building a lowrider

[diymirage]

well,

let me first apoligize for building what is called a lowrider

but i had an idea for a decal/paintscheme that would really look terrible on a decent car but on a lowrider i could get away with it

this is the kit im starting out with

(i mainly got it because i wanted the driver and decided to give the tools included to my nephew)

of course i can not have a race engine in a lowrider (even if it is a pontiac engine) so a new mill is in place

i looked around my garage a bit and finally dug out this old deal

its a 302 cross barrel from a 69 camaro Z28

(not finished yet but none of this kit is)

on to the interior

nothing to spectacular here

i decided to cut out the roll cage aswell as the windowscreen

found some seats from i dont know what and put in some speakers from a focus tuner kit

and finally, the body

so far i have done very little to it

i slapped on some rear wheel skirts but thats about it

i got some wheels coming in the mail one of these days (i hope)

and that is about it i think

not sure where i go from here

ill try to make it look halfway decent but then again

im really just building it as a canvas for my decal/paint vision

so if anyone has any suggestions or input , as usual, its apreciated

Edited March 3, 2010 by diymirage

[Custom Hearse]

Hmmm...

A Nascar lowrider...

Cool speakers, where did you get them? Nice work you did on the rear fender wells. Looking forward to seeing more of this...

[diymirage]

Hmmm...

A Nascar lowrider...

Cool speakers, where did you get them? Nice work you did on the rear fender wells. Looking forward to seeing more of this...

thanks

im pretty sure the speakers were optional iether in the ford focus tuner kit or the acura RSX

ive had em in my stash for a while and seemed to fit this build

[Darren B]

thanks

im pretty sure the speakers were optional iether in the ford focus tuner kit or the acura RSX

ive had em in my stash for a while and seemed to fit this build

Yes they were in the acura rsx kit. Im building that kit as a lowrider too.

[Blake Rogers]

looks great so far i would have used ever green for the rear fenders but every one has there own ways of doing things i cant wait to see this one done good work so far

[diymirage]

looks great so far i would have used ever green for the rear fenders but every one has there own ways of doing things i cant wait to see this one done good work so far

i did use ever green

but then i slapped some glazing putty over top of it so i can smooth it out later

(the evergreen alone looked too much like it was added, not like it was part of the original design

[retrobuilder]

Glad to see I aint the only one crazy enough to try something like this!! great idea for a project.

[diymirage]

Glad to see I aint the only one crazy enough to try something like this!! great idea for a project.

nice to know im crazy

lol

glad you aprove

go right ahead and copy anything you like

unless you already build one and then ill need to see pics

[Blake Rogers]

i did use ever green

but then i slapped some glazing putty over top of it so i can smooth it out later

(the evergreen alone looked too much like it was added, not like it was part of the original design

srry bud lol didn't realize it lol

[Joe Handley]

Don't know why, but this is the first thing that came to mind when I saw you pics

http://www.uniqueautosport.com/whips/purple.html

Good luck witt the project!

[diymirage]

srry bud lol didn't realize it lol

its all good,

that just means i did well puttying it right ?

Don't know why, but this is the first thing that came to mind when I saw you pics

http://www.uniqueautosport.com/whips/purple.html

Good luck witt the project!

and that car reminded me of a opel i used to have when i was young :>

in true lowrider style i want this body to have not even the slightest hint of speed or performance left before i even start the paint job

(unless someone acidentally open the hood to reveal the tube chassis)

Edited January 25, 2010 by diymirage

[Blake Rogers]

u did i only use tamyia putty goes on easy and easy to sand

[diymirage]

u did i only use tamyia putty goes on easy and easy to sand

thanks

i used bondo glazing putty

takes about 30 minutes to dry and sand way better then you would expect from, it doesnt get as rock hard as the 2 part stuff

[Blake Rogers]

thanks

i used bondo glazing putty

takes about 30 minutes to dry and sand way better then you would expect from, it doesnt get as rock hard as the 2 part stuff

good point never tried it before

[Joe Handley]

It's good stuff, just leave a window open and keep the air flowing through the room!

