More progress made on the body : )

[The Stig]

Tell me more about these roll bar covers? i know somebody on this site makes them...but I don't recall the name. I've also seen a few guys make their own (Mikespms comes to mind).

What are you cutting out, the roll bar cover, or the roll bar itself?

Yep. Ted Harrison of Quick Racing Products is selling these to the GTM crowd. I'll be removing the center section of the fiberglass cover and filling the gap that will be left... (Not the roll bar)

I am really feeling good about the direction that this build is about to take. After talking in detail with Steve, I really got the feeling that I'm going to be able to complete the visoin that I have in my "mind's eye", for this car. I just can't wait. The side project that I'm starting with the rear hatch will be icing on the cake.










The car is coming together; Slowly, but absolutely.

Mike

[Roger Reid]

Ron565 is the one making them. Find them on quick racing products website but order them through Ron as they work together on this.

[The Stig]

Very true. Thank you Roger.

[The Stig]

Well here we go...

I had a couple of people who offered to help me with finishing up the wiring of the GTM, but the both fell through. My brother in law had to cover for a partner at work, so I understood that. The next was a no-show. I'm sure there was a good reason... So on to plan D.

We have a person that we met recently who owns a shop that specializes in Mercedes Benz Repairs. His name is Courty and he also happens to have built a Factory Five Cobra in his recent past. He mentioned that he would like to come by and take a look at the GTM and see what needs to be done.

I told him that if he would come by and help out, I would pay him whatever his rate is to get it done. (I wanted to make sure he knew that I'm not expect freebee's.)

He'll be at my house Friday afternoon.

I'm not sure of his forum "name". But I'm sure that he is probably well known on the Roadster Forum.

Maybe it'll finally get done.

[crash]

Well here we go...

I had a couple of people who offered to help me with finishing up the wiring of the GTM, but the both fell through. My brother in law had to cover for a partner at work, so I understood that. The next was a no-show. I'm sure there was a good reason... So on to plan D.

We have a person that we met recently who owns a shop that specializes in Mercedes Benz Repairs. His name is Courty and he also happens to have built a Factory Five Cobra in his recent past. He mentioned that he would like to come by and take a look at the GTM and see what needs to be done.

I told him that if he would come by and help out, I would pay him whatever his rate is to get it done. (I wanted to make sure he knew that I'm not expect freebee's.)

He'll be at my house Friday afternoon.

I'm not sure of his forum "name". But I'm sure that he is probably well known on the Roadster Forum.

Maybe it'll finally get done.

Specialty and exotic car mechanics can be $150+ an hour. I think I would have a conversation with him when he shows up instead of just waiting for a bill in the mail.

[The Stig]

If you had any idea at all how frustrated i have been about wiring, you might understand that i really don't care what the cost is.

[mendo]

Stig, the wiring can be easy, I have tossed the painless kit out and am wiring the car using the original fuse box and relays. I downloaded the wiring diagrams and followed the colors.

[The Stig]

Stig, the wiring can be easy, I have tossed the painless kit out and am wiring the car using the original fuse box and relays. I downloaded the wiring diagrams and followed the colors.

You know, everyone says that; and I am sure that it's true. But I've simply not had time to dedicate towards learning the ins and outs of it. I intend to do just that on my next build. (Haven't decided what that might be yet...)

But for THIS build, I have made arrangements to just pay someone else to get it done (correctly). I don't want to have to worry about taking the dash back apart, once it has been installed.

I'm taking it to his shop in two weeks. When he's done with it, it's going straight to the interior shop, for 8 to 10 weeks. While the interior is being installed, the side project that I have going on with the hatch, should be making some progress. I'm working with Jason Cecil (Carbon Fiber) to have a set of heat vents added to the sides of the hatch. We've spoken a couple of times by phone, and have a nice vision for the design. The idea is to have it look like the vents on the Ferrari F430 hatch. (It was delivered today by the way!...)

