Horney's 'James Shead' 1988 BTCC Golf GTI replica build.

[Horney]

Nick, are you planning on spraying the inside of the shell?

Thom

Yup, inside and out at the same time.

i take it you is sprayin before bondin?

Bonding before spraying.

[archie837]

Nice, looks like a good fit!

Needs a nice aftermarket glass sunroof now 

  ragtop needed

[Horney]

Nice, looks like a good fit!

Needs a nice aftermarket glass sunroof now 

  ragtop needed

When me and Marcus cut the roof skin out it did occur to me a MKII with a full length fabric roof would be awesome.

Nick

[Thom89]

Just a suggestion... at this stage, I would prime the interior first, prime the Roll cage separately, prime the roof panel off the car!
Fit roll cage, after grinding off primer where its to be welded, weld in roll cage, fabricate filler plates to anchor the "A" and "B" posts to the roll cage (Essential)
Seam weld all joints on the "Cant rail" and look at putting in some supports tied into the rear pillars up to the "Cant rail" or some sort of hoop that goes from the rear strut tops, to the roof, tied in to the "B post' hoop, this would retrieve the strength that has been lost
I would then paint interior, and roof separately, roof can be bonded on after with Airbag compliant windscreen sealer, around the fitting edges, assuming that all joints are hidden under the screen rubber etc...
Car should be sitting on level ground, and on its wheels, with the doors fitted, to check alignment  before welding in the cage takes place, NO AXLE STANDS!
Transverse roof panel supports should only be bonded after the car has been built up! dimples may appear!

Thom

[Horney]

Just a suggestion... at this stage, I would prime the interior first, prime the Roll cage separately, prime the roof panel off the car!
Fit roll cage, after grinding off primer where its to be welded, weld in roll cage, fabricate filler plates to anchor the "A" and "B" posts to the roll cage (Essential)
Seam weld all joints on the "Cant rail" and look at putting in some supports tied into the rear pillars up to the "Cant rail" or some sort of hoop that goes from the rear strut tops, to the roof, tied in to the "B post' hoop, this would retrieve the strength that has been lost
I would then paint interior, and roof separately, roof can be bonded on after with Airbag compliant windscreen sealer, around the fitting edges, assuming that all joints are hidden under the screen rubber etc...
Car should be sitting on level ground, and on its wheels, with the doors fitted, to check alignment  before welding in the cage takes place, NO AXLE STANDS!
Transverse roof panel supports should only be bonded after the car has been built up! dimples may appear!

Thom

Thanks for that mate, I was going to order the Dinatrol windscreen bonder that comes with all the etch primer etc. You rekon that ones good?

The cage is a bolt in and will be bolted so I think the best bet is this order? :

Primer Everything
Spray cage satin black
Bolt cage in
Bond on roof
skim fill where roof meets the pillars and around the boot opening
Mask up cage
Top coat
rehang doors and boot
Put (plastic except windscreen) back in
Stand back and admire

Car will be on it's wheel the whole time as I'm not touching the underside.

Nick

[Thom89]

Nick, that adhesive is fine...
Bolting the roll cage to the floor is not good enough I'm afraid, especially on a shell that's had the roof removed, as long as the feet are welded, and fillets put in, the rest can be bolted... Not ideal, but sufficient

Thom

[Diamond Hell]

Fit roll cage, after grinding off primer where its to be welded, weld in roll cage, fabricate filler plates to anchor the "A" and "B" posts to the roll cage (Essential)

I'd be a touch careful with doing this at all - if the cage is certified and you want to use the car in competition (circuit racing frinstance) then you're not suppose to alter the cage from its certified format.

Mine ain't tied to the B-posts, only the A-posts.

[Thom89]

Welding and bracing will not be a problem with the scrutieers, however, they may take a dim view that it has a GRP roof should they spot it!... Grey area

Thom

[Horney]

Hummmmm interesting reading. I'm not sure I've lost any real rigidity in the shell by removing the center of the roof skin. It still has the horizontal cross members in place as well. I've jacked it up and moved it about a couple of times and it doesn't seem more floppy in that highly scientific test.

GRP roof skin shouldn't be a problem with scrutineering in general as Plenty of GRP cars and sportscars run GRP roofs. My main problem will be classes in hillclimbing etc as it is will likely bump me up into the top class but Meh, it's not like I'm good enough to win anything I just want to have fun.

Nick

[Diamond Hell]

Welding and bracing will not be a problem with the scrutieers

Blue Book 2013 says:

Any modification to a homologated ROPS (other than fitment of doorbars) is prohibited.

Isn't a 6-point bolt-in cage homologated in its unaltered form, for installation without alteration?

Relevant details here:

http://www.msauk.org/uploadedfiles/msa_forms/bluebooks/13/151_189_Common_Regulations_for_Competitors_%28Safety%29_%28K%29.pdf

Dunno where it says about roof material, but I'd guess it'd be outside the GTI Championship regs (although I appreciate Nick isn't going for that).