Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: 1970EuropaGuy on Monday,June 24, 2019, 09:22:42 AM
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I'm replacing all of my splash panels (correct name?) as the originals are warped badly and don't seal. What are you folks using for material? I've been thinking of aluminum as I can easily source it but it may not be flexible enough?
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Somewhere I had some black scrap plastic sheeting that was about the same thickness as the original fiberboard. It works well but aluminum would work well, too. It depends on what you have access to.
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Hey 70, the close-out panels probably can be made of .032 aluminum. Maybe cut them slightly smaller and edge the outer and top sides with sliced tubing or pipe wrap glued on. I made mine from glass mat.
Dakazman
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Some good ideas, thanks. I'll likely go with aluminum, do like the idea of edging it with tubing. Of course glass mat would work well and I have lots of that lying around.
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The only other item is safety. If the aluminum broke loose it could slice into the cabin .
Dakazman
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I reused mine and re-riveted in. The OEM install used tape to seal the seam between the fiberglass body and the panel. I did the same.
RD sells a replacement made of plastic. Good idea.
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The only other item is safety. If the aluminum broke loose it could slice into the cabin .
Dakazman
An interesting thought. Wouldn't want to feel unsafe in a Lotus Europa! :beerchug:
I feel like playing with fiberglass today so I'll give that a try.
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I reused mine and re-riveted in. The OEM install used tape to seal the seam between the fiberglass body and the panel. I did the same.
RD sells a replacement made of plastic. Good idea.
Certainly the easy way to go but once they get shipped to Canada, taxes paid and exchange rate the price can get crazy.
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Steve Veris is making a set for my S2. Might be worth an email. steve.veris@sbcglobal “dot” net
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Some years back I was faced with the same situation...
The factory "closing plates" in the wheel arch were made of a thick durable paperboard coated with a black resin similar to the finish you would see on the backside of a standard roofing shingle.
DIY...I used the old ones as a template...Got some spare shingles I had laying around...Presto!
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Great idea Lou. Where were you a couple of days ago when I was revising in the old ones?? I would have used your idea!
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I used 1/4 polyethylene sheet (puck board) extremely tough, and I had it in my shop. Two good reasons to use it.
Gary
54-1173
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Does paint adhere to aluminum?? Im not sure it would stand up to having stones and dirt thrown at it...
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I made mine from 3/32” ABS. It was easy to do using the old cardboard ones as patterns.
Steve Veris sells them as well.http://www.lotus-europa.com/forsale.html
RD also sells them.
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I did mine out of black ABS as well. Cuts easy with fine tooth jig saw. One side is textured. My originals were junk. I used $1 store poster board for templates. Turned out nicer than I thought it could.
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For my front and rear splash panels, I cut and bent 0.020" aluminum sheet (Lowes or Home Depot) to fit the panel, then covered the aluminum with wax paper (as a release agent) then applied (3) layers of 3/4 ounce fiberglass matt. Then I cut and shaped the cured fiberglass a necessary and applied one coat of black epoxy and (2) coats of matt black 2-part. I used stainless steel button head screws instead of pop rivets to secure them in place.
Tom
74 TCS