H Craft GT-R, Jared's build.

[Andy H Smith]

A little welding around the oil tank instal.

A little trimming of the hinge mounts to allow the body to move forward, a skill saw and some WD40 works a treat.

This shot shows where we have trimmed 1 1/2" of off the lower edge of the front valance for where we have lifted the splitter above the floor and added rake to it.

 

[Mark Setter]

I really like the look having less vertical body show above the splitter. Too late for me to do this, plus I don't have the skill. My plan is to paint the vertical body area above the splitter and below the "snout" the same black color as the splitter to reduce the bulky look created by that vertical area. What you are doing is WAY BETTER because you can also lower the front suspension and change the angle of the entire body. Great Job!!

 

[Andy H Smith]

Todays projects, we got the tail moved forward on the chassis the 7/8" like the rest of the panels this bought the wheel well into the centre of the opening.

The radiator got a frame fabricated up and bolted into place.

A lot of trimming went on opening up the rear window and vent apertures in the engine cover plus a bunch of trimming on the tail.


Then on to looking at how to make the engine cover hinge. Im looking at making a kit of pieces that others can also work with, the way I went about it on mine was closer to OEM but a real pain to get to work.
There's no saying that this will work yet but you've got to start somewhere.

 

[Ron McCall]

How about some additional pics of the radiator mount ??
Great idea on the hinges . Do you plan on adding gas struts as well?
That's a bummer about having to move the body on the chassis to locate the wheels on the openings. These are supposed to come fro the factory with the bodies aligned .And actually having to cut the chassis to make it happen??
I love the way you integrated the front fascia into the splitter with it's new(correct)location.
Great work!


Ron

 

[Andy H Smith]

Here you go Ron.

Yes there will be gas struts to hold the cover up, which also requires a set of wheel arch liners as its where the top of the strut mounts to.
The intent for now is to use the aero latches on the leading edge to hold the cover closed.

As for the body move, its not too bad to do, unfortunate, but as we do so many modifications along the way it allows us to improve the fit and finish at the same time. For someone in the garage at home it may be more of an issue.

 

[Andy H Smith]

Here is the Power steering unit all bracketed up to the tub.

And the pedals are mounted to the floor.

 

[Larry J Kishel]

I assume most of these parts your developing will be available to others just checking for future build

 

[Andy H Smith]

I assume most of these parts your developing will be available to others just checking for future build

Yes Larry, anything can be made again.

H

 

[Andy H Smith]

Genuine GT-R hand brake lever. Close enough to the real thing for sure, stick on a boot and you'll never know the difference.

OEM next to GT-R

On to some up front water pipes.

Beading the ends

Just the heater hoses to weld in up front.

And the mock ups for the tail hinge seemed to work okay so I've sent drawings out to the water jetting shop, should have parts by the end of the week.

 

[Andy H Smith]

Damming up to form returns so that the hood can open, these 1/8" aluminum strips have tabs on the top edge that go through slots cut on the cut line, once the glass has been played up on either side we will pull the ally out and cut the rest of the slot.

 

[Kurtiss H.]

Fantastic workmanship. The radiator and condenser install is so clean! The one piece radiator line is exactly what I want for mine.

 

[Clayton]

Love it, keep up the great work

Clayton

 

[Andy H Smith]

Fantastic workmanship. The radiator and condenser install is so clean! The one piece radiator line is exactly what I want for mine.

If you get stuck, get me some measurements and I,ll bend you some up Kurtiss.

 

[Andy H Smith]

Filler cap is now fitted to the fender, its mounted to a 1/8" thick aluminum ring which in turn has been bonder to the underside of the fender.

The radiator support plates have been added to, the return that we have created in separating the fenders from the hood will bolt on to these extensions, they are 1/8" aluminum so will support the radiator ducting and give me somewhere to mount the hood hinges.

 

[Rufus C Mathews Jr]

H,
Are you going to open the front clamshell or a small "trunk" like you did on your car?

 

[Andy H Smith]

H,
Are you going to open the front clamshell or a small "trunk" like you did on your car?

Hi Rufus, no just the hood like mine.

 

[Andy H Smith]

So this is how the flanges look on the hood once the damming has been removed, It will be left for a week before we cut the hood away from the fenders so that the GRP has time to completely cure and so as to lessen the chance of distorting.

 

[Andy H Smith]

Jared had requested the the roll hoop be tucked into the A pillars so as to be able to fit OEM style A pillar caps. Its a real fiddle to do as there is no room for error.
Once the new hoop is welded to the chassis where the roof fits is absolutely set, so its off with the whole body, cut up the cage and bend up a new hoop carefully! Then on with all the body panels again doors, hood, tail and all, check the fitment of the hoop and tack it in, then off with all the body again, weld it all up, paint and finally re assembly.

This will now except a OEM A pillar cap.

 

[Larry J Kishel]

H great work keep the pictures coming I am getting a lot of great ideas.

 

[Andy H Smith]

H great work keep the pictures coming I am getting a lot of great ideas.

Larry,
this car will end up in West Chester I think thats only 50 miles from you.