DIY Fiberglass "Rally Light Pod"

[davewilson]

So I’ve decided to do a DIY writeup for building your own rally style light pod out of fiberglass. This is a work in progress so it’ll probably be written up over a few weeks... or months haha.

Last winter driving home from the ski hill through the dark mountains at night I was having a terrible time trying to see the road. Not sure if it’s just my car, but the headlights on my 96 legacy wagon are brutal. The low beams scatter a bit of light at the ground, then when you switch over to the high beams it just scatters the light a little higher. I tried polishing the lenses but came to the conclusion that the reflector design in the headlight just sucks. So I picked up 4 hella 700FF’s off ebay and mounted 2 of them to the front bumper using the supplied mounts. With them wired in with the high beams the difference was like night and day... pardon the pun. They worked pretty good for the rest of the winter mounted like that but there were a couple things I didn’t like about the way they were mounted:

-The mounts worked okay, but if you even lightly bumped them they would move and it seemed that you’d have to re-aim them any time you wanted to use them.
-My biggest problem was that they were bolted on to the front of the car and there was no quick way of removing them so they were always subject to rocks, sand, road salt and weather.

I’ve always admired the light setups on rally cars with their big fancy cowls and quick release design so it didn’t take much for me to decide that I wanted to make a setup like that for my Legacy. I’ve got a bit of experience working with fibreglass at work, but we use all the proper tools including vacuum bagging and release cloths etc and this project I wanted to do on a budget so I started exploring some different techniques.

I’m going to build the pod using what’s called the “lost foam” technique. To get the general shape of the pod I’m going to carve it out of that pink polystyrene you can buy at home depot for insulating floors and walls. To saturate the fiberglass cloth I’ve decided to use polyester resin instead of epoxy resins because they are significantly cheaper. Unfortunately the polyester resins have a nasty appetite for the polystyrene foam so I had to figure out some sort of barrier between the two. I found out there are a few things people use for making a cheap release layer (and to protect the foam) including duct tape, parcel tape, car wax, or painting on PVA (cheap white glue). So far I’ve made a few test pieces using the different techniques and found the following:

Parcel tape: Protects and releases extremely well but really hard to conform to curves without getting wrinkles. Leaves a perfectly smooth surface if it is applied without wrinkles though.

Duct tape - releases and protects well but leaves a bit of a rough surface. A little better and conforming to curves than the parcel tape.

PVA glue - releases and protects fairly well but leaves a pretty rough surface. Really easy to apply to any shape though.

Still not sure which method I’m going to use, leaning towards the glue though.

Here are a couple of the quick test pieces I made. The first one that looks like a light pod is about 4” wide and carved out of pink foam. I painted it with PVA glue then after that dried I layed up 1 layer of really light cloth. Once the resin had cured I dissolved the foam down to a goo with a bit of laquer thinner then pulled out the dried PVA glue. It turned out okay, but it is really hard to make nice sharp 90 degree corners with cloth.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188349488_54dc21f32c-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188349488/)
DSC_0617 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188349488/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Here is a photo showing how well the PVA protects the foam from the polyester resin.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188349542_a12680934d-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188349542/)
DSC_0620 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188349542/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Stay tuned for more updates as I work away on this... and please, if you have any input, suggestions or improvements on my techniques feel free to comment! Thanks,

Dave.

[TGX4776]

I was just talking about wanting something like this on saturday at the meet. Are you going to make a mold and produce them? I suck at crafts so i would be willing to buy one off you.

[davewilson]

Unfortunately using the "lost foam" method of making fiberglass involves the mold being destroyed during the removal process. I'll see how mine turns out and how easy it is to make and might consider doing more, but for now I'm just making the one. This is all just an experiment for me, and it could go horribly wrong hahaha

Thanks for the interest though!

[emsalex]

i love playing with foam and fiber glass! but as far as a mold for multiple pods. your first casting can be your mold. you would just make one nice pod from the foam and make the piece more robust then normal and there is you mold for other pods, you can sand and mold that first one to get a final piece that needs alot less prep when don.

thats just how i would do it. i will be glued to this thread for shur.

