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This is the page where I will follow the progress of the mold and body panel making during their final changes.
All references to pictures are to those above the relevant text. This is the plan.........
Make it like this.......how hard can that be?............ We'll see... Two possible rear ends......Any opinions or preferences?
The work begins.......
Picture 1 shows the new side skirt flanges being fitted, this time using tileboard. Picture 2 shows the body dropped back on and pic. 3 preparing for the new sill/rocker panel/side skirt feature. Pic. 4 shows the piece roughly in place.
Filler applied, now starting to take shape.
Taking shape a bit more. Also, the other side is only about 10% behind this one, but of course needs this side to be finished first in order to copy correctly. I'll try and get some better shots that show the whole side. Notice how the matt/flat white does it few favors...there is definite curvature along the vertical axis at all points but the color/finish of the plaster hides it. Paint is needed soon I think.
Latest as of 11/04/03. Notice the sharp edges for ease of measurement, checking etc. Pictures 1 and 2 show front views with the sharp edges very noticeable, and the reduction of the front arch size. Pictures 3 and 4 of course show the rear with full width light "eyebrow" and recesses each side of the engine "bump". The chosen design is a slightly simplified version one which seemed to suit the general consensus of opinion. I have trimmed the front a little more and will need to order my lights soon in order to continue progress at the front end.
Picture 1 shows just how ugly the plaster work can get, yet a few minutes with the coarse sanding board and it will look OK. The reason for this filling here was that the rear panel area was looking concave, which is never nice in my opinion. It can be seen somewhat on the rear corner picture number 3 of those above these above (if you see what I mean....) Picture 2 is an attempt to capture the same view as used way above to show the overall side/top view. Hopefully, the new lines can be seen or at least imagined a little better now.
These two pictures show where I've been working on the front. They also show that this side isn't quite as far along as the other side, but close.
A bit more progress. Picture1 shows the right front arch close to the intended shape. At this point defining the hard edges is the most important thing so they can be copied easily. Pic 2 shows the level across the arches, pretty good actually, but pic 3 shows that there is some discrepancy on the arch itself, it needs more sanding on the inside. Pictures 4 and 5 show the work on the rear in progress. It is basically a sunken area which will be further split with ribs in line with the hinges. The sunken areas may or may not be cut out, I'll have to see how it looks. There will definitely be some cut out for the exhaust. Also notice that the filling/shaping around the lights is rough/incomplete at this stage, but at least you get the general idea. Still loads to do, but it is moving forward and more importantly I am liking where it's going.
A bit later in the day. Now showing the ribs that were mentioned above. Pic 1 shows the tops of the ribs un-radiused at the top, and pic 2 shows them with the radii. I'm not certain which I prefer.....Damn decisions again. As Allan Staniforth said in "High Speed - Low cost"..........." it' isn't the work, it's the decisions". That is so true, once you have made up your mind what/how/when/where you are doing, then the "doing" is relatively easy. I got some feedback on the ribs and it was unanimous...lose the radii.....and I now have (see below)
Pictures 1 and 2 show the actual arch shape and the concept, some differences but I feel the essence has been captured especially when all the radii and blends are done. Pictures 3 and 4 show the cardboard template first on the left and second on right...yes I used the fan box... The match on the left is actually a lot closer that I expect needing only minimal work to match. Pictures 5 and 6 show the extending on the engine cover to try and move some visual bulk forward.
Picture 1 shows my first light housing being embedded into the arch. The wheel is jacked up to it's upper travel limit and would give very little clearance (if any) if the light was set back further. Picture 2 is a "not very good, but you get the idea" artists impression of two lights in position. The lights are shown close up here.
Picture 1 shows RH lights in progress, with template to match curvature. Pic 2 with lights roughly drawn in. The front edges will be chamfered/radiused, but of course I need the hard sharp edges first to measure from. Picture 4 is exactly how it is now (12/13/03, early afternoon) and pic 5 is my version of how it could look with a re-worked grille, better in my opinion. Pic 6 is similar to 5 but with lights faked in.
Current pictures with the car back on the ground. You get a better idea of scale. (I'm 7'5"......or is that 5'7"?...LOL) If you skipped the build diary part you won't know I decided to go with pop up headlights, probably manually operated. I didn't like the look of the lights on the surface from some angles, a bit too froggy. The rear picture shows it riding fairly low, a combination of soft springs and about 100 pounds of filler. Getting closer the finished plug
Time for some paint. The first side was getting very close to shape so I decided to get the first coat on. It is easy to keep to trying to achieve perfection at this stage, trouble is it won't happen because the matt/flat white isn't good at showing all the imperfections so it's better to get to a reasonably good standard and start applying the paint. I'm happy that is showing the shape I was aiming for quite well. Should be no need for a third attempt!.......Hopefully. Next step is to copy this side to the other side, then finish the rear.
