Part I - Building the plug (...cont)

4/13/05
Started working on the side intakes. What do you think of the pink? The fourth picture is the template I made from the 1:18 car.

4/15/05
Added the other intake and foamed it in place. They look a little small but I want them that way because I will be adding bondo.

4/16/05
Began to shape the fins. I actually sanded off the sketch shown and re-did it, but I forgot to take a picture of it. I just want to get the general shape right. All the finish work will be in bondo, which I think I will be able to start after I finish the fins.

4/17/05
I finished roughing out the fins. I used paper towels to trace and then transfer the pattern from one fin to the other. I also filled the side intakes with foam and then cut it flush. I will probably make seperate inserts for the intakes rather than molding them together with the body. Except for a couple minor things, I'm finally finished with the foam! I sprayed a couple cans of Kilz over it and it will probably need at least a couple more. This will act as a barrier between the foam and the body filler which will come next.

Part I - Building the plug (...cont)

7/20/05
Well, as you can see, I decided to use drywall mud instead of body filler. I just kind of slathered it on to get a good first coat. I'll definately have soem sanding to do.

7/21/05
I sanded a small area and painted it. I couldn't wait to see it in black.

Part I - Building the plug (...cont)

8/28/05
More sanding and more paint.

8/29/05
Tired of sanding, so I decided to work on the flange that will go around the perimeter of the body. I used tileboard which is masonite with a smooth finished side. I made a templatre with several pieces of posterboard strips and then traqced it out.

8/31/05
I was making a mess of the garage sanding the drywall mud so I put some wheels on the workbench and took it outside. The rear wheels are the same width as the front si I don't really have a lot of room for the rear fender vents. Holding the 1/18th Hot Wheels model over it I can see that the angles are right, but it's just not wide enough. I may need to widen the fender and the the wheel be recessed a bit. FINALLY, I get to see the car in black. There is plenty of sanding left to do, but I just wanted to do it. Seeing it all in one color also helps to see what needs attention. I went ahead amd painted over the exposed foam, intentionally letting it melt it. This will make room for the next layer of mud and the roough texture makes for a good bond. In the last picture you can see that it still needs a lot of work.

Part I - Building the plug (...cont)

9/01/05
I finally decided to remove the wheels and build something solid for the frame to rest on. I built a simple frame with 2 x 4s and screwed the whole thing down to it. Removing the wheels allowed me to test fit the flange I had cut earlier.

9/02/05
I decided that I needed to make the rear fenders wider. There just isn't enough room for the rear fender vents. I added two 1/2 inch pieces of foam which gave me 1-3/4" more room for the vents. Ot looks much better, except the fins now don't look right. They need to be more centered in the rear. After considering cutting them off and repositioning them, I studied the car and realized that what I really needed to do was to widen the fins at there base. I'll add material to the outer sides and remove some material from the insides.

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