Facotry Five Roadster Build Part 16 - Project Snake Charmer Gets Primered

The final door fit now looks great, and our 3/16-inch drill-bit measuring tool shows an exact body opening.

This is the type of uniform body opening that gets noticed at a show.

In our last installment, we briefly mentioned the Roadster's body seams. While Roeder and Kester quickly ground down the rough, exposed parting line from the body, the seam underneath that rough parting line has to be inspected for bare gelcoat and pinholes. These areas need to be ground out and filled with 3M High Strength Repair Filler (PN 46014). This is a vinyl-ester formula with similar properties to the FFR body, making it a perfect match for filling deep voids and pinholes.

After Roeder grinds out the gelcoat from the seam using a die grinder with a cutting bit, the 3M HSRF is mixed according to instructions and applied to the body seams to fill the ground areas and pinholes. After the product has had time to set up, he knocked it down with a 36-grit disc on an 8-inch random orbit sander. Be sure to use only the 3M product for filling the body seams, as it dries very hard, making it difficult to use for body shaping.

After the 3M HSRF had been cut down with the 36-grit paper, Roeder and Kester moved on to test-fitting the hood. We found the scoop just the slightest bit off, requiring trimming of opposing corners to rotate the hood to make the scoop centered (notice the centering string down the car). It probably wouldn't even be noticeable with a single-color paint job, but with over-body stripes, you don't want a crooked hoodscoop.

Another area of the body to take care of is the wheel openings. As with much of the body's fresh-from-the-mold look, the wheel openings have rough fiberglass that needs to be trimmed.

A careful application of painter's tape gives the guys a line to cut to (just like trimming the doors). Later, the wheel-lip areas will be rounded and smoothed.

Evercoat Rage Gold (PN 112) is a premium body filler that is easy to apply and sand, with properties that prevent heat buildup during aggressive sanding. Many people swear by Rage Gold, and KR Performance & Restorations uses it on all of its projects.

The cream-colored areas are where Rage Gold has been applied over the sanded body seams. The Rage Gold is used for body shaping, as it is much easier to sand off and shape than the 3M HSRF. Roeder and Kester worked the Rage Gold to shape with 36-grit paper first on a multitude of sanding boards (long board, flex board, paint stick, and so on) for the various body curves and then followed up with 80-grit paper. Eighty-grit is as far as they'll need to go since the whole body will soon get a coat of Spies Hecker Spray Polyester (PN 3508).

Another body mod we requested was the buildup of the taillight pad. As built, the body's mounting pad is just a touch smaller than the replacement taillight housings shipped in the kit (standard Austin Healey 3000 parts), causing the housings to stick out from the body edge.

Before building up the taillight pads on the body, Roeder used his die grinder and cutting bit to make a clearance slot for the ground tab on the taillight itself. This will also allow the wiring connector to pass through the opening more easily.

After applying Rage Gold to the rear of the quarter-panel, the taillight pad was built up and shaped as shown here. The final shape will blend the pad into the quarter a bit more, and the sharp edge of the pad will be rounded.

A popular modification is to round the edge around the cockpit opening. On an original aluminum-bodied Cobra, the skin was wrapped around the frame at the cockpit, giving the opening a rolled-edge look. This appearance can be easily added to the FFR's body with an application of Rage Gold. A great trick is to use a section of 1-inch-diameter PVC pipe cut in half to apply the Rage Gold to the body edge.

Roeder mixed the Rage Gold product a little "hotter" than the instructions call for so it would set up more quickly. As the filler hardened, he used a spreader to blend the filler into the body. Once the filler sets, the PVC pipe is removed and the edge sanded. This step was then repeated around the cockpit opening 6 inches at a time.

Although it was time-consuming to do, the rounded cockpit edge really makes for a period finishing touch to the cockpit opening. The corners are the toughest, where Roeder sometimes worked an inch at a time. Some people even roll the edges of the grille opening, trunk and hood openings, and wheel lips. That's a lot of work, but it's what separates the cars on the show field.

After the major body modifications are completed, Roeder and Kester prep the car for several layers of Spies Hecker Spray Polyester. The Spies Hecker product is a sprayable filler used for filling scratches and voids in the body, reducing block sanding time and steps. The spray polyester will be applied with the body on the frame. Later, the body will be removed for undercoating, final blocking, and paint application.

The spray polyester can be applied to steel, aluminum, fiberglass, or even old paint and will flash dry in about 10 minutes. The recommended coating is 20 mils (about five coats) but can go as high as 40 mils and will air dry in two hours. Be sure to keep an eye out for our next installment when our project will be painted and ready to come back to us for final assembly.