... at making a fiberglass mold, that is.
I put on three coats of fiberglass and then popped off my MGB center console mold yesterday. I really like the results. It's too cold and wet today to start making the real center console replacement using this mold, but I think we'll be able to get it done before the weekend. The rest of the cockpit wiring is done, so once we get this finished, we'll be done with the car.
I can't believe I just wrote that. Done with the car? What do those words even mean?
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| The form still on the console. The second and third coats became successively easier to do as I started to get the hang of working with fiberglass. They also became successively cruder as I paid the price for not having carefully smoothed out the bubbles on earlier coats. |
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| In retrospect, I wish I'd used bondo to fill in the holes on the existing console. Due to the Chicom Flu lockdown, I didn't go to the auto parts store to get some, so I used spackle instead. The spackle came off onto the mold. It didn't do any harm, I was able to scrape it off with a putty knife and the mold formed just the way I wanted. |
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| The final product. Despite the second and third coats being rough, it's the first coat that matters and after I sanded it a bit, it was smooth. I could see me building more fiberglass things in the future. |
5 comments:
Car will be finished? What are you crazy?
LBCs here those things, and think up new and inventive ways to break!
This year when I get the car out of storage, I plan on.
1 - changing the gear oil in the differential (I've owned this 20 years, and never did it)
2 - fix the dash, that I cracked 10 years ago when I took it off when I had a few wires melt in the dash.
3 - replace the windshield seals. Those have been sitting in a drawer for 10 years
I was going to replace the gear oil in the diff last fall, but I couldn't get the fill plug open. It has welded itself shut. I ended up buying a used diff cover off ebay, cleaned, sanded, and painted. And bought new hex plugs, instead of the stupid tapered (!) square plugs.
I watched a couple videos on you tube that uses gorilla glue to fill the cracks of a dash. Looks like a great idea.
I'm afraid to take the windshield off because my old MG in college, I could never get both bolts back in.
It is also that time of year that I have the optimism that I will sand and rattle can the front fenders this year.
I have Miata seats in my car, the driver seat needs attention.
BTW, it snowed overnight. Maybe an inch. The streets are warm enough that that all melted immediately. The south facing driveways as well. My north facing driveway is completely covered.
So naturally, I just sent mail to my storage facility about getting the MG out.
It is supposed to be 50 all week. Which is why you NEVER shovel March snow. I expect Tim can't subscribe to that maxim.
Dang it. LBCs *HEAR* not *here*. Wow, who would believe English is my primary language?
I hate to tell you this, but there are some things I'll pay to have done on my car. I don't have a lift and I'm not as limber as I used to be, so I'm happy to have others work on it. I'd get someone else to do the differential fluid, if it were me.
I'll go hang my head in shame now.
You know, I have a spry 22 year old around here somewhere. Seems I should get him to crawl under the car.
I've considered having somethings done on my car, but to me, the whole purpose is for me to do things on it.
About a month ago, I went and looked at a Jenson Heally that my brother was interested it. The elderly gentleman that showed it to be gave me a run done of all the things "he" did to the car. Which amounted to taking it from one shop to another, to have things done.
It looked nice, but do to time the car had sat, and the circumstances of the sale, my brother decided to pass on the car.
I'm happy to have the last things done for me. I don't need to prove to myself I can do it. You're way more experienced than me. I'd not think twice about it, but I definitely understand the desire to have it "all mine." I paid for some work to be done on it recently and it hurt a little bit.
As for project cars, if I find myself retired again after my upcoming new job is over, I'd like to get a late-60s El Camino. We need a pickup and those things are legit. They have more carrying capacity than my old Datsun mini trucks did.
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