How easy would it be to make a full body shell to your own desighn. Has anyone done this and how did you go about it.

Get close to THIS level and you'll be doing well!
(only FG shell thread I can remember off hand)

anything is possible with enough time and'or money but to be honest if you're only planning on doing one then it'll be a hell of a lot of work.
Are you planning on making something to go onto a locost 7-esque type chassis as there are a few companies doing things like this anyway.
You could try watching ebay for a few months as all sorts of things crop up on there, a mate of mine is planning to rebody his 7 and has a few ideas but he plans on buying something then modding and tweeking it to suit his own tastes.
cheers

Wow that looks like a lot of work, think i will change my car to look a bit different if you know what i mean fed up of people calling it a kit car.

I have often thought about getting fibreglass panels off something else.. like a crashed TVR, elise..or something... if you can pick them up cheap... stick them together and blend etc... and have an interesting body.. You can chop and choose the features from various cars...

Would be a lot of work to blend it all together niceley.. but its possible for sure!

I looked into doing a full body from scratch but with the cheapest materials and lots of very cheap labour it was still looking at £7k ish..... An awful amount of work involved and you need some advice from people who do it regularly too..

As above, try and use something thats already out there but if you do go for it, Good luck! Im sure it'll be heavily rewarding

I bought the moulds for this below, after thinking the same as you. My p[lans drastically changed and now it'll be a big power middy

It isn't going to be wide enough but my GRP consultant thinks its a doer to widen and mod the centre section to fit. Certainly easier than starting from scratch.

Have a look at the Aeon Epona thread if you haven't already

Buy one, let someone else do the hard work. Heres one...





http://www.rsownersclub.co.uk/rsocbb/showthread.php?p=2268014

[Edited on 27/2/12 by coozer]

Have a look at the Baileyblade videos on Youtube, they will give you a guide on how much work is involved.

The Austin Healey 3000 replicas put out by MK and the like look good, and fit over a standard locost/MK chassis, with little modding necessary (apparently!).

Ive been working on mine for about three years now. It's hard finding time to spend on it. It is going to be the buck for the mould. So after I get it perfect I have to make a mould (or moulds) of it, smash it all to get it back off the car then make a body out of the mould and pray it fits! I might end up selling the bodies at some stage if they generate any interest.

The car before the build started:









This is where it is up to so far.

thats not unimpressive, do you have a blog or build diary anywhere for the bodywork fab?

I have it on the Oz-Clubbies site over here in Oz but you have to be a registered user to see it. I was going to put up a bit of a build diary on this site but I cant see any build diary sections here.

Very impressive! I'd also like to see more information about it. But first question, is it an optical illusion or is the middle section quite high? is there a reason for it?

Thanks guys.

The engine is quite tall and the turbo had to be high mounted on a custom manifold because it would have fouled on the chassis otherwise, it is actually quite large for a Lotus 7 type vehicle.

lotus elan is quite close , i think benzine still has his bodyshell .....

ive got a sylva leader bodyshell , but no chassis to put it on ......

Have a look at the CANAMSA thread and look when it started. Now check the date of Fred's last post. It looks to me like he's just about ready to start laying up the buck so he'll have moulds to make his parts from.

It's been a long haul but as you see Fred is not only a superb craftsman but a perfectionist too. If you want to make a full fibreglass body you'll need, lots of: space, time, patience and probably a fair bit of money. Don't forget, you have to make a buck, then take the moulds off that and then cast your actual parts. Even something quite basic will involve many,many hours work.

I'd second buying something and adapting/modifying it. It'll save heaps of time and probably fit the scope of someone not entirely experienced with composites.

Some more links for you...

Suparuss
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=60464

Graber Cars
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=37423
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=50697

Andy GTT
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=30&t=317703&mid=0&i=0&nmt=GTT+progress&mid=0

i started my bodywork quite along time ago now (cant even remember when) and it is just now about finished! i dont regret doing it because ive learnt so much but if were to start another project like this i would definately NOT do fibreglass again!
there are several things you will need-
lots of room, absolutel minimum double garage size PLUS space to store moulds.
lots of patience and spare time! (and probably not having a wife is a godd idea)
a tollerence for itchy dust and fumes.

if you are looking to build a one off i would say a much simpler method would be to buy an AC-DC tig welder and an english wheel and some other metal bodyworking tools and make it from alluminium. it does of course require a lot of skill but the main advantage against fibreglass is that you can produce very nice panels form one process, whereas with fibreglass you have to make a plug, finish that as if you were finishing a final body panel, then take a mould from that, and then from that take a body panel. obviously if you want a small production run the fibreglass route is the best, the moulds will use many times the fibreglass the body panels will use and that is where all the expense is, and so you can offset that with making more panels, but for a one off you will spend a lot less money on a small english wheel and tig welder. this is what i will be doing for my next scratch built car.

Cheers,
Russ.

As to a guide how to do it, you might be interested in how I tackled it for my old sportsracer (sold before I finished it)

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/racecar/pandora/body.htm

OR, I do have a set of Chevron B8 front and rear panels I just picked up which, while they need plenty work to get to a stage where you could take a mould from them, would be a good starting point.

Al

There are ways of doing with less effort, but the compromise is in the looks.

For example the 750cc has a number of racers with very simple bodywork, for example the "Marrow"

Thanks for the kind credit guys.

As others have said and as I've stated in some posts on my thread, making a body from scratch is a silly silly amount of work. Also, and as others have said, the cost is a real factor. To date I have spent more on materials than GD ask for a T70 body panel kit (a price list I saw once had it at 2995 Pounds).

Just to clear up a comment earlier, I am currently working on the last body section mould, the tail. The doors, scuttle, and nose molds are done.

Cheers

Fred W B

Heh Sorry Fred, you're obviously much further on than I perceived from the pictures.

My bad.

quote:

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Originally posted by suparuss

if you are looking to build a one off i would say a much simpler method would be to buy an AC-DC tig welder and an english wheel and some other metal bodyworking tools and make it from alluminium.
Cheers,
Russ.

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I am one of the "mad" ones along with Fred, long old slog but very enjoyable and rewarding. I`d do it again for sure and am planning a 908 spider as the next project!
Anyway a link to pics of my project from day 1 to the present
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47153142@N03/sets/72157623861979360/


[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/47153142@N03/6750568109/sizes/z/in/set-72157623861979360/[/img]

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Originally posted by Slimy38
Have a look at the Baileyblade videos on Youtube, they will give you a guide on how much work is involved.

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This old escort body shell is exactly what I am looking for.
Were can I purchase one of these?

Thanks.

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