CMC question

I read one of the questions in the forum and have a question about drooping rear section (drooping rear section? sounds like these cars are just like us getting older) Anyway,how would you fix a drooping rear section on a CMC? I bought a CMC that has never been on the road, so I would assume the rear section isn't drooping, but if I notice that it is, now would be an excelent time to fix it. It's mounted on a vw frame already, but no engine or interior, so like I said good time to fix anything. I can probably take the body off very easily now I would assume. Also, what should I start on first. I'm thinking I should take the body off to paint it and detail the frame, redo brakes, etc. I would think that everything would be easier to do with the body off. Any info at this stage would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rick

Never been on the road, eh;
A few ??

Does it have a transaxle mounted? Swing axle or IRS Rear?
Is the chassis bolted down?
Steering column?
Chassis # matches title?
Rusty underside?
Does it bounce,F+R (test springs/shocks) ?

The transaxle is mounted and has been overhauled, it's IRS. The chassis is bolted down, also what do you think of fiberglassing chassis to the frame? I would rather not so I can take it off at a later date if needed, but not set on that idea. Not sure if chassis # matches title, I'll check.It is and has been non opted so probably shouldn't be a problem. No rust at all, has been garaged all the time. Have to check the bounce.
Thanks,
Rick

Take the body off. Re-do the chassis. Wire the car with it off the chassis (your back and shoulders will thank you). You can basically assemble most of the car off the chassis and have to only connect a couple of things to mate the two. I did not glass mine....I had enough glass work already.

Thanks for the info. The blue on you car looks excellent, haven't decided on what color to paint mine. Wife likes white, but we'll see. I know how to paint it myself so that will save me some $$$. I'll post pictures later.
Rick

Jeff--factastic job, my friend. What happened to the red car--I assume the blue one is the same car but repaired?

Ciongratulations--you done good!---Jack

Richard:

Getting back to your original question (and how quickly we get hijacked on here...) The way to tell if the rear is drooping is very simple. Close both doors, stand to the side of your car and look at the vertical seam along the rear of the doors. The seam should be the same width all the way along that rear vertical edge from bottom to top.

If it starts out close at the bottom (3/16"-1/4"), but then gets appreciably wider as you go towards the top of the seam, then you have a droopy rear. Do a search on here and you'll find out how to correct it (it's easy, and can be done in about an hour).

If it IS the same all the way up (or is close enough that you can live with it), then leave it alone.

Jeff:

Please tell me that you've moved that oil cooler from in front of the cold air inlet to your fan shroud, otherwise you'll be sucking warm to hot air into an inlet that expects to see cold air.

Jeff your wife likes white ? .... this is GM artic white !

Jack,
Yes...thats the same car. The original owner had the unstarted CMC body on the side of his garage for years. While sitting there....minding its own business....a drunk driver jumped the curb and smashed into the body. The chassis was in the garage.

I bought a new fender from Henry at Intermeccanica and had it shipped to Massachusetts. I was able to graft it on, repair many spiderweb cracks, fit the door, and get it up and running. I painted it myself as well in the garage. I don't know what color it was since I just took some colar chips from my local Sherwin Williams.

All of the original CMC parts were in their original packaging, including the windshield in its original wooden crate. I also got a 3 foot high, 12 inch in diameter roll of fiberglass matt. I have been using that roll for years and have just made a dent in it!

Gordon...yes...that cooler was moved before the car was assembled.

Nice job!

Please let me know how you repaired the cracks, I have some similar work to do on my Spyder. Someone tapped me from behind at a stoplight a couple years ago, still haven't fixed it. My car needs a total repaint anyway to remove all the rock chips, scratches, etc. I also want to add some red darts on the rear fenders and install the new turn and taillights. It is silver so IMHO it cannot be properly matched, it must be resprayed. How hard was it to do yourself?

My hobby is "restoring" (that might be reflective of higher quality work than I do...) old, abandoned, abused kits from the 60-80's. Its just a hobby, nothing more. I have a full time job and a full time sports involved 14 year old son that takes most of my time. So any suggestions I make are just based on the 10 or so kits I have played with.

With that caveat I suggest the following for cracks:

First, you need to find out how deep they are. Ae they into the fiberglass substrate? Or just slight ones into the gelcoat? If they are substantial I suggest the following:

1. If there is a large crack make sure it is in its correct position. Grind the back of the cracked area at least 2-3 inches out on each side from the crack with some 80 grit paper. A small angle grinder witha 2" disc works great. Mix up some resin and apply 2-3 layers of fiberglass cloth and resin to the back of the area.
2. Once the cloth is hardened, take a dremel tool and route out the crack. Be sure to go as deep as the crack goes. You can use a spiral bit (they get dull quick) or a bit used to cut ceramic tile. I go through and router them all and then angle the dremel to get a nice bevel on each crack. It doesn't have to be real wide (1/2" maybe) but it should be a nice little valley. The larger the crack (ie: through the fiberglass) the larger the bevel should be.
3. The next step you have two options. You can mix up some 3M High Strength Reinforced Filler (HSRF) or use some finely cut fiberglass matt and resin. Mix either one up and press into the cracks you have routered out. I would not use the HRSF on any crack that went through the glass. Its really only used on gelcoat cracks. It will not stick to the gelcoat so you just press it into the valley and make contact with bare glass. Its also expensive.
4. Once dried remove the extra filler or matt/resin and shape with some 120 grit. Apply a high quality filler (I use Rage Gold) and finish sanding with 320. The amount of filler left on the car will be very minimal. I fact, if you do a good job, you can probably just use a good two part putty like Metal Glaze and spread it with some single ege razors to fill in any pin holes.


For painting you need to sand the entire car with 320 grit. Your not trying to sand through the gelcoat, but rather provide some bit for the primer. For primer I used Evercoat G2. It sprays real thick so I thin by 20% with acetone and spray with a 1.8mm tip. I shoot two to three wet coats and let fully cure. I then use a long block with 220 and finish with 400. Any burn through I re-spray that area and re-sand. You can then shoot your favorite color.

CMC Droopy Body Fix:
http://speedstershop.com/viewtopic.php?t=188&highlight=cmc

Sorry for the thread hijack!

I have heard similar techniques before, so thanks for reinforcing, Jeff. One crack goes through to the back side, but most are just spider cracks in the gelcoat. My whole rear clip on the Spyder got moved and so it was tweaked. I couldn't successfully straighten the hinges so I replaced them. My car has the fish gill type air intakes in front of the fenders(550a) and that part is going to be a real pain to repair the cracks. But other than that it shouldn't be too bad.