[scooter]

When we got the prototype 385 from the factory the quality of the body kit was not good. I took moulds of the car to make the parts for our race ZT520. I have moulds for the front wings, side skirts and bumper extensions and all the other parts but to make a kit for a car would cost over £3000 and you would still have to spend another £1500 to fit and paint it.

 

[scooter]

Ah but if car was on a modified car policy with a specialist insurer (ie Flux), then you could have agreed value.

As to the costs of the kit, from the pics I can see wheel arches, maybe a bonnet scoop etc. Prob £500 at the most. Have a look around the kitcar products and see how body prices work out eg


GTR bodywork in GRP with Isophthalic high heat
distortion resin comprising front and rear sections, side pods,
cockpit, doors, dashboard, headlight and instrument pods.
All in coloured gelcoat.

£4165.00

Three grand for a bodykit is ridiculous

ATB

Simon

How long do you think it takes to make 22 different parts and dress the moulds after every use and then add the cost of resin,glass and gelcoat. I have no intention of making a kit and have already refused one order.

 

[scooter]

Well, in my avatar pic you'll see toy car I built from scratch - including all the
bodywork. Total cost for (bodywork) materials (matting/resin/gelcoat/brushes/mixing pots/gloves etc etc) was approx £150 quid - if you were to buy trade quantities you could get materials for prob less than half what I paid.

Laying up (for eg on toy car) one wheel arch inc gel coat, matting and resin took under 30 mins, so I suggest if you had an experienced fibreglass man, who got all the mould lined up; did mould prep then gel coated, resin/matted production line style, then I think probably two days per set, inc demoulding, deburring etc so £2-300 labour/£100 materials so being pessimistic £500/set, treble it as you have to make a profit etc. If you were doing this commercially, you'd be spraying the gelcoat etc. Should be a very quick process.

Have a look at the Ultima bodywork and tell me your 22 piece kit amounts to anywhere near that amount of work. My £500 est might have been a bit lighthearted but I still think £3k of massively wide of the mark.

But then, if you've turned people down it's all a bit of a pointless debate.

ATB

Simon

How long did it take to make your moulds ?

 

[scooter]

I cheated making the moulds for the wheelarches as I used 2 pieces of mdf with slots cut in them, into which I slotted ally sheet of the correct width(the scuttle was done in a similar fashion). Used plaster of paris to create contoured shapes on sides, though only one side required "shaping on the rear as other side was flat and bolted to chassis. The mould for the bonnet was slightly more convoluted as I to make the buck up too.

ATB

Simon

How long

 

[scooter]

Not quite the same as a front wing with integeral flared arch that has to be the exact copy elswhere so its a direct replacement with the original wing.

 

[scooter]

None of the wings on the prototype could be used as they were just bodged. The whole kit had to be redesigned so as a standard set of bumpers could be used. On the prototype MG just made little stick on panels and glued them on to the wings after cutting slits and pulling out the arches. The only parts that are direct copies and moulds taken from were the two side sills