MadaboutKitcars

Bonnet height

Guys, I want to cut up the donors front end this weekend.
Would be be kind enough to get your tape measures out and let me know how far the lower edge of the G46 front intake is from the ground? (When body is on the chasis and the chasis is on its wheels).
I suspect that CT's will be lower given his fixed bonnet.
Cheers
HM

Mine is tucked up in the garage on ramps so raised off the ground with the bonnet resting over the rear humps and I am about go ahead for the weekend so sorry, no.

Heights above




HM

On all four wheels with engine and gear box in place and on 14" tyres and the original springs the under side of the front valance at the centre is 150 mm above the ground.

To the open bottom edge of the guppy mouth it measures 240 mm.

It all looks low, but absolutely perfect for the stance of the car, we are going to have shorter springs but large wheels so it will end up about this height.

Remember there is a lot of weight in the body of the old scimitar that won't be there in the end.

We are going to fit softer springs to our car because the height off the ground remains identical whether the engine and gear box plus two people are in or out. It could also be that our engine & box is considerably lighter than the Essex V6 & box.

Someone told us that the nickname for the Essex V6 is a "Boat Anchor"

Trolley jacks are an issue a standard jack only just gets under the 150 mm clearance and you wouldn't want to be pushing one under once it's painted so a LW ali racing jack with shallow end is essential.

Hope that helps.

CT

Hi HM

Sorry, the bonnet is stored away for the moment while the bonding/bulkhead work is going on. Here are a couple of earlier photos with the body propped up over the chassis. The bonnet is resting on the spare wheel (185/80/15) with approx 1/2" packing between the tyre and the underside of the bonnet. The main body tub is positioned so that the join between the bonnet and the body is lined up using the moulding line at the rear of the bonnet and the moulded recess on the body. The body side sills where they curl inwards are just about level with the underside of the chassis side rails.

Hope this helps.

Andrew

Gwa thanks for the reply, have a good weekend and take care of that foot. Hopefully have some photos for you on your return
Cheers
Hm
CT and ah thanks for the info at such short notice

Only half a job

Well I manged to cut a little more of the front of the donor.
Cut away the front and removed the front bumpers channel and suporting metal work


Still leaving the front inner wheel arches in place


Cut off the outer lips of the existing wheel arches to help side the bonnet over easier


So now the top of the top edge of the lower lip of air intake is 28cm above grond level 4mm higher than CT's.
The lower edge of the bonnet is now at the same height as lower edge of the original scimitar lower front valance .
The 4cm difference can be due to the car now sitting heigher with no doors, glass, bumpers and other bits and peices


The bonnet was sitting on the top of the water overflow bottle, so it was removed and will have to be repositioned on the final build.








Don't go any further LL!













I could not resist the idea of fitting the rear end while the existing windscreen is still in place. So I know i will regret this in future, but I made the kit into a 3 piece rather than a 2 piece


A litttle bit of proping of the front roof let me remove a section of the roll over bars so I could slide the rear of the kit over the door aperture.
However I ran out of time and daylight to get the back fitted correctly.
It will have to wait until next weekend for the finished view.


I can't wait to see how awful it looks.

HM

Great work HM. You've got some good ideas going on and I'm sure they will pay off. One thing that stands out for me is that, although you are no doubt going to cut it off, the retention of the screen and partial roof shows me that of all the Sammio models, the G46 is one that could stand the proportions of a hard top, possibly only for a 'no hump' shell!

I think even with the cut bodyshell you might need to get a lower fit than in this picture:


Andy - If I ever walk again I will be sticking some kind of roof on a double humper so watch this space...

Slow progress

Not much activity on the G46 recently due to a very draughtly garage and lots of rain.
However the wind and rain ceased this weekend so I wrapped up warm,
but kept popong back in the house for warm tea between activity on the car.
i had seen photo of ferrari with a mid mounted wing and wonders if the G46 would suit this addition.



So I grabbed the old roof to see if it was possible.



Not inspiring!

I had not moved the car since removing the lights and cutting the bonnet and boot on the donar.
As my drive is uphill pushing the G46 out of the garage was not possible so I was keen to see if the engine would still start.
I removed all the fuses to prevent any short circuits, fortunately the starter and coil feed are not fused on the Se5 donar, so I cranked it over a few times.
However the battery gave up turning the engine over as it filled the fuel pipes and carb.
No to be diverted I borrowed the battery from the other scimitar.
And yes it started and drove up the drive, but i suspect i will need a new filter soon given the amount of dust in the engine compartment.

So here are some photos with the old scimitar screen in place.




I still have to drop the rear a little more so the G46 arches side inside the donar arches, about an inch off the top of old body should do it.
That should get the door bottom parallel to the ground.
The rear of the car is setting very high and the raduis arms are point downwards.
I need much shorter springs possible by as much as 2-3inches!

The old windscreen comes off next.

I have found a source for a 356 screen, so really need to know if Gaz will be getting the full aero screens made soon.

