The path less traveled: 1978 Turbo I6 Futura (The Gila Monster)

[Dadsccat]

Really looking nice Mike and can't wait to see the finished product. This project leaves me wanting to get my creative juices flowing and start a car of my own. Not sure I have the skill set to come close to what you're doing though LOL.

[84StangSVT]

Paint chips suck but I'm sure you have the resources to make it look like they were never there. It's exciting to see the monster finally taking shape and getting closer to being "done".

[Mike1157]

Paint chips suck but I'm sure you have the resources to make it look like they were never there. It's exciting to see the monster finally taking shape and getting closer to being "done".

Tell me about it,...The 26th of Aug marks the 3 year anniversary of my ownership, and the start of the project.

[84StangSVT]

Tell me about it,...The 26th of Aug marks the 3 year anniversary of my ownership, and the start of the project.

Damn! Has it been that long already? Crazy how time flies, at least on our end. To you it probably seems like an eternity.

[ukravit]

I for one will be sad to see this project completed.
Reading all the progress updates and seeing the pictures of your latest design has been an inspiration. It just gets better every day.

[Mike1157]

I for one will be sad to see this project completed.
Reading all the progress updates and seeing the pictures of your latest design has been an inspiration. It just gets better every day.

I think that there are two months left before I can call this car done,...it's not gone yet.

[Mike1157]

I for one will be sad to see this project completed.
Reading all the progress updates and seeing the pictures of your latest design has been an inspiration. It just gets better every day.

I think that there are two months left before I can call this car done,...it's not gone yet.

[ZephyrEFI]

Man, that bumper treatment looks so great all finalized! Have you tried one of the little local hardware store type places for your fasteners? I find that my Ace Hardware surprises me more often than not by having what i'm looking for. And yeah, those headlights are a b!tch to put back together, aren't they? Must feel good to walk out to the garage and see what she looks like now though after all this time!

[droopie85gt]

Today I had the full day to myself to work on the Monster..

Mike, I am digging the GS esque hood!!! I mean I dig all of it...and really there is so much to take in!!! Do those headlights have led halos?

[Davedacarpainter]

IDK Mike, that painter of yours looks like a drunk to me!

[Mike1157]

IDK Mike, that painter of yours looks like a drunk to me!

I cannot say whether or not he is a "drunk" per se'........I will say that he did get drunk during the stay at my house at least once. Andd....If this is what a drunk painter paints like,...I'll take it everytime.

[Mike1157]

Man, that bumper treatment looks so great all finalized! Have you tried one of the little local hardware store type places for your fasteners? I find that my Ace Hardware surprises me more often than not by having what i'm looking for. And yeah, those headlights are a b!tch to put back together, aren't they? Must feel good to walk out to the garage and see what she looks like now though after all this time!

Thanks man,....And to think...It was only like yesterday when I first laid a sawzall to that bumper.

Uhh... Scratch that... it was only like 860 yesterdays when I first laid a sawzall to that bumper.

[Mike1157]

Mike, I am digging the GS esque hood!!! I mean I dig all of it...and really there is so much to take in!!! Do those headlights have led halos?

The head lights have what they call "angel eyes". Leds at the top, and bottom of the sealed beam, with a fiber optic tube that runs around the outside perimeter to diffuse the light around.

[Quicksilver]

Mike, I have to agree, I can't wait to see the finished product.
Looks amazing.
I can relate to how long cars can take to build. But, you should be driving it soon.

[droopie85gt]

3 Years. I had to go back today and reread almost all of this saga. Like 84Stang said, time flies on our end. You have, at times, probably felt like you're guest starring in GroundHog Day 2. But you have managed to push thru with the finish line in sight. But, please run thru the finish line. If you dive like that woman sprinter, you'll get a serious case of road rash!

[Mike1157]

I didn't know what I would actually accomplish today. With so much detail stuff in front of me,..I was hoping to either get the front facade complete, or the rear, but didn't think I'd get both.

The rear needed the LED strips laid out and wired in. then the center piece needed sanding, and re-clear coated. Obviously I was lax in my prep last time, and rust started to show back on the metal pieces.
The duck tail needed sanding, and another topcoat added to hide a scratch in the aluminum that was showing through. The (4) triangular mounts just wouldn't accept paint w/o trash getting in my way, so every time I added paint to them, I needed to wetsand the junk out. When I did that, I cut through the sharp edges. It became a vicious circle.

The front head light bezels appear to be a different color, and they too had orange peel on some of the horizontal surfaces. You could also see unpainted areas that would be visible once mounted. The grille was cracked, dirty, and un-painted, and the surround shared similar issues that the headlight bezels had.

I needed paint, bulbs and some screws.

So I had alot to do one way or the other.

I started on the rear.



There are (3) strips of red, and (3) strips of white alternately. When in run mode, they will serve as an extension of the tails. When in reverse, the white LEDS will illuminate. What I didn't consider was what will happen at night,........they'll both be on in reverse. I really don't even care about B/U lights,......I only need to get the thing safety inspected in order to get it licensed, since it comes from Arizona. That inspection will be during the day, and the inspection itself is a joke. They ask me to turn on the lights, high beams, turn signals, hit the brakes, honk the horn, turn on the wipers, and put it in reverse to illuminate the B/U lights....I'll have every single point covered........IF,...he lets me turn off the lights before I put it in reverse.

Once those strips were set, I installed the centerpiece. Then the duck tail.




I added my trunk latch, wired in my remote release, and shut that dude. Worked like I planned it that way.

