MadaboutKitcars

I'm not worthy!

There we were jealous of your skills and the progress you've been making and now you'll be stepping it up a notch after some pro lessons

Thanks guys

still a long road to go...but that metalshaping lesson I had will certainly help a lot!

Ok...long time no updates, but now I've had two weeks vacation and spent some time in the workshop to get any further with my build.
I cut a sunroof in my Mini MK2, and used the Mini roof metal for my front hood with some modification with the EW.



Then I built the upper surfaces for the front fenders and the lower sections left and right to the front intake.







I located the air outlet and cut it out:





I made templates for the transition panels upper surfaces to left and right side:







And finally built the fender sides:

checking the symmetry:



and checking the reflections:




and built the last panels which close the front end, there will be a cutout fot the headlights, but I prefer having the final metalbody before cutting details in:






...almost done!

Some pics from the latest status with some little corrections:




















It sometimes amazes me how close I am:





I have never seen the original car live, I only saw photos, the whole build is done after photos, and I thought it will never be as beautiful as the real thing, but I love my result, and although it will not be a 100% copy of the original it is some kind of beautiful shape with my own taste added to it...quite proud :-)




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Quite Proud! Well that is an understatement. It looks great.

Well done axel, it's amazing, so getting back in to the garage, did you work differently after attending the metal shaping weekend?

Yes Gary, sure I do, I have learned a lot and I can save a lot of time with the things I have been shown in the course!!

Looks fantastic. Great work.

Axel - I still love the way you can overlay a photo of the original to see how your build is progressing.



It is good to hear that the metal shaping course has helped & I love how smooth the "roughly" beaten panels end up.

Given how hard you have worked to make this, you will always know which parts are not a perfect copy of the original.

But 99.9% of the people who see your finished car will only see the overall shape and it will be a rare thing of beauty.

Good luck, Paul.

Thanks guys!
The fever is catching me right now since the body is shaped and looks good, my aim is to get the car to a testrun before autumn, even if it is just with primer, no final paintjob, but we will see...the powertrain question is still open...!
Audi 2.8 V6 (174hp)with 01E gearbox would be a quick and cheap solution, Alfa V6 (193hp) with Renault UN1 or Porsche 901 box nice but complicated, Ford Cosworth V6 (220hp) with Porsche 901 the most powerful solution...
V8s don't suit the car as the original Dino also had a V6...

Headlight panels done:









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Here is another one for you Paul ;-)

Latest update

I don't remember how many different headlights I was taping on the car before cutting, here is the result (I cut them a bit smaller to still have some freedom with the final line)

Alex - It is amazing what a positive difference cutting the headlight holes makes.

Will you be fitting lights in the same style as the ones in the previous overlays?

Good luck, Paul.

alfa V6 with Audi 01E

Fantastic work as usual Axel. Drogo's design is so delicate and must be one of the all-time most beautiful shapes. You sure have an eye for the curves and balance and your changes are excellent - maybe you should make a career of it!

Have you been following Haken Haver and his Mazzarini in Sweden?

http://rejsa.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=71680&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=378

He has an Alfa V6 mated to an Audi 01E gearbox, mounted longitudinally in a similar position to you. Maybe he would share a pattern for the adaptor plate and how he is approaching the cable gear shift. I used Chrome with its built-in Google translate but the Swedish to English is hard to follow!

Keep up the great work
Ross in NZ

Wooow, thanks Ross, that is exactly what I am planning to do, but no-one has an adaptorplate or even a bolt pattern Alfa-Audi to offer! Thousand thanks for the info!!
I will definitely try to get in touch with him! I am dreaming of having the Alfa V6 in it!
And many thanks for your kind words :-)

how to make an adaptor plate

I found this when I was looking into making an adaptor plate:

a great tutorial http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=266906

hope it helps

I have A DXF for the Audi 01E side of your plate.
I did the drawing for my 40.
It fitted fine, if you want it let me know.
You will need to check it against your box though,never assume.

Its looking great Axle, very impressive.
What are your plans for the screen.

Jim

Thanks Jim and Ross

I kept the screen a cylindrical shape, that differs from the original car but does not bother me...so I can easily bend some 4mm plexi or poly over the window frame.
Not the best choice, i know, but the car will be driven twice in a month and will never see rain or the wiper working, so that is ok with me, minor scratches can be polished...

At the moment I think about a time saving standard Audi V6 configuration with the standard Audi box, 193 horses with the newer engine and no trouble with any adaptor plates or not matching drive or gear ratios...and cheap and easy to get!
And I can update it some time in the future, if I want to, many things can be done with the audi box...

I cleaned up the cutouts for the lights, added some shape to the lower part because it was too flat, and I am quite happy how it turned out... ready to weld it all together now...



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Looking good, Axel. So, did you make that windscreen?

Thanks Gary

windscreen is just a cheap polycarbonat dummy (bended over the metal) frame at the moment!

I *think* Polycarbonate can be worked on the English wheel to generate compound curves, but it would need protection of the surface with some form of cardboard or another thin layer of plastic. I keep meaning to try it.

I found a scrap off cut yesterday, I may have a go later...

Thanks Ed, I also thought it might work, but have never tried it!