Snow forecast tonight so i better get the g46 back under cover

HM

I actually quite like it with the screen. About three inches of the top of the screen and you would have a very usable car!

That picture is the first I have seen where the G46 looks short. I guess it is the break in the bodywork that does it.

Keep up the good work and keep up the pictures

Does anybody else think that with the screen as it is, it looks like an MX5 on steroids?

Yep, that's what I was thinking. It has got to be the photo because the g46 is certainly not short

I was actually thinking Fiat Barchetta

I agree WCA, maybe the high back seats are confusing the eye about the length of the rear body.

You should try to wedge the scimitar screen on your kit with the 2 humps and take a photo.

HM

Mine is all wrapped up at the moment as there is not too much I can do with a crutch in each hand.

I reckon it is the back seats that cause the brain to re-scale the car. You brain assumes hey are front seats and then makes you think the size fits the proportions between the screen and seats.

I thought they were front seats sitting high.

g46 progress

This is my first update this year and we are in April, Where have the last 3 months gone!
The G46 has it back to me in the car part and its not a happy bird.
Still only half a coat with a cat taken up residence.

Well it got above freezing this easter so I managed some progress.
The skuttle top had been separated from the rear body at he doors so i set about cutting away the dash to get it to fit,
using the pictures of Nike55 and GWA's threads on this forumn.

The cut slowly and trial fitting is taking longer than i expected and creating a large pile of small red fibreglass pieces.
However i now have acess to the door hinges and the supporting metal work, which seems to have rusted considerable.

I had considered fastening Gary's metal frame work to these but the dimension were wrong and the frame to tight for my body
so i will stick with the reliant bulk head as Reliant deemed that no front metal frame was required.
However I am planning to retain the existing heater arrange ment so have sprayed the inlet yellow so i do not cut it out!

The skuttle is not forward enough for the old front bonnet channels so I have left them in place for now.
The good news is that the skuttle and rear body now match up so I have not screwed up! phew!

A trial fit of the bonnet revealed that the brake servo has to go.
So i an unsure to go tandem balance bar with no servo or single master and relocate the servo.
The dual masters has the advantage of reducing the efficency of the handbrake from 40% to 25% on the MOT
and the servo is not really needed as the brakes are very good on the scimitar.

The inner wheel arches still need some cut away
and I have still resolved the headlight position as the bowls in the wheel arches and subject to all the road dirt.
I plan to bond the bonnet to the inner whel arches and cut an opening when the temperature get warm enough to mix some resin!
here hoping.

Oh and the seats are too wide to get the door on. Fun Fun Fun.

HM

I'd forgotten all about this build, its nice to see some good news about this model... its meant to be T-shirt weather in a couple of weeks! then RAIN...

that shot of the wiring loom has left me in a cold sweat!

HM

Great to see some posting for a G46 at last and looking good endless hours of fun fun as you say!

I think it been the same for most of us just to cold to go out there. Charlie and I have done some work in the last week and will try to get the last of the cutting done before he returns to work at the end of April.

Will get round to some photos and posts towards the end of next week

Other G46 ers where are you?

I'm still hibernating...

(a friend posted this reply)

Summer update

Well lots of time spent on the body with no visible progress.

I am now happy with the fit of the rear body on the old wheelarches.
The front valance is sitting on what remains of the front bulk head with a cutout for the old heater inlet which I plan to fit a grill over.

I have trimmed the bonnet so it is sitting well on the front bulk head and the headlight pods are resting on the old scimitar front bumper bar

My 356 screen fits but the angle is still too sevre for my liking as i can still see over the top.

below are a couple of shot of the screen in situ.



and another



It certainly changes the look of the car
More to follow

HM

nice screen where did it come from how much are they, are you going to use original screen frame. Questions questions

Screen



I blindly followed Gary's advice that the scuttle was the same as the 356 speedster.
I hunted around for a supplier, not many in the UK, but I contacted Chesil who make the porsche replica.
They supplied the screen surround and laminated windscreen for the hefty sum of £500.
I have to create a lip on the scuttle for the lower rubber to locate into but it will guarantee a water tight seal
and a little more protection from low flying pheasants than the perspex wind deflector.
It seems to set the car off.



I been wanting to move the car out of the garage to get a side on view now that all the red panels from the scimitar are covered over.
So I finally managed to get the engine started tonight and move it up the drive to take these shots.



the body was covered in dust so I gave it wash down and ended up with a somewhat angry Nimo



The guy in the car showed a passing interest.



There may be a few too many holes in the dash for some, but the scimitar does have some usefull dials.

For Chairman the purple one is still my daily drive



Next weeks job.. Door hinges and locks.
I am hoping to fit a single scimitar door hinge with a beam through the door to brace it.

HM

Leaps & Bounds, all of the sudden it,s looking very good. The screen works and at that very low rake.

Do you avoid windscreen wipers

The purple one may have escape the chop but is probably quite jealous of the red ones new frock!

I've always loved the chopped down look of the speedster screen. Nice.