[Simon L]

Hmm, draw line on mdf to desired profile (5 mins including rubbing out a couple of times), drill hole for jigsaw blade (5 secs), cut with jigsaw (1 minute), repeat on other piece of wood (now up to just under 13 minutes. Cut profile for arch edge say 2 mins plus sanding. Lube wood (5 mins), insert pre lubed ally sheet. Mix plaster and allow to set a bit, then put into arch and scribe profile into plaster and allow to set (10 mins). Do quick check and refill any bits of plaster that look a bit ****. Say another 10 mins then lube that too.

You can add it up, I got bored typing it out.

Here's pic I did about 7 years ago to help explain - as they say: a picture speaks a thousand words..

BTW, we have just over three thousand moulds at work.

 

[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.

 

[Simon L]

I never said anything to the contrary; you asked me about my arches! The buck for your modified arches was essentially supplied to you in poor condition by MG-R on the ZT500 (the modified arches and everything else from the sounds of it (so no developments costs to recover on that front)), according to your orig comment. Finishing these off properly then moulding wouldn't take a great deal of effort (especially if one had a bodyshop to hand). A bit of filler, sanding, paint, polishing then waxing. If your mould was laid up with the wing fitted to the car, only a complete idiot would manage to make a mould that didn't produce copies that didn't fit a production car.

The time my moulds (and yours for that matter) took to make is mostly irrelevant to the cost of the final part. I would expect to get better than 50 copies from a mould but if eg a wing mould cost £300 quid to make and prepare, that's still only £6 per copy.

A decent mould once prepared and waxed will need little more than a couple further coats of wax after each use - hardly a massive undertaking.

ATB

Simon

 

[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