Perspex Headlight Fairings?

[glenrobbo]

Just browsing the RandomTVR pics thread, and saw a pic of a lovely blue ( the best colour obviously ) Chim that had been fitted with faired headlights.
It was beautiful, a total transformation. ( If only they made a convertible Chim,I'd buy one )

I just wondered if anyone has ever done the same to an S?
Or does anyone know of a manufactured kit which could be adapted for an S?
It may not help night vision, but I think it would look awesome in the daylight.


Edited because it seems to be the done thing these days after I've had a few.

Edited by glenrobbo on Sunday 6th October 00:32

[TvrJohn]

Yep have seen these covers, agree look really great, would be nice on my V8S

bookmarked

[steve j]

Glen, I too thought about some form of perspex covers, The tuscan race car covers were suggested but they need a lot of work to get them to fit. You`re right about a kit being needed and I suspect holes would need drilling in the body too.

[phillpot]

steve j said:

The tuscan race car covers were suggested but they need a lot of work to get them to fit.

Certainly would judging by the photo on this old thread

steve j said:

I suspect holes would need drilling in the body too.

Or, in true TVR style, stick 'em on with a tube or two of Sikaflex each sde

[Alan Whitaker]

Hi Glen,
I am thinking of doing this on my S, I am going to call and look at these as he is local to me. Will let you know how I get on.


http://www.steve-edwards.com/en/tvr-hardtops/chima...



Alan

Edited by Alan Whitaker on Tuesday 8th October 06:55

[Barkychoc]

Buy a griff and leave the S alone!

[glenrobbo]

Barkychoc said:

Buy a griff and leave the S alone!

Haha Chris, I don't happen to have a spare 18 grand for faired-in headlights!

Alan, that looks very interesting, but over complicated & expensive for what I had in mind. The profile is quite different to the S, also I think the cowls are unnecessary.
I've just thought about the fella on here who bought some heat-mouldable amber acrylic sheet & formed his own indicator lenses in the oven ( while the missus was at the shops, obviously ). Seemed to work well, nice end result.
How hard can it be to make a couple of wooden? formers to shape some clear acrylic sheet into the required profile?

Mike, thanks for the link to the old thread, I wasn't aware the topic had been raised before. It just seemed to fizzle out though.
But your sikaflex idea has its merits, saves drilling little holes for retainers.

Also Damien ( Techbotics ), the chrome headlamp ring could be retained if the rounded profile is replaced by the squarer one which leaves a step around the headlamp to allow the fairing to sit flush.

Your thoughts please....

Edited by glenrobbo on Sunday 6th October 10:34

[magpies]

I have one ofthese if anyone needs it?......not a pair though .

I had agreed to give to someone in the past but never got round to it.

[Alan Whitaker]

Hi Mick.
Are they of your car and if so what's your idea to replace them with

Alan

[glenrobbo]

Alan Whitaker said:

Hi Mick.
Are they off your car and if so what's your idea to replace them with

Alan

I don't know whose car it was but I quite liked the paint job so I saved a pic from here.
I believe it was subsequently damaged in an accident?

[magpies]

glenrobbo said:

Alan Whitaker said:

Hi Mick.
Are they off your car and if so what's your idea to replace them with

Alan

I don't know whose car it was but I quite liked the paint job so I saved a pic from here.
I believe it was subsequently damaged in an accident?

Thats the one........I purchased it after the accident = without engine/ box / prop and wiring, also needed new chassis, front suspension and brakes and bonnet/lights etc.

Amazing what a few drinks and ebay can do to ones brain (and wallet)

[glenrobbo]

magpies said:

Thats the one........I purchased it after the accident = without engine/ box / prop and wiring, also needed new chassis, front suspension and brakes and bonnet/lights etc.

Amazing what a few drinks and ebay can do to ones brain (and wallet)

Mick, if you bought it for spares, did it have the targa panels & pram hood?
Or is this the car your build is based upon?

[magpies]

this is the one I'm buiding

[Longers]

glenrobbo said:

Your thoughts please....

I don't think it would look right on an S. The chim can wear it because of it's more modern shape but the S is much more of a classic shape, in the same way I think cerbs look good with the Tuscan style lights but they don't work so well on the chim. It also may appear more acceptable to me on chim because that's how the last ones left the factory.

All IMHO of course - please don't be offended if you want to modify your S or have a chim with the Tuscan lights, it's your car and we all like different things, but Glen did ask for opinions

[techbotics]

I would love to do this I hoped you could blend the chim version in somehow.?

If enough interest maybe plastic man could make us some.?

Or Alan could make them into his bonnet design and sell us some bonnets. We need to keep the top radiator grill but the lower one is fair game IMHO

I think these would look cool.

Damian S3

[phillpot]

Longers said:

I don't think it would look right on an S.

I'm with Ian on this one, because the S bonnet line is way below the top of the headlight and the sharp point at the front I think they would look very "stuck on after thought"



Bit like these (but worse), ok for a race car but maybe not a road car? all imho.




But some one please do it and prove me wrong


alternatively buy yourself a Chimaera or Griff and don't mess up a good S

[techbotics]

Could you make lupo lights work?

[phillpot]

techbotics said:

Could you make lupo lights work?

Me ? Yes just a simple bit of wiring.


Making them fit may be a bit more of a challenge, some kind of trim or finisher would be required to "hide the rough edges"

[glenrobbo]

Ian & Mike & All, thanks for your views on this.

Faired headlights are not a modern development, I recall seeing pics of 30's streamliners with them, and I love all those 50/60's racers with them. The Sebring Sprite was a good example, & some racing MGB's looked a lot better than Phillpot's example.
Even some 50's TVR's had them!

Maybe it's because I've spent a fair bit of my life working with aircraft that I prefer aerodynamically 'clean' lines.
I love my S, but I think if properly done, this could enhance it. It's not about blending into the bonnet line so much as continuing the wing profile.
I do agree that if not done properly, it could end up looking bloody awful.

I don't think Lupo lights would do it for me though Damian, but you're right in wishing to keep the chrome ring.
All this is purely subjective though.

Edit: I've just revisited the old thread that Phillpot linked to, and only just realised due to the vagaries of my phone that johnnywkg had one fairing in progress. I wonder what became of that?
Also Damian, did you persue the Elise/ Exige lead, and what was the outcome?

Edited by glenrobbo on Monday 7th October 10:14

[NeilS3]

Roughly put some on via photoshop to see what a 'S' would look like with them..... I like them!