Initial rough laminating done with vinyl ester resin and chopped strand mat. First closed up the jam side where possible to minimize adding to the fragile edges of the door skin. Used adhesive backed pattern sheet wax to squeeze shut gaps with short strand reinforced filler made from vinyl ester resin and milled fiber.
Oooo, much more professional than me. Fortunately, the gaps weren’t too big. However, the door twist was another matter. Did it once but, after the carbon fibre had setled down, they went slightly out of shape again. However, with all of the the body mods I had done near the doors, I was able to rectify this with a little filler on the body without it standing out. It has been a few months now and no more movement so fingers crossed.
When I did my body work, I set all the gaps, doors, bonnet, boot and light pods using the same and stable reference point, a suitably sized drill bit!
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Nice job Winston, bet it is fun to drive.
What kind of weight did the Image wheels come in at and what width did you opt for? I’m contemplating something similar but 14x 5.5” rather than 15”
Cheers,
Will
Hello Will,
Yes I am definitely having fun with the Elan. I realize that what I have done with wheels and tires is controversial and probably doesn’t make sense from a purely performance perspective but it sticks like glue and is nicely balanced on the skid pad. Front wheels are J 5.5 and rears are J 6.5. Front tires are 195/50R15. Rears are 205/50R15. They are Dunlap Direzza III. Street legal auto cross tires. Next time I will probably use less sticky all season tires. Unfortunately I didn’t weigh the wheels but as the alloy is much thicker I think that they actually weigh more than steel. The increase in size of wheels and tires definitely substantially increases unsprung weight. The pictures show the wheel dimensions as ordered and the thickness of the alloy.
Cheers,
Winston
When I purchased 13x5 wheels from Image, I weighed them. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I remember them weighing just about the same as the repro steelies from Sue Miller.
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