Mark's GT-R Build

I like using the side panel for something other than closure. I have been trying to figure out how to fit everything in without making the dash looking cluttered. Going for the minimalist look, you have unlocked more real estate! Back to the drawing board for me but thanks Mark!
 
I am working on the body and wanted to cut out the rear clam body openings. For the rear deck grills, I outlined where I thought the cuts needed to go, then put the grills in place to see if I could see my Sharpie marks. None seen, so the marked cut lines are good. Drilled holes in the corners, used the Pneumatic jig saw to make the rough cut outs, then used a Dremel and file to cut back to the ideal lines.
 

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Next come the "B" pillar scoops. I used some tape to get an idea of the shape that would be most functional (I need a lot of air to keep the carbon fiber from overheating) and look OK. When I had a shape I could live with, I made a cardboard pattern so that I could mirror image it on the other side. I may refine it a little to look a little less "cut-out," but time will tell.
 
Ops..... Forgot the Photos.
 

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The last thing I did today was to mount the rear spoiler. I will have this powder coated gloss black along with the diffuser after I get the body completely mocked up.
 

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I looked at a number of sites for the grill material, but I used Custom Car Grills, as Jared suggested. They provide the degree of air resistance each grill material creates, and I wanted high flow, so that allowed me to accurately choose the right material. The grill material was really well packaged to protect the finish.
 

Jared V

Supporter
Also worth noting (H had to clue me in) the original GT grills have a variety of patterns from the factory depending on location on the car. I wrongfully assumed that they were all the same pattern. I never looked that close.
 
I received a box that I have been awaiting, the tail lights and fog light buckets from H. He is a great guy. After I received them, he made sure I knew how to get them installed. These pieces are P-R-I-M-O-!!!

I rough cut the tail light opening to about a 3/8" edge remaining. Then, as H made me aware, the edge needs to be narrowed towards the bottom of the tail light. With a little time and care, you can adjust the opening to get the tail lights to fit perfectly.

That being done, it was time to turn to the tail light buckets. These require adjustment such that the distance between the edge of the bucket and the tail light lens bezel needs to be the thickness of the fiberglass in the rear body tail light surround. Again, a little time and care and it can be perfect.

With these pieces adjusted, assembling the bucket and the tail light holds the pieces in position, so glassing in the bucket from the inside is no real issue.
 

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Looking good there Mark, just make sure the hole through the bucket is big enough for whatever plug you use.

And for anyone else out there thats waiting on these lights they are coming, Im promised another batch of the bezels soon.
 
The fiber glass has set up on the tail light buckets, so I can show them mounted and back on the car. I love the tail lights. Thanks H

I also followed up on Cam's shifter knob and like what I saw so I ordered "The Slammer" is Transparent Red. Matches the color scheme, looks and and feels great.
 

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I am getting ready to disassemble the front end of the car to re-locate the splitter. This is going to be a big job and the last thing I want is a problem getting the body alignment correct in this area. With that in mind, I wanted an exact reproducible mounting of the front body section so I made jigs on each side just ahead of the tires for the rear of this body section, then drilled and bolted the body to the aluminum sub-frame at the nose of the car. I now have a four point solid attachment of the body to the sub-frame.

Next comes taking this all apart and modifying the splitter attachments.
 

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Ron McCall

Supporter
Mark,

Great idea!
Having done two of these , I can respect the idea of knowing Exactly where the nose is supposed to be before you correct the splitter location. Make sure that the nose is actually where it should be BEFORE you start. I made the mistake of assuming that the body was mounted correctly on my customer's car and had to add a small bit of glass back to the bottom once I corrected it. On my car, the body was so far off ( the nose had to be raised 1" to get the fenders to line up with the doors for one example. The left side rocker was attached over 1/2" too far away from the tub, at the front, for another . It goes on and on and on ) that I didn't have to trim the front very much to get it into position once the nose was mounted correctly.

Also , I have an alternate method of modifying the splitter than what H has done. I can email you pics of the process if you would like?

Ron
 
Thanks, I will go back and re-assemble the body to check it all. I did this before disassembling the body, but a lot have changed since then. Thanks for keeping an eye on me.
 
Finally, I am able to get back into reporting on the Build. I moved into a new house and traveled to spend some time with our grandchildren, so the time off was well spent. The current project is to remount the front splitter to allow for proper ground clearance when the suspension is set to the proper ride height. When I set up the suspension height, I look at the splitter and saw that I had a really good asphalt shovel. It needed to be changed.

I have been working on this for a few days, but held off reporting on it because I wanted to make sure it was going to work. I am doing this differently than others have reported, and they are experts and I am a novice.

I decided to leave the body mounted and only remove the splitter, battery box, and unbolt the radiator mounts, the horn mounts and the battery charger mounts.

With the splitter removed, the vertical portion of the body above the splitter was 3 inches. I wanted to remove 2 inches. With that in mind, knowing we are dealing with a complex curved surface, I drilled a hole so that the top of the hole was tangent to the 2 inch mark at the center of the body. I used a bolt in the hole, as well as two holes to the side of the body that were already there, to serve as "stakes" to attach a tight string. The string would be my cut line, but it had to be taped off. The center point was an absolute, but the side points were just an approximation on the conservative side.
 

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With the splitter removed, the rear edge had to be trimmed to fit on top of the under pan, and an opening had to be made for the coolant tubes. The under side of the splitter needed a step cut in it to fit the edge of the under pan. This step will be "relined" at a later time with body filler. H and Ron have reported on how they did this, and it is the right thing to do. It just requires two people, so I will do it later.
 

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I measured the thickness of the splitter at the leading edge of the under pan and marked it on the aluminum sub chassis, establishing the rear cut line. I marked the front by taking 2 inches up from the lower edge of the body. I started trimming the aluminum sub chassis first. The left and right sides were not identical in their position, but were really close.
 
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