Classic Thunder Build - Duracel79 - England

[Adje]

that is a clean chassis to start with!
where did you order the fiberglass doors? i'm allso looking for fiberglass parts

[Old Man]

Every mice job and clean work! Looking forward to seeing it going together.

[Duracel79]

Thanks for the comments guys,

It is a surprisingly clean shell which doesn't need too much work.
Shame I'm cutting and modifying bits of it and fitting a cage really , would of made a nice road car shell

It is now away again having the roll cage fitted which will include:

Full 6 point weld in cage to MSA specs
Extras:
Gusseted to A & B posts
Roof bar
Dash bar
Front strut triangulation
Differential bracing
Harness bars
Driver & passenger seat bars with harness mounts

Should be ready sometime next week, pics to follow.



On another note, just got the "Test Mule" back on the road after 7 months. Starting to get it ready for Sharknose:
Will be getting Oil & filters changed and a new pair or rear tyres this evening.

After 7 months of not driving it I'd forgotten how fast and 'An Event' it is to drive.

And then theres the Dartford Tunnel

Cheers

Ben

Ben

[Jeroen]

[Peter V.]

Nice to see you again at the Sharknosemeeting Ben,

And indeed a very good base to start an E21 project

[cobbler2u]

awsome work
looks a great shell

[Duracel79]

Some progress.

Modified floor to take the pedal box. Lowered and moved forward. This is just tacked in before being fully welded:


And the bigger progress - the shell now has a strong cage:
















And some proper seat mountings and six point harnesses:


Few more pics in the photobucket library if your interested.

Cheers
Ben

[Peter V.]

That construction is really modifed. Looks great.

[Jeroen]

Yup this is going to be something else! After all events and trips I'm just catching up here, 1st time I see it... keep up the good work sir!

[Duracel79]

Thanks guys,

Its been slow progress with stages taking longer than expected.

Currently the shell is being repaired with new metal.
That is to say cutting and letting in new metal where the rust used to be and filling in all unwanted holes in the bulkheads.
I'm also modifying the front panels to accept the larger radiator and removing the unused brackets throughout the shell.

This should all be sorted during July before it goes back for acid re-dip and then Electrophoretic dip coating.

After that its primer and paint in August/Setember before the fun really starts with the rebuild.
Going to be stripping down the donor car and refreshing parts before fitting to the Thunder shell.

Ben

[cobbler2u]

all looking good

[uwbuurman]

nice work, Ben!!

[Duracel79]

Thanks chaps,

The metalwork is now complete and the shell is back at SPL for a quick redip to remove the surface rust over the last 5 months then it will have the Electro phoretic coating applied.

So the next update (2-3 weeks) should be lots of pictures of the shell all in one colour, a nice black e-coat.

Ben

[Jeroen]

That'll be a giant leap forward in one go then!

[pandemonium001]

Nice work, as usual.