More progress made on the body : )

[The Stig]

I can hardly wait to see this car finished. I sold my FFR two months ago and I just log in now to check on your progress.
That is how awesome your build is. Thanks for keeping everyone posted on the progress.

Ok. Now I've just been humbled. Wow. Thank you for the support and encouragement. It means a lot.

Now... You said that you sold your Roadster. Do you have plans to build another, or was that enough?

Because the world needs more Type 65's and GTMs.

But that's just me.

Take care Buddy. And thanks again.

Mike

[The Stig]

Pandora's doors are closing with a nice clean thump. Sounds great to me!

http://vid210.photobucket.com/albums...pscpiqbbly.mp4

I'm really pretty sure that there should be primer covering the whole car pretty soon... really...!

But man... these things sound good when they close.

Mike

[The Stig]

Kevin, doing his thing on the passengers side door. Inside window seals and cover.



Doors to Fender to Hood...


Window seals, gaps, front and rear door posts


Kevin doing his thing. Upper roof and rear hatch have been blocked smooth. Rear door posts have been beveled and contoured to fit perfectly to the door window and flush with the rear quarter windows. There are over 100 hours of solid work in each door. Keep in mind that this is 100 hours AFTER they were previously called finished in the first round.


The roof flows down into the hatch and fenders. It's hard to tell by the pictures, but when you're standing next to it, and looking down the lines of the car, there are no abrupt stops anywhere. Every panel flows right into the next. No matter which angle you look at it from, Tony and Kevin have used this concept of panel "flow" in order to work each piece.



One of the things that used to really bother me about the hatch, was the amount of flex you notice when you pick it up from the rear, to open it up. I always worried that I would start seeing stress cracks in the joint at the bottom edge of the glass on each side. Part of the reason for that was due to the fact that I removed the gas struts and installed "NASCAR" type lockout hinges to hold the hatch up. This meant that I had to lift from the rear. With the weight of the glass at the top, and the spoiler at the rear, the area just below the glass became the weakest link. So it was partially due to me, that I was seeing that type of flex.

This new design, does not flex at all. It is solid. But it still looks like the original, as has been my goal all along. No matter what gets done to the car, I am trying my hardest to stick to its original design. I've just cleaned it up a bit, and made it work a lot.



On the surface, most people will have a hard time being able to tell what has been done to "customize" the car in order to bring things together. Another GTM builder would probably see them, but only because we spend so much time pouring over every detail of these cars as we go. For us, I think that's part of the fun. Knowing what's there, how it's there, and why it's there.

Pandora has been in the hands of other shops for some time having specific work done. So as a result, I've felt disconnected from the build for a while, and lost some of the sense of what was going on. I guess that is to be expected, but I am getting that sense back little by little as we make accomplishments and gain on the overall punch list towards completion.

Mike

[The Stig]

I like to look down Pandora's lines to see the curves of the car. It seems that they are actually easier to see now. It sounds kind of silly, but I think it's true.



Hood to fender gaps and alignment is really nice, and repeatable. I can't imagine how many times the hood, hatch, and doors have been off the car, and they go back on in the exact same spot, fully aligned.


The body flange behind the front wheel has been relieved a bit, by taking a 45 degree cut out of it, but they still need a little more taken out. I had Kevin straighten the front wheels, and then checked the gap between the tire and the flange as the car sat at rest. I was able to get two fingers between. Maybe 1 1/2". During normal driving, I could see that much travel when hitting bumps or even when speed builds up and down force presses the car down a bit. So we're going to hit it again.


I love this shot!


It may be hard to see the detail of the rear door post in this picture. Door is laying face down, and we're looking at it from the top of the post down. You can see, first of all, that it has been built up with 100% fiberglass (not bondo). All improvements were done with Fiberglass. While it is impossible to stay completely away from bondo or fillers, they were used sparingly, and only after everything was built and structurally sound. Then certain areas were given thin coats as needed, and sanded smooth to the fiberglass: leaving very little bondo at all.

