906-127
August 3, 2004

Last week and this weekend, I finished the mold for the firewall.
The final coat of paint on this plug is gray primer.

After waxing the plug, I shot it with black tooling gel coat.
Then I applied eight layers of mat to make the mold.

When the mold is finished, I remove the plug and put four coats of mold release wax on it.
I then spray on a coat of duratech, which becomes the surface of the part.

I want the firewall light, like original, so it gets two 3/4 ounce mat and one fine weave German cloth.

The part is removed, then trimmed and fits perfectly in the cockpit.

I leave the rear window closed because it keeps the structure stronger.
After the part is installed, I will cut the hole for the window.

The inside panels have been fit for months, but now I am installing them. The procedure is to sand the duratech with 220 grit paper (easier when the part is outside the car). The part is sanded so the gray paint will stick better. This was not done by Porsche in the early days. The edges of all the panels are roughed up with 36 grit. This enables a better bonding of the mat straps.

The inside of the floor also needs to be sanded, so the edges are masked off with tape. This is done so the scratch marks don't go beyond the fiberglass strap. This was not done at Porsche so as a result, most of the original race cars have long since de-laminated in these areas.

Here I am sanding the edges with 36 grit paper. The picture shows that I have already removed the tape. It is just a simulation because you can see that it's already sanded.

Every seam needs the same procedure. The picture on the left is looking down at the kick panels between the pedals and the front trunk.

We use any means to accomplish the desired results. Here I am placing wood stays to keep the panels compressed against the chassis. I will use cabosil behind the panel to keep it in place. When it's cured, I will remove the stays and place the glass straps.

To get this done in a hurry, you need lots of sticks. You can do this without the sticks, but your panels will be wavy and most the time won't bond to anything. Porsche may not have used wood this big, but I guarantee they used something to hold these panels against the chassis tubes.

Now that the cockpit is glued together (no straps yet), I place the body on to start its final fit.

We are getting close to fit the inner wheel wells. Remember, before the wheel wells go in, the headlight buckets need to be glued in. She is looking like a car now!

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