Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: Gary t on Monday,August 20, 2018, 06:56:58 PM
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picking away on my project, the wheel arch dust shields are in poor shape one very poor. Any suggestions as to what I could use to make new ones? I have 1\4 inch polyethylene but it is white and not very paintable but otherwise could work.
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If you mean the "D" shaped things in the wheel arches that cover the side sill openings, I have 1.5mm Al at the front and 6mm rubber at the rear.
It's too long ago for me to remember why the difference, probably something as simple as what I had to hand at the time I needed them. The Al is screwed into the front fibreglass with stainless self tappers, the rubber at the rear is just cut to shape and jammed into place. Neither have worked loose, both keep out the road spray/dirt well enough.
Brian
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I happened upon some black plastic sheeting. It was so long ago, I have no idea where or how I got it. You might look in a scrap yard, Amazon, or eBay. I know there are people who sell fiberglass sheet on eBay. You might check local plastic suppliers.
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Depending on the condition of the originals I would use them as a mold to lay up new ones using fiberglass cloth (not mat) or maybe even carbon fiber cloth and a marine grade epoxy. Might need several layers of cloth to provide the right stiffness.
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You could paint the white plastic with black underseal. Some of my cars had them painted with this.
They are held in place with 5 big pop rivets and washers to one side only.
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When I needed to replace them in the rear arches I used 1" thick styrofoam. I cut them to shape and fit them in place, then secured them with some expanding foam insulation. Once the foam insulation hardened, I trimmed it with an Olfa blade. It looked a bit out of place, being white, but it quickly 'naturalised' and became unnoticeable. At car shows, the well initiated were amused to find the styrofoam, given the lightweight nature of the car.
It was just a 'work-around' at the time, using materials I had on hand on the day before a club cruise, during which rain was expected. However the styrofoam solution has grown ion me, and I will be replacing all of them similarly eventually. Taking a que from Arizona's comments above, I may experiment with adding a cladding of fibreglass resin for durability, though having said that, the existing unit has been in place for over six years and thousands of miles now. Extremely light and easy to fit.
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I made mine out of copper roofing material and coated them with Line-X. I used copper because the shop next to me was a copper roof specialty company and I got it out of their scrap bin. However if your interested I kept the patterns and could cut you some out of aluminum.
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I would definitely be interested in a set for my TCS.
Thanks,
Sherman
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I made mine out of 3/16” abs. Looks and works fine.
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I used a piece of .020 aluminum sheet to make a template, then covered the template with wax paper and layed 3 layers of fiberglass Matt over the template. After it cured,I removed the fiberglass from the template/wax paper, trimmed it to fit, and drilled holes for SS fasteners .
Tom
74 TCS - 4605R
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Did the same for the rear shields.
Tom
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I used .5mm ally sheet held in with rivets on the front and rivets and screws in the back (so I can remove if I need to get to the back of the lock closing plate or take out the fuel tanks). silicone around the edges and underseal the lot.
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Does the original "cardboard" stuff have a name? . . a trade name, perhaps?
It looks like the same material used on the closing cover arrangement over the radiator hoses, yes?
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Hhmmm… lots of ideas on how to effect a new shield, but it appears no one is interested in reinstating the original Lotus solution. ;)
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I don't think the original pieces saved any weight but they probably saved money. It's sort of like the jute between the frame and the body or the horse hair stuff on the firewall. There's a limit to how much anybody will go to remain original.
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Does the original "cardboard" stuff have a name? . . a trade name, perhaps?
It looks like the same material used on the closing cover arrangement over the radiator hoses, yes?
It looks like linoleum to me.
It is some woven sheet material, about 3mm thick.
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I think I will see if I can get paint the stick to the polyethylene sheet that I have. It has two things going for it, I have it, and it is very tough stuff.
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I am surprised Chunky didn't use 1/8" plywood, light, and cheap. Cover that with black underseal, and it would last a fair time.
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I don't know what the originals were made of but it seemed to me that it was something like cardboard covered with underseal. Cheaper than even 1/4" plywood!
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I don't know what the originals were made of but it seemed to me that it was something like cardboard covered with underseal. Cheaper than even 1/4" plywood!
Unless the plywood came off the crates the engines were delivered in, from Ford in Dagenham about 90 miles away.
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Good point! :FUNNY:
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I think the original was the same stuff the glove box was made from. impregnated type of fibreboard
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I think the original was the same stuff the glove box was made from. impregnated type of fiberboard.
lol buzzer ,
that cardboard is $100.00 to replace and is a lot smaller. I made my molds awhile ago and installed some anchors in the glass. The shield will just be glass fibermat. A separate rubber liner will be placed in the wheel well.
Dakazman
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Sounds complicated Dakazman I plan on a simple solution. Sheet polyethylene inexpensive, I have it, and very tough (here it is commonly called "puck board"). Install will poprivets.
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Gary T,
I read the spec sheet on it , I really like it resists impacts. I also see it can be molded, which would make a perfect barrier. Thanks for the material choice.
Dakazman
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I believe it should be a good choice except for the color. I plan to give one of the plastic paints a go.
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My originals do look like cardboard painted with underseal to make them waterproof.
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Gary , have you tried to mold or weld that plastic sheet? It would be interesting to see !
This undercoating sticks to everything.
Dakazman
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Dakazman
I have never tried welding or molding. It cold bends easy to simple curves.
Thank for the paint tip.
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Gary
thank you for the tip also. What thickness sheet are you going working with? It seems they have quite a selection. this is my templates of front an aft .
Dakazman
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1/4 inch is what I have.
The reason I have it in stock is I use it for making router templates. It cuts very nicely with sharp wood working tools.
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Maybe this stuff?
ABS Plastic Sheet Black.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074NZ4TK1/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B074NZ4TK1&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=a54d13fc-b8a1-4ce8-b285-d77489a09cf6&pf_rd_r=52WC1VATM7GY7NN3QTD8&pd_rd_wg=lsQOz&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&pd_rd_w=SRtXl&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pd_rd_r=6c2f66a3-ab4c-11e8-a3d9-8f6065affc51 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074NZ4TK1/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B074NZ4TK1&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=a54d13fc-b8a1-4ce8-b285-d77489a09cf6&pf_rd_r=52WC1VATM7GY7NN3QTD8&pd_rd_wg=lsQOz&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&pd_rd_w=SRtXl&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pd_rd_r=6c2f66a3-ab4c-11e8-a3d9-8f6065affc51)
Probably 12"x12" sheets are unsuitable but I'm thinking this stuff should be available somewhere locally without too much trouble . . and it's pretty cheap.
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Is this the stuff?
https://www.automotiveinteriors.com/waterproof-cardboard-door-panel-board-cowlboard-p/cowl-dp.htm
Steve Veris was selling sets on the Lotus Europa site. It has been up for a long time now.
http://www.lotus-europa.com/forsale.html
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I used 3/32” abs. It is available at plastics distributors. It cost about $25 for a 4x8 sheet. I pop riveted it in place and sealed with black seam seal.