I also did not like the rear deck and made it so that the central vertical pieces tapered out to the top instead of making them 90 degrees. It was a minor change but I think that it added a real nice styling touch rather than the boxy look that it had before. Here is a picture showing that section just past the rear window you can see the original slots cut in the top board when the sides were at a 90 degree angle, I moved the retaining slots out about 1-1/2" so that the sides are not perpendicular.

In addition I got the door frames in place and spaced them from the body with some 1/4" shims (to allow for fiberglassing). This task was a lot harder than I thought that it would be I had trouble understanding the angles on the plans and getting oriented properly so I just winged it. Good thing that I made the parts extra long as it took multiple cuts to get them fitted up properly. I also used some #0 biscuits to strengthen the joints as well.

According to Alex and Shep there is a problem with the designed hinge support, and the problem appears to be between the hinges and the nitrogen cylinder. The core of the problem is laying the hinges flat, that with the constant pressure from the cylinder that causes a lot of pressure on the hinges. My plan is to 'wrap' the hinges around the supports and inset them into the wood, this will make them semi-hidden as well.

I also applied foam to the rear canopy today, it was a lot more difficult (for me) than I thought that it would be. Even with adding the molding it seemed that I could not get a good enough bond. If there was any sort of compound curve to the foam it wanted to pull up at the opposite end and required either weight or some button-taps to hold it in place until the cement dried. If the curve was sufficient enough then the foam simply pulled apart.

I am reverting back to 1/4" birch plywood for the skin (seems that I am better at wood than foam), and will add foam onto the wood skin where needed for styling and complex shaping.  At least with the wood skin I should have better luck getting the foam to stick. So I ran out to the local lumber yard and picked up 4 sheets of 1/4" plywood as well as another quart of contact cement.

One BIG mistake that I made is that I did not remove the engine from the chassis before skinning the rear!!!  I will not be able to glass the inside of the skin at the same time that I do the outside...  Since I made up a pretty sturdy support frame I figure that after I fiberglass the outside and I cut off the rear canopy then I will remove the engine, put the rear canopy back on and finish glassing, so in the end I think that it will work out ok.

The sticks that are shown in the pictures below helped hold the vertical boards apart and gradually taper towards the back of the vehicle. Once the wood panels are glued/braded then they will be removed. Here are some pictures to show my progress over the weekend:

I ran the side shaping sticks all the way from the front of the vehicle to the rear, and I am using it to glue and brad nail the plywood onto.  It is working out pretty well as I just set the plywood against it and trace out the pattern from the stick.  1/4" plywood is pretty flexible and is conforming to the shape pretty good making the work move fairly fast. You will notice that by running the shaping sticks to the rear that the outside edges are more curved than the plans originally call for, I think that I like it better than it it were a straighter edge as it gives the Vortex a more 'swoopy' look.

One note of caution is that the sides of the rear tail lights should be at least flush or extend past the side panels. Be sure that when you locate the rear tail lights in the rear support that you compensate for it. I will double check this once everything dries up and I do some trimming around this area, if necessary I will modify the support panel to correctly place them.

1) When using the nitrogen cylinder Alex Smith states that pressure applied to the door (open or closed) has the potential to cause the door to twist and warp as per the plans 90% of it is simply foam and fiberglass.

2) Arvil Shepherd states that having the hinges flat with the surface are also another problem and he recommends using pneumatic cylinders (such as Bimba) instead of the nitrogen cylinder. In addition he suggests putting the hinges into the door/windshield framework PRIOR to foaming/glassing the doors and not afterwords as "alignment of the doors can be a pain in the A$$".

I have decided that I am going to see about making up an aluminum framework for the top-half of the doors as this is the potion that the nitrogen cylinder is connected to and the bottom simply forms a wall that directs the flow of fresh air into the air dams back in the engine compartment. I really am not interested in carrying a separate air tank to power the cylinders and want to stick with the nitrogen cylinder if at all possible and think that at a minimum a solid framework is the 90% solution.

I think that I may have a potential design using standard stainless steel butt hinges modified to make semi-concealed hinges. This design will utilize stainless steel butt hinges that mount 'through' the front windshield frame and 'wrapped around' the inside door frame, worst case is that a couple of hinge pins are visible from the outside. In addition the butt hinges will have a removable pin so that the doors can be removed easily, and some Tee-nuts are used in the framework you should not see hinge bolts from the inside

The hinges for the rear canopy will be installed vertically instead of flat on the outside surface to be semi-concealed as well. I already have solid wood on the roll bar top as well as the mounting point for the rear canopy.

