Hey guys. I got my cart unloaded last night and couldn’t help but immediately tear it down to rebuild. Im going to post pictures and updates as the project progresses. I am not 100% sure what my end goal is but I do know I want to repaint the whole cart and do some more cosmetic work.
I will be needing help im sure as the project moves along.
The first two pictures are the car right after we unloaded it. It was really dirty from the 1700 mile trip from California to Nebraska.
The second picture is of the cart during disassembly.
Here is the cart after all the body panels were removed. Got it all cleaned up fairly good tonight.
Ok please be kind when commenting as Im ready to start asking questions! :
I found these two wires by the main fuse panel. One is blue and purple and comes out of the main harness. The second is black and is grounded to the frame in the picture.
They are both curled and taped up. Are they supposed to be this way?
Up next for review are the headlight and horn wire connections. Does this look correct? The wire that is just cut is throwing me for a loop.
Also the second picture of the brown connection has no home. It is by the brake fluid reservoir.
This bracket with the hole in it is under the rear seat and by the main disconnect. Was something mounted here at one time?
Where do the on board charger LED and other wire mount? The LED has a small grommet but that other black wire is confusing me.
The previous owner removed the onboard charger and bypassed the wires. Could some please tell me which wire mounts where on the actual onboard charger? I see a green and red wire that need a home. If you face the charger there are places to connect two wires on the top left. Which wire goes on the left and right? :o
Now for some more fun pictures. Below are the current body panels waiting for a new coat and the second picture is of the gem car in its current state as of today.
After watching countless videos about plasti dipping from www.dipyourcar.com I have decided to Plasti Dip this Gem Car. I am going to most likely combine a black with jet black pearl and a chameleon color for accents. This is a new process and my equipment should be here later this week. I hope to start making some serious progress once I can paint large pieces. Below is a picture of the first base coat of black Plasti Dip on the main shell.
Thanks for looking and any help with the above questions is greatly appreciated! 
[quote=Nebraska;19993]Where do the on board charger LED and other wire mount? The LED has a small grommet but that other black wire is confusing me.
The previous owner removed the onboard charger and bypassed the wires. Could some please tell me which wire mounts where on the actual onboard charger? I see a green and red wire that need a home. If you face the charger there are places to connect two wires on the top left. Which wire goes on the left and right? :o[/quote]
Red goes on the right and Green on the left if you are facing the charger I believe. I picked this up from watching a ride for fun video.
Question: have you studied the durability of Plasti Dip. I have seem a few diffrent threads about people doing plasti dip to parts on another fourm. What I came away with was Plasti Dip works fine on some parts and applications and works horribly on others. High wear areas don’t last. I can see the side pieces and the foot well areas getting kicked and looking not so good rather quick.
Why not have it painted. I know it costs more but with all the work you have done it would suck for it to look beat down in just a few months of use
[quote=Gwest;19998]Question: have you studied the durability of Plasti Dip. I have seem a few diffrent threads about people doing plasti dip to parts on another fourm. What I came away with was Plasti Dip works fine on some parts and applications and works horribly on others. High wear areas don’t last. I can see the side pieces and the foot well areas getting kicked and looking not so good rather quick.
Why not have it painted. I know it costs more but with all the work you have done it would suck for it to look beat down in just a few months of use[/quote]
I did read numerous reviews and opinions on Plasti Dip. It seemed to me that for every bad review you could find a good one. Generally it was those who have never used it that seemed to have the loudest criticisms of it oddly enough. To be honest this is more experimental than anything else. The body comes apart on a gem easy enough so if it looks horrible Ill just peel it off and paint it! 
The reviews I saw that were negitave were from people that had used it and had reported back. Anyone can post pictures right after it’s done and it looking great. The reviews that I payed attention to were the ones from users that had used it and had some time in use report back. Like I said on some parts like wheels it seems to work well on. But on high wear areas not so much. But like you said it’s just a experiment and if you don’t like it you can just peel the stuff off.
I agree with you that the high traffic areas will definitely be a test. I’m most worried about the main shell from feet “rubbing.” Although I will have rubber floor mats to help.
One thing I was noticing while reading reviews was that the Plasti Dip and processes with it are continuing to evolve. You can trust that I will post open and honest reviews of how it works good or bad for my scenario. I did also buy paint guns before this plasti dip equipment so one way or another this GEM will be covered in something! 
Awesome: honest straight forward reviews are always appreciated. Here is another example. A guy on another fourm did a restoration project on his boat. His boat was white and he decided to do a full vinyl wrap on it. It came out great and updated the look. I’m sure it inspired people to do the same mod. Well no more the 12 months later the full boat wrap is off and the boats back to its Orignal look. The guy never mentions it or ever talks about it again. It wasn’t untill I spoke with him that he admitted the wrap was a complete falure. That it scratched and plealed very easy. I thought it would have been nice of him to report back his findings but often people are embarrassed to report back bad news. I had found the same type of finding with the Plasti Dip. People were quick to post new freshly refinished stuff but never followed up on requests for long term results kind if like the boat wrap guy.
I’m up for new products and love to share product info and tips.
I am just thinking about painting the rear fender and hood. I assume the PlastiDip is good for that? Do I just need the basic spray cans? Do you think I would need the gloss?
I ordered the “glossifier” from their website. My thinking is that it will help to protect the coating a little more? I have not applied it yet so I cant say for sure. I did spray can some of the main shell to get an idea of how it was going to lay down and I was impressed. I spent a lot of time prepping though to ensure this.
I have reevaluated my plan and am going to paint and clear the main shell and go from there. The more I thought of my kids kicking around it made me nervous! 
Good luck and post some pictures if you can!
I would love to post some pics. But I can’t even see your pics. Apparently there a pile of rules surrounding the ability to send PM’s and see pictures. It is too bad. But I just bought a GEM and do not have a whole lot to contribute but I am not allowed to interact until I do like 5 posts or sometihng. Gotta love these forum rules. Guess they are tyring to avoid trollers and spammers.
Does anybody know what I need to do to be able to view the pictures?
Well I have decided to paint the gem car with traditional automotive paint. I have Land Rover Santori Black and Chrysler Viper Blue for the two colors. Got all the paint picked up Friday. Now I just need a day when Mama and the kids are not home so the smell doesn’t bother them!
Anyone have any good suggestions on where I could learn about wiring a radio into the car? I may add some LED accent lights as well and would like to learn about how exactly to hook into a 72V system safely.
I will post pictures of the radio, speakers, and back up cam when they arrive Monday or Tuesday.
Also I went to pick up my new SCS225 batteries Friday and the shop only had 5! :mad: So now I have to wait two weeks for a fresh batch but will have a matching set only 10 days old off the assembly line!
Here is a picture of the shell semi primed. The second picture is my new addition to the garage and the reason I get delayed at times! Cheers and have a great weekend all!
Any help on my early wiring questions in regards to the “looped” wires that go nowhere and the horn and lights hook up?
It would be awesome if someone with around a 2001 could look at theirs and see if my wires need a home!
Thanks all and have a great week!
Sorry what exact wires do u need to know go where?