2026

JANUARY

Take a deep breathe and let's wrap this up!

The rear underpan is a good place to start. I left it only roughed out. Now to finish shaping it and making it symmetrical left & right. I create a couple of contours from my 3D file for four locations. Studying the photos, it seems the kamm center section sets the basic shape from tail to rear wheels, and the kamm wings blend into it. I sand to the center shape and bit by bit shape the outer kamm wings to blend into it. With the basic shape established, I cast horizontal laser lines across from behind and at different heights. I simply keep shaping until the curve of the laser lines look equal left and right. Then I fill in the pits and pinholes. One last set of checkes to make sure the lower profile of the rear fender matches left and right. The right (passenger) side needed shaping adjustment.

Next I begin making my pattern for the wheel wells. I start by pinning the outlines for the front and rear wells onto two sheets for each set of wells, left and right for front and rear. The photos show my approach. What I want to do is use the patterns to trace the opening for each well. Since each well changes in depth, I plan on using a cardboard sheet to curve like the body and use the patterns to cut out the opening (see 2nd ROW, CR image). Great theory, but the cardboard is too flimsy and the whole idea is really just overkill. I scrap the sheets and use an old drafting pencil lead and trace the outline using just the patterns (see 2nd ROW, R image).

Since drying time is involved with glueing the patterns up, I also keep working on the intakes. After building up the strakes, the vacformed inserts ended up too deeply recessed, so I tried squirting in plaster and shaping it with a contour I cut out of putty knife. That did not work real well in practice, so I ripped out all the vacformed louvres and filled the hole with plaster and used the putty knife to get a roughly shaped recess. The Dremel was too unforgiving if it slipped or varied at all, so I was reduced to hand-sanding every louvre - all 38 of 'em.

FEBRUARY

Hand-sanding the louvres took a couple of afternoons - not as long as I thought. And the results were impressively good... from a distance of 5 feet. If you study them, you realize that the widths of the strakes sometimes varies noticeably. Some are unacceptably too thin and must be beefed up. This will be on ongoing process while I work on other parts.

It is at this point that I return to the wheel wells. I was not thinking correctly when making my patterns, and made them to outline the outer edge of the bevel around the wells. It really should have been the well cutout instead. I decide to make it work instead of making new patterns. So I make a pencil guide of 1/2 inch and trace the desired cutout, adding plaster where needed. Then I sand the well opening final shape. Then I make another pattern to check my bezel width as I sand that into the well outline. It is actually not a half-inch when viewed orthographically, but a half-inch width bevel. Because of the fender curvature, there is a slight variance along the well opening. Plaster - sand, plaster - sand, eventually it is done.

At this point, I step back and decide NOW is the time to add the internal reinforcements to strengthen the body for moving. I'd rather repair things now before I finalize the surfaces. The photos show the basic problem. I have a center sheet of foam and a dozen contours at right angles to it, plus some pieces I insert along the bottom. I imagine lifting the possibly 400 lb. body at the wheels and ask myself, 'where and how will this bend or droop?'
Answer: It will droop from the lifting points downward. That foam can't handle much weight.
Solution: Add foam slabs in each cell on each side to add rigidity.
The four cells in the cabin area have a double thickness of slabs. It is very rigid, but I also need slabs thruout, front to back, to maintain rigidity. Keep in mind that at the core are now a pair of 2x3 studs made of two 2x3 studs that overlap by 4 feet. They will carry all the weight. I did not glue the body to them, but it rests on them. The slabs are meant to keep the body rigid - not to be the lifting points.

MARCH

It strikes me that the front lip of the rear deck where it meets the seats does not end as a sharply creased edge, but with a quarter-round lip. I calculate it is about half an inch. So I lay out a strip of foam and begin building it up in plaster.

I begin addressing final details, such as the shape of the exhaust exits and the passenger door crease. And continue working on the louvres, again and again and again, but fewer each time.

And I begin addressing the symmetry of the passenger side to the driver side, the side that is my master. For no particular reason, I just happen to start working from the rear to the front. Another area that finally gets addressed is the top surface of the rear fenders. As with the car overall, what looks good turns out to be off when checked with a contour guide. I ordered online a set of guides. They are made of plastic and are not the easiest to tighten down a contour once made, but they can be attached end-to-end to get a longer line. BTW, I also start with a hard measurement of the width from the centerline of the body at differnt points along the length. The passenger side did need to be made wider and fuller in places. This becomes an iterative process: draw contour section lines on both sides in pencil; take contour of driver side and check the passenger side; sand down high spots and plaster up low sections; repeat as needed.

APRIL

By April the shaping is good up to the front cut line of the door. All the ridge lines had to be reestablished. When I stepped back and viewed it from the rear, both sides did indeed look symmetrical! It is coming together. Those pesky louvres still need touchup, the strake widths do look much more even. I did a laser contour check of the rear deck, which has suffered a lot of touchup the last few months, and found it held true. Whew.