The Porsche 997 turbo gauge cluster, is at Classis Instruments being retrofitted. The guts are being removed and new classic instument movements are being installed. Ron Hanna (of their custom gauge department) estimates that their schedule is looking like a late December / early January delivery. I have a second (matching) cluster that I will use for fitting the new dash (gauge) cover.

So, everything is coming together. Slowly but surely.

Gary Chaney sent me a text last week, saying that if I keep coming up with these "extra" projects, he would probably be done with his 818 before I finish my GTM... I told him that it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was.

I was telling my wife yesterday, that it has taken forever, but it's turning out pretty much exactly the way I had hoped it would.


So, this little bit of wiring is all that stands in the way of these last items to finish it out. So the $$$ seem like money well spent to me.

I plan to post pictures as the work progresses. That way I can document that this think really gets finished, and I can close the book!

[The Stig]

Spent last week in Charleston with my wife for our Anniversary. Man was that ever needed! I had to work from there but we were able to blend the work week and personal time pretty well. Not bad sitting at a desk overlooking Charleston harbor for the week.

Then this morning, she cut her hand pretty badly while cutting up some vegetables for lunch. So we spent the morning in the ER, to get her hand fixed. Once I knew that she would be Ok, I had to drive to the airport to head off to work for the week.

So, long story short... I wasn't able to get much done on the GTM except to start it up and let it run for 15 minutes or so. It sure sounds good!

This coming weekend, I have to try and find a trailer that I can rent, so I can take the GTM to have it wired once and for all... So the search is on.

[The Stig]

Called AAA and asked them if they could pick the car up and take it over to a friends shop to have some electrical work done. The lady asked what kind of car it was, and I told her that it was a factory Five GTM. She seem to have some trouble with figuring out what a Factory Five GTM was. So I finally just told her that it was a Ferrari, and it sits very low to the ground, we'll need to get creative to find a way to get it up on the flat-bed. Well, she knew what a Ferrari was, and said that the driver would be here in 60 to 90 minutes. 5 minutes later, I got a call saying that he would be here in 5 minutes.

I still needed to get it down off the jack stands, get it started, and the get it down the ski-slope, (I mean driveway). It took us a couple of tries, but we got it onto the flat-bed without damaging the splitter or under belly.

So we took it down to have the gauges, and mirrors wired. From there, the plan is to take it straight over to the interior shop.

There is a finish line in sight.

Mike

Oh yeah, the driver thought that this was the coolest Ferrari that he had ever seen; and he's seen them all.
So I kindly thanked him and told him how much I appreciated it.

[WIS89]

Hey Mike, I have never seen a blue Ferrari, and I think it is terrific. ;-o)

Boy, you must be chomping at the bit to get her wrapped up huh?

As I have said before, you have an amazing car and I hope you post some more pics when she gets back from the shop.

Regards,

Steve

[LCD Gauges]

... she knew what a Ferrari was, and said that the driver would be here in 60 to 90 minutes. 5 minutes later, I got a call saying that he would be here in 5 minutes.

You chopped off 55 minutes minimum by pulling the, "exotic card". Nice.

It reminds me of a photo of a boy, and a girl are both looking down their pants,
and the girl is quoted as saying, "With one of these I will control the world".

[Taz Rules]

Damn, that is a pretty car. That colour is absolutely gorgeous.

I'm glad to hear that you are taking the time and effort to do this thing right. You will be so much happier in the end knowing that you didn't take shortcuts.

[The Stig]

You chopped off 55 minutes minimum by pulling the, "exotic card". Nice.

It reminds me of a photo of a boy, and a girl are both looking down their pants,
and the girl is quoted as saying, "With one of these I will control the world".

LOL!!! And the little boy said, "With one of these, I'll have to pay for your *** for the rest of my life..."

Sorry, just venting. Something strange came over me when i read that...

[Taz Rules]

LOL!!! And the little boy said, "With one of these, I'll have to pay for your *** for the rest of my life..."

