MadaboutKitcars

Haven't posted any updates for a while, so here's some piccies of stuff I've been doing in the last couple of weeks.

The low fuel light circuit is working nicely, and it provides two stage warning of fuel depletion by separate LEDs. I made this little holder at my engineering class to keep both of them together in the existing low fuel incandescent warning lamp had on the the dash. Yellow for low, Red for you're on your last legs.







It's just a friction fit into the plastic body of the lamp, just like the old bayonet bulb holder.

I've also turned some nice stainless steel knurled knobs for either end of the windscreen. Stainless is a bitch to machine - plenty of lubricant required for these knobs!



I'm really happy with the finish on these. After doing all the hard work at college on the lathe with a carbide tool, I took them home and with the aid of a M6 bolt with the head cut off, I mounted them in my pillar drill and set it to the fastest speed I could. I then started with 100 grit and worked my way up to 1500, before finishing them off with a polishing mop.



I've also taken up woodwork.

I made some plywood templates and with the help of my mate Iain, we cut the dash surround and door caps from some Sapelle I got from a local timber merchant





They need a good sanding to remove the tooling marks, but they looking great already. The intersection between the door cap and dashboard will be cut at 45 degrees or so, so the wood will appear to flow from the dash onto the door. They're attached using some M6 wood inserts and M6 bolts.

I've also just ordered a replacement fuel cap - a 2 3/4" Aston. More bling!

I'm halfway through making my lamp saddles for the high level tail lamps - I've done the turning, I just need to drill the mounting holes and counter bores on the milling machines in next weeks engineering lesson.

Looking very nice, Jason, well worth all the effort!

Your efforts look great. You could go into production with those knobs...

I have been going to "Metalwork" evening classes as well. Great fun. Building a small steam engine (to power the Marlin when petrol gets too expensive lol)

Robin

Not with the method I used.

The only stainless bar I had was 40mm diameter, and I had to turn it down 25mm... I love the smell of hot cutting fluid on metal. Smells of victory.

If I followed the same procedure, I suppose I could sell the swarf as very expensive brillo pads!

I only wish I could have made the knurling a bit deeper, but I was amazed that the non carbide tool I was using at Tresham actualy marked it at all!

Very nice 3/3

Ooooo. Shiney!







2 3/4" Chrome Aston from CBS. Looks like the flange mounting bolts has the same PCD as the aero cap I've already got, so it should just drop in. When I get her painted, I'll get the to paint the flange the same colour as the body.

High level tail lamps mounted:



The mounting saddles are made of 35mm aluminium bar that has been machined by yours truly at his engineering night class.



They're attached by a couple of stainless M4 cap head screws which are countersunk into the saddle. The lamp is held in place by the two M4 grub screws you can see on the back of each saddle.



I need to take them off and paint them satin black like the roll bar. I've toyed with the idea of polishing the aluminium up, but I think black would be better.

I need to chase the wires through the bar yet as well.

They look great.

And it makes me think that a combined rear light / brake light at that height would be a good idea.

I've often wondered about the lamp clusters mounted on the rear wings and whether the extent of their angle to the vertical reduces their visibility at night. Your suolution with a combined brake / rear light at height would overcome that.

Nigel

Nigel - they are stop and tail. They take dual filament bulbs.

Thanks Jason.

Yeh!! I've just looked back at your previous thread.

I'll make sure I put some wires through the rollbar when I get to making the loom.

N.

Well done they look really smart!

You'll have fun chasing the wires through the rollbar

Wires chased (PAIN - even with a fish tape), saddles painted - pics tonight of them working, fingers crossed.

Pics:

Both lit up


Tail


Tail & Brake


When I first connected them, I couldn't work out why they wheren't working properly - tails would work when you switched the lights on, but when you hit the brake they'd go out.

Turns out that you need to watch out which filament is connected to the brake and the light circuits. I'd inadvertently wired it up so that the bright high resistance brake lamp was on the light circuit, and the low resistance (dimmer) tail lamp was on the brakes. So when you hit the brakes, it earthed through through the brake circuit as it was an easier path than flowing through the bulb. D'oh!