Moving forward, from the door to the front wheel well, the side needed to be made fuller and the fender ridge moved out about 1/4 inch. The nose needed the most work. I decided neither side was quite accurate, so both sides are being made fuller. The passenger side is especially off and needs a lot of build-up. And while plaster dries, I cast laser lines on the hood. The passenger side needs minor sanding down and plastering up, but it shapes up nicely.

The end of the right rear fender continues to defy matching contours. In a fit of frustration, I create a new set of vertical profiles and then sand down past what I think it should be. The exhaust port now stands out like an island in the middle of a lake in the middle of a drought. That's going to be a lot of plaster to build this back up. Start splattering.

MAY

At this point I am working all around the body as my eye catches curves that look too flat or uneven. The rear fender progresses over a week and the contour guides begin to match. As the pictures show I touch up around the front vents, the door ridge, and front underpan. Finally the rear fender gets close and is in the range of doing touchups. The rear exhaust port can get resculpted, and slightly nudged up to better match the driver side.

The big surprise is realizing that the front intakes come too far forward. I think I mistook the distance from the front lip to the top of the painted band on the windscreen as the actual length. That would not be. I should have been measured only to the line where the windscreen meets the body. Dig out the Dremel cutting disc and recarve that whole area. In the end, yes, it does look correct and works better with the shovel area in front of them in terms of where the flat shovel surface begins. Yay. And while I am at it, the horizontal laser line reveals a contour problem in that area. Fixing it goes quicker with the laser continually shining as I add and shape the plaster. That is how it is suppose to work!

JUNE

As these touchups slowly get completed, I begin checking the bevels around the wheel wells. The front driver side bevel especially needs reworking. My measurements indicated the entire opening needed to slightly shift forward, which meant adding plaster and redoing the curve. And doing a lot of rechecking for positioning. It, too, gets completed.

Trying to work ahead of myself, I cover the body and place the rooftop pattern back on. I check it for fit where it meets the cabin outline and for curvature smoothness on the driver side, my master side. I add plaster around the cabin outline to better match the contour. And then I begin shaping the passenger side to match. It is still a rough, but it may be usable to make the surface mold of the windscreen and side glazing. Or it might all have to wait until the fiberglass body comes back.

Finally my walkarounds have me going in circles trying to find anything that still needs attention. I can't really. . . that could only mean . . . I am ready for the last step!!!

JULY

It is hard to believe, but I may be ready to do the final step - the surface hardening. I have been waiting nearly a year to do this. I learned about this product from a local sculpture supply store. The sculptors use this to put a finish on plaster sculptures before sending them off for casting. All I had to do was pour it into a spray bottle and apply! Except...

It does work, but it is hard to control the application. It is very viscous and runs very easily, very quickly. So it does not dry evenly and runs before drying in place. I just learned that I should have used a spray gun on something else first. But I did not.

So I need to start sanding it smooth again. Only this time I have to be careful going from a hard surface to a soft one. I then had to skim more plaster on to correct divots and unevenness. That adds up to about a week. Meanwhile I had called the fiberglasser to arrange a pickup. Happily the date was set two weeks out. That gives me time to do fixes.

I also begin working on the shifter so I can move the chassis out and back in under its own power. I observe that the shifter box wiggles back and forth when working the gears - searching for the gears. I fashion two brackets to hold it down, on the front and the back. I also make a reinforcement for the shifter where it breaks apart. That succeeds in keeping that rigid. But...

With difficulty, I seem to find the gears, but when I attempt to change gears while the engine running and the wheels jacked up off the ground, the wheels go around yet can be stopped with my hand, but does not seem to engage them. I fear that, adjust of the shifter itself and the clutch lever, the shift rod may not be attached to the transaxle. And the only way to access it is to pull the transaxle out. It sounds like I may be starting over mechanically. The engine does run, but everything else needs worked on.

FRIDAY JULY 17: Letting Go of the Baby...

So the chassis cannot move by itself and the box truck is coming at noon to take the body pattern away. A neighbor and I found we could roll the chassis out of the way while inside the garage and roll the body to the garage door end. All the people and neighbors showed up to help move and load the body. The box truck from Walter Composites showed up and the move began! Out it rolls, slowly it is lifte up, and carefully it is rolled into the truck. Boards are nailed down to keep it from rolling, the door is shut, and off it goes. 15 minutes flat. I must admit, it WAS hard to entrust it into the hands of the fiberglasser, who is professional and knows what to do with the body, which I don't.

