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lol
05/10/2007 - some progress
Well not really - I took delivery of a 2 tone engine crane this afternoon - I swear it was delivered by Tommy "fluff" Vance.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...ance_pa203.jpg
Not 'arf
Was in 2 packages - 1 x 90kg's and 1 x 30kg's - the 90kg one the guy just slung it on his shoulder and waltzed up me drive.
Was feckin heavy!
The bloke then gave me a 5 minute description of how he had to lug an 18ft trampoline up some womans drive.
Hero!
any progress yet
Tuesday 09/10/2007
Managed to clear the sh1te out of my garage (been decorating) and found my car buried underneath tons of junk! Undamaged thankfully
Started to do some work on the bonnet which is the main start point for my body kit build.
At the moment the front end is covered in card/masking tape whilst I try and get the general shape right - I'll put some pics up Wednesday if I can get round to it.
In the meantime - picture a bonnet similar to a corsa/astra (new style) with the new style V grill in between a set of Fiat Punto mk2 lights. Looks pretty "mean" in my opinion - sort of bad boy but definately not!
lol
Once I'm happy with the general look I'll be making up metal extensions which will be blended in ready for a full bonnet skin to be made. I dont want to "bolt" an extension on the front of the car so am going with a full bonnet skin which will extend past the front of the existing bonnet and come back underneath following the contours of the lights to be attached underneath along the existing bonnets edge. Much more secure. This will also allow me to remodel the bonnet line details and add (if I can) the new style centre line thats seen on most cars nowadays...
Heres some pics of the card rough template - gives me an idea of what I'm working towards
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet012.jpg
added reference lines so I can transpose the measurements to metal
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet015.jpg
Now for cutting in metal - this bonnet will make the master to take a cast from - I'm using metal to get a rigid smooth impression. Also allows me to sort out the difference in angles between the punto extension and the nova bonnet. First I mark up the grid -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet017.jpg
cut and bend
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet018.jpg
and attach - (used that liquid metal stuff).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet019.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet020.jpg
and the same for the edges -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet022.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet024.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet023.jpg
Next step is to smooth with filler and then blend in with existing bonnet (theres a slight difference in angles that filler should sort out).
I then need to do the bonnet curve details and the underside to reinforce the front section.
Wow....
Sunday 14/10/2007.
Had mates up all weekend and after they went nipped in the garage for an "hours worth" of tinkering...
Plan today was to smooth in the front metal extensions I'd added.
For reference, these have been added to help give the pointed front end feel that the newer style Vauxhalls (and most cars) seem to have nowadays.
I started by cleaning up the panels - removing excess bonding material.
I then looked at the angle between the newer front extension and the nova bonnet. There was a definate dip in the middle where the 2 are joined. The problem is filling this gap effectively whilst avoiding ripples. I also wanted to try and make a start on sorting out the lines on the bonnet - trying to match up the new section, the nova bonnets original lines and the light edges so it flowed.
Finally I wanted to gauge how the wings would look when the corners were extended to match the bonnet/lights.
So to fill the dip in middle part of the bonnet - I thought I'd make 2 further panels out of a thicker sheet steel that would effectively bridge the gap - sitting just above the 2 front panels fitted the other day (see above). These I'd bond with filler and then smooth in the edges with the rest of the bonnet. I decided to use filler because I'd run out of the other stuff lol
This initially didnt go to plan. Once the filler had set, although the panels fitted perfectly and did the job well, they were too big and raised the height of the bridged gap too much (they stood proud). It's was impossible to trim the thickness of the panels without causing an uneven surface, so I decided to remove them and start again...Luckily they came away very easily...
And as a stroke of sheer luck the filler underneath which has been squashed nice and flat was perfect mirror image of the underside of each of the panels and filled the dip perfectly!
All I have to do is smooth the edges and a few bubble holes and I have a smooth curve. The panels also helped as a guide for the bonnet lines, defining them a little better - although I'm still considering what to do with them in terms of the way they will look.
Once I'd removed the panels I decided to have a crack at remodelling the corner of one of the wings. At the moment I'm looking to get a general feel at how much each one will need. I used professional grey plastecine (more durable than the kids stuff) to build up the extension. The plastecine was taken from the front of the wing out to match the bonnet and down th follow the contour of the lights. The idea being once the bonnet is complete a proper plastecine extension can be made and a cast taken from it so a fibreglass extension can be created. This will then be bonded to the existing wing through metal suppoer connections on the back and underside of the wing. The inside will then be filly sealed but left hollow. the outside that joins to the wing will them be skimmed with filler.
The pics below show the wing extension. you can also see where the middle panels were removed from on the bonnet...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet046.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet047.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet042.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet045.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet038.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet036.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet034.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet040.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet033.jpg
The grill is from a new style Astra cut down - this isnt lined up correctly at the mement so the gaps either side look bigger than they actually should be (mainly caused by the underside of the bonnet not being complete)
Next stage is to smooth the area where the panels were on the bonnet and do the lines. Then I'll start on the underside.
is it me or does it look slightly like an vectra sri
which one? not the new one.
about an s reg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../bonnet036.jpg