February 2009, with the new wisbones fitted there is a small problem with lack of bodywork!
O dear, better get busy with the expanding foam again!
April 24th, progress so far, n/s wheel arch fully foamed up and not far of the final profile.
Some intial shaping has been carried out on this side and then small applications of foam to fill up some of the air pockets. Once left overnight the foam has set and is ready for shaping again/
This is what it looks like after the 1st application of foam, vertical areas need to be done 2 or three times as the foam tends to sag as shown.
A close up of how the foam has sagged through the night, but once it has set, smaller applications of foam can be built up on the large base area.
Starting to take shape now and a bit more work with the electric sander will have it done in no time!
Foam much easier to work with on the horizontal areas, 1 application generally does the trick.
Feb 2009 and the rear bodywork is completed, doors, rear screen, roll bar and seat fitted ready to start on the bonnet and front wings. I didn`t like the original bonnet bulge, it was a very hasty bodge to get the car out on track as early as possible in 2005. A new one has been moulded in and I,m much happier with the way it looks.
March 2009, with the new wider track wishbones fitted the front wheels stick out a further 3" beyond the original bonnet/wings. Wheel arch liners inserted around the wheels and then expanding foam applied around them to bulk out the profile before shaping.
Wheel arch shaped and covered in masking tape ready to apply the layers of fibreglass matting.
I am going to do the moulding as 1 panel then cut the line between the bonnet and quarter panel last.
Layers of fibreglass matting laid on to the masking tape covered expanding foam "buck".
Old and new panels tapered to each other with an angle grinder to enable a few layers of fibreglass to bond them together.
New panel now bonded on the top surface over a width of about 4"
Minor repair work at the same time to remove the reccess where the original bonnet catches were.
The foaming of the o/s wheel arch has not been as easy as the n/s was, i`ve had to apply foam several times to get a good coverage.
After lots of cutting with a saw and then sanding the wheel arch is starting to look something like, but it`s taken 3 hours to get to this stage.
April 28th, have started sanding the new joint and blending the panel into the bonnet, orbital sanders are a marvelous tool for this sort of project.
Front end of car is now about 6" wider than before and the bonnet is actually lighter due to making many parts of it in thinner laminations.
May 2009, o/s/f wheel arch laminated over the masking tape with heater on to cure it overnight.
Fully cured now and ready for filling and sanding.
At 68" wide it`s 4" narrower than a LM or Mantis and 2" wider than a Mantara. The good news is that I can still get it out of the garage after the body mods!
May 09th 2009, bonnet cut away from the rest of bodyshell, the foam and masking tape buck removed. Preparing the underside of the bonnet along the joint line of the panel ready to add some layers of matting.
I have added a couple of wooden dowells to the bottom corners of the bonnet to improve rigidity. The new panels are a very thin laminate so there is a fair bit of flex and you can just about see through them!
May 11th 2009, front quarter panels are coming along nicely, I will eventually take a mould off these and make new lighter panels. Time is short as it needs to ready for July, so the new panels will need to wait while the winter.
The slow process of applying a little filler at a time and sanding by hand to get the contours smooth across the full area of the panel.
May 14th 2009, finally getting close to a smooth finish ready for painting, just very minor imperfections getting sorted now.
Starting to remove the old paint on the rest of the bonnet while waiting for the filler to cure on the wings.
With the very small imperfections it`s easier to just rub your hand over them and then use a marker pen as you can`t see them without any paint. Then very light filling and rub down by hand to get a finish ready for painting,
The larger less curved areas allow the use of the flat bed or orbital sander to save a little time, but it still has to be finished off by hand.
June 1st 2009, after months of laminating, moulding, filling and sanding the car is finally out of the garage and ready to go for painting.
June 03rd 2009, in the paintshop, most of the bonnet primed with some minor filling to do on the arch before that too can be primed. Should be ready for the colour coats to go on next week.
June 11th 2009, the front quarter panels are now filled, sanded and in primer ready to be rubbed down and the top coat applied.
June 12th, front quarter panels painted, will be left for 2 weeks for the paint to harden then buffed with rubbing compound to blend in with the original paint.
June 16th 2009, bonnet in primer ready for the colour coat tomorrow.
Trial fit just to make sure all ok before it gets the colour on.
Tony in the background, the man who adds the finishing touches to my own work to acheive perfection.
Hopefully red tomorrow!
June 17th 2009, painted today, looks so much better in body colour, it needs to harden for a few days then can be buffed to a nice finish and put back on the car.
Indicators, headlamp covers and bonnet catches also to be fitted next week. Still on target and will be ready for the end of the month!
June18th 2009, bonnet back on car, to be buffed early next week then all the other bits can go on.
June 22nd 2009, indicators and headlamp covers cleaned and fitted, bonnet catches fitted, I must paint that splitter as it does look a mess!
