Daytona coupe Body

[MAStuart]

I am going to look at a Daytona coupe body . The guy doesn't know anything about it except he was told it fit on an Corvette chassis. Anyone know of a maker of a body that fit this description? Looks to have been sitting outside for a number of years.


Edit after looking I don't think this was supposed to go on a corvette chassis.

Mark

[MAStuart]

Well I went to look and now I have to pick it up. So now I need to find out who made it . If you recognize it let me know. It is very dirty and has mold growing on it like most cars around here if they sit without getting washed for a couple of years. I don't think anything has been done to it . It is still sitting on the shipping skid. All the floor pans and firewall are molded in. The body is very solid and not flimsy . A little scrubbing and the gel coat will look good. I will post more pictures after I get it home.

Mark

[MAStuart]

Here are some more shots. What do you think.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by MAStuart

Here are some more shots. What do you think.

I preface this by saying that noone can ever say that I've not offered an opinion when was not asked for.

Here is mine

Sure hope he paid you to haul it away.

Good luck, but I can't visualize what would come out of this that would be worth more than a a new factory 5 kit. What kind of donor? How was it fitted? This looks like someone's vision, not anything production. Gotta have some good glass and frame-making skills.

Good luck!

[krausewich]

Body has the markings of an R&D/Highlands/Midstates/Shell Valley. Not quite sure which make for certain as I am not familiar with their substructure/chassis'. They do make a pretty cool looking car when complete. One of the only 90" wheelbase replica versions available. Sweet score! I have some pictures of completes if you are looking (won't let me post).

Mike.

[Jac Mac]

NAF ( Nth American F/glass )had a coupe body that might have been for a longer w/base like vette, guess you will have to wait til you get it home to check wheelbase dimension. IIRC the NAF car had wider rear wheel area also and slightly flared front wheel archs, went looking for info in old magazines, ( always a good way to lose an hr or 2 ) but did not find info..

[MAStuart]

I did some measuring and it looks to be 90 in wheel base. I paid for this body and think I got a good deal . I will probably resell it after I clean it up . This thing has good body lines. I have been scratch building an Daytona coupe to original specs including the aluminum body. The body I will pick up looks a lot more accurate than the old factory 5 Daytona coupe. I think I found who made this body. It does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Here is a link to a thread on this site about the place that probably made this body. Who are these guys? I have never seen this Coupe b4!

If you have any more info about windshields ect. I am all ears

Mark

[MAStuart]

Jack There are no flares on the front wheel wells. It is 90 inch wheel base. I measured across the front end and it is 65 inches. It is 68 inches long and that is how long the buck I built for my aluminum body front end is. I also brought one of my aluminum spoiler parts to compare with the glass one and was surprised on how close they were. I will know more when I get it home.

Mike I see you just got a body .Who did you get it from.

Mark

[MAStuart]

I have another question. Did I see a thread where someone was looking for the molds for the coupe from the place that I thought this body came from?

Is it possible this body is from shell valley? Did they end up with the molds?

I think Mike said it could be shell valley but I could not find very good pictures of there body. That I could find it looks like there exhaust opening at the rear looks to be the same on the body that I got. Other pictures in other areas also make me think they are the same.

Mark

[krausewich]

Hi Mark,
I got mine from Mr. B. Needs a bit of work to get it to where I want it, but it's a good start. Shell Valley is the latest owner/producer (to my knowledge) of the lineage I listed. They have info on their site, and could likely provide you and answer on the glass and misc. other items needed. The shape isn't very accurate on the main body/cab, but could be made to look real nice with a bit of rework over the rear wheels and windshield. The nose looks nice. The R&D car was the root to the gen1 FFR coupe before it was hacked to pieces to scale it, reshape it into what it became.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/plesqk3ku...hF6nsQF4a?dl=0

The dark blue car is an NAF. I showed it for comparison... I think they have a different windshield shape and a few other things, but have never seen one first hand.

[Jac Mac]

On Shell Valley the door does not form part of the rear wheel arch. In pics of body its a bit hard to tell.

[bkozlow]

I am 99% sure the body's heritage is R&D Design out of Omaha, NE. Later sold to Shell Valley/MidStates. Your problem is going to be the windshield. R&D used a cut down windshield and I don't remember the brand but the model was called a B-10. Yes, a foreign car. They were cracking windshields left and right when cutting them down and then found someone to make them in Minn. to the correct size. Right after this they got out of the business and sold it off. I would check with Shell Valley and see how close their windshield is to the original R&D. Hopefully, when they up graded the molds they kept the same windshield. If you can not find anything , then I suggest you make a simple mold. You say you have some aluminum skills. Find someone in your area that does (Lexan) polycarbonate forming and have them make you a windshield.

Bill K

[Mark IV]

Datsun B10?

[YerDugliness]

I once had a Datsun B210...it was a small "fastback" model, powered by a 4 cylinder engine. It was hard to fit 4 into one...almost like torture to try to fit 5 into one.

...not sure if I've ever heard of a B10, though...doesn't mean there wasn't one, just that I've never heard of one...

Datsun had some strange model names for their small pickups, I do recall that.

Cheers!

Dugly

[bkozlow]

It could be a B-210, you are asking me to remember quite a while ago. I remember, I was not really familiar with the model at the time but I think you are correct that it was a Datsun.

Bill K

[MAStuart]

Thanks for the comments guys. Well the trip to fetch the thing went smooth. It was easy to load and made it home without loosing anything. I am not sure how long this thing has been sitting outside. It has a lot of mold growing where it has tree sap on it. I will get it cleaned up and post more pictures of it and we will figure out who made it. It will be interesting to see how it measures up with what I am scratch building and how it compares with the shape of what I am building.

Mark

[MAStuart]

Bill There is a Datsun B10 and a B210. I call Shell Valley yesterday. The man on the phone confirmed indeed there coupe started off from R&d Design. He also told me that the molds were not changed but were just repaired . I asked about a windshield. He said sure but did not know if it will fit my body.

Shell valley's web site is pretty vague on the coupe . No pictures of body or chassis . I asked if there info package showed any more than the web site. I was told that it didn't show much more. I asked how they expected to sell anything if you couldn't at least see what you were buying..


If anyone knows of a site that shows one of there coupe kits before it was built I would appreciate it.

Mark

[MAStuart]

I started cleaning and it cleans up pretty easy . I also wanted to try to compare it to the shape of the scratch build I am building. In the pictures you can see some of the aluminum panels and tube supports against the glass body . No where a perfect match but better than I thought they would be. Now I am not saying my parts are a perfect shape as I am working off plans and it is there interpretation of what it should look like. I am just comparing the two .

Mark

[MAStuart]

More Pictures

[MAStuart]

One more