More progress made on the body : )

[The Stig]

I have a quick question for the GTM builders... when we ran the engine last week, Kenny asked about a "noise" the he was hearing (besides the kooks exhaust).

Initially, I thought it was the transaxle cooler fan, because it can be pretty loud. But after looking around the engine, I think it's the tilton pump that feeds the cooled oil to the transaxle.

Can anyone else tell me whether or not their trans oil cooler pump sounds very loud to them as well. I'm trying to figure out if I need to swap the pump out while the diffuser is still off.

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Mike

[Tarmac]

Mike,
This build is amazing... and what can i say about the paint job "Fantastic"!

I'm glad you have persevered from all the set-backs.

Paul

[crash]

The Tilton pumps use a flexible rubber diaphragm so there really shouldn't be a "loud" noise coming from it. Some models are louder than others with larger or smaller motors, but I have never heard one that is "loud". Did you use the rubber isolators when installing? If not, that could make it loud. We have used other style pumps that are not Tiltons and are not rubber mounted and they are definitely louder. The Tilton trans pump should be about the same noise level as your fuel pump. Maybe slightly louder.

[mlkwd1]

Mike, I have a Tilton trans pump and I can not say I have heard it make noise when running, certainly not over the Kooks exhaust noise.

Beings I live in NJ and it is fairly cold in the winter (24 deg this morning), I was concerned about the trans oil being cold and running the pump seemed unnecessary. I installed a surface mounted temperature switch on the side of the trans (near the gear set) that closes at 145 degrees and actuates a relay to power the pump.

If I get home from work early enough tomorrow, I will jump it with the car off and see what it sounds like with cold oil.

Michael

[The Stig]

Tony sent a text to show my the hatch prior to going into the booth.


It was cloudy outside today, but she sure looks good in natural light.

[The Stig]

Double click the link for a quick video.

Kevin Took Pandora out to get some air...!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6a9QOvhyxw

She sure looks good in natural light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzh0w0BCyU4

Have I mentioned that Tony and his guys do unbelievable work? Yes...? Ok...

I know how hard it is to make painted fiberglass look like painted metal, and they have done that and then some.

Thanks guys.

Charlotte Speed Shop
8702 Statesville Hwy.
Suite J.
Charlotte, NC
(980) 322-5895

Ask for Tony. (Or his boss, Lourdes)

Mike

***********

Earlier days: Before Pandora became Pandora

One of the first few starts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isEmrDKxAtk

The Whitby 500 (I took a lap around Whitby's Shop).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ref8_K4dJs

Pandora on the tuners dyno...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eovwIUakKJo

Testing the hydraulic lift system in order to navigate my steep steep steep driveway entrance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zmOoMV44vc

Walk around upon the completion of the full customer interior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgIDjQmnRAU&t=40s

[GoDadGo]

Not much longer now.
I know you've got to be excited.
Good Luck & God's Speed To Tony & His Crew!

[The Stig]

The Carbon Fiber Rocker extensions have been re-installed.



Tony has polished them to a fine shine.

[The Stig]

The Carbon Fiber Rocker extensions have been re-installed.



Tony has polished them to a fine shine.

[The Stig]

Pandora's rear hatch and wing were set in place for the last test fit prior to going into the paint booth.









Very nice gaps and lines all the way around.

Mike

[beeman]

Very nice gaps and lines all the way around.

Mike

Big surprise! I'm thinking we could probably calibrate the atomic clock by your gaps!

[The Stig]

Not much longer now.
I know you've got to be excited.
Good Luck & God's Speed To Tony & His Crew!

I am very excited to see this thing finally get to a real point of completion. There have been times when it didn't seem possible.
When I saw her yesterday, everything sort of hit me at once. The bodywork and paint are better that I ever expected.
The fit and finish is always top priority with Tony and his guys, I think it shows in their work. He put the seats back in because I needed to sit in the car and figure out whether I fit in it or not. When it left the interior shop I didn't. Today, I slipped in, and she fit like a custom made glove. Losing about 50 pounds apparently helps you feel good in your Factory Five GTM.

