| Author |
Message |
Aaron Casey
Goo Roo
nsw
'94 jzz30 gttl, 2 mini's one supercharged 
Posts: 1148
Reg: 08-2005
|
if anyone could make one of these id sell my soul lol cause i dont have much money lol the people used to make it in america but have discontinued 
|
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 256
Reg: 06-2008
|
That front spoiler seems somehow familiar Aaron. |
Steven Malkin
Trader
VIC
JZZ30 Soarer
Posts: 148
Reg: 08-2005
|
Interested in both bonnet and boot lid - pending price |
Ben Socratous
Goo Roo
SA
as i drive though the valley of the 1/4 mile, i shall fear no falcodore, for the angel of boost is with me
Posts: 2199
Reg: 07-2005
|
Same, I just cbf making my own, especially if there are already molds done! lol |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 257
Reg: 06-2008
|
Stay tuned everyone, details will be up real soon.
Aaron, PM sent to you. |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 258
Reg: 06-2008
|
And just because the archiver just got rid of them, here are the pictures of the fibreglass bonnet and boot lid again:
Official weights from Toyota for originals:
Bonnet = 34.5kg
Boot Lid = 12.5kg
Again, the fibreglass ones are:
Bonnet = 9kg
Boot Lid = 3.75kg |
Michael McKellar
Tinkerer
Overijssel
Mini
Posts: 35
Reg: 08-2008
|
imagine if they were made from carbon fibre instead of glass fibre! (these would be double the price of the glass ones though)
Well done Andrew and Bruce. Top quality stuff as usual.
I am happy to be the european agent 
cheers
michael |
Dave Cazes
DieHard
SA
tt
Posts: 502
Reg: 08-2007
|
Again, expressing interest in bonnet and boot lid.
PM me when you have detials |
Phil Gibson
Goo Roo
WA
'91 UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31
Posts: 1484
Reg: 07-2005
|
me too |
Adam Chytra
TryHard
NSW
Turbo, manual V8
Posts: 169
Reg: 07-2005
|
me too for bonnet |
Spencer Cameron
Tinkerer
NSW
JZZ30 (converted Manual)
Posts: 52
Reg: 04-2008
|
interested in the bonnet and boot lid as well. |
Jamie Richards
Newbie
St.john's
v8
Posts: 4
Reg: 06-2009
|
interested in the bonnet and boot lid |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 260
Reg: 06-2008
|
A sincere thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in the bonnet and boot lid, and an even more sincere thank you for your patience. The past month has been hectic with family illness, marriage break-ups and even a dog dying, amongst other madness and mayhem. Ironically, the Soarer is in having the brakes done, and it lost the handbrake about the same time as I lost The Handbrake. The Gods have a sense of humour!
But things are now on line (and very shortly literally online) to commence selling them to those still interested. We are going to be selling them through an online e-store, the details of which I'll post up early next week, in this thread and in the For Sale section. You'll be able to access the site, order and pay online, and arrange pick-up or delivery of your goods. Stand by for more details on how to purchase the parts.
Meanwhile, I know everyone wants to see the bottom line.
Bonnets and boot lids are both designed for track car use, so keep that in mind as they are designed for mounting/closing using bonnet pins.
Bonnets will be going for $900.
Boot lids are $600.
If you want drilled and tapped mounts for hinges and gas struts, add $100 (and the weight will go up a bit too).
If you also want the plate to mount the latch, add another $60.
These prices do not include GST.
And just for the sake of transparency, I am not making any money out of the sale of the bonnets or the boot lids. You will be dealing directly with the manufacturer and his agent (i.e. Bruce The Pedantic). What I got out of the deal was that I get to keep the prototypes for the race car, which suits me fine.
When considering paying that much for either part, remember that you can buy a flimsy, half-arsed version cheaper, but will spend potentially thousands getting it prepped and ready to paint and put on your car. And all that added bog equals added weight too. Check out the earlier comments and photos in this thread to see the high quality of these parts. Enough said.
As I mentioned, the car is currently in having the brakes done. Expect a good write-up and photos soon, but here's a quick preview:
It gives you some idea...
That's all for now. Got packing to do.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Fran Valdivia
DieHard
Wollongong NSW
Soarer V8 Limited & Cesior
Posts: 547
Reg: 01-2007
|
Ive seen the bonnet and boot, great quality, and attention to detail. They and feel like an original bonnet and boot.
