.... actually a roundish headlight in a squareish hole to be more precise

The kit's front section is really designed to take recessed lights with a polycarbonate cover - but I want to be awkward and mount Mini headlights in the square holes. The slope of the wing is roughly about right but I will need to build up the inside of the wing to make it perfectly aligned.

Where do I start?

My first idea is to make a front panel (to mount the actual headlight in) and bridge the gaps with ally mesh, then applying fibreglass matting, finishing off with P40 filler and finally P38. I can then hopefully bond the lights in position with Sikaflex and Bob will be my uncle (I actually do have an uncle called Bob )

Am I close to a masterplan or complete cock up?


[Edited on 8-8-05 by RazMan]
Rescued attachment Headlight hole.jpg

How about setting the light behind the surface and covering with a plexiglass cover?

Dosen't look like a (real) Minii headlight to me.

Be sure to make that headlight rim adjustable.If everything is in place with super sticky epoxy and the SVA virgin says:no will do! it's back to square one and cut the rims out

quote:

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Originally posted by G.Man
How about setting the light behind the surface and covering with a plexiglass cover?

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Rescued attachment Headlight hole mod.jpg

quote:

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Originally posted by RazMan
Am I close to a masterplan or complete cock up?

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quote:

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Originally posted by JoelP

as with all things locost, you're on a knife edge between the two! Id start building up fibreglass and filler to make the right shape

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see if you can get a 'seconds' nose section from aeon and if possible return the nose you have and get some money back! then get to work with the filler and make the 'seconds' nose up with filler and plenty of rubbing down. for time saving (pending your budget) I'd then be tempted to give the modded nose section to a decent composites chap to take a mould and make a panel from, this would ensure decent quality and short time frame, you could even get other noses made up and flog them on if you wanted, pending the outcome of yours.

not the cheapest way i know, but how i would tackle the issue.

cheap way would just be to make some form of infill panel or grill as mentioned, though i'd be concerned about the look of the finished article personally.

Ned.

The way I made my larger phoenix bulge was to make it on my bonnet in clay, plaster of paris and bodyfiller (clay cracks when it dries though!). Sealed it with some varnish and made a mould of the area overlapping onto the unchanged part of the bonnet. Then is removed the mould and cleaned out all the filler etc. Attached it to the bonnet and layed up straight inside the mould over the edges.

Advantage is as ned says that you then have a mould so when you damage the area you can make it again easily - or they way i prefer to look at it, if i've got a mould i won't ever damage the bonnet! Plus it would be possible to make and flog the parts for other poeple to do the same.

Chris

Hmmmm,

thinking about it, and expanding on Ned's and Chriscook's ideas, I think I would try to make a mould for a section that will drop into the existing headlight recess, made so that it fits flush at the front and can be smoothed over later. Make the moulds for these "pods" then when all is sorted you can bond them into the existing apertures and glass-tape them in from the rear. This will hold them solid and you can then just skim the join round the edge of the apertures and spray it.

just thought i'd add that when i first saw the pic i thought it was a new style porsche boxter headlamp, until i read it was off a mini

Ned.

ps spotted on the racecar site if of any use:

Lightweight high quality bodywork made at competitive prices.
Please email nick.edginton@virgin.net or telephone 01460 65743/07729 486 585

[Edited on 10/8/05 by ned]

Thanks for all the input guys

Ned, I have already started to butcher ... er ... modify my nose section so returning it now might be tricky.

The ideal way would be to make a new mould so that any damage (if sod's law comes into play) can be easily repaired by replacing the nose section completely. However the cost of making a mould at this stage (near bankruptsy ) would push me well over budget.

Ned & NS Dev's adapter 'pod' idea sounds a more affordable option, and I will have a closer look to see if this is feasable using the Blue Peter method (thanks chris ) - if a mould is then made from this it may even be possible to graft it into the nose section mould later as an optional design. I have done something similar with my rear section so I may give both sections to a mould maker when I am completely happy with the shapes.

Thanks for the contact Ned, I will give him a call when the time comes.


[Edited on 10-8-05 by RazMan]

Sorry, that's what i meant - just a local mould of the changed bit.

I have spent the best part of today scratching my head about this - and I think I have another plan....which saves me having to make moulds (coz I'm lazy )

I will mount the headlights in position with ally brackets fixed to the inside of the wing. Then, working from the inside, I will lay fibreglass matting across the 'void' between headlamp and existing body. This will form a rough shape to apply filler (on the outside) and fine tune it until I am happy. I can then remove the headlamps and tidy up the inside.

A couple of questions to any fibre glass guru's out there.

1. Will the bond between the matting and existing body be strong enough?
2. Will the filler crack if I try and keep it to a max thickness of say 10mm?
3. Is there something I can use as a non-stick surface to prevent the resin sticking to the headlamps? Mould release compound maybe? Vaseline?

[Edited on 13-8-05 by RazMan]

im no expert (indeed, ive only read up on it, never done it ), but regarding bonding old to new, i believe you should rough it up and clean it throughly with acetone (?), to ensure it sticks. Release agent on the headlight should work, but i wouldnt like to guarantee it - if the fibreglass gets into nooks and cranies on the headlight it will stick it in fairly well, with or without the release agent!

quote:

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Originally posted by JoelP
Release agent on the headlight should work, but i wouldnt like to guarantee it - if the fibreglass gets into nooks and cranies on the headlight it will stick it in fairly well, with or without the release agent!

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I know clingfilm works with Epoxy resin, used that when fitting rally car wheel arches before to get a perfect fit against the qtr panels.......... not sure about Polyester though!

Cover the light in brown packing tape, it's cheap, shiny and will release from the fibreglass quite easily if you can get hold of any acetates (as used with an overhead projector) are good for giving a smooth finish on flat or single curve surfaces.

Keith

Excellent tips Keith - ta very much

Progress report:

Just spent a very entertaining day with packing tape, fibreglass kit and a few swear words.... and voila!

The resin came away easily from the packing tape and I was left with a nice clean edge (and headlight) I applied three layers of matting & resin on the back side and will have a go at the front tomorrow.

Will post some pics when I get a chance.

First I smothered the headlight with packing tape. The mating surface between headlight and body was also covered to prevent the resin sticking.
Rescued attachment headlight1.jpg

Resin and matting was applied to the inside. The packing tape was then removed
Rescued attachment headlight2.jpg

Then filler was applied to the outside to get the correct shape. Now it is ready for final finishing and paint.
Rescued attachment headlight3.jpg