Rebody 250 California build thread for dummies
- Thread starter Pond
- Start date
15" x 6" wide.
I am obviously a glutton for punishment....wanting to do a 250 California which has been sat around in someone's garden for God-knows-how-long as my first (and only) kit car build!
After nearly 2 weeks of trying to get the panels to fit the car, I am finally making some progress. I have had to cut off both cills, as one was so buckled there was no way it was going to fit and the other (they are different for a reason I have no idea about) is a 'stepped' one which has been moulded completely wrongly so the driver's door was never going to shut. It was moulded approx 15mm narrower than it needs to be!
Anyway, cills aside (which are a new topic on their own and will need loads of work), I have managed to get the body to sit flush and panel gaps acceptable (around an even 5mm). The swage lines will be spot on, which is good news. The bonnet is going to sit OK and the boot is looking OK aswell, although there will a 6mm panel gap all around it.
The one thing that I cannot do anything about, is the boot edge will be a LOT lower than the rear 'scuttle'. The moulding has a big 'bow' in it which I can't get rid of,, as it would push the rear wings out much too far.
I have had to pack both doors out to get the rear half to sit flush. There is still an awfully long way to go but I am now confident I make it look like an acceptable 250 Cali replica. A few pictures from today......
After nearly 2 weeks of trying to get the panels to fit the car, I am finally making some progress. I have had to cut off both cills, as one was so buckled there was no way it was going to fit and the other (they are different for a reason I have no idea about) is a 'stepped' one which has been moulded completely wrongly so the driver's door was never going to shut. It was moulded approx 15mm narrower than it needs to be!
Anyway, cills aside (which are a new topic on their own and will need loads of work), I have managed to get the body to sit flush and panel gaps acceptable (around an even 5mm). The swage lines will be spot on, which is good news. The bonnet is going to sit OK and the boot is looking OK aswell, although there will a 6mm panel gap all around it.
The one thing that I cannot do anything about, is the boot edge will be a LOT lower than the rear 'scuttle'. The moulding has a big 'bow' in it which I can't get rid of,, as it would push the rear wings out much too far.
I have had to pack both doors out to get the rear half to sit flush. There is still an awfully long way to go but I am now confident I make it look like an acceptable 250 Cali replica. A few pictures from today......
Looking good Pond. Chopping off the sills was a good move. You can stick em back on later. In fact rig it up so they're not bonded to the rest of the shell. Make it so you can remove them if ever you want to get at the inner sills wirhout taking the whole car apart.
As you said. Storing for years in somebody's garden didn't do it any favours. Having said that you had it in your own garden for a while too.
I'm no expert on this kit car m'larky eirher but I've had more than my fair share of cars with fibre glass body shells. The best place to store them is hanging on the chassis even if they don't quite fit.
As you said. Storing for years in somebody's garden didn't do it any favours. Having said that you had it in your own garden for a while too.
I'm no expert on this kit car m'larky eirher but I've had more than my fair share of cars with fibre glass body shells. The best place to store them is hanging on the chassis even if they don't quite fit.
Yes, I remember you advising against me trimming the boot with the body in the garden. YOU WERE RIGHT. My panel gaps on the bootlid are now HUGE (around 7mm in places). Hopefully the paintshop will be able to do something with them! They are going to pop round and have a look soon. Luckily I have one of most respected GRP sprayers in the UK very close by. They do a lot of work on GRP classics and new build Cobras.
I have NEVER done anything with GRP before, so I have made many mistakes and still will, but (hopefully) none that are going to stop it being a good looking bodykit.
Have you seen the car's sills? They are like NEW!
I couldn't leave the front of the bootlid sitting below the rear 'scuttle', so hooked the boot brackets on and had a play.
Now sits flush, albeit with a lump of wood holding the middle up at present. Hopefully the bootlid will 'mould' itself into the right shape. If not a permanent 'wedge' will have to remain?
Now sits flush, albeit with a lump of wood holding the middle up at present. Hopefully the bootlid will 'mould' itself into the right shape. If not a permanent 'wedge' will have to remain?
I will see how well the panel bends itself into shape. As it's quite warm in the garage, it may 'form' in a short period. It may not, though! The other thing I was thinking of was somehow using a strengthened weatherseal to replace the Z3 one. Difficult to assess this, as you can't get to it with the boot shut!