Then started messing with the stuff in the front.

After looking at it,...I think I don't like the orange trim surrounding the black pieces on the front end. These cars are built so poorly, the gaps are over exaggerated when there is orange, then a gap, then orange to point that out.



The option here is an entire black front end. The gaps will disappear then, simply by spraying everything the same color. What do you guys think?

For those that wondered what the blacked out T/S lenses would look like once illuminated, here is the evidence... I'm happy with the way they look.



These are called angel eyes. two leds at the top and bottom of the lense, with a plexi tube running around the inside perimeter to diffuse the light around.

So,...I got a bunch done. I'm about dead, but pretty happy with that rear end. The front,...........I'm thinking more black paint is in order.

[grabbergreen84]

That is badass! There's something kind of T-bird-ish about the rear bumper and exhaust.

The option here is an entire black front end. The gaps will disappear then, simply by spraying everything the same color. What do you guys think?

Dunno if I'd black out the whole grill/light bezel 'frame,' but perhaps make the outer ring black. At the hood gap, you would paint the tops of the grill/bezels black, and maybe come down that step, and do the next horizontal surface down from it, and then carry that line all the way around the grill/bezels. After that, I'd maybe consider getting some black paint into the little gaps between the grill and the light bezels.
The lower gap between the bumper looks tough to deal with. Can you tilt the bumper forward a tiny fraction of an inch? It's hard to see in the pic, whether there's a step at the bottom of the grill frame like there is at the top, but the whole thing looks totally awesome, regardless!!!
And if you promise not to come up here and kill me, when I scroll the front-end photo so that I see only from the top of the grill down, there's a sort of Dodge Diplomat thing going on there. But additional black-outs can camo that similarity.

I'd actually consider adding some orange to the six large 'bars' in the grill!

[Mike1157]

That is badass! There's something kind of T-bird-ish about the rear bumper and exhaust.

Dunno if I'd black out the whole grill/light bezel 'frame,' but perhaps make the outer ring black. At the hood gap, you would paint the tops of the grill/bezels black, and maybe come down that step, and do the next horizontal surface down from it, and then carry that line all the way around the grill/bezels. After that, I'd maybe consider getting some black paint into the little gaps between the grill and the light bezels.
The lower gap between the bumper looks tough to deal with. Can you tilt the bumper forward a tiny fraction of an inch? It's hard to see in the pic, whether there's a step at the bottom of the grill frame like there is at the top, but the whole thing looks totally awesome, regardless!!!
And if you promise not to come up here and kill me, when I scroll the front-end photo so that I see only from the top of the grill down, there's a sort of Dodge Diplomat thing going on there. But additional black-outs can camo that similarity.

I'd actually consider adding some orange to the six large 'bars' in the grill!

After discussing it on the other forum I frequent, I think I'll leave it. I'll either add the factory Cyclone script in the corner of the grille, or I'll run a horizontal bar of aluminum across the thing, to add some bling

[ZephyrEFI]

I agree. It would've been a shame to lose (black out) that custom treatment you did to the grille.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[droopie85gt]

Which headlights did you use? How much, if any did you have to cut the buckets to get those fat bottomed girls to fit? It's looking good. So much so, you've pretty much shamed me into working on my junk! I wonder if there's 1) any way to do it well and 2) if anyone else would agree, but would bringing the chrome trim around the taillights to the headlights and T/S add bling and tie them together??

[Mike1157]

Ohhh,...i had to hack the hell out of the buckets to get the tails of those lights to SIT in the bucket, and they're still kinda jammed in there. Ive found my solution for the grille, i just have to make it all fit.

[droopie85gt]

Ohhh,...i had to hack the hell out of the buckets to get the tails of those lights to SIT in the bucket, and they're still kinda jammed in there. Ive found my solution for the grille, i just have to make it all fit.

That's what I figured looking all the bajillions of those h4 conversions on Amazon and Ebay. They look about 8 inches deep!!! I can't wait to see how you do the grill! Matter of fact, I am going to the Flying Saucer and drinking at least 3 pints tonight in anticipation!

[82GTforME]

After looking at it,...I think I don't like the orange trim surrounding the black pieces on the front end. These cars are built so poorly, the gaps are over exaggerated when there is orange, then a gap, then orange to point that out.



The option here is an entire black front end. The gaps will disappear then, simply by spraying everything the same color. What do you guys think?

The front,...........I'm thinking more black paint is in order.

I like the look...of the upper. The gaps don't look bad to me. They seem uniform and of course boxy. To me the bottom part below the bumper throws it off.

More black is in order?



As for the (only) three paint chips so far, you are doing good! How do you go about fixing a chip with a single stage coating like you used?

This is shaping up to be a real eye catcher and show stopper Mike! I'm looking forward to see the entire interior in coming up. I think we've only seen it in piece meal while you were building it up to now!

[Mike1157]

That's what I figured looking all the bajillions of those h4 conversions on Amazon and Ebay. They look about 8 inches deep!!! I can't wait to see how you do the grill! Matter of fact, I am going to the Flying Saucer and drinking at least 3 pints tonight in anticipation!

I'll have to come up there when I get it done.....I was up in Nashville with the red car back in 2012 before I took it to MW,....maybe we can get together on one of my first road tests this fall?

[droopie85gt]

I'll have to come up there when I get it done.....I was up in Nashville with the red car back in 2012 before I took it to MW,....maybe we can get together on one of my first road tests this fall?

Bring it on! I'd love to meet up. My junk is not driveable now, but I can drool over yours!!