| Body Parting Lines and New Top Concept |
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The only thing keeping me from laying up molds at this time is my decision to use a larger tire at the back of the car. The larger tire means that I have to enlarge the wheel arch. It needs to be cut to an opening size of 25" up from 23". I am now using a 225/45/16 up from the original 205/40/16. I have also spaced the wheel outward by 1/4". The decision to use the 225/45 tire is based on the realization that many people will want to run a 17" rim. The diameter 225/45/16 is just over 24" and that is equivalent to a 225/40/17 tire. Now that I am within days of laying up the molds I made some decisions as to how the body parts will seperate once they are mounted on the car. I am a big fan of keeping everything really simple. In my opinion, the lower the body part count, the lighter and less complex the mounting will be back to the frame. As I have stated before, a main goal of La Bala is to keep the car simple and very lightweight. I settled on a clamshell back, a clamshell front, and (for now) a set of doorless side panels. Later, (and maybe not too much later), the side panel molds will be reworked to include a set of 1/2 doors that hinge from the top front edge. Simple doors. Like this:
Another item that is close to being fabricated is the Removeable Hardtop. Adding a hardtop makes La Bala an all-weather car. With a heater and with air-conditioning too! What I am not showing yet is how the hardtop hinges at the front (up by the windshield) so that when you open the doors, you also flip up the roof. This solves the issue of having to be a contortionist to get in and out of the car!
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