[davewilson]

Okay, so I figured out a shape for the front of the light pod that I was happy with and layed it out on the 2" thick pink foam. I left an inch around each light to allow for mounting (more on how I'm going to mount them later)

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188349648_a2acf07c82-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188349648/)
DSC_0647 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188349648/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

I cut out the rough shape with a hacksaw blade then sanded it down with some 80 grit sandpaper. It cuts and sands really easily so don't worry about cutting a little outside of the line. Also, if you ding the foam or knock a little chunk out of it by accident don't worry too much as drywall spackling compound fills any small holes nicely.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187749327_3af51b4570-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187749327/)
DSC_0650 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187749327/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188350084_5c782d8ac4-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188350084/)
DSC_0651 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188350084/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

...

this is sick... i'll be keeping an eye on this one

[davewilson]

Wear some coveralls or old clothes you can leave in the garage, and try to do all your sanding outside... the foam dust clings to EVERYTHING!

I taped the front piece of foam to the front of the car and took a side photo so I could get an idea of where I would have to build the foam out to. When making the foam plug, I'm not too worried about making it conform perfectly to the hood of the car. My plan is to make all the fibreglass edges oversized so I can trim it down to the shape of the hood after the foam has been removed. If that doesn't make any sense it will when you see the photos. After looking at the dirt streaks in the photo a few times I took a break and went and washed my car.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188350170_c5e4cd8962-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188350170/)
DSC_0654 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188350170/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

I cut out a couple pieces to fill the bottom area of the plug then epoxied them in place. While I was waiting for the epoxy to kick I roughly cut out the rest of the foam pieces I would need.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Polyester based "Fibreglass Resins" are not the same as "Epoxy Resins". An epoxy, whether it's 5-minute, 30-minute, etc will not usually melt styrofoam, whereas the cheaper polyester based resins will eat away at the foam in a hurry. I would suggest trying a bit on some foam first to make sure though. I'm using LePage "Regular Epoxy" from home depot and it seems to be working fine.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188350468_5943b9a0e0-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188350468/)
DSC_0658 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188350468/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188350596_e2aff243b7-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188350596/)
DSC_0659 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188350596/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

[davewilson]

i love playing with foam and fiber glass! but as far as a mold for multiple pods. your first casting can be your mold. you would just make one nice pod from the foam and make the piece more robust then normal and there is you mold for other pods, you can sand and mold that first one to get a final piece that needs alot less prep when don.

thats just how i would do it. i will be glued to this thread for shur.

That's a good idea! I think for now I will probably just make this one as a one-off but if it looks good and there is enough interest I might try making a second more generic one as a mold. Thanks for the input!

[davewilson]

This is what it looked like after I got all of the foam layers epoxied in place:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188355402_6ecee55749-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355402/)
CSC_0659 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355402/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

And after 15 minutes with a hack saw blade and a box cutter:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188355118_75c97ccd58-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355118/)
DSC_0660 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355118/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

...

[davewilson]

A palm sander loaded with 80 grit smoothed things out pretty quick. It's still a little rough for sure, but there is still a lot more material to take off before it's down to the shape I want. I added a couple more pieces of foam where it looked like I might need them and set it aside while the epoxy cured and worked on a few other things.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188355226_9200d95d18-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355226/)
DSC_0661 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355226/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188355324_7333172703-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355324/)
DSC_0662 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355324/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

[davewilson]

While the epoxy was curing I did the grill mod as mentioned in this thread (http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=2214).

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187757645_eed58ffc36-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187757645/)
DSC_0666 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187757645/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

... and worked on the switch mounting for the headlights. I'm going to control the outer and inner lights on the pod separately and they will only be able to be on when the high beams are on.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188355586_8fa3265dfc-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355586/)
DSC_0663 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188355586/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188358716_c1941e06e4-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188358716/)
DSC_0665 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188358716/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

More to come soon hopefully, I'm going to be pretty busy for the next while with work so this might slow down a bit but I'm going to try to keep plugging away at it whenever I get a chance. Thanks for looking so far!

[emsalex]

Looking really really good man. I expected this thread to die off like most.

I'm very impressed good work

[davewilson]

Thanks! I've got it all sanded down to the shape I want now. Fiberglassing starts early tomorrow morning! Expect a decent progress update tomorrow!

[davewilson]

Here's a little more on the wiring. I fabbed up a little bracket to mount the relays on that mounts off of the factory fuse box under the hood. The idea is to keep the headlight relays fairly close to the lights themselves because the shorter the total length of wire from the battery to the light means the less voltage drop there will be... and the brighter the lights will be. I then bagged the relays to keep out the road spray and moisture.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187766297_94ef5729d0-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187766297/)
DSC_1039 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187766297/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187766397_77d40085b9-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187766397/)
DSC_1040 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187766397/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Here is the wiring diagram for how I wired up the lights. I wired in 2 relays, each controlling 2 of the lights on the light pod. The coils for the relays that control the lights on the light pod are hooked up in parallel with the high beam bulb on the car. This way when you switch off your high beams the light pod will turn off too.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187763355_5d3bcc35f0-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187763355/)
DSC_1017 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187763355/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

[davewilson]

A little more sanding and shaping of the styrofoam...

