V.I.P Toyota Aristo
The Plan !, To create a VIP styled car like no other, Although a popular culture in the US and Japan, VIP style cars are relatively new and unheard of in the UK.
With a substantially smaller budget to work with than necessary and a vague trend to follow, we'll see what we can achieve with this project and aim to push a couple of boundaries if we can ?
The Aristo as it stands, A mildly modified 400hp 2JZ-GTE powered Import from Japan, A few parts have already been installed, including a Full aftermarket Chrome Set, Passenger Bar Table, Curtains and a few other bits.
We are keeping the Vertex Body-kit and modifying it to suit.
One of the Big Challenges with this Project is fitting the Monsterous "Garson Zuenglein DR 302's" with a Ridiculous 19x12 -6 on the Rear !
A start has been made on the Front Wings, as these are only to house a pair of 18x9's.
The wheels don't hang out to far, So we plan on modifying the stock front wings to suit.
We taped out a line close to the factory swage line, this was then cut and parted in the middle to allow us to pull the wings to the desired amount of flare.
Two pieces of sheet steel were cut and shaped.
One for the vertical part line, and One for the New swaged top piece.
We used a thinner 22swg sheet for its flexability, as the top piece had to have a subtle curve across its top.
With our steel pieces tacked up on both sides, we can finish weld the pieces in place, Using a 'String of Pearls' technique to minimise distorsion of the panel.
The next stage was to grind the welds flush, while also curving the inner and outer edges to create a small bevel edge.
A little more grinding and we can apply a metal etch primer used for corrosion resistance, Followed by a few coats of 2K primer.
We finished the Grinding, The panel is now smoothed and has a subtle Bevel edge similar to that of the factory arch edge.
They have been given a couple of light coats of Metal Etch Primer, followed by a couple of heavy coats of 2K Primer.
They will need blocking flat, probably followed by a couple more coats of primer.
We move on to the Rear Quarter panels, which are going to need a little more work than the Front Wings !
These require some extensive mocking up in Cardboard, trying different options and styles before committing to fabbing them up in steel !
After taking the necessary measurements from our cardboard template, We cut out both sides in 22swg steel.
We also added some cardboard ribs to the centre of the arch to give us the desired amount of flare.
The steel sheet was then temporarily fixed in place to allow us to measure up for the other steel pieces needed to be cut.
We set the Coilover's at the lowest Position they could go to, which will be much lower than the height the car will be run at, We then Scribed and cut out the factory arch to allow for full compression of the suspension and a fully loaded car.
Basically to guarantee we have no clearance issues.
As with most cars, the rear quarters comprise of two skins, that separate when cut.
We cut both skins into tabs, which we flared outwards, before welding them both together.
They are then given a light grind to clean them up, We don't want to remove to much material, as this gives us a solid base to weld to when we install our inner arch returns.
V.I.P Toyota Aristo - Part 2