06
August 2001:
Now
the rear lid hinges. I tried some hinge alternatives, but due to the
roof's
spherical profile, the conventional hinges were protruding in the
passenger
compartment, disturbing the sight. So, I decided to add a rear spoiler
wing, whose pedestals would serve as fins and also house the hinges.
This
pic is for one side only. The side elements were made of 3 styrene
laminations. |
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The
side elements were separated too, as shown. A pin held the layers for
correct
alignment while cutting. |
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Now you see
the basic shape of the longer part. |
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This is the
hinge end assembly. The front part will also be sanded round and smooth. |
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After
the two parts were prepared, the assembly was put on the car body,
aligned,
and glued. |
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VOILA!!!! The
testing operation proved success... |
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The rear wing
was cut from the Cruiser's roof, since it had the same curvature
laterally.
The slab was sanded to an airfoil profile. |
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The
wing was then glued in place. |
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This
is a general view of the rear. I liked the looks, and decided to go on. |
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The rocker
panel had to be lowered by 3 mm, to match with the front spoiler. To do
this, I cut two styrene strips, glued them under the rocker panel, and
filled with polyester putty. |
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15
August 2001:
Now
it was time for the first primer coat to see the irregularities. As
seen
in the pic, they were corrected with adding more putty and sanding. |
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And
the paint... Metallic plum crazy...I decided to paint the car on purple
theme. No chromed parts. I had already erased the scripts, only the
door
and rear lid handles were left, and I wanted them body color too. |
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Up
till this moment, I was planning to put Cruiser's dashboard on. But I
figured
that I could use Viper's dashboard, so I tailor-cut a styrene addition
to fit the car. |
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Meanwhile,
I trimmed the windshield to fit in the space, flush with the body and
pillars. |
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Recesses
were cut in the styrene sheet to fit tight with the windshield. |
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........
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