298 replies to this topic

[gingerjon]

A month or so ago i covered the dash in some Faux Suede. I was never really happy with the look as the colour was more purple than black....that'll teach me for buying cheap!!

So i decided to take it off and try something i had been thinking about for a few weeks......well, whats the worst that could happen?!

 

I removed the vents again, pulled the staples out and removed the crappy suede

 

Then i got the dremel out!!!

I removed the piece of metal which clips under the Binnacle cover....not wanting to risk scratching the Carbon when it goes in

Dremel was working fine....

I wasn't happy with the finish of some of the filler i did before, so made sure it was flat this time

 

After a bit of Drilling and cutting later

Like a Glove

 

I also did the same for a Shift light i bought a few months ago and forgot i had, need to sit it flush and cover the unit itself and just have the lights showing. As i have removed my start button i have put it just to the left of the wheel and i think it will still be in a decent place rather that sticking it to the top of the binnacle cover...

If it doesn't work.....i'll fill in the hole!

 

 

[fred666]

Mate, you certainly have gone wrong with the carpets!  you have the left side piece in place of the right side piece lol. Glad I've gone searching for the pics now as i was about to PM you.

[gingerjon]

Cheers Fred.....i knew it woudl be me rather than the product!! I will rectify

 

So, its been a little while, this episode of "Project Ginge" is brought to you by the word "Bodywork".

 

Firstly, let me tell the world, Nelly is a bad man!

 

I have watched with interest a few of the coupe builds on here and thought "christ, i wish i had the skill to do that...."

 

After a Bank holiday weekend away with the Mrs (I mentioned on the way up we had a couple of stops to make, to which she replied...."I did think North Wales was an odd choice....") and a few parcels from around the world, i ended up with a pile of goodies :

 

 

My Plan with the coupe (All in my head!!!!) Was to hinge from the cabin end with an Aero Catch to replace the boot lock mechanism. After watching what people have done on here, i opted for an expensive....but hopefully easier hinge. From an Exige :

 

 

They are a thing of beauty!!

 

I bought a genuine Exige roof a few months back as it came up pretty cheap, i was hoping they would mate together :

It didn't go well....................So back to the new roof instead

 

Inner Skin, then roof on top

 

Bit of transport damage but nothing major considering how big the thing is :

 

 

 

 

[gingerjon]

Having read Chris and Lee's threads i saw the "Roll Bar" trick......i copied :

 

Roll bar seal bolted into place and coupe placed on top.....

 

I trimmed the edge of the coupe rear.....to help the fit.

 

With the new roof on and the inner skin rested on the seals, the brackets will have to move slighty upwards as there is not a strong connection when done up at the moment

 

This is the point where i have decided to differ from what other poeple have done......and it could be a nightmare! I have never in my life used Fibreglass or done any bodywork on cars.....polyfilling a couple of holes around the house is about as far as i have gone!!

 

 

 

[gingerjon]

This is where things are going to go one of two ways.......

I had the rest of the spare roll bar cover i bought which got me thinking. My new plan is to Cut, yes Cut, the coupe rear and create a new roll bar cover on the car for the roof mechanism to work with and then have the lower part hinged.

 

I seperated the inner skin of the roll bar cover :

 

I wanted to use this as the fixing point of the new roll bar cover as all the points are in place already :

 

For the front of the coupe, i plan to bond the old roof seal panel onto the coupe panel. So after a lot of faffing and trimming on both sides, the 2 bits lined up enought to test the theory

 

[gingerjon]

Because the seal and the fixing point part are seperate i wanted to roughly measure the gap on the inner of the coupe to see what the distances were for seperating :

 

With the whole thing turned back over and connected in the OEM fixing points, everything seems to line up pretty well

My Plan with the hinges is to use the removed inner skin of the OEM roll bar as a base on the build up for strength from there. This is how the hinges will sit

[gingerjon]

I started to measure up on the upside with the hinges in position but upside down obviously :

 

The line shows the cut i am going to make in the coupe. However it will be too flimsy through one of the vents so i will have to blank that out with the strenthening i'll do underneath

 

So thats the plan......I would welcome as many comments and tips as possible, FLD is already being bombarded with questions, anyone else with some imput please feel free to let me know!!

 

Hopefully, if it all comes together....it may end up like this, even with the Wing... (Broom handle support will be included for Aero Aid....)

 

 

[gingerjon]

In amongst all the roof activity i got some Turbo vents from FLD and paid, literally through the nose for the OEM plastic inserts.....i'm still walking funny. A couple of guides on this already out there but i took a few snaps shots anyway :

Drill out the old rivets

this is the panel you will end up ripping out.....yes, ripping.....

Ta Dah!

Cut the rear edges out a little at a time whilst holding up the new vent to make sure it fits

Repeat on other side! The leftovers!

 

FOr all the leftover gunk and bonding glue....i used a heat gun and then a screwdriver and it all just chipped away to leave a surface to fill slightly and paint before the vents go in.

 

Thats it for now, i'll be back for the Coupe cutting based on peoples feedback soon!!!

 

J

[smiley]

You need a bigger wing.

 

For the rest carry on

[Samwise]

Can't offer any advise but everything you've done so far looks great!

[Graeme Lambert]

Will be watching your Coupe hinge solution with real interest.

 

G

[FLD]

Me too!

 

ETA: Have you got a part no for those hinges?

Edited by FLD, 27 May 2014 - 01:11 PM.

[Graeme Lambert]

Me too!

 

ETA: Have you got a part no for those hinges?

 

Could be wrong, but I suspect they are no6 on this link?

 

http://www.deroure.c...2&ST=hinge&SC=0

[CocoPops]

Those hinges look fab.

 

[gingerjon]

Wow, no pressure then!!! If only i had a small idea of what i was doing......the fear of letting you all down is now immense =-O Yep, thats the Hinges, Paul at Christopher Niel did me a good deal on FLDs recommendation.....if helps if you sponsored his run :-) I just need to work out how to strengthen the points where the Hinges will attach so it doesnt crack the GRP when it takesits own weight, im hoping That gas boot struts i want to use will help this.....but thats a little way along yet!!! Anyone want to come and cut the Coupe?!? I'm papping myself at the thought!!!!

[Darcini]

Looking good, I'm now suffering severe hinge envy. On the subject of gas struts go for the adjustable ones so you can gradually let the gas out til you get to the right resistance, it's a lot less than you might think particularly if using a pair.

[Graeme Lambert]

Wow, no pressure then!!! If only i had a small idea of what i was doing......the fear of letting you all down is now immense =-O Yep, thats the Hinges, Paul at Christopher Niel did me a good deal on FLDs recommendation.....if helps if you sponsored his run :-) I just need to work out how to strengthen the points where the Hinges will attach so it doesnt crack the GRP when it takesits own weight, im hoping That gas boot struts i want to use will help this.....but thats a little way along yet!!! Anyone want to come and cut the Coupe?!? I'm papping myself at the thought!!!!

Good cos I've just bought the same hinges - now have exige s1 and exige s2 hinges!

[tommobot]

 

 

 

I did a similar thing to the DIY coupe thing I did. Word of warning though, when you cut the fibreglass where your line is behind the hinges I'd say there is a good chance the shape would sag slightly... (on the opening side)

 

If try to add a strip of re-enforcement just behind where your going cut (on the opening side) to try and retain the shape post cut, either with a metal strip bonded in with FB glass or a fibreglass lip?

Could be talking garbage on the other hand, and these coupes may be better made than my efforts!

 

[gingerjon]

Darcini, just checked out some Adjustable gas struts.....look easy enough. will waiti till i know the length needed and go from there.

 

Tommo, i plan to make a bit of an inner skin for the rear part too....something to strengthen it. Maybe some carbon tubing.

 

I'll cross that bridge when i come to it

[gingerjon]

Its been a couple ofi weeks of investigating and planning rather than actually "Doing" anything. However, having said that i have made some scary decisions along the way!!

 

My plan is to effectivly make a new roll bar cover for the car using the new hardtop outer skin with the scoop, and the inner skins and seals of an OEM part

Inner sections :

 

Started to easure up for the inner on the new roof

 

Now i have most of the idea's in place, i will need to trim the OEM seal piece right back to attach to the new roof

 

You can see all the bonding glue thats has bee attached to the bolts.

 

I have purchased more big head fastners.....sweet baby Jesus they are PPPP RRRRR Icey!!!

These will go in the exact OEM positions but will be bonded in with acrylis when i join the inner and outer.

 

Almost lined up

I need to trim the OEM pice a little more to ensure its all in the right position when it comes to bonding and fibreglassing