Streamlining the Civic (2005 Civic EX coupe)

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Vman455

Thanks for pointing that out! I'm going to take it one step further, and tell me if I'm off base here. What would happen if I ditch the Lexan entirely and leave the rear window and trunk lid uncovered, with the tail coming up the sides to the roof and then everything past the trunklid built up to the template? Essentially, a larger cutout inset in the slope? Is there a maximum size where that will start to impact the airflow?

I kinda did that with the CRX.
*I extended the C-pillars along the 'template' curvature on each side of the hatch.
*At the top,I had a cantilever wing projecting out about a foot along the 'T' curve.
*Then I had a low wing which extended back to intercept the 'T' curve which morphed into the boat tail.
Leaves captured inside the 'void' would dance around,impelled by the vortex,with outer flow glancing off the vortex.

[Vman455]

Before I embark on the tail, I figured it would be good to get some more fiberglass experience since I have very little (I built a sub box once, but that's about it). So, I found some inspiration in this thread and started chopping up my stock mirrors. I basically followed the same process, with the exception of having to glass in the plastic bit that holds the attachment bolts as it's a separate piece from the mirror housing in my car. Bondoed and sanded:



Painted and on the car:





Next up, I'm going to glass and paint the upper grill to match, and then do the lower bumper. Then I think I'll be ready to tackle a full tail.

[bheadrick]

any further progress?

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by bheadrick

any further progress?

Actually, yes--I pulled the bumper cover and grill off yesterday, removed the galvanized steel flashing, and covered them in expanding foam which I let set overnight. I'm about to cut/sand them down and fiberglass over them, then sand/Bondo and paint. Pics to follow!

[Vman455]

And done! After removing the flashing, I filled the grill and lower fascia opening with expanding foam:





Cut off the excess with a kitchen knife:





Then fiberglassed:



After our hottest weekend of the year last week (97--and it's only in the 50s today), I noticed my temperature creeping up when the AC was running. So I made the radiator inlet slightly larger than what I had in the sheet metal:



Sanding:



Lots of sanding:



Painted:



And on the car!



I adhered to the 10-foot rule; it looks pretty good...from 10 feet away. If I have more time in the future I can go back and clean up some spots, but overall I'm happy with it for how much time I put in. And it looks much less conspicuous than the galvanized steel!

[ChazInMT]

Dang Dog..Really great work!! Great pics too. Thanks a bunch for sharing.

[California98Civic]

Excellent.

[Sporty Modder]

Fantastic job. But why black? Why not make it red like the rest of the body? Just wondering, looks really good.

[mcrews]

I can answer that..... you never get a perfect match when you try to go factory color.

The black is PERFECT!!!!!!

[Varn]

Nice job Vman. How do you see out your side mirrors. Seems like there may be some safety issues. When I had an Illinois drivers license I was required to have outside mirrors. It is a fairly common restriction.

Do you have narrow mirrors in your flattish panels?