Wire up the other way and it works fine.

Here's the new aston fuel cap fitted:



Bling! But it's not all sparkle and no function. If I wanted to, I could leave the locking cap off - it's all sealed but properly vented when closed without it. The locking cap is to stop toe-rags making off with my hard earned liquid gold.



I've mounted so that when you flick the catch it opens (it's spring loaded) and stays open due to the slope of the bodywork. I did think about having it the other way down with the catch toward the back, but it would flop back down after opening, making it a pain to get the pump nozzle in.



I'm really pleased with it. When it arrived, I thought it might be too big, and stand too proud of the bodywork, looking awkward and odd. But with it on, I think it's just right.

When I take Vikki for paint, I think I'll get the flange portion of the fitting painted the same colour as the bodywork. What do you think?

I've finished shaping the wood for the cockpit, sanded it all smooth & given it all 3 coats of yacht varnish. I'm chuffed to bits how its all come out:









Getting the door caps to fit has been a right swine - it's pretty much bob on now, but I will be fitting some rubber profile between the door and the car and when it's bolted on it'll take up any of the small gaps there might be.

Some lovely work going on there. Great attention to detail.

John

A little bit of titivating today. I've added a small bead around the inner edge of the wooden dash surround, and added the D shaped bead to the outside edge of the dash and to the door caps:







The inner bead matches the trim around the boot panels, and has been glued on with impact adhesive. The outer bead is sandwiched between the fibreglass and the wood, and is held there once the wood has been tighten up pinching the flange. Same goes for the door caps. It's a small detail, but i think it makes a big difference.

Now, if only my metal would turn up, I could make my door end caps. I'd like to have them done for next weekend when I come up to the show.

really impressed with the hard work you've put in and the results you've achieved. That wood is really good looking

Andy

i've finished the metal end caps of the wooden door tops:






Lots of filing, lots sanding through endless grades of wet & dry, and then polished up using 3 different mops.

Kerchow!

very, very nice work

I think I've found the paint for Vikki - Jaguar Black Cherry Metallic:





It's black, but with a subtle red flake in it. When the sun catches it, it's a very, very dark red, but in all other lights it's black.

It looks great in the flesh - I stopped at the local Jag garage today to have a look.

Off to Normandale in Daventry today to get a quote on the paint. Here's hoping it's not too expensive.

paint

That looks amazing-never seen it before.I will be thinking along paint lines soon I hope-Just put in my carpets yesterday-will try and put some pictures on later.

I'm just back from the bodyshop, and couldn't be more excited. as Simon pointed out when he got his cabrio done, they're a motorsport outfit, and as such are used to painting fibreglass & ali.

There was some interesting kit in there - historic LeMans Prototypes being spruced up, and what looked to me like a Bristol in a prep area undergoing a full bare metal resto.

Best of all was the back end of a Porsche 962 in Tic Tac livery. The chap who runs the place showed me it, and everything on it was painted. No decals. Awesome.

Looks like it's going to cost about £1500, and he'll collect and drop the parts off to me if I dismantle and re-assemble. I think I'm going to have to wait until after Le Mans this year as my weekends are packed for the rest of May... But I'm very very excited!!!

Actually, the best part of the trip was coming back via the B-roads, and getting caught in a village where the road narrows and a chaved out Corsa coming in the opposite direction had to wait for me to come through.

"Get a roof, you ****er" shouts the baseball cap'd twunt driving.

At which point I do the only natural thing - drop it down a cog and let Vikki have her head and leave them looking startled... She's very loud in confined spaces at high RPM.

Bwhahahaha!

[




It's black, but with a subtle red flake in it. When the sun catches it, it's a very, very dark red, but in all other lights it's black.

[/QUOTE]

Goo

This just what I had in mind, but could not find it - I've always called it Aubergine: a really dark almost black colour with a hint of red.
There was a Cobra on the Dax stand at Stoneleigh which nearly has this look but not quite.


I shall have to visit the Jag showrooms - I think it looks great.
Mike