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The way original fender molds where made utilizing 2 molds, one for the main
fender and second for filler panel (sill) in front of the door to seal off the wheel well
so that when the door would be open one would not see the wheel well
lining and make it look like unfinished and missing part. The 2 parts would then be
bonded together for one seamless looking fender that is rigid and easy to mount. Mounting of the fender (s) is done by bolts along the trunk line part of it utilizes the hinge base, couple along the sill part of the front door area and inside the wheel well. Original fender molds, come molds come parts where made from a single plug of the car. Hood (trunk) mold was made first and plug was cut, carved and shaped to have undercut so that hood panel would sit in flat and provide clearance for hinges and mounts. Area around the gutter was made large enough for wiper arms to hide and provide good fastening of the windshield tray and wiper motor. After the original panels where put together it was found that some areas of it could had been extended for better look. Some other concerns where around the wheel well openings, how it was mating with other parts and how it was trimmed and finishing around trunk area which was hard to visualize with the plug. Not a matter that the fenders where in need of remaking or modifying but a matter of what sections needed to be corrected and how. So after the chassis was finalized and they could be mounted to the chassis. First changes where to the arch and shape/size of wheel well opening. Back fill of fiberglass was made to provide way of filler to be fastened to it to shape the arch. Extension on the bottom of the fender was made in front of the door and around windshield / cowl area as windshield frame was not ready while making the fender mold. major modification to the fender was made in how high the fender was and contour on the very top of the wheel where it was flattened and lowered by almost and inch giving not just greater visibility but also how the fender looks from outside. As the shape of the headlight needed to be slightly altered as it was not possible to package the projectors into the housing, however most of that change came from altered and protruding lens for the main HID beam. Next generation of LED headlights are shallower so the lens is flat to the surface of the fender. However just a single fender curvature exists just the cutout is different for HID and LED headlights. The fenders also incorporate sill section as part of the fender making it more rigid after door swing and clearance was finalized. Major difference in making the fenders is that he fender and inner lip and inner well mounting is made as separate pieces then bonded together. An evil but necessary process as making fender as single part would be virtually impossible without some sort of injection molding. Top curvature Very top of the fender was rather high because of the averaged wheel size between front and rear tires/wheels. It also had a very pointing outer edge on the fender. After reducing arch size the outer top edge of the fender looked even worse. To eliminate the look the upper section was strategically cut, bend downward and held with tape which it also served as leak prevention for resin as the slits where re-bonded from the inside of the fender. Overall the fender height dropped by an 7/8 of an inch, it looks more flat on top and as the front wheel is 275mm wide top dropped outer edge will not reduce any clearance for the tire as inner section was not affected. Headlight section was raised by 1/2' at the very top section which flattened the fender further but it created larger lens area for the projector at the large projector section of the housing. Even though the fender stands taller, for LED housing this does not make any difference as they are recessed into the housing deeper. Extensions Cowl area on the plug was never finished properly due to the windshield frame not being completed. Also because it was assumed that the fenders would need some work done as final result so the return was short by about 2 inches. During the modifications, the area on the fender was ground down where hinge would be located and to still have clearance for the deck lid. A shaped piece of cardboard was cut and fastened to the fender. Fiberglass was extended from the back and surface was finished with filler to make a smooth look to the joint. Not sure if it was during the trimming of the fender of how the fender mounts to the chassis. Never the less the little winglet on bottom in front of the door was a bit short. Same as cowl area, a piece of cardboard was fastened to the fender then surface was topped with filler and sanded down to a smooth finish. Rather then cutting of to the length. A mark was made into the extension and extra length on fender was left and to be trimmed later during final fitting Trunk trim return / restrain Not knowing how the final fit would look like and as the plug was made flat and marked with straight line. The fenders where trimmed to line while shapining and mounting to chassis. It was thought that a trim ring around the perimeter of the trunk would be part of the return for upholstery however looking at options making it was decided that making a proper return and holding the upholstery by the fender would be best. So the edge like the extensions where ground down feathering it down and a template shape was glued on was fastened to shape the fiberglass for bonding. Surface was top coated with filler and shaped to desired curvature. Trim ring will still be around the trunk opening however it will just be holding the rubber seal and not be dual function. Wheel well / mounting Arch around the wheel well is more then just the arch or opening for the wheel it also holds wheel well lining protecting road dirt and debris from flying around the wheel well area possibly hitting the fender by bounced stone from the road and popping paint or cracking fiberglass but also ejecting water from wet pavement and penetrating onto the chassis or possibly sipping into the cabin. The inner part of the arch structure has mounting points to the bumper in the front and to the chassis in the back preventing from flapping by holding it steady to the chassis. After making all modification to the fenders, new molds and parts pulled where made based on the cut up and modified fenders so that there would not be any possibilities of the fenders cracking at some future time. It also provided the possibilities of replication of the fenders if needed. Some pictures in the gallery |
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