Alpine Demo Car: Bmw X5............Κατασκευή!!

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Παναγιώτη είχες δίκιο τελικά............

Nα τις βάλω με μια σειρά μόνο και βέβαια υπομονή γιατί είναι πολύ το υλικό......
(και δεν θα μπορέσω να το κατεβάσω όλο!!!!) :shock: :shock:

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The Building Process

The center hump in the middle of the X5's floorpan is far too tall for our proposed seat concept, so it has to be cut down. An air saw is the perfect tool for the job.

With the center hump cut out, the transmission is visible through the floor

A new floor piece was fabricated using 16 gauge sheet metal, and it was tack welded in place over the transmission.

The completed steel panel shows how much lower the center hump is than the factory arrangement. Notice the small bump in the middle of the piece to allow for transmission clearance.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

3M Panel Bonding Adhesive was applied to the seam around the new transmission hump panel to seal it completely to the floorpan.

A rollcage was welded into the interior to provide much-needed chassis stiffness, since the plan called for removal of the X5's B-pillars.

Unlike a normal roll cage installation, this one was welded along all the body lines of the car to maximize the stiffening effect.

The roll cage ends were welded to the floor using 1/8" steel plates, as specified in racing rulebooks, to maximize contact with the floorpan.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Much time was spent bending the roll cage tubes to fit the interior shape very closely, so it could later be easily camouflaged by the interior.

The roll cage extends to the rear of the roof, where it was welded into the existing metal across the top of the C-pillars.

The insides of the doors were cut out to reduce their weight as much as possible.

The front doors were tacked to the B-pillars to hold them in place after the hinges were removed.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

1/8" steel rod was tack welded between the front and rear doors to fill the gap and start the process of bonding the doors together.

After the doors are tacked together, they are welded solid to eliminate the seam

One problem with welding on BMW doors is that the sealer they use on the edges of the doors is flammable!

A few more welds, and the two doors are one

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

We build the world's biggest coupe! The front hinges were left in place until the door sliders were in place in order to keep them properly aligned with the rest of the body.

A temporary cross-brace was welded to the window frames to keep them aligned while the pillars were cut out.

A 2"x4" section of 1/8" wall box tubing was welded to each side sill to further stiffen the chassis in preparation for the removal of the B-pillars.

We used a sawzall with a long metal blade to cut the B-pillars out of the body.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Here's a good shot of the inside of the welded doors before any cross-bracing was added

With the main pillars out of the way, the remaining material is trimmed off.

The pillar between the doors is the next to be cut out, also done with a sawzall

With the B-pillar gone, the large window opening can now be seen. This will allow an easy view into the car even when it is closed.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

1/2" hollow steel tubing was welded to the exterior seams of the window openings, adding stiffness to the structure.

Sheet metal panels had to be made to continue the door jam line where the B-pillars were removed, so we made them on a bending brake and welded them in place.

The bottom door jam area also received sheet metal to continue the lines, hiding the area where the B-pillar was removed.

The rails to slide the seats were welded to the floor after being mounted on 1" square tube steel. The wood box is a jig to hold the rails perfectly parallel during the welding process.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The rear rails are welded in place in the same manner as the front, also using a wood jig to keep them parallel.

All four rails are now welded to the floor of the car, two for the driver door and two for the passenger.

The slider system for the doors was constructed from two pieces of 2"x1" rectangular tube steel on each side, and here the first piece is being clamped in place.

With the doors attached to the sliders, the front hinges are removed and the doors can slide out horizontally.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The passenger door slides out just like the driver's side.

The inner structure of the door is shown here. Notice how 1" tube steel is cross-braced inside to provide maximum stiffness. The door is bolted to the sliders to allow it to be removed easily if necessary.

The sliding structure is also cross-braced internally to keep everything strong.

Another shot of the door b racing shows how much steel is hidden inside the doors.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Triangular braces were also welded in place to keep the doors from wobbling while motorizing in and out.

The passenger side door is braced in the same manner as the driver's side.

The bolts to hold the door with the slider are easily visible here. Six bolts are all that are necessary to hold the door in place.

This shot shows both doors, with all the bracing in place, through the passenger side window.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Steel panels were cut and welded to fill the gap between the flares and the stock door line.

Rage Gold body filler was used to create the final smooth shape of the filler panel.

The door jam was finished with a fiberglass panel to build the jam out to the same level as the fender flare.

The door jam panel was finished with Rage Gold to smooth out the final shape.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The inside of the doors was built using fiberglass, permanently attached to the outside door shell. Here, the MDF frame is being constructed to give the inner door its shape.

With some additional bracing, the MDF frame is complete. It is tacked to the door with super glue, but fiberglass will eventually hold it permanently in place.

Another shot of the door framing shows the future shape of the door area, and the metal is ground down to promote adhesion with the fiberglass.

The driver's side door framing was also built using MDF ribs, and the shape is slightly different from the other side due to the location of the mounting rails.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Grille cloth is stretched over the MDF frame to create the solid shape of the door.

Fiberglass resin and fiberglass mat are now applied to the inside door, creating a strong surface.

Dura-glass reinforced body filler is spread over the door surface to provide the initial filling of the doors.

The driver's side door was fiberglassed in the same manner as the passenger's side.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

A fiberglass insert panel was built on each door to provide some style and sound deadening on each side. The door surface was taped off and foil covered before fiberglass resin and mat were applied to the foil.

Dura-glass was used to fill the door insert before it was removed from the door.

After Rage Gold and some sanding, the door insert is almost complete. Now, Dura-Glass is being applied to the door itself around the edges of the insert panel in order to build the door up to the insert level.

The upper edges of the doors were reconstructed using fiberglass to mold them together and integrate the outer windows.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

With the X5 base-coated silver, the shape of the doors can be easily seen.

The outer doors required a lot of sanding to get the seam smoothly integrated together while preserving the body lines.

The seats in the X5 are modified fiberglass racing buckets. This is the rear one, which is cut down extensively to make it fit in the tight confines of the rear area.

With the seats mounted to their steel brackets, the framing for the fiberglass side trims can be seen here, ready for fiberglass.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Another shot of the MDF framing that forms the sides of the seats. Notice the foil underneath the framing to prevent fiberglass from becoming attached to the rails underneath.

Grille cloth is stretched over the frame to form the shape of the side panels.

Fiberglass resin is brushed onto the grille cloth to stiffen it, forming a solid surface

After laying down five layers of fiberglass mat, Dura-Glass is spread over the surface to smooth out the shape.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Another view of the side panel shows how the shape will look when it's finished.

The front seat area is built using the same technique as the rear, with MDF framing forming the skeleton.

Notice in this shot how the seat is bolted in from the inside so that the seat upholstery can hide the bolts.

Dura-glass is applied to the surface after grille cloth and fiberglass mat are laid onto the surface.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Notice the deep footwell area, which will eventually be covered in carpet.

Both seat trims were taped off to make an insert on top, which would later be carpeted.

After putting aluminum foil on top of the tape, fiberglass mat and resin was brushed over the top to form the insert panel.

The construction of both insert panels can be seen here, with both doors open.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

These panels were built from MDF under each seat to finish this area.

This is Glen from Alpine of Canada, who came down to help us out during the last month of the build. Here, he's sanding the edge between the seat trim and the insert panel.

Here, the completed carpeted insert panel is visible, showing how it wraps around the seat

This shot shows the completed seat, ready for upholstery.