MadaboutKitcars

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...

More trimming of the Spifire



Rear wing and head fairing deleted. Shell marked at centre line for cutting





Half shell trail fitted to establish how much narrowing is needed



4" was taken out of the shell before it was glassed back together



A much better fit

The boot/spare wheel opening is way too small to be practical



New larger opening is far more usable





The cut out panel and the original cover are bonded together



The front end needed narrowing, of course, so was marked up and cut into pieces including a bonnet opening instead of a flip front.



Looking good

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

Hi Paul,

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.

Nice Jag. Congrats on getting the Photobucket thing sorted, now you have no excuse to start your MX250 build tread

Thank you for your kind words Neemo. The MX5 engine should fit no problem, something to think about! lane:

Starting to shape up nicely, a bit more filling and sanding before a coat of primer



Boot lid now hung on proper hinges (chrome mini boot hinges) and starting to even up the shut lines



Headlight / grille opening trimmed back and edges sanded. Return added to bonnet opening....



....and to the bonnet itself.

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.





The rear end is now ready for primer



Panel gaps all done



"Does my bum look big in this?"

Getting there

Thanks for the comments guys. Colourwise we are going for the "Not enough hours in the day old race car barn find patchy scratched primer" look, a winner in my book (my book being "Hot Rod" magazine). The body will be coming off for tub/chassis restoration, so no point in painting yet.

Sorry Nick, we have put wider wheels on!





Made the screens and headlight covers out of 2mm perspex, a bit thin but easy to work with when you are in a hurry



Quickly fabricated some screen posts out of sheet alloy





Sorry for the fuzzy pics, it was a bit dark....

Thanks for the kind words Gary. You are so right about the IVA and money issues pushing the 50/60's re-body concept along. I am looking at more modern base vehicles, but they are limited and expensive.

Nahhh, TR6 steels. They are 4x114 PCD, so need adaptors, which were more than the wheels!

Out the door, on the trailer and down to Exeter. Answers to the questions above on my return. See you at the show.

Due to the huge positive response to the A352 on this forum and at the Exeter Show we will be going into production ASAP. The plan is to spend a couple more days on improving a few areas of the bodywork before moulding the external and internal panels.

The first run of kits will include the following:

1x 1 piece GRP bodyshell (to fit the Spitfire tub)
1x single skin GRP bonnet
1x single skin GRP boot lid
2x double skinned GRP doors
1x set of GRP internal cockpit panels (2x sides + 1x rear bulkhead)
1x set of GRP inner arch infill panels for rear
1x set of GRP inner arch infill panels for engine bay
2x steel door bars
2x steel internal door hinges
1x pair perspex headlight covers

Price for this package will be £1954 with NO VAT.

Additional items such as windscreen+posts, side screens, head fairing, central cockpit bar will follow shortly, with prices TBC.

Also to follow will be soft top and hard top options. I will be posting Photoshop mock up's on the forum to establish designs.

We are aiming for the first kit to be ready for collection in 4 weeks from today.

Not if i can help it


This may be tricky to get into, even with the gullwing doors, but will give it a go.........

Sorry Nick!

Sorry again Nick!