WCA - Build thread 3

[WorldClassAccident]

I could wirte them in front og the wheel arches if I cut them into the main indicator circuit. The main indicators are behind the perspex headlight covers. But I quite like the idea of filling the first chassis hole.

[y cymro]

I'm no expert but the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 states that side indicators only need to be seen from the rear-side view, between 5 and 60 degree. See here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1...chedule/7/made and scroll down to the diagram in Appendix 3.
Might allow fitting in a vent if you really want to hide the lights.

[WorldClassAccident]

No photo update but I fitted a radio ariel into the boot. The exhausts sound great but tomorrow I am driving up to Stevenage and back so want something else to listen too. Especially when sat stationary on the M25. Last time I had 1.5 hours of Sheryl Crowes greatest hits for 5 hours of driving.

[BazMason]

WCA - please don't take this the wrong way, but have you thought about covering the sills up? To my my mind as it is it makes the car look a bit fussy and draws the eye away from the curves and those lovely vents.

(I do realise that this is very much your baby and your opinion is all that matters at the end of the day)

[WorldClassAccident]

Yes, I have considered covering up the sills. In fact I am still considering it.

When we uncovered them I thought 'Great! A nice styling feature' but I am getting less and less convinced.

I just need to decide for certain that I want to lose them and then if I do, how I want to do it. If you have any suggestions then please share.

Please feel free to question / criticise what every I do that you don't agree with. I don't get offended and I do appreciate other peoples input.

[BazMason]

Cool, it's a bit strange for me commenting on others builds as I feel a bit of an imposter as I have not attempted my own build as yet (time, space, money, patience and ability are all factors here!)

What are the standard z3 sills like? Could they be made to do the job?

Or would it possible to bond a couple of strips of grp over and use filler/more grp to shape as desired?

Maybe a photoshop effort would give you an idea of what it would look like before you go to the hassle of making stuff!

[Scottie22]

I agree with your gut feeling WCA, cover them up, should give your car a cleaner smoother look, good luck with your final choice!

[WorldClassAccident]

They are the standard Z3 sills. The Z3 has a plastic trim stuck over them. I am concerned that if I just fill them the holes will sink back over time. If I put a panel over the top it will stand proud of the doors.

Early days and still deciding

[Scottie22]

I reckon if you use a grinder around the hole edges,then glass paste them over, then fill them you should be okay? I think if it were my car I'd give that one a go.

[redratbike]

Or a nice curved panel over the top ....would carry the body down lower visually and not have the abrupt look it has now

Mould some up in a length of gutter?

[WorldClassAccident]

So the two options are to simply fill the holes or to add a flase sill. I am still tempted to on bolt back on the side exhausts which probably makes the extended sills less appealling. The pipes were only taken off for painting. I can't find a good side shot witht he pipes fitted but here is one with the holes filled in.



In terms of what I need to do - Advice Please

I need to clean the paint off the sill which is easy enough with an angle grider and wire brush.

To fill the holes I think Scotties idea about glassing over the hols and then filling should work but what is the process. I have a load of glass fibre, I have the resin that you add to it. Do I just clean the sill back to bare metal and let the resin hold the glass in place or do I need some special bonding stuff? If so, what?

Once I have glassed over the holes I plan to level the hole sill with body filler as there are a fair few dents and imperfections along its length. I assume I can just mix the filler and skim along the length of the sill. I then plan to sand back to a smooth finish with a flat bed sander so things stay reasonably flat and level. High build filler, sand, paint, wet and dry and then paint.

Does this sound like to will work?

My main concern is the glass finre and filler falling out of the holes. Any advice or reassurance on that part in partiucular is welcome.

[garyh]

WCA, can you lower the rear end a bit?

[Scottie22]

If you have access to the back of the holes, its a bit easier WCA.
You can then put some backing gauze on the inside of the holes and use P40 on the front, once it adheres to the backing stuff, it will never come off, its permanent.
Get the area around the holes back to bare metal first, then use P40. There is cheaper stuff on the market but P40 is available at Halfords for about £12 if you can't wait.
Afterwards, sand flat and fill normally.

[Viatron]

Or could you just rivet a piece of thin Ally over the whole sill, granted the rivets may be visible but you could make a feature of them, i.e. a circle of rivets around each opening but at least it would draw the eye less?
Obviously use a PU adhesive or similar to seal all the way around.

[WorldClassAccident]

WCA, can you lower the rear end a bit? - Already scraping the exhausts on the bumps, perhaps bigger tyres?

access to the back of the holes - No real access as it is basically a box girsder. I can poke sticky tape through the holes and try to get it to stick but that is about as good as it gets.

P40 - If I get the tape stuck to the back of the holes and then fill with P40 is there much likelyhood of the P40 shrinking back or working loose over time?

rivet a piece of thin Ally - Possible but I would prefer to simply fill the holes rather than cladding it and then trying to blend the edges and hoping the panel doesn't work loose.

[Scottie22]

This is what I would do WCA:

[IMG][/IMG]

[landmannnn]

Originally Posted by WorldClassAccident

WCA, can you lower the rear end a bit? - Already scraping the exhausts on the bumps, perhaps bigger tyres?

access to the back of the holes - No real access as it is basically a box girsder. I can poke sticky tape through the holes and try to get it to stick but that is about as good as it gets.

P40 - If I get the tape stuck to the back of the holes and then fill with P40 is there much likelyhood of the P40 shrinking back or working loose over time?

rivet a piece of thin Ally - Possible but I would prefer to simply fill the holes rather than cladding it and then trying to blend the edges and hoping the panel doesn't work loose.

I would have thought the ally skin would be the easist. Personally I would go to a local sheet metalworker and get them to make up a simple sheet with a return lip at the bottom edge. I would then glue it on with something like tiger seal (it will never come off).
Mucking about with all those holes filling and flattening sounds hard work.

[WorldClassAccident]

I would have thought the ally skin would be the easist. Personally I would go to a local sheet metalworker and get them to make up a simple sheet with a return lip at the bottom edge

Unfortunately the side of the car isn't straight so there would need to be a slight curve along the length (not fixed radius) and there is a diagonal kink near the front.

The side profile also starts vertical and then bends under at around 40 degrees before flattening across the bottom. This means the return lip would need to be about 5cm.

I think getting a flat plate to fit that would be possible with enough clamps to hold it in place while it stuck but to do this with a sheet with a deep return would be more difficult.

Also, P40 and sandpaper keeps the price down and hides the receipts from MrsWCA ;-)

[Mitchelkitman]

Why not use a piece of Conti-board (with a border around it) to laminate a strip of GRP which can then be stuck on with Tigerseal or other PU? The GRP will bend to where you need it to go to some extent.

[Scottie22]

Here's one that no one's thought of WCA !
You could always cover it up by putting a Sammio shell over the top :-)