AC boot badges

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Paul Blore
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by Paul Blore »

Nige,

The front wheel arches are looking massively better and beautifully done. Looking forward to seeing the front end progress as well. 8)

You need to cut the return edges off the side vent apertures though. :)
Most, if not all the GRP Cobras have the big return edge. The originals had 180 degree returned edge on the aluminium, so the edge is only double skin thick. I ground back the rear face on my Contemporary so that the edge was the correct thickness and then fitted original style vents to get the correct look:

Image

Paul
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agnoraan
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by agnoraan »

PaulB wrote:Nige,

The front wheel arches are looking massively better and beautifully done. Looking forward to seeing the front end progress as well. 8)

You need to cut the return edges off the side vent apertures though. :)
Most, if not all the GRP Cobras have the big return edge. The originals had 180 degree returned edge on the aluminium, so the edge is only double skin thick. I ground back the rear face on my Contemporary so that the edge was the correct thickness and then fitted original style vents to get the correct look:
Image

Paul
Thanks for the compliments Paul, it's appreciated. I didn't realise that the side vents were like that Doh!! , not having access to a real one or a Kirkham makes things a little difficult to say the least. I don't know if I can get them out of there now as they're 'bonded to a panel that's glassed from behind (done on the original build) :cry:

It's looking much better now though with the 289 front valance fitted & the oval vent holes removed along with the sidelight plinths. The front will be like 644 CGT with the aluminium oil cooler vent. The rear 1/4 panels are going to be like those on 39PH without the cutaway leading edge on the arches as per 427's. :D

I've quite a few photos of how I've done this 289 style conversion, but I don't feel it's right to post them on here as I don't think that people would want to see a chopped about 427 after the issues raised re 427's on the forum that we had a few months ago :wink: .

cheers...Nige
Paul Blore
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by Paul Blore »

Oh I don't know. Post them anyway and be damned, I for one would like to see them. :wink:

Have a look at the side vents and see if you can do anything, it will be well worth the effort to get them sorted I'm sure. Just cut them out because you don't need to save them as they're not right. Dave Brookes can provide you with the correct vents.

Paul
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agnoraan
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by agnoraan »

PaulB wrote:Oh I don't know. Post them anyway and be damned, I for one would like to see them. :wink:

Have a look at the side vents and see if you can do anything, it will be well worth the effort to get them sorted I'm sure. Just cut them out because you don't need to save them as they're not right. Dave Brookes can provide you with the correct vents.

Paul
......or I could make the side vents myself as per original :wink: . I know exactly what you're saying & totally agree with it, but to be honest, I don't know how far to take this Viper in the originality stakes. I did the front arches because I just couldn't live with the humongous ones that were on there, they looked terrible. I got a bit carried away by doing the front end & fitting the 289 grille opening, I sort of did it without really thinking about it doh!. About this time I bought the L539 front lights from Alan, so I thought I might as well fit those whilst I'm at it, along with losing the 427 vents alongside the grille. Oh, I've also got the aluminium front oil cooler vent sitting on my bench, so I might as well fit that too, and so it's gone on. This car's supposed to just be a bit of fun to use whilst I build the ali bodied car, but I'm getting a bit carried away with it. The rear arches are a different shape side to side, so I'm now seriously contemplating remedying that, so whilst I'm at it I might as well make them like 39PH & so it's going on. If I do that I might as well fit the L542 tail lights. To get it to where it is at the moment I've got approx 40 hours of spare time in it. Before I know it, I could be changing the whole car.

Doctor, I need therapy to control this habit of cutting things up & remodelling them!!! Where do you stop??
cheers..Nige
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Roger King
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by Roger King »

Welcome... to... the... club...

...it gets all of us in the end. Nurse, the screens...
Paul Blore
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by Paul Blore »

agnoraan wrote:......or I could make the side vents myself as per original :wink: .
Doh, of course, what was I thinking? :wink:

Paul
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agnoraan
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by agnoraan »

PaulB wrote:
agnoraan wrote:......or I could make the side vents myself as per original :wink: .
Doh, of course, what was I thinking? :wink:

Paul
:lol: :lol: here's a teaser shot for you Paul, remember the steel oil cooler opening I made in steel as a template?


Image


here's the finished article in ali with a wired edge. I've still got to trim it to fit though. After seeing the aluminium dash that Migge had on his build thread, I'm going to have a go at making one for this car instead of the plywood one that's currently fitted, should be a good challenge :lol:


Image

cheers..Nige
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Roger King
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by Roger King »

A correct ali dash shouldn't stretch you too much, Nige. Do you have a shrinker-stretcher, or do you use more traditional methods for curved flanges?
I don't know how you'd do the curves in plywood!

Roger
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agnoraan
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by agnoraan »

Roger King wrote:A correct ali dash shouldn't stretch you too much, Nige. Do you have a shrinker-stretcher, or do you use more traditional methods for curved flanges?
I don't know how you'd do the curves in plywood!

Roger
The plywood dash that's in the car at the moment is just a flat piece of ply covered in a cream vinyl, which isn't anything as I'd want it to be. I've got some 1.5 mm 1050 grade ali sheet that I'll use to make the dash, which is nice & malleable to work with once annealed. I'm going to "hammer form" the bottom curvature over a timber or MDF template & then file it up. The only shrinking/stretching needed is where it curves at the ends and around the glove box door aperture:)

This is how I want it to look with all of the switchgear in a separate ali panel, hence me asking a while ago for someone with a DYMO to make the lettering (thanks Migge)


Image


cheers..Nige
Paul Blore
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Re: AC boot badges

Post by Paul Blore »

Although the dash panel is predominantly flat, it curves forwards i.e. Away from the driver and passenger at each end, hence Roger's question about a shrinker-stretcher for the curved flange on the lower edge.

It looks like the labels on the switches in the picture are engraved to me. I suspect it is a 2-ply plastic, black on the front and white behind so that when engraved, the white shows through. We used to use the same material in the Telecoms industry (many years ago) to label switches and relays etc. in telephone exchanges. DYMO labels are pretty crude by comparison. I'm going to hunt around to see where I could get some of those labels made. :)

Paul
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