Parts required for bodywork

Body Tub

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Front wings

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Rear Wings

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Rear Valence

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Alumimium louvred bonet panels

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Radiator cowling

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Radiator grille

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Badge bar

Bought secondhand.

Spare wheel bracket

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Wing piping.

Running board strips.

Headlamp bowls.

Rear light pods.

Bought with secondhand body kit.

Detail for bodywork construction

I was lucky enough to find the main parts of my kit car on ebay. The parts had been bought in 1998 from NG cars Ltd when they were based in Epsom. Despite its age the chassis was SVA compliant, it must have been one of the earliest of its type.

Included in the deal was most of a donor car, nearly all the body panels and brackets, a dashboard, hood and bag, a pre-sva windscreen and fuel tank. I have since sold a couple of the parts to other builders, but have kept the bulk of the parts for my own build.

As a point of interest, the cost of the chassis and body kit combined in 1998 was £2295.00 +vat.

Checking the body tub.

The body tub and bracing struts had been fitted to the chassis by the original owner, but that was all. I initially removed the body tub so that I could build up the chassis.

With the chassis mostly compete and the engine and gearbox fitted, I was keen to drop the tub back on and ensure that everything was correctly aligned. I also needed to mark out the body line on the chassis ready for the fitting of the brake and fuel lines.

It turned out that the original owner had made a good job of fitting the tub, as the difference in overhang on each side was to within a millimeter or two. I also took the opportunity to mark out, drill amd temporarily fit the radiator cowling so that I could measure up for some radiator brackets and check that the tub to cowling distance was correct.

Fitting the radiator cowl.

The cowling is fitted to the chassis in conjunction with the radiator, that is, they both mount onto two pairs of plates which are mounted on to the chassis. First the inside upright plates are bolted to the small brackets at the front of the chassis. The cowling is mounted outside of these two plates and the radiator brackets are mounted outside these, effectively sandwiching the cowling between the two pairs of plates. As I'm using a different radiator to the one specifiied in the build I had to manufacture new plates for the radiator.

The cowling was positined onto the two main plates and a small amount of material had to be removed from the base of the cowling as it sat on top of the front chassis cross rail. The top of the cowling flange was positioned to the correct height, and measurements were taken to ensure it was vertical and square, at this point all was held in place with some clamps while it was drilled. In the photograph, I haven't yet painted the mounting plates.