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

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

This is the cardboard template for the exhaust tip, which was fabricated from sheet metal.

Sheet metal sections are hand-bent to form the initial shape of the exhaust tip.

A piece of cardboard tubing was the perfect diameter to get the proper bends on the sheet metal pieces.

The bent sheet metal sections are tack-welded to the bent sections to form the basic shape of the exhaust tip.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The exhaust tip is now TIG welded together to seal it completely

Solid steel rod is now tack-welded onto the edge of the exhaust tip to give it a bead-rolled look.

With the solid steel rod edge completely welded in place, it can be ground down to mold it smoothly with the rest of the tip.

The exhaust tip is now bolted in place on the side exhaust tubing, and a hole is cut in the side skirt to allow it to exit.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

A frame is made in the side skirt to smoothly integrate the tip into the shape of the skirt. Grille cloth and fiberglass will now be brushed on to the frame to solidify the shape.

Grille cloth and fiberglass mat are applied to the exhaust cut-out, and now the shape can be seen.

Mike has applied the Rage Gold body filler to the exhaust cut-out, and now he's sanding the area with 36 grit sandpaper.

A clear plexiglass panel was bonded into the side skirt for the backlit AlpineF#1Status logo that would later go here. We used 3M's Panel Bonding Adhesive for a permanent bond.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Mike is mounting screens to go behind the AlpineF#1Status logo, giving it a cool multi-colored look when the DVD is playing through all of the screens.

The subwoofer enclosures in the dash were built by first making a fiberglass copy of the dash area, then using the shell to build an MDF frame on top.

Stretchy non-backed carpet was stretched over the subwoofer enclosure frames, followed by fiberglass mat and Dura-Glass, to make a solid resonance-free enclosure

The center channel enclosure is a combination of an MDF bottom bonded to a top section made of stretchy non-backed carpet, fiberglass mat, and Dura-Glass.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Stretchy non-backed speaker carpet is stapled on to the MDF lower section of the center channel enclosure.

With the carpet completely stapled in place, the enclosure is ready for fiberglass resin.

The center channel enclosure is placed on a bed of aluminum foil to keep the fiberglass resin from dripping on the floor.

After brushing on fiberglass resin and mat, the enclosure is strong and completely sealed.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

A fiberglass cover was created over the two speakers, and the MDF ring around them will eventually be molded into the dash. This cover will later be wrapped in ultra suede.

To make the imaging and staging as wide as possible, we decided to build the left and right speakers outside of the car. We started the enclosures for these with an MDF baffle to hold the mid and tweeter from the F#1Status three-way set.

The bottom of the baffle is fiberglassed to the exterior of the car to seal this area and provide strength

The exterior shape of the outside speaker enclosures is formed using MDF and cardboard. The arc-shaped piece is the beginning of the frame.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

The inner view of the beginning of the framing process shows the cardboard that was used to create a barrier for fiberglass resin and mat.

Fiberglass resin and mat were brushed on to the back of the cardboard, attaching the enclosure to the car as well as sealing the inner wall of the enclosure. Notice how the paint on the door is ground down to allow better adhesion between the door and the fiberglass

MDF ribs are used here to make the exterior frame for the speaker enclosure. Notice the large arc-shaped panel on the right of this shot that will later be the frame for the window

Grille cloth is stretched over the frame of the enclosure, followed by fiberglass resin and mat to make it strong and free of resonance.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Rage Gold body filler is applied to the enclosure and sanded, finishing the shape.

A trim panel had to be made to trim the inside of the left and right enclosures, so they were taped off to allow the panel to be removed.

Aluminum foil is spray-glued onto the tape, creating a barrier layer over which to apply fiberglass.

Grille cloth is attached to the inside of the speaker enclosure, followed by fiberglass resin. Since the grille cloth is attached to metal, it must be super glued in place instead of stapling.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Fiberglass mat and resin are used to strengthen the trim panel.

Dura-Glass is spread on the trim panel next, followed by a session with the grinder. Rage Gold body filler and sanding come next.

The midbass drivers from the F#1Status three-way set are mounted in the dash, and we decided to mount these in enclosures for the best possible impact. A fiberglass shell that fits the shape of the car was built first, then an MDF ring that to hold the speaker is super-glued in place.

Stretchy non-backed carpet is super-glued to the top of the enclosures to seal them up.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

Fiberglass resin and mat further strengthen and seal the midbass enclosures

The rear fill speakers cover the area of the rear windows, and a MDF base was built as the basis of these enclosures. An MDF baffle holds the mid and tweeter at the proper angles.

The driver's side enclosure is built using the same technique as the passenger's side

Stretchy non-backed carpet is stapled onto each enclosure, and then it is coated with fiberglass resin, mat, and Dura-Glass.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

The rear speaker enclosures are bolted to the car to eliminate any chance of rattles

A close-up of the passenger side enclosure shows the completed piece. Since these aren't going to be seen after the sidepanels are done, this is all the finish work they need

The center drive on our X5 is done using a gear-reduction chain drive. The long steering shaft only has to turn 90 degrees in each direction to turn full lock on the factory steering

The center-drive steering column was created with two pieces of steel--a long horizontal bar supported by a triangulation brace, both welded to the firewall

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

The steering wheel is designed to move, while the head unit inside of it remains stationary. Here, the basic frame for the steering wheel is being built using steel and MDF.

