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Hi Munky, the progress of panel styling has not progressed much, the passenger side needs to be profiled the same as the agreed driver side as pictured. Then there is loads of work to fill and smooth the buck, then paint, then the moulds. It will be spring before the panels for my build are available.
However, I still have the custom dashboard as pictured earlier in the thread to finish and fit. Progress has been on hold whilst we had the kitchen and bathroom re-modelled in our house, but that has just finished. I did the stripping out to reduce contractor costs, and also insulated much of the roof at the same time. I had planned to cover the dash with vinyl, but after visiting JaguarTVR to see his projects, he has convinced me that crackle paint is the way to go. I plan to try it out in the very near future, and if it does not suit, can still use the vinyl.
I have also been slightly diverted by another project. As Chris quite rightly insisted on building the first Z3gato, my big retirement project diminished in work input from me. Chris will deliver a road legal car, but with untrimmed coloured gelcoat panels, so all of the prep for painting etc will need doing, and meantime, I need to buy all the lights.
My plan to keep myself out of the way of Mrs Barber is to buy a classic Lambretta scooter wreck and refurbish it. To that end, I have been making a motorcycle lift by converting a £80 table lift by building an extended base, table top and stabilising struts from scrap angle iron. I just began my first welds (after a basic induction training / practice) this week. I am waiting until after Christmas for the one or two projects that will come up on ebay as some folk realise that they have spent too much over Christmas, and that the work involved is more than they realised, so want to sell off the projects. A friend is trying to convince me that we should go on a road tour and source the scooter in Italy, and bring some others to sell on and finance the trip. Tempting.
Meanwhile, I was going to change the Z3 interior to black, but when explaining the project to an inquisitive neighbour, realised as I was saying that California Sage Green was the intended paint colour, that the current Oregon Beige interior would probably look OK. The challenge is to get the custom dash to match that colour. I will probably have to have paint made up to match the gear lever gaiter.
I also need to strip out the storage box etc and use the vinyl to re-cover that area. I will not remove the roll bars until the car is due to go down to Chris for the build next spring. Chris will let me have a rear shelf to cover in advance of fitting, and will also make an interior roof panel (same as Kidge did on his 275 build) so that I can prep and line it ready to fit into the build.
The upshot is, it will be spring before any meaningful build stuff appears. I cannot wait to get the car. We have a wedding to attend in eastern Poland next summer, and I would love to take a leisurely tour in the car to get there (even in an unpainted state a la IanA).
Wow - thanks for taking the time to provide an update. Sure seems like you have a lot going on in life right now!
You may also want to think about a scooter from the US.
They crop up here from time to time (as projects) for the sort of money that they were in the UK when I was a teenager. And that was a loooooong time ago!
I’ll keep checking by. I just missed out from buying a SWB coupe around a year and a half ago due to bad timing. I ended up buying a couple of 911 projects instead. One is close to being done and the other is probably another 8 months or so away.
If you look at some of the interiors on the finished DNA cars you will notice a few light tan interiors that look very good. They have all kept a black strip at the top of the doors and all of the dashboards are black. Yours would look good with the beige interior and black accents. You could start now as it will be much easier to do before you bond the roof on.
Again on the DNA site there is a white 250 with a gorgeous red interior, unfortunately having a pale blue car with a dark blue roof it won't work for me so it will be boring black or maybe navy blue.
I have a set of MGB seats to go in and should have some interior trim panels coming from Classic Conversions in Basingstoke. Should be ready by the end of the week, I already have one of Chris's dashboards so just need to find the money for a set of instruments, that's the tricky bit.
But "everyone" does that. May I suggest that you look for a Moto Rumi Formichino - a much more interesting device !!!
By all means bring back some Lambrettas and Vespas to finance the project.
Just my 2p.
I had considered BSA Bantams, or even some of the Italian mopeds.
But the key consideration is, that I did all the maintenance and fixes in my late teens, on Lambrettas, so I know can do it. Also, there are top end upgrades for the small block Lambrettas, from 175 to 186cc. Even a 1215 can have a couple of gears swapped out, and a GP200 crank. So long as I cover my costs, and sell at just under the going rate, it is a free hobby and should also pay for the drifts and punches required (about £375). So far my outlay has only been £70 for the lift, £60 for the Aldi welder, £8 for rods and £43 for the welding mask and gloves. And I have had a lot of fun planning and implementing.
Here is my motorcycle lift in progress. The foot frame and table top have been welded, but are not yet welded to the £70 red lift that I bough off ebay. I have yet to fit the adjustable stabilisers to the frame so it doesn't rock. But with a bit of luck, finished this week.
It is more robust than it appears.
If you look at some of the interiors on the finished DNA cars you will notice a few light tan interiors that look very good. They have all kept a black strip at the top of the doors and all of the dashboards are black. Yours would look good with the beige interior and black accents. You could start now as it will be much easier to do before you bond the roof on.
