2000 replies to this topic

[badpenny]

This is cool, I have been looking around in my area and found a VW mod shop. I will have to see if they have the flowers. I love this idea.

[warder]

I just read all 30 pages, and I have no regrets.(With 56k you regret things) Its amazing how much time and effort you have put into the car, really awesome build thread! I think Ive learned more useful things reading this than I would during a normal school year. So detailed and lso many pictures. Your car looks so GREAT! Cant wait to see what the final weight is compared to a stock car.

[kakabox]

This is cool, I have been looking around in my area and found a VW mod shop.  I will have to see if they have the flowers.  I love this idea.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey thanks! It's different, but, I like it...I think it fits the KAKABOX: stripped down to the mere essentials, no interior, no wipers, no frills...and now, not even a gas filler door!

BTW, it was lxndr's idea to use a VW Rabbit 'flower' gas cap.

[badpenny]

BTW, it was lxndr's idea to use a VW Rabbit 'flower' gas cap.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, we have all known for a long time that lxndr was cool. You are pulling a distant 5th and closing.

[kakabox]

I just read all 30 pages, and I have no regrets.(With 56k you regret things)

Cant wait to see what the final weight is compared to a stock car.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow, you have patience! Thank you for the kind words.

Yeah, I can't wait either...it'll be weighed when I corner balance it. I'll get a pic of the corner weights and post it.

[toxicshit]

  Wow, you have patience!  Thank you for the kind words.

Yeah, I can't wait either...it'll be weighed when I corner balance it.  I'll get a pic of the corner weights and post it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

how do you cornerweight a car ? never saw it and how does it work ?

Greetings Erwin.

[kakabox]

how do you cornerweight a car ? never saw it and how does it work ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Please read here: http://www.grmotorsp...ner-weights.php

...and here: http://www.grmotorsp...s/022005/31.php

Adj coilovers in the rear of the KAKABox allows for 4 wheel corner balancing.

Cheers!

[toxicshit]

Please read here: http://www.grmotorsp...ner-weights.php

...and here: http://www.grmotorsp...s/022005/31.php

Adj coilovers in the rear of the KAKABox allows for 4 wheel corner balancing.

Cheers! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thnx for the info ill read it tonight and coilovers are ordered so i could allso corner balance my 1st gen just got the roll center heights right in the front and rear.. ill hope i wont adjust that to much to get a good balanced car.

Greetings Erwin.

[kakabox]

Rear Fender Lip Roll

I rolled the rear fender lips for more clearance. The Kakabox is using 'teg rear disc brakes (moves tire outbd ~0.25" each side) and oem '99 Miata 14x6 wheels (38mm OFF) w/195 40 14 rubber.

The clearance btwn the tire sidewall the the lip w/the axle centered and at full axle compression was ~.125". However, even though I had ~0.125" clearance, I may use wider wheels & rubber in the future, so I decided to roll the lips.

Here's the fender lip from the factory:

...there's actually less clearance btw the sidewall and lip than what the pic shows; it's ~0.125".

Frist I scribed the paint w/a razor along the inbd edge of the tape. The scribed line is to define where you'd like the paint to stop cracking/flaking. However, don't be surprise if the paint flakes off past the scribe line, it probably will. It seems like the scribe line does help about 75% of the time, keeping the paint from flaking past it. Some people also use a heat gun to soften the paint to avoid cracking & chipping it.


I then used vise grips to put an initial bend in the flange:

...I also used a hammer to further flatten the bent flange.

Then I used a 3 foot length of 1.5" dia, .125 thick steel tube wedged between the sidewall and lip. Using the tire sidewall as the fulcrum, I pushed the bottom of the tube towards the ground leveraging the tube's upper tip against the fender lip, flattening it. With the tire free to rotate I could rotate the tube, 'walking' it from one end of the arch to the other, flattening the lip as it went. Some people use a baseball bat wedged btwn the tire sidewall and the lip, and w/the car on the ground, one person rolls the car fwd/backwards while the other person is leveraging the bat against the lip, letting rotating tire rotate the bat, rolling the lip flat.

It was as easy as 1...

...2

...3!


I did this process several times and I ended up w/flattened inner lip.

Note: the same flattened lip could also be obtained by just carefully using a hammer, but "rolling the tube" is more fun and won't give you a headache!

I then sanded, masked, and re-painted the wheel arches w/some rust preventive red paint:


Here's the clearance w/the axle up as high as it can go...


Lot's 'o room now!

Cheers!

[slavteren]

just one thing: beware of rust, it wil have good conditions there...

other then that, still good work. i love this thread.

[toxicshit]

i have a tool for rolling the fender lips you can mount it on the wheel studs ( 4x 100 ) and adjust it to where you want it.. and turn it around. ive done it before with a baseball bat. But the tool makes a more nice line.

dont you have those tools in Canada and the US?

Greetings Erwin.

[kakabox]

just one thing: beware of rust, it wil have good conditions there...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Right, that is a concern.

To help prevent rust from occurring, one thing I do before rolling fenders is to clean out all the debris that packs up behind the flange. Then I never roll the flange so tight that I can't clean it out in the future. Also, I BRUSH on paint behind the rolled flange and on the exposed surface. I get a thicker flim build and better coverage using a brush rather than spraying. You never really see this area, so imo, the finish quality really isn't important, as long as you have the 'tooled' area fully covered with a good rust preventive paint.

I use a paint that has a high Zinc Chromate content which is a good rust preventive. This brand's 'International Red' color is a close match to the Honda's.

Thanks!

i have a tool for rolling the fender lips you can mount it on the wheel studs ( 4x 100 ) and adjust it to where you want it.. and turn it around. ive done it before with a baseball bat. But the tool makes a more nice line.

dont you have those tools in Canada and the US?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why yes, yes we do!

You can buy the tool here: http://www.eastwoodc...temType=PRODUCT ...and iirc, TheTireRack used to rent the tool out, but, I don't know if they currently do.

The local 'Brand X' tuning shop has one that I tried to rent, but the owner said "no"! So I used what I've used in the past to roll the lips...it doesn't cost me a thing and it's good fun!

Cheers!

[strudel]

After cleaning and rolling the fender lip I thought it might be a good idea to fill in the area with fiberglass. This then creates a dry area behind the lip and water and dirt can't accumulate in the lip. That is my plan. Then cover it with undercoat or paint as required. JS

[slavteren]

i use the sealing material u also use on the rust repairs. can't remember the name for it. it is soft, and can give way. the glasfiber can crack if he realy use the car (and i think the plan is to do so right? ) and then the moist can still find the way down there..

[kakabox]

After cleaning and rolling the fender lip I thought it might be a good idea to fill in the area with fiberglass. This then creates a dry area behind the lip and water and dirt can't accumulate in the lip. That is my plan. Then cover it with undercoat or paint as required. JS

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That might work...however, I'd rather have an open channel then a closed cavity that if not perfectly water tight might rot from the inside out. I can still get a small paint brush in the channel to clean out any debris.

I don't see the need for all the fg mess, unless you've flattened the rolled lip against the inner fender so tight that you can't get anything in there to clean out the debris. If that's the case, just use brushable seam sealer.

Cheers!