MadaboutKitcars

Looks like my wife parked that!

Thank you for the directions about posting pictures. I will try to set that up here shortly. And, thanks Gary for posting my pictures.

Ain't she pretty.

I'm heading to the shop to weigh the little Demon now. My Friend Fred, (chassis engineer) thinks this is viable from a structural stand point and has done a preliminary sketch of what he sees for bracing. I will post those details after I get the body here and can sort some things out.

In the mean time I just happen to have a couple of old Kellison fiberglass bodies. I think I'll see how they fit! Having fun. Just wish I had more time!

Hmmm.... so thats what mine would have looked like if i had the balls and a work area with a roof. Looking good John but as Garry said this sort of build would be subject to an IVA test (a single vehicle approval test)
Its possible but even production cars would have difficullty with radius test etc. Im sure some will try it here and I will be interested to see one in the flesh

I weighed the Miata as you see it in the pictures today. It was 1653 lbs, with 40% on the rear. The weight balance isn't to surprising as a lot of the rear was cut away. The bottom line is I don't like the way it looks, the weight balance, or the high over all weight. I think the Sammio body deserves a cleaner, stronger, better balanced chassis.
So, I am scrapping this idea and will build a dedicated space frame with aluminum panels that will form the floors, bulkheads and firewalls. When the Bonnet is open the engine compartment will look clean and purposeful. More work for me but less work in the long run for the builder. Plus the left over Miata parts can be sold which would offset the extra cost of having the dedicated frame.

I believe that the Sammio MX5 Spyder with dedicated space frame will weigh around 1450 LBS. I think that using the Miata tub would result in the car weighing closer to 1750 lbs. That's a pretty big difference.

I realize that the whole idea for doing the Sammio on an older car in England is to eliminate the expensive certifications that would be required. In the US, in most states, it's pretty easy to register a "Specialty Constructed Vehicle." So, using the dedicated frame here is not that big of a deterrent.

I won't begin the frame until the body arrives.

Out of curiosity how does the MEV EXOCET get registered? And, what does it cost?

The exocet requires IVA and costs about 2500

JMC14 - I ended up thinking the same with regards to the Miata so got the TVR and am putting it under a G46. This gives me a wider body (like you want) a decent space frame chassis (like you want) and a V8 up front (like everybody wants).

The chassis is fairly simple :

It might be worth talking to Gary about something similar. If you make your chassis the same wheel base and width with similar touch points we could share the same body.

This would give Gary something over here to hang the bodywork on to get the sizing exactly right for you. When I took the TVR down to see Gary it was a good fit with just 4-5 inches needing chopping out of the current G46 body. Most of this was from the section between the drivers door and the rear wheel arch which is the one bit of the design that can easily be shortened without ruining the overall look.

If you are interested I am happy to let Gary use my TVR for measurements.

It gives you a couple of different marketing opportunities too. Rebodied TVRs with the problem electrics and dubious styling removed to leave just the good bits. Same thing but with your 'special' chassis. Your chassis, 638hp 6.2L LS9, Sammio bodywork and Cobra drivers crying by the roadside... ;-)

Just a thought.

I was able to remove the body from the Miata cradles yesterday. Here are a couple of pictures. As shown it weighs 967 lbs. i think the finished car will come in right at 1400lbs. Having fun.

looking good John...

That picture ( along with the fact that there are millions of them out there ) demonstrates perfectly why I think the MX5 is going to be a very credible donor for years to come....

SVA here in the U.K. is a pain , but not unsurmountable....

While I am waiting for my body to arrive I have lot's (maybe too much) time to think about this project. I am thinking that I should build the space frame that the suspension cradles bolt into with a wheelbase of 94-95 inches. I would leave the engine/trans/driveshaft the stock length and move the front suspension forward. This would only require new motor mounts. The drive train would not have to be modified. I believe that a lengthened bonnet would fit over the engine without needing to add scoops, blisters, or bulges. The added length means that a wide variety of V8 engines could be used along with several different bodies. One thing I am learning from this fun forum is that everyone wants to build their car, their way. The more flexibility that I build into the kit sold in the US is an advantage I think. The G46 would also fit with some mods. (Gary I see the need for another body soon!)

Anyway here are some full size photoshop pics showing a 94 inch wheelbase.

I love the look of the rear lights mounted higher up on the rear wings (sorry, fenders?).

Can you actually source a set of lights like those or are you just expressing your artistic talent with the old photoshop thingy?

Got to agree with you about everyone building their Sammio their way, ol' blue eyes would've been proud.

Anyway, good on you for investing time and money in Gary's baby, that should make a dent in Britain's balance of trade deficit.

