Thanks for the links. Those linear actuators are only ~$130 on amazon. I could see using one at each end of my shell to work the front and back lift bars... We'll see.
I've had the side panels on the truck for a couple weeks now, putting them through some temperature cycles from below freezing in the mornings to 70s in the afternoon as well as some rain and frost. When they were new, the surface was nearly mirror smooth, but they're starting to ripple a bit on the surface. There is a bit of a raised line on one where the glass crosses a joint in the foam underneath.
I'm tempted to go ahead and make a mold from each of them so I can lay up some new fiberglass pieces easily should I need to.
When I do the shell, I think I want to change my strategy a bit. When I lay the glass over the foam, I'll make sure to paint/brush on some resin to the foam first, then lay glass over, and brush/roll more resin through the glass to make sure I get perfect adhesion. After glassing, I think I'd like to use resin/fairing compound to smooth things out instead of body filler or glazing putty. Or, perhaps I'll do the fairing compound and then just a thin layer of glazing putty.
If just the faring compound is enough to smooth out the surface, it would be nice to put some white pigment into it and make painting easier. Hmm.... I am full of hmmm... today.
