[Rayven14]

Well, been gettin er done. I knocked out the other 5 pieces to the mold. Actually workin on the 6th and final section today and wrappin it up tomorrow. The rear bumper section is by far the most complex mold on the car so far. Oh well one more section and its done

 

[Rayven14]

Well, the rear bumper is done ...finally! Its certainly the largest mold/part on the car and probably one of the larger pieces Ive made a mold for. Im in rhe process of wet sanding, sealing and waxing. It turned out to be 6 piece mold so it may take me a bit to get er done. With my fingers and toes crossed I hope to have that done before the weekend and possibly pulling a part over the weekend.

I flipped and trimmed the mold before starting the 2nd section. This area was a disaster because of the resin that dripped down between the plastic barriers that was supposed to protect it from overspray.

 

[Rayven14]

And after a cracker jack load of trim work.... trust me when I say there was A LOT!l There was a ton of satisfaction tearing it down to reveal the mold.... thats always the best part. Oddly enough the first section of the mold needs some work, its got some alligatoring and needs some finish work. The other 5 pieces are darn near perfect. I'm contemplating making a new lower section once the first piece is complete. The white stuff in the mold is mold rease and will rinse out

 

[Stockley7078]

@Rayven14
I just joined the group Oooh 5mins ago, however I’ve been creeping on this site (mainly this post) for months now.

Sir, your work is beyond any words that can describe perfection..!! The detail, the care, precision, patience above all your skill..!

I have been looking at a car project for a while now (Thanks COVID) - the DDR, K-1, 818S, SL-C (in my dreams). Anyway, here in good ol’ Canada... no one will insure a kit car. So, back to body kit “up lifts” haha

I have been recently (this morning) talking to Luxury Parts again...I decided to raise (call out) all the issues you found with fabrication/fit up ... he sent me half a dozen cars with the kits fit up, they look perfect. I am so torn haha this thread CLEARLY is a warning sign to steer clear of these kits... but the look is exactly what I’m going for.!

I have also been chatting with Al (Turismo).. again another great looking car! But wished the rear fender vents were a little larger, aggressive looking like the LP and the side skirts (rockers) a bit more like the G

So, point of my post ? LoL if I ordered the front bumper, hood and lights from Al, what is your interest in building a second set of body kit pieces.... for a price of course.?

Based on your weight descriptions of the LP kit, even with the K20 (w/ turbo) swap... that kit sounds like it’s coming in at 200+ lbs. vs your kit, which is almost equal to stock (amazing).!

Anyways, sorry to take up your time and the length of my first post haha.
If you don’t mind chatting more.. fire me an email: [email protected]

Take care. -Craig-

 

[Rayven14]

Hey Craig,

It took me a minute to figure out what you were asking, but, after few more passes I picked it up. So if you're asking me to create the rear half of my kit (from the doors back) so you can match it to the front clip of the Torismo kit? that's a good idea but it wont work. My kit is 1/2 or 3/4 wider than their kit. I guess you could make it work but it would take quite a bit of body/figerglass work to make bring it all together. However, .... sure! if that's something you'd like to take on I could do that for you.

 

[Stockley7078]

@Rayven14
Thanks so much for the info...
I think my best option will be to stick with a production kit... back to the drawing board again to pick one.
Thanks again.

 

[Rayven14]

Well, I got er popped out the mold. Initially I was less than impressed with the results, but as I continued to work on it I things started to brighten up a bit. With the mold having so many flanges and blind corners ...meaning I cant see the corner/edges of the mold to push or roll the fiberglass down. So I ended up with quiet a few voids that need to be repaired. As I worked these areas I wondered if LP is having the same issues? Hence why there is so much bondo in his parts. But then again not all the molds would have blind corners. Hmmmm.

Any hoot here are some pics of the progress. The best part about the whole process is the weight... I dont have a pic cause I cant stand on the scale and snap a pic at the same time but ..... this big boy weighs 22 pounds. That may seem heavy but this sucker is huge! Its 78 inches wide and 31 inches top to bottom.

Still in the mold

Flange removed showing blind corner

Like a brand new baby, needs a wash and a wrap lol lol

Thin gelcoat, again blind corner to the spray gun also. I may brush these areas in the future.

Small air pocket, easy fix

More blind corners... this was the cause of my initial frustration.

Outside for a shower

 

[Rayven14]

So I got er back in the house and I pulled out the trusty Duraglass (Which is basically bondo with short strand fiberglass in it) and stated the cosmetic makeover. The finish work never stops but after a few hours work this is where I'm at.

Went over it with some bondo as a finish coat following the Duraglass.

With a few more hours of work I should be able to bang most of this stuff out. With any luck I should be able to mount it tomorrow and start the final finish work on the rear of the car.

 

[refirendum]

Even with those post-demold fixes, it's probably a bunch lighter than the LP part.

 

[Rayven14]

Even with those post-demold fixes, it's probably a bunch lighter than the LP part.

