Hi Slarti, gel-coat makes fibreglass waterproof - without it water can get through the paint and discolour the surface beneath.

Assuming it's a female mould, I'd give the inside a dozen coats of release wax, each buffed to a shine and left for an hour before the next, then a coat of catalysed gel-coat, followed by four or five layers of CSM once it's tacky to the touch. That should give you something that's heavy duty and weatherproof.

Good luck and welcome back.

Thanks guys. Most helpful. I hope to get some photos uploaded soon. An engineering guy is making up some bits for me to stabilise the steering column and mount the seat belts. More soon
Slarti

Well, lockdown has certainly meant I have made a lot of progress. I, started to panel in the cockpit and in the process of making interior side panels in burgundy vinyl. I have not yet bonded the body to the frame just want to make sure everything fits first. The next job I'm going to tackle is trial fitting a wind deflector. So here's the question: Which material would you recommend, acrylic or Perspex? 3mm or 4mm and how easy is it to bend? Do I need to heat it?
So many questions, I hope you can help.

The lights and indicators work and I am about to ask my son to make up a nice wooden dashboard.

I hope I have attached some pictures.....:icon_surprised:

....oh, by the way, the air scoop seems to have worked well. I purchased a kit which included gelcoat. Thanks for the advice Mr T

Wind deflector material
 

I have a lot more knowledge of the options (than I previously had), due to experiencing a crack in my caravan window. When I cut and fitted the original windows (8 years ago) I used acrylic - VERY difficult to cut without it cracking! It seems the material of choice is polycarbonate, which is much easier to machine, and can even be bent cold! trring to source some (in the Covid times) is proving difficult and expensive, so I'll wait until I need to use the caravan next year. I won't be using acrylic again. I guess when (if?) shops don't need polycarbonate screen, there will be a lot of cheap second-hand material on the market, and the new product will be cheaper/available.

Thanks. More pictures to follow soon
Slarti

Nicet to see some more progress, Slarti, and it's coming together nicely.

I do like your battery location, very neat and it'll move some of the weight towards the back.

Another good day in the "office". Fitted the support for the wind deflector; just waiting for the polycarb to be delivered. Will make a start on covering the side panels with the vinyl. More pictures to follow.

Can I ask where you sourced the polycarbonate? Best deal I can see at teh moment is Screwfix or Toolstation.

Try this: https://www.sheetplastics.co.uk/
I ordered 4mm not yet received product yet but will post a comment when this arrives.

Thanks!

Yet another good day in the "office" ....glued the scrim to the side panels and very pleased with the results. The self tapping screws all "seem" to line up. Tomorrow I plan to attach the vinyl. Still awaiting the delivery of the polycarb for the wind deflector.
I've now made a bracket for the choke cable and connected this up. Works well. I got one for an MGB. Starter her up again as she had not been run for a few months .......runs lovely but I expect I will need it tuned a bit.
I think that very soon I will reach the "point of no return" when I finally bond the shell to the frame ..... keep your fingers crossed.
I hope I have attached some piccies.
Any help/advice/tips ....always welcome
Slarti

I can't believe the progress I'm making! Have now put the vinyl on the interior panels and test fitted them. These will come off before I bond the shell to the frame. I have tested .....and I will be able to fit these once the shell is in place. I need to work out how I am going to hinge the bonnet so any tips most welcome.
Slarti

The polycarb has arrived and I'm very pleased with it. You can cut it easily with a fretsaw and it drills pretty easy with a standard HSS drill, but do clamp it down. I filed it after cutting then sanded down with wet & dry. I'll polish the edges later. Really getting close to bonding the body to the frame now. Our son has got the dashboard template to make a start on that. Started making the panels for the footwells; bit awkward trying to fit but I'm sure I'll work out something. More photos to follow idc.

With a bit of a struggle lining up the existing brackets to the new holes required I have now trimmed out the footwells. Onward and upward.

