Hi all,
Has anybody ever made / bought headlamp covers for the Fury classic bonnet ?

Hi - This came up on Sylva chat a while ago and I registered an interest in it too.

It would appear that no-one has made any but many would like to have some! I've a LeMans bonnet now which obviously the covers exist for so I'm not in need now of them.

I did ask a supplier of some Fury parts if he would consider making them and he seemed keen enough but would need commitment before he did them.

Other places I asked just weren't interested - too much tooling costs for a reasonably low return. Having said that - The LeMans covers are not cheap - easy money made there!

I can drop you the guy's contact details if that helps?

All the best

Jos - I've replied to your post on the sylva chat list but thought I'd reply here as well.

I'm interested in a set and will try and look into it but I don't know anywhere that does this kind of thing...

Jos and me where discussing it for his car and making it shouldn't be such a big problem, but mounting it is.

You don't have an edge or something you can screw into.
You could make an edge with polyesther or something, but you're always going to see that through the plexi.

Anyone any suggestions or off-the-shelf solutions?

I'm not too bothered about having small L-shaped brackets to hold them on...

Making them may not be as easy as it looks. As with everything kitcar related it takes a lot more time as expexted.
I have asked "someone" if he wants to make some. Will let you know the outcome.

Looks like early next year it would be possible to have them made.
Shaping them will not be so easy and also changing the headlight for something smaller ,like 5,75inch, is necesary.
Whats the best mould material to use ?




[Edited on 5/10/09 by Jos Fury]

I'm not sure how different the Fury is to the Stylus but somebody on the Clubstylus forum has had some made up
http://www.clubstylus.be/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=813
they cost £49 / pair

Keith, I already contacted that person.
But thank you for the reply though.
The Stylus covers are quite different from the Fury ones.

Ah - I was just about to give him a call.

Did he say that he definitely can't make different ones for the Fury for us then?

Hobbsy : I f I remember correctly I only asked if the ones for his stylus would fit the Fury.

I spoke to Andy Westgate about half an hour ago.

He currently sells Stylus units but is willing to design and make some units for the Fury if they can actually be made to fit properly.

The main issue so far we think is the chrome headlight bezel.

There are a few ways this could be tackled:

1) remove it and have something else that covers the screwheads etc on the headlight

2) have a curved bulge to clear it.

There are probably other options.

What he does need in any case is a classic Fury bonnet (or complete car!) to work from.

I will probably send him some photos tonight so he can get a better idea of whats involved but I'm not really in a position to let him have my car at the moment.

He lives in Lambourn (near Hungerford) and is currently working in/near Stroud (Gloucestershire) so anywhere near there or along the route (e.g. Swindon).

Does anyone know of someone with a Fury near there who'd be willing to assist?

Or have someone got a scrap bonnet they could cut the relevant bits out of and send to him?

I will put a post on the sylva chat list saying to come here for further info as its easier to manage on here.

Also if anyone wants to speak to Andy direct about this his mobile number is 07733282947

He reckons ~£49 a pair in ABS as that is what he is selling the Stylus units for.

Its possible to make them in perspex but the tooling and unit cost will be a lot higher.

If anyone wants to show a firm interest at that price level it would be useful (please post your interest here!).

A list of prospective purchasers will no doubt help to expedite the development of them!


I've just emailed him a link to this thread so can he see whats going on and who's interested / might be able to let them use their car to help develop them (may receive a discounted set as an incentive?)

[Edited on 7/10/09 by hobbsy]

Thank you for your effort ! What are the advantages-disadvantages of ABS for this purpose ?

I am in for 2 sets.

I'd certainly be interested - in fact, I'd have 3 pairs at that price - one for each car, and one spare. Seems sensible to me, if the headlamps are behind a cover, just to leave the chrome surround off. Anyone who's fussy about looks can always paint the black plastic shell of the headlamp nest.

Cheers
Dan

Cool.

Well I want at least one pair so thats 6 already.

Just need to try and get a car or bonnet to him so he's got something to work from!

Hi

thanks to the guys for putting the work in for this.

Put me down for a set too if it goes ahead.

Having a proper look at mine its going to be tight to get them to clear the headlight and the indicators. But not impossible... may need to relocate my indicators back a bit.

Hi Hobbsy, Jos and all

I can help with donating an old bonnet ! - Its bit of a long story, but a good one of why I have it spare and what state it in, but here goes.

The bonnet is a yellow big bulge Classic. It originally belonged to Peter Rosenthal until it had a major disagreement with the Cadwell armco.

