Looks like we're gonna go all out now. On this past Sunday I received a front clip from a Manta, to be grafted onto the Sportwagon. Unfortunately I have my work cut out for me, there's a bit of the typical New England rot on everything!
I will probably replace the top valance with a carbon fiber part. I have a mold already made but I have no vacuum bagging equipment so I'll send it to a friend in Vermont who used to do a lot of composites work for race/rally cars. Carbon is extremely stiff so unless the part being made is flat you must vacuum bag it or it will not fit the contours of the mold. I will be making a custom front airdam as well, so I will pull a mold from the metal prototype and do the same thing, although it will probably be a carbon/aramid hybrid fabric for more impact resistance. And I'm seriously thinking about doing the hood as well. If I can gain the aero advantages of the Manta front end yet make it lighter than the Ascona front end the payback would be better top speed, better mileage, and better handling.
Unfortunately, in order to repair the rust that IS there properly, I have to disassemble the entire front clip. I went through 2 cobalt spot-weld bits, having un-done about 400 spot welds to get it to this point! and I'm not quite done yet either.
BTW, Castrol 'purple' cleaner works awesome, it removed 34 years worth of grime from underneath the hood in just two applications.
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