MadaboutKitcars

Dave , I really like the Vitesse Banjo wheels - might be an issue with leg room on yours though ....I think they are just so period correct...

Is Dave really tall?

What is the problem?
Gary.

6'2"

Now that i'm sorting the interior i keep test fitting the drivers set in order to make sure everything is perfectly set up for me.

So-far i've chosen instrument placing etc. with the new wood rim wheel in place but i've taken that out and wrapped it up so that i don't damage it during the final stages of the build. Only to find out that the original Vitesse wheel is actually quite nicely suited to the Sammio shell and also worth a few bob as well! If i hadn't already splashed out on the wood wheel I'd seriously be in two minds over it now that i've seen the Vitesse one!

VOSA done!

I'm no longer the owner of a Triumph Vitesse, but i am now the proud owner of a Sammio Spyder!
Well..... as soon as the V5 comes back!

It was a 10 hr day, 9 hrs of which was driving, but it was worth it! And despite the best efforts of the weather (it pished it down and completely soaked me! Twice!) there were no problems. Although quite how "a bit cloudy with a 20% chance of rain" turns out to be "torrential downpours at the most inopportune moments!" i don't know!

Car all loaded and wrapped up and ready to go. Actually i'm cheating here, this was taken when i got back, but it was such torrential rain when i was loading it, i was in no mood to take photos!



Stuart (top bloke!) doing his inspection while Gary and i watched on and got thoroughly soaked. Note the look of enjoyment Gary has on his face! MANY MANY MANY thanks to him for this!



And when i got home it finally stopped raining enough for me to unload it!
Now officially a Sammio Spyder



As i knew that i'd be leaving Somerset i even took my passport with me, but i wasn't asked for it once? odd

oh dave thats great news, guess i better pull my finger out of my ear and get move on,but im off for weeks holls, yep that add xtra week to my build not that i need any help, hey im the jealous one now dave.....oh and the sammio looks great....

Doing well, Dave

How come the chassis sticks out the back?

shin bashers

Hi, you need to get vosa out the way before the rear outriggers ends "fall off" same for the round one at the front either side of the hinge points if they fall b4 vosa it's classed as a chassis mod then it moves into sva oooo just sent a shiver down me spine.Pat

great job Dave - whats left to do?
Is it it just Paint and trim?
Have you chosen the colour yet?

Thanks Pat

I havn't noticed that on any pics before. So, do you save the piece you cut out and stick it back afterwards? Is there anything else like this to know?

The Chassis "mod" isn't really a mod, it's just a case of going with the system.

From what i've read, if you can get an 'expert' to attest to the fact that those bits aren't a structural component of the chassis and removing them doesn't affect the integrity of the chassis then they could be altered whenever you please and it wouldn't trouble VOSA at all. (NOTE: this is only my personal view based on some VOSA guidelines i've read!)

If you can't get that statement and you present it to VOSA for inspection with the ends of those pre-altered then it's completely up to the local inspectors interpretation of the regulations and how that applies to your particular chassis. TBH seeing as they are the end of the outriggers i'm pretty sure that 99 out of 100 inspectors would be more than happy with it, and probably the majority wouldn't even know that the outriggers had even been adjusted in the first place if they didn't know the Triumph chassis.

So seeing as the VOSA inspection is simply an inspection to confirm that you have re-bodied the existing chassis (in order to change the V5) and is not a mechanical inspection then simply leaving them sticking out is the simplest course of action all round.

TBH, i was considering using them to support a bumper at one point as they would be ideal for that.

Finish wiring up lights.
Wire in the instruments (the previous owner had cut them out! )
Lower front springs
Mount bonnet
Paint & Trim (Alfa Romeo red paint with a Black interior)

Oh..... and start the engine! i've changed the carbs back from twin SU's to twin Strombergs and i've also fitted a new alternator & Starter and tidied up the wiring and i haven't started it since all of that so fingers crossed!

