Regardless of what others think, the patience and pride in your craft is amazing. I wish that could rub off on me. I tend to get in too much of a hurry, chasing results vs perfection.
BUILD THREAD “The Juggernaut”
- Thread starter Rktpwrd
- Start date
Thanks Jim!
I purposely made the definition lines of the bumper a little more crisp and clean than factory as I feel it’s probably closer to what the original designer intended anyways. I think it’ll add to the overall aesthetic and presence of the car when it’s done, and yet people won’t quite know why. I love little details like that.
Yes, the process was much more labor intensive than I expected, but feel it was completely necessary to streamline a glaring sore spot with these cars and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’m going to have to on the rear bumper yet anyhow.
😅
Thank you. If I have any wisdom to impart, it would be this:
Focus on the results, but pay attention to the details, and the perfection will come with time and experience.
Your compliments and praise are very much appreciated, thank you!
The answer is really simple, and two-fold:
Firstly, by assembling as I complete individual projects, it allows me to track and monitor the progress. If something doesn’t look right or needs tweaking it’ll be readily apparent right away when you can look at it all together and assembled. The additional bonus to this is that it also greatly helps with motivation, seeing the completed projects come together to create the whole is a great motivator to keep going and tackle the next thing.
Secondly and perhaps most importantly, is that I do not have access to limitless amounts of storage. All these things that come apart when disassembled all take up vast amounts of space. I don’t live on an acreage, I don’t have a massive shop, I don’t have multiple storage sheds etc so I need to be smart about utilizing the space I do have available.
By reassembling once I’m done with a project, I know exactly where all the individual related parts, fasteners and components are, and I know that there’s nothing left to do or track down (like upgrading fasteners to stainless steel) because it’s all already been done. Because this is such a long term build and I don’t know when it’ll be ready for paint, for me this is the best way to manage the build knowing that once a project is to this stage, all that’s left is to final block sand and prep for paint.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering why I don’t just take the additional step and paint while it’s all still disassembled, it’s because it’s never a good idea to paint pieces one at a time, especially over extended periods of time. Paint batches, mixing ratios, product changes and upgrades can all affect the end result; you need to paint all the various parts together out of one large batch at once to ensure consistency without any variations in hues, coverage, number of coats etc.
Otherwise it could come out looking like a patchwork quilt of mismatched parts and panels. This is even more important when dealing with paints that have metallics and pearls in them like the colors I plan on using.
There’s always method to my madness.
😎
Rktpwrd, this thread is one of the few reasons I still log in to GBF. Thanks for taking the time to document and upload all these posts. Management owes you a slice of the click income.
I’m not going to. The whole car will need to be blown apart for paint one last time, and all the pieces will be painted together at once. Until then this keeps everything together, doesn’t take up my entire garage, and keeps it looking like a car.
Thank you sir, but no one owes me anything. I do it just for the enjoyment and in the spirit of sharing my progress with everyone. I’m just glad that guys like you are patient enough to follow along and share your feedback. I’m flattered to be a reason you still stick around, we’ve lost a lot of valued members here over the last several years.
Thank you.
Alright guys, here we go.
I got some time yesterday to reinstall and realign everything, it went extremely well and didn’t fight me too bad probably because I had spent so much time aligning everything before.
To say I’m pleased beyond belief would be an understatement, it came out better than I had hoped. The Juggernaut has her finished face back on now!
I’m now perfectly fine with the smoked bumper marker lights, I don’t think they look out of place at all. They tie in with the black surrounding the headlights and grille nicely.
Last night after it got dark, I dug out my temporary wiring harnesses for the HID headlights and the new sequential LED marker lights and wired them up to the battery. It’s always encouraging to see signs of life like lighting to keep you motivated!
With just the marker lights…
…and with the headlights:
I saved the best part for last, a couple of links to short videos of a walk-around in the daylight, and the sequential signal lights working:
And so that finally wraps up the summer project, time to decide what I want to tackle next! I might just start at the back of the car and work my way towards narrowing, tucking and recessing the rear bumper while all this is still fresh in my head.
Thanks for following along with the progress, as always all comments and feedback are encouraged and appreciated.
D.
I got some time yesterday to reinstall and realign everything, it went extremely well and didn’t fight me too bad probably because I had spent so much time aligning everything before.
To say I’m pleased beyond belief would be an understatement, it came out better than I had hoped. The Juggernaut has her finished face back on now!
I’m now perfectly fine with the smoked bumper marker lights, I don’t think they look out of place at all. They tie in with the black surrounding the headlights and grille nicely.
Last night after it got dark, I dug out my temporary wiring harnesses for the HID headlights and the new sequential LED marker lights and wired them up to the battery. It’s always encouraging to see signs of life like lighting to keep you motivated!
With just the marker lights…
…and with the headlights:
I saved the best part for last, a couple of links to short videos of a walk-around in the daylight, and the sequential signal lights working:
And so that finally wraps up the summer project, time to decide what I want to tackle next! I might just start at the back of the car and work my way towards narrowing, tucking and recessing the rear bumper while all this is still fresh in my head.
Thanks for following along with the progress, as always all comments and feedback are encouraged and appreciated.
D.
Wow, that looks fantastic, Donovan, looks like it was born that way! Very nice design and workmanship! 👍
The lines on that bumper are so sharp, they'll cut you!