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187762815_41989cde85-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187762815/)
CSC_1005 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187762815/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Filling in some voids with drywall spackling compound.... (Note: don't use too much of this if you are using packing tape as a release/barrier. I found that the packing tape doesn't stick very well to the spackling compound.)

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187762937_904fcb4cc1-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187762937/)
CSC_1007 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187762937/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

While the drywall filler was drying I rounded the front edges so the fiberglass cloth wouldn't have to make too sharp a corner...

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188364644_396320ac10-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188364644/)
CSC_1016 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188364644/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

[davewilson]

Now do a quick photoshop to get yourself stoked!

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187763229_d1b66b89dc-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187763229/)
DSC_1043 copy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187763229/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

[davewilson]

Decided to go with parcel tape for a release as it seemed to leave the smoothest surface and was the easiest to remove from the test pieces I made. It conformed pretty well with curves on the light pod though some of the tighter curves had to be done with a bunch of little pieces and it took a lot longer than I thought it would to cover the whole thing in packing tape hahaha so the fiberglassing will start tomorrow.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188371876_8ec22b5429-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188371876/)
DSC_1050 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188371876/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188371994_c4c290d440-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188371994/)
DSC_1051 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188371994/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

There are a few little wrinkles here and there but for the most part the packing tape is fairly smooth. The overall shape seems pretty good too but there are a few small indents that will need some bondo work later on, though I'm not going for a showroom finish on this piece, it's more for function than form, though I'm trying hard to keep it from looking like a complete hack job too haha

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187770267_c457aaf89a-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187770267/)
DSC_1052 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187770267/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

[TGX4776]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLnWf1sQkjY


^^^ me when seeing this


it's like that girl who isn't ugly but you really like but she isn't hott either. but you feel like she is kinda dirty but seems conservative on the outside.

[anothernord]

Wow, this is really fantastic work. It will definitely turn heads when its done!

[TGX4776]

I take it you are going to colormatch this?

[davewilson]

Not sure on the colour matching... I've got a colour matched rattle can of the red... I may just finish it off with black and clear though. Getting the colour matched paint is pretty expensive and I'm trying to do this on a budget. Thanks everyone for the comments!

[SOREN]

Colourmatch spraybomb is super cheap here in Edmonton. 26 bux CAD for your paint code in a spraybomb at NAPA/Colormaxx. Do a 2 stage though (with a clear coat) it'll look wayy better.

[davewilson]

Here are a couple quick shots of how I modded the hella 700's so I could mount them solidly to the pod. I used some sturdy little shelf brackets from home depot and riveted them right to the light casing 120 degrees apart. The screws used for mounting will have springs or small chunks of tube on them between the light and the pod so I can aim them. I may use stacks of thin washers for a more permanent aiming.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188372332_8242a0e039-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188372332/)
DSC_1060 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188372332/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187770679_48b7a73b43-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187770679/)
DSC_1054 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187770679/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Fiberglassing is taking forever, it was -8*C here this morning when I was laying up the first layer on the bottom so it took hours to kick, but with a few heat lamps and a buddy heater it is hard now.

Thanks to everyone who is following along!

idk if you covered this or not.. but what if one of the lights burn out?

will you be able to access it?

[StatGSR]

^ worse case scenario looks like he would have 3 screws to back off...

[chuckthefuk]

nice

[davewilson]

The whole glass lamp assembly is one piece that comes out from the front with only 1 screw (you can see it at the bottom of the first photo), then you can change the bulb from the back of that assembly. The photos of showing the rivets from the inside are without the lamp in place. So ya just one screw if the light burns out. A chinook rolled in last night apparently so I'm off to the garage to lay up some 'glass! Thanks

[StatGSR]

What i want to know is how you were planning on mounting your pod. are you going to make it quick release or be more or less permanent?

[davewilson]

Going to make it quick release. Once the pod is cut down to the shape of the hood I'm going to build a fiberglass lip around it then mount it using either dzus 1/4 turn fasteners or homemade hood-pin style fasteners. The front of the pod (where most of the weight will be) will be supported by a couple adjustable rods that will be attached to the bumper, also quick release.

