Bradley GT (kitcar) body

frizzen · #1 02-10-2003, 12:08 AM

I just started working on this last week. It's a Bradley GT. The pics aren't great, but it's still rough. I'm going to make updates as I progress.

http://www.angelfire.com/in2/jeremyboyle/bodies.html

I've got a guy in a car club I'm in who can have some plastics place run off bodies until the plug gets too bad to use. I might be kinda getting screwed on this one, but I just want a few of the body I'm making.

Once I do this Bit Char-G body, I'm going to try a 1/10 scale.

MTL · #2 02-10-2003, 01:07 AM

piece of wood for a body huh...wonder how the end result will look
how smooth can it get?? or would u have to putty and sand it to make a flat surface?

and can u show a pic of the actual car u are making, cuz i have no idea how it looks

binaryterror · #3 02-10-2003, 06:01 AM

Wood was commonly used as a vacuum form tool a while back, now they typically only use clay and or aluminum molds. However a place my work uses still like wood based molds for small runs ~500 or less. They told me that as long as the vacuum former is good and careful wood ones can make ~5000 total.

**EDIT** You might have clearance problems with the hood sloping down so fast.

Spanky · #4 02-10-2003, 09:50 AM

ive used pine befor, infact ive used balsa wood. works just fine. as for those clearance issues, ive found that the best thing to do is to make the car 2x as tall as you think it should be, this way you will be able to cut it to the correct height and it will allow you more material to play with when mounting it. so basically just extending the base... i have also used bondo. this also works good, just make sure you have it to where you want it. i found its easiest to find imperfections if i sprayed a very light layer of whte or gray paint... helps me smooth it out a bit more.. what thickness plastic were you thinking about using?

frizzen · #5 02-11-2003, 02:31 PM

Here's what the real car looks like: http://www.bradleygt.com/

I'm making the plug out of Oak, with the grain oriented horizontally to the body. With all the work I've done building models, making stuff out of wood, and doing work on real cars; as long as I'm careful, I can get it more than smooth enough!

I *should* be cool on clearance for front end, the sills, and mounting tabs; but, I won't know until I drape some softened plastic over it.

I think I'm gonna make the one I send to the guy out of bondo if this wooden one is a little off.

Spanky · #6 02-11-2003, 04:00 PM

yea i thought i had the clearance thing kicked too, but i decided to add more to the bottom.. this way you can cut it lower to the ground and give it that lowered look a lot easier, plus you are giving yourself more mounting space. personally i think it should be mounted as low as you can get it.. o well. sounds good. good luck. post some more pics if you get a chance