Sorry, just venting. Something strange came over me when i read that...

As long as you're not bitter....

[The Stig]

Never... That's too much of a waste of time.

Thanks for the kind words regarding the car. Just trying to get this car finished to the best of my ability. So far I'm pretty happy with it.

Take Care,


Mike

[The Stig]

Hey Mike, I have never seen a blue Ferrari, and I think it is terrific. ;-o)

Boy, you must be chomping at the bit to get her wrapped up huh?

As I have said before, you have an amazing car and I hope you post some more pics when she gets back from the shop.

Regards,

Steve

Hi Steve.

Yep. The closer i get, the more impatient i feel. But it's getting there.

It'll be at Cars N' Coffee before you know it.

See you there soon.

[sk7500]

Getting it back from the interior shop will be the icing on the cake. Bet you can't wait.

[The Stig]

I can't. I'm finding it kind of funny how excited I'm getting, knowing that I'm really so close to having this car finished. I can't wait to be able to take a few short runs out on the streets, and bring it back in for the nut & bolt check, as well as close inspection of the coolant lines for leaks. Then it's game on...

[The Stig]

I heard back from Classic Instruments with their quote for re-working the 997 cluster. When I was able to start breathing again, I was able to let Ron's words sink in as he described how he and his custom build team think they're going to handle the dials and the back lighting. The dials are going to be made of a translucent acrylic, roughly 3/16 thick. They are going to be back-painted a dark charcoal (not quite black). Then the Fonts and marks are going to lazer etched from the rear of the dial. This will give a much sharper and defined appearance with the back-lighting, and give the gauges a higher end OEM look and feel.

My wife calls it "Guy Bling" for the GTM. I think it will be just the ticket to tie the interior together. At least I hope so, given what it's costing me to do it. I think it's going to look awesome, and give me that over the top look and feel every time I slip into the seat. Woo Hoo.

So now I'm comfortable with knowing that the gauge cluster is turning out the way I want it to. I'm also very comfortable knowing that Jason Cecil has the rear hatch well under way, and that it will be finished before too much longer. I'm comfortable with the fact that the wiring of this car will be complete this week. I'm comfortable knowing that the paint scratches and hatch will be painted and then final cut / buffed to a true show car finish. And finally, I am very comfortable with the design of the interior, and that the execution is going to bring the car to the realization and vision that I had for it when I bought the kit.

For 4 years, I've simply felt as though I'm making progress each week. Now I can see that I'm really almost done with this build. So I'm getting pretty excited about it now. I'll post pictures as I'm able to. Especially the interior, and Audio speaker placement. We're trying to come up with creative ways to make the speakers invisible, but also allow sound to be clean and unrestricted.

Pioneer Head Unit: AVIC-Z140BH.
ARC-Audio XDi805 5-Channel Amplifier. (880 watts)
Hybrid Audio Clarus 5.25 component system w/passive crossovers and 1" tweeters.
Hybrid Audio Legatia L3 3.75" or L4 4.75" cone midrange (pair).
Hybrid Audio Clarus 8sw D2 or D4 Long Throw Subwoofer (Low Profile).
The subwoofer is a small, low profile sub that will give good clear bass to enhance the music. But it won't be one of these cars that you here thumping down the road from 2 miles away.

Here we go.
Mike

[fastthings]

Well you know what a good speaker is. That is the best.

[The Stig]

Well you know what a good speaker is. That is the best.

I know, I know... These speakers are overkill. Especially given the fact that it's going to be pretty tough to overcome the music coming from the engine bay.

But it's just something that I wanted in this car. Like my wife said, "you haven't skimped on anything so far, so why start now?".

It's hard for me to argue with that kind of logic...

Mike

[RumRunner]

I know, I know... These speakers are overkill. Especially given the fact that it's going to be pretty tough to overcome the music coming from the engine bay.

