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A series of events and opportunities has lead to us putting together a "mock up" car (ie. non-running/unfinished) for the Exeter Kit Car Show. A D-Type shell and a slightly crispy Spitfire shell had found there way into the workshop and it seemed rude not do combine the two of them. No welding is being done on the Spitfire at the moment, so please forgive the ragged edges, although most of the rotten bits have been lost during the trimming process to leave a basic "tub" for the GRP shell to be bonded to.
Once the some trimming had been done it was time to offer up the new outer shell
I don't like some of the design elements of the D-Type, the rear "wing" will be going...
Looks good, but quite Sammio-ish. Not that, that is in any way a bad thing!
Its the G46 i always wanted - if this was on an MX5 it would be exactly as i intended the roadster to look.
The body would not need to be reduced in width but some of the length from the bonnet could be lost about 15" if i remember back to my cuts.
Good work Chris - i will have to live with my E type front but food for thought
Froggyman - We enjoy what we do, I think that helps to make it look easy! Sorry don't have a Renault Alpine laying around, but you never know what will turn up! See you at Exeter.
Nick - Again, we enjoy doing this, the more ideas we can turn into cars the better.
RedRat - Thank you, it just kind of happened!
Dave - Glad you like it.
Roadster - We did think about the MX5, wheelbase was almost the same (89.5 vs 90") as the shell, but the MX5 slab sides, cabin position and the fact that we couldn't remove the Mazda windscreen frame (without IVAing) killed the idea. We lost 7" off the back of the D-Type bonnet to make it work. We have a steel E-Type bonnet at the workshop that may get moulded to give a slightly different front end, later, maybe....
Returns added to boot opening, rain gutters will be added at re-moulding stage, the show deadline wont allow such luxuries at the moment
Steel tube "crash bar" added to Spitfire door opening to reinforce new higher door opening when shell is in place. It also gives somewhere to hinge the new doors
Hinge is mix of MX5 door and Spitfire boot hinge, they will need to be re-manufactured, but helped to work out the pivot point and clearance, and will suffice for the show
Change of plan on the scuttle area, more room required for hinges and helps with the proportions of the bonnet opening
Made a start on internal paneling. Battery will need relocating from under the bonnet to the void behind the seats, or the boot.
Scars left when removing the head fairing are now filled
Thanks for your praise which should also go to Dan for all his help and ideas too.
I have seen your project, looking good
As with the MX250 we like to keep the build process simple for the customer, so using the tub as it exists seems a logical thing for a quick build. With your donor car there wouldn't even have been any rust repair to do!
The car we are putting together will be taken apart after the show and the tub repaired before we get the drive chain sorted and get it driving/MOT'd. If we get interest at the Exeter Show we will be taking moulds off and offering it as a kit as well.
Talking of Jags, heres a C type we had in the workshop the other day. Its also an excuse for me to try and upload a pic to the forum, which more often than not does not work. However just updated my ohotobucket app which now has a new button, so here goes....[IMG][/IMG]
Talking of Jags, heres a C type we had in the workshop the other day. Its also an excuse for me to try and upload a pic to the forum, which more often than not does not work. However just updated my ohotobucket app which now has a new button, so here goes....[IMG][/IMG]
Nice Jag. Congrats on getting the Photobucket thing sorted, now you have no excuse to start your MX250 build tread
You need a Hot Glue Gun, they will stick most substrates together. Lay up some GRP sheet on a flat surface, glass is good, once cured it can be cut to size and glued in position. Then you can fix the return permanently by adding more GRP to the rear surface of the panel. Job done
Due to the large bonnet bulge it's not been possible to fit normal hinges at the scuttle end of the bonnet, as it would bind in the centre, fitting hinges at he front end would be possible but looked untidy. A simple solution was found by pivoting the bonnet at the sides about 6 inches from the front edge. There is plenty of room in front of the Spitfire radiator.
A pair of MX250 headlight buckets were cut from an scrap "plug" front end and modified to fit the A352 headlight openings.
They were tech screwed in positon and then fixed with bonding paste.
when i saw the blue jag in the photo i thought it was the one you
are working on my eyes nearly popped out my head thought "thats quick work"
and quality too lol
[/IMG] 
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