956 front clip progress

I built up the body contours below the headlights with thin styrene sheet and a quick coat of primer. I also opened up a hatch for engine access, mainly to allow the chassis to sit properly -- previously it was getting hung up on the tops of the coil-overs. At some point this will need to be sorted out, but meanwhile the stance is excellent.

The primer shows up the sloppy filler which is due to The Granddaughter appearing unexpectedly at the door just as I was spooning it on. (Yes, yes, she was with Mom and Pop, they don't let her out on her own yet, she's only 18. Months, that is.) So of course I dropped everything, closing the workshop door to keep her away from the knives and chemicals. Some sanding and cleanup will be needed as a result, at least to get it to my usual level of perfection (which is somewhere cleaner than 'rat rod' but nowhere near 'concours'). 



The 956 Pickup gets a new front clip

Rather than deal with the finicky little details on the Lotus Europa, like windows, headlights and door handles, that can ruin weeks of effort, I decided to figure out how to build up front fenders for the 956 Pickup, given the extreme differences in track between the 956 and the Type 2. Then I remembered the orphan 935 body, and concluded that the 935 front clip might be just right.

So out came the saw. Next, some measurements showed the 935 is a bit narrower than the width necessary to cover the tires on the 956 (about 6 mm at scale), so I carved out a hole 6 mm narrower in the 935 clip, then cut the clip in half.

Later I'll splice in some styrene to fill the gap in the front once both sides are a good fit. It's all looking pretty good if I do say so myself ... the clip even parallels the curve of the body molding on the upper part of the door as it drops to the front. Some filing and shaping remain, to get the clip to fit better, and to carve out round holes for the VW headlights which are now partially hidden. I'll worry about minor details like doors later.

I've always wondered why you would put an air dam and aero sills on a mini-van, but in this case I think it's justified by the 600+ bhp motor lurking under the deck. On the other hand it is looking less and less like a Type 2 ...