CORVETTE TAIL LIGHTS......Late 50's early 60's ...

Thanks Gary, will be searching ebay for a set...

I was just going to post he same. Thanks Gary. They are available at:

[url]www.corvetteamerica.com[/url]

Nice lights but they appear to be, um, $675.00

That's a tad more than I was hoping to spend...

I hadn't looked at the price. And, I am not the gifted artist that did the photoshop pics. My friend Fred Wood, who is a chassis engineer sent me the pictures. I have been in discussions with him about chassis designs for this project. He's been playing with the body design.
At $675! I won't be using them either!

I used to have a 1950 Chevy Fleetline 2 door fastback that I mildly Customized in a 50's Lead Sled style...nothing too tacky , just subtle touches.

I did some shopping around for tail lights back then....nearly 25 years ago ...but cars like 1949 Buick , 1949/50 Chevy , 1948 Caddy , 1949/50 Oldsmobile , 1948/50 Pontiac etc etc. all offer useable lights for that curved rear fender ....going to be cheaper as well....

The original lights on my '50 were pretty ....I kept them on the car in the end , just swapping out the reflector and replacing it with an indicator .They would sit quite nicely.....

Hi,

following this thread with interest, do you think a body to fit the Mx5 wheel base will be an otpion in the UK?

I am looking at a project now and in the process of stripping a 1.8, other than MEV there isn't that much out there at a resonable price.

The only drawback i can see would be fabricating a spaceframe at a resonable price if the body could not be made to fit the existing mx5 body (stripped)

on the other hand as mentined before in the threads there are a lot of pros (if looking for a cheap rwd single donor car with a 4 cylinder engine)

Exciting news today. I received a call from the shipping company and my widened Sammio body is scheduled to arrive in the USA tomorrow. But, they also tell me that it can take up to 3 weeks for it to clear customs. So, I am anxiously waiting and on hold for up to another few weeks.

In the mean time Gary's friend Chris has modified the Cordite picture so that it has the correct 65.9 inch width and 89.2 inch wheel base, and wheels of the Miata. Oh yeah, the steering wheel and head fairing are on the correct side of the car now!

I plan to change my bonnet so that it looks like the Cordite.



Jleahy, I would bet that Gary will have an MX5 kit in the future. I stripped the body off of one of my Miata's looking at the possibility of grafting the new body on it. In the end i decided not to do this. I unbolted the unibody and I am building a space frame for the suspension cradles to bolt into. The chassis will be stiffer, look much better, and the finished car with will be around 1400lbs. Much lighter than if I just grafted a body on it.

While I like the idea of the Exocet, I muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch prefer the look of Gary's body.

I don't think so...

We drive on the left because the left side's the right side and the right side's the wrong side.

Aside from that particular difference of opinion, that's a great looking car you've photo-shopped. If it looks half as good in the flesh you're on to a winner.

By the way, I'm sure you can get bolt on wires for the Miata hubs as I've seen a second hand set sell on ebay recently. Would be good business sense to offer customers a period alternative to the Mazda minilite replicas.

Thanks Mister Towed for the heads up about the bolt on wire hub caps. That would be a great look at an inexpensive price.

Chris is working on a rear and side view for me. Then we will have it set up so that with a click of the button you can change colors. Looking to have bright red, deep red, black, Cordite blue, dark blue, silver, and yellow. Also, to have several different wheels that can be changed with a click.

I will be setting up a Website shortly so that potential customers can play with colors and wheels and watch the progress of the kit being developed.

Having fun, John

I actually meant proper wires rather than push fit basket hubcaps.

http://daytonwirewheels.com/gallery/sportscars/sportscar003.html

Not too sure about the inexpensive price...

Yeah, I know about these. They are very expensive. Oh well. I like the idea of a wire hub cap!

The second hand set that went on ebay sold for about £380, which I guess is about $550.

We're pretty lucky over here, by using the old Triumphs as a donor we can get a set of splined adaptors for the equivalent of about $400 and a set of five rusty MGB wires for sandblasting will set you back as little as £10 on ebay.

Fifteen bucks and a little elbow grease for a set of period looking wheels ain't bad in any currency.



Mmmmmmm. Cheeeeap wheels...

Chris has made a few more photoshop renditions of the Cordite widened and lengthened to the Miata dimensions.

I also had an "Eureka" moment day concerning the frame to connect the Miata's suspension cradles together. Now, when will customs release my body so that I can get started!

Looking good. Love the wrap-around screen. Good luck with customs, I guess it's like the UK where the occupation attracts mean spirited jobsworths with no friends...