BUILD THREAD “The Juggernaut”

[mr evil]

Incredible....as usual!

 

[Rktpwrd]

Once again my friend, the level of attention, detail, and patience is outstanding to say the least! However, I think you officially lost your damn mind filing those screw heads down to fit....but the devil is in the details!!!!
When it comes to fit and finish, the juggernaut is up there with ridler builds a day that's just being honest.
Oh btw, sanding grilles sucks lol!!!
As most will agree, I'm anxious to see the next custom touch to embrace the Naut.

Well done sir (loud audible applause)!!!!!

Thanks so much for the flattering comments Scott, I'm truly humbled. Thank you.
Building something in the calibre of Ridler award territory is no joke. The guys that have rides worthy of even being in consideration for that honour are waaay far and above where my skill set and tool availability is capable of achieving. I appreciate the thought though.

I had the privilege of being able to see Chip Foose's "Impression" at the Spokane Wheels n Waves show some years back, that car as you may know was a Ridler winner. It was absolutely stunning. No way in a million years could I even dream of attaining that level of craftsmanship. I simply don't have the funds, access to the high tech tools, or the time, patience or skill to apply that level of quality to a car.

All I'm trying to do is raise the level of fit, finish, and quality applied to a G body. As most of us know, our G's tend to have a bad rep as "hoopties", or other such unflattering terms. I'm simply doing my best to try and change that perception and show the world that a G body can be a high class, cool looking and performing car, worthy of some respect.

Oh, and yes, sanding grilles does suck, I haven't touched mine since we last spoke of it!
Lol
Stay with it tho, it'll be worth it in the long run.
🙂

 

[Rktpwrd]

Donovan,
Your skill, imagination, craftsmanship and attention to detail are admirable. Fantastic work. Thanks for the update. I really enjoyed it laying in this hospital bed recovering.

Thank you Jared. I actually enjoy being able to study a problem and come up with the best way to correct it. Makes me use my grey matter, and is very rewarding.

My thoughts are with you, I hope you're doing alright and I wish you a speedy recovery. Glad I was able to give you something to read and entertain you for a bit at least.
Get well soon my friend.

 

[Rktpwrd]

Awesome work as usual Donovan!

Thank you Kevin!
And thanks for continuing to check in on the progress. Much appreciated sir!
Any luck on tracking down a GP bar for me yet?

Incredible....as usual!

Thanks Rick!
🙂

Donovan, outstanding work as always. I had similar issues with the fiberglass hood, with the peak and the curvature at the front 12" or so of the hood. Looks fantastic!

And I absolutely love the recessed hood pins. I wanted to do the same, mimicking the a-body old's. I just changed my mind with the color scheme I am using. Nd, replacing the hood bumpers is what I did also, nice touch my friend, we think alike on a lot of things.

On thing I found, I had to oblong the back side of the billet hood pin plate just to keep from binding when the hood shut, since the plate is so thick. It can't be seen from the surface, but it was necessary to keep from marrying up the black agonizing.

Thanks Jim.
I've had my experiences with fibreglass in the past, and I can attest to knowing your pain. That's why I decided to stay with steel.

The recessed hood plates was primarily to streamline the flow and the look, but it did occur to me too that it harkened back to the W30 and 442 A bodies in the past. That same similarity is just a nice coincidence!
🙂

As for oblonging the backside of the pin plates, mine actually already are, right from the factory. As well, the plastic gasket that sits under the plates is too, so I figured it would be a wise idea to do the same to the holes in the hood under the plates.

I don't have any pictures of this just now, but if I think of it, I'll snap some a bit later and post them up.
The only thing I wasn't sure of was which way to orient the oblong. I ended up orienting it to the back, thinking that that may be where the additional clearance would be needed. (My pins aren't mounted to the rad support that's in the car right now).

Which way did you need to oblong the holes to? Biased towards the front, or the rear of the hood?

 

[liquidh8]

I had to orient the oblong to the rear, since the pin wants to hit the reformist part of the hole through its arc of motion.

 

[Rktpwrd]

I had to orient the oblong to the rear, since the pin wants to hit the reformist part of the hole through its arc of motion.

Ahh, that's perfect. That's exactly where I thought it needed to be biased towards. Thanks for confirming that for me Jim.

Here's pics of the backsides of the pieces, as well, you can see I ovaled the hole in the hood to match the gasket. There should be no interference issues this way.

 

[Rktpwrd]

Since we're on the topic of hood pins on this thing, I'd like some feedback from whoever's reading this.

The following 2 pics are of the pin protruding through the plate, and assembled with the stainless lynch pins that came with the kit:

However, as nice as they are, I thought it all just looked kinda "busy" with everything assembled.

I found some quick pins with a spring loaded ball in the end of the pin that are the same diameter. I thought these might make the assembly look a bit less cluttered.

It's not a huge difference I know, but now I'm torn. I don't know which ones I should use. I mocked one up without the spiral ring on the end, but it just looked goofy. So I think the rings need to stay on. Plus, it makes it easier to pull the pin out.

So if you're reading this, please weigh in with your opinions.

Lynch pins or the quick pins? Help me decide!

Thanks in advance,
Donovan

 

[CWPottenger]

Been a lurker for awhile on your build.... AMAZING work.
I agree quick pins a little cleaner look, but the lynch pin is a more secure fastener. Are the hood pins for look or function? If just look I'd choose quick pins. If function I'd choose lynch...

Another question. Do you see any issue of water in the edges of the recessed mounts or did you address that issue in a way I don't see?

again great work!

 

[Rktpwrd]

Been a lurker for awhile on your build.... AMAZING work.
I agree quick pins a little cleaner look, but the lynch pin is a more secure fastener. Are the hood pins for look or function? If just look I'd choose quick pins. If function I'd choose lynch...

Another question. Do you see any issue of water in the edges of the recessed mounts or did you address that issue in a way I don't see?

again great work!

First of all, thank you for your kind comments! It's nice to hear from lurkers as well as loyal followers.
🙂

You've brought up some very valid points about the lynch pins being a more secure fastener. I've contemplated this thought myself.

The hood pins are most definitely fully functional in this instance, I've actually gone ahead and deleted the factory hood latch and catch. So these will be the sole means of keeping the hood closed.
I just thought (perhaps foolishly) that maybe the quick pins would provide almost as secure a method as the lynch pins. Point taken, thank you.

As far as keeping water out of the recess, there's really no way to do that 100%. I have about a 1/16th of an inch all the way around the plate when it's installed, so my plan is to run a very thin bead of seam sealer around the inside of the recess before primer and paint.
That way, when the water gets in there, it will have no where to go to cause rust issues, etc. It will eventually dry out, and if it doesn't, I have access to compressed air at home and I can blow it out then.

Thanks for weighing in!

 

[liquidh8]

Sorry about he horrible spelling on the past post, responding fro my phone ins a pain in the butt. In any case, those pins look nice. My hood plates weren't hollowed out on the backside like that, they are real thick there. So,I had to file the oblong in the plate. Also, I am partial to the lynch pins, I think they fit better with the plate.