Gotta love the imprints for the bonnet water jets, would fool anyone.
I helped Andrew move these the other day, and having had experience at carrying a Soarer bonnet, and removing and replacing a the bonnet on my car, when I took a hold of Andrews', I almost fell over backwards.
I knew it would be lighter, but not that light, the eyes truly tricked the mind into believing it would be heavier! |
Dave Cazes
DieHard
SA
tt
Posts: 535
Reg: 08-2007
|
Are you intersted in sprerical bearings for all your Rear arms and front uppers?
These also add cambber at the front and decrease it at the rear.
I did a small production run for my car and a friends, and it isnt too late to tag some more onto the order.
Cheers |
Aaron Casey
Goo Roo
nsw
'94 jzz30 gttl, 2 mini's one supercharged
Posts: 1185
Reg: 08-2005
|
thats a pretty good price for the bonnet and boot. ill have to see how i go for money as my motor is now knocking... one thing after another. but geez id love to get them to save some more weight. them brakes look awesome hope they work just as good. |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 261
Reg: 06-2008
|
Aaron Casey wrote on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 05:50 pm:them brakes look awesome hope they work just as good.
Me too! I'm pretty confident they'll pull 'er up OK. We are pulling 500kg out of the car don't forget. |
Adam Brown
TryHard
QLD
Volvo S60T, Soarer TT Manual - Sold
Posts: 297
Reg: 07-2005
|
Sounds like you've been having a tough time Andrew. It saddens me to hear of illness and marriage break-up. Life is so much more than what we have parked in our driveways.
The car is looking good though, Brembo's are very hot! |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 262
Reg: 06-2008
|
Adam Brown wrote on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 10:33 am:Life is so much more than what we have parked in our driveways.
Yes mate, but what is parked in our driveway is what often keeps us sane. Or sometimes drives us insane! And yep, the brakes are good.
OK, so the e-store is now active. To check it out and order the bonnets and boot lids, go to:
http://www.airtechnologyaustralia.com.au/
For the more technical information you may require, you can contact Bruce direct at:
info@sosfibreglass.com.au
If you have any dramas contacting either site, please PM me and I'll do my best to sort it out for you. Happy shopping folks.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Joe Russell
TryHard
Manawatu
4.0 V8 GT-L (UZZ31)
Posts: 458
Reg: 10-2008
|
Nice job Andrew! Are those Brembo F50 calipers? Look the business they do.
My condolences on you personal issues mate.
Glad to see the car is coming along well. |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 264
Reg: 06-2008
|
OK folks I'm finally back on line and I apologise for the delay in transmission. Some work has been progressing on the Soarer, despite the number of other distractions.
The car is still in the brake shop, however that suits me and I did tell the guy to take his time with it. There's no sense in rushing it when I'll really have nowhere to store the car when I get it back anyway.
All four calipers have been fitted, and the rotors are all done. Some fabrication work was also done, so the Tilton pedal box is nearly fully installed. A bit more fiddling with master cylinders and then it'll be ready to run the brake lines, which will just about complete the operation.
Of course I have photos...
Because there were no hats available to suit the offset and calipers, they were custom made. This is an early shot of one, and as you can see it is very nice work. The hats have since been modified and now extend the hub so that the wheel sits on it and not the studs:
And here's a couple of early shots of the front caliper and rotor. No pads are fitted as yet:
Here is a comparison between the original Soarer front rotor and the new, custom one. The new one is 325mm diameter:
And here's some shots of the rear ones. The rotors were originally too big at 310mm diameter, so they were machined down to 308mm. The wheels are the ones to be used for the wets, although they are currently fitted with some second-hand road tyres, just to keep the thing off the deck:
Work has progressed somewhat on the pedal box since I took these shots, but you get the idea:
There's also been a bit of work done in the fibreglass areas. There is still a lot more to do...
We borrowed a mold for a rear wing, which we quickly made a new part from, but it has some issues, so we've got a lot of work to do before we get to a final product. Here's a couple of quick shots:
Work on the front guards continues. Fill, sand, spray filler, sand, fill, sand, etc. They were quite poor quality originally, but they'll be the duck's nuts when Bruce is finished with them:
And we've achieved a fair bit on the front spoiler/splitter/air dam too. The undertray is now firmly attached, and work has commenced on extending the spoiler forward to the maximum dimension as allowed by the Sports Sedan rules:
Work on the fibreglassing is still progressing, with us putting in a couple of days a week into it. But it is still a painfully slow progress when the two of us are looking for perfection...
