Are you Bored enough to watch… Project DS911

You took an angle grinder to a thousand quid bonnet AND you’ve got a sauna? WCA, you go up in my estimation every episode 👍

The bonnet was much less than £1000 after being restyled by a DHL lorry.

The sauna and hot tub is something I knocked up myself to help me medically. I knackered my ankle so struggle with walking and end up with tight and twisted muscles. Sitting in the tub and then the sauna most evenings relieves the tension allowing me to continue to arse about the next day.

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There is no way I could afford to get one built and installed by someone else.

If you watched the last episode then I think I mentioned that I am doing the bumper/airdam next.

It needs to be quite deep to cover the 911 radiators and other bits so I got my friendly free AI image generator to produce some options. What do you reckon?

I am currently thinking that I will mostly do the left hand one but with the bumper and spots fromt he right hand picture.

Thoughts? Alternative images?

Datsun 240z front end was the first thing that popped into my head
Could you not reverse the sweep so the lower air dam sits more vertical?
Some black grills under the headlights could look purposeful

Good call. A quick google shows various options and the more vertical dam is a LOT easier to mold that the V in the pictures above which will probably cause mechanical grab when trying to free the part from the mold.

I am now thinking the bumper from the right but the side lights and more angled corner on the air vent from the left. The dam then drops straight down with a little forward sweep and a small front splitter. Vents cut into the dam for the radiator feeds.

Following advice from this thread and the one about aero undertrays, the front air dam is almost complete and you can watch the thrilling build video here first : https://youtu.be/fo8EVqWc7Vg

Any feedback on these videos?

Things have slowed a little as the weather is either too cold for glass/resin work I need to do, too rainy for the bonnet styling I want to do, or both. I was hoping to get the next episode out next weekend but it is looking unlikely.

I am trying to decide whether it is best to finish the airdam plug, make a mold and pop out a panel that I can then use to align the rest against

or

finish the airdam plug and then crack on with the bonnet and wings before making any moulds and panels.

To much time thinking and watching the rain I guess.

Woo Hoo! It has been a while but brace yourself for the most exciting video episode that I will release this morning!!!

Nice work WCA! I’m enjoying this series far more than most things on TV.

It’s certainly coming along 👍. I can’t help worry though that even a mild ‘bump’ to the front is going to undo all your hard work. WCA, is your red car (BMW?) a similar build?

Don’t forget that everything you see so far is just the plug over which I will make moulds and it is from these molds that I will take the panels. All this foam I am pissing about with is going to be junked. This will leave me with a number of strong carbon fibre body panels mounted securely to the car (in ways I have yet to discover) and should they get damaged in a smash, I will have the molds ready and waiting to make new ones.

Yeas, the red cart (BMW Z300S Barchetta) is a similar construction, just in glass fibre instead of carbon fibre. It is for sale to pay for this project if you want it.

I am a fool, I obviously have no idea how these things are done 🙄

No thanks re the car, although it is very nice.

Watty – That is why I do these detailed and instructional video tutorials 😉

Yeah, I’m obviously jumping the gun somewhat!

And here is the much anticipated Shaping the Bonnet release : https://youtu.be/bfflMVhgCH8

Stay until the end tio see what has ruined my Easter weekend.

It will get better! 🌞

Yeah, I woke up this morning with the certain realisation that what was needed was an undertray that the airdam could bolt to. This would hold that in place and I could also then build a proper support structure for the front wings while I build the plug.

The challenge with the under tray is calculating the aerodynamic loads and the cooling requirements with venting for the radiator exits while not impinging on the brake ducts. I have spent the entire time since waking doing the maths required and calculating the load spread based on a carbon Kevlar shell over a foam core shaped to create low pressure under the front axle.

I think Version 0.073 is just about perfect. Now to order the materials

Friday was a write off as a day with weather.

Saturday I was in London for a family birthday so no progress made.

Sunday I just needed to fit a couple of Rivnuts so I had something to bolts the planned undertray to. Easy except that requires a 13mm metal bit and the largest I could find was 11mm. I was tempted to just wiggle it about i bit but decided not to as I wanted the rivnut to be held tight so popped down to Screwfix to get the 13mm bit. Then I remembered that every shop has to shut because a couple of millennium ago a supposedly dead bloke was found to have been less dead than expected so progress on the car.