After that Steve Jones obtained it and used it to take a bonnet bulge moulding from to help his 'original' bonnet gain the required hump to fit over his fresh Zetec install. I then had it off Steve with a view to restoring it to use on my ongoing Fury (k-series) build.

Shortly after, I bought a set of bodywork from Michael McLannahan when he recently switched over to new Spyder bodywork.

I then gave to Steve Michael's (ultra) big bulge bonnet, so Steve has earmarked me his old original modified flat bonnet.

(are you keeping up at the back?..)

So er.. I have one rather bruised and battered bonnet in my garage.

But - despite my best intentions (and all the materials to hand ready to start the work), the bonnet needs such a heck of lot of work to get it anywhere near presentable. It is covered in star-cracks and scrapes and whilst it could be restored to former glory (at the hands of a grp pro) the work and time involved for a muggle like me is considerable. Frankly I dont think I will ever get it to a standard I would be happy with either !

Hence, it makes sense to donate it to the cause as it is really just surplus to my requirements and it would be good to help out the Fury owners who have helped me out so kindly over the past few years.

All I would want to keep is to cut out the (untouched) bonnet bulge, but the sections around the lamps (which are intact) could be lopped out and sent out? (If anyone wants any other part / section just let me know)

The bonnet and I reside just near Wycombe (Bucks). Will stick some piccies in my archive over the weeked.

Hope this may help with the cause?

cheers

Richard


P.S- Put me down for a set of covers too...

Richard - you have U2U.

So thats 7 pairs so far...

quote:

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Originally posted by Jos Fury
Thank you for your effort ! What are the advantages-disadvantages of ABS for this purpose ?

I am in for 2 sets.

---

Thank you !!

any news

Richard has very kindly dropped off his old damaged bonnet with Andy.

Andy's working on it. I guess he'll either email me or post on here when there is more news but I'd imagine this isn't the only thing he's working on at the moment.

Thank you Richard for dropping of the body. Was just being curious here.

Hi All..... I've started to prep the Fury bonnet, and will be working towards producing the (ABS) headlight covers. Last week however I found a guy who could produce them in tinted perspex....the down side is you'd be looking at about £70 a pair....still £10 cheaper than the Stylus guys were paying for theirs. Whilst we're on that subject....8 to 10 Stylus owners said they'd be up for my ABS covers, so I bit the bullet and produced the tooling and had ten sets made....todate I've only sold 4 leaving me out of pocket. I'd just like some sort of reassurance that I'm at least going to break even this time.......ie those that have said they want these covers, buy them. Also would the majority want the cheaper ABS versions or the more expensive perspex ones. If you'd like to have a chat amoungst yourselves, then somebody e-mail me that would be great. In the meantime I'll crack on with the basic mouldings. cheers for now Andyw

Hi Andy, David and all

Maybe a non-refundable deposit should be paid first?

I would suggest that a 50% to reserve a set and then balance on delivery, something like that may ensure that the requisite orders are confirmed?

Happy to post up loads of pics of the first prototype to help reassure prospective buyers.

cheers

Richard

Well I'm down for three sets and if it helps reassure Andy I'm happy to pay for them in full up front. Trust is a two-way street, and I've seen the covers he did for the Stylus so I've no doubts he'll do a good job.

What's the advantage of perspex over ABS? ABS as I understand it is a pretty tough material whereas perspex (acrylic) is rather brittle and (AIUI) prone to shattering. I don't mind paying a bit extra if the perspex ones have a definite advantage though.

Dan

p.s. definitely wouldn't want tinted perspex though - I want as much light to get from the headlights to the road as possible...

[Edited on 1/11/09 by Brommers]

I'm happy to pay a deposit as well obviously.

How much of a tint are we talking as light output is a concern to me as well as I sometimes drive at night.

Also not 100% sure which material - guess it doesn't matter at this stage but please let us know when you need to know for sure and I'll make a decision!

I am happy to pay a deposit on two sets as well. Not sure about which material is best, but I prefer clear covers though.

[Edited on 2/11/09 by Jos Fury]

I'd like two sets and can arrange for deposit if needed.

Thanks
Chet

I'll take a set. I assume if/when they get smashed during the first race of the season we can order another set, or do i need to order some spares now??

Thanks to you for your replies.....I'm going ahead! when I have the moulds sorted I'll get some pictures done and post them. Thanks for your interest guys

you'll be able to order as and when, also I'm thinking of making some carbon ones for you 'racers'....very light weight, again I'll post the pictures when they're completed............AND I'm thinking of taking a mould of the power bulge from the bonnet I have, would that be of interest to anyone?

Any news on the headlight covers maybe ?

