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Old 08-11-2012, 01:43 PM   #31 (permalink)
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Weather Spotter- Instead of cutting the metal to reshape it, I may just put a piece of metal(indicated by the red line in the picture below) to smooth things up. Believe it or not, the part that you thought was high is just about right on with the template.



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Originally Posted by arcosine View Post
I like the lights and the shape, not sure about the structure.
Can you please elaborate on what you mean by the structure?

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Old 08-11-2012, 02:07 PM   #32 (permalink)
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Any sketched ideas for the design of the rear windows ?
The rear windows have a nice curve and it would look nice to follow this curve with the rear port side windows.
Do you plan to add a clear piece from the factory taillights back, or are you going to leave them as is ?
Also, what color will the tail be ? If you try and paint it the body color it may look .....er.....not as good as if you went with matte black. ( my opinion ) which will hide a lot of the rough edges .

I also like those lights . Where did you get them ?
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Old 08-11-2012, 02:12 PM   #33 (permalink)
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The angle of the pic and my early morning eyes might have messed that observation up

I like the idea of the added metal in the red line. Coroplast does not stiffen things up much. its good in one direction but the other it can fold in half with minimal effort. Keep that in mind, you want the structure as ridged as it needs to be, before you skin it.

What if anything are you doing for a rear window?

Will you be able to open the hatch with this tail on?
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Old 08-11-2012, 02:13 PM   #34 (permalink)
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matte black is a good idea

my tail might get a paint job soon. not sure yet but black is in the cards.
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Old 08-11-2012, 04:09 PM   #35 (permalink)
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The moment you have all been waiting for:

It seems like my measurements were correct and I did fall about 2 inches short of the template but the little gain I might achieve by correcting this would not be worth my time. the edges are very round so hopefully I'll get an "EV1 effect" that allows the side flow to make up for the high top angle. The hatch has always had a little movement, so I'm going to be using some rubber stoppers to keep it in place. This should lift the hatch up about 1/4" which when translated over 4 feet might lift me up closer to the template. I can shake the whole car from the tail. Except for the slight movement of the hatch itself, this thing is solid.



Here's the original shot before I used the template tool:



The hatch will be completely operable except you will have to open it using the button from the interior. I may devise some sort of "key-on-a-pole inside the tail, but I need to avoid someone punching through the coroplast and opening my car up.

For a rear window, I plan to use one big piece for the top of the tail.

I eventually plan to get a rear view camera and replace my side view mirrors with cameras, so blind spots wont be much of a concern but I'll have the large window as a back up. I'll just need to be cautious when changing lanes.

As far as color goes, I planned on using Krylon Fusion Gloss Hunter Green. If you think black would look better I might have to go that route. I was also thinking of using a rough "bedliner" type coating to hide things.
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Old 08-11-2012, 04:53 PM   #36 (permalink)
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Do you think it would be more aerodynamic with the hatch open?



Looks like the struts aren't strong enough to hold it up so I'll have to devise something to hold the hatch up
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Old 08-11-2012, 05:56 PM   #37 (permalink)
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hold it

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Originally Posted by HydroJim View Post
Do you think it would be more aerodynamic with the hatch open?



Looks like the struts aren't strong enough to hold it up so I'll have to devise something to hold the hatch up
At thrift stores you might find cast off carbon fiber epoxy golf clubs.Their shafts make great super lightweight supports.
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Old 08-11-2012, 07:11 PM   #38 (permalink)
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Awesome that the hatch is still operable. With a little research you might find some stronger struts or even double up what you have.

Looking good.
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Old 08-11-2012, 09:00 PM   #39 (permalink)
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Looking good !

Last edited by Cd; 08-11-2012 at 09:07 PM..
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Old 08-11-2012, 11:08 PM   #40 (permalink)
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Quote:
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Looks like the struts aren't strong enough to hold it up so I'll have to devise something to hold the hatch up
Talk to the person at the auto parts store. Most struts of a particular length and stroke are available in several different strengths (opening forces). Just get a pair of stronger struts of the same size.

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