[davewilson]

Layed up the first layer of fiberglass in the following order: Bottom, top, front (with a couple inches of overhang that wrapped around). The trick with fiberglass is to use the least amount or resin possible while still saturating the fabric. You should still be able to see the weave in the fabric once you are done. More resin does not equal more strength as it is the fabric that carries the majority of the load, not the resin, if you have a bunch of resin with no fabric it actually creates a weak spot.

Here is the first layer of glass going on the bottom, it's hard to see in the photo as I forgot to take a photo before it was saturated with resin. A cool little trick: give the mold a very light misting with spray adhesive then let it dry until it is just tacky. It will hold the cloth in place nicely while you saturate it with resin!
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188372114_2a03a80818-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188372114/)
DSC_1053 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188372114/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Here is the top layer of cloth before I wet it with the resin. I probably should have done this in more than one piece as it was hard to get the cloth to stay tucked down in all the low points but in the end it still turned out pretty good. This layer overlapped the bottom layer by about 3 inches on either end. For the second top layer I think I will do each "hump" with a separate piece of cloth, with a couple inches of overlap between each one.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187770869_5b66a8a982-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187770869/)
DSC_1060 (2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187770869/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

And here it is wet with the resin.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188372552_de70440860-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188372552/)
DSC_1061 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188372552/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

I forgot to take a photo of the front piece of cloth being put on, but basically it was just a flat piece of cloth in the shape of the front with about 2 inches of overhang all the way around. I then cut notches in the fabric so it could wrap around the curve smoothly.

[davewilson]

Another tip with using resin: if you find the resin is making the cloth lift off of the piece you are working with, try moving the brush slower, pulling it along with very little force. If you do this the resin will readily slide off the brush and into the fabric, but if you pull quickly it seems to thicken up and stick. This is especially important when you are getting towards the end of the resins "pot-life" and it is starting to thicken up... which makes you tend to want to rush.

Here is the pod with one layer of glass all around, and all the little stray strands and curls sanded down. You can see it isn't anywhere close to a perfectly even surface, and it won't be until a little short strand bondo goes on after the second layer of fiberglass.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187771127_50649ee35e-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771127/)
DSC_1315 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771127/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187771317_d043e69462-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771317/)
DSC_1315zoomed (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771317/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187771229_5fb34513f2-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771229/)
DSC_1316 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771229/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Just to answer a few questions people might have on where I'm going from here, I plan on building up one more layer of cloth on the outside then doing a bit of bondo work to smooth things out. After that I will remove the foam from the fiberglass. I'm going to then cut it down to the shape of my hood, parcel tape off my hood, and build a lip on the pod that sits flush with the shape of the hood. Just 2 layers of cloth likely won't be strong enough for the finished pod, but it will hold the shape, so I will continue to do a few more layups on the inside, where looks don't matter. After that it will be a little more bondo and then mounting and paint.

[bulldozer24]

lookin good :smt023

[davewilson]

I did a second lay-up on the bottom yesterday. This morning I started adding a layer to each individual "hump." I cut the shape out of the cloth with the orientation of the weave 45 degrees off from the way it was oriented in the first layer. This adds a bit of extra strength (as opposed to having all the layers with the weave (or "grain") of the cloth going in the same direction) and also made it a little easier to conform to the curves. This is also called "bias" cutting I believe. I did the middle two humps, with about an inch or so of overlap between the two. It's starting to feel pretty solid now!

First of the two lay-ups I did this morning:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5188373548_221b664b09-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188373548/)
DSC_10612 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5188373548/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

First lay-up wet with resin, second lay-up in place:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187771607_ac36fc484c-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771607/)
DSC_1063 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771607/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

...and half wet:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187771719_72a73bae51-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771719/)
DSC_1064 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771719/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

It was -15*C here today, so had to encourage the resin to kick with a couple 500 watt lamps haha
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5187771799_f82f837e14-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771799/)
DSC_1065 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5187771799/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Once the first two lay-ups set (and my hands warmed up) I did the outer two humps. Tomorrow morning I will put one more lay-up on the front then hopefully by the afternoon it will be off the foam plug!

[anothernord]

I did a second lay-up on the bottom yesterday. This morning I started adding a layer to each individual "hump." I cut the shape out of the cloth with the orientation of the weave 45 degrees off from the way it was oriented in the first layer. This adds a bit of extra strength (as opposed to having all the layers with the weave (or "grain") of the cloth going in the same direction) and also made it a little easier to conform to the curves. This is also called "bias" cutting I believe. I did the middle two humps, with about an inch or so of overlap between the two. It's starting to feel pretty solid now!