Oh my! Im shocked at how much lighter it is. Im thinking about adding a couple more layers in the areas that are subject to abuse. Hell why not!

 

[Rayven14]

Well, its been a minute since my last post and I"ll tell you why..... sit down and take a deep breathe... hold it,... now release slowly. Ok, you ready?

This kit is a piece of shit!!!!! Anyone who buys this kit after reading any part of this thread .... well, you clearly have bags of money or you're insane or dare I say you're a glutton for punishment.

I'll edit and show why and how I came to this conclusion after I get the pics posted. I'm posting this from my phone and I can't edit the pics.

 

[Rayven14]

Ok, here is the problem...UGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so I pretty much modified both rear quarter panels pretty extensively, they still have the same design elements but now they kinda sport what I would describe as an updated look/feel. Having said that, while I was performing these said modifications, I matched the panels left and right... ya know for symmetry. So the areas that I didn't touch were the taillight sections. Ya know, one would assume they would fit. Well,... NO! The red lines indicate the length from the tail to the tip of the taillight opening... Yep! the shit is OFFFFFFF by damn near 1/2 inch.... I WAS PISSED!!!!!!!!

So, I decided that Im selling off all the sections of the kit that I didn't make. Pretty much the only thing Im keeping are the doors and door molds and the quarter panels. Ideally I think Im just gonna hack off the rear winglets and create my own design. Im probably keeping the front bumper as well but other than that its all gotta go! CHEAP if anyone is interested. Yep I'll ship if you're willing to pay.

 

[Rayven14]

Hell, while Im selling stuff. I got 3 sets of custom panels Im not using. Make me a descent offer and I'll box em up and ship em out. These are the Torismo panels, very similar to Ferrari 430 I think

I think there may be carbon fiber behind the upholstery on these panels.

These are built on a pair of factory panels so they will pop right on. Problem is theyre kinda heavy cause I used MDF to create them

Oh these are going also

PM me with details.

 

[Rayven14]

The Torismo panels are modeled after these panels:
There is also also a lower door map pocket thats included but not pictured.

 

[2mAn]

This kit is a piece of shit!!!!! Anyone who buys this kit after reading any part of this thread .... well, you clearly have bags of money or you're insane or dare I say you're a glutton for punishment.

bummer... While Im not a fan of kit cars and whatnot I was hoping to see this come together... Wishing you the best in coming out of this without your hair on fire

 

[pwnzor]

Whatever you do, this thread has been nothing short of epic.

 

[Rayven14]

Whatever you do, this thread has been nothing short of epic.

Oh ya, I'm taking a short mental break, actually working on the interior a bit. Then back on the body, gotta finish this thing one way or another. Just gonna have to figure out what I want it to look like ... ya know symmetry is kind of one of the main goals. At the moment I'm trying to decide on what tail lights I'm gonna use. Kinda wanna get away from the whole Porsche Gemballa thing. I'm open to suggestions. My only requirement is that the be affordable and a 1 piece design.

 

[Rayven14]

bummer... While Im not a fan of kit cars and whatnot I was hoping to see this come together... Wishing you the best in coming out of this without your hair on fire

LOL I had hair when I started this project. Hell no wonder my hair line is receding, all this damn stress.

 

[refirendum]

What kinda look are you going for? circular taillights, or flatter wider taillights?
your budget certainly would factor into this as well.

I forgot what you'd chosen for your headlights btw. were they nissan headlights or something? EDIT: i see you went with celica headlights.

uhhh. maybe something like ND miata taillights?
or something that looks similar to the newer ford GT taillights?

 

[Rayven14]

Ehh, I decided to dump the headlights as well. Gonna have to find something else that better fits the car.

Not Sure what I want it to look like. I like idea of a round light, it would lend/match to the dash design and kind of bring it all together. But certainly not the Ford GT lights! that's way out of my budget. Then of course availability would be an issue, I'm sure its a dealer item only. And we all know that going to the dealer is highway robbery

I like the Mazda lights but not really a fan of that particular model. I have quite a few options but leaning toward the new Mazda 3 hatchback, it gives me the best of both worlds. Problem is they're a 2 piece light and that may not work for the application.

Although nothing has been decided yet, these are in close contention: albeit cost prohibitive.

Then there are these: Kia Sportage but again a 2 piece light and I'm on the fence with the center section and it kinda looks like a "Storm Trooper"

Or these: Licoln MKC, its a one piece light but Im on the fence with the exterior curve

Then there are these Lexus lights: but holy smokes the COST!

Actually these Camaro lights aren't to shabby either! You can go on EBAY and type in 2016 Camaro taillights and get all kinds of different looks/designs... Hmm, that might keep people guessing. Cost is affordable and readily available as well

Hell, I have no idea what direction its gonna go in. Every time I'm in a parking lot or driving down the street I'm on the the look out for potential solutions. Based on the current selection what would you all choose? I really like the Lexus light but cost is crazy expensive. Tied for second place would be the Mazda 3 lights and the Camaro, 3rd place is Maserati but that's only based upon cost.