ferny Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 When I went to Honeybourne today I asked him if he'd be interested in doing some fibreglass doors for Herald and Vitesse. He would, but would need some good doors to make the mould from and he made a comment about people possibly complaining they don't fit as a result of their car being tinkered with in the past. I guess as our cars are made of Meccano it's a bigger issue than on say a Spitfire! Before anything could possibly be done there would need to be enough people interested. On a personal note I want them as they won't rust and someone has kindly driven into my door a couple of times so it's knackered. I can't vouch for their quality as such as I'm not making them, they'll obviously require tidying up and maybe trimming to suit your specific car but the beauty of fibreglass is that it's easy to do. I think we'd be looking at needing six people needing two doors each to make it worth while. So, out of interested, who'd be interested? I just want to see if it's something worth exploring a little more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 ferny wrote:he made a comment about people possibly complaining they don't fit as a result of their car being tinkered with in the past. I'm not a big fan of fibreglass panels, but he's absolutely right about the doors being blamed for poor body alignment. The kick-out at the B-post is invariably down to the tub sagging and spreading, but the doors are always the first target for the inexperienced fixer-upper,Cheers,Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69vitesse Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Its going to need a fairly substantial steel frame. There is a surprising amount of flexing going on in those doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hammond Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I have driven a Herald or Vitesse with the doors removed and you'd be amazed how much it all moves about…..Mark :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69vitesse Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Take car jack, put under nearside rear of Vitesse convertible, forget to close door and jack up car... Scary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Too true, anyone who claims the roof adds no strength to a Herald or Vitesse saloon has never tried this. Cheers,Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 Yep, driven with the doors off and seeing as my seatbelts are from a TR and only good for restricting your right arm if you choose to use them it was rather disconcerting! I understand your comments, but I don't have the fear you do over door flex. I've driven on dirt roads with holes so deep the sills left marks in the dust and I don't exactly drive gently. I also found having the roof up on an autosolo makes the car feel more solid. At no point have I ever had any witness marks on the doors or their catches to suggest the tub is coming into contact with the door. Drive a convertible on a bumpy road and look at how much the b-post jumps up above the door - but it's not touching it. Same goes for jacking the car. My door gets stiff, but still opens and closes. If I were do put it in a position where one wheel is 8" off the ground whilst driving I'd consider buying a 4x4... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69vitesse Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 The issue of flex is more to do with the fibreglass, it don't like flexing and will rapidly delaminate and break up unless a very substantial steel structure is bonded into the door.Fibregass is fine for non structural, see bonnet, but less than ideal where it is replacing a part that provides some of tge structural strength and rigidity - see the anti burst catch on convertible doors that 'lock' the door rigidly into the pillar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 But it is very light, if that is what you want.Silverback's doors were 5kgs, with the handles, locks and hinges. I'd be interested to know what Honeybourne's weigh if they get made.My doors never delaminated, at least, not until they were torn off the car.I still have the moulds, but I suspect that remade in the style I used - no windows, sealed top, cable pull internal lock release - they might not appeal for general use.John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69vitesse Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Yes John, but your doors did not have to deal with potholed roads or speed humps.The roads round my way are now so beat up after a couple of winters of flooding, they killed the drop links on my 4x4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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