Panelling Back Panel and Side Panels
(14/01/2007)
Stage 1 of my panelling is complete, I now have the cockpit back panel and side panels in place. All of the main panels are now in place, allowing me to progress with the rest of the build.
Carboard Templates
Due to the promity and close fit nature of these panels, I decided to make a mock up of the whole thing in cardboard first, this helps to test how the panels will interlock
Back Panel Mistake
I rather messed up the first attempt at the back panel, accidentally cutting way to much material from the side facing the transmission tunnel! Whoops! Fortunately for me, Raf's panel set was still lying around in my shed.... he'll never miss it!
Forming Metal
For the back panel it is necessary to form the top and bottom sections to sit flush with the box section of the chassis. I was a little nervous at doing this at first, however I found an effective method was to clamp the panel (quite a lot) between two fairly thick pieces of wood and apply pressure uniformly across the panel. Tiger do say you can use the chassis rail as a former, I wasn't keen on this as I didn't want to damage the powder coating. The result using the wood was still a pretty good crease.
I chose to overlap the uppemost panels over the lowermost, simply because this gave a nicer finish. I chose to use quite a lot of sealant around these areas, to ensure the panels stick solid and don't rattle or move. I chose to use plenty of sealant in all cases around the back and side panels to try to reduce the exposure to water.
Panelling Phase 2
I still have number of panels left to fit to the car, however these have been left off until the gearbox, brake and fuel lines are in place, essentially so as not to impede access to the transmission tunnel, and to avoid any damage that might result in installing the transmission.
Stage 1 of my panelling is complete, I now have the cockpit back panel and side panels in place. All of the main panels are now in place, allowing me to progress with the rest of the build.
Carboard Templates
Due to the promity and close fit nature of these panels, I decided to make a mock up of the whole thing in cardboard first, this helps to test how the panels will interlock
Back Panel Mistake
I rather messed up the first attempt at the back panel, accidentally cutting way to much material from the side facing the transmission tunnel! Whoops! Fortunately for me, Raf's panel set was still lying around in my shed.... he'll never miss it!
Forming Metal
For the back panel it is necessary to form the top and bottom sections to sit flush with the box section of the chassis. I was a little nervous at doing this at first, however I found an effective method was to clamp the panel (quite a lot) between two fairly thick pieces of wood and apply pressure uniformly across the panel. Tiger do say you can use the chassis rail as a former, I wasn't keen on this as I didn't want to damage the powder coating. The result using the wood was still a pretty good crease.
The gap between the top side panels and the back panel presents a particular challenge as it requires curving to meet the chassis side rail. The passenger side is not so bad, however in an effort to extend the room afforded to the driver, the drivers side has a 1 inch or so gap to stretch the metal over. Here I did choose to follow the tiger method and slowly roll the side panel over the tube on the chassis. This had the desired effect, and if done carefully leaves quite a nice finish. The rear section of the upper panel also needs formingto sit flush with the back of the chassis. The picture below illustrates a little better what I mean.
Panel Overlap
I chose to overlap the uppemost panels over the lowermost, simply because this gave a nicer finish. I chose to use quite a lot of sealant around these areas, to ensure the panels stick solid and don't rattle or move. I chose to use plenty of sealant in all cases around the back and side panels to try to reduce the exposure to water.
Panelling Phase 2
I still have number of panels left to fit to the car, however these have been left off until the gearbox, brake and fuel lines are in place, essentially so as not to impede access to the transmission tunnel, and to avoid any damage that might result in installing the transmission.
Panels remaining are:
- Transmission side panels x4
- Top tunnel panel
- Battery tray panel.
Back panel
Drivers side panels
Passenger side panels
Chassis
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