30 replies to this topic

[garyk220]

Not much progress to report since last week, but I have managed to attack the speaker panel with P80 sand paper to improve the finish before the next step which is to get the fibreglass and filler out to smooth everything off prior to trimming or painting (still undecided on which option to go for).

Considering it is assembled from small pieces and panel off-cuts it is not looking too bad. Should look pretty good when finished and if it doesn't, at least the seats will hide it





I've also tidied up the hard top where the inner panel sectiosn have been cut-out and will get the head-lining material applied this weekend.

Next job, filling and priming the rear clam before sending it off to be painted.

Edited by garyk220, 05 May 2011 - 02:20 PM.

[garyk220]

And a little experiment with some left-over cf vinyl. I was planning to get the filler and cap powder coated black...





The clam is not fixed on the car, so the filler is only loosely in place and not lined up properly with the cap. I don't see this being a permanent solution though, which is a pity.

[ChrisS1]

Great progress there Gary. Lokoing at the sections of the rear clam that have been treated these are the exact same areas I have bubbles. What process and materials did you use to sort them? Do you have experience of bodywork already? Cheers Chris

[garyk220]

I've not done any repairs yet Chris. Just stripped the paint and primer back to the outer layer of fibreglass (I think the grey you see is the equivalent of the gel coat you get on the S1 Elise clams). The white areas in the photo are where the top coat has lifted as a result of the bubbling. Most of the bubbles on mine though were just underneath the paint so have not damaged the fibreglass at all. The area around the boot lid is very comon on turbos and I presumed is related to the fact turbo clams have a modified boot section bonded into a cut-down version of the one piece NA clam. The bubbling on mine follows exactly where the 2 sections have been bonded together. I'm planning to seal off the areas where the fibre is exposed, then fill the holes and prime for paint. I was pleasantly surprised by how little damage there is to the fibreglass when I stripped the paint back.

[techieboy]

The area around the boot lid is very comon on turbos and I presumed is related to the fact turbo clams have a modified boot section bonded into a cut-down version of the one piece NA clam. The bubbling on mine follows exactly where the 2 sections have been bonded together.

I've noticed exactly that on a few turbos now. Must be some form of reaction to whatever glue they used whilst bastardising the NA.

Nice work though Gary. Interesting to see mods in reverse for once.

[ChrisS1]

Hmm mines an NA....how can I easily tell the difference between an NA and turbo rear clam?

[garyk220]

If the locking mechanism is inside the boot under a black plastic cover (the boot side of the rubber boot seal) it will be NA. The turbo mechanism is on the engine side in the rain gutter (on the engine side of the boot seal). Turbo clams also have a double skin on the right-hand and left-hand side gutters... this is wehre the new boot has been bonded to the NA clam. If you have a turbo clam you'd also need a turbo engine cover as the position of the lock spring is different between both. The turbo engine cover has raised mesh over a bigger area. The NA mesh is contained within the panel recess, like the front/bonnet cover panel.

[garyk220]

Tidying up all the easy stuff before I get round to finishing the clam and sending for paint. Fitted a liner to my single skin hardtop to make it a bit more presentable. This started life as an NA hardtop I bought back in 2002, for £1650 iirc plus £150 to paint it Calypso Red I kept it for my turbo which was the same colour, so no need to get it repainted.



While the mods were getting a bit more extreme, I decided to chop out the inner fibreglass skin to make the hardtop lighter and to add a little more clearance for my crash helmet when tracking. It was definitely function over form but didn't look out of place in a stripped out car. I've kept the 4 longitudinal inner panels as they are bonded to the outer skin and help to minimise flexing of the now single skin hardtop. Also removed were the 2 outer fixings for the long front cover panel, but I kept the centre one and use a massively cut down panel to prevent the centre of the hardtop lifting at speed.



With all the other work being done to refit and tidy up the interior, I decided to add a headlining trim to the inside of the outer skin. It is a foam backed headlingin material, described as black in colour, but is actually a very dark charcoal grey colour.



And bonded to the panel. Not a factory finish by any stretch of the imagination, but helps to tidy up the interior when fitted and should keep the noise down a bit as well.

[garyk220]

Not updated this for a while due to spending some time getting the car back on the road to use it for a few months through the Summer.

The rear clam is filled and primed and ready for paint, but I'll drive it for a while to make sure i am happy with the finish and to give me a chance to do any final touching up before getting it painted.





And I have filled and sanded the speaker panel. Just need to finish the joins where the new speaker pods meet the shelf and back panel. I have refitted it for now as it will be easier to do this with the panel in place. I also need to give some thought to finishing the slots where the harness bar passes. The gap on the passenger side is fine but I left the gap on the driver side wider intentionally to avoid the harness fouling in the panel.





I'll probably make up a curved section with a 15-20 mm larger radius to clear the harness and fix this to the bulkhead to avoid making fitting the bar any more awkward. I need to remove the speakers to get access to fit and tighten the nut securing the harness bar to the roll hoop and in true Lotus fashion it is another one of those jobs that require double jointed wrists and the ability work by feel alone.

Since putting a few miles on it over the last couple of weeks I have found a few other niggly problems to sort out;
- get the air bag control module reflashed or replaced if faulty
- replace the engine mounts as the passenger side has failed
- and get a full cambelt service and MOT

I'll take my time and sort these out over the next few months as I'm sure a few other issues may pop up while using it. Otherwise it is all good and it has been great to get out and drive it again. It may be a last hurrah before selling it later this year, but if business continues to pick up and I find all these changes make it a nicer place to sit I may choose to hang on to it for while yet.

[garyk220]

Where has the time gone to? Four years since I last updated this thread!

 

Well after a few false starts I am finally on the road to getting my car finished. The plan is to start using it by Spring next year. I have loads of parts to source before then, but these make a nice start.

 

http://www.gk-tc.com...xige alloys.jpg

 

Bought from the Motorsports Auction. I can't wait to see how they look on the car. I'm planning to go back to the standard red on silver look and the Exige alloys should look better than the Speedline Turinis I have on the car at the moment.

 

I'll update the thread as I acquire parts over the Winter.

 

 

PS. How does the image link work now? The pop-up box won't close after pasting in the URL and manually typing the URL did not work.

Edited by garyk220, 19 August 2015 - 06:21 AM.

[Nev]

Goodness, a 4 year break !