Prize-winning marrow

Andy Westgate has been busy "putting a marrow on the bonnet."

He's also identified that due to the lowered ride height, there isn't any room for the headlamp bowls.  

Thankfully we have a plan.

TC

Glass Re-reinforced Plastic

A whole two months-on from my last post: I've done absolutely nothing.  This doesn't mean that the car isn't progressing however.  I'd reached the conclusion that I was going to really struggle to fit the bodywork.  I was concerned about a lack of space, a lack of time and most-of-all a lack of ability and knowledge when it comes to fibreglass.  I'd spoken to a couple of Gemini owners who each said that they'd had to make some modifications to get everything to fit.  I was out of my depth.

I spoke to a couple of people who might be able to do the work for me and ultimately decided that Andy Westgate at Westgate Composites was my best-bet.  I have no doubts that I made the right choice.  Andy's work and communication has been absolutely first-class.  There is still quite a lot of work to do but he is definitely getting there.

Andy started by seeing how everything lines-up,

The wheels provide the best reference points in each plane - the bodywork is certainly not 100% symmetrical.

Of course I'd say this, but the colour scheme just works.

You'll notice that the bonnet needs a bulge.  It actually needed a lot more work,  It was too wide (a common Gemini issue apparently) and concave (probably due to my storage.)

This is seemingly bread-and-butter for Andy though.  He's so accomplished working with GRP.  Both to help the body fit, attach it to the chassis and also to reduce the amount of subsequent aluminium panelling required, Andy has made a number of improved bulkhead panels.

These panels aren't finished at this stage, but it is remarkable how well Andy has got things to fit. You can see that the area behind where my shoulder will be has been cut-back quite significantly. There is still some to come - despite being vertically-challenged I've built the car so that I sit as far back as possible to hopefully help balance and grip.

The latest images from Andy show the basic shape of the new bonnet bulge - he's going to glass that in this week before ultimately painting the bonnet to match the gelcoat.  I'm absolutely thrilled with all the work thus far and I'm so relieved that I haven't tried to do it myself.  I think I would have lost patience and set the whole lot on fire by now.

I can't wait to see the car with the roll cage fitted - I've seen the car clothed and I've seen the car caged - but never caged and clothed.

TTFN
TC