Anyway, that's about all for now. More as it happens.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 265
Reg: 06-2008
|
Achieved a little bit more this week. The front guards are now at the paint shop, after being filled and sanded a couple more times, until we got them to the point that we were happy with them. Here's what they looked like just before painting:
As you can see the inside of the guard is just the raw fibreglass. The plan is to get them painted, and then set about taking molds off the completed product, so that all new guards made will be pretty much ready for painting straight out of the mold.
And just for the record, for those of you considering fibreglass panels for your own cars, these guards came in fairly cheap (as part of a kit), which is great. But there was a fair amount of work to get them to the stage that they are now. We put no less than 80 hours of work into them. If you were considering getting them and paying your panel beater for that work, I reckon he'd be laughing all the way to the bank...
There's also been a bit more done on the brakes. The master cylinders are now installed, and some of the plumbing for the brake lines is also in. The run between that plumbing and the master cylinders will be done in braided line, allowing the flexibility to move the pedal box backwards and forwards:
That's it for now. Hopefully more progress next week.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Andrew La'Brooy
Tinkerer
Victoria
UZA80 Supra (1UZ Swap)
Posts: 92
Reg: 06-2007
|
I just had a read through the entire thread and all I have to say is - WOW!!!!
The thoroughness of the build and your attention to detail are truly incredible!! Awesome work mate!
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this thread for future updates! |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 268
Reg: 06-2008
|
Thanks Andrew. Yeah, we've put a bit of effort in so far. Still a bit to go too...
There was more today in fact. We did a bit more filling on the rear wing, to get it up to a profile that we think will work a little better. I'll post photos up of that as work progresses.
We also started work on the rear guards. Off all the panels that came with the kit, these were in the best condition. They'll only require some spray putty and minor work to be ready for painting. The driver's side is also being modified to have the fuel filler area closed off, although we'll still leave an impression there so it looks like the cover still exists.
More was also done on the front bumper/splitter area. Rub, fill, rub, bog, rub, etc. Seems to becoming a routine... Anyway, Bruce The Pedantic had a good look at the whole assembly, and went off to cry in his baked beans. It seems there are a lot of imperfections that we'll have to get rid of from the original part, before we even think about using it as a plug and taking a mold off it. Oh good. More rubbing, filling, rubbing, filling. Here's some pics of what we've achieved so far with the front splitter extension:
You can see in that last photo that the inlet for the radiator also needed work, as it was bent like a banana. We've since added bracing behind both the top and bottom edges of that cavity, so now it runs straight.
I also got a call from the brake guy, and the brakes are finished. I'll call around tomorrow and take some photos of the finished product, and on Monday the car will be going to Bruce's workshop so that we can finish the front and rear bumpers while they are mounted in position.
I was going to have the front windscreen refitted before the car left the brake shop, however when I called around to collect it tonight, it had mysteriously been smashed. That annoyed me on two fronts. 1 - I had already gone to the expense and trouble of installing the electric demister to it, to save the hassle of doing it when the windscreen was already in. 2 - The windscreen was perfectly fine being stored since it was removed from the car over 12 months ago, and it choses the day before I need it to reveal itself as very, very broken. So now I'm up for a new one. That's just great...
More soon.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 272
Reg: 06-2008
|
I ended up getting a new windscreen for a reasonable price, so that will be installed at the brake shop on Monday morning, before the car heads to the fibreglass workshop later in the day. It won't have the electric demister pre-installed, which means if I want to put one in it will be a pain, but that's the way it goes.
As previously mentioned, the brakes are done. I am very happy with the work. Here are some photos (I particularly like the adjustable foot rest to the left of the clutch pedal):
The brakes were done by Mark at Penrith Brake and Clutch, and I must thank him for all his efforts. I recommend the business, but make sure you ask for Mark as at least one Soarer owner I know of had a less than good experience there.