This shot shows the steering at full lock, with the wheel turned 90 degrees from center. Notice that the head unit maintains its horizontal position.

From the back angle, it's possible to see how the steering system works. The head unit is mounted on the main horizontal tube that forms the steering column, while the actual steering shaft is mounted below so that the wheel doesn't contact the head unit's mount

The steering wheel is built using an MDF frame to create a tube-shaped wheel that allows the head unit to spin inside it. The metal handles will later be covered with ergonomically-correct grips.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

A small insert panel was created under the wheel to hide the bolts and the seam that hold the metal wheel to the fiberglass tube.

This shot shows the MDF grips that cover the steel steering wheel. A plate was also built to trim the head unit.

In addition to the head unit, the key cylinder (top) and shifter (bottom) are also mounted to the wheel center. The small aluminum knob on the bottom controls an electric actuator to shift the automatic transmission. Small metal inserts are also mounted at each corner, with the upper ones designed to hide the bolts used to mount the center plate to the rest of the wheel.

This is the dash area of the X5 before beginning construction of the custom dashboard

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

The enclosures for the subwoofers, front midbasses, and center channel are all mounted in preparation for the dash construction. In addition, masking tape and aluminum foil completely cover these pieces to prevent resin from sticking to them.

Foil is also used to cover the edges of the dash enclosures and the door jambs.

Rings were created to trim the edges of the subwoofers, the center channel, and each midbass. These rings are super-glued over the foil, and they form the basis for the framing of the dash.

MDF strips are cut to shape and super-glued to the dash, forming the frame that creates the shape of the dash.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

The top view of the dash frame shows how the frame defines the future dash shape

Grille cloth is stapled and super-glued to the dash, stretched tightly to avoid sagging when the resin is applied.

The shape of the dash is now revealed after the grille cloth is stretched over the frame. Notice how we had to super-glue the cloth to the front edge of the dash due to its metal construction

It is very important to protect the area under the large dash panel, since a lot of fiberglass resin will soon be dripping on it. We like to use heavy-duty plastic drop cloth to catch any drips.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

Fiberglass mat and Dura-glass are spread over the surface of the dash, making it strong and warpage-free before it is removed.

It took almost two gallons of Dura-glass to cover the dash, but most of it will end up as dust after the dash is ground down. Putting the filler on heavy while the dash is still in the car avoids warping such a large piece.

After the grinding process to remove excess Dura-glass, the dash is completely covered with a thin layer of Rage Gold body filler. After the filler has partially dried to a clay consistency, it is quickly sanded with 36 grit sandpaper

The under-dash trim panel was built using an MDF frame. Unlike most panels, however, we chose to fiberglass this one out of the car to avoid having to fiberglass upside down.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

An MDF jig was built to hold the frame for the underdash panel in place. This jig kept the panel from warping while fiberglass was applied.

After laying down five layers of fiberglass mat followed by Dura-Glass and Rage Gold, the underdash panel is ready to fit in the car.

The basic shape of the dash is now complete, and now we can build the inserts to trim the subwoofers and midbass speakers.

We decided to build insert panels around the subwoofers so that we could cover these panels with suede. The first step was to tape off the top of the dash and spray-glue some aluminum foil on top of the tape.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

Fiberglass mat and resin were brushed over the foil to create a form-fitting insert for the top of the dash.

Dura-Glass was applied to the insert before it was removed from the foil in order to keep it from warping.

After removing the insert, it was cut to the desired shape and re-installed in the car to check the fit.

After looking at the insert shape in the dash, we decided to cut the panel into two pieces to improve the style. Next, the insert panels were taped off and placed in position so that Dura-Glass filler could be used to build up the dash to the level of the inserts.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

A quick layer of Rage Gold goes over the Dura-Glass, and then it can be sanded with 36 grit sandpaper. We like to spray-glue the sandpaper together and cut it into small pieces, and some old pieces can be seen here on the hood.

A close-up reveals the finished inserts, which fit perfectly flush into the dash with a small gap for the thickness of suede.

The front of the dash is being taped off here in preparation for the midbass inserts. Aluminum foil will be spray glued over the tape to protect the dash from the fiberglass insert.

Fiberglass mat is layed over the foil in the area that the inserts are going to go. We make sure to lay plenty of extra over the edges so that we don't run out when we cut them off.

 

[Giovanni Dimitropoulos]

Re: ALPINE DEMO CAR: BMW X5............Τελικά ΕΙΝΑΙ παλαβοί!!!!

Dura-Glass is the next step in the insert building process, applied while the insert is still mounted on the dash to avoid warping.

The inserts are now removed from the dash and cut to the desired shape. Three layers of tape are wrapped around the insert to gap it for suede, and then it is tacked back on the dash with super glue so that the surface of the dash can be built up around it with Dura-Glass.

Some Rage Gold body filler and some sanding finish off the inserts, giving the dash an extra touch of style

The inserts around the midbass drivers will later be wrapped with suede for style and sound deadening