Yeah man i was disappointed, guess not everything from japan is good lol

 

The Stage 21 hood really has a LOT of tiny low spots (and a couple highs too). I'm not sure if it's just a manufacturing anomaly or this is just their quality of work... On a white car it's pretty well hidden unless you're really looking. But since it's getting sprayed GGP I know it's going to show. Skim coat the whole thing you say? Aye...


I also sent off an oil sample to Blackstone Labs for testing before the trip to Florida. I went a little longer between service interval than normal, however nothing abnormal came up in the analysis- that's always good news.


And in-between filler and sanding on the hood, welding up rockers on a GM pickup, and 12hrs a day of school I managed to get some clear on my hood hinges. Not too bad for an amateur, and plenty good for something you'll not really pay attention to in the end-state:


Thanks for stopping by!

 

Thought I was done with this week's update but these just arrived:


Good way to end the week

 

Did some quick freehand work with a dremel today. Vents are opened up and just about done. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel (paint soon).




Not 100% happy with them yet, but again I'm doing it all by freehand. Although not terrible for a combat vet w/ nerve damage in my hands. lol

On a side note, I recently sold my VW and purchased another Lexus-


And that's all for this week. Hopefully I'll get some color on the hood next week, along with some cool updates I have in the works.

 

oh man looking good, love how you cut the vents open and the chrome door handles....congrats on the new "daily" haha

 

I laid on some high build primer yesterday. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!


Built up and contoured the nose section above the grill by hand. It dropped off really flat and "duck tailed" at the lip. Now it's got a more factory-like shape. Also smoothed over the dimples for washer sprayers. Later I'll fab up a wet arm setup directly off the wipers. Should be blocked down and ready for paint by the time my new grille arrives. Kinda excited about that

 

Hopefully soon I'll be ready for a "phase 2" build. Compared to many builds here mine is kinda boring and slow. A few things in the works that should spice it up a little- A new grille that's sorta different, and... well, something else

 

What VW did you have? I may or may not have one in the back of the garage myself.

 

It was a '99 Jetta TDI. Great commuter car but boring. lol

 

Just a bit, ha ha. I've raced a lot of older ones. Still have a Jetta, actually.

 

Picked up my LX-Mode grille today thanks to Jessie





Haven't seen too many of these around so why not. It's the same design as the k-break and aimgain etc but has chrome trim for the slats. I'll start working on it tomorrow lol...

 

Reworked the grille area, switched out the hardware LX-Mode supplied, and got the grille fit up using factory mounting locations...

 

Look good man, grill took a lil longer than i expected but glad you finally got it !!!

 

Took a step backwards on the hood. Got it out of the booth in primer and it seemed like everything was good to go. Put it back on the car over the weekend so it's not taking up shop space, came back to it this week and hood is warped! Turns out just from moving the car in and out of the shop with the hood on is enough heat to cook the hood and create some pretty significant low spots(even with a turbo blanket).

At this point I'm just gonna reinforce the underside with fiberglass, then wrap it in aerospace thermal tape beneath the factory hood insulator. Hopefully that will solve my problem. Then back to filler / block sand / primer. lol

 

Weds Farmas anyone? lol


I was web shopping for LS430 5 stars and came across these for pretty cheap. Guess I'll play musical wheels with the GS and SC once snow comes back. For those unaware Leon Hardiritt aka Super Star is an offshoot branch of Weds Wheels, so this was a pretty easy decision for me. Shouldn't look terrible with some spacers