The color contrast between the leather and the paint is dead on, in my opinion. I love the way the interior looks in the car. It just fits the look. It is all exactly what I what I had hoped for.

Steve Kurzman (Custom Stitching Co,) came by and picked up the roll bar covers and the a pillar covers to make some adjustments that will tighten them up a little and hopefully give me a litte more field of vision.

Yes, I'm very happy with how she's turning out.

Big surprise! I'm thinking we could probably calibrate the atomic clock by your gaps!

Maybe that will save me some money in gas... Atomic clock power. W e may be onto something here.


Thanks guys,

Mike

[The Stig]

The Calipers have been pulled, disassembled, and packaged to be shipped to the powder-coater.

Hopefully we'll get the quick turn around that they promised a couple of weeks back. I can't wait to see them back on the car.

We should be seeing color on the remaining parts pretty soon.

I made a quick run over to Steele Rubber products in Denver, NC., and picked up the weather seals for the hatch yesterday. Hopefully they'll work out well.

I suppose the side glass will need to be re-tinted. They picked up a couple nasty scratches early in the "door prep" process.

Things are coming together quickly.

Mike

[Taz Rules]

Next year, I think we're going to have to offer a PANDORA calendar in addition to the GTM, Roadster, 818, and 65 Coupe calendars, LOL!
(The Pandora one will be a 5-year calendar, I think!)

[The Stig]

Next year, I think we're going to have to offer a PANDORA calendar in addition to the GTM, Roadster, 818, and 65 Coupe calendars, LOL!
(The Pandora one will be a 5-year calendar, I think!)

Wow... That would be cool: and a fun way to capture the milestone.

Mike

[VD2021]

Mike,

WOW! She's beautiful. It won't be long now.

[The Stig]

Mike,

WOW! She's beautiful. It won't be long now.

Thanks Vidal.

She's far enough along that I can let myself believe that it may actually be finished this year.

But as always, we'll just have to see how it goes. I hope you're doing well, and I hope to talk to you soon.

Take care my friend.

Mike

[The Stig]

Tony sent a few pictures to show that the hood had been installed permanently (for the last time).

As well, mesh has been installed into the hood openings.

The bonding agent is still setting up, so they are being held in place by cardboard and zip-ties.

I looked for the mesh through various steel retailers. I finally found what I was looking for, right here in Charlotte. The opening ratio was 60% pass-through. Much better air-flow into the radiator and then back out through the hood vents.



Kenny cut the pieces so that they all line up, and are visually oriented, in the same direction from side to side.



She's really starting to look "finished".



The mesh at the wheel openings look great as well.



The new head lights have been installed. We found out the hard way that you can't really remove the headlights from the hood, once they've been installed, without damaging the mounting holes. So the fiberglass around the mounts has to be fixed in order to install the replacement lights.



The rear hatch, the spoiler, and the doors were supposed to be in the paint booth this week. I don't know if it happened or not.

As you can tell, Tony doesn't send too many full body pictures any more.

He's trying to save it for "The Big Reveal"...

That's why I take my own pictures when I go there, (if there is anything new to see).

I'm going back up tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

Mike

[GoDadGo]

https://youtu.be/k0AuipqPqsU

Sorry, but I just had to.

Looks Great & I Know You Can't Wait!

[The Stig]

https://youtu.be/k0AuipqPqsU

Sorry, but I just had to.

Looks Great & I Know You Can't Wait!

That's Funny!!!! Thanks for the laugh!

Mike

[The Stig]

The rear mesh has been "test" fitted around the exhaust tips. They'll be taken back out and painted satin black, and then re-assembled.

I love the "texture" and the strength of these pieces. Very sturdy.



The diffuser has been cleaned up and reassembled.



All the cool parts are coming back together!

I think that I understood that calipers should be back in the shop next week. I'm looking forward to seeing them back on the car. They have been kicking Kevin's butt, yet he presses on in order to get them just right.

The doors have gone through their 4th or 5th primer coat and block sanding and should be in paint soon. The issue has been that the fibergalss in the face of the door is so thin that it flexes a bit when being sanded and blocked; even with the long block sander. They have come up with a solution to hold it firmly in place (flat) so they can be sanded straight.