More progress.
QUESTION: when can I "trim back" these ..... I'm reluctant to cut too much off as I'm aware that I need a full chassis to get re-registered as a Sammio.
Any advice gratefully received.
Slarti

Good to see some progress. As for losing the front and rear extensions, the way I understand it is that the chassis needs to be unmodified between the axles, so it's okay to cut the ends off what are effectively support brackets for a body that's no longer going to be fitted.

There's some helpful advice here, albeit written quite a while ago now -

http://www.nsra.org.uk/newforum/show...initive-thread

I'm not sure how the vehicle inspection part is being conducted now that all the local DVLA inspection offices have gone, but I believe quite a few have been done through the post recently.

Good Luck!

Thanks Mr T. Most helpful. Having read through it looks like I need to be ready for an MOT within a month of getting it re-registered. Not close to that yet but I suspect I could go for an MOT in the knowledge that it would probably fail and then I could re: SORN it ....?? Just a thought but not that close yet.
Thanks again.
How's your new project going & where can I find your build/thread.
Best
Slarti

Hi Slarti, I think the 'MOT within a month of inspection' thing isn't really a thing. There was about nine months between my Spyder being inspected and it being ready for its first MOT. The guidance from Gary J at the time was that to have the car inspected it only needed the body to be bonded on with the vehicle commission and body number tags attached, it didn't need to be driveable or even have its bonnet fitted.

The inspection, if DVLA decide to do one, just results in your V5 being changed to reflect what the car has been altered to, so I don't know where they got the 1 month MOT deadline from. There were individual differences between regional DVLA offices, though, there's a big Hot Rod/Special building community in East Anglia and the East Midlands so our local office was used to having all sorts of contraptions presented and nothing fazed them. They just inspected what they were shown and followed the simple rules to decide what to put in their report. I understand that some other regional inspectors had no idea how to apply the rules so turned stuff away that they should have been accepting.

More recently the whole thing's been centralised and I can't remember the last time a rebody actually got called forward for a physical inspection - it seems to have become a postal exercise for the most part now, but there's always going to be an exception...

My build is progressing slowly but surely - I'm hoping to fire the engine for the first time today, but I've had a problem getting the cooling system to be leak-free. I'm on my third water pump housing now, two were cracked and this one has its threads stripped on the thermostat housing. That's the price you pay for using 50+ year old parts, though.

My thread is on the Vintage Roadster forum if you're interested, and I should be putting an update on there soon. :)

No mention on the form about the mot. I've just done my rebody ( Z3GTC ) paperwork. Sent them the before and after photos, the receipt from Tribute and filled in the form. Sent it off along with the old V5 and received the updated V5 10 days later. The car wasn't mot'd, that didn't factor into it at all. Sending the paperwork to K and R at the DVLA speeds up the process as it goes straight to the Kit and Rebuilt department.

Ditto :)
 

Slartibartfast – Looks like you are making great progress. :cool:

My footwells were lucky to get a coat of paint. :icon_wink:

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...5&d=1603363198

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Do a ‘dry run’ to test how the bodyshell will be held in place after the bonding paste has been used.

I ended up with a mix of tie down straps and breeze blocks on mine.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-d...o/DSCF4941.JPG

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I shamelessly stole/copied the ‘scissor hinge’ design that Mister Towed used on his Spyder.

There were two parts, one attached to the framework bonded inside the grille opening.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-D...o/DSCF4153.JPG

The other was welded to the chassis (in line with the re-body bracket rules).

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g...o/DSCF4155.JPG

I know there are differences between the Spitfire and Herald chassis,

But I added a "bonnet stop" to the bottom of my hinges.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_...o/DSCF4161.JPG

Here are some more photos of the hinges in action (I did fit a shorter bolt eventually :rolleyes:).

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X...o/DSCF4175.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-m...o/DSCF4179.JPG

Event today, I still enjoy opening the bonnet on hinges I made myself. :cool:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I’d echo the comments from Lucky and Mick about no link between V5C & MOT.

