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BUILDING CUSTOM STEEL FLARES - REAR
The rear flare fabrication follows the same process as the front, starting with the front and rear "landing pads" then the formed outer arch framework.
The curved horizontal flare sections were made from multiple pieces this time to keep the curves following the bodylines better.
Ryan finished up the rear flare and they looked great - from the side (see above right). But from the rear there was something odd about the rear vent opening. There was an attempt to widen the rear fender to follow the rear taillight shape. It just... didn't look right.
Several of us stood around the rear flare one afternoon and we drew some lines in sharpie as well as blue tape. We all weighed in and together came up with a new shape.
Above shows version 2 of the rear flare. The boxy rear section was scrapped in favor of a tear drop shape to the added vertical section, which blends into the fender at the tail light. Some curved air deflectors were also mocked up in cardboard.
Once again everything shown attaches to the rear fender. There will be additional portions that tie the rear bumper cover into this flare on the back side as well as a skirt that ties into the lower front section of the rear flare - as well as the trailing lower edge of the front flare.
Everyone was happier with the look of this version so the other side was begun. With a final design locked down the second side was slightly easier to duplicate in a mirror image, pulling templates from the right side pieces to make the left side flares.
I'm happy with the look, Jason likes the airflow shapes, and Ryan likes the tire clearance - and the customer likes it all. Again, we obviously have some missing sections to tie into the flares sections at the front, middle and back, but the "wheel flares" are complete and ready for final welding then track testing before bodywork and paint.
CUSTOM FUEL CELL + OIL TANK + ENCLOSURES
The images below may look pretty mundane but there was a lot of thought, planning, and custom fabrication that went into these items and enclosures.
Let's break it down into sub-sections, starting with the fuel cell decision.
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