All I know is that Kevin is doing a great job, and I'm sure the paint is going to lay down perfectly smooth as it has over the rest of the car.

Still laughing from Go Daddy's "Chico and the Man" post...

Mike

[crash]

Mike, just to preface this comment, I think your car is the most developed GTM, as far as body work goes, that I have ever seen...and the interior is also a work of art.

That said, I am a little surprised that you left the hood openings in the stock configuration. I thought you would probably, at least, do something with some contoured fiberglass? Any particular reason you didn't do anything there?

[The Stig]

Mike, just to preface this comment, I think your car is the most developed GTM, as far as body work goes, that I have ever seen...and the interior is also a work of art.

That said, I am a little surprised that you left the hood openings in the stock configuration. I thought you would probably, at least, do something with some contoured fiberglass? Any particular reason you didn't do anything there?

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the compliments. I left the body alone because I decided, on day one, that I was going to build this car as closely to the Factory Five design as possible. No fender flares, no design changes that would change the lines in any way. I have gone out of my way to enhance what was given to us as our starting point, with little tweaks here and there. Most people would never know that any adjustments/changes were made.

The only panel that was visually changed was the hatch. Jason Cecil and I spoke a few times, and he came up with a nice solution using the original hatch as the starting point. I tried to make the original hatch work, but it just didn't. The GTM NEEDs a good heat vent solution to get rid of trapped heat that builds up in the upper section of the engine bay when the car is sitting still at idle, stop lights, or slow moving traffic. The updates made to the hatch allow heat to vent through an upper vent. So I am ok with the small change that was made there. It also NEEDS to fit the adjoining body panels in a flush manner. Even after this new hatch was designed, (a design that I am VERY pleased with), we still ended up putting over 300 hours in getting it to fit the roof, quarters, and fender panels as it should. Tony, Rodney, and Kevin have done a tremendous job fitting the panels on the car. Amazing work by amazing people.

I know that there are many things that other people have done to their cars to make them more unique and match up to what they think "their" super-car should be. When I saw the GTM for the first time, I thought that it was already everything that I wanted as far as the design and look was concerned.

So back to your question... Keeping the original look, just seemed to fit my style, and sticks with the original picture that I saw in my mind's eye the day that I saw the LS7 (Red) GTM show car back in 2007.

I guess she could have been much blatantly "more". But for me, doing more in subtle ways that most people would never notice, gets me closer to my end goal. That's where the over the top paint color and extreme quality of the body work come into play. 99.9% of the people that see this car, will only see the paint job because it's that good. The other 0.01% may notice the tweaks that we've made around the car, and how we did our best to raise the bar a few notches.

My long winded way of an answer...

Thanks again for the compliments. I know that Tony & Steve appreciate it also.

Mike

[Taz Rules]

Sorry for the slow response. Took me a few days to recover from the image of Tony's "full body pictures"! (The Freddy Prinze vid was hilarious, too, btw!)

Mike this is one VERY nice piece! You have nothing to prove to anyone. Don't sweat who puts your car in their display and who doesn't. That's on them. What I do know is wherever your car does get displayed, you will have hundreds of gear-heads and non-gear-heads alike drooling over this spectacular car.

You don't need lots of bells and whistles to be outstanding. Quality shows, and simplicity is elegance.

[The Stig]

Sorry for the slow response. Took me a few days to recover from the image of Tony's "full body pictures"! (The Freddy Prinze vid was hilarious, too, btw!)

Mike this is one VERY nice piece! You have nothing to prove to anyone. Don't sweat who puts your car in their display and who doesn't. That's on them. What I do know is wherever your car does get displayed, you will have hundreds of gear-heads and non-gear-heads alike drooling over this spectacular car.

You don't need lots of bells and whistles to be outstanding. Quality shows, and simplicity is elegance.

LOL... Thank you Taz. I re-read what I had written, and it did sound more "intense" than I intended... So I shortened it up. I didn't mean to give the impression that I was losing sleep over it.

I'm enjoying the build and wrapping up the details with Tony.

