oh my god !
I've been working on details such as the groove along the waist-line (which will take a 3mm o-ring rubber extrusion)and indents for the shields (that will hide the hinges and the Dzus panel fasteners) and other general detail stuff, so not much different recently that would be obvious in images. I have also been working on the first of the carbon leather luggage pieces. I'll post some new images next week. 'tis a busy life
...and I almost forgot, a lot of research into NACA low-drag, submerged inlet ducts, resulting in a master from which to take a mould then casts for the ventilation inlets that will be located in the high pressure area near the base of the windscreen (similar to the F40).
i'm not sure what i admire more; the fact that you're doing what so few people do anymore or that you have the balls to do it in the face of all this adversity... Bravo to you; good luck and i look forward to seeing the finished project... Any chance you can tell me the serial number of the car...?
Thanks for the support. I'm fairly immune to what "normal" people think as I am either confident in my abilities or too egotistical to care. Car designers that I know think it is a wonderful idea to redesign a Ferrari, they are rarely given the opportunity in real life. I firmly believe that cars are for using and cars like Ferraris should give the owner pleasure (or in my case a lot of work) whether that is through obsessive originality, racing, or even just on the daily commute. This project, that started with an expensive Mondial (remember this is being done in Singapore), is not going to be cheap. Many people would say 'why not buy a newer/faster Ferrari with the money?' They are missing the point. This project is a full size industrial sculpture of my interpretation of the Mondial concept. I will have effectively created a new car on the Ferrari runing gear - you are right I can't think of too many people who have done, or would contemplate doing, this. I don't think luck is needed, just a lot of hard work (and more hours in the day). Want to help? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sweet, thank you... What year is the car...? Do you have before pictures...? Does the car still have its original engine/motor...?
1983 The (still) original engine: RRARIF10JA01314 Cars here don't seem to rust the same as, say, in the UK so it was in pretty good condition when I bought it (makes me more crazy I suppose). Image Unavailable, Please Login
PHOTOSHOP HACK IS HERE. It's a good thing I don't do this for a living! Because I suck at it! But...here it is...the Mondial Z
Not too bad, just needs a few highlights and we're there! The rear lights are now from the 360 and the front fender has a shield. Can you drop it down onto the ground by putting it against a different background? (not asking for much am I!)
What are you going to do with the stock interior (cough cough need front seat covers and door panels if stock cough cough)...
The interior is completely going. It is being replaced with an entirely new interior including seats. After completing the exterior I will start first with the seats, which I will replace with completely new designs based on my earlier TVR seats except these will be reclining and tilting and use memory foam. The dashboard and binnacle will be new and a centre console will reach down from the dash. The door panels will also be replaced. The interior is entirely stock (circa 1983 QV) at present and was re-trimmed in black and tan leather in 1996. The interior, along with all of the other redundant parts will be made available when the project is complete. Shall I put your name down for some parts for your Mondial 8?
Clive, again, i think this is really cool... My hat is off to you... i DO have another question, though... It's my understanding that it takes a pretty huge machine to bake carbon fiber body panels in... Do you have one or have access to one...?
I have access to one large enough for complete panels, which will then be bonded together with "hi-tech glue"
I gave it a (poor) try with photoshop here: http://home.tiscali.nl/308gto/web%2001.jpg Goodluck from another "good car wrecker"
How interested would you be in making another set of your front and back bumbers. I'd be interested in them for my car.
The difficulty is that I have totally reshaped the front, it is now curved whereas your nose is square, so there would be a bit of a mismatch there. At the back, the wheel arches are almost 2 inches wider (each side). It would probably be feasible with a little work to fit the rear bumper but I think it would be necessary to replace the front end (from the door pillars forward) to make the bumper visually work.
The NACA ventilation ducts have been completed and installed. A fair amount of detail work has been completed also, pics to follow. Image Unavailable, Please Login
No real progress to report over the Christmas and New Year period as I had a long overdue holiday in Australia. I have however bought another Mondial (1984 QV Cabriolet) just to mess around with. I haven't decided yet whether to put the Z body on this one as well. If I don't I will definitely create some replacement front & rear bumpers as I don't like the black ones at all. The style would be more modern with a recognisable Ferrari "face"and I would incorporate side light, indicator and driving/flasher lamps in the front bumper. These bumpers will be direct replacements and obviously can be reversed to original if desired. If anyone is interested in new GRP bumpers then please let me know (this may influence me to do it). The price will be sensible.
