The October Update

New Part Announcement: Season 3 & 4 Lighted Gas Pedal

I've misspoken again, unfortunately. I had planned to take a two-week break from making parts to focus on building my car and creating much-needed tutorials for the website. However, I realized I was missing some supplies and had to place an emergency order on Amazon. Unfortunately, the items I needed were quite niche, and shipping was handled by the seller rather than Amazon Prime. A few of these items only just arrived today after a delay in shipping.

Rather than sitting idle, I've been working hard on inventory. I was aiming for a Halloween release today, but due to unforeseen issues with a PayPal hacker, it looks like the release will be delayed until tomorrow or possibly the 2nd. No need to worry though—I've created a new account linked to a new bank, and everything should be smooth going forward. I'm just waiting for the deposit verification.

In addition to this, I've been working on the announcement for the new product: the Season 3/4 Conversion Kit, starting with the lighted gas pedal, which is almost ready for purchase. Some of you may have received beta units with your order, but the final version will come with the LED preinstalled. You'll simply need to splice the pedal into the lower console or, preferably, use our Tape Deck V2 unit. The design is based on Christian's original concept; I've just added brackets and lights. This is a small but significant upgrade over the Fanhome-provided gas pedal.

Taillight Blackout update, again...

Wow! You guys bought all 50 lens covers in just 48 hours. I didn’t expect that, but I’ve just received 100 more the other day. Why does it take so long? The material is custom-tinted, and the thickness is quite rare, so it has to be specially ordered. It takes almost 10 days for the manufacturer to get the material, then a day or two to cut it, followed by shipping across the country to me. One day, I hope to have my own laser cutter or maybe a CNC machine, but for now, that’s just not possible.

Regarding some common manufacturing issues with this model, not every panel alignment will be the same for everyone. This could cause problems where you might not be able to close the trunk properly or have the taillight seat correctly. The taillight blackout is precision-cut to ensure a snug fit, but if you notice the blackout has some flex, you may need to add shims to align your fenders properly with your bumper. Once aligned, the taillight will fit perfectly, and the bumper will line up with the rear fenders, allowing you to close the trunk properly. Some of you may not encounter this issue at all—it really depends on how these parts are manufactured in China. Below is a Facebook post from Christian that should hopefully answer any questions you might have about the blackout’s fitment until I can work on those tutorials.

As I‘m working now on the back section, I figured out the next problem with this model.

It just keeps on giving

The Back bumper is not flush with the back fenders and sticks out roughly 0.5mm on each side!

This leads to a couple of issues:

1. Too much tension on the taillights

2. Hatch not closing correctly

3. Custom blackout might not fit correctly

Luckily a small 0.8mm piece of styrene in between fender and frame resolves the issue nice and perfectly and everything is more or less flush now.

Plus the blackout fits nicely. I was scratching my head already why it appeared to large initially.

I‘m also updating the taillight housing slightly to get rid of the gap at the bottom (which the original piece has as well) and to add 2 areas for 6x2,5mm magnets that will make the housing snap in place, that's why it looks unfinished in the pictures.

What's coming in the future?

The new dash panel from Christian Witt is almost done. He was waiting on the version 2 electronic kit from Mike Lane to ensure compatibility. So hopefully soon we'll be able to get that out to you guys. Other items coming very soon to the shop is the chrome interior door L trim, and some much needed seat belt guides, after that will be the license plate flipper with screen accurate plates. The next "new" product from me personally will be the season 3/4 lower console.