The posts have been shaped and beveled to meet flush with the door window, as well as flush with the rear quarter windows. Tony and Kevin have listened to the things that were important to me, and tackled every one of them.



I'm pretty happy about it.
Mike

[The Stig]

The latch system was fabbed and installed. This is the gap that we get with the hatch closed and latched.



The line from the hatch to the body has been cleaned up so that everything is aligned as you would expect it to be. That was SO not the case before.



This was the original hatch and how it fit previously. This is also, with the hinges adjusted as low as they would adjust and still open and close without interference.






So the custom hatch was built to help resolve the fitment and cooling issues. But even with that we still had about 200 hours getting the body panels to line up with the hatch, and the hatch to line up with the body panels. Jason built a nice product that could be used to meet the goals that I was after. Tony and Kevin worked out the rest of the issues of making everything work together.

You can see in this picture, how the rear quarter windows were installed, and sat 3/8" higher than the rear door post. Now the posts are flush with the windows.


There has been a ton of effort and positive results, that has taken a ton of time to do right. I think that we're seeing a ton of benefit as a result. Most people saw the car prior starting the re-work, and told me that I was crazy for stripping it down, and starting over. There were a couple of key reasons as to why I wanted to strip it back down that I don't really need to get into again. But the main one was that I just wanted it done the way I has asked for it to be done originally. Tony, Rodney, and Kevin have done that for me. When Pandora is finished up, she will "be" the picture that I had in my mind's eye from the start.

Kevin is finishing the the inside window seals, and the working the fiberglass and attachment assemblies for those. He tells me that it is at the point where she can go into the paint booth to be primed on Monday. At that point Rodney will start the blocking process to start final prep for paint. My understanding is that this will be a 1 to 2 week process. So we'll see where we are next Friday.

Stay tuned...

Mike

[dallas_]

Stunning.
Can't wait to see it done.

[Plebeian]

Congrats on seeing the light at the end of a long long tunnel. I truly hope these final weeks go as planned and your car meets or exceeds your expectations once you have it on the road.

On a side note, it's still amazing to me that Factory five claims the average customer takes 600 hours to complete a GTM.

[JL1958]

I loved the roadster, but wanted to make so many changes to an already great car, it made more sense to sell her and start from scratch.
When I retire, I hope to do one. The type 65 is great, but I dont think I have the skills.
Love Pandora and hope to see her in person some day.
Patiently waiting.....

[fact5racer]

The patience that you have had on this build allows me to nominate you for the replacement of the pope when he retires.

[The Stig]

The patience that you have had on this build allows me to nominate you for the replacement of the pope when he retires.

Hi Gary. It's good to hear from you! I'm not sure if my virtue could be called patience as much as pure dumb stubbornness. It became personal a long time ago, and I've been hell bent on finishing it out the way I wanted it ever since. So here we are.

When are you coming back into the Carolinas?

Mike

[The Stig]

Congrats on seeing the light at the end of a long long tunnel. I truly hope these final weeks go as planned and your car meets or exceeds your expectations once you have it on the road.

On a side note, it's still amazing to me that Factory five claims the average customer takes 600 hours to complete a GTM.

Thank you!

People get hung upon the 600 hour thing. It can definitely be done. The budget is what you make it. There have been documented low budget builds where the builder finished their project at their budget, and had a car that they could drive and have fun with. And that was their goal. People try to take a component car from parts to finish and get it to an OEM like fit and finish, and then try to hold Factory Five to the 600 hour statement. And that, in my oppinion, is not realistic.

I've said many times that I believe that Factory Five gives us all a very nice starting point to build the project that we would like to end up with, and within the budget that WE set. It is the same for any of the other component kit manufacturers out there right now.

Now with that said, I do feel that there are a few things that could be corrected, that would make the GTM a kit that I would easily buy again.

Thanks for the compliments.

Mike

[The Stig]

I loved the roadster, but wanted to make so many changes to an already great car, it made more sense to sell her and start from scratch.
When I retire, I hope to do one. The type 65 is great, but I don't think I have the skills.
Love Pandora and hope to see her in person some day.
Patiently waiting.....

