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New Body for the Formula Vee

 

Using the Fein tool to trim the upper rear flashing Fitting the nose cone Trimming and fitting the engine cowl to the new body The body weighs 7 lbs. about 20 lbs. lighter than the old body that I made last year Fitting the body to the car Using an angle to trim the sides perfectly straight Still have to trim all of the edges and openings Another nice February day in Seattle, probably 60 degrees outside Fresh out of the mold with mold release film flaking off Removing the body from the mold Trimming the nose cone around the beam. The beam is now one inch farther forward than before Trimming the sides before I remove the body from the mold The lower part of the nose cone Nose cone ready for trimming, fitting and assembly to the lower part I remove the nose cone from the mold The nose bottom laid up Laying up the CF over two layers of fiberglass. I use fiberglass as a top layer because it is much easier to sand than CF and sanding kevlar is a fool's errand - just try it someday! Nose mold with mold release wax laid in Second layer of CF is in now, that's all for the body. Took almost a full gallon of epoxy resin and 8 yards of CF. First layer of CF over the kevlar/fiberglass layers The the special silver basecoat Kathy specified to really make the cany aple red pop in the sun post3 post2 post1 Looks good, can't wait to get it in the sun! With a qurat of urethane, half a quart of base silver, four quarts of laser red and a quart and a half of clear, I have about $550 in paint alone on this body. Then a full quart (four coats) of clear over the red midcoat With two quarts of red basecoat mixed with 2 quarts of reducer/catalyst - that's four full quarts of midcoat alone to get the deep candy apple red. I had to get another quart of laser red to get the color fully developed First coats of red midcoat looks pink 5 oz. kevlar, first layer going on First urethane primer and fill all the pinholes Sister katwoman specified Sherwin Williams Candy Apple Laser Red Looks better than it used to Fitted to the FV I lay another coat of resin on the new body so I can sand it smooth I use epoxy and more carbon fiber to attach the joint plate to the body. The plate will hold the springs for the Dzus fasteners that I will install in the nose Gluing the bottom of the nose to the top part with eposy thickened with filleting silica Fitting the bottom of the nose to the upper part More trimming Checking the symmetry Wax with Meguiar's Mold Release Wax Polished I must make the male plug perfectly smooth to allow the female mold to release properly Clear coat over the primer More primer Sanding the primer smooth Primed Ready for urethane primer Masking the Dzus fasteners for primer Very shiny and smooth with the nice coke bottle shape at the nose to provide a nice laminar flow with no airflow separation Sanding with the longboard to get the coke bottle shape that I want Need more bondo and sanding now Even more bondo and sanding More bondo and sanding More bondo and sanding Lots of sanding and shaping The first of five gallons of bondo goes on the foam. Using the sureform file to shape the foam. Laying on foam and spray foam to get the new outline close to where I want it. I cut the nose mold in half and lay up flanges. This will make releasing the new mold easier I laid in two layers of 6 oz. fiberglass using West System 105 epoxy resin and 205 fast hardener. The the first of two layers of 5 oz. kevlar per the rules Many yards of fiberglass, kevlar and carbon fiber cut in preparation for layup Fitting the CF into the nose mold This is the mold for the lower part of the nose I made patterns of the body mold and laid them on the 8 yards of carbon fiber for cutting Nose mold The nose mold with flanges I spray the new mold with mold release Aligning, trimming and filling the new mold I cover the FV chassis in plastic wrap for protection against the onslaught of filler and resin in the coming days. Nose mold with buck pieces removed The nose mold with foan, etc. still inside The female mold released from the old body/male buck You can see how much the nose is raised from the old body Cutting the nose away with the Fein tool I mean - a lot of glass! Lots of resin and glass 6 layers of fiberglass mat in polyester resin to make the female mold Mold release is brushed on to the male buck
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Pages

  • 1947 Monk Cruiser
  • 1979 Van Diemen Formula Ford
  • 1985 Bluebird Wanderlodge PT36
    • PT36 Flooring
    • PT36 Jacks
  • 1995 Lotus Esprit
    • Esprit Interior refurbish and Double DIN radio installation
    • Freescan for the Lotus
    • Lotus Esprit Radiator Overhaul
  • Cobra Daytona Coupe-R
  • Formula Mazda
  • Frame and suspension restoration
  • Marshall Sanderling
  • PT36 Engine Bay
  • PT36 Landing lights
  • Snow-Trac Index Restoration
    • Disassembly
    • Engine and Variator Overhaul
    • Body Restoration
    • Getting Frankie Home
  • Snowcat Restoration
  • Triumph TR6
    • TR6 disassembly of tub
    • Tub Restoration
    • Painting the Tub
    • Painting the Body Panels
    • Driveline Restoration
    • Frame & Suspension Assembly
    • TR6 Frame
    • Transmission and Overdrive
    • TR6 Engine Installation
    • Carburetor Overhaul
    • TR6 Dashboard and instruments restoration
    • TR6 Interior Installation
  • Wittman Buttercup
    • Buttercup Wing Assembly
    • Buttercup Wing Rib Fabrication
    • Fabricating the Ailerons and Flaps
  • 1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge “The Acme of Foolishness”
    • Bluebird solar panel installation
    • Bluebird Upgrades
    • Wanderlodge Interior
    • Wanderlodge Painting
  • New Formula Vee Build
    • FV Frame Details
    • New Body for the Formula Vee
    • New FV Disc Brakes
  • The Red SL 350
    • Metralla painting
    • Blue SL 350
  • 1972 Citroen DS 21 Pallas
  • About Jim.Phoenix.com

Recent Posts

  • Bluebird Wanderlodge air dryer cartridge replacement August 28, 2015
  • Wanderlodge water heater replacement August 8, 2015
  • Final sanding and polishing the Stohr parts June 20, 2015
  • Spraying the Stohr bits silver and clear June 15, 2015
  • Painting the Stohr fenders and nose June 13, 2015
  • Repairing the nose on the Stohr WF1 June 4, 2015
  • Finishing the repair on the Stohr fenders May 24, 2015
  • Repairing Dick Boggs’ damaged fenders May 22, 2015
  • Painting the new FV body February 28, 2015
  • diasio finished January 24, 2015

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