Ha wondered why you was so quiet recently.
Yeah the focus st needed a bit of help with a few things. If you know the mk2 focus, it has a stupid bonnet release system they the grill badge. Mine broke 9yrs ago and have been using a modded long screwdriver. While doing the headlight shining , I had a thought to use a 1/4 socket uni joint and extension to the badge and make a tab at the front to twist the rod that opens the latch . Way better than the plastic Ford part they supply.

The bulkhead mold was propped up to simulate how it'll rest in the car , the actual fglass part once made will have a slight flex so it should fit fine , and after heat from engine compartment it'll settle down to fit nicely.

Working on the bulkhead cover today, I decided to mold up the return front edge as factory ones are so it was a quick hot mix of gelcoat and just after lunch I glassed a couple of layers on , being a nice day it was set in about 2hrs so I had a grand plan to start pulling the original cover out of the mold. First the good part, the mold came up great as these pics show

This is the return edge piece bolted up.


And now the bad, but not that bad , this is the remains of the original cover, I couldn't get it out in 1 pce...

Whelp looks like the person who supplied the original cover is getting a nice shiny fiberglass one !
 
The positive is mold looks fricken great though!

Yeah, the guy who donated the cover was expecting it to not come back in one piece.
I did do some cut n polish to the mold today mainly to get rid of the scratches caused by the wedges that part the item. After the buff and polish I hit it with carnauba honey wax a few times to make sure it's fully covered then it got a coat of mold release agent


Next is apply a generous layer of black gel coat


It will be glassed up tomorrow and let cure for a day before removing it .

This is absolutely awesome, I can't wait to see how it comes out Marty.

Same !!

I'll make sure it's going to fit as the factory item does. You can see that I have kept the return edge that goes under the bulkhead panel seam. I might shrink it back so it'll fit better, this first cover will be the test rig for the rest there after.. can't wait !

A bit more on the bulkhead cover today, I did get it glassed up and took about 4hrs, slightly longer than I thought , as this is a test pilot part being first off until satisfied with fitment and how strong it'll be. Speaking of which I seen the UK ones and look like you can park a LandRover on them, very unnecessary as it's not a load bearing item. My plan is to have them solid enough but still flex a little of needed..

I'll test this one on my unmolested car just to make sure it's all good.
Had a cup of resin left over so finished off making the 6 dial mk1 dash fascia mold, this is mainly for my project which I'll show later on in the build

My car won't be running stock dials but I want it to be close though not race inspired and the dials can be hooked up with the ECU if required.
On a side job, I've had a go at plastic welding of a grill for my ute, it had a crunch on the corner deforming the shape, that was adjusted with the heat gun and the little plastic weld staple gun did pretty good , it's holding up good .

Removed the part yesterday and trimmed off the excess today, took it over to the rally pack to test fit and was a bit out of wack. Got a plan so cunnig as Baldrick would say, I got the heat gun out to get the localized area warm to hot and flex it to the right place, needed to do this a few times before it could fit and then heated it up one last time so it can relax in the right position.

There's 6mm bolts holding it down where the hinge plates are.
I will most likely make another mold and keep this for backup as it'll take longer to cut and shut the mold while keeping it smooth.

The panel clamp is too keep things in check and I know It'll spring back a little. I'll try it on my original 1300xl mk2 soon

Reckon if it's painted in semi gloss, not satin it'll be hard to tell the difference from original.

Look at the ingenuity! It looks great and you're right, once it's painted in semi* you would never know unless you were told!

So if I understand correct you'll make another mold off of this part once you have it sitting nice using the heat gun and a bit of persuasion? Seems like a solid plan.

I'll continue to tweak it until it rests on the bulkhead by itself.
Yes correct , this will become the plug for the new improved mold. If you look close there's a gap at the hinge plates which I want to fix and a small adjustment at the heater bubble but at the end of the day it's gotta be right and I won't be rushing this one..
Just did a quick damp rag and it looks pretty good