If you're ever in the Charlotte area, let me know. I'm sure that we can figure something out to make that happen. I'm also in the Atlanta area from time to time.

Thanks for all your kind words and support.

Mike

[fastthings]

Love the pics, I can tell that thing is going to look nice.
It goes without saying, I want this to be done for you, I know what your going threw.
Hang in there brother, did you see that quote from Dave S. in the article.
I spoke to him at the Huntington Beach Show. He said he really believes completing one of these cars is a test.
You got this!

[The Stig]

Love the pics, I can tell that thing is going to look nice.
It goes without saying, I want this to be done for you, I know what your going threw.
Hang in there brother, did you see that quote from Dave S. in the article.
I spoke to him at the Huntington Beach Show. He said he really believes completing one of these cars is a test.
You got this!

Thanks Gene. I decided very early that I wasn't going to be one of the statistics. Fortunately, it was right about then that I finally came across people that I could trust and who do what the say they can do. I envy you and your skill set that you were able to apply to your build. Your car looks amazing, and I absolutely loved the last video at the car show. Cool stuff!

Take care.

Mike

[The Stig]

Look who's in her dressing room...! I've always heard that the really good supermodels look like hell before they get fixed up... At the moment, Pandora is no exception. Remember that the body has been rough sanded with 18 - 24" long block sanders to knock the highs down, and to get all panels flat and "smooth". So where ever you see white, was a high spot. Where ever you see blue, was a low spot. We aren't talking about a couple here or there. The whole car was covered in them. Every single panel. The hood was the smoothest section, and there was 40 to 50 hours in it getting it re-worked.

Remember also, that this time around, we were supposedly starting with the worlds most expensive guide coat.









I told Tony, that he could take this car to SEMA, as it sits right now, sit her in the center of the heaviest traffic, under the brightest lights, and I would be just as proud of her as I will be when she's finished off with crystal clear paint. I love knowing what went into getting her to this point, and knowing that every inch of the body is RIGHT.

Stay tuned!

Mike

[WIS89]

Mike-

Holy cow, is this a sight to behold!! She looks beautiful as she sits, I can only imagine how stunning she will be when she is painted properly!

Congratulations on finally getting to this point. I can't wait to see her all wrapped up. I cannot imagine how excited you are right now.

I look forward to your next posts!!

Regards,

Steve

[The Stig]

Pandora has been sprayed. Primer and guide coat. Here we go...!

[RumRunner]

Mike,

Glad to see things are progressing! Driving can only be a few weeks away!

-Michael

[jceckard]

Man! Having a more consistent color on Pandora really shows off the crispness in her lines. Very nice. Shoot, I can't wait to see how she turns out and my only connection is through this forum. How do you manage the anticipation?

[Roger Reid]

Yea. Exciting times. Can't wait for the unveiling.

[The Stig]

Tony sent a text to let me know that Pandora was outside working on her tan... So we made a quick run up to the shop to check her out.

Tony Kutas in the background. I think he's as proud of her as I am...



Tony corrected me... We haven't sprayed primer yet. This is "slick-sand", and as I understand it, it provides sort of a bonding layer between the fiberglass and primer. It goes on pretty thin, but will still be sanded. Then she'll go back into the booth for a stout coat of primer. More sanding (300/400 to 600 grit), and then more primer from (600 to 1200/1500 grit), and then we'll see where we are for paint. I may have these off a little, but you get the picture.



Window "drip molding" for seals. The upper hood wraps, and doors still need to be sprayed. When that happens, a couple of spots in the window drip moldings will be tuned up.



The quarter windows will fit flush to the body, the drip molding, and to the rear door post. With the near black paint, and the black tinted windows, the effect will look like a virtually flat window surface from front to back.







Tony did a ton of heavy lifting to get the body back in shape. Kevin started working there about a month or so ago, and went right to work on Pandora, methodically attacking the punch-list, until everything was done. I think you can tell by my renewed enthusiasm, that I am a fan of this guy and his work... (not to mention his work ethic). He's done a great job to help get Pandora back in the booth.

