Gotta rebuild the boattail

[wyatt]

1. Glad you are ok.
2. Great excuse to build a boat tail (safety).
3. All that damage and only dropped you by 2mpg?!
4. What do you plan on doing to improve the design of the tail? It looked pretty good to me... a more gradual transition?
5. Do you plan on putting in an opening on the nose that can be opened and closed to help regulate temp? I know you had mentioned it before, and you have to do work on it anyway.

[basjoos]

I'm planning to improve the functionality of the hatch, the original design was a bit clumsy to operate.

I had installed an active grill opening in the nose below the stagnation point two weeks also but hadn't had time to post the pics. I had also blended the front wheel spoiler, front wheel well skirt, side skirts, rear wheel well skirt, and rear wheel boattail into a single flowing unit rather than their existing as separate discrete components. I had completed the outside and was working on the design of the inside wheel well skirts, but further work on this will have to await until after I get done repairing the collision damage.

[metroschultz]

I too, am glad you are OK.
We'll be looking forward to the restoration of your ride to its previous glory.
As for the turd who hit you,...
He's calling the Weekly World News right now to tell them that the invasion of the Earth has begun and he single-handedly stopped E.T. in his tracks.
S.

[Chris D.]

glad you made it out intact..

any ideas what he was driving? I'm sure you'll see him again..

[basjoos]

No idea what he/she was driving. It was at night so all I saw was a fast moving set of headlights. The crash damage was at car bumper height (the tip of the boattail is at truck bumper height), and blue paint scrapes on my car.

[MetroMPG]

Mike: glad you're OK and that the aerocivic will live to see another day (we have the technology - we can rebuild it!). As others have said: your response to the entire situation is impressive too.

Not defending the idiot driver who rammed you, but as bryn mentioned, I also wonder about the close-together tail lights in the tip of the boat tail: is it possible they may give the impression to a following driver that your car is further away than it actually is?

I think you should make an insurance claim if for no other reason than to see the look on the face of the guy at the body shop when you ask them to make it good as new!

[basjoos]

I plan to add a more spectacular red LED lightshow to the back of the boattail including more running lights on the sides of the boattail.

A bodyshop wouldn't know what to do what to do with the boattail (I'd have better luck at an aircraft repair shop) and besides the repair costs will be less than my insurance deductible.

[Johnny Mullet]

At least you did not get hurt. That is the important thing.

[Compaq888]

Originally Posted by basjoos

A bodyshop wouldn't know what to do what to do with the boattail (I'd have better luck at an aircraft repair shop)

ROFL!

[Tango Charlie]

Originally Posted by basjoos

....I'd have better luck at an aircraft repair shop....

Funny, yes. But got me seriously thinking. It may be worth your while to seek out your local EAA chapter.(Use the 'Locate a Chapter' link in the bar on the right side of the page.)

EAA: Experimental Aircraft Association. These guys build small airplanes in their garages and hangars.

The chapter at my local airport have an informal burger cookout most Saturdays during the summer, and welcome anyone who may walk up. A good chapter would more than likely be very interested in your project, and be able to dispense a lot of advice on materials and repair techniques. They may have tools that would help in your repairs, as well.

This is not to say that you are not well able to repair your car yourself! I just thought these guys might be a valuable asset to you.

I also know of another chapter that consists of a bunch of old crotchety codgers that don't build anything and just have meetings about how their airport is going to hell in a handbag. If you run into one of those, keep looking. I would hope they're in the minority.