THANK YOU ....WE like them !!
The stretching involved , cutting the bonnet in two , then fixing the rear in place against the bulkhead , positioning the front after that ...this left the 4'' gap...At this stage things get crude and a bit Dr. Frankenstein , you need to join the two halfs together...we use fibreglass and steel splints , there is still one attached in the picture but it was done using about 5 in total , all bolted through nice and strong....its a bit fiddly , 2 man job.
The gaps between the splints are filled by glueing and screwing flat sheet ( can be hard board , formica , anything really thats got one side smooth) - face down and any gaps taped up...it looks a mess but basically you need to create a ledge to glass against.
flip the bonnet over , wax the ledge/filler pieces , add a couple of coats of PVA release for good measure and then lay your glass up...couple of layers will be good to start.
When its dry , unbolt/unscrew/unstick your patches and you are left with the scar as shown. If you use a material thats not smooth , it could stick , but even if it does , hardboard can be sanded off , if necessary...the pva should prevent this but theres never any guarantees !
You can then add extra material to the underside to help blend the scar into the existing bonnet and the top side can be filled and sanded as per any external repair....
A similar process will be used to create the new arches.
You can 'splint' any part of the body , but more complex areas ie. rear quarters will require lots of them to avoid movement....always put two fixings through at least one side of the splint as well.....a splint screwed just once on each end can pivot putting things out of line - a second screw in one of the ends will prevent that ....sounds obvious but needed saying.
Last edited by lancelot link; 19th March 2012 at 18:37..
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