Body Materials The Hurricane body is polyester resin over glass fiber. I will attempt to stay with the same manufacturers, to avoid any compatibility problems.  Glasswork I chose to go with Evercoat products. Part personal preference and part due to the overwhelming use of Rage Gold as the finishing putty. Kitty Hair For patching or any area subject to high stress, this is a long strand fiberglass product. Long strand means you can’t just dip a little-bit out of the can. It is a real challenge to get out a golfball sized bunch. Keep trying, you get it out. Mixing is also a challenge. UsesRead More →

When I received my body, the gelcoat was in excellent shape. But as I began to work on it, I learned although the body looked good, the edges were horrendous. The glass cloth had separated, or wasn’t filled, there were all kinds of voids. No where near ready for final body work. I chose to correct these. Period Correct I wanted the car to appear as an aluminum car. We have all seen persons come up to a car and put their hand under the edge of the fender well, trying to feel if it is fiberglass or aluminum. I wanted to pass this test.Read More →

Body

Hurrah and ugh. We’ve moved to the point of beginning the bodywork. Another milestone but it also puts me into the messiest part of the build. I don’t mind grease on my hands, but I really dislike Bondo dust on everything. Guess I better learn to like it. Plus as an added bonus, we’ve just moved into fall so I now much of my upcoming work will be in a less than ideal temperature. Going out today to purchase a heater. As part of the build, I am holding true to my period correctness. That means minor modifications to the body. The rear light areaRead More →

Anyone need any body filler dust! Put it on / sand it off – and the stuff goes EVERYWHERE.  Nearing completion of the rough bodywork. Undercarriage and side panels have now been sprayed with the first coat of SlikSand.Read More →

Door Latches  ( or another dive into the modification pool) The door latches that come with the Hurricane kit are duplicates of what was used on the original cars. But that’s where the replication ends. The latch handles/boxes are put on upside down, if you follow the instructions. And the male latch part mounting – it’s just plain sloppy. (Sorry, Mike and Rich, you could have done better here). Turning the handle right side up is no big deal. Just be aware the male latch protrudes thru the catch so you need some clearance under the box. A touch with a die grinder and allRead More →

I spent a lot of time viewing pictures of the Hurricane in the body finishing process. I saw a lot of fiberglass filler being used around the various openings. I was looking for spots that were typical to all builds but really didn’t find any. Some filled around the trunk lid, others filled the trunk lid itself. No consistency. I then decided to spend a little extra time mounting each panel so as to minimize the amount of leveling filler needed and to maximize panel adjustment later. Each of the hinges uses three 3/8″ bolts thru a 1/2″ hole to mount the panel. I determinedRead More →

Winter is here! find projects in the shop where it’s warm. Worked on the fuel filler cap and refined fill system The Hurricane kit comes with a quick fill type cap that gets installed inside the flip-top fuel cap.  Some have reported filling problems with these. The mounting system leaves a little to be desired. Chris Doss (HM1043) modified his car by using a filler adapter from Finishline. Unfortunately, the threads on it don’t match the threads on our caps. He ended up having the adapter machined to press into the existing mounting base. It helps to be able to learn from others. Knowing itRead More →

Everyone warns you of the temperatures of the footbox. We’ve done roadtrips in our Miata and know how warm it can become – and it’s only four cylinders. I fabricated vent valves to resemble the original units. Unfortunately, after I completed them, I realized the footbox on a Hurricane kit is about 6″ taller than the original cars, required by the overhead brake pedals. Time to make set #2. Local owners recommend the use of blowers to assist in moving air. These were purchased from the local BassPro superstore. I welded a couple brackets to the cowl frame. I didn’t want to mount them onRead More →