Is this body repair OK? Opinions please!

[TroonSprint]

The Elan body I have has had a new front LH corner grafted on at some stage, probably because of a shunt. Although I am well used to working with old steel cars, I'm not familiar with GRP repair techniques and I would like opinions on the quality of this repair.

From the outside of the body there is absolutely no sign of the repair. Looking under the wheel arch you can clearly see the join and I have tried to picture the various areas where it is visible. The other peculiarity is that the bobbin on the side of the engine bay is hexagonal on the repaired side, whereas the original on the RH side is an oval one.

It seems perfectly solid to me and no different in strength and rigidity than the unrepaired RH side. I know its hard to tell from pictures, but does the repair seem to be of decent quality?

Mike
(Learning about Elans as I go along!)

[ardee_selby]

Mike,

Difficult not seeing the repair in the flesh. My understanding of the ideal method of grafting on a new section and hide the join is: "V" the underside and laminate joint. When cured "V" the exposed side and then laminate into that resulting in a sort of full penetration errum..."weld". Sorry about my "crayon" sketch:

The join is clearly visible in your last photograph...a bit of a giveaway...

Richard

[AHM]

Well they have done the difficult part of lining it up!

Time will tell how good it is under the paint.

The third picture is nearly as good as Lotus' own efforts - perhaps they would have gone a little wider.

The vertical seam in your fourth picture is equivalent to a tack weld - you have two thick bits held together by one thin bit! Needs to be done as per Richards diagram, but you will probably get away with grinding from one side it wil only take you a couple of hours.

Simon

[elansprint71]

In answer to your question- yes.

[TroonSprint]

Thanks for your thoughts. I am of the same opinion - the join should be ground into a V-shape and fresh matting/resin applied. As Simon points out, at the moment it looks like it is only joined on the face, not deep in the crack. So that's one problem easily sorted. The next issue is the tiny osmosis bubbles caused by the PO keeping it under a plastic sheet!

Mike