Now it's Rodney's turn to get in there! Rodney will be blocking the car down, through two or maybe three coats of primer, and getting it as smooth as glass. This paint is going to be something else when it's done.

[The Stig]

The hatch was sprayed, but I didn't get a picture of it. You can absolutely see the hours of work that went into to that piece. It looked perfect, and felt like silk.

I think we've really turned the corner on getting her done. It's all about finishing her out now.

Sweet.

Mike

[The Stig]

Man! Having a more consistent color on Pandora really shows off the crispness in her lines. Very nice. Shoot, I can't wait to see how she turns out and my only connection is through this forum. How do you manage the anticipation?

I guess for me, it's about trying to keep things in perspective. As beautiful as I feel that Pandora is turning out, and as fun as I'm sure it will be to take my first run around the Charlotte speedway..., I mean I-485, my wife is (in my opinion) even more beautiful, and more fun. So, my attention doesn't have to be 100% focused on her (Pandora) being finished. That doesn't mean that the frustrations are any less severe; just the anticipation factor.

Mike

[The Stig]

Mike-

Holy cow, is this a sight to behold!! She looks beautiful as she sits, I can only imagine how stunning she will be when she is painted properly!

Congratulations on finally getting to this point. I can't wait to see her all wrapped up. I cannot imagine how excited you are right now.

I look forward to your next posts!!

Regards,

Steve

Thanks Steve. I'm really happy with how she's turning out. The guys are doing some spectacular work.

Mike,

Glad to see things are progressing! Driving can only be a few weeks away!

-Michael

We can only hope... Apparently, it was mentioned to Pam that we're looking at 6 weeks for everything to be 100% complete. If we can hit that, I'd be happy about it. We'll see.

Yea. Exciting times. Can't wait for the unveiling.

LOL... You guys here, will have a front row seat!

Thanks Roger.

Mike

[JL1958]

The suspense is killing me!

[The Stig]

The suspense is killing me!

Me too! Believe me.

Mike

[The Stig]

Hello all...

After a bit of a black out, Tony sent a single picture update of part of the rear quarter panel. I have apparently been a little "insensitive" recently.

I drove up last Friday, to take a look at the progress... She was sitting in the corner.

I had hoped to talk a little to Tony, but he was busy, and didn't really have time to "Chit Chat"...
* I don't "Chit Chat".
So after I said hello to Kevin, I got out of the way.

One thing that I was very sorry to hear of was that Rodney, (a very nice and good person), had fallen ill, and is fighting to recover. Those of you that pray, please send prayers his way to fully recover as soon as possible. I would appreciate it, and know that he would as well.

Now... Apparently there has been progress made this week.
Pandora has been sanded, blocked, and a coat of primer was sprayed. She was then blocked again at some very fine grit... I have no idea what it was.



I don't know what the agent was that he used, (he said it was a secret) but it supposedly shows the clarity and straightness of the panel relevant to the reflection that we will see when she's painted.

He said that she'll be sprayed again (I guess this week or next week some time). Blocked with a finer grit paper, and then should be ready for paint. October - November? No, really... I'm just kidding. I'm sure that she'll be painted before my birthday.

So after the first pass of Primer and blocking, this is where she is... At least on the drivers side rear quarter fender...

As you can tell in the reflection, she's looking very nice. After the next round of primer, block sanding, paint, cut, polish, and final detailing,... I think she'll finally be happy.

As I've quoted in the past... B1tche$ Be Crazy. But, just maybe she'll finally smile.

I plan to drive up on Friday. While I'm there, I'll snap my own pictures and post them here for anyone and everyone, besides me, who might be interested.

Mike

[WIS89]

Mike-

I am interested. Heck, I would even drive over to Charlotte to look at her with you!!

She looks great in that picture. Really great!

I can only imagine just how nice the final product will be. Hang in there brother, it won't be long now!

Regards,

Steve

[wirenut]

Can't wait to see it!

I know it feels awesome to finally be close to the finish line.

