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

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The sponsor list is painted on the panel underneath the driver's seat, making it visible when the car is open.

The rear bumper is from Erebuni, and it was modified extensively.

ABS plastic and fiberglass mat were used to extend the lip of the inside cut-out, matching the side cut-outs.

With a little primer applied, it is obvious now that the edges of each cut-out now look the same.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

A center rib was added to the middle of each side cut-out, matching the front bumper.

The edges of each center rib were filled and sanded to mold them into the lines of the rear bumper.

This is one of our custom-made 26x12" wheels from KMC--it dwarfs Mike! :shock: :shock:

The rear suspension had to be modified to work with the 4" lowered stance of the X5, since the rear camber was very bad.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Here are the custom plates welded onto the factory crossmember to extend the upper control arms, tilting the top of the wheel out and fixing the camber problem.

A close-up of the camber plates shows the slotted holes, allowing for adjustment of camber and caster.

Here's our custom 26x12" wheel mounted, and positioned where it will be when the car is finished.

Notice how much the wheel sticks out from the fender; this wheel was custom-made for a widebody.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The flares were made from urethane foam, and here Mike is sanding the flares.

Here is one of the flares with the shape sanded completely. Notice the wood around the wheel--this is used to simulate the tire that will eventually be mounted.

From the side view, it is apparent how wide the fender flare is--about 4" on each side.

The front flares were built in the same fashion as the rear, although they are not as wide. This gives the X5 a more aggressive staggered look.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Aluminum foil was spray-glued onto the foam before it was fiberglassed, in order to more easily remove the foam from the back when it was all finished.

Fiberglass cloth was used over the fender flares to make them solid. Cloth works well in this application because it lays on much more smoothly than mat.

This shot shows both flares after the fiberglass has dried, and after the foam has been removed from the inside. Fiberglass mat was added from the inside of each flare to further stiffen them.

The fender flares are molded right in to the front bumper, eliminating the seam line for a smooth overall look.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The door line is cut into the flare, and gapped evenly with the rest of the door.

This shot shows how the door opens over the fender flare, requiring the part of the flare to be molded onto the door.

Rage Gold is used to smooth out the shape of the flares

Dura-glass is spread between the flare and the fender to smoothly blend the two together.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

More Rage Gold is used to further blend the flare-to-body seam, and after sanding, it is ready for primer.

Since the doors motorize out, there's no need for the door handles, so we had to fill them.

The edges of the door handle area are ground down to prepare them for welding

A cardboard template was made to fit the door handle hole, and a sheet metal piece was created from the template.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The sheet metal piece is now welded into the door handle hole to fill the hole permanently.

Dura-Glass is spread over the door handle areas, as well as between the door seams, to smooth out the area without risk of shrinkage.

The bottom of the door needs to be built out to match the side skirt, as evidenced by the gap seen here.

A cardboard template was built to fill the bottom of the door, and then the shape was transferred to sheet metal and cut out with a nibbler.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The sheet metal panel is now tacked onto the door to fill the void between the door and the side skirt.

A long panel like this one must be slowly tack welded into place to avoid warping the piece.

Here, the driver's side metal piece is tacked into place.

Notice the small panel in front of the door to integrate the back of the fender into the lower door.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

To get a door this big straight, a long block sander must be used. Smaller sanding blocks will result in waviness in a panel this

The fender was molded to the door jam, and the door hinge holes were welded and filled as well.

We decided to make a clear plexiglass rear hatch, so we needed a mold for it. We welded the two halves of the factory hatch together, and then filled the license plate hole with sheet metal.

After removing the hatch from the car, we made a custom stand to make it easier to keep it horizontal.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The shape of the hatch is complete, notice the filler between the seams of the metal panel to smooth the overall shape.

Fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin were then applied over the entire hatch, creating a solid shell with no seams. The epoxy resin holds up well to the heat of plexiglass bending.

The epoxy resin is left to dry overnight. After filler and primer are applied and sanded, the mold is sent to our plexiglass molder to create the final piece.

After the plexiglass piece is finished, it is mounted onto the car using metal brackets and bolts.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Tape and foil are stuck onto the rear area, allowing us to fiberglass a rear insert panel

Five layers of fiberglass mat were brushed onto the foil, creating the rear trim panel to hide the bolts holding the rear plexiglass hatch in place.

The side windows are made from 1/4" plexiglass, cut from a template made out of MDF.

The side windows are bolted in place using steel brackets.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Tape and foil are applied over the edges of the side windows, and fiberglass is laid over the foil to create the trim that hides the side window bolt holes.

This is Billy, one of our friends who helped us with some of the final details. Here, Billy is doing his best impression of a BMW mechanic while he installs the Brembo brakes

This is the 15", 8 piston Brembo brake set-up, the biggest ones that Brembo makes.

Undercoating was sprayed on the inner fender wells to finish off the look

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

With the car base coated, the shape of the fender flares can really be seen. Look how small the factory 19" wheels look in there!

The rim lips are custom painted, and here they are shown on spinning mounts to make them easier to paint.

The rims are shown here complete and ready to go on the car. Notice the black lips and vacuum-metalized centers to give them a classy appearance.

After mocking up the rims on the car, we had to make some custom spacers to clear our big brakes. Oddly enough, the stock, wheels fit over the brakes just fine!

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Here's a close-up of the completed faces on the door of the X5, showing Tupac and Frank Sinatra.

Mike is cutting the centers out of the factory hood in order to lower them about three inches

Here, the difference between the lowered center and the stock one

Notice how much more the aggressive the hood looks with the centers dropped down

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The edges are ground down to bare metal to get them ready for welding.

These steel pieces are designed to fill the gap left by lowering the center of the hood, and they will be welded into place.

TThe back part of the gap left by lowering the hood center will be filled by these pieces, after some bending to get them into the proper shape

Mike is using a hammer and sandbag to give the rear fill panel some rough shape

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

This shot shows the rough shape of the rear fill panel after beating it on a sandbag.

A planishing hammer is used to further refine the shape of the rear fill piece. This is basically an air hammer that rapidly beats the metal into a curved shape.

The final shaping step is done with the English wheel, which consists of two steel wheels very close together that press the metal into a very smooth shape.

With all three fill panels complete, they are carefully welded in place.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

All of the welds are ground down, and the new aggressive shape of the hood is apparent here

The first coat of Rage Gold body filler is applied to smooth out the final shape of the hood

After several applications of Rage Gold body filler and a lot of sanding, the hood is starting to take shape. Also notice the vent holes in the back of the hood to give it some extra style.

Primer is now sprayed on the hood, and it is blocked down to further refine and smooth the shape.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Even the rear of the hood is finished with fiberglass and body filler to complete the transformation.

With some paint on the hood, the aggressive shape and sporty lines can really be seen

The side skirts are made from fiberglass, and this is the MDF mold used to make the rough pieces.

After preparing the mold with a mold release agent (PVA), polyester primer is sprayed inside followed by five layers of fiberglass mat.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The result of the mold is a fiberglass piece with a layer of primer already in place, making the final finishing much easier. 3M's Panel Bonding Adhesive is being used to attach the side skirt to the car.

Dura-Glass and Rage Gold were then used to smooth the transition between the body and the side skirt.

These are the tubing sections that we used to build our custom side exit exhaust system

The tubing sections are cut to length, TIG welded together, and welded to the catalytic converter to get the exhaust out on each side of the car.