I covered the blocks with aluminum tape so the hot wire wouldn't dig into the wood, then hot glued then to my clamps so I could make as many identical pieces as I want:
The headlights I got are 5 3/4" motorcycle lamps with H4 bulbs and diamond faceted reflectors. I got these because the small size will fit in the headlight pockets with enough clearance to adjust them in any direction, and also because they'll be easy to mount and adjust.
'Fit' is a relative term.
I tore down and rebuilt the parking lamp areas so that both sides fit really close with a reinforced mounting platform. It was hard to get both sides sort of symmetrical.
I love these T-Bird lamps. I knew when I saw them in the junkyard that they were what I needed. The original 66 Batmobile has flush mount orange lenses, but I'm a sucker for brightwork.
When I put the final connectors in the sides, it showed me that I had a zig-zag pattern with some ribs too high and some too low. Also, the bulge of the wheel well was too extreme. (The original 66 Bat has no wheel well bulge, but I had to include one to clear the Miata body.)
Here's a high rib marked for trimming:
I tore out the connectors and turned my hot wire tool into a 'cheese cutter'. This allowed me to shave off controlled amounts from the high side ribs.
Hot wire cheese cutter in action: View attachment 46089
I tamed all the wild side ribs and sanded smooth. I think this will give a straight enough side contour:
I've been working at a slower pace the last month or so - I had to get some actual work work done, if you can imagine that (Including the gig poster I made for last night's DEVO concert here in Austin!)
But back to the bat:
I used strips of Balsa to bring the skeleton back to the door seam: View attachment 49171
I also used balsa to give a bat-scallop where the skeleton crosses the hood: View attachment 49176
I made a special trimming tool to trim the door seam: View attachment 49172
Which was great except that the body was mounted a little off when I did the trimming! So I glued on some more balsa and trimmed to fit. View attachment 49173
The other side trimmed: View attachment 49174
I got started on the door ridges - the big problem there is that the door folds inwards, so there's four inches or so where I can't have a ridge.
First I tried giving them a taper: