Anyone built their own bodywork without a mould?

[WorldClassAccident]

I was thinking of getting something like this
https://i.postimg.cc/zXt5RZTf/911-bare-front.png

and making something like this
https://i.postimg.cc/cCdg6ywm/DS911.jpg

Using this guys technique - not sure if I will use glass or carbon yet. I guy ease and cost will influence that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yaggj16S08&t=680s

Thoughts and advice welcome

[Mitchelkitman]

The carbon and peel ply route would be very expensive. I haven't used peel ply myself, but a trusted friend (who has much more GRP experience than myself said he couldn't get on with it, so that's good enough for me to never use it.
Anyway, more positive thoughts........
maybe build up a shape using PIR foam (from builder's merchants in various thicknesses, so can be cheaper than other foams. make the shape as best you can, (I've glued sheets together using builders 'squirty foam' and cut or use glasspaper to shape (very messy!) Use a vacuum cleaner to remove loose bits. Mix up some polyester resin and paint on with a brush (this is to prevent resin used for lay-up just soaking in). Leave to dry, then use matting and resin to get the shape. It will be lots of work, but certainly possible and less likely to break the bank than using carbon and epoxy resin. There are a few projects on youtube.

[WorldClassAccident]

The polystyrene foam to form a former which you sand and lay over is what they show in the video. Get the sape right, lay the cloth and once it has hardened cut away the polystyrene to get the finished item.

I am and expert at carving polystyrene, here is some of my earlier work
https://i.postimg.cc/bdccZ7HP/elephant.jpg

[Mitchelkitman]

Polystyrene will melt with polyester resin, therefore only use epoxy if using polystyrene foam.
PIR foam will melt with epoxy resin, therefore only use polyester resin if using PIR foam.

[WorldClassAccident]

Thanks - I will definitely check once I know what I will be using for the bodywork

[Biggles]

How about starting with a Covin so you don't get reamed for the base vehicle…..

[WorldClassAccident]

Because Covin's are not great cars?

[Mister Towed]

Covin made some pretty convincing 911 replicas in the 80's even though they had a CVH motor up front. I was gathering parts for one of their now hens-teeth rare type-3 Variant based Speedsters in about 1991 when Dax bought them out and effectively killed the company, which was a bit of a shame, really. Still, I made a profit when I sold the donor on, WEL 9J where are you now?

I do like your thinking with this Citroen/Porsche hybrid idea, but I have to say that it looks an awful lot like a Panamera with twin headlamps and a double chevron on the bootlid to me.

Have you considered using a Cat N salvage Panamera or Cayenne as a donor and just replacing the outer panels in Tribute Automotive stylee?

Just a thought...

[WorldClassAccident]

The Panamera is considerably larger and has the awkward bulging roof line to allow passengers. Those renders are just what I could find online so not the exact thing I have in mind but as the image below shows, I may not be the master of CAD and rendering models but I am not making a Panamera look-a-like

https://i.postimg.cc/50JnD6WZ/panamera-vs-ds911.png

[Paul L]

WCA – Taking your question from the other thread…

“How hard can it be for a first timer?”

Answer - Have you read my build thread? :rolleyes:

;)

Jokes aside, the difficultly of building bodywork directly, rather than via a mould, is panel depth.

What Tribute do is get the body work exactly the way they want it and then take the mould.

What you are trying to do is get the final bodywork after you have laid on the fibreglass/carbon fibre.

So, you will be making a mould that will actually be ‘smaller’ than the final shape required.
(By the depth of your fibreglass/carbon fibre.)

Fibreglass will not stick to brown parcel tape, or clingfilm, but both will leave an impression on the underside.
(Which no one will see in your case.)

As for the mould itself, I have used a variety of things to shape what I was trying to make…

Insulation foam.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEX9tpP9lA4jWLazEpOPGBtHEI2p16tfmSbwL8QpHDh3_Z wPPECWXoklTQ6LN4aAMXfdv9U2b0I2w2vyw92OgCB8DCqsdN4y ehKZyTewayLSKuTaR77l2hxiz6YHX3mKKIqFFf3BLHosnEicTF vjbb8WNg=w1293-h969-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEUiF0LTJRQOaXV2y5K0cLcGXJ8iNB3VFw2RMDFTmmKLXk Lj8EQyBFWihvWcRqdhkG6SY4_ItkRQnhsQ9-QCuujzjbyEPu5I6vJOWMPaaHmuzei45RuohUajsA_duVQ7xKtI TSFRmuGMnar3nQwiTzwAFw=w728-h969-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEUemzBnFFEc2P5ABZvP3nX-kz83soARh3viS-dOBCAgWv5Fy4Ho1_1kSh8Hi-iV13EerFvM_bku--B-KpL9K25WXWsd8V21tzjj0meHsq9u5sHShFDA9ThmWVOaSM03WL G5FwW3MNcXDzcPsTxVodFbIQ=w1293-h969-no?authuser=0

A beer can and plastic drinks bottle.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEVcMzzaEZEfy1smby2gsOyaJUVJQQ1SR8Go8jxpALnz0x vwUi5oVzerxAloHAmMck-Pkhqcm8WuM_3CVigOS56yQdQr7E3o7PfTIfRPiYJNJ8TyX3O4m zRHkJxNBmHd2fQTnmSkm2s2UBghNT23FE3eqQ=w728-h969-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEVQF5wJegQxgUNwCJK9v12-bo0UnHYVYw3GUH90YyI4ZkEcdbe4mWQ0BVXQ4mZ9yes0joUrdF nno3LV1Unoqc0vrJEOcYoPkb_biXpky1HcSkNY5yrEpkFCk7OJ zDMIzfob0-fgo-LXJb6Pm0ViF-itgQ=w1293-h969-no?authuser=0

Bits of a yoga mat.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEVYPH_4lUlt6ycH17UNQ_UdFY4oCUgOfm5m-5hKsFSusMcKQkm-6ruxND7bP_nrLabYjsxg-gtocZI3CFmfq-zzNgqvCX8wqCImCb2JL928EqeONqz40bR7COmVpFvhzTo2TZVb 8soIH_jQN_kqV-kIVA=w728-h969-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEUnDGUm5M8O2Ev4wa7Od5ChJ_I-EBgRlaSn5a_ahoig1k4LR2i6cy5kuvA83ce5pgprQmLgrt8kiB qoRjsd_tiYijlcxo-bSWOZIqGL_5InHRTXwPzXR9iTPkDkJwPjPQWi5kN2gunBboW_M 0ZtMLMUUw=w728-h969-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEUPLmhzayEcjY2xhTgkeivDl171_lhYUgK13qUEjxHaw_ r9t3gufLWUHHZK9eSIuURvm2UWTndQXRfNddOHKUjS60W8tckM RH7mSy8CEVXG1wkwIZAfeUwgdmLVp8jf9URy_l2co3SW4UUrF_ HnKAuzgA=w728-h969-no?authuser=0

I even used the corner mesh used by plasterers.
(No need for tape, as the fibre glass didn’t stick to the metal.)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEVO4X6_ktVvtPXkckVNb8C8GAAwMn8kGI0SKXXybR6oLc lEVFHw-X4Nt6fftArzTOqd3CUH0XlwV1rfG1ZcTEZuFBK7eJetvGSTwf6 TBrNWsDSfjLEegalHBrt0Q4YCAMt4jV1qvE52J3ulALeRvBbQ_ g=w728-h969-no?authuser=0

Hope that helps and good luck!

Cheers, Paul. :)

[WorldClassAccident]

Thanks Paul, helpful.

My thinking with the oversize/undersize issue is that If I make the former to match exactly witht he door panels and then add CF the panels will be Xmm to big, as you say, but if I then stick the same CF cloth to the doors then they will also grow by Xmm so be the right size again. Make sense?

This guy makes it look easy : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yaggj16S08&t=1195s

[Lucky@LeMans]

This works on a bigger scale too, boat hulls being made here.........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqzjMc_xBjg

[Mister Towed]

Thanks Paul, helpful.

...If I make the former to match exactly witht he door panels and then add CF the panels will be Xmm to big, as you say, but if I then stick the same CF cloth to the doors then they will also grow by Xmm so be the right size again. Make sense?



You might want to rethink that as I would suggest that if you set the panel gaps on your former exactly as you want them then oversize each panel by adding your CF cloth and resin, the panel gap won't remain the same but will reduce as the increased dimension on adjoining panels will move towards each other, not both in the same direction.

Apart from the technicalities regarding the plug, I can see this working now I've watched the video of the chap making the small item without vacuum bagging it. The main advantage I can see over using fibreglass is that the surface finish looks like it will be much smoother than when you use fibreglass, so will need less prep for paint. That all depends on how good your plug is though.

[WorldClassAccident]

Agreed about the panel gaps. I had considered those but didn't want to over explain my first description.

The door is the only panel that will be skinned over rather than remade. For this a single layer of fabric can be used to wrap over the edges so the gap will only shrink my less than 1mm. The front and rear wings can be formed with bigger gaps than I end up wanting so the end result should still be good gaps.

I am actually thinking of making moulds/profiles based on the existing panels but just for the first few inches so that the contours match exactly when they join the door. I will then use these to ensure that the former I build will be the same as the doors. This further complicates the issue with panel thickness but I am sure I will work it out.

still need to sell two of the current cars and both are convertibles so probably spring before I can actually start anything. At least bad winter weather should provide a few more Cat N donor cars :-)