I'm not sweating anything. Pandora is very close to being finished, and Life is good.

Thanks.

Mike

[The Stig]

I got a nice text from Tony last night.

It seems that Kenny and his wife are expecting a baby to be born at any minute.

Pam's birthday was yesterday, and my youngest daughter was born on Christmas Eve.

Pam & I send good wishes and prayers for them all!

Congratulations Kenny. That's great news.

Mike

[The Stig]

It's time to re-install the door mirrors... Kevin and Rodney test fitted the doors for the last time, in order to position the mirrors and drill the mounting holes. We hit each side perfectly the first time.



The door is aligned and all edges are flush with the adjacent panels and rear glass.













The mirrors really make the car look complete.

[The Stig]

The rear exhaust mesh has been painted and installed. I really like the look of these mesh panels. The pictures seem to look more "see-through", but when you're standing next to them, you see as much through them. I also could be that when the hood and hatch other panels are closed, there isn't as much light inside to see.





Front wheel Vents:





Hood mesh: I guess it's my personal taste, but I really like the look and texture of this stainless steel mesh. And I really
like the look of the Canton C-5 radiator overflow tank. The cap will be painted sating black as well in order to help it disappear.
I had the tank and the wiper motor mount/tank powder coated satin black.

[The Stig]

A view from the driver's seat. Not a perspective that I've had the privilege of seeing in some time.





Smile and show some emotion...



The mirrors are still the original blue color; quite a difference.

Pandora's really turning out exactly as I hoped and planned. Getting closer and closer every day.

Yup. Pandora's making me smile. (And Tony, and Kevin, and Rodney, and Kenny...!)

Mike

[WIS89]

Mike-

I would have expected a bit of a bigger smile! HA.

Pandora looks stunning. Is she going to be under your tree, or will she need just a bit more time?

I have to say, I thought your original blue color was nice, but seeing it against your new deep blue/black confirms your decision to change colors! It looks fantastic!

I look forward to seeing her all buttoned up and in your garage. And, it will be great to see you truly enjoying her, and all the hard work it took to get her done --- your way!!

Regards,

Steve

[The Stig]

Mike-

I would have expected a bit of a bigger smile! HA.

Pandora looks stunning. Is she going to be under your tree, or will she need just a bit more time?

I have to say, I thought your original blue color was nice, but seeing it against your new deep blue/black confirms your decision to change colors! It looks fantastic!

I look forward to seeing her all buttoned up and in your garage. And, it will be great to see you truly enjoying her, and all the hard work it took to get her done --- your way!!

Regards,

Steve

LOL... Hi Steve. I know. Tony tells me all the time that I'm too serious and that I need to relax a little. That's probably true, and hopefully in the next month or so, I'll be able to do just that. Will Pandora make it under the tree? Probably not. But I am very happy with where she is, and how close she is to being finished.

While I was sitting inside the car giving a visual reference for the placement of the mirrors, we fired her up. Hearing that engine running right behind my head made me feel a little more connected to "the build" again. We're on the final stretch. Everything is coming together, and Pandora will be out on Charlotte's I-485 "Speedway" before we know it. I call it the "Speedway" because the transplants that have moved here all seem to think that it's an extension of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and that they're really Dale Jr., Jimmy Johnson, Brad Kesolowski, or Danica Patrick... Or "Lewis Hamilton". (I threw that one in there for me since I'm more of an F1 fan.)

It's always an adventure... I guess they'll have to get used to following.

Mike

[Taz Rules]

I call it the "Speedway" because the transplants that have moved here all seem to think that it's an extension of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and that they're really Dale Jr., Jimmy Johnson, Brad Kesolowski, or Danica Patrick... Or "Lewis Hamilton". (I threw that one in there for me since I'm more of an F1 fan.)

It's always an adventure... I guess they'll have to get used to following.

Mike

Lewis Hamilton...OK (I like F1, too)
But Danica Patrick????? REALLY??? Don't even joke about that! She's a wrecking machine! Do NOT jinx your car by bringing her name up, or you will get run into, T-Boned, dented, or otherwise seriously damaged!
(And no, its not a girl thing...I know lots of women racers. But DPatrick is as useless as boobs on a nun!)