-- Getting an internal server error when I try to upload the photos, I'll try again later. --

Try using Photobucket or Imageshack to upload your pictures to. Then copy the [img] code into your post and it'll show up. It works a little better than uploading them here.

[davewilson]

I did a second lay-up on the bottom yesterday...

Try using Photobucket or Imageshack to upload your pictures to. Then copy the [img] code into your post and it'll show up. It works a little better than uploading them here.

I've got a flickr account, if this doesn't start working soon I'll put them all up on there and edit my posts. Thanks,

Dave

[chuckthefuk]

just use imageshack.us

simple free no sign up and stays active for years.

-Chuck

[davewilson]

There, added all the photos from flickr. Thanks,

Dave

[Kiwi GT]

Nice work! I wish I had the patience and skill to do something like this.

[Sambo]

this is sweet thanks for doin the diy ! i cant wait to see the finished results

[02_Legacy]

this is sweet thanks for doin the diy ! i cant wait to see the finished results
+1 I'v been checking up on this everytime I see another post, i'm glad that you are actually doing this project instead of letting it fizzle off like so many other projects.

[jewbaru]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLnWf1sQkjY


^^^ me when seeing this


it's like that girl who isn't ugly but you really like but she isn't hott either. but you feel like she is kinda dirty but seems conservative on the outside.


lmao! :smt046

[davewilson]

Melted/cut/cursed the foam out yesterday haha. I started by pouring about a cup of laquer thinner on the foam and it did a pretty good job of melting out half of the foam and making a sticky, gooey mess. I then realized I was out of laquer thinner so I resorted to cutting out chunks with a box cutter and a sharpened paint scraper. Once the foam was out, I started pulling out the parcel tape. The ink from the tape transferred into the resin so it was difficult to see at times where there was tape left. Getting all the tape out was a very tedious and time consuming, but it all came off fairly easily. Now I'm left with a fiberglass pod that holds its shape well but is a little floppy. Going to cut it down to the shape of the hood today then start beefing it up from the inside. Pretty stoked to see it off of the foam!

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5195501840_d17d748be4-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5195501840/)
DSC_1061 (2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5195501840/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5194901473_d7e8cbd958-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5194901473/)
DSC_1062 (2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5194901473/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5194901765_075047de8b-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5194901765/)
DSC_1063 (2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5194901765/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5195502588_4dd0f7124e-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5195502588/)
DSC_1071 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5195502588/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5194902023_b4058467cc-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5194902023/)
DSC_1070 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5194902023/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5194901927_4b30bd994b-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5194901927/)
DSC_1069 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5194901927/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

[jewbaru]

lookin great man, the suspense is killing me haha

[davewilson]

Cut off almost 1/3 of the fiberglass it seems like, but thanks to the help of an awesome (and now cold) girlfriend the pod is roughly cut down to the shape of the front of the car. Now it's time to beef it up a bunch more from the inside, build the mounting lip, bondo all the rough spots, cut out the holes for the lights, then paint it! Thanks to everyone who is following this, the comments really help me stay motivated!

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5196630836_6fd321dc7e-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5196630836/)
DSC_1077 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5196630836/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5196030127_73f1e76ca8-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5196030127/)
DSC_1081 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5196030127/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5196029893_4fa5cd4707-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5196029893/)
DSC_1079 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5196029893/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/11/5196030019_db90a6d5d0-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5196030019/)
DSC_1080 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5196030019/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

glad im not the only one who commits my girlfriend to manual labor lol

[Kiwi GT]

Lol, me too. Last time I got her to help, she dropped a 4EAT on her finger!! I didn't hear the end of that for quite some time....

[jewbaru]

my girl refuses to par-take in anything to do with my car.. :smt011

sometimes if i put up a big enough fuss about it she just bites her tonque and lends a hand.. but thats a rarity haha :smt012

she thinks its a waste of time and money, and since she doesnt understand any of the mechanical jibberish that comes outta my mouth she wont even listen :smt013

:smt018

deffinately something i remember whenever she asks me to help her out with her ride lol

even tho im a sucka and help her out ever time.. :smt017 still havent figured out why girls make the world go round... :smt030

[jewbaru]

whats her feeling on the light pod? i can already hear my girl now haha. " that looks fucking stupid.. why do you want that big thing on the front of your car.." blah blah blah

but hey, i love it :smt023

[grayguy]

even tho I've never liked these pods, I do admire your craftsmanship, very nice job.

