The Lotus Grand Tourers

My car has a crack running vertically from the high point of the wheel arch all the way to the bonnet shut corner

Thought it may have been a partial nose replacement badly done, but upon digging into it, apparently it is just the effect of some bump or another.
In order to repair it 'correctly' it must be addressed from the back side, which does not seem possible, as the inner wheel arch is bonded in.
We went ahead and did our best from the outside, as I felt cutting up the car not worth it if the damage had been so minor. I have a fair bit of experience with fiberglass repair, and usually if the damage is not repeated, careful laying in of thin glass is sufficient.

Well it came right back

I noticed this same crack on a recently advertised car[the green over green Eclat] so I feel this must be a common ailment, perhaps result of a long nose not as well supported as it might be.


Anyone care to share how they approached a similar repair?

I can't quite picture it - do you have any photos?

Pete

https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/58283177- ... d=1&pid=75

Car I mentioned in the OP, same crack

almost last pics in the gallery

https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2022/ ... ed472d.jpg

I'd say that is a poorly fitted repair panel. The shut line for the bonnet looks poor also.

Tony

Just gone through the full pictures. Both front wings are the same, so looks like a full front repair section has been fitted to this car.
Nice looking car on the outside, but I could live with the lime green Kermit vomit on the inside. Urhhhh
Tony

Well, it isn't on mine, the pics are just for reference as I haven't one handy for my car. No evidence of a replacement nose.

The point being, is there some way to get to the backside of the panel that I have not thought of yet. Not anxious to cut a hole in the wheel well to get to the back

There is access from the light pod, but it would be tricky to get fibreglass in there - at the narrowest point there's probably only about 10mm of space between the two inside surfaces.

Edited to say I'd be inclined to sand the fiberglass down to a feathered edge at the crack and repair it with woven cloth and epoxy resin. The epoxy resin apparently adheres better to the existing fiberglass. I had a crack and accident damage in that area on my car, my repair extended quite far.....

Neil.

Here is picture of the inside of the front wing:

Yellow arrow is the mounting point for the bonnet hinge
Green line is the wheel arch
Red line is the concave section on the top of the wing.



Neil

thanks that is helpful

How about preparing a thick-ish repair panel that has the correct contours for the underside and maybe 6" to 10" long and bonding it in place with an epoxy adhesive? You can get to the front and rear end of that central area as seen in Neil's photo so you'd be able to press and hold it into place OK. You could then repeat the repair on the surface but it would have 3/16" (or more) of fibreglass below it already.

Pete

Pete Boole wrote: Mon May 09, 2022 19:09 How about preparing a thick-ish repair panel that has the correct contours for the underside and maybe 6" to 10" long and bonding it in place with an epoxy adhesive? You can get to the front and rear end of that central area as seen in Neil's photo so you'd be able to press and hold it into place OK. You could then repeat the repair on the surface but it would have 3/16" (or more) of fibreglass below it already.

Pete

As long as I can get in there to clean and get resin and glass in, I will be pretty happy with that. I may use a rod or tube as a backer.

There is a board that would have to be removed for access from the front - it is siliconed in place and is quite soft, but once removed will give access - you will need to get around all the wiring in that area as well though. Cleaning that area isn't going to be much fun with the access you will have - you may need double jointed arms!

The Epoxy resin is a stronger system than what is there already.

Neil.