The Quest For A Flush 33 Bootlid

[mitchy_]

star date: 6 hours past beer o'clock

captains log:

hello fellow aventurers..

i have chosen to path of the flush boot lid, as opposed to the ever popular drift wing, reason being the increasing popularity, and and i want to try something different. the only flush lids i could come across as buying, was either $600 + postage + paint for an offical Do Luck one, direct from USA, or $900ish for a carbon fibre one in perth, and CF bootlid doesnt look too flash on white car, especially as i dont have a CF bonnet.

so, i thought what the hell and im going to make my own. after having a look at GT N1K's flush bootlid on his lovely wide R33, and general ideas in my head, i want to come up with a bootlid that sits with a curvature much like the stock Series 1 R33 wing, but flush with the rear quarter panels.

the project started at about 10:47pm on this lovely cold friday night, and here is pictures thus far.

now i was lucky enough to get a bootlid that already had some form of lip on it (has nissan written on small in the middle of the bottom, stock lip perhaps???) which will aid in making a back support for the raising, and also gives me a perfect mounting position for something i will reveal further into the project.

tomorrow will consist of building up the raised section with foam, being able to give the bootlid shape without adding to the wieght.

if that proves to be successful, layers of fibres and resin will then be placed ontop to give it the raised shape i desire, smoothed back, and a bit of bog will fill in the gaps the fibreglass has.

at this stage i tossing up a few different ideas about having 'S K Y L I N E' embossed into the bootlid, and wether or not i want to keep the nissan lock, or go totally flush and remove it. i also have the issue(legaily issue too) of replacing the high level brake light, probably have an in-the-window job until i can sort something else out.

for now i bid farewall, and will give more pictures and updates tomorrow on the progress.

mitch.

[GWP021]

will look on with interest

are you sure anytime after beer oclock is a good time for a project start

[mitchy_]

it was well underway.. until i discovered the catalyst missing from my fibreglassing kit...have to wait until 5pm when my housemate gets home to go back to bunnings and get it

[**JaR**]

will look on with interest

are you sure anytime after beer oclock is a good time for a project start

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

same i reckon it'll look mad

[mitchy_]

as promised here is the next update...

i ended up catching the bus to bunnings, and grabbed the much needed catalyst, and soldiered on with my project..

i then proceeded to fill in the hole in the bootlid where the nissan logo/boot opener once lived... relatively easy job, applied a bit of tape over the hole, and bogged it up.. let it dry, sand and gave it one more bogging to make sure all gaps were filled, left for 30 mins then sanded the grap ot of it with a medium, then light grit sand paper.

it turned out like so..

mmm, smooth!

i then got to the real task at hand, leveling off the bootlid..

this one had me a little stumped at first, but i thought of a few ideas.

i started by taping up all the original spoiler holes, and over where the lip joined the bootlid and put some foam onto the boot as a base for the raise. then i stretched a bit of plastic drop sheet accross the bootlid, and taped it to the quarter panels, that gave me the desired hieght.

i then put down the first layer of resin, followed by a few small sheets of fibreglass. i let that sit to dry for a little while, then laid some cardboard over it to give it a bit more raise, and give it all flat, more resin, more fibreglass sheets, and more resin again.

i also bought a small 'strip' of fibreglass that i used to cover the back of the lip, and make the upwards part of the bootlid appear to be all as one.

now it is all sitting in the garage drying overnight, preparing me for a solid base to continue on with tomorrow.

here are pictures so far..

all the pictures can be found at : project pictures

Edited August 20, 2005 by mitchy_

[ix9]

Awesome dude, I knew the old bog/glass idea would be a winner Pending your success I think this project will be undertaken by myself also!

[mitchy_]

so far its successful, ive done a bulk of the raising..

tomorrow will hopefully just be getting it all to approx. one hieght, then bogging and sanding the gaps in the fibreglass, and pending how that turns out, i may get the painters to do a final touch to get it all perfect and level, and get it painted, leveled, and badgeless! \o/

[Nozila]

cant wait to see the end product

[Nemesis]

same here!

[mitchy_]

day 2 commences..

got most of the vertical part of the bootlid somewhat in shape today, it was much easier having a lip already there, i basically just bogged up the back of the lip to make it look like a continuation of the bootlid.

did a bit more fibreglassing on the top, not much though as i ran out of resin

that said i think i might give it a couple of days to set. even after leaving it overnight it wasn't completely dried, so if i leave it untill say wednesday, then thurs/fri ill sand the putty and fibreglass a bit, that gives me the weekend again with a nice smooth, solid surface to hopefully finish the project with.

again, all the photos are at project pics

Edited August 21, 2005 by mitchy_

[mitchy_]

just to be a tease..

Edited August 21, 2005 by mitchy_

[hazerb30]

Thats looking excellent. Good on ya for getting your hands dirty and trying something different.

Your car looks sick and i dont even like 33's!

[mitchy_]

cheers hazerb30

i like it cause it gives it a more 'sleek' coupe look

i was looking at putting a R34 style wing, or a GT wing on it, but after seeing it how it is, i think ill keep it like that, im even considering *not* selling the car now aswell..

[Starionturbo]

Ive seen a couple of these "fill in" jobs done here.

Give it 6 months and see the cracks in the bog and the sagging.

I want this look real bad and due to my job, I have spoken to many panel beaters about doing this, and filling it in certainly does not achieve good results.

For best results it needs to have new sheet metal grafted on.

[mitchy_]

GT N1K had his fibreglassed, and it even has a large GT wing on it. I personally looked at it, looked perfect to me!

[GWP021]

i like

how much extra weight has this added to the bootlid (curiosity not weight saving) does it still open easily

me i like the sunken lid plan on turfin spoiler tho

[Nozila]

is that a m-sports style front bar? looks nice

[ix9]

Ive seen a couple of these "fill in" jobs done here.

Give it 6 months and see the cracks in the bog and the sagging.

I want this look real bad and due to my job, I have spoken to many panel beaters about doing this, and filling it in certainly does not achieve good results.

You're a fag. What would happen to all teh fibreglass bonnets on cars these days?

[mitchy_]

is that a m-sports style front bar? looks nice

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

its a bit hard to see it being black, it all blends in, but its a trust style bar made by fibrevision in welshpool

Edited August 22, 2005 by mitchy_

[fane]

Ive seen a couple of these "fill in" jobs done here.

Give it 6 months and see the cracks in the bog and the sagging.

I want this look real bad and due to my job, I have spoken to many panel beaters about doing this, and filling it in certainly does not achieve good results.

For best results it needs to have new sheet metal grafted on.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

this seems a bit negative... considering the quality you can get out of glassing these days i cant see sagging as a problem nor can i see cracks... he isnt going to be suporting weight on it and it has been done before by GT NIK and he has a wing on his also... why would this be any different?