[beeman]

Just logged in to say hi and looking forward to more pics!

[The Stig]

Mike-

I am interested. Heck, I would even drive over to Charlotte to look at her with you!!

She looks great in that picture. Really great!

I can only imagine just how nice the final product will be. Hang in there brother, it won't be long now!

Regards,

Steve

Hi Steve. Yes it feels good to know that she's getting closer to the paint booth. It was pretty cool to be in the shop not long ago and have Kevin commenting on the fact that she's getting close having paint on her. He did a TON of seriously nice quality work to get her ready, and he seems as happy about it as I am. It was nice to see, and I appreciated it.

Tony has said that she should be finished around the end of August. So it looks like everything's on schedule as far as I know.

Can't wait to see it!

I know it feels awesome to finally be close to the finish line.

Just logged in to say hi and looking forward to more pics!

Thanks guys. The "finish line" is in sight. I had specifically asked to have a couple of pictures of her, showing the full car, when she was painted in the first coat of primer. I wanted it for my documentation time line. I know we have some of her in slick coat, and I'm sure that there is not much difference in the appearance from that to primer, other than the fact that everything would be one single constant color (gray) prior to guide coats.

For me that was an important milestone, given the history of paint and body that she and I have gone through. 2 1/2 years between Whitby's and Charlotte Speed. And a total cost of around 45k.

I guess a portion of the rear fender was enough. I'll get some pictures of the rest of the car tomorrow or early next week, and will post a few soon.

Thanks,

Mike

[The Stig]

Pam and I drove up to Tony's shop in the middle of running errands all over Charlotte. When I got to the shop, she was sitting in the doorway, up on rear stands. From the car, my first impression was that not much else had been done since I last saw her. The doors were back on, but other than that she looked pretty much the same.



I started to go ahead and leave, but since we were already there, I decided that I would at least walk around her to see the fender section that Tony had sent the picture of.



As it turns out, Kevin has been splitting time between the other cars that he's also working on, to try an get Pandora blocked. As I noted in the past, his work is meticulous, as you'll see in the photos below.



When I walked in, I didn't see anyone in the shop, yet all the doors were open, so I assumed that they were working in the paint booth. So I took the time to take a few pictures.







I was happy to see that they've been able to make progress as they were able to. Rodney is still recovering, and I wish him well and hope to see him again soon! Our Prayers are with you buddy!

[The Stig]

As smooth as the proverbial Baby's Butt. But with adult curves!



The Doors were back on. It's amazing to me to see how well he has everything aligned and fitting with the A post, rear door post and the window to the roof. The picture really doesn't do it justice. They fit perfectly. And as I was able to learn last week, they sound exactly as Ferrari 458 doors do when they close. Awesome!



With the upper panels being pretty much the same color, you can start to see how all of the panels have been worked to fit with the adjoining panels, and "flow" through to the next. The word "flow" best describes what Tony is achieving with the look and feel of the car. You can stand anywhere around Pandora, and get the same feeling as you look across the body panels.



The Right side of the car hasn't had the same attention given yet. But you can start to see the block work at the upper portion of the rear fender, as well as the rear panel of the car. The was laid in place.



The rear hatch is simply lying in place (unmounted or hinged), yet it still fits the car 100% better than it ever had before.



More hints of the attention to detail that Tony & Kevin maintain. Note the yellow pieces of tape...

[The Stig]

Kevin keeps track of specific areas that he needs to come back to, as he moves along the panels. Some are visible, especially to him, and others are small and would probably just be covered with the next coat of primer and re-sanded, by others. (And were in Pandora's past).



See what I mean? Lesser shops would spray over this and call it good. Kevin calls it out to himself to make sure it's right before the next layer of primer is sprayed.



As good as these panels looked to me, these guys see the truth, and make sure that she is prepped right, before the paint goes on.



A couple of rough spots today. Smooth as silk tomorrow.

[The Stig]

It is this attention that Tony promised me early on, that helped me to make the decision that I made, to strip her down and have everything completely re-worked: Expose the previous work, and document the corrections through each step.



