If you’re a custom car guy, or a restorer of any car, you know the title to this installment is a joke.
The paint shop guys, the interior guys, the electronics guys and every other guy will say “oh yeah, we’ll be done by the 2nd or the 15th or the 23rd or whatever day you mention; but don’t make travel plans. It’s 100% certain that “something will come up.”
What are you to do, when you’re 95% done? You keep going, you keep improving and you keep spending money—a lot of it on Tylenol.
In this instance, after the engine bay was “done,” it was decided that it would really be cool to shroud the front and sides, much as is done on today’s modern cars but with a definite custom car twist. You can see the raw results in the photo, but I’ll tell you what went into this, should you care to try it on your own buggy.
The first and obvious issue is to do it or not, as it will drastically change the appearance of the engine compartment. This decision involved hours of arguing (conversation) and the opinions of every blessed person involved in the project (no matter what their specialty), plus the never-ending opinions of every guy who walked into the shop.
It’s a great idea, it’s stupid idea, it’ll make the car, it’ll ruin the car; on and on, it never ended. Finally, we said, “OK, let’s do it.”
“OK, let’s do it.” Do what? All of it? Some of it? Do it in metal or in carbon fiber? Painted or polished? Guess how many arguments this started?
When all the shouting was over, the work finally started. Measure, measure, measure! This wide here, this narrow there, this deep on the sides, this thin across the tops; all of it having to blend with the contours of the car’s bodywork, and all of it in aluminum.
After the measurements came the drawings. Those were then made full size and finally done on heavy paper. With all of that done and cut, we could put it all “in place” to get some idea of how it was going to look. Everyone agreed it was going to be another winning piece, complimenting all the other work that had gone into the engine bay.
Mike Adams then began the real work of fashioning the aluminum to meet the measurements and the look of the conceptual drawings and the mock pieces.
I couldn’t count the number of times the pieces were straightened, or bent, or made the trip from the interior shop to Mike’s place, or were just discarded.
If you take a close look at the large piece covering the top of the radiator, you may be able to discern that there are so many twists and turns and curves in there that one piece of metal could never be fashioned to fit that area. What we have there are two pieces, each molded to exactly fit their specific section, and joined in the back by a three-quarter inch weld. All the work was in the back, done so that you would never think, by looking at the front, that it was two pieces. Mike pulled it off with nothing more than meticulous artistry. That joinery was welded, sanded, welded and sanded seven times before he was satisfied. I hope some day you’ll see it at SEMA or a Good Guys or NSRA show so that you can really appreciate the workmanship.
Finally we had it just right and ready to assemble. The fastening points were laid out and the holes were drilled for the spring-loaded Zeus fasteners. The Zeus right over the top of the radiator is the key. With that one in place, every other section slips right into its spot to be secured. Once in place, guess what started all over again? Right! Arguments! Do we paint it or polish it? I let the usual suspects go on for a while and then finally, when I couldn’t take it another minute, said, “we’re painting it.” I thought more polished metal, with all the other bright work on the engine would be too much, and that the painted surface would provide a much better blend with the car’s bodywork. Let me know what you think.
The car is now back at the Port St. Lucie Body Shop where this long journey began. The shrouding will be painted to match the car’s body color, and of course, this presents another decision to be made: If you look closely at the photo you’ll see grooves running the length of each piece. The discussion now is whether to stripe each of the groves with the same contrasting color that will be used on the very small bit of pin-stripping that will probably go on the trunk lid or rear fender sides.
One school of thought is that it will “set it off,” while the others think it will be too busy. We’ll get to those final touches in the next installment. If you have any suggestions, let me know. The shroud won’t be painted for a few weeks.