A Vicious Cycle (Wing)

Greetings. Another update, the car is really starting to take shape now.

This week started out in quite a frustrating manner, with the front cycle wings. A cause of great concern for kit car builders the world over, attaching the cycle wings seems to be the cause of much discussion and debate on lots of forums. Failure, it would seem, is always an option!

I started out by trial fitting them, only to realise there would need to be some sort of spacing to get them at the correct height. I elected to use 25mm box section,  having plenty to hand. The plan was to captively weld some bolts and stick them to the inside of the cycle wing, enabling them to be unbolted if necessary.

(Mk1 prototype wing spacer)

To position them, I referred to the IVA manual for guidance. 30° ahead of the wheel centre and 50° behind is the requirement according to the book of words. Without a protractor to verify these angles, I had to revert to a method I thought I would never ever use beyond GCSE textbooks... Trig!

(The shock of using trigonometry in the real world was almost too much)

This helped me make a cardboard template to plan where the wings would sit. My plan was to put the spacers on, then use an adhesive to stick them in place temporarily; and then laminate them for good.

The first attempt, using all I happened to have to hand (silicone sealant) failed miserably. The silicone never went off even after 24hrs, and the wings just slid to the floor. D'oh. The next attempt I sourced some 1-minute epoxy, which is an insanely fast curing and strong adhesive. So strong in fact, that after  1 minute it's set rock hard, and if you don't get enough goo out of the tube the nozzle goes off and is completely blocked solid! (D'oh again) . So, 3rd time lucky, more nozzles and a very fast approach, got them stuck good and proper. Next up, took it to a friend who does a lot of marine GRP work, and whilst its perfectly doable if you've got time; easier to pay for 2 packets of hob nobs if you're in a rush (I suddenly have a deadline, more on that later)

Result, and a very good one:

So, then onto the back ones - a much simpler affair, given you can offer them up, drill through and bolt into place

 I then put some M8 rivnuts in and that was all 4 wings fitted.

Next up, back off and onto the painting. prep first:

Then primer:

And finally, electric orange gloss:

Quite pleased with the results I'm getting now. Combination of practice and experience is improving my technique. Think I might have to go back and do the whole car again, but only after a few track days when I've got plenty of scuffs and scratches!!

Finally then, offer em up to the car:

 I was thoroughly chuffed with the results of that - really looking superb now all the big pieces are coming together. And now I have a good reason to aim for something! With the kit car show coming up in Exeter at the end of the month,  Peter has asked me to bring it along to go on the GKD stand, as it's right on my doorstep. Which makes a change as normally I have to travel miles to get anywhere! Very pleased to be part of it, but I would like to get the car looking its best. Clearly it won't be finished, but even now I think it's about 85-90% there.

I'd been on the lookout for a car trailer for sometime, and one came up on eBay, cheap and local; so it would be rude not to buy it...

Needs some very minor TLC but it is a lovely trailer and I was happy with the deal.

So there we go - satisfying amount of progress, despite a couple of (not so) sticky moments.

Next time, either finishing the the remaining GRP components, or fitting the clutch slave that Dave very kindly sent me, hopefully to cure the problematic clutch....