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Mon Nov 22, 2010 8:44 am

I've been seeing several post's about the "Raptor UPOL" Bed Liner kits, so I figured I would go ahead and start my build thread. I was going to wait until I was totally done and post it all at once, but I figured this might help someone else visualize possible end results with the bed liner.

I'm in the wiring and re-assambly phase, so here goes.......

General body shots. Hood and seats are just sitting in place so I could see how she's looking. She's the darker orange, some of the pics turned out funny because of the flash.

Close up of texture.

Mock up seat placement. Front seats are from a 2001 Toyota Celica (junkyard find for $100). I cleaned them up a little with Vynal/Fabric Paint. The rear seat is a high back tractor seat from tractor supply. Because of its smaller size it fits my daughter perfectly. The plan is to surround it with a small "cage" mounted to the shock towers / rear body mounts. That way there will be solid mounting points for her 4 point harness.

Got some of the wiring done on the rear. I used LED semi lights and man are these suckers bright.

Loose wiring "diagram".

Chassis and engine waiting in the loft. It's a little dusty from sitting in the shop :oops: .We re-did all of this a few months ago but all of the pics are on undeveloped 35mm film. All I really did was pull off and clean up the engine, clean and re-paint the pan (I used black tractor paint from Tractor Supply), replace the shocks with a set of KYB GR2's that I picked up at a swap meet.

It's slow going because I generally only get one partial day a week at the shop :cry: . But at least I'm making progress.

Chris

Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:01 am

looks pretty cool so far. did you find that the bed liner stiffened the body more?

Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:20 am

I can't really tell, it was a pretty stout body to start with.

Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:56 am

Are those Toyota seats going to fit between the tunnel and the inner body panel? If they dont fit you can try Miata seats which is what I have in mine.

Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:58 am

Colored bed liner? Where did you find it and how difficult was it to use? I would like to find it in olive drab.

Jeff

Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:57 am

Looks great! Did you have it done or was it a do it yourself kit? If so, what brand and did you spray it or brush it on? Thanks, Brett

Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:07 pm

Looks great! Did you have it done or was it a do it yourself kit? If so, what brand and did you spray it or brush it on? Thanks, Brett

Mon Nov 22, 2010 1:37 pm

Looks kinda like my buggy did the first time I sprayed clear coat. Hahaha. Thank god for color sanding

Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:04 pm

Quote: Are those Toyota seats going to fit between the tunnel and the inner body panel? If they dont fit you can try Miata seats which is what I have in mine.

They fit (just barely). I did a test placement before I pulled the body off. It's a tight squeeze and I have to fab up some mounts, but they should look sweet.

Quote: Colored bed liner? Where did you find it and how difficult was it to use? I would like to find it in olive drab.

Jeff
Quote: Looks great! Did you have it done or was it a do it yourself kit? If so, what brand and did you spray it or brush it on? Thanks, Brett

The kit is a do it yourself thing. It's called "raptor bed liner" and is made by a company called UPOL. It's tintable to any color you want and is extremly easy to use. I got it from my local paint shop, but you can also get it online. The kit runs anywhere from $120 - $160 depending on where you get it from. The kit comes with 4 one liter bottles of the bedliner material, a thing of the hardner, the tint(color), and the spray gun (specific to this kit). The process is...........
1. fill the bottle (use them one at a time) up to the first line with the hardner.
2. finish of the bottle to the lower part of the neck with the tint (color).
3. shake the crap out of it
4. attach the bottle to the included gun
5. spray away.

Varying the pressure and distance from whatever your spraying will change the texture dramatically. Another trick I learned is that it's easier to do this with a helper. While I mixed the next bottle Tom would spray thinner through the gun to keep it from gumming up.

It's kinda fun to use. I also did a truck topper for my parents with it (in black) :D . Tom is planning to do the inside of his Thing with it as well 8) .

Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:55 pm

how thick did you spray it?

Mon Nov 22, 2010 5:32 pm

I got about 3 & 1/2 coats on the whole body. The front is probably half again as thick, that's how I learned about the partner and thinner trick. The gun gummed up between the 1st and 2nd bottle causing it to spray really thick :oops: . I ended up having to get two more bottles of the stuff to even out the texture and do the underside.

Wed Nov 24, 2010 7:50 pm

Love the color. I never though that bedliner will look good on buggy.

Wed Nov 24, 2010 9:09 pm

Thanks 8) .

Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:33 pm

Snowymonkey

I am building the same buggy (Litha Mark III) and was wondering what fuel tank you used in your buggy and if you might have any photo's of the installation. Looks as if I may have to cut and weld up a new tank. :-k

David

Sun Feb 26, 2012 5:05 am

Mine came with a custom made tank from a PO. I was just reading your thread and it seems that you've come up with a better solution. BTW your's looks great. I love the cage.