Side two is advancing nicely, although there is little worth photographing at this stage. I do, however, get asked often how I've done certain things, so rather than go into detail about some routine common practice I thought I'd highlight a specific job where I'd figured out my own technique (i.e. it may not work). The problem was that I need the rear light cut-outs to be the same as each other and of nice uniform shape. It seemed some sort of drafted former was required. The pictures are in sequential order and basically what I did was.... glue 3 pieces of wood together, shape them roughly on the band saw, sand the profile on a taper to give me some draft (about 10 degrees), rough trim the existing rough opening, wrap the wooden former in a thin plastic carrier bag, apply filler in the opening and the bolt the former in place filling more as required. The last picture show it after removal, giving me a nice true drafted aperture which I can easily finish...so this time the idea was a good one. The filler on this side was not fully hardened, but stable. The LHS one will be fully hardened as it is still in place now and won't be removed until tomorrow evening at the earliest. It will give a good clue as to the best time to remove the former.
No descriptions needed, just views around the car after the first paint. Picture 4 shows the planned split line.
The rear is now painted, the pictures are fairly self-explanatory. 1 to 3 show the untouched paint. 4 and 5 show close-up views (complete with blemishes!) after some minor polishing with wire-wool. The small blemishes, which are mainly scratches and pinholes, are easy to deal with now. The important thing before painting is to get the main surfaces as true as possible.
I'm often asked what I use as filler and for the surfacing paint, pictures 1 and 2 answer this question. Pictures 3 and 4 show the Kilz applied all over the plug. Pic. 5 shows the particle board circles I'm cutting which will be edged with tile board strips the form the arch flanges. The molds
Pictures of the rear end mold under construction. First picture shows the dams being set and the second picture shows the PVA coverage after waxing. Pics 3 and 4 show gel coal and then lay up.
After much consideration I decided that the side molds would be the next, mainly because of ease of damming. Ok, I'll have to lean over the side molds to do the cockpit section, but they will be dry/set/cured by then and I won't be risking dripping resin onto the exposed side. Picture 1 shows some slight rework of the LHS scoop. Now that there are more places to measure from it is easy to make minor corrections. The template shown was made from the RHS and flipped for the left. Picture 2 shows pretty much the same, particularly how the rear end flange forms part of the side dam. Update 5/16/04. Pic 3 shows the rest of the dams, pic 4 the gel and pic 5 the lay-up. Next will be the other side, pretty much as above.
The other side was so similar to the first side that it didn't justify showing any pictures. The center section section went well but didn't justify any pics either. However, the rear mold was separated and I thought was worth a pic or two. Picture one shows it mid-clean up, the white on the edges is the clay from the dams. (UK readers, clay = plasticene) The second pic shows the location where I worked/am working, back at home. Two reasons, better water supply for the constant rinsing and two, the sloping drive helps to drain it all away. Pic3 shows the mold with flanges ready for PVA. Pic4 is just after lay up and pics 5 and 6 show the rear end after separation, 6 in particular showing the PVA being washed off.
Picture 1 is the front after waxing and pic. 2 is after the gel coat. Picture 3 shows all the body mold sections laid up before trimming and drilling and picture 4 is after. Finally, picture 5 shows the right hand side mold section.
I moved the rolling chassis and plug to another location so I can work on the body molding with more space. This picture is (badly) photoshopped by adding some nice wheels and the hood/bonnet, but it should give some idea of how it will look.
Working on the molds, getting them ready for lay-up. Picture 1 shows the front mold trimmed and picture 2 shows some the imperfections being sanded out.
Picture 1 shows the holes around the roll bar being filled. They were taped over then glassed and filled on the mold surface side. Picture 2 shows the final polishing underway on the RHS mold. Another week or two should see the molds bolted back together ready for lay-up. I'm aiming to have the body complete prior to my visit to England in early April.
Picture 1 shows the mold prior to gelling, pic.2 is partially laid up and pic.3 is the final lay up. Breakout pictures should appear by weekend.
First piece of the mold separated. It broke out very cleanly, I was very pleased considering it was quite complex around the front air duct area.
The full body as broken out of the mold. The pictures need no specific commentary, other than to point out the green sheen still showing on the un-rinsed body and the clay marks. Overall I am pleased with how it turned out.
Picture 1, thumbs up from the Stalker guys Justin and Dennis. Thanks guys! Picture 2 shows the rolling chassis back in the shop after it's storage, notice the brown "paint" finish, popular in humid, damp climates....LOL. Picture 3, of course, shows the first trail fit of the body. The rest of the body fitting and finishing will continue here leaving this page for the hood/bonnet mold changes.
I started to modify the hood, trying to follow the lines right through from back to front rather than the vague curvy blend that previously existed. The pictures should be fairly self explanatory, with picture number 2 highlighting the cockpit widening mod.
After some glassing has been done underneath it starts to take shape a little more. The pictures should need no explaining. It may be that I will be able to use the actual molding as a real hood and use it as new plug, as always, we'll see. |
