MadaboutKitcars

Good job! Learning all the way. Next time to make parts will be much easier.

Thanks molleur, I am glad you can take something from my build, I have other plans under my hat so watch this space...

Looking good.
Time to blow over a guide coat so it all matches.
Its a striking looking car what colour have you in mind

Hi Roadster, not to worried about paint at the moment but I think it will be in Lotus racing colours, green with 2 yellow stripes over and a yellow nose as its roots originally came from Lotus blood, just a bit of a tribute thing on my part...

Sounds good
I always had a softspot for the McCoy it came for my lover of the Clan crusaders and then the clover
https://youtu.be/O-7dsvZ8EtA

Years ago I had an Imp which I rallied and when the clans came out I wanted one, I really liked the shape of the clover as it gave it much more, I heard at the time that a mini based derivative was going to be made but I never knew then if it got done so when I came across my car at first I thought it was a clan of some sort until I opened the bonnet and it then clicked, I am glad I have it because there are so many after market changes available because of the mini scene it gives the McCoy loads of engine and suspension options and they transfer straight into the McCoy. The engine, subframe and suspention I have fitted was destined to my son's mini project but when that got shelved I got lucky and thats why my McCoy is where it is today, I was going to originally going to do a refurb with a later mini engine and subframes for which I bought a doner but that was sold after I aquired the Honda parts and all the other bits which was going onto my son's mini.....lucky me...the trouble is I started getting ideas for headlight changes and other things which has made this project into what it is today...

I know what you mean, once your bitten you can't leave anything standard.
I love when its on the road and you hear comments like "oh yeah its an old Alpine"
They have no idea of the work that went into making a one off

I took mine a few years ago to a McLaren staff open day and the amount of people who thought it was a Clan, understandably if the bonnet was on but it wasn't...lol, some educating was in need ...

Bonnet continued

Applied some satin matt to the underside of the bonnet and assembled the furniture…





The bonnet catch needed a slight adjustment because it was riding high when closed, so back to work and lowered the pin by 7mm..



When the bonnet was in place it was found that the edges on the car around it had to be sharpened up so while the bonnet was off I built them up which improves the panel gap look..






I made some captive nuts today to replace the too short captive bolts that came with the scoop, I had previously drilled the hole to fit the scoop but as the glass bonnet is thicker than the bonnet of the Suburu from which it came the bolts were not long enough



Refitted the bonnet and aligned the front edge then drilled the car for the bracket fixings and secured it, the bonnet shape had some shape errors so I then pegged around where I needed to reshape and applied heat and weights to persuade it to move until the desired curvatures had been achieved.







A few more tweaks required and some edge sanding and hopefully it will fit nicely….

Bonnet continued

Started on refining the bonnet fit tonight, ensuring no rubbing on the front edge as it hinges up, some light sanding to the edges and adjusting the panel gap has done the trick..







Done a trial fit of the scoop to ensure that it also cleared which it done with about an 8mm clearance..





It needs some heat adjustment doing to the rear edge and some grinding back a little and then it will be really close..





Little by little its finally getting there and next the front spoiler..

This looks great, love how well it has all come together. Great work! Just wish my own build has this amount of success

Thanks, what problems have you got?

Great to see the bonnet back in position.

Glad all your hard work paid off, good luck, Paul.

The bonnet on the tribute kit has an achilles issue, you will notice that probably 90% of the mx250 kits completed people have used external Morris hinges or something similar I want a clean look for my car. The problem is the mounting point for whatever you use due the to curves. I saw your solution and thought it was the winner, however when testing out the theory the radius of the edges are too big and force the mounting point too far back meaning you can only open it a few inches before the bonnet catches the top of the radiator. I have some modern mini bonnet hinges to try once I have got the rear body all sanded and blended. The front should be relatively easy as it bolts on and off to try out ideas.

I looked at using boot lid hinges as they lift up and away from the bodywork, maybe that would be the way to go or conventionally hinge it from the back..

Distraction

Had a bit of a distraction from the car this week, my son purchased a spare set of wheels for his Rx-7 but one had been buckled and had a severe scrape on the outer edge approx. 18” around it so I said I would see if I could get it repaired for him…











With the help of a little heat and a copper mallet I beat out the buckles and cleaned around the damaged area with a flap wheel on a disc grinder.







Next for my welder to build up the edge to replace the missing metal, 1 long run and 2 other shorter runs done the trick..







Next set up on the mill and machined down to the original front edge to give a datum..

[img]http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu249/pompeyal/Wheel%20Refurb/IMAG2199.jpg



Now down to the scraping back to shape…





Not too bad, just needs dipping and re-powder coating, that’s for my boy to arrange…

Front spoiler

Back to the car, the front spoiler I am going to fit has been taken from a Rx-7 rear tail gate and fitted upside down at the front, well its more fibreglassing for me here, the spoiler was originally fitted on a reasonably flat surface but the front of the McCoy is far from that so some in fills are required







Out with the plasticine to form the required shape









Next wrap it up in cling film..



Then the glass…





Just need that to set off and remove the plasticine, clean it up and mould 1 nearly made…

Great work om your son's wheel, bet he's extremely pleased/relieved as you'll have saved him a few quid.

The front spoiler is an interesting addition, that and the bonnet scoop really change the car. We need a wider angle picture keen to see the overall look after all the front end mods.

Front spoiler continued

Right then, carrying on with the mould for the N/S support of the spoiler I cut out a strong back from MDF to the shape of the glass mould and adjusted the shape for best fit…





Once in position I applied glass mat and resin both side to bond it onto the mould..





Once set I cleaned of any whiskers and applied a layer of gel coat inside the mould



Then I drilled and reamed 2 holes through the strong back for some dowels and a further 3 holes for some fixings the cut through the centre of the strong back to make the mould in 2 halves, this will allow me to remove the finished artilcle from the mould later.



I applied 5 coats of wax to the mould halves..



Then bolted the 2 halves back together and applied another coat of wax..





After leaving for a short while I applied a coating of PVA release agent and allowing it to set….



Once this has had sufficient time to dry I will the start laying up the gel coat and fibre glass into the mould to make my first spoiler support….

As ever Im enjoying this build.
I do make my own mouldings but I love to see the bucks being formed in different ways.

I hope to see the finished article in the flesh one day

Lol Thanks, so do I...

How is this going? Or has that dreaded virus been about that gets in the way of these builds... Life! Looking forward to any updates as and when.

Hi Mr Jones, I have been doing a few bits and pieces and have finally finished the headlight subrames, top priority at the moment is finalising the purchase of a new toy and then I will get back to this and post some more...

So it must be some toy... how are things progressing?

Need I say no more....



I must get back to the MCCoy though....