I got my updated V5C back in Jan.15 and the car didn’t get its first MOT until Aug.16!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hope that helps.

Good luck, Paul. :)

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you guys. Most helpful; now that we are in Lockdown 2 I can't go and see my friendly engineer and pick up some scraps to make a bonnet hinge. Never mind .... plenty to get on with. Pictures to follow.
Slarti

Attachment 7332Well here we are again. A long break without any action .....Covid or COLD WEATHER? Still not sorted out the bonnet hinges but have noted your ideas. However been working on the dashboard with the help of our son and son-in-law. Got the water temp & oil pressure gauges working, now for the Tacho & fuel gauge. Speedo will have to wait a while. Then I will reach the point of NO RETURN when the body gets bonded. Wish me luck

What instruments did you use?

slartibartfast - Now this is what I call a wooden dash. :cool:

Good luck reaching the point of no return. ;)

Paul. :)

I have used Smiths instruments with a magnolia face which I purchased from Europa Specialist Spares. I now have the tacho and fuel gauges working but need a little advice on the speedo. This came with a XS108B3PAL2 proximity sensor which didn't come with any instructions. I'm fairly confident on mounting this close to the bolt heads on the prop shaft but wondering how I should connect the 3 wires. The brown wire is positive, which I'm guessing should go through a fuse. The wires are all very thin and I'm thinking of something like a 1 or 2 amp in line fuse. I've done some on line research but can't seem to get any answers. Can anyone out there offer some advice. ?http://5590.JPG

Sorry, Slarti, can't help with the electronic speedo, I'm afraid it's a bit high-tech for me.

Nice to see some progress though :)

been having some good productive time in "the office". All dials working including the speedo.
I'm just wondering if I can cut these pesky outriggers off as I keep bashing my knees against them. Any advice here most welcome. I've not yet registered with DVLA yet.
I have decided that, as the Herald body was fixed to the frame by a series of bolts I am going to adopt the same method with appropriate shock absorbing grommets. I'll post some pictures of my ideas before I go ahead.
Off to Goodwood Revival tomorrow. Not acting this year ..... going as a spectator.
Onward and upward

Hi Slarty, sorry, but I didn't see your post until this morning.

The DVLA rebody rules say that you need the original, unmodified chassis in order to keep the registration number. Most of us took that literally and had the vehicle inspected with the boot outriggers sticking out of the back of the body, but I believe at least one builder sought clarification from DVLA after cutting them off beforehand. The result, as I recall, was that you can't remove anything structural from between the axles, but you can remove or add 'brackets' anywhere that are for body mounting, and outriggers that are outside of the wheelbase can also go.

Just to be sure, if you're at the stage where your body is fitted to the chassis and the engine's in, I'd get it through the registration process asap with them still fitted, then have a ceremonial chopping off once you have the new V5. They do make a very satisfying clang when they hit the ground!

Hope that helps and sorry I missed you at Goodwood, hope you enjoyed it, I certainly did. I even managed to perfect the Jeremy Clarkson 'smug face' look while taking selfies beside the track...

https://i.ibb.co/6Wh14dn/IMG-20210917-085230818.jpg

That's my understanding too. You can add to the existing chassis, such as frame work to support the body, brackets foe engine/ gearbox / flip fronts etc. Taking away is limited to in front of the axle line on the front and behind the axle line at the rear.

Slarti - Apologies for the delay in replying.

The following is the clarification that ACE got from the DVLA about chassis mods.

ACE (Association of Car Enthusiasts)

VOSA have provided the following response to your questions;

Chassis.

Q) What is classed as chassis? Is it purely the outer longitudinal rails or are the crossmembers between these also a part of the chassis?

A) Chassis should be taken to include crossmembers.

Q) We know that cutting or shortening a chassis is classed as modification but is this relative to the vehicle wheelbase i.e. the chassis must remain uncut between the 2 axles but anything forward of front or aft of rear suspension mounts can be removed?

