This is a read-only archive of the old Madabout Kitcars forum. New posts and replies are no longer possible, but every thread is still here to browse and read.
Indeed Tim - good to see progress for all our cars :-)
But $5k shipping - wow, you guys down South sure have it tough. The car will be worth it though - I think all of us who have embarked on these builds love the look of these cars, and I guess we know they will cost us far more than our original budgets - part of teh fun :-)
For sure Marc. Transit was factored in but the aud tanked and what was 60 p to the dollar became 45, and parity with the U.S. became 70c. Bit of a nightmare.
But, today was hoisting the body to its temporary home near the roof which I saw on someone's thread and thought a great idea.
I've seen several people cut a bit of the rear frame out to put the tank in. If it goes in backwards that's not needed. Anyone tell me if this is a fundamental error that I'm not seeing the problems with this?
You might want to check clearance on the body at that point . Memory is failing me a bit but I know that clearance is quite tight in that area on a Sammio and when a couple were fitted with rear tanks , they had to be dropped in height a bit , on a Vitesse this causes rear shock clearance issues but you will be ok on yours .
Obviously , this isnt a Sammio so my advice may be totally wrong , but the similarities in this area between the 2 marques would prompt me to check that out first .
Hi all, bank holiday meant I'm off but steel suppliers are not!
I went to the supplier to buy stuff for the floors. I'd already taken a full size Indiana jones style crayon rubbing of the chassis and drawn out the door and cuts so I knew how much to buy.
Then I got to the steel place to be told minimum order $300. (Aud) not fazed at this point I asked if cutting could be included. Yes. So I asked if they could lazer cut and again yes. So I'm getting floors lazer cut to size for no more than the cost is otherwise be charged for the steel !
Lesson in not stopping the negotiation even when minimum agreements are achieved!
I also tried my hand to welding new front supports on. I used 3mm steel and drilled and tapped holes for the hinge mount points as you can see.
Not bad for a first job but did use 3 rods doing it!
Laser cut floors, mmm. A bit of tweaking to the cad drawing and I'll be able to email it to whoever.
I'll get it all lined up and the drop I need to accommodate the herald seats then get it TIG'ed by a pro as I've used 0.9mm steel like the herald did. I'll also try to get some swages done in them for shape stiffness.
Hi, been a while, still trying to sort out the floors.
So I've been doing more tuning and still misfiring (on new plugs) so a mixture thing. Spoke to a triumph racer last weekend and I'll try no springs in the su2's and no dashpot oil. The mesh is to actually restrict the airflow as with the spit mk 2 induction I'm getting too much air for the little 948.
Then I'll work back up the three steps of increasingly richer needles as I go.
Triumph! Pun intended! Springs from a local supplier. With the spax adjustable shocks from rimmer I can go 10" or 9" same height so I'll go with 10" 2 3/4 (70mm)ID 300lb/inch springs. Should give the bottom control arms level. I made 1/4" shims from aluminium for front camber but may not need them. I'll need to shim the steering rack about that too.
Heard tribute bought miglia - and are working on the frame... Maybe make yours from scratch, guys. Here's my mod to get the steering in an acceptable position.
Heard tribute bought miglia - and are working on the frame... Maybe make yours from scratch, guys. Here's my mod to get the steering in an acceptable position.
I'll need to slim the driver seat a tad too.
Hi Tim
The Miglia frame jig and "basic" frame that came with the body moulds can best be described as shocking. I will post some pics before it goes to the scrap man.
Will be interesting to see how you make your new one. Mine is "very" basic as it was specially made for my Spitfire body, and I think I will extensively rework it to provide additional rigidity and crash protection
Tim ...My experiences are purely Sammio , so can advise to a certain extent but not totally ...
The radiator on all Sammio Spyders is moved forward and down , it is lent backwards , two Herald top hoses are joined using a steel tube sleeve to create a longer top hose and , traditionally , I used an after market universal bendy hose from our local accessory store for the borttom one ...fan is removed from the engine and a flat electric fan like these below is fitted to the radiator. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272212677148?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
The lower level of radiator means you need to fit an expansion bottle up on your bulkhead with the outlet higher than your thermostat housing ideally ..
Steering and master cylinders on a Sammio were not really tampered with other than relieving an area below the column as it exits the bulkhead to allow the column to drop slightly ...I deliberately kept it stockish and simple on the Sammio's using the bulkhead and all parts there of as much as possible ..
