Alero To Nascar

[Eh_nigma]

Just a quick heads up - I'm picking up a set of the instruments available from speedhut. I'm going to try to get some picture in and make almost a step by step (but a lot simpler and quicker). Hopefully they arrive before my christmas leave is used up. But while on that, I searched through quickly on the product reviews, and not much was written. For anyone who's got these, is there anything that I, or anyone else looking to get them, should know (I'm mainly aiming this question at installation).

Ej.

[Eh_nigma]

Has the idea of using sheet-metal for parts of a body kit every come up?

[Youngblood77]

Originally posted by Eh_nigma@Dec 20 2004, 04:44 PM
Has the idea of using sheet-metal for parts of a body kit every come up?

Nope. and for good reason, too. <_<

eh nigma you make me ashamed to be from canada never mind the same province as you.

[Eh_nigma]

Now why would that be?

[Vtolds]

You could make a kit out of metal. but the real question is do you have the skill to make one out of metal? not may people do and if you can find soeon to do it it would cost so much money you would wanna kill your self. You would be better off buying a fiber glass kit and modding it to the way you want it.

[Eh_nigma]

For the multi-dimensional parts, such as the front piece on most body kits, without question it would be easier to make it from fiber-glass. But with relatively flat pieces, and areas away from the high risk of cracking from hitting something, it would seem to almost be easier.

Flush Rivetting (as done on some aircraft around the roosterpit area, especially when the roosterpit is pressurized) comes out nice and smooth. It's also cheaper and easier to fix/replace. That at least is the idea I had.

I was curious as to whether or not someone has tried it. Just another question floating around in my little ole head.

i highly doubt many, if any people have tried using sheet metal for body kits in the automotive world, outside of modifieds, outlaws, nascars, etc... its just way easier to replace/repair a bumper made of fiberglass with a little fiberglass resin bought at your local hardware store or automotive shop, than to work with sheet metal, trust me i worked at a sheet metal fabrication shop over the summer, good money, but its a bitch, big bitch to form sheet metal into curves that arent direct angles

[Youngblood77]

Without a doubt, it would be nicer in that way yes, but I just think it would look like crud, and i'd hate for you or anyone else to go riviting tin to their car just to find that out later. sheetmetal work isn't that hard, especially if you know your way around a brake, but it's just ASKING for people to break your balls over the way it looks.

[Eh_nigma]

Very true. Very True. I'd imagine it would be brutal to try to get a great paint job on it too...

[Youngblood77]

I've found in my own personal experience that you can indeed get a decent, durable paintjob on sheetmetal, but it almost HAS to be sandblasted in order to do so. Which means custom making the pieces and fitting them perfect, THEN sandblasting them, painting them, then riviting them to the car, touching up the rivets afterward. This in effect, would also allow you to keep the stock finish on the already-painted stock parts you're attaching to.

BUT.......Another aspect to consider is the NOISE it will make. Unless you've got a wind-tunnel @ your disposal, it would be "trial and error" until you found a design that wouldn't whistle like a locamotive going down the road. Not only that, but because of it's angular shape, the sheetmetal would shake and rattle going down the road just from the wind aspect, let-alone the vibrations that occur while driving. This would ( and I'm assuming here) make the rivited connections fail in time due to stress. And I'm guessing it wouldn't be the rivets or the sheetmetal cracking either, it would be the stock body components you're attatched to.

Just a few notions to consider......

[Eh_nigma]

Thats too much. It's close to what we would do for aircraft, but, on aircraft, white is white, red is red, and so on... no real attention given to matching it up too closely. On a car, especially to show it, it's much to much work...

[Eh_nigma]

On the underside of the car, just infront of the rear tire about 6 or 7 inches from the side edge of the car, there is a black 'rod' (about 3/4" in diameter). Can this be bent upward to meet with the floor, or say 1/2" away? And what exactly is it?

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I don't think it's a good idea to bend a rod that's on your car from the factory, especially if you don't know what it is. It might be connected to the canuter valve.

[Youngblood77]

Originally posted by AlbinoMonkeyRat@Dec 22 2004, 07:34 PM
It might be connected to the canuter valve.

aaaaah hahaha you wiseass.

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

gotta love the tricks that my risk intervention teacher taught me.

[Eh_nigma]

Its flexible, just looks like the heat-shrink is think around it... I'm sure if someone looked in that area they would see it, it's the only one there...

[Eh_nigma]

I changed the headlights to the clear corners (and am also waiting in anticipation for those Halo's ). It looks great, and was s**t simple too! I'll try and get some pics up soon.. or wait till the Halo's are done.

As for the exaust, it's being a pain in the butt, cause of the weather... it's a slow-going project, but hopefully will be done soon.

The only thing left is waiting for those speedhut overlays, and that'll sum up the Christmas vacation.

With the overlays, has anyone gotten the polished/brushed aluminum overlays? Any tips on that specific kind (mainly cleaning fingerprints and grime off of them... is it safe to wipe them?)

Ej.

[Eh_nigma]

That "Cherry Red" that Olds used for the last Alero's... is there a paint # or easy access to a sample I could use as a ref?

[sound_xtreme]

sheet metal sides would be easy long as ya got the proper tools.