But it's just something that I wanted in this car. Like my wife said, "you haven't skimped on anything so far, so why start now?".

It's hard for me to argue with that kind of logic...

Mike

Mike,

Does your wife have any sisters?

-Michael

[The Stig]

Mike,

Does your wife have any sisters?

-Michael

LOL... I'm afraid not. She's unique!



Mike

[fastthings]

I know, I know... These speakers are overkill. Especially given the fact that it's going to be pretty tough to overcome the music coming from the engine bay.

But it's just something that I wanted in this car. Like my wife said, "you haven't skimped on anything so far, so why start now?".

It's hard for me to argue with that kind of logic...

Mike

Not an over kill at all, it's quality sound. How cool to have a wife that says go for it. Your interior is going to look so sharp. I have been thinking of the stereo stuff also, same brand speakers infact. I am very curious to see where you put all your gear. I'm not so worried about hiding mine, but still hard to find room. It is an art doing it so you can't see it.

[The Stig]

The amp is going on the passenger side dash shelf (under the actual dash). The Low profile Sub will go under the passenger side dash, facing down in the foot well. Believe it or not, It'll has a dedicated box, made to fit the area that it will be mounted in. (And it will not be seen).

The 5 1/4"s will be in the doors. These will be the only speakers that will be visible. But they'll be fairly flush mounted in the custom door panels, and will have custom grills that will help give them a little more subtle appearance. The 1" tweeters will either be integrated (flush mounted in the front upper door) or integrated into the dash corners. The L3's (3.75") will be mounted in the tunnel aluminum right next to the seats, at the hips.



If I use the L4's along with the L3's, they will be mounted in the outside close out panels, just under the rear quarter-windows. (Just behind your shoulders, and just hidden from view). This would require that new panels be made to cover and seal those two areas. There is plenty of room for medium sized speakers in that area.



I think that these should work well. This configuration would yield a very clean, 4 ohm, 9 speaker audio system. It will also be a blue-tooth compatible system with hands free phone access. It will have XM/Sirius, as well as iPhone/iPod connectivity. It will have a rear view camera to aid in rear vision. And Oh Yeah, Did I mention the Remote Passport Radar Detector system for Front & Rear. That will also be hidden. I'm trying to find a way to integrate the screen into the Pioneer Head Unit display. Not sure yet if I'll be able to pull that one off or not.... We'll see.

[fastthings]

Very cool. The audio shop I've been talking to bounced an idea off mr to consider, make each seat have it's own system. For the driver, lt in the door/ rt in the tunnel. And same for the pass. I am also eye balling that space under the dash. We also have some space behind the seats. I'm going to show them your thread.

[VD2021]

Very cool. The audio shop I've been talking to bounced an idea off mr to consider, make each seat have it's own system. For the driver, lt in the door/ rt in the tunnel. And same for the pass. I am also eye balling that space under the dash. We also have some space behind the seats. I'm going to show them your thread.

That's how MikePMS set his audio up. He pulled the idea from his bike. It's not a sound-Q setup, but a good option for the environment.

[The Stig]

Given the fact that the GTM is so tight for space inside, would you really be able to set the system up as "individual systems"? I guess my imagination only goes as far as trying to blend the sound in a way that makes the music full, clear, and clean. I mean, with the sound (music) of the engine right in my ears, it seams as though what you would gain by setting up compartmental sound systems, would be lost.

But then the same argument could be made for using $2500.00 in high end speakers on top of the head unit, amp, and crossovers...

Man, I must have lost my mind...

My wife kids me, saying that the NASCAR channel on Sirus Radio will have never sounded so good...

We'll see.

[LCD Gauges]

Ha, don't feel bad! I remember spending that kinda coin back in high-school working part-time! My friends, and I were audio-geeks for sure; one buddy had a Mazda 323
with three 15 inch sub woofers in the rear. The size of the car (interior volume) was so small, that the dB level increased with the doors open.

