Building an R1 Powered Seven: Lots of sanding, but no beach

Building an R1 Powered Seven

A few years ago I got it in my head to build a kit car. After months of searching I came across the Locost concept. In short, quite a few amateur hobbiests around the world have built their own Lotus 7 inspired cars from scratch, following plans available on a variety of Internet sites and published in a book by Ron Champion.

I started gathering parts and finally began building the chassis in July '05. In August '10 the car was titled, licensed and is now street legal. The following blog captures the progress of the build and driving experiences after completion.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Lots of sanding, but no beach

It didn't take long to remember how much I dislike bodywork. Lots of dust, raw finger tips, uncomfortable masks... good thing there isn't much bodywork on a Seven.

I got the worst of the nosecone done, just need to fill in a few imperfections then prime again and paint.
The rear fenders have some waves. Looks like they were removed from the mold before completely curing. I sanded some of the waves out, but not sure if I can completely get rid of them without breaking thru the gel coat. May have to use some body filler, but would really like to avoid that.