Pete B's Build Thread

[PeteB]

Back end of the Graz looks much better now:



Heat gun made removing the black crap much easier.

 

[PeteB]

Just took the SLC for a short drive. The Dakota Digital GPS speed sensor seems to have solved my stalling issue and the speedometer is working great too.

I added some daytime running lights and LED halos to the headlights during the winter. Still need to repaint the headlight area black, but the weather hasn't been cooperating to get any painting done:

 

[Dan Carter]

Hey Pete

How is the rear view with the Hippo mirrors?

 

[PeteB]

They're not quite as useless as the mirrors on my Cobra were, but they're pretty close.

 

[Will Campbell]

They're not quite as useless as the mirrors on my Cobra were, but they're pretty close.

They need convex mirror glass to get the most out of them. I made mine from cheap replacement mirror glass I got at Autozone that were supposed to be for a Chrysler minivan. They cost $18 or so. Just trace the original glass on the replacement glass, and carefully cut with a glass cutter. Sand the edges carefully and you are done.

I also modified the housings on mine so that when the glass was adjusted correctly, the edge of the mirror glass was still inside the housing.

With these mods, and a full-time rear-view camera, I have no blind spots.

 

[PeteB]

Added some Howard Jones snap vents tonight. They look like they should work well - I'll try them out tomorrow on the way to Cars & Coffee.

Downside is the manufacturer states they ARE NOT RECOMMENDED for speeds above 120 knots, so that'll limit the top speed when they're open :laugh:





Closed:


Open:

 

[Chris]

Pete,

Do you plan to leave the hole cut in the street tail to accommodate the Graziano, or do you plan to do some fiberglass work to close it up? I guess I haven't seen any finished pics of bodywork with the Graz installed.

 

[PeteB]

I'm just going to leave it as it is.

 

[Chris]

Is this what most people do? I have seen some video walk-arounds of Graz installations that look different, but I can't identify what exactly has been done. I have searched for more pics but have been unable to find any. Any help?

 

[Allan]

I fiberglass over the cut out either like in the picture or fin to fin.

 

[PeteB]

Is this what most people do? I have seen some video walk-arounds of Graz installations that look different, but I can't identify what exactly has been done. I have searched for more pics but have been unable to find any. Any help?

As far as I know, Allan is the only builder so far who's finished a car with a Graziano, so there is no "what most people do". On your build, do what you like.

 

[Michael Fling]

Is this what most people do? I have seen some video walk-arounds of Graz installations that look different, but I can't identify what exactly has been done. I have searched for more pics but have been unable to find any. Any help?

Another option...

 

[Aaron H.]

Sometimes she likes to be fully exposed.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

We have actually built cars with Graz transaxles too
Raver races their slc with a Graz trans too

There are more out there running around too

 

[PeteB]

Fran, just curious, have you closed off the hole on the cars you built or left the back of the transaxle sticking out?

I'm leaving mine the way it is. I don't think it looks bad, in fact it's rather race car-y.

 

[Mark B.]

Sometimes she likes to be fully exposed.

Hey Aaron, do you have any pics of your car from directly behind? I was thinking to do the same thing on mine after I found some pics of yours, but was hoping to see a better angle

 

[PeteB]

Aaron does have his own build thread

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

We have not
As mentioned elsewhere the gallardo also has the tail of the trans exposed and I don't dislike that either

 

[Jack]

Part of the beauty of the SL-C is you may let your imagination go wherever you choose.
I prefer the race tail open and the street tail closed myself.

 

[PeteB]

The big brown truck brought my new style hinges from RCR today. A test fit revealed its going to take some rework to the back end to get them to work, but I think it'll be worth being able to open the rear clip enough to work on stuff back there. I'm going to have to cut the crossbar on the rear clip to provide clearance for the Graziano and figure out how to reinforce the rear clip.

Here's the new hinges: