Project WidowMaker - The Build Thread

[The WidowMaker]

well i got a little more done today. i started cutting out the license plate recess and bent up a piece to weld back in. i also picked up all the metal for the bumper inserts and the grille. the aluminum weighed 23 lbs for just the inserts. its a shame that all but about 2 lbs is going to end up on the ground.

here are a few pics.

overhang prior to narrowing but after working the bottom to make it more even with the top. the bottom was touching the fender before i started and couldnt be narrowed any more.



overhang after narrowing



profile across the front. it looks good, but cutting the chunk out of the middle moved it a little. ill try and get it back perfect before tacking the piece in.



bumper prior to cutting



giant hole to be filled

[The WidowMaker]

i finished up the center of the bumper today. a skim coat of filler when its painted or sprayed with aluminum and it will be good. i plan to work the corners when the grille is finished. i dont want to do those since i have a feeling ill move the bumper a little to fit the grille.

i also called up seat belts plus today and found that they switched suppliers from beams to seat belt solutions last year. a call to them and i found out that the webbing is made in the USA along with assembly and most parts. just little pieces in the retractor are made overseas. im going to finally finish my decision and get the belts this week.

[waynieZ]

Things like that make all the difference.

[tones2SS]

Very nice Tim. You do great work.
Keep us posted.

[The WidowMaker]

thanks guys!

the grille material came in and i finished the front pieces for the bumper intakes. they started life as 2 1.5" 8lb chunks and ended at less than a lb. ive got ~10 hours into the 2 pieces. the next two should be easier since there arent as many angles. if the bumper was straight up and down on the front i could have saved half that time.

ill have some pictures up on monday. i also came up with a few new ideas for the grille that will make it easier but more time consuming to fab. i will hit the metal shop again on wednesday.

[Cris@JCG]

Looking good Tim!

We just finished this week rust repair on a 70 Chevelle we are doing here @ the shop.. Gapping this next coming week with body work!

[The WidowMaker]

does anybody have any info on leds? my plan is to use 1" of the 3.5"s in the inserts for for amber led light strips that will function as my forward turn signals. ill then cover that with some sort of prismatic diffuser and then a clear plexiglass. this will all be behind the hexagon mesh. currently im looking at the smd5050's and will run 2 6" strips per light. this will get me 18 leds of ~6 lumens each for ~110 total (2000-2500 mcd 120* conversion). the best info i could find put the stock amber bulb or the white bulb through the amber lense at ~80 lumens. the mesh is only 70% open so it will kill some light. im trying to come up with the best design possible that will get me the most visible forward projection. ive also looked at the side projection strips that would either allow more leds, or possibly building in some sort of reflector behind the leds since they wont take up as much space.

also, any good sources? i found these and they have good reviews, just not really sure. http://www.ledlightsworld.com/smd-50...eds-p-135.html

We just finished this week rust repair on a 70 Chevelle we are doing here @ the shop.. Gapping this next coming week with body work!

i cant wait to see it done. im way behind schedule, but i may be ready by january.

[crazycarguy22]

https://www.diodedynamics.com/catalog/

The owner is extremely knowledgeable and more than willing to help out, I highly recommend giving him a call. I've done business with him before on my Tiburon forum. I'm sure the two of you could figure out something cool.

[The WidowMaker]

i bought the leds last night. i ended up getting them from ledlightsworld.com. i looked into superbrightleds and found a bunch of people unhappy with the length of time they would last. no bad reviews on the other company. they should be here some time early next week.

i taped (literally) in the inserts this afternoon. i could have cut the hole around the existing one, but i wanted them centered in the bumper a little more. i will have to come back and fill in the top. i am also trying to decide how to mount them. the two choices are either a visible fastner from the front, or hide them all in the back. after that, the outside corners need to be rounded and i need to figure out what sort of profile i want on them.

i started on the second piece of the inserts today. i will cut them to size and get them mounted to the first piece on wednesday. i'll have to wait until i get the leds before i hog out the inside.

i also finalized my design for the grille. like anything and everything else, its way more complicated than i initially thought. if you view it from the side its actually tilted ~6.5* forward at the top. i knew this going in but the plan was to build it vertical since i thought the outsides were vertical. turns out the outsides are also tilted forward the same amount, so the grille is getting built with that angle in mind. it now means instead of setting up the mill vertical, i have to mill everything on an angle. i'll take a bunch of pics and let you all know how it goes.

here are some pics of the inserts. there is a little slop to get them straight. still not sure what i want to reference level off of. the bumper on the inside edge of the inserts is taller than 8" further out. this keeps screwing with my eyes and making me think theyre crooked.


you can see they arent perfectly flush and the top portion of the original hole needs to be filled. the bumper will need a little work until it is.

The owner is extremely knowledgeable and more than willing to help out, I highly recommend giving him a call. I've done business with him before on my Tiburon forum. I'm sure the two of you could figure out something cool.

thanks for the info. i checked out the site and there was a bunch of cool stuff.

[Ron in SoCal]

Man Tim - you got skills and a designer brain working in overtime!

I will say the killer bezel you made and light looks a little bit large on the bumper to my eye. I'm certain it'll turn out great when you get finished with it...