Monday I finally get the drill bit and make nice snug holes for the rivnuts and as I pull the tool tight on the first one…

Well I think the picture shows why there was no progress on the car today.

Why did you not fix the tool?

Also, you can use an impact driver to pull the rivnut in

Why did you not fix the tool? It was a very cheap one I bought about many years ago and I preferred to replace it with a better one.

Also, you can use an impact driver to pull the rivnut in I didn’t know that, but will remember if it the new one breaks

The bank Holiday weekend gave me time to p[rogress (a bit) https://youtu.be/DAPJyDRhfQ0

All in with the carbon and Diolen next…

Here we go, the project if finished!!!!*

*Obviously that is over excited YouTube clickbait but I do actually finish the first part that will be on the final car. Not only do I have a carbon fibre disaster but I make it even tougher with the careful inclusion of Diolen (cheap Kevlar)

Enjoy, like and subscribe

Now your friday night is complete. Here is the latest episode completed after working morning and night to achieve, well, doesn’t actually look like that much but I am a whole lot further forward than I was and I get to use 3M Glass Baubles to make body filler – stay to the end to see how that works out.

Great episode, it’s coming along nicely WCA. 👍

Just got out the garage after 2.5 hours of more mixing and filling. About 1/3rd of the airdam now has filler on it and I am waiting for it to dry. I mixed this lot much stiffer and it was both a pig to get properly mixed in and harder to apply as it dragged and puckered rather than flowing on like icing. I am thinking that after I finish this base layer and sand down ready for the next, I will mix the top layer to a similar consistency as you see in that video.

Anyway, of to set up the art exhibition now.

This week’s Shed and Buried, Classic Cars might be right up your street. E type Jag rusty shell on a 90s BMW chassis. Series 1 episode 8, probably repeated on Quest sometime.

https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/show/shed-and-buried-classic-cars

I’m very familiar with that E-type. It was built by the multi talented Mike Hill of Survivor Customs and I shot its first magazine feature 8 or 9 years ago.

Episode is on YT should anyone want to watch it.

Latest episode, I am not in a good mood right now : https://youtu.be/_ZliKTsRjes

Cheer up WCA, you’ll think of something. 😃👍

Can you loose the lip on top of the air dam behind the bumper?

Bruce – That was one of my options but it makes it quite a bluff front.

I ‘think’ I have decided to keep the air dam shape as it is but cut 6 inches out of each side to pull the whole front of it backwards. This will just mean reshaping the side parts and possibly cutting and refinishing the flat floor. I am leaving the floor alone for the moment while I work on the bonnet to get that shaped and aligned. This will let me see just how far I can move everything backwards and then decide if the flat floor is left cutting forward like a race car splitter or is cut to fit.

For all you car obsessives, I am just back from 2 hours work in the garage and then a quick bit oif video editing to bring you the latest episode of the DS911 saga.

HAppy viewing and watch to the end to improve my viewing durations and upgrade me in the algorithm – I mean to hear my humorous ending comments.

Latest video is out : https://youtu.be/TQOjRoyYxI8

I just checked the stats and it turns out that only 4 of you are watched the last one so I might not keep updating this thread with the links. If you do watch and want to be told when they are released then let me know, otherwise I will rely on you being subscribed and getting the alerts from there.

I’m subscribed and await each episode eagerly 🚙 👍

I’ve watched them all but no longer via the links here.

Coming on well, keep it up!

Cheers guys. I am glad you are interested / bored enough. More’glass bring delivered this morning so i should be able to finish the second wing and get them both glassed and with filler on.

It is getting close to actually having the body plug complete. Probably just another 72,000 hours of sanding to go.

Vlog 18 – right wing, says the man in the black shirt and combatty-looking jacket on the thumbnail.  Is this an election special? 🤔

(I’m watching them, too)

I’m subscribed but I’m also subscribed to lots of (frankly lesser) channels so whilst I don’t click through from here (I watch on the yt app on Apple TV) I do use this thread to alert me to a new episode.

keep up the good work, it’s great to see someone having a go at something daft – it has a charm the more polished channels just don’t have

Nah, you can’t stop now. There are 4 or 5 of us hooked.

When you first stated your intentions, I thought you were mental. That poor 911! However, things are progressing and I admire your perseverance.  You’re still a bit juts though!