RESTORATION LOTUS PLUS 2 ZETEC CONVERSION
Preparing The Bodywork
Look, no welding! But to get glassfibre looking really good you need a few new tricks. David Lillywhite explains what to do
PART FIVE
GLASSFIBRE. It doesn't rust. But doesn't it crack, shatter, fray and, er, spontaneously combust? Well no, obviously not in most cases, although a few cracks aren't unknown. Surprisingly, perhaps, the Plus 2's body is pretty tough, helped by its evolution from the original Elan which allowed Lotus to learn a few more tricks in longevity. Andy Widnall of Spyder Engineering reckons that very few have serious bodywork problems, except if they've been badly repaired after an accident. Our Plus 2 was typical, with horrific paint hiding remarkably sound bodywork. The paint has to be scraped off and then sanded (you can't use Nitromors because it eats into the glassfibre surface). The scraping isn't easy because the paint has to be softened with a hot air gun, and it's easy to damage the glassfibre with excess heat.
Even if the bodywork is perfect, you still need a bit of glassfibre work, because there are holes in the inner bodywork that need to be patched over. Some are unnecessary now, thanks to cleaver Spyder modifications - the holes in the rear suspension towers for the fuel tank breather hoses are typical, as Spyder do away with the smelly original breather system and fit a more efficient set-up, allowing the holes to be done away with. Others are sealed to keep out water from road spray, while the original gearlever hole is covered over so that a new hole can be cut. That side of the job takes about half a day, but how much time the bodywork is going to take depends on the state of the car and the quality you're after.
You could spray the bodywork yourself but, for once, we wouldn't advise it. Glassfibre is harder to spray than metal bodywork because it tends to hold moisture. Professionals usually warm the car in a warm-bake oven between each coat to dry out the moisture, which would otherwise show through as blistering in the paint. Spyder takes its cars to MaxPaint in March, Cambridgeshire, where they spray the bodywork for around £3000. That's taking it back to the gelcoat, but it's cheaper if they can get away with just flatting back.
Before the bodywork is finished, it's worth sorting the inner sill strengtheners. Originally these would have been a sheet metal construction but, predictably, they tend to crumble into rust-dust. The seatbelts bolt into these reinforcement pieces...
Spyder has long been producing its own versions of these sill strengtheners, produced from thick tubing and sheet steel, galvanised to last forever. To fit them you'll need to been out the glassfibre sills slightly, so it's worth doing before the body is sprayed.
PRACTICAL CLASSICS MAY 2003