When I saw the nose, before, this particular section looked glass smooth. But as you can see, there were still a couple of high spots that were knocked back down.



She's a beautiful car. I've always been in love with the GTM, since I first saw the Red Factory Five LS7 car. It's easy to get a sense of how nice and flat the surface of the nose is.





Pandora's right side will be up next, I guess. Kevin told me that he's working the rear gap between the hood and the fender a little more to in order to make sure that it stays as tight and clean as the rest.

Before Pam & I left, he mentioned that he truly enjoys coming in and working on Pandora. I for one am glad. It certainly shows in the work that he's doing.

I walked around to the other side of the shop to find Tony, but he was talking to a customer in his office, so I didn't bother him. I'm glad that we stopped by the shop. For some reason, when I saw Kevin's tape markers I was reassured that Pandora was in good hands.

A little later, Pam and I stopped to grab a late lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, (131 Main). While we were there, Pam asked me how I felt about the car? I told her that everything looks great, and I couldn't be happier with the work that has been done. I've said it before; the main thing that I'm after in this 2nd round is to make absolutely sure that paint and body work is done right.

For me, I have no doubt that Pandora is sitting in the right shop, and has the right people working on her. She'll be finished in due time. And when she is, she will have been done right.


Thanks for tagging along.

Mike

[The Stig]

Memory Lane

Sometimes I just need to remind myself of some of the milestones that were hit before I made the choice to turn back the clock...

First series of dyno runs..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eovw...Dn3qanwxLkTPDA

Pandora showing off her RAM Lift Pro system...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zmOoMV44vc

Pandora's Interior is finally unveiled!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgIDjQmnRAU

We were "this" close to being done...

But then the more I looked at the interior and how nice it turned out, the more the paint and body work made me want to explode!

So when I look at her today...



I still know that I made the right choice.

Believe it or not, we're actually closer than ever. When she's done, I'll send in a couple of pictures to Factory Five to let them know that I think my car is "SEMA Worthy"; And maybe they'll actually return my calls and/or e-mails.

Stranger things have happened. If not, maybe I'll check into renting my own space on the floor and take her there myself. Just because...

It could be a tribute to The Custom Stitching Co., Charlotte Speed Shop, Classic Instruments, CCW Wheels, GM Performance, VRaptor Speedworks, Ted Harrison, David Bordon, Gary Cheney, Jason Cecil, and so many others that this second glass of wine is causing me to not remember at the moment...

I would imagine that if there is space, we could even bring in other Factory Five cars who's owners may want to spotlight their own dream builds.

Another bucket list item checked off. I'm starting to like the sound of this...

Mike

[WIS89]

Mike-

I like the sound of that optimism! I haven't heard that from you in a while, and it is really great to hear.

I can't wait to see some color on her!

Thanks for having us along for this ride, even the frustrating parts...

Regards,

Steve

[The Stig]

Mike-

I like the sound of that optimism! I haven't heard that from you in a while, and it is really great to hear.

I can't wait to see some color on her!

Thanks for having us along for this ride, even the frustrating parts...

Regards,

Steve

For the most part, I try to remain optimistic.

Tony gave me some news this weekend that gave me very good reason to be optimistic that Pandora will have paint on her very soon!

Mike.

[The Stig]

The "Fixes"have been fixed. The driver's side is finished as far as getting everything corrected that was in need. Kevin tells me that he will be on the passenger's side first thing Monday to get it caught up with the rest of the car, and then that final coat of primer will be sprayed. Then she'll be blocked and finish sanded, and if all goes well, everything but the doors will have paint sprayed. I guess the doors will be perfected, primed and blocked a couple of times, while the pain on the body is curing for a couple of weeks. I've seen how Tony is able to match paint, so I am absolutely not concerned about the doors being a shade off from the rest when it's all said and done. If they are, they'll get sprayed again. The hood is finished, the hatch is finished, the spoiler is finished, the splitter and rocker extensions are finished.













Stay tuned...

Mike

[Roger Reid]

It's looking good. It's also hard to wait. It will be awesome.