FRIDAY JULY 18: ... And Turning To The Baby Carrier

With the body gone, the garage gets cleaned up. The first step is to sit down and list all that needs to be done on the chassis, and then priortize them. The transaxle is not getting solved. It looks like installing coilovers on the front wheels looks easy to do, so they get ordered.

They arrive and I begin the task. By the end of the first day, I have run into problems. They simply will not insert into the old shock+spring mounts. I will have to start taking the wheel assembly apart. First I detach the upper A-arm - no good. Then I detach the anti-sway bar from the body - almost, but not enough to squeeze the coilover in. Next I detach the brakeline from the disc brake - almost more, but still not enough. What to do What to do?? Finally, I think I need to cut off the upper collar for the regular spring as the lower plate the spring rests on. That involves a lot of cutting wheel and grinding down. BUT IT WORKS

THURSDAY JULY 23: Visiting the Daycare...

A week after saying good-bye, I and my welder friend visit the fiberglasser to see the shop and any progress. The smell of resin is pervasive and fiberglass dust covers the floor. But the first thing I see is the body, now up on stands about 3-foot high. They got right to work on it and primered it and began smooth-sanding all about. The dark primer unifies the appearance of the body, making it easier to see its shape, even with it scuff-sanded. Two people are working on the louvres, slowly and carefully. I feel for them. It's a tedious task. I walk around and observe for an hour and the owner comes in and we talk a bit about how they will proceed. Once the surface is smoothed, primered, and waxed, I will come back and draw the lines for the body panels.

Back home I futz with the shifter more, adding more attachment brackets to the front and back of the shifter box. I tighten up the shift rod connection and still cannot get more than one good shift before it gets all wobbly and the shifter end starts popping out of the shift rod socket. And even when I think I have shifted into a gear, the rear wheels, jacked off the ground, spin but can still be stopped by hand. It simply is not engaging! I ponder over it alot and finally decide I will have to remove the engine to learn if there is a problem with the transaxle or the clutch.

FRIDAY JULY 27-AUGUST 1: Completing the Coilovers...

Turning back to the coilovers, it is time to install them into place. This is accomplished mostly smoothly, having done the cutting and grinding already. With enough spacers, the lower mounting bolts are done and tightened. The upper attachment is trickier. The right one tightens up with no problem. The left one requires some banging to get it snug to the top of the suspension tower. Otherwise, the plastic bearing on top of the shock will shatter over bumps with each bounce. Finally, when I can drive the chassis, I will be able to adjust the ride height and the shock hardness.

AUGUST

AUGUST 10-12: Pulling the Engine...

I futz some more with the shifter in one last 'Hail Mary' effort, but nothing changes. So it is time to swallow hard and start disconnecting the lines and bolts and pulling the engine. I find it necessary to cut out the rear section of the sheet metal that surrounds the cooling tin because myy transmission jack cannot go low enough to allow the engine to pass under it. That just means a little more welding when remounting it all.

With the engine out, I can unbolt the transaxle and examine the flywheel and clutch to make sure they are properly assembled. The flywheel looks just fine, as well as the clutch. Removing the clutch plate allows access to the flywheel bolts, which are indeed properly tightened. The is a bit of oil on the flywheel, but I see no source of the leakage, if it is that. I clean it and remount the clutch plate and check that the clutch lever is working and has the proper range of motion to disengage the clutch. Then back on goes the transaxle.
I work on the extender after suspecting that my set screw nuts are maybe too high and might rub on the inside of the suspension beam tunnel. I also begin working by hand pulling out and pushing in the extender to verify that the gears can be engaged. It takes some yanking to pull it out and pushing to pusch it in, but I am able to find all the gears. The actual rotation is surprisingly small, around 10-15 degrees. All of this tells me that the problem really is at the shifter box. I will have to address that after the engine+transaxle are remounted.

AUGUST 27: Panel Lines...

I return to Walter Composites after being informed that the body prep has been completed. Prepped indeed! It has a beautiful smooth and glossy finish all over, having been nicely waxed. The purpose of my visit is to draw the lines between the different parts that will comprise the body. This is important for fiberglasser to know so that they can plan how best to make their mold, and in such a way to make each part a little stronger. Furthermore, Walter Composites will also make some of the ogees around the opening that give strength to the panel. An example of this would be the edging around the hood opening, as seen in this photo. Anyway, I set up my lasers and establish my left-to-right datum at the rear wheelbase, as well as the front-to-back centerline. That takes about an hour to get it close enough. I need another two hours to plot the panel lines. Just when I thought I was done, I recalled I needed to also mark the rear underpan removeable panel location. I lesson I learned in this process was to wear a jacket of some sort so that I would not pick up any of that fiberglass dust when I laid on the floor. Don't do that! It's scratchy and itchy and gets in one's clothes.

