[10-10-08] A start on the firewall/tunnel/floorboard modeling

[06-02-09] Floorboard modeling progress picking back up

[07-02-09] Floorboard modeling: fill-sand-fill-sand ad nauseam
(The bucket by the left rear will form a fuel filler neck passage.)

[07-13-09] Floorboard modeling - primer to seal wood & plaster, then a coat of gloss enamel

[08-31-09] Piecing / fitting glass cloth hand layup...
gelcoat, 1.5 oz. (per sq. ft.) mat, 4 general layers 10 oz. (per sq. yd.) E-glass cloth,
plus up to 7 extra layers cloth in high load areas (~0.019 in. thickness per layer)

[10-01-09] The finished 65 lb. fiberglass floorboard -- a big step here.
The stiffeners across the back are formed by 2 in. mailing tubes cut in half.
The access holes and covers are for the clutch slave and fuel tank hoses.
The handbrake lever (from a Jeep Grand Cherokee) washers and nut plates are epoxied in place.
The brake/clutch pedal mount is getting some bracket weldments to react pedal loads to the bottom of the firewall.

[10-27-09] Ha! The donor S10 belts & retractors look like they'll work out OK here.
The .125 in. steel doublers & nutplates are typical for the attachment hard points.
We're bonding them to the walls with a single part moisture curing polyurethane adhesive.

[06-04-10] Start of the body shell model - center spine profile coordinate system

[06-23-10] Center profile & wheel well forms

[07-08-10] Cutting and fitting ribs for body model form... The Atlantic shape is just starting to be recognizable.

[08-15-10] Little pieces, one at a time, to generate the shape

[09-01-10] Window frame forms further hint at the shape.

[09-05-10] Skinning the model form with 1/8" tempered Masonite. The sides pulled down to the moderate compound curve in one piece.

[09-10-10] More skinning... 2 in. and 1 in. strips of tempered Masonite to get the compound curve surface of la goutte d'eau (water drop) Atlantic shape.

[09-23-10] Skinning about done, ready for a lot of sanding, filling, smoothing, prepping for laying-up the fiberglass mold halves (next spring).
The little triangular "notches" near the tail are to form vertical indexing contact spots with the floorboard when we bond body shell and floorboard together later.

[10-29-10] Filling the wheel well fillets and windshield base fillets.

[11-27-10] Radiator shell model start. We can take this to the basement and maybe get some done indoors during the winter.
(The bottom is truncated for our S10 donor frame lateral, one of the known required deviations from a correct Atlantic shape.)

[12-10-10] Skinning radiator shell model with 1/8" Masonite. Soggy wet Masonite just barely makes the top radius bend.

[12-16-10] Skinning 2nd layer (hood "bezel")

[12-25-10] Filling, smoothing, sealing, sanding...
(The bevel on bottom left corner is for clearance to the S10 original engine mount which is offset to the right 1/2 in.)

[05-24-11] Radiator shell model waxed and ready to gelcoat and lay glass for mold...
(Progress on this part continues on the Body Molds Page. > > >)

[06-02-11] Body model - fill/sand, fill/sand, fill/sand...

[08-01-11] Body model - prime, fill/sand, prime, fill/sand...

[08-23-11] The brown masonite pieces are "fences" for shaping a mold insert to be able to pull the front window frames forward and up while the main body halves pull to the side. The windshield frame insert "fence" is glued to the model with silicone RTV, hopefully a temporary bond for when we need to pull the fence and insert off of the model.

[08-23-11] The cut-out lines for the doors, rear windows, round hatch, and spine profile are laid-out by the coordinate grid and scribed into the model surface.
(Progress on this part continues on the Body Molds Page. > > >)

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    Last tinkered with February 4, 2012   R.A.B.