GTA Scuttle Cover

Thought some of you might be interested to see what we did to improve the scuttle cover on our recent acquisition (LM 23). When we bought the car it had the typical 'split' scuttle cover - ill-fitting, shoddy manufacture (original chocolate box half) and such a poorly made air con cover half that it had been clipped in place with upholstery clips and fouled the bonnet. I suspect that's fairly common. Anyway no amount of heating/reshaping and reworking would make the panels fit, and I realised why the rear bonnet seal was not there - it would never have fitted properly!

We abandoned the original, and used a single sheet of 2mm aluminium to remake using the two original halves as a guide. Then came the hard bit. The panel had to be curved, gently beaten and eventually coaxed into shape so that it fits all contours, drops neatly into place, and allows the bonnet to close perfectly with all seals in place as they should be. A few extra brackets have been strategically positioned to support the plate at the right level, and the earth lead replaced with a new, heavier duty (not strictly necessary) lead routed through an isolator mounted at the rear of the boot liner. We were going to cut a 'door' in the panel but it looked better 'clean'. Some of you may spot the extra seal along the lower edge of the window surround - well it's not functional, but matches the boot seal upper profile and neatens the finish considerably.

Finally, the 'hacked' cutout in the bonnet has been rectified with a stainless 'hoop' slotted and bonded with the necessary recontouring to look right.

See what you think, here are a few pics:















The aluminium panel has a 1mm thick rubber underlayer (glued) and is covered in high quality cabrio vinyl (from Woolies). The latter was the closest we could find in grain and texture to the other plastics in the boot - and it matches pretty well. Just for effect, we cut the 'flying A' by hand, polished the edges and mounted a fine stainless mesh under (see close-up). This also serves to act as a vent for the air intake which lies just underneath.

We think the end result looks OK, and a lot better than the original. All the effort went into the shaping of the panel - the materials really didn't cost very much. The switch is a marine quality isolator from Parkinsons - cost £18.

Hope it meets with approval. If anyone wants more detail on the construction process just ask.

Paul T

[BIG_MVS]

That looks superb

I always thought the rubber should have run all the way around the edge but according to JohnC it should not. This gap is for the intake for the heater box I think he told me?

That looks superb

I always thought the rubber should have run all the way around the edge but according to JohnC it should not. This gap is for the intake for the heater box I think he told me?

Well the gap is still there Martin, so if that was originally intended we haven't changed anything. As I said the extra seal isn't functional, just looks better.

PT

Thats a really great professional job.

How it should have been from the factory !.

thats a brilliant job..10 out of 10 can you make me one. well done.
but have you sorted your mirrors out yet offer still stands.

thats a brilliant job..10 out of 10 can you make me one. well done.
but have you sorted your mirrors out yet offer still stands.

Thanks Andy, haven't forgotten - must pull the mirrors off soon but that little diversion called 'work' keeps getting in the way! You can tell that I'm not particularly bothered about originality, so I'm still planning to do the mirrors in black!

Mmm, making another panel....maybe we could chat some time - the problem with the scuttle was the bespoke handmade nature of the piece; now if I could work out how to replicate the contours at minimal expense (without expensive pressing etc) then there may be some scope. I'll mull that one over.

Paul T

[BIG_MVS]

The frenchies would be interested in it I'm sure if you could replicate it again.

Sure there would be a big market for these, especially if they fit the 610 as well.

Nice garage Paul, a LeMans next to the 610 would make up my ideal garage too

That looks really good, really professional! A nice touch.

Excellent job there, really cleans up the under bonnet apperance.

I would like on the EVO 2 model to have a hinged door for battery access!

Excellent job there, really cleans up the under bonnet apperance.

I would like on the EVO 2 model to have a hinged door for battery access!

We did think about that, but on the GTA you can't have a door big enough to allow battery removal because it would have to be as wide/deep as the panel so all you need is convenient battery isolation. There is just one position that allows for the installation of the switch you see in the pic, it was just a case of finding the right looking component. The switch we found suited the Alpine and is rated way over the level required for any car (275A continuous (1hr), 48v dc and 1250A for 5 secs - Durite Part No 0-605-11). For those who might be interested the red switch knob is actually removable, and has a clear green indicator for 'connected', and red for 'off'.

PT

Sure there would be a big market for these, especially if they fit the 610 as well.

Nice garage Paul, a LeMans next to the 610 would make up my ideal garage too

Thanks John, must find the time now to flush the 610 and get it started - most of the rest is done.

The 610 scuttle panel has different contours, and from mine seems to be a better quality item than the GTA scuttle panel. Mine is certainly thicker, more accurately fitted, and doesn't seem to crack if you look at it!

However, the same principles apply and it would be possible to replace with a similar 'bespoke' panel. Thinking about it, I suspect that the panel for the Le Mans and all GTAs with the UK fit aircon presents the greatest problem as the replacement motor box takes up so much space and therefore requires some careful panel working to accommodate. The 610 scuttle panel sits over quite a lot of void space and a replacement might be simpler (flatter) as a result. I think the same might apply to the GTAs, but GTA owners will know best! Basically I think there are 3 variants, but the essential shape/size may well be the same - so possibly just one template with differing degrees of curvature in places?

Paul T

That looks excellent But I bet it weighs a bit

That looks excellent But I bet it weighs a bit

Ha, not that much Lee, it's just ally with a bit of rubber but we did think about that - I'll weigh it sometime. At one point we had considered stainless steel which would have been thinner, but still heavier and that would have seriously challenged my 'amateur' panel beating skills!

Paul

I love the look of that very well done indeed. I defo think there would be quite a market for these maybe a carbon one for clee though.