A) Chassis includes the full original length of the longitudinal members including to the front of the front axle and to the rear of the rear axle.

Q) Is it acceptable to remove bodymounts, which contribute no strength to the chassis when changing a body to a different style /make?

A) Yes, providing they are additional to and are not an integral part of the chassis structure.

Q) Is it acceptable to strengthen a chassis by the addition of boxing plates a process that involves turning a 3-sided open chassis rail into a fully enclosed 'box' chassis?

A) Yes, providing the original structure remains unchanged.

Hope that helps.

Good luck, Paul. :)

Oh dear...... I've only just caught up with your replies having done some further research. I've now chopped off about a foot from the boot support outriggers and re-glassed the hole I had previously cut in the fibreglass.
That being said, I've had a good few days in the "office" and tidied up the exhaust and bolted the body to the frame with "suitable" flexible mountings so that, hopefully the shell won't crack when I go over a bump.
I've started to prep the bodywork prior to painting. The look I'm going for is a sympathetically restored "barn-find" so that some of the paint undercoat shows through as if it had been over polished. I could spray it but was thinking of putting primer and top coat on with a roller and rubbing flat before polishing. Any comments from some of you who've done this before.
Target now is definitely next Spring

Slarti – This thread inspired me to paint my car with a brush.

Unfortunately, all the photos seem to have been lost (Photobucket ransom?).

https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/threads/...g-a-car.98714/

Where I went wrong was using a synthetic paint, rather than Rustoleum.

My paint went on very shiny, but would not sand back to a smooth and shiny finish.

If rough and ready is what you are looking for, my trials and tribulations start on this page.

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...=3492&page=156

Good luck, Paul. :)

Thanks Paul. Truly inspirational. I had better get some paint ordered and erect some sort of tent in my carport. Hand painting seems to be the way forward.
Pictures to follow.

Slarti – There is another example of a ‘roller’ painted car here:

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...t=4179&page=11

Good luck, Paul. :)

Hi Slarti,

I agree, hand painting is the way forward. Paul L's experience and tips are great help, so thanks for sharing Paul. Good luck with it and I am looking forward to seeing the result.

Deni.

Sorry to disagree with the consensus here, but spraying gives a much better finish than brush/roller imho.

All you need is a £100 compressor, a cheap(ish) gun - mine cost about £150, a bit of 'net research for hints'n'tips and some sort of booth - a domestic garage or even a large tent/enclosed gazebo will do and Bob's your Mother's Brother.

On a fibreglass car start with a couple of coats of etch primer then a couple of coats of high-build primer. Once that's all flatted back, finish
with five or six coats of cellulose as it won't crack like modern two-pack will on a flexible base (I swear by Jawel paints for amateur use), then cut back with finer and finer wet'n'dry, Farecla G3 and a final polish and you'll be amazed at the finish that you can achieve.

Both these were sprayed at home by me with budget equipment and no formal training -

https://i.ibb.co/6JhMhCD/P1050120-zpsrp4sw01p.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/vmzzdzW/IMG-20210907-144021185.jpg

Well worth the effort.

Just to be clear, if I had somewhere to use a spray gun, I would have.

Without doubt, Mr T achieved a great standard of paint on his cars. :cool:

Mr T has also seen my car in person and confirm the paint is rough.

Unfortunately, I had a sloping driveway that I couldn't enclose without annoying my wife and neighbours.

I did use a tent in my back garden for the bonnet and boot lid, but the wind crushed it. :rolleyes:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HZ...=w1152-h864-no

Whatever option you choice, there is great pride in saying you painted the car yourself.

Good luck, Paul. :)

Thanks for your advice Mr.T and your comments Paul. I agree, the most important thing to me too is to try to do it myself, which ever way.
I like the results Mr.T achieved, and no doubt spraying is superior to hand painting, but my intention to hand paint is mainly governed by the lack of space...also, I'm so far from painting stage and a lot change by then...

Slarti -Good luck with painting! I am looking forward to seeing the results.

Cheers, Deni