behind the fiberglass, I had covered the adjusting screws.  Obviously I drilled some holes before going in.

 

Calls to a few shops beforehand might save some time and frustration.

Edited October 28, 2013 by Fauxre

[Dan_Austin]

Great info.  I had learned the vin tag tip from your thread.  How did you tackle

the dash tag?  Long flat head screwdriver and a bit'o violence?  I can throw a

cordless drill in the trunk for the door jamb.  Did they also take the bolt on

plate in the engine bay?

 

I actually planned my headlights fairly well.  The main bucket is bolted to the

rear of the pocket and the floating bucket is in front with notches in the fiberglass

for the adjusters.  I was between 5 and 10 degrees off from vertical, so I tweaked

the adjustable bucket to allow for a bit more leeway in the bulb placement. 

A quick check in the driveway looks like I will be fine.