Boot hinges and the kit car show

 I did get a few positives out of this weekend. The kit car show was great as always, by the time I'd got round all the cars and took lots of photos it was very definitely mid-afternoon! I went on the Saturday and the clouds kept things comfortably cool. I felt there were fewer cars but more people, so overall a great success. This was my car of the show though;

A GT40 in JPS livery, a perfect combination! I am a big fan of the JPS colours, while I don't think they would suit my current Healey shape I would still want to build/buy a car to host those iconic badges and stripes.

The biggest surprise was the cyclekarts, they looked like great fun and the creativity in some of the karts was just amazing;

On to more useful matters. This car gave me some great ideas for the rear trim;

In this case the trim round the cabin was the standard thick stuff, but just round the roll  bar was thinner flexible trim. This makes a lot of sense. One of the things I got from the show as some edge trim, but while it will work nicely for the larger corners there is no way it's bending round a roll bar cut out. Following this sort of two stage approach will work nicely, I just need to get some of the flexible trim.

On the subject of buying things, I got some hinges from the show and got them fitted on Sunday;

They look really nice and are one more step to getting the back completed. I still need to add rubber trim to the edge of the boot, as well as finding a handle. You can see on the left and right hand side the boot sits too low in the recess, once I add some rubber trim it'll lift the boot edges as well as seal the gap. Then it's on to the handle, whenever I manage to find one! 

Anyhow, back to the car show, here's a few more photos I took for ideas and inspiration. First off was a car that looked like something I'd seen in a scrapyard in Wolvers, a bit like a Nova but with gullwing doors rather than the lift off roof. It was nice to find out what the car was, but in some ways it's even more disappointing to know it's probably still in that scrapyard wasting away;

Next was a nice Tribute automotive 250, it's pretty much a rebodied MX5 but this one appealed to me because of the supercharger install. It's a possible upgrade for me, if I don't find a suitable six cylinder lump;

Next on the agenda is wheel arches, here's some examples from the Sebring family;

I also noticed the very common choice of minilite wheels, and I think my choice of MX5 daisies will be a nice comparison! Next is a random picture of a trimmed roll bar, as mentioned above it's the more flexible trim being used here. I'll either follow this approach or go for a 3D printed cap, I'm not sure yet.

Filler cap and boot handle ideas;

This looks like a rehomed MX5 dash given the position of the gauges, the chrome trims look interesting. I was going to use 3d printed trims but I might look at how much the chrome trims are. 

No specific inspiration here, apart from the colour scheme. That deep burgundy is gorgeous!

This car had similar aluminium panelling to what I'm planning, although it uses a thin black piping between the panels. It looks tidy but I think I'm going to stick with my own preference.

Now for a high point of the show, the Ron Champion car that started it all. I didn't get a chance to meet the man himself as he was at the show only on Sunday, but it was so good to see the original car in the flesh;

And now the low point;

One sole Nova... every year I've been to the kit car show (wherever it may be) I always seek out the Nova stand. In previous years at Stoneleigh there would be dozens of Nova's. This year, just one. I hope that this is just because I was early, or that there was another show, or something else was going on. But if this is the last road going Nova then it's such a sad day.