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Hi all, just an update to let you know my build is well under way.
At the moment I'm creating the buck to take my moulds from, the whole thing is a work in progress and the shape/design will change a lot as the build goes on so don't take what you see as the finished "look" of the car.
No idea how it will turn out or if it will look like a pile of junk but I'm enjoying the process.
Hmmm, can't find out why it's doing that? What you're seeing is what I see when using my phone, but my home pc and office pc show images automatically?
Oh found it!
It's internet Explorer, that is showing links when I use that. I always use Chrome and that shows the images.
It looks like IE takes you to the old style Reddit and Chrome to the new. Good ole Microsoft!
Anyway, now that mystery is solved how about I start a full build diary on here, where would you suggest I put it?
I've always wanted to design my own car from the ground up, but with the IVA now so strict in the UK, I decided rebodying a car could be just as fun and be the start into my world of car design.
I have spent the last year designing a body based on BMW E46 Convertible blueprints. Why the E46? Well, there are loads of them, they are RWD and with the 3.0 engine quite nippy and can be supercharged/turbocharged or even accept a V8 if you're feeling naughty and want to test how grippy those rear tyres are!
So I now have a completed design and all the tools and materials needed to fabricate the new body, all I need now is a donor car to start shaping and moulding around.
Once I have the donor I'll start showing progress pictures of the shaping of the new body and getting it ready to make a fibreglass mould from.
Well the donor car was perfect so I bought it and now the project is up and running!
Already started some foam work on the rear passenger wing, not happy with the location of the cutout "Intake" or it's shape but it's all a working progress so will make notes and re-do it. It's a nice material to work with and very forgiving, just a little frustrating I can only lay one layer of foam at a time then have to wait half hour before applying the next.
Shape of the wing is wrong also right now but we are only day two into a year long project so this again will change until I'm happy.
Going stripping this weekend................Stripping car parts that is.
This weekend I've decided before I go any further with bodywork I should strip down the car and remove anything that's not staying.
Bumpers
Lights
Roof + all associated pumps / wiring
Rear seats
Rear interior trim
Rollover protection
Boot lid
Bonnet
Front Wings
I'll tackle the lights first as that will take a while, I'll need to note down every wire colour, it's voltage/amps/watts and what light it controls. As I'll be needing all the info when I come to fit the new non-BMW lights.
All the bit's coming off will be sold to go towards the build.
Hey you lot, Well this weekend gone I managed to remove the convertible roof and start welding the wire frame that will make the basic shape of the car.
The convertible roof was easy enough to remove, only three nuts each side and some wiring then un-clip the hydraulic hoses and off it pops! But my god it's heavy! The rear of the car is about an inch higher now it's gone!
Rear bumper is pretty much all that's left to remove from the back of the car.
However!
I was too excited to try out my new MIG welder, so the next job was to start making the framework that will become the rough base for the cars shape.
Now you have to remember I've never welded before and I'm sure the following pictures will horrify and upset those of you who can weld and know intricate art of welding correctly!
It's messy and not even remotely perfect but it's solid and will do great for my needs.
So, this weekend gone I managed to get some time to work on the car.
I cut out a new rear wheel arch lip from 12mm MDF, I then welded 80mm supports all round the existing arch to get the new wide arch projection. I'll be gluing the mdf to the metal support.
Once that was done I decided to see how the lines of the new car would be by putting masking tape from the arch lip to the new top line I made a few weeks back.
It looked shit lol
The angle sloping up was all wrong and the line once it got there was terrible. So I had to take the decision to get rid of the top line and create a new one.
So I cut it off and then did the same tape experiment going to the original body. Well it wasn't far too where I wanted it, just needed to be an inch further out. So following the existing car lines I extended out by an inch. This left me with this line
Much better, once shaped with a slight curve it will look spot on how I have designed it.
Next job is to remove the rear bumper and roll over protection then I can continue with shaping the rest of the new body.
Will I got some Woven Roving Fibreglass to start covering my wire frame, this will have a small amount of resin painted on it to create the base over the wire frame that I can build on with foam and filler.
Here is an image of the fibreglass just laying on the frame, it gives an idea of the shape of the car.
Well after a few weeks of not having the space to carry on with the project I have now been able to get some decent work done!
I mirrored the wire frame onto the passenger side and then started to clamp strips of fibreglass material to the wire frame. Once it was all clamped in place I covered the fibreglass in resin. Now this was done to give me a base to put the expanding foam on. It worked well, and meant I had a decent start with the foam and also pointed out a few problems with my design/framework.
As you can see, the "tunnels" behind the headrests are WAY too pronounced and it's starting to look like the Bat Mobile! Not what I'm trying to achieve!
But that's fine, I can build up the foam to lessen the effect of the tunnels. Funny how in framework it looks fine, but soon as there's a solid mass to look at the appearance changes completely.
This morning has been all about the sanding and shaping. Using the air sanders I've been cutting back the foam and bringing the shape out that I want for the car.
Here is the first side profile view
It's getting there and needs a lot of work but you can see where it's trying to go now and the proportions.
I'm stopping for now though as I need to start working on the boot and working out exactly how it's going to look and work. I'm keeping the existing boot hinges and lock system in place so working round those.
Bellicose – Looks like you are making good progress.
Are you going to use the foam as a 'buck' to make the final body in fibreglass?
Good luck, Paul.
Hey Paul, yes. Everything you see at the moment is purely to take moulds from. Once that's done everything will be stripped off the car and the fibreglass panels will be attached to make the new body.
