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Making 1966 E-type coupe (I hope)


1Coroner

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I'm planning on modding the Monogram 1/8 E-type to match the car I owned in the 1970,s.  Well, here we go.  My styrene sheet is on the way so it's time to start hacking into the bulkhead.  The arrows point to the molded wiper motor, heater flow valve, a cover panel and what is supposed to represent a bonnet latch that I'll remove.  I'll need to make a pocket for the wiper motor that I will build from scratch.  The solid lines show where the footwells need to be modified.  Will need to fabricate the rear engine stabilizer bracket as well.  Should keep me busy for a while!

 

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So I started dry-fitting some of the parts that make the under bonnet structures to see how accurate they are.  Subframe supports 116 & 117, spacebar 118 and brace  (for the radiator) 148 make up what the Jaguar parts book calls the "subframe".
Part 44 and frame 46 make what Jag calls the "picture frame".  37 & 38 frame sides and 159 & 160 subframe braces make each "side member".  The kit does not have a couple of the diagonal subframe braces.  I expected to have to remake some of these structures, but I didn't realize how far off they are.
  I purchased a used Series 1 shop manual because I knew that it has a very good diagram of the front structures in the collision repair section.  I copied it and blew it up by 2.9 to get and accurate under-lay for the kit parts.  As you can see in the top-down image, the kit is WAY off.  It place the bonnet hinges too far apart and too far forward.
  Similarly, in the side-view images, if I set the frame side up against the bulkhead  toe panel, the front engine mount and interface with the picture frame are too far forward.  If I line it up with the picture frame and engine mount it "crashes" through the bulkhead toe panel.
  So I thought maybe the kit isn't really 1/8 scale?  Using the owner's manual diagram of the overall vehicle dimensions, it turns out to be quite accurate in that regard.
  What to do?  I never planned use the 4 goofy pins that the kit uses to mount the engine, so I had always planned to remake that part of the side members.  I don't want to remake the toe box parts of the bulkhead, so I am going to have to compromise a bit on accuracy.  I need to step back a bit and have a deep think!spacer.pngspacer.pngspacer.png

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I dry-fitted the front subframe to the bonnet "hinges" and placed a side frame in place to see how everything fit.  The side frame was a perfect fit between the "picture frame" and the bulkhead toe panels so that lets me know that I can use it as a guide when I remake the side frames.  Monogram/Revell just placed the bonnet pivot ahead of where it really is in the actual car, hence the alterations in the front subframe that I showed last time.  I'm going to live with it.  I also started reworking the bulkhead.  I've started to create the sunk-in features and relocated the screen wiper motor pocket which was in the wrong place.  I still have to make the cruciform features on the toe kick panels and do some bondo work.

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You can't tell too well in the right-hand image, but the plastic is not just out of focus.  I was watching a youtube channel that I like and the host showed a special weighted holder for the Tamiya extra-thin cement.  I thought "what idiot would be clumsy enough to knock over and spill half a bottle of glue on his model?"  Well ...... now you know one.  Recoverable, but stupid just the same.

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Added the cruciform stiffeners and the recessed stiffeners in the bulkhead.  Softened the edges with automotive body filler and lots of work with riffler files and sanding sticks.  The brass bristle brush is great for keeping the files clean.  My car had ribs on the sump so I added them using model railroad corrugated siding from evergreen.  Once the sump is all the same color  I think it will look pretty convincing.spacer.pngspacer.png

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I have a couple of thin steel plates and a huge selection of magnets which come in handy to fixture the E-type tub/bulkhead assembly.  I temporarily assembled the kit parts to ascertain the correct location for the "picture frame" (part 44) and the "engine mounting posts" (part 36).  I'm thinking about using a balsa block the fixture the mounting posts and clampingspacer.png everything with more magnets.  I'll also add small plastic pegs where each of the square and round tubes land on the bulkhead and picture frame for extra strength and to keep the parts in register when I apply the cement.

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Not sure about hobbyphotohost, but with flickr you generate a bb code, copy that and you can paste it into your post. If you end the paragraph before putting in the code for the image it should go in a new line.

 

Hope that works with your photo host too.

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  • 1 month later...

Back working on the E-type.  I made the balsa fixture to hold the engine mounting posts and then, with square and round stock, made the subframe stringers.  Next I need to make the gusset plates and add the tiny bolts and capscrews.

 

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Added the torsion bar anchor plates and motor mount plates.  I'm experimenting with spru-goo to fill in the gaps between the subframe stringers and gusset plates and make it look like weld beads.  I'm scratch building a steering rack since the kit never had one.

 

 

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Added the front motor mount brackets, crankshaft cross-drill plugs and remade the distributor mount which was too low and at the wrong angle.  Added the flywheel baffle plate in the bell housing and the oil pan drain plug.

 

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Following this with great interest!  Given the level of detail you are adding, are you also going to tweak the front end?  The general headlight area isn't quite right - the shape of the bezels is wrong, but there is also too big a gap between the bumper and the light bezel.  I haven't got this far on my one, so haven't yet identified the best way to rectify it - e.g whether the problem is only the bezels (& thus whether reshaping them will solve everything), or whether the bumper & headlights actually need to be moved closer together.

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