M20 Dreaming

[Michel]

+ 1 with Chris ;
One day or another you will have somebody asking for a body or one day or another you will have some hard "bump" on a spin and damage the front or the rear clip so all these opportunities make sense to pick up a mold, first .
Effectivly when doing a mold the plug have to be as "clean" say smooth as possible but you can also pick up what we call a "quick mold" and then rework every part coming from mold . Forms will be saved so this is the most important
An other inconvenient it's that there is in addition of your budget the cost of material to do the molds .....
Good brainstorming to achieve for this point :blank:
And .... congrats for your gear box !!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[Mike S.]

One of the biggest draw backs to doing the one off over the "plug" besides those already mentioned. Is every thing grows when you do that. Take the "fence" down the top of the fenders. You make them look right on the plug BUT after you lay up the FG they'll be at least twice as thick & not look right. All door gaps or body panel joints. You'll need to leave close to 1/2" gap to compensate for the doubled thickness of the FG. If you haven't set the body edges back from the alloy or frame etc by 1/4" or so then the body will hang over that much. But even with a mold have you given any thought to how you'll mold in the "fence? You'll need to split the mold on the center line & lay up each side. Then join the mold pieces. It would be nearly impossible to get FG down into them otherwise. Just some things to think about while you're deciding on which way to go.

 

[Michel]

thought to how you'll mold in the "fence? You'll need to split the mold on the center line & lay up each side. Then join the mold pieces. It would be nearly impossible to get FG down into them otherwise. Just some things to think about while you're deciding on which way to go.

NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
When forms are sort of complicated you just have to "flange " the plug on small areas that will come out easy , when you flange the mold you can just mold one part to another and no need to add any thing when molded !!!!!!
And if work is done neatly when you bolt together the bold you will have only avery very little seam on the gelcoat part !!!

 

[Mike S.]

Michel those are nice Lotus 23 parts. Most body molds need to be made in several pieces due to the compound curves & angles. The "fences" down the fenders of M8fs & M20s are a problem in themselves. They are too thin to mold conventionally. You'd never get the fiberglass down into them cleanly. But if the mold is split on the center lines. Then to lay up each side & then join the mold pieces shouldn't be a problem.

 

[John]

Bloody hell I missed this, looking great Leon cant wait to get my hands on it, this is getting worse than waiting for a first born.
cheers John

 

[Leon]

Yeah Mate I feel ya, Its been like giving birth to a Bloody Elephant I can tell ya.
not to get your hopes up but I'm on the last leg now will be working on it all weekend and I have taken Monday off and ANZAC day Tuesday so got a 4 daya so I'm aiming at the finish line by Tuesday. Got all the shift rods in and its sliding in and out of gear real nice, just a few little parts to make, some oil feed /suction hole to drill and tap then assemble the bloody thing. Those indents are the bain of my life. I can make them all work its just putting the bloody thing together that has caused a few sleepless nights. I think I have it sussed now but the final assembly will be the test.

Cheers Leon

 

[Jac Mac]

Yeah Mate I feel ya, Its been like giving birth to a Bloody Elephant I can tell ya.

Cheers Leon

A previous life experience Leon?

 

[John]

Leon any chance of a few close up pics of the shifter mechanism,
cheers John

 

[Leon]

Will do some pics for you tomorrow, Got the balls and retaining springs done today the galleries for the indents are drilled the shift system is finished. I need to disassemble the whole thing and clean all the parts ready to put it together. the last bit is to machine a diff bearing carrier boss. send me an email and explain why the input quill shaft won't fit your clutch set up. I have a Quartermaster triple plate and it fits that perfectly.

Cheers Leon

 

[Mike S.]

Oh come on quit fiddling with the trans! I want to see the body get done LOL

 

[Leon]

Well I'm back to working on the 20 at long last, I'm going to concentrate on getting a rolling chassis so bell house and wheels are the priority. I have pretty much everything I need to complete a roller, just need to put it all together. Have the water cutters doing the front engine plate then I can bolt the block in place and start hanging bits off it once the bell house is done then I can bolt the transaxle case up to it and hang the rear suspension. the front suspension is all done just need to reassemble it and sort out the Brakes. So hopefully I will have photos soon.

Cheers Leon

PS sorry mike no F/G for a while mate, its a bit cold but I will be doing more work on finishing the Buck.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Well finally!! I've been very patient during your absence on this particular project.

 

[Udo 101]

Yeah Leon! we've all been waiting for awhile now. You've got some lost time to catch up on. ( like I can talk )

 

[John]

Yeh sorry guys it was my fault distracting him with my box of tricks, so no excuses now should be finished by X Mass LOL.
cheers John

 

[Mesa]

Well if you stop fooling with making easy stuff (like a transaxle ! :stunned: ) maybe you'd get somewhere.

Looking forward to the roller (as I am SURE you are too)

 

[Rod Brace]

People keep bothering him to make parts for them! By the way thanks.

 

[Leon]

Thanks guys for being so patient, I'll try not to disappoint my loyal followers, LOL
Rod: I boxed up the front uprights today and will be doing the rears tomorrow so hopefully they will be shipped this week. sorry it took a little longer with the adapters having to be made. They look really good in the 7000 series Alloy.
John: How's the leg going mate saw your FB post didn't sound to good.

I got the engine plate back from the Water jet guys and started to do the first wheel barrel I have some 7" wheels that I removed the centre and then split off the back side bead I add 4" into it, by doing this it gives me a deep/straight back side so I can fit my Brembo 4 pots and a 305mm Rotors. I will do the same with the 12" Barrels I have and add 6" to the back side to give me an 18" wide wheel then I will mount them on my cast alloy centres and they should look pretty much like the real McLaren wheels at a 1/4 off the $$$. I will post photo's once I have some progress.

Cheers Leon

 

[John]

Hi Mate legs coming good finally at a great rate of knots, almost like a new one, BTW Dean popped in tonight for a chat, bloody small world, will tell you next time we see each other.
lookin forward to seeing these wheels, in retrospect I could have gone to an 18 with the extra 2" on the inside, there would have been just enough clearance on the upright and the out side at 8" is dead in line with the body so hopefully it will sneak through, with out needing a flare of some sort.
keep well and busy, lol
cheers John

 

[Rod Brace]

No worries mate! This is our busy season as we do rerefrigeration and A/C work and I started another business so getting that up and going hasn't left much time.

 

[Rod Brace]

Leon, any progress on you 20?