It has been decades since I've been into that scene, but designing the stereo system for the GTM has my blood flowing again. I'm still using the same
cross-over, and amplifier from the H.S. days. It's just too clean sounding to sell + it's easy to configure with low speaker loads.

What type of music are you "blasting" these days?

[The Stig]

What type of music are you "blasting" these days?

Pretty much anything but Rap/Hip Hop... I've just never really gotten it. Nothing against those who do, but for the life of me I just don't get it.

I listen to Jazz, Classic Rock, & Country more than anything else. I also like classical music when it's played on nice equipment.

[CRAZYBOB]

Hey, sorry if I missed it somewhere in here.. But, did the bodywork and paint get done at a shop on another GTM chassis? And then the parts were installed later on yours? It looks great. Did you have any issues with fitment of the parts between the two frames? Thanks Bob

[The Stig]

Hey, sorry if I missed it somewhere in here.. But, did the bodywork and paint get done at a shop on another GTM chassis? And then the parts were installed later on yours? It looks great. Did you have any issues with fitment of the parts between the two frames? Thanks Bob

Hi Bob. Yes, Whitby's had a GTM chassis with the body mounted. Most of the work was done to the body while it was mounted onto that chassis, until it was time for paint. When the body came back from the paint shop, it was mounted onto my chassis. There were no alignment issues that wouldn't have been present on my chassis...

When the car was delivered to my house, Jeff picked up the body from my kit.

I spoke about this on the first page or so of this thread.

Hope this helps. Mike

[LCD Gauges]

Pretty much anything but Rap/Hip Hop... I've just never really gotten it. Nothing against those who do, but for the life of me I just don't get it.

I listen to Jazz, Classic Rock, & Country more than anything else. I also like classical music when it's played on nice equipment.

Can't say we have the same music tastes, but being a drummer I do like my Jazz! Also played several bands that covered Classic Rock, so it's all good.

My favourite band at the moment is Tool; I don't think you'd dig'em.

[carbon fiber]

undertow is one of the best albums ever. nice test for an audio system too.

[Fugly_Old_Cowboy]

wait a minute!!!! there is another reason to install a stereo system into a GTM besides for listening to NASCAR radio the way it SHOULD be listened to... (at 200 mph.....)

[The Stig]

Can't say we have the same music tastes, but being a drummer I do like my Jazz! Also played several bands that covered Classic Rock, so it's all good.

My favourite band at the moment is Tool; I don't think you'd dig'em.

undertow is one of the best albums ever. nice test for an audio system too.

Yep... I'm a classic rock, country rock, smooth jazz kind of guy... Give me The Eagles, The Cars, Aerosmith, Alan Jackson, Chris Botti, Four Play, Trace Adkins, ZZ Top, Vanessa Williams, 3 Doors Down, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, Sade, Heart, Guns N' Roses, Kicking Harold (of course), Jack Johnson, Bon Jovi, Hall & Oats, Cheap Trick, Brooks & Dunn, The Black Crows, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Big & Rich, Collective Soul, Mark Knopfler / Dire Straits, Jason Aldean, Clint Black, Blake Shelton, Boney James, Doobey Brothers, Van Halen, Gloria Estefan, Atlanta Rythym Section, Dwight Yoakam, Wynona Judd, Steve Miller Band, Def Leppard, etc., etc., etc., any day.

Somewhere in there, I should be able to test the system pretty well.

[The Stig]

I wanted to take a minute to say that I hope that everyone had a peaceful and relaxing Thanksgiving. It's sad that this day has to be used to remind us of what is important in life. Family, Friends, and the ability to give thanks for what is important in our lives.

You're all friends of mine, and much appreciated!

Thank you.

Mike

[fastthings]

Ahh, that's nice.

I pound that into my boys head all the time. I tell him you can screw up anything you want in life, just don't forget how important your family and friends are.

[Taz Rules]

Hope your Thanksgiving was as awesome as your sentiment!

Now get building!!!!