917-037
February 23, 2004
When assembling
a Porsche prototype, you are constantly fitting parts to make
sure they will fit after the body is attached (always close
tolerances).
Everybody is doing
the last of the glass work (suspension pickup openings).
Now I
am making the panel that separates the fender from the side
pod where the fuel tanks are housed.
All the
pickups are now sealed up, the fender brace is installed,
and we are getting ready for the first coat of paint.
Notice the big
slot for the stabilizer bar. The other side is small because
the bar goes in on this side. This is covered with a fiberglass
panel after the bar is installed.
I am applying the
first layer of resin for the driver's side fender panel. Gray
pigment is important in the wheel wells because the rock chips
always stay gray.
The panels are
both finished. Now Andy and Martin are fitting brake ducts
in the tail.
After the panel
is made, cleco clamps index the mounting holes. While the
car is still upside down, the door seal straps are being applied.
Andy is attaching
the panel to the chassis. This makes the door sills very strong.
Jack is
masking off the firewall because we are repainting the back
of the chassis due to a Gulf modification.
Chris,
the transport driver, has been waiting a few days to deliver
the car to Carl. Chris was early and we were late. Because
of this, what you see in the photos is called a gang bang.
This picture was taken Saturday - noon.
Saturday at 7pm,
the car was primed. In this photo, Andy and Martin are making
sure the brake ducts are indexed to the chassis when the tail
is closed.
Quick coat of urethane
gray on the bottom. Note the four holes on the left...these
are for the 6mm bolts that mount the bottom of the oil cooler.
All that
hard work, then you just cover it up with gray paint...but
boy, does it look good after.
Final sanding for
primer and headlight buckets are in final paint (satin black).
Martin
and Andy are removing the tail after I have sized all the
seams.
Everybody goes home except me.
Between the last
photo and these shots, I primed the car 7:30pm Saturday, returned
at 12am Sunday, sanded the primer (which took 4 hours), had
the car in final paint by 4:30am. The boys showed up at 7am
Sunday to reinstall the suspension, and paint the cockpit
dark gray.
Andy, Jack, and
Gunnar did the painting honors. At 4pm, the car was dry enough
to put into the trailer and head for Long Beach, CA.
This is kind of
cool shot with our Daytona Prototype in the background (Fabcar
Porsche).
This is the last
time we'll see the car until Andy and I fly to California
to help Carl put the finishing touches on the bodywork.
Don't
forget to keep checking Carl's website at www.pbase.com/917carl
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