[The Stig]

Lewis Hamilton...OK (I like F1, too)
But Danica Patrick????? REALLY??? Don't even joke about that! She's a wrecking machine! Do NOT jinx your car by bringing her name up, or you will get run into, T-Boned, dented, or otherwise seriously damaged!
(And no, its not a girl thing...I know lots of women racers. But DPatrick is as useless as boobs on a nun!)

LOL! I know, I know... "Boobs on a Nunn"... I love it.

I was attempting to be "NASCAR-ly" correct. Danica seems to sell tickets, but so far that's her greatest achievement. She should have stayed in Indy Car.

With that said... I've always liked Formula-1, and I feel that Hamilton has proven himself to be a tremendous talent in the sport.

Mike

[The Stig]

Hi guys,

I took the wiper arms, wiper motor, and the aluminum washer fluid tank to Tony to let him go ahead and install since he is already working in the front of the car. One of the parts that I can't find anywhere in my parts stash, is the connectors and linkage from the wiper motor to the wiper arm transmission at the window.

Was it just the end-connectors that came in the kit, or was there an actual connecting rod as well? If not, what did you guys decide to use?

I may have a connector rod machined with the correct with opposite threads at each end, just to make it look clean.

Thanks for your help, as always.

Mike

[beeman]

Mike, I'm not using the corvette wiper system, so if it's a kit supplied piece I should have it. I think I also have the corvette parts too if that's what you're missing. Let me know and I'll drop it in the mail.

[The Stig]

Mike, I'm not using the corvette wiper system, so if it's a kit supplied piece I should have it. I think I also have the corvette parts too if that's what you're missing. Let me know and I'll drop it in the mail.

I just found the section in the build manual that calls for a "rod end" to be placed on each end, and then a threaded rod used to link the two. I'm not sure if I want to go that route or not. I thought that there were a couple of ends similar to the ones on the gas struts for the hatch. Maybe I dreamed that... It wouldn't be the first time.

Now that I know what the parts look like, I'll go back out to my work bench as see if they're laying up there somewhere. I was thinking of having the rod made, and I suppose if I need to, I can get a set of replacements from Factory Five.

Did your wiper sprayer work from the stalk on the steering column, or did you have to do something else to get it to work. I thought that motor was tied into the wiper motor harness.

Thanks for the info!

Mike

[The Stig]

It's amazing how fast you can find parts when you know what the heck you're looking for...



The next Pandora project is to switch the front upper control arms to these adjustable configuration that Mike Jimmenez put together for us a while back.

Trying to decide if I want to powder coat the adjustment sleeves the color of the other control arms, but leaning towards just painting them satin black (to get rid of the logo).



I am also planning to switch the other control arms and knuckles for a set that I had powder coated. Here is a picture of one of the lower arms to give you an idea. I had them done in the same "Mercedes Benz Silver" that Mercedes uses on their wheels.



The ball joints, wheel hubs (SKF), tie rod ends, and rear toe links will also be replaced. The front and rear bump steer kits will be added.

These are pretty much the only parts on the car that aren't new or re-manned, so I figured that I would make the change. Plus they will much a lot nicer.

This will be the last thing done to the car.

Mike

[Taz Rules]

Pandora...astronaut.
A car barely alive.
We can rebuild her. We have the technology to make her better, faster, stronger.

She is the world's first 6 Million Dollar GTM!

[The Stig]

Pandora...astronaut.
A car barely alive.
We can rebuild her. We have the technology to make her better, faster, stronger.

She is the world's first 6 Million Dollar GTM!

LOL... You joke... But it's true. Gary Cheney told me a little while back that I always come up with new reasons for her to not be finished.

That's why the suspension will be done after everything is complete, and she's in the garage for winter.

Come to think of it, I believe that he was the person who REMINDED me that if I had just bought the Veyron instead, I would have saved a ton of money...

But your point is well taken.

Thanks,

Mike

[JL1958]

"This will be the last thing done to the car. "
I'm sorry, but this made me laugh. : )

She's gorgeous.