[Blake Rogers]

It's good stuff, just leave a window open and keep the air flowing through the room!

i think the old man used it on his truck a few times lol come to think of it now

[diymirage]

it seems to work for me

plus, it is cheap...especially compared to materials inteded for model cars

i have a pint sized tube that i paid 6 bucks for or so

should last me a while

it is (as mentioned) a bit fumey but i can live with that

[diymirage]

its been a while but with the new baby and my sleep being down in the single digits per week i was glad to get a minute or two of building in today

so, i got the wheels in this week on a trade and i was playing with the stance a little

i will most likely putty the driver side door shut again and rescribe it because im not pleased with it

the wheels im putting on there wont work with the stock rear end so im building a new one, almost from scratch

i have a rear differential that i added some 1/8th tubing to

i then drilled out the tubing so i could run a solid axle through it

once all that dries i will build a suspension to it that will allow the car to sit right about the way you see it

as always, suggestions and comments are apreciated

[RodneyBad]

Dang, I'd swear I commented on this already but guess I

was dreamin..

I think it looks cool and very Unique.

but wouldn't a bigger set of wheels fit the wheel wells better?

[diymirage]

Dang, I'd swear I commented on this already but guess I

was dreamin..

I think it looks cool and very Unique.

but wouldn't a bigger set of wheels fit the wheel wells better?

yes they would

but

these are the only lowrider rims i have and on top of that, these are the exact wheels i think would look good on this car

but if they were a bit bigger it would probable look a bit better

i think ill check my partsbox, maybe i can find a bigger set of tires for them, that should help a lil

[Railfreak78]

Now that is certainly interesting my friend! I have seen street cars turned into race cars but certainly never seen a race car turned into a street car. ( Minus the episode of Unique Whips turning a Jeff Gordon NASCAR into a convertible street car) I am watching for sure cause this is a really cool Dare to be Different car. That kit is pretty old too, Are the decals toast?

[Edward Gore]

its been a while but with the new baby and my sleep being down in the single digits per week i was glad to get a minute or two of building in today

so, i got the wheels in this week on a trade and i was playing with the stance a little

i will most likely putty the driver side door shut again and rescribe it because im not pleased with it

the wheels im putting on there wont work with the stock rear end so im building a new one, almost from scratch

i have a rear differential that i added some 1/8th tubing to

i then drilled out the tubing so i could run a solid axle through it

once all that dries i will build a suspension to it that will allow the car to sit right about the way you see it

as always, suggestions and comments are apreciated

This is looking great. Crazy mean looking, but maybe because it's still under primer.

[diymirage]

Now that is certainly interesting my friend! I have seen street cars turned into race cars but certainly never seen a race car turned into a street car. ( Minus the episode of Unique Whips turning a Jeff Gordon NASCAR into a convertible street car) I am watching for sure cause this is a really cool Dare to be Different car. That kit is pretty old too, Are the decals toast?

i got the kit pretty much as a gift from a fellow member here

i was mainly interested in the driver figure and since i had this idea for a lowrider i decided to revamp this kit into one.

it turned out to be quite the challenge, making an interior and getting the panel lines just right but it has definatly been a fun ride so far.

the decals really dont look that terribly bad for the age of the kit

i think with some love they would still be very aplicable.

i was origenally planning on using an old hood and applying the hood decal from the kit to it so i could hang it from the wall in my display garage but i couldnt find a hood that matched it so i guess they will go into the decal tin

This is looking great. Crazy mean looking, but maybe because it's still under primer.

thanks

i dont think it will look to terrible intimadating once the paint is on

it will be a combination of browns and gold, pretty low profile lowrider style with a tan or brown vinyl top

i was origenally planning in slapping on some sidepipes from the partsbox but it looks like they would scrape so i might just go with two pipes exiting the rear bumper

[diymirage]

decided to take a little break from the rear suspension and tackle the tail lights today

(i have the rear axle in place with two gas shocks on each corner and the ride height is pretty much set where i want it...the rear is just a hair higher then i intended but i think it actually makes it looks pretty agressive. i still want to ad a cross member or linkage of some sort since there is no leaf spings or anything else keeping the axle in place other then the aforemention gas struts)

so...on to the tail lights

here is what i started with

one pontiac nascarturnedlowridergrandprix body (notice the lack of taillights...tsk tsk tsk, that atracts more cops then an ethnic person driving a powdered donut)

and one set of taillights from a honda civic

i first intended to install the chrome backing behind the body panel and then install the clear lenses over it

but once i got to dremeling the body i decided to just use the lenses and put those right into the body

which looks something like such....

the passenger side looks like it doesnt sit fluch in the picture so i might address that later

thougths ?

[diymirage]

here is a picture of the trailing arms i installed

not 100 % square but at least the axle itself sits in there even and squared of (the arms are just a few degrees off)

once everything dries properl overnight ill put up some pics of the stance