(Project) Boat tail-4 Door Sedan VW Mk2 (1990 Jetta GL)

[JethroBodine]

Missed the GGP due to electrical issues, but got some tail work done instead.



Smoothed some and filled some.



Getting the shape filled in. MUCH more sanding and filling to go.

[JethroBodine]

Got more work on the tail.



From this...



...and this...



To these...







Supposed to get some rain this weekend, should make things interesting.

[NachtRitter]

Holy carp! Looks like a lot of 'smoothing'! Pretty cool!

[JethroBodine]

More smoothing and filling today. Ran out of bondo.








More tomorrow.

[aerohead]

What drag? I don't see know stinking drag!
I'm impressed ( some more)! The Utah skies will love it.Hope the engine issues resolve themselves.
Aerodynamically,she'll be a tour de force.

[Cd]

I wonder what the Cd will be when complete !
You have all the right angles - even the underside of the tail isn't too steep of an angle.

Would you mind posting some shots of the front of the car and perhaps a 3/4 front view ?

I remarked about the car looking like it had brain matter on it earlier. I was pretty sure you wouldn't take it offensively, but if not, sorry.

I see past the rough edges and see what the air sees ( almost nothing !! )

[ecomodded]

If you cut a piece of plastic or wood or metal to the general shape of the curves of the boat tail, say
3 or 4 slightly different angled sizes to allow you to smooth the freshly applied *what ever* more consistently.
Once you get the form to shape I would throw some fiberglass matting with fiberglass over it then cover it in with filler/ bondo and belt sand the bumps out with varying degrees of grits, the 45 grit takes fiberglass off stupid fast, you can shape fast and effectively using a belt sander and low grit belts.

I made a large fiberglass deck roof for my 25ft. Bayliner, back when i owned it.
other then that i have done just repairs and patches, low grit sandpaper on a belt sander is the answer.

[JethroBodine]

Phil-Thanks. For everything. Inspiration, sharing your knowledge, your experience,... It will truly be an honor to meet you.

Cd- It DID look like brain matter. When it was metallic blue and black mixed in, it got compared to fish or frog skin. Today, two different people asked if I sandwiched a Saab on the back of my Jetta. I really enjoy that it inspires people to think outside the ordinary! Phil would be the one to ask about final CD. I haven't a clue.

ecomodded- I thought about building forms, but I think I'm going to keep hammering through this way and get it smooth and one color for this coming weekend. I am thinking of going over it with fiberglass before the final incarnation.

Sven7-Once I get it smooth, I'll tuft test it, as I said I would. I haven't forgoten.

I keep thinking slippery thoughts while working on this part of things. Hopefully the air won't even notice me when I slip by.

Nose pics( I crack myself up sometimes) will have to wait until tomorrow.

[JethroBodine]

Latest pics with the front end thrown in...









This last one is my favorite. Shows a nice smooth line.

[NeilBlanchard]

Jethro,

Have you seen the rear wheel strake(s) that Darin tried on his boattail? I'll bet that something similar would help you, too. The taper is quite good in most of this tail, but it looks a bit too steep just behind the rear wheel skirts.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post149087

Also, in the last photo, it looks like the last 10-12" on the very back could be shaved down about 1/2" to 3/4" or so?