Cutting holes in the body

[BugMan]

Ok team, after some advice as I have the holes to cut in the shell for various bits like the filler cap, exhaust, seat belt mountings etc.

Any suggestions on the best way to make sure things line up, as cutting the shell scares the willies out of me?

The actual cutting I think I have a good approach for either with cone drills/step cutters for small'ish holes or centre point drill and then 360Deg cutter blade followed by Dremel work to finish up.

Any advice welcomed ad getting this wrong would obviously be a disaster.

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

I established some datums from the bulkhead and worked from there. Did it with the body fitted,, started by drilling small holes to check they were centred, then opened up from there. You can "move" the holes quite accurately by careful use of a Dremel, as you work up to the final size. From my experience, do not drill any holes in the rear panel, until you have got it set at final height/level (by eye!), it's disconcerting how it never seems to come back to the same position twice!!!

Just think things through, take your time, start small and open up to suit, you'll be fine.

 

[David Oxfordshire]

Use some blue masking tape or similar in areas where your dremeling to protect the other parts of the bodywork. Very easy to become complacent when things are going well, slip, then shout very loud profanities 

I luckily got away with my one slip as it was in the boot box....learnt my lesson!

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

14 minutes ago, David_Thame said:

Use some blue masking tape or similar in areas where your dremeling to protect the other parts of the bodywork. Very easy to become complacent when things are going well, slip, then shout very loud profanities 

I luckily got away with my one slip as it was in the boot box....learnt my lesson!

Just don't put the tape on the area to be cut, with a view to cutting it as well as the fibreglass as it can cause snags etc. I prefer green frog tape to masking tape as it can stay on longer without drying and leaving adhesive to remove etc.

 

[BugMan]

Thanks team, much appreciated

 

[Davemk1]

I found that the two big scary holes were the ones for the exhaust and the gas tank filler neck. I thought about them for a very long time and wondered the best way to get the hole in exactly the right place.

I then put the body in place without holes and realized that it was pretty darn simple. In fact I didn't measure anything. With the body in place I put the headers onto the engine and they came just shy of the inner surface of the bodywork. I traced the headers to the inside of the bodywork, removed the headers and cut the hole. The same thing was true for the gas tank filler neck.....trace the neck onto the inner surface and make the hole.

I hope yours is as simple.

dave

[Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO]

I do this sort of thing at work. 

Measure, mark it out, measure again, and again, cut smaller than you think, you can always open it up, much more difficult to put it back on, but not impossible. I cut my boot box wrong but put the bit back in and I'm sure most people wouldn't even notice it. 

In the end, you've just got to bite the bullet and do it! 

[Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO]

This is the bit I cut wrong. It will be under the boot lid so not noticeable.