February 10, 2026
Now that the right fender is in place, there are still a few jobs to be done around the fenders. First, I finish the underside. I do this the way you’re all familiar with: from a piece of thin cardboard, I’ll make a template of the panel I want to make:
Then I transfer the template to a piece of sheet metal. I roughly cut out the shape with an angle grinder, and then use my belt sander to sand the piece to size. Finally, I weld the new panel into the car, finish the welds, and apply a coat of stainless steel spray.
Last month, I already cut a hole in the side of the car. The Maxi has smaller air intakes on the sides, and I had not found out whether the Maxi had a different bodywork because of this. Inquiries tell me the Maxi had a “standard” Renault 5 Turbo body, with the large hole in the side. The hole I’ve made is therefore too small, but that’s easily fixed.
February 15
Despite the cold, I am still trying to do some work on the car today. I can heat my garage reasonably well, but in subzero temperatures it takes a while before it’s even half comfortable. Today I am focusing on finishing the top side of the sill. As usual, I start with a template made of thin cardboard.
After cutting out the new panel from 1 mm sheet metal, I spray everything I won’t be able to reach later with Inox Spray. Then I weld the panel in place and finish everything again with Inox Spray. The only thing left to do now is to cut the new inner fender to the correct width. That’s for next time.
February 28
Now that the right-hand fender is almost finished, I’m shifting my attention to the left side. Exactly the same thing needs to be done here as on the right. I’m installing the rear control arms and the upright. I also install the right control arm so I can position my laser perpendicular to the car. Finally, I’m marking the centerline of the rear suspension on the body.
Jeroen hasn’t been sitting idle either. We try to help each other out. For example, a while ago I arranged sheet metal for both of us for the rear fenders and the front floor of the car. Jeroen had somebody make the panel that will go between the engine and the passengers. He also had the sheet metal parts made for the engine cover. And finally, he had two profiles made for each of us, which we’ll use to make the floor reinforcement.