You can see that the outside 'skin' of the air intake (under the windows) curves towards the back side of the door, at some point behind the inside storage area the inside and outside come together. From the picture showing the inside of the door it appears to be slightly curved in towards the rear, probably in the area that they meet. In the leading edge of the door you can also see the recess for the lifting cylinder, you can also see where the rear view mirrors mount above the cylinder.

He also shared with me that he will be using a "bear claw" style mechanism with an electric solenoid as well as a release cable to hold/release the door. The ball and post will be on the door (as seen on the trailing edge of the door above the air intake) and the catch mechanism on the bulkhead. Once the ball and post is put into the door he also made upholstery shells which will hold the upholstery and will cover the inside hole.

The bottom and sides of the door will be sealed using a rubber "bulb" and using a 1/4" aluminum sill plate on the bottom to keep any stray moisture outside the vehicle, which also gives him a stopping place for the inside carpet.

To start with I clamped the door/roof frames to the vehicle using 1/4" spacers between the door and roof. Use a stick or level to be sure that the frame is below the roofline.

Then start adding all of the other pieces until you get it the way that you want. Around all other surfaces I used 1/2" spacers, this will allow me to use 1/4" plywood for the skin and leave room for the fiberglassing and final clearance. Be sure to have some water around to cool things off quickly!!

Here are multiple shots of the frames in the vehicle so that you can see the orientation of the parts::

And here are some shots of the completed frames

Today I decided to try out my idea of hinge modification. I measured 3" down from the top of the winshield pillar and marked out for a 3-1/2" long slot, ditto from the bottom as well. I used a wood router that had a 1/8" spiral bit and using some clamps for start/stop blocks I slowly cut through the pillar. The 1/8" bit wandered a bit and I ended up with a slot that is more like 3/16" but I can compensate by using some shim material in the slotted area that the hinge goes into.

Next I took a hinge and had to slightly bend the part that got welded onto the door frame. Then I placed the hinge into the routed slot in the pillar and using a couple of screwdrivers (because of some slop) forced it to the back of the slot, then I spaced the hinge above the surface of the pillar by about 1/8" to compensate for later glassing. Then I tacked the hinge to the frame and then completed welding it. Here are a couple of pictures

Before glassing I will weld an additional flat plate where the nitrogen cylinder attaches to the door, this plate will be covered with foam as a slot needs to be carved out for the cylinder to fit into the cavity. Then I will work through putting a latch/catch mechanism onto the doors, and hopefully an external/internal release mechanisms along with a keyed lock. At this time I believe that the release mechanisms will be mechanical (not electrical) as electrical would also require a mechanical release in case of total electrical failure...

I found these items and figured rather than work from some used parts from my donor vehicle that I would go out and purchase a new set, besides it is too cold to be striping parts off from a vehicle...

There was also a larger set available, but I figured that the small ones would be easier to fit into the door frames for my application, and the doors will be pretty light weight as well. I spurged for the installation kit and know that I could have made them myself, but these should assist in getting the job done and cut back on a little bit of the fabrication.

I ordered these items from John R Sweet, he is located in Mustoe VA and is a distributor of fiberglass materials and supplies. I am using vinylester resin rather than polyester resin as it is more resilient and results in a tougher laminate. Typically if you go to the local automotive store all they carry is polyester resin, the vinylester resin costs a little bit more and may or may not make a tremendous difference.

Using a hand power drill I drilled through the pillar from the windshield side (door clamped in place) and throught the hinge trying to be as straight and level as possible. As it turns out harder than I thought and will eventially need to epoxy the holes and redrill as I ended up into the gutter area of the frame on the opposite side in 3 out of 4 holes... Once drilled I put a 1/4" screw in place to keep it from shifting, eventially the end that you see the screw head will be replaced with a wood tee-nut and the bolt inserted from the other direction through the winshield pillars. I will be putting a 1/8" steel plate inside the door jamb and recess it so that the bolt heads do not recess into the frame once they get tightened down.

The installation kit for the latches made it real easy to put them in place in the door frames! Just had to cut out a small section of the frame, and then weld in the mounting plate at the proper location. With a lot of luck I happened to have the perfect location to install them and with ample clearance. I had wanted to put the latch mechanism into the door and the striker on the bulkhead rather than visa-versa as I also intend to put a mechanical door latch on the outside of the door. Here are a couple shots of the latch location with the one on the right showing the ultimate location of the bolt, this will be finalized once doors are cut off and operational:

The exact location of the exterior door opening mechanism is not known yet but it will either be in the air-dam area of the door or on the ouside rear with a vertical orientation. I would like to get a 'push' style as used on the Diablo's but if need be I will go with a 'pull' mechanism.