I also collected the front guards from the paint shop on Friday. Holy crap! They look just fantastic. I really am so happy with the finished product. I know they took 80 hours of work, but now they are painted the guards look just like brand new steel items. No ripples, not a thing other than a perfectly straight (well, curved) panel. They are excellent, which means once we take molds off them other parts that come out will be just as good quality. Here they are:
Also on Friday I managed to find an unbeatable and irresistible price on a brand new Sparco driver's seat, which I'll collect on Monday. I hadn't planned on getting it yet, but at the price... If anyone wants a good price on Sparco equipment and safety gear, go direct to the importer (everyone else in Australia buys it from them). Speak to Nathan or Ian at IKD (International Karting Distributors) in Pullman Place, Emu Plains.
That's about it for now. More as it happens.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31
Posts: 10787
Reg: 11-2004
|
Is the throttle also hydraulic?
Is there a risk of your left foot getting hooked under the foot rest? |
Bernard Smith-Roberts
Tinkerer
ACT
Soarer V8
Posts: 22
Reg: 08-2008
|
Throttle is in all likelihood still cable - the third reservoir there is for the rear brakes. he's using a 'bias bar' brake setup, allowing him to adjust the brake bias on the fly. Very neat pedal box arrangement. |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 273
Reg: 06-2008
|
Peter Nitschke wrote on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 11:10 am:Is there a risk of your left foot getting hooked under the foot rest?
When one sees the size of this particular driver's feet, one realises that there is no such risk Peter. The bigger hassle might be using the foot rest so well that I fall asleep at the wheel 
Peter Nitschke wrote on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 11:10 am:Is the throttle also hydraulic?
Like Bernard said mate, it will still be a cable arrangement.
Bernard Smith-Roberts wrote on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 01:38 pm:Very neat pedal box arrangement.
Thanks Bernard. I like it too. I'm very happy with how it all came together, and how adjustable it all is. |
Marc Hoffmann
Tinkerer
Vic
Soarer TT
Posts: 41
Reg: 07-2009
|
this has been a great read, alot of attention to detail has gone into this, and its showing in the perfect results your getting.
out of interest (i may have missed it) how much weight do you think you will be saving at the end? or do you have a weight goal? |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 274
Reg: 06-2008
|
Hi Marc. Yep, you missed it, but that's cool. We'll be pulling some 600kg out of the car, but we've added about 100kg for the roll cage, so there's a net gain of approximately 500kg. |
Rob Rojo
Goo Roo
NSW
Soarer TT & UZZ31
Posts: 2703
Reg: 12-2007
|
Peter Nitschke wrote on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 11:10 am:Is the throttle also hydraulic?
Is there a risk of your left foot getting hooked under the foot rest?
I was going to ask the same question, the photos are probably a bit deceiving but it does look like your foot could get stuck when releasing the clutch.
I can't wait to see this thing finished, it looks to good to race. |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 275
Reg: 06-2008
|
You're right Rob, the photos don't really show it too well. There is a gap between the footrest and the clutch pedal, so it shouldn't be an issue.
Rob Rojo wrote on Sunday, August 23, 2009 - 06:35 pm:I can't wait to see this thing finished, it looks to good to race.
I wish mate! Still got all the bodywork to go on, sort the gearbox and tail shaft and do the wiring. Shouldn't be too long now! |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 277
Reg: 06-2008
|
Done a fair bit this week. The car got a new windscreen fitted:
It then finally left the brake shop and was taken to the fibreglass workshop, where we have spent a couple of days doing mock-ups and hanging the parts on the car. I'm just going to let the pictures tell the story on this one, but I have to say that I thought the front guards looked great when they came from the paint shop last week, but I'm ecstatic at how they look when actually on the car. You'll see what I mean...
So now we've got it all to go together, it'll be stripped down again to finish off the rest of the parts. The aluminium extrusion under the rear bumper is there to retain it in the right shape when we take it off the car. The rear diffuser that was going to be made from aluminium will now be done in fibreglass instead, and will be an integral part of the rear bumper assembly.
There was one issue with the rear bumper. When we put it into position, the material in one section was so thin it just fell apart. Nothing we can;t fix but a pain nonetheless:
We also thought about how the dummy headlights would be installed, and initially decided on some custom brackets:
But we've since explored it further and they will now be an integral part of the front bumper assembly.
So that's it for this week. The car will be stripped down next week and taken out of the workshop and sent home (well, a temporary home), where I can start doing some other things.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Phil Gibson
Goo Roo
WA
'91 UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31
Posts: 1528
Reg: 07-2005
|
Nice! |
Matchy Loi
TryHard
VIC
GTT
Posts: 328
Reg: 06-2006
|
Looks great, that shot from on top, whilst inside the shop looks impossible. How did you manage that photograph? |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 278
Reg: 06-2008
|
Matchy Loi wrote on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 11:51 pm:How did you manage that photograph?
I have big toes mate, and I was standing on them.
I should have also mentioned that we measured up and came up with a plan for the area of the driver's footwell, in between the pedal box and the seat. A fibreglass panel of appropriate strength and size will take care of that, mounted on the rails for the pedal box. That should give me somewhere to cool my heels...
There's a mezzanine floor Matchy.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Marc Hoffmann
Tinkerer
Vic
Soarer TT
Posts: 44
Reg: 07-2009
|
that front is full of win, that looks mean.
are you going to keep the fake headlights blue or possibly the drag car way of sticker/airbrushed fake headlights, sorta keep it car cooling if you know what i mean |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 279
Reg: 06-2008
|
Hi Marc. Yeah, the headlights are going to be done with decals, but not in the way of fake headlight lenses. I've got something else in mind, which I'll reveal once they're done. But they won't remain blue, and they will look way cool. We painted them so we had a decent surface on them, so we can make new molds. The original molds for these were a plaster concoction that was destroyed when we made these parts. |
Andrew McKellar
TryHard
NSW
Soarer Sports Sedan (well, nearly); '84 MA61 Supra.
Posts: 280
Reg: 06-2008
|
I also picked up the new, custom outer rim halves for the race wheels this morning. They will be mated with these BBS centres:
And also the original inner rim halves, seen here. They will therefore keep the correct offset that I need:
So here they are. First, the front rim, with a comparison with the original outer half:
And here is the rear one, again compared to the original:
And here's a shot of the new front and rear together:
The next step for these is to go to a local wheel man who will drill the rims and put the whole lot together for me. That won't happen for a while though.
Cheers,
Andrew |
Damien Smith
DieHard
NSW
Twin Turbo Manual UZZ31
Posts: 791
Reg: 07-2005
|
Can't wait to see it with the wheels filling out those fat guards! |
Gavin Smith
TryHard
Victoria
1.6 fuel sipper
Posts: 124
Reg: 01-2008
|
Good to see the progress Andrew!
Interesting front guards you have fitted, seeing you have had access to an aerodynamicist, have you designed those vortex generators into the guards deliberately with accompanying ducting, or are they there purely to vent engine heat out through the guards? |
Bernard Smith-Roberts
Tinkerer
ACT
Soarer V8
Posts: 25
Reg: 08-2008
|
Gavin,
I would imagine that as he's running standard sheet metal in the engine bay, they're more likely to be brake ventilation than engine bay vents. I also think early on Andrew said that he got the guards as part of a complete body kit, and as such they probably weren't modelled before construction, and are mainly aesthetic.
Look the goods though. |
Michael McKellar
Tinkerer
Overijssel
Mini
Posts: 36
Reg: 08-2008
|
Gavin Smith wrote on Sunday, August 30, 2009 - 09:43 am:Interesting front guards you have fitted, seeing you have had access to an aerodynamicist, have you designed those vortex generators into the guards deliberately with accompanying ducting, or are they there purely to vent engine heat out through the guards?
Gavin,
they are exactly as they came from the manufacturer. Given the quality issues that Andrew and Bruce have found with the kit, I am pretty sure that the vents have been placed there purely for asthetic reasons without any consideration for the need to place such vents in a low pressure area to work. Having said that, they probably will help in removing the hot air from the wheel arches assisting in cooling the brakes given that they are mostly in a low pressure area, but it could be better. Just quietly, I am not sure that vents like these are in the rules, but until he starts winning, no one will check.
cheers
michael |
Dave Cazes
DieHard
SA
tt
Posts: 607
Reg: 08-2007
|
How much and where from the wheel centres?
Im interested to know who does this |
Paul Knox
Newbie
QLD
uzz31's manual and auto
Posts: 2
Reg: 08-2009
|
I may be mistaken , but i think the wheels he got from "Egay", because I missed out on them, i missed the close of the auction. I have the same wheels on my road car and was after another set.
Good to see they went to a fellow Soarer owner and will be put to such good use.
Good stuff Andrew. |
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