Hello all,
Im going turbo soon, so Im putting together a custom pillar pod for the 2008+ Lancer, and possibly Evo X as well. Not much of a "how-to" but these are all the steps I am taking, so you guys can get an idea.
PLEASE, criticize me, rate me, advise me, etc.! I appreciate feedback and it will help for others and future projects
Products needed:
Your A-pillar of course
APC Universal dual pillar pods ($30 - Pepboys)
Pint of bondo body repair kit ($8 - Pepboys)
Sandpaper of varying grits ($5 - Pepboys)
Grey primer
Paint of your choice
The sandpaper pack that I got came with 1 60 grit, 2 120 grits, and 2 320 grits already in the pack, very good buy, and the bondo came with a plastic spreader and hardener, so didnt need to spend more money on those things
Tools needed:
Drill
1" Spade drill bit
Phillips head drill bit
regular drill bits depending on how small of screws you use (See step 3)
Strong scissors or Dremel with cutting tool (recommended, although I had to use scissors)
I strongly suggest an orbital sander or something of the sort to do major sanding with, although I didn't use one
Sorry for the picture quality, they were taken with a cell phone. Better pics can be taken upon request.
1. You will definitely need to cut the APC universal pillar pod mount to get it to fit good enough onto the pillar (dremel or scissors). Make sure you want to do this installation, because thats 30 bucks wasted if you dont!
2. This is it mounted with a piece of double sided tape to hold it in the place that I want.
3. Next, take the pillar off and move to your workstation, or in my case, my kitchen at college
. The APC unit comes with 4 screws, and I suggest using 3 of those to hold it on at the top, middle, and bottom. Or you can use your own screws, just make sure to get the right size drill bits for the pilot holes. Drill a small pilot hole through both the APC and the pillar where you want the screw, then a slightly bigger pilot hole in JUST the APC (about the size of the screw), so when you screw through the APC, there is absolutely no risk of cracking the plastic. Here is the APC mounted with screws.
4. After it is mounted and solid, go ahead and drill the holes to run the hoses or wires or w/e you will be running to your gauges. This is what the 1" spade drill bit is for. I actually drilled 2 holes overlapping per pod to make it a little bigger.
5. Grind down the screws so there will be less bondo needed to cover them, but make sure enough of the screw head is left to hold the pillar on!
6. Once that is done, you can start mixing your bondo/hardener and applying it. Make sure to read the directions and clean the pillar/APC of all debris, dirt, grease, etc. before you apply, and wait at least 45 minutes for it to cure so it is able to be sanded.
7. Put on your first coat of bondo, making sure to "push" it up into the cracks between the APC and pillar and covering the tops of your screws, then sand with 60-80 grit sandpaper.
8. Two more coats and sanding.
a. Second coat
b. third coat (touch-up)
9. Sand with 60-80 grit, then medium 120-140 or so, then finally fine 320. Remember to do the whole pillar as well, so the whole thing is smooth and not smooth ONLY where the gauges are....it would look weird! (IMO)
10. I suggest putting on a fourth coat of bondo just to fill in any small crevices or holes or cracks (like I had to). Remember, be very sensitiv when sanding and handling because when not fully dried like after a day or so, you can crack the bondo by accidentally bending the pillar...big NO-NO! after the fourth coat, you can go ahead and sand lightly with 40 grit, then 80 grit, then 120 grit, then 320 grit for the final sanding. remember do the whole pillar with all of these except the 40 and maybe the 80 grit. Now you are ready for primer/paint!
11. Final sanding and painting. I used about 4 coats of primer and sanded lightly with 320 after each one. First pic is a test fit before primer/paint.
I decided to paint it flat black, because I could not find a grey that would match closely enough to the stock color.
FINISHED PRODUCT:
I know it isnt 100% professional, but I wasn't expecting that, seeing as this is my first time doing bondo lol but I do plan on possibly covering it with some kind of thin material just to make it look better. any suggestions for this on what to use??
