Neil's Aventador build (Page 23/74) Dubuc SLC NOV 16, 10:02 AM We drove down 5 hours to see Neil`s work on the Aventador... First Neil thank you very much for our time and passion. Your work is amazing.....your a first time builder and you kick..a... We were 3...Paul as built 4 high end replica ( Countach Diable Murcielago ) for himself...Michel is a machinist ( Rebuilding a Mercedes 190 sl 1958 ) and me Mario a car builder and car designer ( The Tomahawk Electric Sport Car ) not to judge but encourage you to keep the good work of high quality replica and attention to detail . Even if you doubt sometimes, your are good....and be be proud of your work. Thanks again Neils88 NOV 16, 07:52 PM quote Originally posted by Dubuc SLC: We drove down 5 hours to see Neil`s work on the Aventador... First Neil thank you very much for our time and passion. Your work is amazing.....your a first time builder and you kick..a... We were 3...Paul as built 4 high end replica ( Countach Diable Murcielago ) for himself...Michel is a machinist ( Rebuilding a Mercedes 190 sl 1958 ) and me Mario a car builder and car designer ( The Tomahawk Electric Sport Car ) not to judge but encourage you to keep the good work of high quality replica and attention to detail . Even if you doubt sometimes, your are good....and be be proud of your work. Thanks again Thanks so much, Mario! I was amazed at the collective knowledge and experience that came down for a visit. My door is open for you guys anytime! Neils88 NOV 16, 07:56 PM The hatch framing is almost completed now. I still have to finish welding some of the joints, then I can get to work on the hinge mounts. Neils88 NOV 17, 06:57 PM I finished welding the hatch frame and spent a little time mocking up the hinge set up. This is going to take a while... Neils88 NOV 21, 07:40 PM I took a few nights off due to an illness...but managed to get back to work today. I installed bolts into the hatch frame, and also welded some nuts into a couple of 10" steel sections. After attaching the hinges to the frame, and the two sections to the hinge, I put the complete hatch into place. Once I got the hatch lined up where I wanted it, I cut some small supports and used them to attach the two sections to the two long beams that extended from the roof to past the strut towers. The two beams run the length of the hatch along its edges. I still need to make some adjustments and eventually I'll have to correct all the gaps and make sure everything is properly aligned. I also added the two small struts to the hinges. As expected, they aren't strong enough fully support the full weight of the hatch, but they still do a pretty decent job for now and make it very easy to lift the hatch. The hatch will of course get heavier once I add a couple of layers of fiberglass to the underneath side to box in the frame, and of course add the three pieces of glass (acrylic?) that go in the large opening. I plan on using some full length struts, likely ones from the Lambo Hinge kit that I bought. They are much stronger and will have no problem supporting the full weight of the hatch. I will actually adjust the connection point to the hatch for the large struts...the further away from the hinge I move them, the more weight they will be able to handle (of course the less height will be achieved from the hatch, so obviously there is a trade off) GlennGdman NOV 22, 07:21 AM Those hinges you found seem to be working nice Neils88 NOV 22, 11:40 AM quote Originally posted by GlennGdman: Those hinges you found seem to be working nice The only issue with them was that the two angled points of the hatch actually drop down below the roof level. I had expected them to rise up slightly. As a result the tips rubbed against the back of the roof very slightly as the hatch was lifted. Fortunately, once I put the shocks on the rubbing stopped. I will make some adjustments in the roof panel (above the rear glass, and below the actual roof line) so that there is no chance of further rubbing once the gapping has been done. Neils88 NOV 22, 07:57 PM I made some good progress today on the latch mechanism for the hatch. I started by installing the hook onto the hatch itself. With that properly installed, I put the latch in place onto the hook (with the spoiler off the car, there was lots of room for me to access the latch). I then built up a support structure for the latch, holding it in the exact position that it sits with the hatch shut. Everything is ready to go, I just need to finish welding the support structure to the car frame (it is just sitting there in the bottom three pictures). Another view of the hatch hinge and its support connected to the rear beam... A view of the latch hook... The latch seen with the hatch shut, sitting with the support structure... Neils88 NOV 23, 07:46 PM Today I welded the hatch latch support bracket to the trunk frame. I notice that there is a little bit of flexing of the bracket where it connects to the trunk frame so I'll need to add a couple of stiffening braces. I'll likely add them behind the latch support and connect them to the rear bumper frame. Neils88 NOV 25, 07:16 PM I added some additional bracing for the latch. This will help in case the hatch is slammed shut more than it should be. Front view of the hatch up...