The Amocat- 2005 Tacoma

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by aardvarcus

Elhigh,
I don't like the sound of wearing through the paint! I would like to make it at least semi-waterproof so I would like some sort of gap filler. What kind of material did you use for a gap filler? Maybe something soft like sheet rubber or silicone wouldn't damage the paint, or is that what you used? I also thought of attaching something to the truck with 3M double sided tape to have the seal set against, which would be removed if needed.

In other news, I ordered some more fiberglass epoxy, just waiting for it to show up so I can get back to work.

Take a peek at the 3M clear paint protection film to protect yer gap filler from wearing into the paint.
3m clear paint protection film | eBay

[wdb]

Originally Posted by aardvarcus

Aerohead,
Yeah I don’t need any explosions or implosions for that matter. It is pretty solid, but not quite goat proof.

Well I finally had time to flip it back upright and do another layer on the top of the shell, and then promptly ran out of epoxy again. So I guess I am finished with epoxying. I let it dry and did a test fit and got some pictures. Now it is just time for trimming, sanding, bondo, sanding, primer, paint, and window install. Then it can get a test drive and I can start recording some numbers. Anyway, the pictures.

Where's mine? Seriously that is one nice looking piece.

[aardvarcus]

I have had pieces of time here and there to make gradual process. I have managed to do bondo, sanding, bondo, sanding, primer, and paint the underside and edges black. I still need to do spot putty on the topside in places over the primer, sand, reprime, and paint. I would say the bodywork on top is going to end up 8.5/10 or so. I just painted the bottom black with no effort to make it smooth or nice, since it won't be seen.

I certianly lack some skills when it comes to bondo (mainly patience), and the quick set up time is not my friend. Also when doing it piecemeal, I don't have time to sand the bondo right after I lay it, so it is hard by the time I get to sanding it. It is not as easy as it is made to look, especially when covering a large surface area. The worst part is doing tons of small batches, which seem to end up slightly harder or softer which makes sanding a pain and the results wavy. Ratioing the bondo to the hardener is the most frustrating part, ended up back using my digital kitchen scale, but even that isn't very accurate as the mix is like 50:1 or something that they only tell you cryptically on the package. How should I know if this glob is the size of a golfball? As with most things, I am sure most of the issues are with the user and not the product. [/Rant]

The good thing about the bondo is that it has formed a rather hard shell and has effectively filled in the "checkerboard" of raised areas where the pieces lap over each other a half inch or so. That is why I had to use so much bondo. If I had to do this again I would do all the pieces as a full half lap to prevent this. Live and learn.

If my present progress keeps up I should have something bolted to my truck in another week or so. I am surprised how much I have actually gotten done on this recently. Anyway, the pictures for those who haven't already skipped over the rambling text to see. Ignore the black overspray on the surface, the top of the shell will end up silver.

[freebeard]

1. I certianly lack some skills when it comes to bondo (mainly patience), and the quick set up time is not my friend.
2. Also when doing it piecemeal, I don't have time to sand the bondo right after I lay it, so it is hard by the time I get to sanding it.
3. The worst part is doing tons of small batches, which seem to end up slightly harder or softer which makes sanding a pain and the results wavy.
4. Ratioing the bondo to the hardener is the most frustrating part, ...How should I know if this glob is the size of a golfball?

As with most things, I am sure most of the issues are with the user and not the product. [/Rant]

Good on you for making the effort, but for anyone following along there is PolyMetal or squeegeeing resin out under mylar to save finish work.

[aardvarcus]

Did I mention I don’t like paint...? The metallic Rustoleum I sprayed on there was the right color, but the metallic nature of the paint made it come out very blotchy. Sanded that down and decided to do another roll on coat of filler primer, but that reacted badly with the existing paint peeling it up which basically ruined the finish where I had tried that. Sanded that area back down to bondo.

Did another coat of spray on primer and silver non-metallic paint, which turned out fair, but is much darker than the cap on the can lead me to believe. Plus the wind was blowing in my paint booth (driveway) and I think it got a few small pieces of dust/debris in the wet paint before I carried it back into my paint drying booth (garage). I am going to gently wet sand this coat and try to find some other non-metallic paint that is a lighter silver color, and hopefully call that good enough for now.

I also cut out my lexan side windows, straight edge and utility knife works pretty good for that. I started putting the 3M VHB double sided black tape on the surface of the lexan. This makes the window look blacked out on the edges from the outside, and should have plenty of grip to hold the lexan in place. My only concern is the side windows wanting to peel away where the cap gently curves, but I will have to just wait and see.
Anyway a few pictures of the painted shell.

[aardvarcus]

So I finished painting and putting in the windows of my Aeroshell V2 last week. Ended up going back to Rustoleum Hammered Silver like I used on V1, which is a close match to the factory Toyota Silver. The 3M VHB tape worked rather well for installing the windows, I put it on the lexan first then placed the window on the shell. Note the windows are not flush. Visibility out of the lexan was initially very good, excessive pollen had to be wiped off this morning to be able to see clearly. That would occur with any hatchback parked surrounded by trees this time of year.

Anyway you can see some pictures of it installed on the truck. I don’t have my hinge mechanism finished yet, ratchet straps are holding it in position. Also these pictures don’t have the new third brake light installed; but it is currently installed and functioning.

I installed it on the truck, and have run a decently normal tank through it to get some performance numbers. Note this tank was run without a gap filler, I have since installed a gap filler which should show up on my next tank. I decided to use the last 10 tanks as a baseline, and had to omit two tanks (one for E0 use, the next for losing the receipt.) My ten tank baseline was 24.919 and the current fill up was 27.376 for an improvement of 9.862%. Not bad for preliminary results. Note I will continue to update this as I run some more tanks through the truck, obviously I need more than one tank with the shell to form definite opinions. That said, that is what I had roughly predicted from a percentage change standpoint, so I am satisfied if several tanks maintain this trend.

Some final thoughts. I mainly use cruise control, but coast down large hills. I have noticed my hill coast final velocity figures have all increased about 5MPH or roughly 10%, e.g. from 55MPH to 60MPH at the bottom. On another note I think the Cooper AT/W tires I installed this winter must be hurting my rolling resistance more than I anticipated versus the Michelin LTX M/S2. That doesn’t affect the percentage change, more of the absolute number.

[BamZipPow]

Looks great! I see you have a Sparebumper!

[aardvarcus]

Yeah, I noticed your sparebumper from the build thread on your trailer as well. Trailer hitches don’t have any give otherwise and they also help discourage tailgating. I just got the model with the flat plate for my wife’s 4Runner. Doesn’t have the tube to crumple as well, but I didn’t want it to stick out too much and be a nuisance when accessing the hatch or parking. Way better than nothing but frame mounted receiver hitch, which on her car sticks out past the bumper.

[aardvarcus]

Tank two with the gap filler picked up a quarter mile per gallon versus tank one, so I am fairly confident now the numbers are not a fluke. Running the same calculation as before the first two tanks are showing a 10.358% increase over baseline!


I have a strong urge now to go make other changes to the Tacoma, but I am going to get at least another tank or two first before I do anything else.

[freebeard]

What in the plans?