Just a small amount of panel beating today to get the guard in a usable position, I still need to weld rods on the inside once I know it's final resting place. The rods are to reduce any flex in the guard while I take a mold from it, but there's some repairs needed to the inner wing mount strap first as pics show here..

Used the template to mark up the chop so the twink arch can be installed, I think I'll hold back in this bit till the rods/frame is properly in.


But this is the arch clamped in place, that are fglass but the amount of steel I keep for sticking them on makes the arch very strong once glued on

Looking at the guard from the front , I've removed what's left of the mounting strap and made sure it was the correct height measured from an original one.

This pic is the new mounting strap with a return edge to be plug welded to the guard. Using a stretcher shrinker to get the curve correct.. And to make Deano happy I used gasless MIG lol, had the settings set right down low and it actually works quite well !

Here it is welded to the guard , yes I know it's plenty wide, this is for the fibreglass mold and will make a stronger part which can be trimmed back as necessary

I hope to be adding the strengthening rod supports tomorrow so the guard won't change shape while being fglassed . This pic shows how rusty the guard is and the reason is being a mule for a mold


Marking up the arch to be cut and folded to accept the twink flare.. the top line is where the arch will sit and the one below is the fold line , there till be a full post on this later on..

GBT - Glass beading tech? I was there the other week and their work is great, im thinking of taking a heap of the 60s bumper stuff there.

Close enough Robbie..Grit blasting technologies, 👍. Yeah mate do it, I'll be taking the kit car chassis there next year to be blasted and coated. Also if you pay in cash you get a slight discount but be upfront at the start..

Today was a big step forward with the guard, first off the tin snips came out to cut tabs into the guard so it's ready for shaping

Next is to fold the tabs up in a way that replicates the fglass arch, this takes some time to get right , the key is to copy the shape

Lots of offer ups to check it's fit

This is from under the guard

Once happy and reckon it'll mount nice and it's time to screw it on, making sure the screw gets to the centre of the tab, tek screws are ideal but I pre drill the holes to reduce any movement

Here's the rods from a piece of concrete Reo, it looks a mess, it is a mess but it stopped the guard from flexing..

Back to the twink arch, once it's removed it's time to make the slops, polyester resin +hardener with talc added to thicken it up to an icing sugar texture, not too wet and not dry

Grab a auto body applicator and flood the arch

Now there is a time window here to get everything done, it's about 5min before the resin starts to harden so it's get the screws and drill at hand then apply the arch and screw it to the guard but not tight as this causes low spots

Once it's all screwed down, check the edge and add more resin to fill any gaps and clean up the underside as good as possible

Wait a day for it to set hard enough to remove the screws then sand and filler as needed to blend in

Those arches are coming up a treat, there is something really nice about subtle arch modifications paired with great wheel fitment. Five minutes isn't a long time to get everything down considering you have to lay it on, position the arch, then nip it on. Would have needed a stress beer afterwards .

Had a few stress beers after that !!

Today was a square the door up and attempt to push it forward a smidge, out came the pipe wrench to lever the top hinge forward a tiny bit, it was about 1mm which equates to 3mm at the top rear door. Next was to flex the door to match up with the rear panel, the bottom back was poking out so I placed a wooden block at the top and pushed the bottom in to twist the doors frame to line up , did this a few times to get it as good as Ford intended. Removed the door for later on.

Next was to start body filler on the guard and blend in the arch

After about 5hrs of sanding and reloading filler and more sanding, it's just about there hoping to get some primer on it tomorrow, even if it's not 100% it'll give a guide to where more work is needed..

Keeping the sharp edges for now so I can tell if I've over sanded or not enough, rounding the edges is last to be done

Off to watch the firecrackers tonite, yeehee !!

Looking good.