Lawson's 818C

  • Wheel Well Aluminum
    • I installed both the front and rear wheel well aluminum panels. The rear ones were fairly straight forward. The front was like a puzzle! I had to ask the Facebook group for help. The instructions don’t clearly show where they all go (although there is a diagram further back in the manual) and the content hasn’t been updated with the new panels for the revised front nose. That aside, I also had to modify some of the front panels because I did not fully understand how I should’ve routed everything earlier in the build to make these panels fit where they should. Some things I had to trim around because they were not easy to move and I moved a couple items that were easy. A couple panels still have to be installed, but I’m waiting until the doors and fenders are attached for the final time.
    • All these panels were coated in rubberized undercoating. I’m hoping this reduces some of the rock “pinging” when driving.
  • Rear hatch
    • Much like the rest of the coupe components, this was quite a chore to complete and the instructions/provided parts could use improvement. But I think it looks pretty good now that it’s done! I had to remove/reinstall/trim about 10 or so times to get it to fit when opening the hatch. Having all the glass in definitely makes this process more difficult but not impossible. Thanks to some forum instructions, I was also able to install the gas struts without much issue and now everything is working great. 
    • Fitment could be better, partly my own fault and partly not. I trimmed the edges of the fiberglass to match the glass so that once I have it vinyl wrapped or painted you can’t see red gelcoat. This made the panel gaps a bit larger but not horrible. The gap at the top is very large so it doesn’t hit when opening and the door also doesn’t really sit down enough at the top to seal. I may have to improve this seal better down the road to reduce wind noise.
  • Misc 
    • Next step is to work on the door windows and finishing the body fitment.
    • After just fiddling with the rear moving closure, I procrastinated restarting the doors by cleaning up shop a bit and reorganizing. A couple interesting things: I believe I am officially done using any of my donor parts! I am also down to exactly one box of FFR parts left to install which is quite a change from the massive pile of boxes I used to have just a year ago. The finish is in sight, but I’ve got my work cut out to finish the body and do the interior in the next 2.5 weeks.
  • Registration update
    • I’m still waiting on the second of my appraisals, but that should be in soon I’m told and then I will get everything submitted to the state to get my title. I don’t know how long it will take them to process it right now. Could be better than usual, could be worse. I’m still hoping I can get it up to Michigan but it’s definitely going to be complicated working out how to make sure the car is sorted enough to make the journey.


  • Rear hatch finished!


  • The rear hatch latch


  • Definitely completes the look of the car


  • FFR sends two slightly different collars…for the same size tube??? One’s loose, the other slightly tight.


  • Front wheel well aluminum


  • Rear wheel well aluminum


  • Me trying to solve the puzzle