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Thread: Better late than never

  1. #196
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    I got my APR carbon fiber GT3 mirrors installed and adjusted today.
















    The good:
    • Beautiful carbon fibery goodness!
    • Light weight (probably compensates for about 1/1000th of the widebody kit, lol!)
    • Blue tint for reduced glare.
    • Wide angle glass for both sides.
    • Looks better with my widebody (eye of the beholder and all that)


    The bad:
    • The view of the passenger mirror is limited. It's better than the last picture suggests, but it isn't as clear as the original mirror.
    • Adjusting the mirrors is a PITA. Plus, obviously, no more power mirrors. But I rarely change the adjustment of my mirrors anyway.
    • Now I have to worry about some asshat stealing my mirrors.
    • I haven't even gotten my dash mirror installed and I already want to upgrade it to the carbon fiber version.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

  2. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Warhammer For This Useful Post:

    Greasemonkey2000 (09-28-2019),MaRcOp01o (09-25-2019),tsingson (09-24-2019)

  3. #197
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    White 2003 LS
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    I started painting my Jet Stream rear bumper diffuser. I got the color-matched paint from AutomotiveTouchup.com. Today was mostly prep and primer. I sanded the gel coat on the entire part, then degreased, wiped off the dust and went to town with a bunch of painter's tape.

    I taped off the outside part so I can paint the center to match the car; the outside will be matte black. In order to get a good demarcation line, I used some 1/4" pinstriping tape in the bottom of the groove between the two sections. Then I used automotive masking tape "for curves" to extend the stripe. Finally, I used good ol' blue tape to cover the larger areas.

    I did several light coats of primer, sanded it down and then a final wet coat of primer. Tomorrow morning, I plan to get out there before it gets too hot and shoot the top color and clear coats.



    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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    tsingson (09-25-2019)

  5. #198
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    White 2003 LS
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    More progress on the paint. I finished up with primer, color coat and 4 coats of clear. With the masking off, you get an idea of how it will look. Now I have to let the color cure for a few days before I can mask it off and shoot the flat black. I'm thinking of running a 1/4" red pinstrip between the black and white portions. That would continue the black/red/white color scheme from the rest of the car. It would also cover the transition line from white to black, which is really hard to get perfectly straight, especially as it is down inside a groove.





    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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    tsingson (09-25-2019)

  7. #199
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    White 2003 LS
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    Black paint this morning:



    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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    tsingson (09-28-2019)

  9. #200
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    White 2003 LS
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    And all unwrapped:




    Next is applying the red pinstripe between the black and white and then installation.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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    tsingson (09-28-2019)

  11. #201
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
    Drives
    White 2003 LS
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    Kyle, TX
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    And here are a whole bunch of pics of the bumper diffuser installed:















    Next I need to paint and install the lower diffuser.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

  12. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Warhammer For This Useful Post:

    Greasemonkey2000 (09-28-2019),HarryB (09-28-2019),tsingson (09-28-2019)

  13. #202
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    White 2003 LS
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    I also did a test install of my dash-mount mirror from RaceMirrors. I just mounted to the dash with double-sided tape so I can get a feel for it. The original aluminum stem was way too long, and ordering a custom length stem was too expensive. So, I bought a 6mm ID carbon fiber tube and made my own. I can cut the tube to any length I want to get the mirror height just right. After I finalize the stem length, I'll drill into the dash to mount the mirror permanently.










    The mirror is really small, but the glass is convex, so you can see quite a lot in it. Being mounted to the dash keeps it completely out of the forward view, so it get in the way like the original mirror. I've been wanting a dash-mounted mirror for quite a while, so I'm hoping the is the solution I've been looking for. I'm planning on getting a new windshield soon because this one has a few rock chips and a lot of scratches. The new windshield won't have the black tombstone where the OEM mirror used to mount.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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    Greasemonkey2000 (10-04-2019),tsingson (09-28-2019)

  15. #203
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    White 2003 LS
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    Front splitter in the works today.

    I still have most of a 4x8 sheet of ABS that I bought for my dash board project a few years ago. Most say to use a piece of cardboard to make a template, but I figured the bumper itself would be easier to use.



    My CCP front bumper already has a splitter integrated, so this project is really just for the purpose of protecting the front edge from road rash.



    I grabbed an appropriately sized hole saw and a Sharpie. I followed the contour of the bumper to draw a line 1" out front of the bumper. At the sides, I'm gong to cut the splitter so that it ends flush with the trailing edge of the bumper.





    Straight lines are easy to cut in ABS; just score with a knife and snap. So I started buy cutting the straight edges at the sides and back, then roughing out the front contour.



    Time for a lunch break, then I'll finish up.
    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

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    Greasemonkey2000 (10-04-2019)

  17. #204
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
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    White 2003 LS
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    On with the work...

    After the rough cuts (and lunch) I used my bench mounted disc sander to remove the ABS down to the Sharpie mark. A quick pass with a box knofe cut off any melted flashing and here's where this were.





    It extended out about 3/4" from the front of the bumper. To me, it was a little too understated. So, I tried moving it forward 1" and really liked the result.



    graphics

    So now it was time to mount that bad boy to the bumper. Having the bumper off the car made this step SO much easier that it would have been? I tossed the bumper up on a folding table and was able to work with it comfortably.

    But before I bolted the splitter on, I decided to take a small detour and ad a bit of color to the project. Anyone who's read a few pages of my build thread knows my love of vinyl graphics. So, a little knifeless cutting tape and some Ferrari red vinyl, and...



    Finally, on to bolting things together. With the help of a few clamps and some 3M tape to hold things were I wanted them, I drilled 14 holes and used stainless steel screws, washers and lock bolts to attach the splitter. Possible overkill, but it's certainly not going anywhere.



    I finished the edges with some black edge trim and the bumper is ready to reinstall.

    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

  18. The Following User Says Thank You to Warhammer For This Useful Post:

    Greasemonkey2000 (10-04-2019)

  19. #205
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! Warhammer's Avatar
    Drives
    White 2003 LS
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    Kyle, TX
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    So here it is all back together and on the ground:



    I really like how it looks. Aggressive without being too outlandish. I don't think it's large enough that I need any turnbuckles to tied the spoiler into the car's frame. The TDR "radical" splitter comes with turnbuckles, but that thin sticks out 2.5" in front of the bumper. However, if I decide I want to add them just "because racecar", I think there's enough room for me to do it.

    While I had the car up on jack stands, I added a red stripe to the bottom edge of each side, too. It's not a lot of color and looks pretty subtle in the pics, but it's more noticeable in person.





    More pics, just because!









    - Rex

    2003 LS Widebody, Pure White, Too many mods to list in a signature

    My build thread

  20. The Following User Says Thank You to Warhammer For This Useful Post:

    Greasemonkey2000 (10-04-2019)

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