Back home I begin designing the heater plumbing from the exhaust pipe collector boxes to the cabin. This will pass thru the transaxle compartment, and must snake over and around that hunk of metal. I decide that it will need to pass thru the rear cabin wall near the center and just under the suspension beam. I will pipe it thru the cabin with the pipe running under the shift box and under the console up to the front of the cabin to the heater fan.

SEPTEMBER 1-8: Derust Gas Tanks...

It has been a pipe dream all along to place gas tanks in the rocker panels, instead of the shoulder tanks just behind the front wheels. It should allow more tankage, and keep the weight down lower. I gave my welder friend a set of wooden cross-sections for such tanks, and sure enough - he made a set of 'em! He used metal he had around his place, which meant that there was surface rust that needed addressing. Swallowing hard once again, I do a test soaking some rusty parts in a diluted solution of muriatic acid that I learned about on Ratwell's website. Yah, it sorta works, but not as thoroughly as I expected. I then tried brushing it full strength, using gloves and a respirator, on the outer surface of a tank. Nothing much happened quickly, so I began scrubbing it with a non-abrasive pad and cleaning it off with a rag. That actually did get it all off. I sprayed on rubbing alcohol to clean it off the surface, and it stayed rust-free with no flash rust.

I decided to use Ratwell's second step on the inside of the tanks - POR-15. Now, it is recommended to also coat the inside of a tank after using POR-15, but I decided against that. My reason is simple... I will be welding on those tanks and I am pretty sure it will damage and delaminate the coating. I saw photos of delaminated coatings in a gas tank, and it was ugly. I sure don't want to deal with that. So I took the tanks to my narrow side yard that is all concrete and gravel and began the process. First of course, all orifices but one must be taped over. Check! I poured in a gallon of POR-15 and sloshed it back and forth for 15 minutes. That was rather tiring! Know that it had to be done slowly to work around the two baffles in the tank. Check! I then poured that out and wiped the outside of the tank with a rag to deal with some surface rust. Now I can breathe! The tank was placed out on the drive in the sun to dry, and from time to time I blew compressed air thru it. The process was repeated on the 2nd tank, and that was it. When it is all hooked up and gassed up, I will pay attention to the fuel filter and likely swap it out a couple times to capture stray filings that I suspect remain in there from construction.

SEPTEMBER 16-OCTOBER 1: Mount Gas Tanks...

With the gas tanks ready, I measure and remeasure the chassis to determine where to cut out the side box-frames to make way for the tanks. I will mention here that I specced the gas tanks to my welder friend at 4-1/2 feet long. Somewhere he understood I said 4-feet, and so he made them such. It turns out that was the maximum length that would fit, for which I am grateful for the misunderstanding. The issue turns out to be the space needed by the rear suspension beam, to which the rear trailing arms attach, for the beam's attachment extends under the side box-frame nearly a foot. That would have meant a 3-1/2 foot long gas tank. Happily it turns out that the attachment extension under the box-frame has two welded thick pins connecting the attachment arm to the body. A reinforcement plate is used to reinforce the pin attachments, which I am confident I could cut short by nearly six inches. The tank then butted up next to the pin attachments and only protruded into the front wheel well by less than a half inch. And just to help out those pins, I drilled holes thru the bean and into the rear cabin panel for 4 7-inch long 3/8" bolts to help tie the beam to the body. Problem-solving on the fly.

I began the frame cuts on the 16th. I positioned the first tank on the 24th (life happens inbetween those dates), and it was welded on the 25th. The other box-frame was cut and welded in place on the 1st. I began preparing for the door hinges by making a quick cardboard mockup. It was not accurate enough, so I traced an end view of the door cross-section from my 2016 file set, scaled it, and made patterns for four positions along the door. Here is where I finally succumbed to the exhortation to make the doors hinge at the rear. I brought my favorite passenger (my wife) in to test seat herself and give her choice for the door opening. It was clear to her and finally to me that, yes, it is much easier to get in and out of this cramped cabin with a rear-hinged door. And I plan on extending the door length by up to 4 inches to help get those feet and legs in without doing crunches. Anyway, the second mockup gave a much better idea how the door would actually work.

The last bit of planning before cutting and welding involved determining the exact position of the door hinge center point, the point at which the hinge itself revolves around. It turned out that only on a line 45 degrees from the external surface of the body would rotate the door outward so that it would not want to rotate into the bodywork. And, because the body curves inward, or tumbles home, both up and down from the base of the door, which is at the midline of the body, it must also be adequately positioned in from the body because of the hinge's 7-inch height. I figured a safe distance that was also not too far from the outside body panel surface was 3-1/2 inches. As of October 26th, I am ready to begin welding the back plate to the chassis to which will bolt the hinge. BTW: the hinges I chose are from a Vanderhall Carmel of which there is one nearby that I can study.

Check back for more progress!