The Miglia rear cockpit and stretched nose styling is more challenging ..
I know that the frame building was never done by Mike himself , hes not really a welder / fabricator ..his area of expertise is body repairs and paint ...he's not really a car builder as such ..he was having the frames made by his transport guy who is a banger racing car builder ...The last few frames I saw were shocking ..I asked Chris for the pedal plate from his Miglia frame he had and one , just one , tap with the hammer and it flew off catching me by surprise !!
The master cylinder issue is probably as simple as move them forward ..but check your legroom and pedal position before you make that permanent ...obvious I know but needed mentioning ...if not , maybe some surgery to the rear of the engine bay with a little hatch to access them ?
The Ferrari 410 Sport that was built for the Carrera Panamericana is one of my favourite cars from the mid 50's and has a very complicated bonnet and series of hatches and vents etc..so some access panels would not be too out of place ?
Thanks Paul, Lancelot. I added welds to the plate anyway(and an extra triangulation strut). While I'm loathe to move it, shifting it forward (towards the front) would be a good thing for pedal placement but may give even more awkward placement of the cyl caps - right on the bonnet shut line. The steering is the most challenging in terms of supporting all the new uni joined shafts. Radiator can drop a notch on the existing shroud, that should do it with one or two of those fans.
Thumbs up on the triangulation ...Mikes understanding of frame construction didn't involve triangulating or bracing ..there was one sat outside his unit a year or so ago and it was swaying in the wind !!
....what about converting the cylinders to remote reservoirs like the early Beetles and then you can put them anywhere ?
I've been stewing on this today and I'm probably setting myself up for being verbally attacked but when the Miglia came out , it was Heralded as the all new , all straightened , all sorted car the Sammio should have been . As a result the price was increased over the Sammio price by about 5-600 quid approx. (Based on a similar Cordite )
Truth was you paid your extra money and got a better body in some degrees , arches rounded , shiny ...but you still got tape measure variances , panel fit issues , wheel arch location discrepencies challenging build problems ..you also got a thinner layup than a Sammio ...and the internal frame that was seriously lacking in strength , accuracy , purpose etc...no tunnel , no bracing ... In other words , the Miglia was no better an offering than the Sammio was at the end of the day despite the best efforts to hype it up ...
As crude as my concept was , it worked ...looking at Tims car , without major mods , it doesnt work ...
I do think they are a pretty little car though ... and despite the trials , no less a taxing build than any Hot Rod project and just as , if not more so , worthwhile on that first drive !!
Lancelot I was also a bit disappointed particularly in the frame, not square, poor weld penetration, uneven lengths everywhere. I know it won't be seen much but tribute have a pretty easy job to make a massive improvement.
However it's all been fun, now I can weld! And I still have the only one in australia and will still come in under half the cost of a "seven" and a quarter the cost of a cobra. Should also be 50kg or so lighter than a build with the bulkhead retained.
Me, I went for the Miglia as it was what I saw at a show, so knew nothing of the various "shenanigans" around body designs etc.
Mike agreed to develop a Spitfire version for me, so that clinched it.
The build quality is not great, but then I didn't pay much for it - £1,200. SO I knew exactly what I was getting myself into.
The rest is what I expect from a kit car - a lot of customisation/modification. This is not a well sorted kit car offering, it is a body shell and "sort of" frame for a car builder to develop his own ideas from.
Hard work, yes. But if we wanted it easy we could go to Gardner Douglas and buy a sorted Cobra for £40k.
NOT BITTER MATE ...I just used to get pissed off when the digs about Sammio quality were being thrown around when , in reality , the Miglia was no better in the long term .....the bodies were slightly better , the frames were far worse ..shiny doesnt make something good . It looks great in pics but doesn't change build issues . I saw your body before you received it so understand what you mean about modifications ...ironically one of the common issues with the Sammio , wheel arch centralization , never got fixed in the remoulding and even your shortened version suffers with that ailment .
I totally agree about the GD. comment ...The Sammio project was born from my frustrations of not being able to consider a finished car and having to make do with building something myself ...
The Miglia and Sammio are what they are ...a starting point , as you say ....I have no issues with either product and having just finished a 'fast track' Sammio , have just bought another unfinished one and have also ordered a Miglia body from Tribute !!
[/[URL=http://s1332.photobucket.com/user/1iTim/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsx2g8yz7g.jpeg.html]