[davewilson]

whats her feeling on the light pod? i can already hear my girl now haha. " that looks fucking stupid.. why do you want that big thing on the front of your car.." blah blah blah

but hey, i love it :smt023

Haha I asked her this yesterday and she actually thinks its pretty cool. She's a pretty awesome girl, was excited to tell me about her drifting on the way home from work the other day in the snow, and I can point to almost anything on a car and she can not only tell me what it is, but she knows what it's job is and how it works.

[jewbaru]

damn man. sounds like you lucked out hardcore lmao. wanna trade pink slips haha

[TGX4776]

lol

[davewilson]

hahaha

[grayguy]

Nice. We ice race my GF's 99' 2.5rs Daily driver haha.

[xoSubieLegacyxo]

I really like how this project is going! I might try to do this myself, although my DIY record is 0-2!!!!!!

[davewilson]

The front flat part of the light pod is all beefed up now with 2 extra layers of fiberglass layed-up on the inside of the pod.

I will still be working on this pod whenever I get the chance but I was only working part-time for the past little while, which is why I was making good progress on this project. Now I've got a full-time job... as well as the part-time job from before so I'm a little busy to say the least haha! Don't worry though, this thing will get finished soon enough, I'm way too stoked about it to just let it slide!

Thanks again to everyone that is following along!
Dave

[darryl]

this is awesome

[chuckthefuk]

you owe it to SLi to finish this project. I cant handle another custom thread that just dies..

Very very cool work, I commend you for glassing in the cold not many people would do this.

Also I congratulation you on finding a girlfriend who is on the same level as you.. I've been searching for years but it always ends in... "whats the thing?" ... "its a turbocharger" ... "does it make the car go faster?" ... "do you deliberately not listen to me?"

Cheers
-Chuck

[bulldozer24]

Any updates

[davewilson]

iam currently working 7 in the morning to 10 at night mon-fri... But i've got this weekend off so check for some updates then. Thanks!

Dave

[davewilson]

Got time to throw up some photos, will add the writeup later!
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5236676857_a4dda072bc-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5236676857/)
DSC_1110 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5236676857/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5236677017_e5e9874680-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5236677017/)
DSC_1111 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5236677017/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5237270524_2e51d63187-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237270524/)
DSC_1112 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237270524/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5236677473_b2b556ebb2-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5236677473/)
DSC_1117 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5236677473/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5237270972_348f73ea51-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237270972/)
DSC_1118 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237270972/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5236677793_6fdedb938e-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5236677793/)
DSC_1119 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5236677793/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5237271358_d5c369baf5-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237271358/)
DSC_1120 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237271358/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5237271630_48696cd23c-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237271630/)
DSC_1124 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237271630/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5237271848_983e9e379c-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237271848/)
DSC_1127 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5237271848/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
Gotta say it's a ton stiffer with even just the two layers on the lip.

[xoSubieLegacyxo]

how are you going to attach this to the car?

[davewilson]

This is my plan, it's subject to change though. I figure if I have the light pod pinned down with the clips on the inside of the hood nobody could walk away with it too easily.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5242600419_f74b675806-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5242600419/)
DSC_1128 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5242600419/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

And this is similar to what I mean for support in the front:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5243222444_02e8834893-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5243222444/)
ssoobie_lights (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5243222444/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

[subyfreak619]

im diggin the pin idea for the pod and hood. it would be hard to steal unless they wanted to rip it off

[dodik]

I dont know if this is a bit late but for strength i found the random cut fiberglass mat seems to be more rigid when cured it is a bit thicker and since strands are random and not weaved it holds shape much better. cool project keep up the great work

[davewilson]

thanks, thats good to know! Hopefully i'll get around to putting that in this weekend

[emsalex]

Wow I forgot about this, lookin good man, that spray glue trick is amazing, I wonder how many times I have fought with the first layer of fiber glass with a can for spray adhesive like two feet away,

Keep up the good work and just be happy your not working from 8am to 8am two days later like me!

[Hoak]

Wow, really excited to see the final product. Great work!!

[davewilson]

Here's a small update. I forgot to add these photos earlier but before I built the mounting lip, I beefed up the front from the inside with 2 more layers of glass. I used 7 harness weave fiberglass, and as you can see it shapes to the curves a lot nicer than the cheap bondo fiberglass.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5274630976_0ca387cd0a-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5274630976/)
DSC_1085 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5274630976/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5274631398_8201b9d2da-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5274631398/)
DSC_1086 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5274631398/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

It's been really cold lately and I haven't done much fiberglassing, but I have cut out the last layers that I'll be adding, 1 more layer on the lip from the inside, and some chop-strand-mat on the inside to make things a little more rigid.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5274023027_ebb6f21d78-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5274023027/)
DSC_1153 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5274023027/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5274630354_5f0c68c8b6-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5274630354/)
DSC_1154 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5274630354/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Hopefully I'll be mixing up some resin later today and that should be the end of the fiberglassing!!