Bump. Any news on when these will be available? I have another two people who each want one set each, so that's five sets when added to my three...

It has gone a bit quiet hasn't it?

I've got Andy's mobile and email but not with me at the moment. I'll give him a call in the next few days to find out what the situation is.

Excellent, cheers. Got some RGB racers very keen to have some - should be worth at least .5mph at Snett...

Hi Gents

Just picked up thread.. Andy emailed me a few weeks back to send me some pics of progress.

I am sure he will not mind, but I have uploaded the pics to my photo archive for you guys to see.

Even though they are still in buck-form, the shape looks really good and the finished items will doubtless look superb. They suit very well and give it a bit of a 'Stylus' look.

We discussed having the cover edges flush with the bonnet (rather then lapped over) - this will probably mean either having to lose the bezels off existing headlamps, or an alternative solution could be Andy also supplying a 'masking ring' to allow smaller headlamps (e.g like sylva J15 does) to be fitted into existing headlamp holes as a retro-fit option.

Either way, these will look the business when they are ready, but Andy mentioned he is up to his ears in other work, but progress is continuing.

good stuff.

Thank you for the update. They certainly do look very good. I like the flush fit too. A masking ring would be a good option as without the bezel on the existing headlamp it does not look so nice.

[Edited on 29/3/10 by Jos Fury]

I text Andy on Friday and he rang me back and said he'd email me some photos.

I haven't had the email but looks like dickie b has posted probably the same photos he was going to send anyway.

I think there might have been some confusion as he thought he was waiting for people to accept the slightly higher (£65?) price if made from Perspex.

I said everyone is still keen and there are possibly even more people who wants pairs (ref Dan's post).

Hopefully we'll have some more progress soon.

Updates?

Nothing heard this end..

The News you’ve been waiting for (I hope!) The moulds are made. In view of the fact the Stylus vac form covers made from Polythylenterephthalate Copolymer didn't sell (although cheaper than perspex) I can only assume they weren't as durable at resisting scratches. I did ask for feedback but none was forthcoming. So I am making the Fury covers in either perspex which required making four moulds, two male and two female, I will also be offering Carbon Fibre blanks for the racing guys which will be mega light and not at a silly price. You can cut out a small hole for your light if required for racing. I'll also be offering mega light Carbon Fibre power bulges, again at a sensible price. I've been working on a couple of Red Bull planes with carbon and know how much it is to buy, can't believe some of the prices I've seen for CF mods, just because it's the current trend.
Back to the headlight covers. I view of the way the headlights and bezels are mounted, it looks like you'll have to remove the bezel, or move the unit down a few mm. Or if preferred I can trim them with a small lip to fit on top of the surrounding body work. Ideally I'd rather do just the one size. Next week I'm going to see the guys that will do the forming, so if my mould are ok, we'll be in business, any feedback from the news will be great appreciated, also your thoughts on the carbon fibre offerings too. I'll let you know of the price when I know how much they're going to cost me........Not only but also, it would be great to try the moulds out on a few of your cars before I settle on the final trimming, so if there's a bunch of you not to far from Lambourn, Berkshire, I will happily drive to see you to make sure all is going to work. The bonnet I have doesn't have any lights for me to check for clearance. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say....Andy

great stuff, i'm happy to do some trial fitting etc, i have none standard lights with dog bowls but will be good to see ho wthey fit. Carbon and or clear sound good, lightweight sounds very good

Woo Hoo ! Great news Andy that the covers are progressing . The carbon fibre bonnet bulge sounds very tasty too.

The move to perspex sounds a good move (and the CF covers will no doubt look rather cool for the racing cars too). My opinion on the design is to have the covers flush with the edge of the overall recess (e,g sylva phoenix) rather than a lip over the outer edge. I know this will probably mean that for existing cars the options will be :

a) chrome bezel will have to ditched
b) or.. a smaller headlamp and 'frame' fitted as a retrofit job
c) or.. for a neater job some grp fettling / repair to reduce the aperture and then fitting smaller units like the new Sylva J15.

entirely my preference of course, but options above should suit most owners?

be good to get more feedback on this.

ta

Richard

The moulders are in Northampton so if I'm around Andy can trial fit on my car.

I'd rather not have to relocate the headlights but I'm not 100% sure which option would be best until I see it!

I can now report that I have made the first set of carbon light covers for racing. made from 2 layers of carbon using epoxy resin, the pair weigh in at just over 200grams, so nice and light. The perspex cover couldn't be formed because of the shape (too deep a dish), so I'm now doing what I have done for the Stylus guys and having them vac formed in PetG. This is my second attempt at doing light covers for the Sylva mark, I really hope this time they "take off"! If you're interested just let me know..cheers

Looking at the interest on this thread I don't think you'll have any problems selling more than 10 sets straight off.