I now have the 'bit between my teeth' so really want to push on. I don't want to wait for weeks (or months) for any of the panels to do their own thing. I really want to get it all bonded now! I have an industrial quantity of 'Tigerseal' waiting. Patience is not one of my strong points (nor is car building TBH)!.
Does the rear 'scuttle' or bow as I would call it ( the narrow section across the rear of the boot lid) flex at all? Is is pressed hard down onto the BMW bodywork? I found that to align the boot lid and the bow needed a degree of manipulation of both.
I've never seen that body shell but, if it's anything like mine, that GRP section across the top of the rear tub is one of the few contact surfaces where the grp should rest flat along the metal. If there's a big gap in the middle then it needs adjusting
I have cut it down the 'bow' on the GRP as much as I dare (or can). It doesn't quite 'rest' on the metal, as it has more of a bend angle. If I push it down flat, it pushes both rear wings out, which stops the doors sitting flush. I have packed the doors out as much as I am comfortable with already, so can't do any more.
Like everything on my kit, it is a consequence of not being moulded very well to the correct angles and tolerances. Although the word 'tolerance' is not one I would used for GRP moulding in general TBH!
Mine is a 'mould of a mould of a mould', so presumably every time a new mould is made from a shell, it gets further and further away from the original. I am still not convinced my body wasn't designed for a different car; maybe a Ford Cortina!
It will be, but won't get rid of much of the 'height' difference. The gaffer tape on it presently is holding it pretty tight TBH.
When you re-attached the Z3 rear wings (or what is left of them) did you adjust the position at all? Undoing those screws that hold it on gives adjustment in and out which might make a difference and lessen the need to pack the doors out.I have cut it down the 'bow' on the GRP as much as I dare (or can). It doesn't quite 'rest' on the metal, as it has more of a bend angle. If I push it down flat, it pushes both rear wings out, which stops the doors sitting flush. I have packed the doors out as much as I am comfortable with already, so can't do any more.
Like everything on my kit, it is a consequence of not being moulded very well to the correct angles and tolerances. Although the word 'tolerance' is not one I would used for GRP moulding in general TBH!
Mine is a 'mould of a mould of a mould', so presumably every time a new mould is made from a shell, it gets further and further away from the original. I am still not convinced my body wasn't designed for a different car; maybe a Ford Cortina!
I now have multiple pieces of 2"x1" timber all cut to different lengths (and marked) to push many parts out, off, in, etc to get the angles and profiles to sit flush with each other. A consequence of being sat in a garden, under it's own weight for years, and the moulding not being very good in the first place. A 'perfect storm' is what I have!
I am going to have to tec screw everything to hold it in place and give references for when I bond it all.
I am going to have to tec screw everything to hold it in place and give references for when I bond it all.
Done that! They are hard up against the door shuts now!
I have had to cut the GRP door returns down, as they were just moulded too thick on the edges. These will need filling and blending later aswell.
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I am conscious that I can't 'deform' the GRP too much, or it may crack later. And I REALLY don't want that!
But on a positive note; the doors fit pretty well, except the driver's is pushing against the Z3 window seal, so the motor is struggling. I need to try and free that off a bit before bonding.
But on a positive note; the doors fit pretty well, except the driver's is pushing against the Z3 window seal, so the motor is struggling. I need to try and free that off a bit before bonding.
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There's a few of us on the forum building 507 kits. We can read others build threads and ask questions. Looks like you don't have that luxury.
But is there no community of other builders who've gone before? Or did they all get half way through their build and jump off the Severn Bridge. Maybe the carpark services by the bridge is full of half finished Cali's.
But is there no community of other builders who've gone before? Or did they all get half way through their build and jump off the Severn Bridge. Maybe the carpark services by the bridge is full of half finished Cali's.
I just looked at this picture again.
Wow. That is bad. May be an optical wotsit but the boot lid looks like it's curved down in the middle. In any case it looks like the bootlid could do with a bit of a curve.
I assume it's a flat sheet of grp with a grp frame on the underside.
If it was me I would (not saying you should) cut the bootlid away from the frame and put it back on with a little extra material between the frame and the lid to raise the surface a bit at the front.
. . . If it was me.
Wow. That is bad. May be an optical wotsit but the boot lid looks like it's curved down in the middle. In any case it looks like the bootlid could do with a bit of a curve.
I assume it's a flat sheet of grp with a grp frame on the underside.
If it was me I would (not saying you should) cut the bootlid away from the frame and put it back on with a little extra material between the frame and the lid to raise the surface a bit at the front.
. . . If it was me.