And so it begins...the AP build.
- Thread starter jlwdvm
- Start date
One thing that has always had me scratching my head is in the attached picture. My car initially was shipped with a roll cage. The lower front corners had 1” aluminum blocks under them as a spacer, so that the spider-door-clam corners would meet up fairly close. Without it, the lower front corner of the windshield is WAY low. All other AP cars that I have looked at have very thin spacers in this area, such as the other build I attached.
When you run out of patience and feel like gambling a bit is the best approach forward
Driver’s side A-pillar is warped 1/4”. Decided to split into the inside seam and figured out a way to brace it and clamp it to straighten. Several rounds of heating and cooling before I thought it was as close as I could get it before applying epoxy to the seam. We’ll see how it looks when I pull the clamps.
Looking for ideas on the best way to tackle the sag in the rear of the spider. I can’t tell if the roof of the clam at the top front is warped and has too much arc, or if the rear roof of the spider is too flat.
I can’t wait to get all of these body lines squared away. It’s gonna make the mechanical end of the build seem like a cake walk!
Did a smash and clamp on the spider feet bottoms to get them flat, which will make shimming to get gaps easier. They originally had a 1”lip on the inside 1/2 that made accurate shimming nearly impossible.
I can’t wait to get all of these body lines squared away. It’s gonna make the mechanical end of the build seem like a cake walk!
Did a smash and clamp on the spider feet bottoms to get them flat, which will make shimming to get gaps easier. They originally had a 1”lip on the inside 1/2 that made accurate shimming nearly impossible.
If you're OK with the spider being permanently attached to the roll bar, I would put small wood shims where you need them to get the height/shape right, maybe one every 10" then put a backer on one side, and pack it with light weight bondo, making a nice fillet where the bondo meets the spider, then add a layer of a lose weave glass from the spider, over the roll bar, then back to the spider if you can get to it.
I made a huge deck lid for a Kelmark bonding a light DOM frame to a glass shell this way. It was much easier with gravity on my side than you will have. Protect and prepare accordingly. You might even want to devise a vacuum forming system to mash the glass into the spider.
Since building my Cobra 16 years ago, I've come up with some creative ways to make composite things in the shop.
If you don't want it permanent, you can add a layer of packing tape over the roll bar and omit the glass, and still make a nice saddle shaped continuous shim that you could silicon to the roll bar. The tape will not adhere to the bondo, epoxy or polyester resin, or whatever you use,
I made a huge deck lid for a Kelmark bonding a light DOM frame to a glass shell this way. It was much easier with gravity on my side than you will have. Protect and prepare accordingly. You might even want to devise a vacuum forming system to mash the glass into the spider.
Since building my Cobra 16 years ago, I've come up with some creative ways to make composite things in the shop.
If you don't want it permanent, you can add a layer of packing tape over the roll bar and omit the glass, and still make a nice saddle shaped continuous shim that you could silicon to the roll bar. The tape will not adhere to the bondo, epoxy or polyester resin, or whatever you use,
I layed a straight edge on the spider roof where it meets the clam, and it has a peak in the middle. I think the problem may actually be that the front of the clam is warped, and that is at least part of the problem. I packed in a bunch of wood shims between the top of the roll bar and the underside of the spider to support the spider in the very middle. I’m gonna heat up the front-top middle of the clam to see if I can take some of the arc out of the middle and get it closer to the level of the spider.
I thickened the lip of the clam so I can grind in the correct gap between it and the spider. Same technique used with steel cars, only difference is you add weld to build up, then grind in the gap. Once gaps are set, I’ll apply filler to get panel to panel flush.
I finished applying 2 layers of glass to the backside of the front clam bracing. There are also a couple of openings that I am closing off. Laid one layer with laminating resin to close off and get the shape. I’ll come back with a couple more layers, once the foundation layer sets.
I finished applying 2 layers of glass to the backside of the front clam bracing. There are also a couple of openings that I am closing off. Laid one layer with laminating resin to close off and get the shape. I’ll come back with a couple more layers, once the foundation layer sets.
Inside the circle, on the spider, there's a body line (black line in circle) in the door and clam that is flat out omitted.
I've been waiting to see how everyone else handles this. My instinct says it must be corrected and will be vary careful angle grinding, but will need to be backed up first because I'm sure it's not thick enough to just grind the finish side down.
Or it needs to be filled in on the door, and feathered in on the clam.
