The bodywork is done. Everything's
painted and attached to the car. We still can't quite believe it, and it's a big shock every time
we open the garage door and see this shiny sports car sitting inside. It looks way
better than we ever expected, and it's not just the bodywork. The headlights, taillights,
grill, and spare tire all add to the finished look. The air cleaners we thought were way too blingy
for our build now blend perfectly with the glossy hood. The beading around the rear fenders looks
almost professional.
Fully-paneled suspension for that completed look
We attached the body panels with lots of black silicone caulk. We went through the better part of
two 10 oz. cartridges, and most of it's underneath the panels, out of sight. Of course we are not
experts with a caulking gun, and some of it oozed out. We don't see this as a serious problem,
in part because it's black and doesn't show except up close, and in part because it looks at least
like we made an honest effort to use lots of sealant. This late in the game, we're not concerned
about the extra weight.
Rivets are mostly all hidden
None of the panels was particularly difficult to install, and riveting wasn't as much work as we
were led to believe. A lot of Locost builders spring for an air riveter, but really, fewer than 500
rivets all told, and only the side panels got really boring. The biggest issue was getting all the rivets
in before the caulking dried, although our borrowed set of clecos helped a lot in that regard,
although we now need to find a way to clean dried caulking off clecos before we have to return the set
to my brother. I'm sure there's a solvent out there.
Fender flange neatly covers upper shock bolt
We didn't fully attach the rear fenders, because it turns out we're going to have to remove them
so we can install the shocks. The fender flanges cover most of the upper shock bolts, and while it might
be possible to get a wrench on the bolts with the rear fenders in place, it won't be possible to
withdraw the bolts from the brackets. Also, the 3/8" holes in the brackets have to be drilled out
to 12 mm or 1/2", depending on which shocks we get, and we'd just as soon avoid using a drill that
close to our new bodywork.
Exhaust looks better without a heat shield
Now that the body is permanently attached we were able to install the exhaust for the last time and fire up the engine.
It's been a while, but the car still runs great and sounds excellent. Oil pressure and coolant temps
are all normal, even with our semi-restrictive winter grill in place. We ordered stainless
steel straps to attach the heat shield to the exhaust, but they haven't arrived yet and we're
starting to like the way the exhaust looks without it. Yes, it's a safety issue, but I'm sure we can learn not to touch
the hot muffler, in much the same way we learned not to touch the hot stove.
We can't claim to be completely done with the coachwork because we haven't attached our front
fenders yet. Or built them. Or even really designed them. But it's the middle of August so we have
to move on. Front fenders will therefore be kicked into the final phase of this project, which
we're calling Getting it Registered. Also moving into the final phase will be the shocks and
driveshaft, which didn't really belong in Coachwork in the first place, but will almost certainly
be needed to register the car.
So our coachwork countdown didn't work out quite as well as our engine-start countdown. We ended
up with 14 steps and 46 hours remaining, although in our defense we started with a lot more, and we
also did quite a few tasks that weren't even on the checklist, like for instance the lights and the
grill. So on balance I think we came out even. Or maybe even a little ahead. Hard to tell since our
goal was kind of fuzzy to begin with. The important thing is, we're still on schedule for a
mid-October completion date. Or thereabouts.
Looks fantastic! I remember when it was just a pile of steel. Well done. This is the home stretch. -Tony
posted August 20, 2013 at 15:34:51
I keep saying "it's a CAR!" But I've been saying that for a while. It is now just more of a car. It looks better up close- no 10 foot rule. I am looking forward to getting that tuck and roll interior. I am still blown away as I never dreamed when I picked out that welder that this would be the result.
Kaitlyn
posted August 22, 2013 at 23:16:04
you have done a great job she looks like a real classic
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