McLaren replica build base on a Manta

[Leon]

Hey guys, can't totally agree about the cars, The woman however, no contest

 

[Greg]

Terry,
Your car is looking great !
I had my car painted last year and had my painter use Awlgrip fiberglass boat primer on the raw glass, before putting 3 coats of red on top of it.
Awlgrip is some tough stuff that can take pounding salt water surf on a fiberglass hull without cracking.

Here's a pic of the back, when I was out for a Sunday ride to the local track a few weeks ago.

My tribute to Carroll Shelby was that I used the same lettering on the back as I had on my 1968 GT500KR.

Mr. Shelby passed Thursday night, R.I.P.

Carroll is probably up there right now swapping stories with Bruce McLaren when he won, racing his GT40 back in the 60's.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Nice touch!

 

[Mike S.]

Did you build the car? Did the tail lights come with the car? Do you know where to get ones like them? The McLaren M6 GT is a beautiful car. Too bad they never went into production on them.
Mike S

 

[Kent]

I just went through this thread top to bottom, Great build Terry, looks terrific so far! Really nice to see you doing something great with the Manta as a base.


And for those taillights, not a match, but for something similar, maybe check a Mustang II.

 

[Greg]

Mike,
It took over 10 years and around 3000 hours to build this. I've customized it the way I wanted. That's the nice thing with a kit car, you don't have to worry about keeping it original.
The tail lights are off a 1977 Chevy Monza, turned upside down. Many parts are off many other cars also. The rear wing is from a 1969 Olds 442 with custom made pedestals. I didn't like the original, 70's looking rectangular headlights, so I filled them in and frenched in small projection headlights instead, for a more futuristic look.

Sorry, Terry, I didn't mean to steal your thread...

 

[Greg]

The small 100 watt lights are the low beams.
For the high beams I used (glass lens) PIAA lamps on the front.
They have triple bulbs. Blue high beams, yellow fog lamps, and amber turn signals, all in one lamp assembly.

 

[Greg]

Here it is, before sanding the whole car, through the original red gel coat. (which took about a month)
You can see how large the original rectangular lights were.

Okay Terry,
I'm finished..
Please continue the fantastic build of your car.
Any questions about mine, just send me a PM.
Greg

 

[Leon]

Hi Greg, What is the engine and trans in your M6GT??
Hows it going Terry, you are slowing on the posts, I'm guessing the winter slows you enthusiasum, not that I can talk but for me its time and money, both seem to be in short supply. Cheers Leon.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

I've slowed slightly on the work...due to work...but the type of work I'm doing is the very time consuming under-body work that makes for the functionality of the body. It's taking as long to do all of this as it did to simply build the shape. This includes all the flanges used to locate and mount the body, reinforcements needed to keep the body rigid at speed, keeping all gaps at 1/8", and dash-cover work to make the car more appealing for the street. And least we forget the windshield for the street portion of the driving (I'm having to compromise on that being there is just not a lot of options out there for that. So even though it looks like nothing has been accomplished from the outside, looking under the body shows my last 8 months work.

 

[Jack]

Nice work Ox, the devil is always in the details. Good job!

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Well Jack, if truth be known, I've slowed down a bit to let you catch up and beat me in posting a "completed" message regarding the highly aniticipated ribbon-cutting of your SLC.

 

[Jack]

Ox, if I can get over from going off on tangents, perhaps near end of this summer I'll be
cutting ribbons...wink...

 

[Fred W Ballinger]

Nice to see the progress Terry, looking good!

Cheers

Fred W B

 

[Mike S.]

Aint it the truth? It's always the little things that seem to take so much time & money. I've told people (including my kids) it's the little stuff that kill you. Not the big stuff like engine & trans etc. Those you know & budget for. It's the nickel & dime things (in time & money) that add up real quick. But the time taken to do it right the first time is well worth it.
Mike S

 

[Jim Craik]

Keep up the good work Terry!

We can't wait to see the final product.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Here's the windshield. My only issue with it is the black surround was excessively wide, and thus more restrictive from an angle-of-sight from a driver's point of view than necessary for its application. The fact that I got a glass windshield that fit properly (almost) was a challenge in itself. I'm still working on an acrylic (or similar) wind screen that more represents the original.

 

[Jim Craik]

Terry,

That windshield looks and fits great, very nice.

Perhaps using care and a number of sharp razor blades, you can narrow the black surround.

 

[Jack]

Good find Ox. A back window from what??

 

[Terry Oxandale]

It's a front window, laminated and non-tempered. A copy of a copy, but has its issues. I erroneously thought I'd scrap off the black paint, but forget that. The razor wont touch it (almost like a porcelain), and where I did clear a small speck of it, the glass was etched. So I guess I'll leave well enough alone.


Just don't walk in front of me while I'm on the road (I might not see ya)!