Again on the DNA site there is a white 250 with a gorgeous red interior, unfortunately having a pale blue car with a dark blue roof it won't work for me so it will be boring black or maybe navy blue.
I have a set of MGB seats to go in and should have some interior trim panels coming from Classic Conversions in Basingstoke. Should be ready by the end of the week, I already have one of Chris's dashboards so just need to find the money for a set of instruments, that's the tricky bit.
That is an interesting idea, I will look into it, and it also reduces the risk of different shades of beige in the trim. I plan to change the steering wheel for something a tad smaller, and the chances are it would be black, so that works out too.
I had a couple of cheap motorcycles scissor lifts, under strain I found that they were prone to twisting.
I'm afraid I think that is what will happen to yours as all the weight will be on the wheels at the front and back.
I bit the bullet and bought a proper ramp and it takes a Rocket 111 or a big Harley with no problem.
I know a scooter isn't as heavy but once the jack starts twisting there is no way of stopping it until it hits the floor.
I had a couple of cheap motorcycles scissor lifts, under strain I found that they were prone to twisting.
I'm afraid I think that is what will happen to yours as all the weight will be on the wheels at the front and back.
I bit the bullet and bought a proper ramp and it takes a Rocket 111 or a big Harley with no problem.
I know a scooter isn't as heavy but once the jack starts twisting there is no way of stopping it until it hits the floor.
There may be a risk, but probably not great. The Lambrettas rest on the parking stand (leg each side) and the back wheel. They weigh less than 200kg, and the lift is rated for 750kg if my memory serves me well. I will be having lockable support struts supporting each corner. Most importantly, the legs on the parking stand will be directly above the side rails of the table and foot frame. Also, the lift will not have to raise more than around 600mm from the ground. I am comfortable with it.
Make the table frame larger than the base frame and fit legs???
Go with what you know.
Correct about the legs and width. The lift width is 42m the top rails are 700mm as are the foot rails. The stabiliser struts will effectively be the legs, and at made of angle iron hinged at the top and lockable along the foot rails. One on each corner. There should be no twist torsion applied to the lift itself, it only goes up and down. The only risk is at raising and lowering. That can be mitigated by fixing a cross strut to the stabiliser legs front and back.
Just a quick update, the lift is rated 135kg and a scooter weighs 75kg. I should not rely on my faltering memory for hard facts. A regular motorcycle lift is rated around 350kg at least.
Just a quick update, the lift is rated 135kg and a scooter weighs 75kg. I should not rely on my faltering memory for hard facts. A regular motorcycle lift is rated around 350kg at least.
That seems light. My old SX200 with fuel and without side panels tipped 120kg on a weigh bridge.
That seems light. My old SX200 with fuel and without side panels tipped 120kg on a weigh bridge.
I found some other sites that say 104kg dry weight. The SX200s had bigger blocks, but being aluminium, that wouldn't account for the difference. Was your Party 7 still on the floor?
Just looked at Cambridge Lambretta Workshop to make sure I wasn't going mad. This gives SX150 at 120kg and the 200 at 123kg. The Li was 105kg. Beauty must be heavy.
Just looked at Cambridge Lambretta Workshop to make sure I wasn't going mad. This gives SX150 at 120kg and the 200 at 123kg. The Li was 105kg. Beauty must be heavy.
Wow, I thought the SXs were just different panels and headsets with the option for the 200cc motor. Obviously more to it than that. I'll bear that in mind if I ever get an SX for restoration though, and not lean on the worktop!
Yep, the car looks a muscled up version of several Zagato designs. You can see the step up from the Ferrari. The front reminds me a lot of the MX5 version that Zagmad scrapped in order to pursue the slab sided Lancia saloon. Where did that get to I wonder?
Looks like someone glued a Zagato and 250 California together then stuck it on the helium pump at their local Hallmark card shop... #grinch
EDIT - went back and watched again and actually retract crunch statement. It certainly has presence. Interesting to note treatment of the Dunlop style wheels with black gloss centres and polished rims with spinners - really effective.
Just to confirm that this project has not stalled or stopped. After getting the lines on one side agreed with Chris late last year, the process of tweaking the back and front, then completing the other side has taken a while, and Chris lost some time out with a bad back. Chris should be in the "fill and sand back" any day now, and has some ideas about the window surrounds that he wants to try out. I promise that I will get some photos up shortly (a few weeks). meantime, now that the weather has started to warm a little, I may be tempted to swap the dashboard out. The only trouble is that I am wary of painting the new one in this colder weather. Is it a big risk?
Hammerite do a smooth satin black, easy to apply and gives a great finish, I am intending to give it a go on my dash. You can paint it on the kitchen table, but top tip, wait until the wife is out!
