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 Posted 6/6/2016 7:29:41 PM |
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Junior Member
 
Last Login: 9/27/2021 4:59:23 PM
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niiice....I imagined myself driving in it the whole way
 
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| Posted 6/10/2016 5:06:47 PM |
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Junior Member
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Champmobile Log; Star Date 06102016
The garage has been cleaned out...I bought some good books on mechanics, body work, and electrical work...I almost bought some tools, but Im going to take a little time to shop and get what I really need...because those costs will start to add up....
Developing the budget is eye opening. In my research I have found a potential top quality kit for 16k, however since this is all dealing with people over the internet, there would be an added cost of a couple round-trips across the country to do business, and even then, if business went south, it would be hard to do much about it. OR I can take the gamble and just trust that good business will be done....but I just cant do that.
Doug's gotham cruiser kits are the most widely used on this forum, and he has an established good reputation with people on this site, and a tangible business, which instills confidence in doing business.
I talked to him and got a quote. He was very upfront about what to expect, how its built, and the work that is needed (not that its alot). He has a nice list of available parts to complete your build as well. The kits and parts are reasonably priced considering the ranges of prices I have seen throughout this forum.
Being that I am in california, the shipping costs are going to downright hurt. I saw on a post here from a decade ago that to ship across country was about 2k, but now it looks like its about twice that, however Doug said he would possibly deliver at a competitive rate....
Unless someone comes out the woodworks and has theee kit at theee price and is verifiably reliable, I plan on going with the gotham cruiser kit, along with the parts.
rough guestimate of costs:
Donor car: $1k (already purchased)
bodykit w/parts (dash/throttle/side intakes/exhaust/floor pan/nose cone assembly/: $13-14k
Delivery from OH to CA: $4-5k
Basic tools and materials: $3-5k
guages/wheels/tires/lights (front/back): $4500
sidemechanics: ?? (3D files from Tim can be used to 3d print...real mechanics can be bought; I assume this would be another few hundred up to $1500 depending...
Air lift suspension: $3k
guns? varied costs depending on avenue (real/replica...firing/non); also need to create device to raise and lower
windshield
Paint: ??? thousand$$$
Extras:
voice controls
working afterburner
jet engine sound fx
gun shooting sound fx
timeline simple goal:
1 year: car mechanically sound, chassis extended, with body kit and parts in my possession; body placed on chassis.
I want to get the kit and the parts at the same time, so Im going to simmer and save up a little more money which is going to likely take a few months or more. he said he wouldnt be able to get started for a couple months anyway, so in the meantime I plan on working on fixing the few mechanical issues on my donor, stripping the car, stretching the chassis, read these books, and flesh out my project plan. Im thinking I will start a blog site soon as well....more to come!
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| Posted 6/10/2016 10:55:38 PM |
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Supreme Being
Last Login: 4/6/2024 5:28:59 PM
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| If it was me, I would definitely go with the sim-fire 50 cals. They are available online.
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| Posted 7/11/2016 12:38:46 AM |
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Junior Member
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A busy month of progress, stars aligning, and plenty to report...first of all, I started a blog...www.thechampmobile.com to document the process..and the moments of glory afterwards haha...I dont have anything up yet, I want to chop up some of the video footage and put it up there...but had to keep this thread updated
A little progress summary:
Purchased this nice box set to handle some of the grunt work. So far it has been a good buy
Time to DIG IN!
The first few steps of the stripping are the easiest (thats what she said)....While I wasnt as lucky...errr...I mean...unfortunate.. as Matt was to find actual crack pipes in his donor, I did find some mini bee hives. Makes me feel this bad boy was probably sitting for a few...oh well...
The windshield removal was a pain, the rubber/glue was caked in there and I had to put a lot of elbow grease into making the cut...but we got it out and broke it up and threw it away....because it was time to cut this thang
Then we whipped out the reciprocating saw to starting bringing justice and vengeance to this car
Im hoping to bring the fender and all the pieces to recycle spot and get a few bucks back....because I bought my kit! It will be here by the holidays. I need to generate some more money to get the tires and air ride suspension so we can set the body properly...but Ill cross that bridge when I get there.
I am having fun, the people who know what I am trying to build are excited and some have offered their skills to the job, which is a blessing...
and I got my keychain today:
We plan on doing more cutting tomorrow and then maybe one more session depending on how it flows, then we will be ready to prepare the chassis for stretching....which leads me to a question maybe you guys can tell me...
How much steel do I need to get?
