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Today I started to strip out the dash and all the side fittings, ready for paint prep.
Of course the car looks like crap now and there is a feeling of going backwards.
This is the first car I've ever built, although I have modded a lot, so when I got my body shell, I treated it as "hallowed", and when I fitted the dash, I chopped out the dash corners out to fit the "hallowed, not to be damaged" body.
A year later, with more experience, confidence and skill, I have come to the conclusion that it is the builder that is "hallowed" and the body is a submissive inert object to be hacked about as one pleases.
So I have filled in the dash corners, and chopped out chunks of the body for a better looking deal. (Strengthened with paste underneath)
I can show the filled in corners on the dash, but not the finished car until its painted and back together.
Once again, this is all extra work I don't need, but it has to be done at this stage.
I think its important that I post these bits, as people will think "why is the car not finished?
Well, all this extra bloody work that seems to keep coming is why.........
The stripping out took longer than I thought, but its done now.
I have strengthened the windscreen body corners, which I had weakened, by cutting a lot out.
Also got some filler on the body.
I will try to paint the windscreen surround later, if I have time.
I did work on the car yesterday, but did not get round to posting about it.
I did a lot more today.
I started the car, and drove it out into the sun for some rubbing down.
Its going to be a long job. There are bumpy lines along the sides of the body where the fibre glass panels have been joined by the looks of it, and it took ages just to reduce the bumps in one small area I tried to do it by hand with a solid block, but I think the air sander will be less hours of work.
Flatting the bonnet, putting more paint on the windscreen frame, filling holes and dents etc etc.
Before I bonded the door skins on to the door frame, I lined the inner skin,
with alloy, but on the passengers door, this had the effect of warping the skin curve so it would not fit the frame, but after a lot of heating, twisting and clamping, I did get the skin to fit, but the down side was all the dents and marks that the clamps had left on the outer surface.
Today I flatted the door and filled it all.
Then I got the bonnet and both doors, and gave them several coats of high-build primer, which when flatted, should give a reasonable surface for the topcoat.
My camera had a glitch, and I lost several pics of the work, but took a couple more of the finished bits.
All in all, a good days work, as for a change I did all I had planned to do.
Another 6 hours on the body work today, I think I've got all the flash lines off the body, I stripped off all the gubbins on the tail end and, filled/stoppered and rubbed it all down.
Found even more bubbles, dug them out and filled /sanded them too.
Sanded out the bonnet rain channel, which was a horrid fiddly job, and got it in etch.
There seems so much still to do, it doesn't matter where I start as long as I keep going.
I was too busy to take loads of pics, but here is what I did snap:
Another full day on the car, and in this weather, I was able to work out in the sun with just shorts and flip flops.
I filled loads of little holes in the body work where I had put the bumpers on in the wrong place, and re-drilled, promising my self I would fill the holes later.
Also more rubbing down on the back end where once I had it all one colour,
I could see where it needed building up a bit.
I finally got the rear end of the car all in etch primer, and some of the front bits too. I still have work to do on the front end, but hope to etch that tomorrow, and perhaps get some high build primer on it too.
Yes Danny, the Vee Dub project is on the back burner for now, I will crack on, I am waiting for the email details on my invoice from Chris,
before I can go ahead with the re-registration of the car, and so far no response, and it may be that I will not be able to re-register in time for the show.
At least I am flat out on the car every day, but we will see.
I think you should use the V-Dub- alike and your car as before and after pictures. I am sure with a bit of photoshop you could show how you achieved it.
Confuse the life out of most of the Kit car people
Thanks Paul! I'm a bit busy for that right now!
But I suppose it would be very useful for all the people desperate to build an XKSS out of their old Vee Dub van.
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