With Added Body - Part IV

Regular readers may recall that this series was prompted by Bart from Belgium asking about how the body of my special was constructed.

The previous articles in this series will have provided some information, so now to get to the dirty (and cheap) details. The picture on the left shows my friend Martin hard at it, working on the front wing mountings. Martin was a sculptor and quite fancied playing with some 18 gauge half-hard aluminium sheet! As may be seen, the original (rotten) lower front wing had been cut away, providing room for repairs and seam welding underneath; the triangulation I mentioned before may be seen below Martin's hands. First a steel angle was riveted to the original wing and to this, aluminium tags were fitted to which the outer panel was mounted.

The next picture shows a card template in position. This was not the final version - at the time I had envisioned copying the beautiful arrangements on the Le Mans Peugeots, but we all agreed that this was a bit de trop.

However the wings and other bits were intended to improve the aerodynamics of the Fulvia, and for all I know, they may well have done!

I decided that there would be an air exit at the rear of the wing; this would help keep the brakes and exhaust system cool and also keep under-bonnet temperatures a bit lower (worth a couple of octanes...) The problem was that with the wing extended back to the door shutline, the door wouldn't open... This explains the gap.

The panels are fixed with countersunk rivets - about 600 in total on the car generally spaced at one and a half inches.

And here's the wing after weeks of filling and rubbing down, showing the air duct. Incidentally, these ducts really work: on a wet day there is nice curved spray of mud on each door - looks jolly aerodynamic at least!

Next time, I'll be taking a look at the spoiler and the distinctly non-original front panel.

À bientôt