The Lotus Grand Tourers

cont-

Material costs were low (about £12 in all) but the time spent was considerable- I had a lot of free time then so didn't mind but from a practical point of view these probably couldn't be reproduced from a single mould- there is probably too much variation in the dimensions of the bodies to allow this. the best way for owners to do this would be to persuade Matt Debbage to remove the trims from his car and apply a couple of coats of grp release agent to the trimmed surfaces (I assure him it won't damage them as it peels off like cling film). Then using these as templates build up the thickness to make them rigid then using release agent again paint the inside of the moulds with at least two coats then laminate as many as needed. They'd still need a fair bit of finishing. If owners didn't want them trimmed they could (don't laugh) be sprayed to professional standards with something like wrinkle finish paint. They'd certainly be better than the way Lotus originally trimmed them.

Anybody wants any advice either contact via the forum or ring me on 0151 480 8400

John

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply John. Unfortunately some of what you say needs to be done is a bit beyond my level of competence. I could probably make some, but I'd be struggling to make them that good I think. Not only that, with a full time job and 2.5 year old daughter it would literally take me a month of Sundays

Thanks again for taking the trouble to reply

Shaun

mine appear to be glued on with contact adhesive. I presume the window out job would be to (re) stitch the leather to the dash? Mine have already shrunk and pulled the stitching away. I'm tempted to cover the polystyrene the leather is wrapped around with headlining material. Perhaps the annoyance for me is that my headlining is in good condition, but I fear if I buy some new material to do the a pillars it will be obviously of a different colour.

Im happy to remove the trims off my car, and get a mould made, but it would have to be someone local as im not trusting the post or a courier to deliver them intact......
Being as how i live in the broads, there must be someone local to me (boat builder?) who could take a mould from my trims and make some more in fibreglass? If i could get this done, would people be happy to do the finishing off of rough edges, and then cover / paint them to suit their own vehicles?
If so - how many people would want a set, and how much would you be prepared to pay? Im NOT after a profit, but there is no point in wasting someones time getting them to make me a mould etc if the cost of the finished article is way above what everyone wants to pay....
So can i have:
Names of people who would probably want a set (not a firm commitment, just want an idea..)
Max amount you would be prepared to pay - this would be for a pair, rough moulded, needing final finishing etc...
If its worth doing, i will look into it.
Matt.

MattDebbage wrote:Im happy to remove the trims off my car, and get a mould made, but it would have to be someone local as im not trusting the post or a courier to deliver them intact......
Being as how i live in the broads, there must be someone local to me (boat builder?) who could take a mould from my trims and make some more in fibreglass? If i could get this done, would people be happy to do the finishing off of rough edges, and then cover / paint them to suit their own vehicles?
If so - how many people would want a set, and how much would you be prepared to pay? Im NOT after a profit, but there is no point in wasting someones time getting them to make me a mould etc if the cost of the finished article is way above what everyone wants to pay....
So can i have:
Names of people who would probably want a set (not a firm commitment, just want an idea..)
Max amount you would be prepared to pay - this would be for a pair, rough moulded, needing final finishing etc...
If its worth doing, i will look into it.
Matt.

Have you thought about letting Mike Taylor know about them and see if he would be interested in producing them on a
commercial basis??

I would certainly be interested, with regards to price.........don't really know.......£30 each???

Count me in Matt With regard to price, probably up to 100.00 for the pair? Any more than that would have me wincing I think.

Regards

Shaun

Quick update on this.
ive removed one of the trims from my car, and been to see a couple of local boat builders.
Yes, they can make them..... But the quantities are too low for them to really want to get involved. If it was 10 sets or so then not a problem, but just 2 means its just not worth it. Not at a sensible price anyway.
Not given up yet though - i may have a go at taking a mould and laying some up myself?

Hi there, Put me down for a pair as well. Prepared to pay 100 Pound max.
Thanks and regards
Ken

Might be interested too but £100 may be too much at present
Trying to think of a way of doing something similar to the dash, not the whole dash just the first 25 to 30mm against the screen where the leather has shrunk

Matt has sold his car now, don't think the new owner has popped up here yet.

Just an idea here guys, has anybody contacted the parts department at Hethel? I presume that the leather is attached to a former so in view of a factory visit I made about 18 months ago, when I was told that all the moulds for an Excel were still in store, it maybe that they could supply some. I got chatting with a guy about Excels in general and he said that it would be possible to make a complete new body! Don't remember his name but he was the production manager at the time.
Not that I need a new body but it would be curious to know just how much they would charge for a complete body! maybe we could start making 2012 m.y. Excels!! The chassis are still available as far as I'm aware. Yes, just dreaming!
John