1690 replies to this topic

[dirtbag]

Thanks again for the kudos. It's been fun so far. I can't wait to see it finished either. Can't wait to drive it!!!!!! Then I think I'll keep it hahahaha.

[dirtbag]

Well after spending all morning doing a weird combo of UC and LX front bumper mounts, there is a front bumper mounted. I don't have that extra bit the LX bumpers mount to, so I used some of the UC mounts and joined it into the LX bumper.
I don't want any bolts or holes showing either so I'm welding the mounts to the bumper for a smoother look.

[TerrA LX]

I don't want any bolts or holes showing either so I'm welding the mounts to the bumper for a smoother look.

Don't tell everyone my secret.

[dirtbag]

Sorry dude, didn't know it was a secret : ) Can I tell them about the cross dressing? No? Sorry, another secret busted hahaha.
It's a nice easy mod hey, and looks good and subtle. Any pics of your car on here Terra?

[TerrA LX]

No pictures here sorry and stop looking thru my windows ok.

[MRLXSS]

I'm really really really impressed!!

Great stuff mate! All fantastic mods your doing!! Keep it up!

[dirtbag]

OK, I started making my mounts with a combination of UC and LX mounts, but the LX mounts didn't really help, so I cut the LX bit off and just made a couple of pieces to get it good and strong, as the UC mounts are fairly flimsy.

To fit the UC monts I had to cut a little bit out of the LX grill. The piece of bumper mount that sticks straight out used to have a mount on it for the UC bumper but it stuck out too far and wouldn't let the LX bumper sit right. That's where I "did" have the piece of LX bumper mount. Not any more.




My brother decided he didn't want the rubber strips on the bumpers. Luckily for me he gave me a bumper that had the rubber strip, so now I have to weld up all the holes : ) That's OK though because I'm also getting rid of the mounting bolts and factory jacking points too.
The first step was to knock the dings out of the bar and give it a good clean up around where I need to weld.





After a lot of mucking around and measuring I tacked welded the bumper to the UC mounts. It's nice to have it sitting there all by itself for a change.





I'm pretty happy now with where it's sitting.




With the bumper tacked to the mounts I was able to unbolt it from the car and start making it stronger. To add some more support to the monts I added some pieces I folded into U channels and welded them in so they spread out away from the original mount. It's super solid now.





I didn't count how many holes were in this bumper, but there was enough : )





Here's one side done. You just have to take your time when it comes to smoothing out the welds. Especially since this is going to get chromed again.






Here's my lovely daughter giving me a hand today. She's awesome. Love the safety specs and heavy metal hand : ) Yes, I taught her that.





Then she did some welding on the bumper for me.....





Finally all the welding and sanding is finished.





It was good to see it on the car. I like the subtle smoothness it adds to the front of the car.





In this small area, there used to be top and bottom mounting holes, rubber strip mounting holes and the big factory jacking point slot. Not any more : )





I also had a bit of a squizz at the engine mount adaptors for the LS1. The drivers side just clears the A/C compressor, but the passengers side hits the alternator support. No big deal though. I have a grinder : )

[dirtbag]

Hi ehdave. That's an interesting idea. I can't really imagine there being much of a market for it though, considering how much work would be involved in making the moulds. I think it comes down to me being lazy : )

[dirtbag]

Well i finally got the front indicators fitted today. This is the first time the whole front end has been together. Well, except for the headlights : )

I like the round indicators. I know others wont as they are a bit weird, but that's cool : )




I'll tint the lenses a bit later on so they're not so orange. Other than that I think they're cool.






Once that was done it was time to get the engine bay sorted out. Once I was finally happy with how the filler looked on the passengers side I couldn't wait to do the other side so I put some primer on to see how it looked.










It's starting to take shape now.

I also filled the seam that runs along the top of the firewall. It looked too messy as it was.





I also got a bit of work done on the drivers side today, but it's not finished yet.





It's nice seeing it in all one colour for once.





I really like the smooth look in torana engine bays. This makes it worth all the work.

[dirtbag]

Hi Yella. That hole on the bottom right you mentioned, well I only drilled that out today : ) The nosecone had the hole but not the guard.

As for the bumper bar, it took a day pretty much from start to finish, including making the UC mounts fit etc.

[76lxhatch]

Are the original UC indicators designed to be visible(-ish) from the side for legal reasons? I'm not sure if they are or not but if they are then I guess that would mean you'll need side repeaters?

The angle of the brake duct holes looks like it goes downhill a bit toward the back but I think that's just my eyes playing tricks on me or the camera angle, the bumper made it look a whole lot better.

Looking great overall and I like your posting style, lots of pics!

[dirtbag]

Side repeaters are the devils work. I hate them : ) My mod plate guy says they're fine, as I told him what I wanted to do before I started. He said they're no worse than an LX. If anything, they're more visible as they're a bit further away from the bumper.

As for the spoiler, yeah some of the pics it looks a bit weird. I totally copied a fibreglass spoiler for the brake ducts, so the bottom of the ducts is level with the ground and the top part slopes down from front to back.

I'll just say that if it's different or weird then I meant to do that : ) hahaha

[dirtbag]

Hey Yella. Yeah, the grinding is the biggest time taker. The welding itself doesn't take that long. You just need to make sure you put enough metal in there with the welds so it can be sanded down flat, otherwise you have to weld over it again and sand it again. I had to do that with a few holes, but it has to be done.

[dirtbag]

Hi AD_75. Yeah, the nosecone has always had those dents on it. I've still got to get the bonnet to fit perfectly, and I know the nosecone is a little pushed in so once the engine bay is all in primer I'll bolt the hinges and bonnet back on and get it sorted then. Good spotting by the way : )

[fenz]

Looks like its still going well (wish i had more time to work on my toranas)hahaha.
I notice from the earlier photos it was a SA plated vehicle where did it come from???
Have you decided on a colour/paint scheme??
Keep them photos coming its a great read so far.

[dirtbag]

Hi Fenz. Yes the car is from S.A. My brother bought it off ebay, so I'm not sure where abouts in S.A it was from.

As for colours, the top choices are either barbados green, orange or red - with black around the windows and on the top of guards and bonnet. No black around the back or on the sills. Black sills make the car look too high.

What's your opinion people? What colour?

[Heath]

A metallic colour with some depth, but still bright enough to be attention grabbing. Like this Vette
http://lib.store.yah...-vette-3-08.jpg