Once the bondo hardened sufficiently I used a rasp to get the proper angle on the bondo and finish sanded when throughly hardened. I took a piece of 1/4" plywood and shaped it to fit as closely to the opening as possible and using contact cement put it into place. Time will tell if I should have used epoxy cement to do the job and if need be can pull it up and re-cement it down.

I had to use a lot of clamps as it is tough to clamp to door frame you have to get a bit imaginitive as it is tough to clamp onto anything more than the panel edge. Once in place I used a 1/4" piece of plywood to hold down the back of the blank near the rear canopy.

The window opening will be cut out later. If you look closely you will notice that the panel does not go into the gutter area of the door. I will be using foam in this area to allow for easy shaping so that I get a smooth round transition from side to front/top. It will act mearly as a form for the fiberglass skin and then will be removed once the doors are cut off.

Next I decided to tackle trying to put in the lower panel on the drivers side. I wanted to use a single piece from the leading edge of the rear canopy all the way to the front of the vehicle and luckily an 8' piece of plywood was sufficient.

This was a tough job to do all in one piece as you have to deal with the shaping strip, cut line for the rear canopy, opening for the tire as well as cutting the air dam for the side of the door all in one operation!! Just take your time, measure, remeasure and write yourself notes on the panel as to where to cut, etc..

To start I quickly brad nailed a piece that was about 24" wide into approximate location, then went around and clamping it to the front of the shaping strip located the top edge along the shaping strip, location of the front tire. It is important that you put some reference marks on both the vehicle and the panel so that afterwards you can reposition it back on again!! Next I removed the panel and made the appropriate cuts.

Then I put it back into position, brad nailed it again and located the cut line for the rear canopy as well as the lower section of the door air dam. I ended up puting some 1/2" strips of wood onto the leading and trailing door frame to offset the extra distance that the shaping strip spaced the panel away from the body and screwed these pieces to the metal door frame using some screws.

Lastly I cut out the remaining sections, put the panel back into place, glued and brad nailed it into position. I also marked where any cut lines would be for the front and rear of the door for future reference. I should be able to see the markings through the fiberglass. Here is a picture of the installed panel:

You will notice that I did not completely cut off the lower section of the panel where the air dam is on the door. I cut this part hoping that once all the clamps are removed that I can simply bend it into place inside the door frame, thus forming the tapered edge of the air dam. I also left additional material around the front and rear of the wheel not knowing yet how I was going to finish these areas. Here are a couple more pictures showing it from other angles.

Lastly I used some bondo and finished all of the joints on the rear canopy and along the driver's side door areas. I put a 1/4" radius on the inside corners and filled and rounded the outside joints.

Looking back I had originially thought that I would have gotten farther in the project than I currently am, but I also have to remember that I did not work on it for almost 3 months! There have been a number of small setbacks, some redirection and a LOT of learning!

Went to local hardware store to get the parts for making the headlight mechanism.

The motors for the lights will now be located inside the front trunk area instead of directly behind the lights, I think that this will be easier than trying to stuff them in that little space. I will be using 2 bronze flange bearings for each side and make a mechanism to operate the lights. I also wanted to be able to remove this assembly. There will be an access panel inside the wheel well so that if need be I can get access to this area.

I located inside the trunk where I wanted to drill for locating the bearing and drilled it so that the flange was flush with the inside surface. It is near impossible to get 2 holes perfectly aligned so using a saw I removed a portion of the gusset for the headlights. My plan was to use some Tiger-hair bondo to locate the other flange bearing by using the 1/2" diameter shaft to properly locate it.

Once the bondo hardened sufficiently I cleaned up the area a bit to remove excess from around the area. Since the bearings are oil impregnated the bondo does not adhear to it and can be removed.

I then made up both of the mechanisms and any required spacers, the portion behind the headlights uses a 1/4" bolt and this can be removed allowing the shaft to be removed from inside the trunk area if needed for future maintenance. Here are some pictures showing the components of the mechanism, and one assembled so that you can see how they go together.

Using some Tiger-hair I bondo'ed where the drivers side panel intercects with the front of the headlight box to hold it in place. I really needed to do this as my feet kicked this panel a couple of times walking around the vehicle and I was afraid that the shaping strip would come loose from the front!

While I had the seam tape and resin out I decided to put on 3" glass seam tape on all of the outside joints. This type of thing is a lot of guesswork in colder weather so I jacked up the MEK peroxide to 2-3 times normal dosage, by the time that I did the last batch it was more of 3-4 times dosage...

Here are some pictures of taping job: