Driving(ish) home(ish) for Christmas.

Just before Christmas, following a tump-load of work by Andy Westgate, I collected the Gemini from Westgate Composite's site in Berkshire and dragged it back to Gloucestershire.

Here (above) you can see the scuttle extension/aeroscreen bolted in place and me wearing a decidedly crap jumper - Andy insisted on the "Happy Customer" photograph.

 Nothing new of note here (above or indeed below...)

 But here is the cut-out for the exhaust - part lined with heat-mat.

Oh, and although a 'Phase 2' project, while the car was with Andy we start to think about aero mods:

There now follows a hiatus while I rebuild the coffers a bit and get some domestic stuff done. The bottom-line is, I won't be out at Oulton in April - maybe Silverstone in August is realistic - after all, mechanically the car is 100% unproven.

TC

Spot the differences...

I appreciate that for anyone else (my wife included) these images hardly change. There is progress though.

Back-stays in place. The least said about body symmetry the better I think.

"Baby got back."

Yes, the boot doesn't close; thanks to Mr Newey and his E-type for this one.

The tub has been remodelled around my shoulders. The raw GRP in the interior is now a less raw mid-grey too.

A retro touch.

A happy boy.

Structurally, the rear tub is permenantly fixed in situ and is rock solid (thanks to Andy - it mounts very differently to stock now.) The roll cage is bolted-in, except for three bolts on the driver's side of the front hoop.

TC

Life under the knife...

I'd like to be able to pause to add some sensible prose in relation to the work that Andy Westgate has been doing with such aplomb but I'm just too busy.  Instead here's some more photos with scant explanation.

First, here's some pictures of the 'aeroscreen' - a scuttle extension really.

Next, the clever little panels that will be scalloped around the main roll cage hoop.

The above square is a new part made from a mould taken from the body.  What lies beneath:

Next. the area around my shoulders is part-way through being re-modelled to give me more room.  I'd be lying if I said that I totally understood how this will look.  In Andy we trust:

Finally, my raised boot panel which is an idea unashamedly stolen from Adrian Newey's E-type.

Oh - almost forgot, the car has been seen in TKC Magazine and Complete Kit Car this month - in each case showcasing Mr Westgate's skills.

Andy's work is almost done.  I can't wait to actually do a bit on the car myself this coming weekend.

TC

Facetime

Andy Westgate continues his marvelous work; the car finally has a forward aspect.  I've always looked forward to seeing the car at this stage and I'm super happy!

Andy needs to finesse my cut-out but it still looks most-excellent in my view.  Lights will now be courtesy of LEDs.  How terribly modern.

TC

More soon...

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