MadaboutKitcars

Yep hopefully shouldn’t need doing that often. My front arches are also quite narrow the way I’ve ended up fitting them so it’s not too difficult to reach round to get to the headlamp adjustment screws, especially if I do the mod you’ve suggested.

I bit the bullet this afternoon and dug out pretty much all of the filler that I’d used to mod the rear clam for the Sierra MK1 lights. This had cracked quite badly where the bulk of the filler was in the wing area. I suspect I didn’t wait long enough when applying it the first time and as it’s quite a void to fill it probably just expanded over time and then cracked.

So I dug it all out and built it up slowly, this time using GRP resin filler which I allowed to set/harden and built it up in a number of layers.



I’ve left it to fully harden overnight and to cool down (as it’s GRP based it gets quite hot as the hardener does it’s job) and will work on the final surface filler over the weekend and give it a coat of primer.

Whilst I had the lights out I also fettled with the mounting points for these as I wasn’t happy with how flush they were on the leading edge of the clam wing.

I’m much happier with them now (they aren’t actually bolted in on the picture above so there’s a gap that shouldn’t be there).

Another job to add to the list of things to do before the MOT is to take off all the black vinyl I’d put on around the clam vents and rear number plate area of the clam. This was just to help me visualise what I would look like come paint time, but I will probably give these areas a coat of black plastidip just to keep the look going until it comes to paint time - the vinyl is just falling off the fibreglass anyway.

Thanks scimjim. Yep they are really spotlights but using the fog light switch and circuit from the MR2 Roadster.

I was sort of taking a belt and braces approach to the MOT given the last set of changes brought in, since which I’ve had conflicting advice as to whether tell tale lights are tested on the dash/switches for circuits that are present. As the front fog light switch/circuit is there and operational I thought it may still get tested but looks like it won’t.

More filling and rubbing down of the rear clam the last few days. As a bit of a rest from that, and having spent a bit more time with various wet and dry papers on the front bumper and bonnet, I couldn’t resist any longer and decided to apply the first set of 1986 Lombard RAC Rally decals.

To be honest I was struggling with sizing the red Pirelli decals for the front wing/bonnet area and the same for the rear wing/clam. I’d ordered a set that just didn’t seem to look right so decided I’d go ahead and apply them as that was the only way I was going to get to see/prove if they looked right.



Well I couldn’t just stop there with the Pirelli logo and got a bit carried away ....



I’ve actually got a much more decent finish on the bonnet and front bumper than I ever imagined I would based on how the panels came out of the mould. As those will know who have been following my build thread, I’m not going to be getting the car painted for some time, so although it’s never going to be a shiny gloss look, I rather like the Matt white especially now it’s come up so smooth.

Most of the flash lines are off the rest of the panels now, and just a bit more filling required around the back end of the clam.

I know the Rally livery won’t be to everyone’s taste, but let me know what you think of it so far. Shell logo to go on the front wing area just to the left of the headlamp, then Shell script just above the badge and Motorcraft script both in black at the top edge of the bonnet. Just about everything else has been sourced for the rest of the car to complete the illusion!

Thanks for the positive feedback.

I wasn’t sure what to do Nick before painting it, then as the panels came up OK with various grades of wet and dry and, as you say, matt is the new black, I decided I’d see how much of the 1986 rally livery was recreatable. The cost of decent quality vinyl decals pretty amazed me in terms of how cheap they were and what started off as a few discrete stickers quickly turned into sourcing a complete replica livery minus the dark blue stripes down the size and upper part of the rear clam.

I’ve had a quote to do them in a vinyl wrap but the wrap company aren’t keen to do it on the raw GRP even if it is rubbed down, so if I decide to stay with the rally theme that bit will have to wait until it’s actually painted.

Will post a couple more pics over the next week or so as I finish applying the decals and get a better idea of what it looks like - oh and of course it will look that much better with the blue rally mudflaps that have just arrived :-)

Cheers Lee - I must admit it looks much better than I ever expected and I just need to sort out the remaining filling around the rear of the clam and sills/door edges now before I fit the rest of decals.

I’m even tempted to have a go at painting the top of the rear clam/ear scoops, and the air intakes, in a dark blue Plasti Dip to create the Ford Motorsport stripes. Needs to be matt to match the white and for the cost of a couple of cans of Plasti Dip I might just give it a go and see what it looks like. So long as it’s going on panels where I’ve polished up the gel coat it should in theory still pull off as Plasti Dip would on a gloss finish so I can always pull it off if it looks pants.

How’s that latest kit of yours going - back from paint now is it?

Cheers Nick - yes I remember you mentioning this before. I did order some black Plasti dip last week to do the matte black areas with and checked it was the newer nozzle. Haven’t got round to using that yet as not quite happy with the finish on the panels in those areas.

Also just ordered some Flex Blue which is the closest I can get to the dark blue Ford colour for the stripes and going to give it a go. They will be lighter than the original colour but should break up the white a bit. I know you can order a wider range of RAL colour doses now from Plasti Dip but without seeing it on a car/panel it’s a bit hit and miss. At least I’ve been able to see a few different cars painted in Flex Blue.

Yes Nick I’m going to give it a go. I think there’s a bit of “forgiveness” in the Plasti Dip paint with it being a rubber type texture and I’ve got a decent enough smooth finish on the area around the top of the clam, air intake and the doors.

I played about with masking the stripes up and decided on a 2” gap between them and keeping them the same size, rather than reducing the width of them towards the rear of the clam as in the original.

Here’s a pic with it just mocked up in normal masking tape - I need to do it properly in low tack automotive masking tape, but you get the idea. Going with 2” tape like the picture here should make it easier and the trick with Plasti Dip is to remove the masking tape before the last coat dries otherwise it can easily tear the paint.



Anyway if it looks awful I should just be able to peel it off and either leave it white or use a different paint.

Hopefully the masking tape shows up on the pictures here as it’s pretty light in colour

Been struggling to get a decent finish on the seams in the rear clam where I removed the flash lines. I managed to remove some of the flash lines by sanding, but the majority of them needed tackling with a power file first and in a couple of areas the gel coat was so thin I went through it.

I’m just about there now and as I’m going with the Matte White finish for now (it may well turn out to be Matte Shite as one of my mates said jockingly) I needed to blend the filled areas in with white primer. I also needed a misting of primer to see where I needed some finer filler to get a decent finish - well decent enough until it goes to the paint shop.



Bit more work needed but then the back end of the car should be there and I can complete the rest of the rally livery and the motorsport stripes.

Thanks Paul - they won’t be to every ones taste especially the genuine Ford RS owners, but as Oscar Wilde said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

In between waiting for coats of primer to dry on the rear clam after flattening down and filling surface holes, I finished the front of the car off with the remaining decals/stickers, black infill and redid the sunstrip.

I wasn’t happy with the original RS Ford Rallye Sport sunstrip, and didn’t want to go for the period black/red Motorcraft Sparks Fly one, so landed on a mix of Ford logos and RS200 logo in blue. The owner of DMB produced a lovely RS200 logo in dark ford blue which I think fits well with the rest of period livery.



I sourced all the remaining stickers/decals, and just had the two Shell logos and scripts to fit on the front wing areas.



I also painted the black infill areas on the front bumper, and dummy bonnet vent, with black Plasti Dip.





Pretty pleased with the overall result if I say so myself :-)



Can’t decide whether to also paint black the smaller lower vent areas in the front bumper, also the inner surface of the headlamp cowls. Will give that one some thought.

Thanks guys for the positive comments.

Nick, the sticker above the side repeater is a Swedish flag, albeit not a very good one but it is blue and yellow. The livery/sticker theme most closely resembles car #6 of the 1986 RAC Lombard Rally driven by Kalle Grundel with co-driver Benny Melander, hence the Swedish flag. I will probably end up removing but I guess it is a bit of a conversation piece so may leave it or better still get a better quality flag :-)

And here is a picture of the original #6 car as seen at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed.....

I managed to finish off the back of the MRS200 today. To be honest I needed to remind myself that this was an interim job and not a professional paint job - I could have been at it for another 2 weeks for what on the surface was going to be little additional benefit. Anyway, it now looks a lot smoother, all the flash lines are gone and the matt white primer blends everything in with the gel coat finish of the panels.



I also painted the black infill for the rear number plate area with black Plasti dip.



All cleaned up and lights are back in.



Just need to apply the stickers/decals to the rear now and then move on to painting the blue motorsport stripes and the air intake roof area of the clam. That’s a job for the weekend along with the black areas around the windows of both doors and the side scoops.



The deck at the back of the rear clam now looks quite respectable compared to what it looked like after the flash lines had been removed. I can still improve the area under the spoiler as that’s really difficult to get to with anything other than a hand sanding block, but I think that can wait now until the proper paint job.

Thanks molleur

Today I didn’t have much time to spend in the garage, and not enough to make a start on the stripes, so ended up putting on the stickers/decals on the rear panel and the two rear wings.



I think the Shell logo on the rear panel might have the effect optically of making the rear of the car look narrower. Not sure if it’s just my eyes but be interested to hear what folks think. I may well be that it just draws your attention to the middle of the clam/rear of the car, not sure.

Both red Pirelli stickers were also fitted to each of the rear wings.



It really is like when you finished off an Airfix kit as a kid and you got to the part where you soaked the stickers in water and then applied them. Well, in fact a lot simpler given there’s no water involved, that is apart from a light misting of the surface to help prevent air bubbles!

Thanks for the positive feedback.

Yes I think it does draw your eye to the centre of the rear clam, also the fact the stickers/decals are gloss finish contrasts maybe a bit too much with the matte finish of the the panels which again seems to draw your attention to those areas where they are applied.

I can’t really do too much about that one - maybe it will lose that effect when it gets a bit of mud on it :-)

Well all I can say is that I underestimated big time the effort to mask up proper and then paint the stripes, along with the door skins and intercooler inlet/rear clam roof.

Having mocked up the stripes roughly with masking tape, getting it lined up proper across the full depth of the side of the car was another matter, especially allowing for the bow in the rear clam. Anyway, after nearly a full day of masking up I was left with something along the lines of this....



I’d decided to paint the black infills around the door window area and the air intake scoops first as I felt it would be easier to mask the black off when painting the blue than trying to do this after I’d painted the blue.

I knew choosing Flex Blue Plasti Dip was a bit of a risk as it’s relatively light, but I didn’t expect the coverage to be so poor compared to using the black colour. Anyway, 4 cans later I had what on the surface meets the purpose, but in reality is far off a professional job. But hey, that’s not the purpose, and it’s really just a temporary measure to break the white up until I do get it painted.

Here’s the outcome....



Looks OK from a couple of feet, and certainly looks fine from 6 feet (always a good test !), but as you’ll probably see in the pictures here it’s not an even coat and I think there are parts on the passenger side of the car I’ll end up peeling off and redoing before I get it MOT’d.

Overall effect is fine, and the matte blue adds to the overall matte effect. I managed to get the stripes pretty uniform and as you will see I also decided to do the doors in the same format as the original Ford Motorsport theme.



Fitted the sill decals/stickers and put the windows back in. Need to fit the mudflaps now, and then get on to sorting the interior out and putting the door cards back in. As I said above I think I’ll also go back and redo a couple of the stripes on the passenger side - hopefully those should just peel off!

I particularly like this angle of the car with the blue painted ... although it does remind me I need to do something with the intercooler pipes before the MOT given the engine isn’t turbo’d yet!



I also ordered some extra black Plasti dip having used all the cans I’d purchased to finish off the window surrounds. I need to do the lower vents on the bumpers and I think I’ll also have a go at doing the inners of the headlamp cowls. Once I’ve redone the couple of stripes that aren’t great on the passenger side I’ll refit the passenger window and the sill decals on that side.



Thanks for all the positive comments over the last 3 years of the build ... feels like it’s getting close to something now that can be MOT’d and driven again.

Thanks guys for the feedback

Many thanks for positive comments Welshkiwi. Yes the heady days of Group B rallying - I just need to get round to fitting the turbo to mine now to make the same whooshing and pop/bangs sounds :-) That will certainly turn the heads!

I managed to get the car out of the garage this morning and inspect a bit more closely the paint I applied yesterday. There are definitely some areas on the passenger side which will need redoing because of runs. I did try lightly sanding these ares of the Plasti Dip with 800 grade wet and dry, using it wet, and a couple of areas smoothed down sufficient for another coat, but for the other areas I’ve at least proven that the paint does indeed peel off. Just waiting now for some extra supplies of Flex Blue paint to turn up and I’ll redo that side.

It was also a good time to give the car a good clean, and let it run for a while on the drive.

I also managed a couple of trips up and down the private road close to the house - happy to report nothing fell off!

This picture shows off well the matte look - as I’ve said before won’t be to everyone’s taste but will suffice while I run it around before getting it painted proper.



I think I’ve decided just to remove the intercooler piping for now given there’s no turbo yet to connect it to. Looks odd the way I’ve got it routed now (as you can see in the pic below) and I’ve tried a couple of other ways to get the pipes pointing further into the sides of the engine bay but no obvious points to tether the ends of the pipes to.



Decided I will also look at a more easily accessible battery isolator as it’s a bit of a pain having to remove 10 or so DZus fasteners to lift the rear screen. I decided to accelerate getting the car finished by bolting in the rear clam, leaving hinging it to later. So that meant the rear screen needs to be removable to get the engine bay. I’ve got an isolator on the positive terminal itself but as I said it means lifting the screen out each time. It’s unlikely the car will be used every day so I need to look for a place to mount a key operated isolator - the original Rally cars had these up front just under the windscreen scuttle but that’s going to involve quite a bit of routing high current 12v cable to/from the battery so I’ve been looking for an area low down in the engine bay that’s within reach from under the rear of the clam. Once I’ve found a suitable spot I will then switch the DZus D-ring fasteners for the rear screen to DZus hex head bolts as it won’t need to be removed so often.



Let me know if any other builders of the MRS200 kit or other kits reading this have done anything similar here. I did find a remote fob operated solenoid based isolator but on closer inspection the current drain from having the wireless receiver in standby pretty much negated the value as feedback from other users of it clearly showed that it drained the battery itself!

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Nick, I think I’m going to go with the crash bar as you are suggesting. The cut outs in my air intakes aren’t big enough to get the key through for the isolator I have in mind. I just need to find a spot on the battery side of the car behind the crash bar that I can easily reach and won’t get drenched in mud/water off the road. If it’s on the top surface of the crash bar there’s not many places where it won’t be visible through the grilles in the lower cut outs of the clam

Thanks Nick - I’ve also just found some 12v cut off switches for marine/boat applications that look a bit more waterproof.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/marine-battery-isolator/bn_7024943528

As you say though they are larger and not very inconspicuous - I’m not really using it as a theft deterrent just to save my battery so might give one of these a go. Just off to look exactly where to fit it and will order one and the right sized cable and have a go at fitting once the bits arrive.