[lord flashheart]

This thread is so sick haha

[chuckthefuk]

Whats the current weight of the pod?

Before you add the extra layers in the last picture?
-Chuck

[davewilson]

2 lbs 14 ozs so far, each light will add 1 lb 9 ozs. I figure all finished and ready to mount the pod will be between 12 and 14 lbs.

[anothernord]

This is really well done! Can't wait to see it finished.

[one bad bg]

im for sure buying one if you make a mold of the completed product.

[TGX4776]

agreed

[99gtlimited]

nicely done sir! gotta love good o'l fiberglass...

if you want it to kick faster, even in colder temps, just add a slightly higher ratio of hardener and stir the mixture thoroughly for a couple minutes before you start to wet out the fiber. Don't use too much, or wait too long though, or you'll end up wasting resin since it might kick before you can apply it.

[davewilson]

k, its hammer time now! I've got a big trip to the mountains this weekend and I want to have these lights ready before I leave Friday morning! So, I'm bondoing them up the best I can, but they may get painted and mounted up before they are perfect. I'll probably skip on the clear coat for now, that way if I miss any big chunks with the bondo I can just sand/fill/paint then clear it all later.

A couple days ago I got the fiberglass layers on the inside all finished, then today I cut most of the mounting lip down to shape. I got a few layers of bondo short-strand body-filler on and sanded down
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5298752029_e930ac9aaa-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5298752029/)
DSC_1209 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5298752029/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5299353188_3b4d96d301-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5299353188/)
DSC_1211 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5299353188/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5298751889_1a89b616bd-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5298751889/)
DSC_1215 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5298751889/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Was looking pretty nice and smooth when I was washing the bondo sanding dust off:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5299353330_1726cdc80b-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5299353330/)
DSC_1217 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5299353330/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Hoping to power through the rest of the bondo tomorrow night, and maybe even get the light holes cut out. Wednesday I'll be priming and painting and between coats I'll be taking my bumper off to drill holes to mount the support turnbuckles. Then Thursday will be final fitting and aiming. I'm not sure how the hell I'm going to get all of this done in the next few evenings but I'm going to try!

[R98LGT]

Nice work, Nice documentation, Happy Holidays!

[one bad bg]

i smell a group buy coming soon

[davewilson]

Considering the time and money thats going into making the first one, I don't think I'll be mass producing them any time soon! Who knows though, I may try to pop a mold off of this one sometime. Thanks for the interest... bondo's kicked, back to sanding!

[TGX4776]

you should seriously. this would be freaking amazing

[one bad bg]

agreed. if you could make a 2 piece mold, it would make mass producing them easy. put the mold together, pour in dura-glass, wait till it dries, take apart 2 pieces of the mold and product done.

[davewilson]

K, so here it is all bondo'd up and the light holes cut out. I layed all the lights on the inside and traced their outline, then held it up to a bright light and cut it out with a diamond cut-off wheel on my dremel from the outside. Sure, the holes aren't perfect, but they're just going to get blasted by rocks and sand all night long so they're good enough haha!

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5301910705_5b3f91834a-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5301910705/)
DSC_1259 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5301910705/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

And now for the big V.P. update... (V.P. = visual progress, something that doesn't take much work or time, but visually it looks like you've made tons of progress! We use this term lots at work!).

I washed the pod off really well the shot it with a quick coat of primer then plunked the lights in with a bit of duct tape to see what it's going to look like! I'm pleased to say the least!

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5301910983_034079ffb7-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5301910983/)
DSC_1261 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5301910983/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5302503714_2c6d8e3cb0-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5302503714/)
DSC_1262 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5302503714/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/12/5302503796_2d625fb7ec-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5302503796/)
DSC_1260 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5302503796/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Next comes a bit of glazing putty to fill in some pin holes here and there, then I have to figure out exactly how I'm going to mount the dang thing and drill a bunch of holes in my car. Also, there was no noticable change in the stiffness of the pod once I cut the light holes out. Thanks to this project I've found that flat fiberglass is pretty flexy, even with a bunch of layers. Compound curves on the other hand are quite rigid, even with just a couple layers.

[Reason]

Great job, looks professional. What is the overall weight so far with the lights?

[02_Legacy]

Are you going to put some kind of guard over the lights or just leave them as in your pic? IMO it would look better with something over the lights.

