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MadaboutKitcars

This is a read-only archive of the old Madabout Kitcars forum. New posts and replies are no longer possible, but every thread is still here to browse and read.

Copy cat idea!....

ned 19 Jun 2016, 10:11pm
try these eBay item number:131760594291
Danny_HUFC 24 Jun 2016, 2:15pm
Looks good wca do you do commission pieces?
Danny_HUFC 24 Jun 2016, 2:57pm
Im looking for some advice! Ive been looking at the van for a while now and I dont think i need to spend £500 on a kit! The rear part of the kit wont fit anyway because its for a subaru sambar and not a hijet. The most importamt bit is the front......

How easy would it be for me to stip the front bumper etc off and make a metal fram and lay a big sheet of fiber glass over it to make the front flat like the vw and just cut the holes out for my lights?

Can anyone point me in te right direction here with what to use?
Danny_HUFC 24 Jun 2016, 3:03pm
From this...



Really bad drawing but something like this....

Roadster 24 Jun 2016, 3:29pm
As you want a flat panel I would suggest using thin steel or ally sheet.
If you really want fibreglass then lay up on a glass pane to get your smooth flat finish
zagmad 27 Jun 2016, 3:53pm
Are you scaling the headlights down or using vw units. 5 3/4 etc
zagmad 27 Jun 2016, 6:24pm
You can always trace over the photo and draw your extension on it. That's what i've been doing with photos of the progress of my build to see how it looks and gives you angles and reference points for measurements. And a tool to see the finished product. Usually side and front views will give a good 3d projection.
Danny_HUFC 30 Jun 2016, 12:33pm
I ended up buyin the kit, seemed too much hard work without it!

Progress....







Roadster 30 Jun 2016, 1:04pm
Looking Good Dan

With the self adhesive chrome trim available in various widths I would be tempted to add the Deluxe style trims up the V and along the sides, it would compliment your baby moon hubcaps
zagmad 30 Jun 2016, 3:21pm
Well jell, as they say in Scarborough
Danny_HUFC 30 Jun 2016, 4:03pm
Roadster wrote:
Looking Good Dan

With the self adhesive chrome trim available in various widths I would be tempted to add the Deluxe style trims up the V and along the sides, it would compliment your baby moon hubcaps


Yes i will be adding them but need to sort out the hight of them along the side as at the min they would run through the door handles!
zagmad 30 Jun 2016, 5:43pm
Talking of chrome strip. If you look at some of the classic split screen camper shorties the there is a bulge that runs down the panels or a raised surface. That by half way down the the front door diagonally drops to v shape at the front. Eg run the chrome from the front to above the handle at an angle.
zagmad 30 Jun 2016, 5:47pm
Also was looking at something that would give your build a an edge and a nudge to original. they seem to have a peek that hangs over the front screen that is curved like a visor. The split screen with v shape has it.
zagmad 30 Jun 2016, 5:52pm
I was looking at doing a micro van styled like the gmc van that was used by the A team but yours looks cool. My wife was going nuts coz I was always talking about doing a project but couldn't choose. Or id have ideas on a donor for a build but their was never a kit for the cars I liked. Will you be trimming the interior with classic touches
Danny_HUFC 1 Jul 2016, 4:32pm
zagmad wrote:
Also was looking at something that would give your build a an edge and a nudge to original. they seem to have a peek that hangs over the front screen that is curved like a visor. The split screen with v shape has it.


Il be doing somthing along the lines of that
Scottie22 27 Jul 2016, 1:33pm
Daihatsu hijet vans have a PCD of 4 X 110mm, and apart from those little four-wheel buggys that farmers use, it is the only vehicle in the world with that PCD.

Which is why you rarely see a hi-jet with anything other than those silly 12 inch toy wheels!

My solution was to fit a set of what look like spacers, but in fact convert it to 4 X 100, which as most people know is a very common fitment to a lot of cars.

I fitted 15 inch Rover wheels, with 50 profile tyres, which keeps the rolling diameter almost exactly the same as the original wheels, so the speedo works correctly and all the gear ratios are also right.

The conversion spacers came from Canada, as that way they worked out at half the price UK companies were asking!

Danny, I can't help with the rear lights, as I left mine as they were! Having done so much work on the front, I could not face starting again on the rear!


Scottie

[IMG][/IMG]
Scottie22 27 Jul 2016, 1:51pm
Reference the wheels and PCD problems, I first tried what they call "wobbly wheel nuts" which are supposed to allow for fitting wheels of a slightly bigger PCD, and compensating, but they never worked for me, with lots of problems with wheel wobble when they did not centre correctly. The conversion spacers really were the answer in my case.
I grafted my front on with some rivets, some self tappers and mostly marine Siko-flex.
In the year or so since I did it, I have had some minor problems
with the drivers side developing a few cracks where it was bonded. In fact, I fixed these just two days ago by grinding out the cracks and bonding in several layers of fibre-glass to bridge the gap and then filling. That should be okay as after it has cracked, the tension has been "released" and I've bonded it back into the position it wants to be in, so it most likely won't happen again.

Scottie