More putty.  It doesn't look like much, but this is about 10 hours of work since the last photos!

I have been sanding putty for the last few evenings. 

It's getting closer!  I might be ready to spray primer this weekend.

"Tonight I sanded bondo on my hood prop rod mounting bracket" said no normal human, ever.

I took the coolant reservoir sphere to Lewis Welding for the last weld. 

I have been asked why I don't do my own TIG welding, since I'm a hardcore DIY guy when it comes to everything else.  This is why; I will realistically NEVER lay down a bead of weld this nice.

Into the lathe

Ready for finishing and paint!

I made this magnetic iPhone mount so I can take pictures and videos without using my hands.

Back to bondo!

After the final fitting of the coolant reservoir, I welded the mounts into the strut tower.

The next step was to plumb the coolant inlet through the firewall. 

Some test-fits

I made this aluminum o-ringed plug on my lathe.  I need to make a large enough hole to pass the flare fitting through the firewall, so I can't use a regular rubber grommet.

.780" hole drilled, which should be large enough to clear the 11/16" hex on the flare nut.

There is an O-ring and retaining ring on the inside to hold everything in place.

Back to bondo!  I laid a coat of Evercoat Tiger Hair, I should be spreading regular filler this weekend.

It's been just over a year since we scrapped Papa Fazz's old Ford, we have gone without a truck for too long!  I bought myself a new 2012 Chevy Silverado 2500HD, with the 6.0L gas engine.  This also means the Jetta will be a trailer queen.

It's about as long as a city block.

6 Liters of gas guzzling power.  'Merica.

After almost destroying my hemisphere trying to fit the mounting bosses, I decided to do it the easy way this time.  I plunged a 7/8" diameter end mill through for a perfect fit.

Kage is forklift certified, so he helped with the heavy lifting.

To fit the mounting bosses, I got some help from Solidworks.  I modeled each tube and printed an un-wrapped profile.

Much better than last time!

I had it welded up.

No burn-through to the outside for a perfect smooth look.

Pressure tested.  My ghetto pressure testing fixture leaked like crazy, but the welds didn't!

I started fitting the new reservoir to the shock tower.  I tacked it on the outside during mockup, but it will be welded inside the wheel well for a clean look in the bay.

I put the hood on for a rough clearance check of the new reservoir location.

Tacked in place.

I did some more work on my coolant reservoir this week.

I ground the weld and pressure tested the coolant inlet nipple.

Last week I made a ring for the cap, which I had welded on and then put back in the lathe for finishing.
Before welding:

Welded

Turned.

It presses inside the Billet Specialties cap.

This is how the top of the reservoir will look.

I cut a hole through the side for the coolant inlet, all the welds will be inside the sphere so it will look clean.

-10AN fitting out the bottom

-6AN fitting and cap in the top

Next I did some figuring to lay out the 3 mounting bosses.

I used the lathe to help layout the lines exactly 1" apart.

The mounting bosses

During the final fitting, I fucked it all up.  The holes ended up ovalized and the gaps were too big, so I had Bill build up some weld so I can try again.  I ordered another hemisphere, but I think I can fix this one.

I also destroyed one of my mounting bosses trying to saw it off.

New mounting boss to replace the gouged one:

After laying everything out a little better, I'm starting again.  This time it should be more symmetric with tighter gaps.