Hi
In your last picture I don't see the rear legs of the chassis sticking through the body of the car, how did you avoid this?
Cheers Psycho

Just had a few days of crisis, as i tried to start the engine but everything was completely dead and i feared the worst, i.e. that the after market electronic ignition was dead

So i decided to be brave and i stripped all of the front loom apart and quickly found where the problems were. i.e. when one of the previous owners had done the alternator conversion they had made a number of..... interesting mods to the wiring loom!

Those have all now been ripped out and replaced with proper connections and wiring and I'm proud to say that 25 minutes ago, i started the engine for the first time!

And what a hell of a noise it makes

its scary waiting to hear it start for the first time

But short of seeing my son born - there is nothing more i love than the first start of that project you have been working on .
hahaha and i bet the neighbours were all looking out of their windows

Well done another hurdle crossed.

Anti-roll bar off and the parts have just arrived to fit new upgraded one.
The right shock is off.
BUT!
The bottom bolt of the Left shock is being a bit of a b@gger!
It looks as though the bolt has bent over time and despite having got the nut off and the liberal application of WD40 (i can now at least turn it with a lot of force) it's stubbornly refusing to come out.

Any suggestions on how to get it out would be greatly appreciated as i ideally wanted this done before i go on holiday next week so that i can return with just the body and trim to do.

Could you get a ball joint splitter on it and force it out?

Hi Dave,

I had the same and I just angle grinded the head of the bolt off, removed it and replaced it with a new one from Rimmer Brothers.

Trev.
http://www.sammiospyder.blogspot.com/

Cheers for all the advice, the use of a very large hammer and steel rod removed the suspension bolt.

I too had to get replacement drop links from Rimmers but that means that the anti-roll bar is now fitted and it's shininess is embarrassing the rest of the engine bay! (Note: the engine bay restoration is the job for this winter once i've had a bit of fun in the car first)

The front end of the car was 60mm (ish) higher than the back so I removed 60mm from the front springs and the front end is now only ~20mm higher than the back. (measured from the bottom of the bodyshell and not the chassis)

Has everyone else made their perfectly level? As atm it actually looks quite good?

Any new pics yet, Dave?

And has lowering floor got you at the right level? I'm only 6' and a bit, so i am thinking i wouldn't need to bother. Also do you have pics of inner wheel arches, how do yo do them.

6' and a bit might benefit from lowered floors on the Spyder ....not an issue with the G-46 or 550

garyh - from what i've seen doing mine, if you go for a REALLY thin seat and tilt it then you "may" get away without lowering the floor. But it'll depend on what seat you go for and how comfortable you can get it.

I'm 6'2" and i've needed drop the floor by 60mm and tilt the seat in order to fit the monstrous great buckets i went for

I'm now back from holiday and i've noticed that Trev seems to have just caught up with where i am and even overtaken me in places! Which is EXCELENT! as i've got a few questions i can ask him now .

NOTE TO OTHER BUILDERS: if you go for 15"s then unless you go for really low profile tyres, you are more than likely to have to mod the bulkheads! Hopefully as long as the weather holds i should get this done tonight and then i can finally fit the bonnet!

I need to get that done tomorrow/Friday as i have now ordered all of my paint and so i need to finish all of the main fabrication asap!
FYI i've gone for Alfa Romeo Red (modern code 289), or at least as near to it as the paint guys can get with Cellulose.

Hope you had a good holiday.

When possible can we have a side on shot, so i can view the wheels and tyres, just to see what it will look like. Please explain about the problem.
I want to keep a tallish tyre, to keep the retro look.layball:

More photos coming soon, I'm just hammering on with the fab atm!

One interesting development is that even with the recessed bulkheads my tyres still make contact

I've currently got 165 SR 15's fitted to the wheels i bought and it shouldn't be an issue fitting smaller tyres, but does anyone know what profile SR is? 65? 75?

What tyres are other's with 15's running?

I haven't got any pics of the finished mods at the moment, but these were taken as i went along:

Passenger side bulkhead cut (please ignore the state of the wiring, i haven't tidied it up after the big re-wire yet!)


Drivers side bulkhead cut: