I had to trim a little of the thickness off the door skin to allow enough room for the glass not to scrape it.
Rebody 250 California build thread for dummies
- Thread starter Pond
- Start date
Yeah, that was how it was with the bootlid just plonked on. Around 15mm in the centre. The later pictures are as it sits now (with a bit of help from our friend Mr Spruce).
I think, again, it is a combination of the body sitting on the ground so has 'pushed' the bowed piece up, and the bootlid sitting on it's four corners so the centre has 'sagged'. The two together give what I have.
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It isn't that, as I have pulled the skin away from the glass with my internal packers. It may just be a 'dry' seal or it could have been like it before, as I didn't check when I got the car!
For the past few weeks I have been messing about aligning and fettling the bootlid and bonnet. The bonnet is pretty much there, but the bootlid is becoming my nemesis. I have done EVERYTHING I can think of to try to get it to sit correctly, but it just doesn't want to play nice.
I have packed the hinges at the correct angles so the brackets sit completely perpendicular. I have adjusted everything many, many, many times. And it still doesn't fit properly.
So to maintain some sanity and to add a little bling I fitted the door mirrors today and 'fine tuned' the openings for the side vents so they sit perfectly level in their 'holes'. I put the door handles back in just so it looks nice.
I have also cut my newly-delivered beautiful replica Veglia gauges into my new dashboard. Cutting perfectly round 122mm holes, for the speedo and tacho, is a challenge aswell. I didn't take any pictures of these, as I forgot before I dismantled them all again!
Next job is pulling the front shell forward to fit the windscreen wiper assembly to the motor and painting the lower piece of the windscreen to mask it from view within the car.
Another few pictures from today:
I have packed the hinges at the correct angles so the brackets sit completely perpendicular. I have adjusted everything many, many, many times. And it still doesn't fit properly.
So to maintain some sanity and to add a little bling I fitted the door mirrors today and 'fine tuned' the openings for the side vents so they sit perfectly level in their 'holes'. I put the door handles back in just so it looks nice.
I have also cut my newly-delivered beautiful replica Veglia gauges into my new dashboard. Cutting perfectly round 122mm holes, for the speedo and tacho, is a challenge aswell. I didn't take any pictures of these, as I forgot before I dismantled them all again!
Next job is pulling the front shell forward to fit the windscreen wiper assembly to the motor and painting the lower piece of the windscreen to mask it from view within the car.
Another few pictures from today:
Body and sills all bonded and lined up. I had to cut and re-make the sills, as they were a Country mile off fitting when attached to the shell.
Lots of tidying excess Tigerseal and filling/ blending the joins but it all fits quite well now. The sill pieces don't line up at the bottom, but these will be hidden by a slim stainless steel cover, then painted black below that on the original car sills.
Just have to re-enforce and close the gaps on the rear where the GRP meets the Z3 boot.
Windscreen wiper wheelboxes fitted. Bottom of the windscreen and quarter lights painted matt black.
Lots of tidying excess Tigerseal and filling/ blending the joins but it all fits quite well now. The sill pieces don't line up at the bottom, but these will be hidden by a slim stainless steel cover, then painted black below that on the original car sills.
Just have to re-enforce and close the gaps on the rear where the GRP meets the Z3 boot.
Windscreen wiper wheelboxes fitted. Bottom of the windscreen and quarter lights painted matt black.
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A bit of an update with this....
I have spent the last few weeks trial fitting all the exterior ancilliaries.
Front bumper, lights, intake cowl and grille and of course the all-important badges.
I have spent the last few weeks trial fitting all the exterior ancilliaries.
Front bumper, lights, intake cowl and grille and of course the all-important badges.
I have finally fitted the rear bumper, lights, and boot latch/ mechanism. Latch mechanism and boot lock assembly is from Russell @ Grassbank. It works well although is a pig to fit but that is the car, not anything to do with Russell.
My nemesis, the bootlid, still needs work (bodyshop are doing that as I have run out of ideas with it) but it shuts and locks now.
The rear bumper needed a LOT of grinding back on the nearside quarter, as the angle was wrong, so it hit the car body. I chose to go with overriders, as I find it more of a 1960s authentic look. They were an absolute pain (front and rear). Drilling polished stainless is hard enough; trying to drill it on a 'point' is much more difficult. I had to buy a really expensive set of cobalt drill bits, as my others wouldn't touch it.
One major advantage, though, is that I drilled all the way through the bumper mounting bracket and bolted the overriders to the bracket, thus giving a strong mechanical fixing for the bumper in two places aswell. The bumper has also been Tiger-sealed to the bracket.
The bumper returns on the rear are quite long, need some support and were not square. I shaped some treated pieces of timber, bonded those to the inside of the bumpers, covered them in Tigerseal and painted it (to prevent rot in future). I then used two woodscrews either side to fix through the GRP and into the timber. They are virtually invisible and make everything nice and solid.
I had to pack out the boot clasp by a LOT (around 20mm) to line-up the latch. I will make it prettier later.
The rear (apart from the bootlid) is done and ready to dismantle everything and be painted.
I need to sort out fixings for the headlight covers and shape the stainless covers over them, as they don't fit neatly at present. Then the front is done and ready for paint.
A few pictures of the bling and Grassbank's boot mechanism for your delight... some pics are a bit fuzzy; I have an old phone!
My nemesis, the bootlid, still needs work (bodyshop are doing that as I have run out of ideas with it) but it shuts and locks now.
The rear bumper needed a LOT of grinding back on the nearside quarter, as the angle was wrong, so it hit the car body. I chose to go with overriders, as I find it more of a 1960s authentic look. They were an absolute pain (front and rear). Drilling polished stainless is hard enough; trying to drill it on a 'point' is much more difficult. I had to buy a really expensive set of cobalt drill bits, as my others wouldn't touch it.
One major advantage, though, is that I drilled all the way through the bumper mounting bracket and bolted the overriders to the bracket, thus giving a strong mechanical fixing for the bumper in two places aswell. The bumper has also been Tiger-sealed to the bracket.
The bumper returns on the rear are quite long, need some support and were not square. I shaped some treated pieces of timber, bonded those to the inside of the bumpers, covered them in Tigerseal and painted it (to prevent rot in future). I then used two woodscrews either side to fix through the GRP and into the timber. They are virtually invisible and make everything nice and solid.
I had to pack out the boot clasp by a LOT (around 20mm) to line-up the latch. I will make it prettier later.
The rear (apart from the bootlid) is done and ready to dismantle everything and be painted.
I need to sort out fixings for the headlight covers and shape the stainless covers over them, as they don't fit neatly at present. Then the front is done and ready for paint.
A few pictures of the bling and Grassbank's boot mechanism for your delight... some pics are a bit fuzzy; I have an old phone!
@ruan You're doing a 507 kit aren't you? Other 507 builders use a VW catch mechanism with the catch mechanism in the floor. Although I did mine using the original Z3 mechanism in the lid and the original strike plate in the floor.
@Pond that looks like the original z3 latch and, I assume, the bit that grassbank supplied is the cable guide and cable. Can't see in the picture what's on the other end of the cable?
It is the Z3 latch, clasp, solenoid and lock barrel. Russell supplies the pretty stainless 'lifter' that the barrel fits into and the hardware to make the three work together being remotely situated. It is basically replacing a rod with a cable. Sounds simple; it is not!
Very wise choice.
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I have now had three specialist GRP bodyshops/ sprayers assess my car to give me quotes for prepping and painting.
The two who have actually seen the car have both given me confidence that my handywork isn't as bad as I thought and are confident the car can look really good once finished.
Just waiting on costs........
The two who have actually seen the car have both given me confidence that my handywork isn't as bad as I thought and are confident the car can look really good once finished.
Just waiting on costs........
Dxbolton
Zorg Guru (II)
Will be interesting to hear what those costs are. So far I haven't found a paint shop that actually wants to do a full respray on anything. They're all to busy making a killing fixing little bumper knocks for insurance companies.
Sounds to me like they didn't want to do the work and instead of saying that they just pulled a stupid number out of the air. A bit like when I asked some patio guys to come give me quotes. Once they saw I wanted 3 totalling over 100sqm I never saw them again. Obviously too busy overcharging old dears for littler ones. Bigger one just too much work for them. Decided it's not rocket science so bought a concrete mixer off amazon for 150 quid and set to it myself.My highest quote was £16,000 plus paint
I’ve gone elsewhere
Anyway. Looking forward to seeing you guys' cars in paint. I 'might' have mine wrapped - or paint it myself
I have had one quote so far, but know it is over the top, as I know two others who have used them. They have only seen a video of the car, as they are a long way away. I know they can do the job and do it very well but the distance is a problem as is the cost at present.
Standard insurance-type bodyshops are not the right people for these cars IMO. They need someone who is experienced in working with GRP and know how to prep and paint it.
I am lucky that we have two of the big Cobra kit makers nearby, so their recommended painters are who I have approached.
That is a lot, but I suppose it depends on how much work they need to do to prep it for paint. At £500 a day it doesn't take long for the costs to get out of control.My highest quote was £16,000 plus paint
I’ve gone elsewhere
Hi, if you are looking for a paint shop that is used to working with fibreglass It would be worth getting a quote from Rays Motor Bodies in Wakefield West Yorkshire, Ray has painted and built many 250 California kits , if you check him out on face book you will see many of the cars he has painted including my 250 which is the grey one WRT250A
Dxbolton
Zorg Guru (II)
It is a well known, high end, restoration shop, and people do pay their prices.
I’ve opted for a restoration shop owned by a friend, and know the quality of his work so we are both happy.
The car will be used alot once done and I do t want to be afraid of leaving it anywhere.
Ray is one of my three!