I am still in for two sets in petg. Which grade do you use ? Thinking about UV resistance and heat resistance. But as yo are the expert and done it before for the sylva's this will be ok.

I'd also rather not have to relocate/change the headlights diam. but I'm not 100% sure which option would be best until I see it. Removing the ring and replacing it with something else maybe ?

Andy, thank you for doing this ! Reading back this topic, I think selling 20 sets should not be a problem. Also, here in the Netherlands, there are several Fury owners who might want to buy some when they see them on my Fury

Hi Andy

Put me down for a set in PetG. I think they will look superb whatever the adopted headlamp solution.

I am sure there will be good take up of these. There are a lot of Furys out there!

Will stick a post on the Sylva google groups and if anyone can do same on the main JPSC club site?

[Edited on 12/8/10 by dickie b]

[Edited on 12/8/10 by dickie b]

found this from a message on the Sylva Chat list... I like to think Id like a pair of these but Im not sure about changing my exisiting light fitting... shame I didnt see it all earlier as Im in Bristol, up and down the M4 regulary and hooning up near Stroud alot too, so could have helped earlier on....keep me in the loop and will see how this develops...

Good stuff - Sadly I cant seem to upload pics to Sylva chat list, but pictures of the moulds are in my photo archive / member profile.

Hopefully will give a fair idea of appearance until the first units come through. Andy has done a great job here.

Hello, signed up to the site just so I can put my name down for a pair of covers when they're available.

Ta

Tony H

Andy sent me a quick update - he is not far off being ready to manufacture the covers in both carbon fibre, 'clear' and cheaper 'disposable' plastic for racing use.

Some latest pictures on my profile - but just be aware that these are very much prototypes while Andy finalises the materials, tooling etc..


ta
Richard

As it looks now I cannot get access to my Fury for the next months ( and even longer maybe ).. Instead
of changing gearbox & engine from 4AGE + T9 into 3SGE + MT75 myself, I decided to have it done
elsewhere . They F*****D up bigtime and it took them a year so far Now they do not want to finish
it without me paying more. ( even though I sponsered them enough the last year )...
I will consider purchasing the covers anyhow !!

[Edited on 1/9/10 by Jos Fury]

see here for first set fitted:-

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=142603

Andy sent me a set of 2mm "road" covers on Friday - too many other jobs to fit them just yet, but it looks to me as if I can move the lights down & inboard a little then they'll fit over the trim rings. I have stainless trim rings so I may even drill them & add riv-nuts as a mounting. The important thing though is that they seem to be an excellent fit for the shape.

Started fitting the lights yesterday, I moved the headlight inb'd & down & it looks like the 2mm covers will fit with the trim rings. Can't see how to add pictures, but there's one in my archive.

T

quote:

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Originally posted by Fury1630
Started fitting the lights yesterday, I moved the headlight inb'd & down & it looks like the 2mm covers will fit with the trim rings. Can't see how to add pictures, but there's one in my archive.

T

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If there were a bit more of an overlap, they could be fastened down by a few bike fairing bolts....

Do you have some more pics perhaps ?

quote:

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Originally posted by Jos Fury
Do you have some more pics perhaps ?

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Thank's and well done !

quote:

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Originally posted by Fury1630

quote:

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Originally posted by Jos Fury
Do you have some more pics perhaps ?

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Now I've fitted them properly, there are a few better photos in my archive.

They look Goooooooooood!

I had to move the lights down & inboard by about 5-10mm, which was easy enough & I removed the rubber gasket to move the lights back twards the body a bit. I then fitted M3 riv-nuts to the trim ring in three places (one has a spacer) & at the front I used a Dremel with a cutting disk to make a slot in the body & sikaflexed a simple "lolly stick" bracket with a forth M3 riv-nut in. I've bought it into work today & they haven't fallen off. I have sealed round the inside of the light shell with sikaflex as it's now missing a gasket.

T

[Edited on 30/9/10 by Fury1630]

[Edited on 30/9/10 by Fury1630]

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quote:

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Originally posted by stevebubs
If there were a bit more of an overlap, they could be fastened down by a few bike fairing bolts....

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What's the preferred fixing method if they are of the overlap type?

I guess Austen has done his with very sticky double sided tape and that suits his colour scheme but I can't think how I could make that work on mine.

Anyone got any photos of an overlapped set held on with bolts?