X1/9 Dallara kit

hey all

i have just brought a real Dallara bodykit from italy...i was wondering how hard of a job it is to change....and is they any tips i can have from anyone who has done this aswell?

thanks

brian

Can u give me the details as of where you bought the
kit what site must i go to and who must i contact

fibercar.it/ (i cant post the complete url, just paste it in your browser
price complete +/- 1650 euro

The level of work needed depends on how thoroughly you want to make the conversion.

For road use you need to retain as much metal as you can, for "race" use it is the complete opposite.

For road use it would go something like this:
Starting at the front - remove the front luggage cover, front bumper and associated trim. Cut (I hate saying it) the nose panel from the car so that the GRP nose section can sit in place, you will need to do the same to both front wings as the original wings form part of the nose. Leave enough metal at the top of the wing to attach the grp panels - good conversion kits come with a panel return so the you attach on the inside edge of the luggage area. Cheap kits lack this feature and have to be carefully attached along the top and outside edge.

Unless you are starting from a 1300 with the original bumper design you will notice that the bumper mounting points are now in the way of your new panels - you will need to cut them back. Even on a 1300 this may be necessary.

You need to spend some time getting the alignment just right otherwise the new wings will not line up with the nose and the new luggage cover will have the same problem.

*note* each metal panel removed like this weakens the monocoque so you need to make sure each section is reassembled and firmly set before moving on.

The door skins are a problem, you will need to remove the door from the car before doing anything *and* make sure it is all squarely braced before removing the old skin or the door will twist and you will have the nasty job of realigning it. Best idea is to try and create a diagonal crossbrace inside the door structure - the converted doors were not intended to retain a moving glass panel so the idea of a crossbrace if you want to retain the window winder can be tricky.

The rear wings are probably the easiest bit as the rear structure is very strong - you can safely remove the entire rear wing and not worry too much about distortion. The new panels sometimes go all the way to the roofline but many conversions opt to retain the original metal above the top of the rear section of the wing (as yours do). You will obviously need to remove the rear bumper before you start and cut the bumper mountings back to create the flush finish of a Dallara. Be very careful with the metal rail that runs along the top of the rear wings and similarly the rear panel which has very narrow vertical sections to either side of the rear lights, they damage easily...

The rest is just a matter of getting the panel fit right and bonding everything in place (rivet and bond where possible, it is a much stronger finish).

You'll need to source appropriate headlights for the recesses in the nose and appropriate indicators/sidelights.

Another point of interest (looking at the panels in the pictures) is that the front wings wrap around to the front following the line of the original nose but the nose section appears to go straight back. It might just be a matter of perspective in the pictures or you might have to do some cutting...