First obviously is the stretch....I plan on replacing the entire center beam similar to what Matt did...4x4 box tubing...not sure how much I should get. I also notice he used a steel plate to weld the beam to the existing chassis....not sure the dimensions on that....I can and will look it up but if anyone had the info and wanted to save me the time, you would be an absolute doll.
Beyond the chassis stretch, does anyone have an direction on the quantity and specs on what steel I need to get (frame, etc)?
Also interested in some peoples input on the after burner? I am going to have a working one. I saw some where it looks like a dang campfire coming out the back,....I want it more like an actual after burner with a more intensly burning flame....I saw where people put spark plugs in their muffler which shoots a nice afterburnery type flame, but I would have to rework the whole exhaust to route to the after burner and the 4 tips would just be for show...not sure how I feel about that....
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| Posted 7/12/2016 12:17:54 AM |
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Supreme Being
Last Login: 4/6/2024 5:28:59 PM
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Exciting stuff!! The Holidays seem so far away, I don't know how you can stand the waiting.
For the afterburner, I thin there has been a lot of use of a hot air ballon burner. For the spark plug thing to work you need to have unburnt fuel left in your exhaust, which usually means pretty high performance engines. If your going to use your stock Chevy engine probably going to be difficult to achieve.
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| Posted 7/12/2016 12:53:12 AM |
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Junior Member
Last Login: 9/27/2021 4:59:23 PM
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thanks for the insight about the exhaust...as far as the wait....I cant wait til its here, but I also need this time to prep the chassis and even more important....gather the remaining few bucks to ship it here once its done....I cant wait to see it!
questions:
I have the 3d printing files for the side mechanics....but the few builds I have seen with the legit, metal mechanics looks so nice...wondering if anyone is familiar with getting real/metal mechanics?
What have people been doing for front turn signals?
reverse lights?
In the pictures the mickey thompson tires look to not have too thick of tread, obviously being drag tires, probably has something to do with that....I wanted to drive this thing fairly often, and was curious if anyone has input on the tire situation and if there are other choices for a more frequently driven car, or if the prescribed micky t's are it...
Also curious how the headlights are at night, they are really low to the ground so Im curious if gives good light
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| Posted 7/13/2016 1:03:43 AM |
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Supreme Being
Last Login: 4/6/2024 5:28:59 PM
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Daily driver? 
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| Posted 7/14/2016 11:49:14 AM |
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Junior Member
Last Login: 9/27/2021 4:59:23 PM
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| Posted 9/4/2016 10:11:19 PM |
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Junior Member
Last Login: 9/27/2021 4:59:23 PM
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The chassis is stretched....140" wheel base...
I have been following the Mattmobile build as it has the most detailed documentation of what he did...so thanks Matt! Life saver you are
The dismantling of this damn thing was a lot more work that I thought! I had planned to take all the parts to a metal recycle and get a few bucks out of it, but they said they needed a junk slip from the DMV, which doesnt work for me, as I planned on registering it as a 95 caprice until I get a better grasp on how to go about it the "right" way....and a hauler is trying to charge me $300 to take it....I was hoping to MAKE $300...not pay...but I digress...now I have a sideyard full of car body parts...sigh
Whoever said this is going to take twice as long and cost twice as much as planned was a wise man....
As fate would have it....I have two neighbors who are going to be very useful as one works in a body shop and agreed to teach me some stuff, and another is a welder...and he is excited and is doing all this work for free which is beyond a blessing into miracle status.
My other neighbor has a welding machine he never uses and is going to give it to me...so the universe is bending in my favor.
I need to pluck the engine and do a rebuild....going to paint it yellow and black...my mechanic who was all-in...is now not as in...he got intimidated by the scope of the project and isnt as capable as he thought...but he will help me get it running....BUT he is against making it smoggable; its more work than he is willing and able to do... so that presents challenges....
the transmission was slipping when I bought it so I will have to buy a new one, which Im not looking fwd to...also need to pluck the engine to rebuild and clean...clean and paint the chassis as well...remount the engine/tranny....and then he my mechanic is going to tap out....and the body shell will be here....with most of the parts as well....
Its going to be a long road, but Im throwing money at this thing and a lot of energy so I hope things continue to flow and solutions keep on presenting themselves...this page makes it all possible, with all of you guys too of course!
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| Posted 9/5/2016 8:23:04 PM |
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Supreme Being
Last Login: 4/6/2024 5:28:59 PM
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Visits: 5,334
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| Keep your eye on the prize. It will all be worth it. That rolling chassis looks great!
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