A Naked Van Diemen

Today I removed all the bodywork from  the Van Diemen in order to prepare it for painting.  Last year I simply painted it in situ but I want to try to do it properly this year.  I was surprised by how difficult it was to remove the lower side panels.  The radiators had to come off and the floor removed to access some fixings and there were various nuts and bolts that were difficult to get at.  I had thought that racing cars just unclipped.  Not this one for sure. There was also a lot of jiggling around to get the side panels past the front suspension and I fear that if I do end up with nicely painted panels I’ll scratch them getting than back on, but I really don’t want to start removing wishbones and the like.

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Next stage will be removing the horrible white Dulux gloss and all those stickers.  What a mistake!

0 thoughts on “A Naked Van Diemen

  1. The bodywork was never a problem to remove Bob. I have just stripped all 4 corners off mine, rebuilt as required and put it back together, a week taking my time. You must check EVERYTHING for wear, too much slack in the joints, ie bushes/rose joints in suspension, engine oil/filter change, pads if required. These things go to bloody quick to take any chances. David.

  2. Hi Bob

    If you go on line to Frost Restorations you can get a special paint stripper made specifically for use on fibre glass. If you use a normal stripper it will often take away part of the gel coat.

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