[one bad bg]

very nice work. well done. whats been your total time and money invested?

[xoSubieLegacyxo]

This is so AWESOME!!!! I'm so making one when I get the time. Nice job and I hope all your time money and effort will be shown in this project!

[emsalex]

i need my fiberglass fix man update,

work,family,girls, forget them and update damnit!

[R98LGT]

Keep it up very nice work

[davewilson]

Bolted up the lights and mounting hardware to test fit them and to wire up the lights. The lights are aimed with stacks of washers between the mounting tabs and the front of the pod.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5321985261_c3e39dd8c2-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321985261/)
DSC_1278 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321985261/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5322588746_fd6a19c605-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5322588746/)
DSC_1269 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5322588746/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5321985959_ff4757d0c2-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321985959/)
DSC_1272 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321985959/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

I removed the lights and hardware after the test fitting, then filled in a bunch of little pin holes with glazing putty. A final washing, then another light coat of primer and a few coats of cheap black spray paint. Come summer I'll probably give it a better coat of paint and a good coat of clear.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5321985701_7a2b585d1a-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321985701/)
DSC_1285 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321985701/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5321984905_854f79d469-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321984905/)
DSC_1288 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321984905/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5322589804_278bd2d5b7-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5322589804/)
IMG_5584 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5322589804/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

(my buddy Dale's 02 LGT in the background)
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5321986335_5c2a508ffe-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321986335/)
IMG_5583 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321986335/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5321986415_1870d7c9c3-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321986415/)
IMG_5581 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5321986415/) by Dwilson675 (http://www.flickr.com/people/dwilson675/), on Flickr

Cheers,
Dave.

[TGX4776]

if i knew where you lived i would steal that! j/k How much to make another? I will save my pennies

[daddywagon]

Now that is sick.

[xoSubieLegacyxo]

Truly Amazing. Nice work Dave!! I'm taking my time on my fiberglass enclosure, so it may not be complete until spring :(

[Reason]

Great job, one of the best projects on here.

[TGX4776]

lol we should do an sl-i awards every january

[one bad bg]

lol we should do an sl-i awards every january

like a "best of _____" for various categories? i kinda like that idea

[LiCelsior]

that is freakin EPIC! great job dude.

[chuckthefuk]

If you want awards talk to Reason & Airgne.. they will get the ball rollin'

I vote "best DIY product" of the year on this one. Looks super clean and super stable!

-Chuck

[emsalex]

or how much to molest that thing and get a mold!

[RS MN]

fantastic job! kudos to you sir!

[jospgut]

Looks amazing!!!!, can you make me one? lol

[davewilson]

One more post.... a comparison shot with the lights on, all taken with the same exposure settings. The field wasn't the best setting for this, I'll have to go out in the woods sometime so you can see how far down the road the lights actually project, it's pretty impressive!

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5403848920_a09c3c1623-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5403848920/)


...aaaand a few action shots!

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5403227881_0ed5489746-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5403227881/)
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5403229535_80fdbed0f9-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5403229535/)
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5403829404_ef60f6577e-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5403829404/)
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2011/01/5403829156_4c4d6638ca-1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwilson675/5403829156/)

[Reason]

These action shots would have been.great for the calendar!

[02_Legacy]

amazing!! good job on the pod, it looks sexy

[skippymo]

These action shots would have been.great for the calendar!
i was just thinking the same thing! looks like a real smooth drift in the 1st pic.

nice job dude!

[cmilligan724]

i would make u pull over and i would just sit there and look at that pod! i want one and i want it now mommy! lol its like if my car can have a orgasm it would be because of that hanging off it!!! Ur my new role model my freind

[99gtlimited]

Again, very well done. A few thoughts:

If you didn't use a sacrificial plug, and instead went with a Female (negative) mold, you could be mass-producing these things for some serious profit. With a good mold, you could make 2 or 3 of these per day if you went at it full time, and your expenses would only be FG, resin, and the cost of your time, and you could easily sell these for $200+.

Not to mention, with the female mold, you're outside surface is your tooled surface, and would need much less filling/sanding etc.

[skippymo]

you could always use the existing pod to make a mold. make sure you spray the hell out of it with mold release and go to town. then use that perfect mold to glass up from the inside....

[xoSubieLegacyxo]

sorry Dave, but I threw out the fiberglass idea and I'm fabricating a metal bar instead!

[TGX4776]

BUMP! Still interested in paying you to make another! would look great with the direction I am going. Or if you ever decide to sell it I call dibbs.