Bill Ball

You're gettin' there, Jerry!

Jerry Feather

Last nite about 8 I finished up the latest changes in the form for the inner halves. When I finish my coffee and get dressed I'm going to go out and blow a new pair of inner liner halves. If they fit like I always seem to expect then all I have to do is finalize the mounting brackets for the right well and then concentrate on the outer halves.

I am also getting close enough that I have added some small refinements that will allow me to trim these out more easily than trimming each one to fit one of my cars each time. I'll be forming some indicators into the plastic that will show where the trim lines are supposed to be. That will help a lot in production.

The ourter half form has already been modified twice since Spring Fling and has yet to be used for a blow. If some measurements indicate any more adjustments, I'll make them and then blow the outer halves and see if they fit, finally. If so I'll have time to blow a few prototype sets for show and field testing and also work on the sound blocking material, all before OCIC, I still hope.

Jerry Feather

Gary Knox

WONDERFUL progress Jerry. I've heard that some of the CO wildfires have been in the Grand Junction area. Hope they are terminated by now, and no damage done.

Cheers, and see you at OCIC.

Gary

ReDesign by FEATHER

Thanks, Gary. The fire closest to here is about 10 miles away, as the crow flies, or about 15 miles on the interstate (70). There is no threat of damage to me, but there is a lot of forest that is sort of damaged and the little town of Debeque is still threatened.

You don't know it yet, but you are going to be one of my field testers for these liners in you GTS. If my plan comes together I'll be bringing you a set of these liners in their anticipated shipping box(s) and you can ship them home or take them as baggage or carry on (?) when you fly home. So far that is still a kind of big "IF." Otherwise I'll be sending them to you later.

Tony, by prearrangement, is the other tester. He has the benefit of watching me try to fit some of these in his GTS at Spring Fling.

At OCIC I'll have extensive instructions written out about the installation of these and hope to have both a set installed in my GTS4 and a set assembled out of a car for show and tell.

Looking foreward to meeting you in person (again?).

Jerry Feather

77tony

Jerry, I presume your bringing your pick up with loads of product, so I'll bring the GTS so you have something to play with ! Looking forward to seeing you at OCIC. T

Jerry Feather

Hey Tony, That's great. Actually I'm, bringing my pickup and trailer and the GTS4 in the trailer together with whatever product I can put together before then.

If you bring your GTS it will give me an opportunity to see both what you learned while I was at Spring Fling trying to fit the liners in your car, AND see just how well you do in the field test with reading and following the instructions while you put the liners in your car. While I was in the spotlight with the liner project in Rock Port, you will to get to be in the spotlight at OCIC.

I'll bring my floor jack and some extra stands for you to use; and you might even be able to recruit Gary or some others to read the instructions while you do the installation. I'll try to have enough tools for you to use also. I think it is going to be interesting to watch so I can tell how well this is going to work when production and shipping start.

Jerry Feather

77tony

Jerry, I'll bring the camera and assist anyway I can. If Gary or anyone else wants to jump in, that would be great. T

Jerry Feather

Tony, I think you are missing the point of the field test. The test is not going to be to simply see how these liners fit someone else's car but rather to see how well the whole project is developed for application by someone like you and many of the others in the field and with only the liners in a box and my written instructions to go by. You will have the advantage of having watched me in Rock Port, but you will be on your own, with whatever help you can garner from the others, while I hide and watch and evaluate how easy or difficult these are going to be for any or all of you guys to install.

I may have my camera and I may be available to assist, but probably only at the point that you or someone like you in the field is ready to say "screw it!!!! these don't fit and I am sending them back. Then I will try to assist, or worse case, take them back and solve the problem.

Jerry Feather

Jadz928

Just caught up on your project, Jerry. You are so close, and it looks to be gping very well! Keep it up, you're almost there!

Jerry Feather

Today I started about 10:00 and began with blowing a pair of the inner halves of the liners to the tune of the latest version of the form. They came out great! Then I trimmed the right one out and spent a few hours reworking the brackets I had previously devised so they will fit the liners.

I had done the brackets for the left liner earlier this week. Now all I have to do is refine the system to replicate each of them. I'm going to try to do most of that tomorrow.

Before I quit this evening for supper I set up and blew the outer half pair. They came out JFB. Then I trimmed them out. Now all I have to do with all the halves is finish glueing them up with their various doublers and closed cell seal, then mate them and drill for the connecting clips. That too tomorrow, I hope.

Here are a few pictures of the brackets in place. The first set is the driver's side. I'll plot similar for the passenger side in a minute.

Yes, I know. They don't really look like much, but I find that it has been a real trick to get all the curves correct and the intersecting planes to meet at the right place.

Jerry Feather

Here they are.

Jerry Feather

MGW-Fla

Awesome work Jerry!

nc_growler

Can't wait for the GTS parts to be finished so Jerry can get started with the S4/GT project. :-)

Jerry Feather

"get started" is not the correct phrase. Since this project started with development of these liners for the S4 and other cars before the GTS, most of the development for those is already done. The inner half of these new liners is going to be common to all of the cars, save for some of the mounting points. And, some of the mounting brackets for the GTS are also the same for the other cars.

So, I have the mounting brackets for the S4 and GT and other cars also done except for the rear top of the right wheel well, and for that one there is almost nothing in the car to mount a bracket to. I haven't solved that issue as of yet, but when I finish up with the GTS liners I'll be able to devote some attention to that problem.

There is one point in the upper rear of the right well that I might utilize and that is an anchor for a fuel line or something. On the other hand, I might even consider simply glueing some kind of bracket to the body work under there somewhere. That may not be a bad idea, except for the problem associated with having someone do that in the field.

Therefore, except for this last mounting bracket, when I start production for the GTS liners I will be able almost to simultaneously start the S4 and other car liner production. The form for the outer halves is made so that I only have to interchange the wheel opening form segment from one to the other to make one or the other outer liner half.

Jerry Feather

nc_growler

W00t! Can't wait!