MadaboutKitcars

JG - I often look at Spartans and Pilgrims etc as they are ideal donors and , as you say , often registered appropriatley ...
The first Miglia was a modified S*mmio body on a Spartan chassis ..

Striker .. Bruce Meyers 625 TRC is one of my all time favourite cars and influencing my thought processes along with The Admirals 500 Mondial , another gorgeous car ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2O_L2SpEg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpfJ1b-X7p4

Cheers, maybe mine isn't that bad, but it feels a bit skittish and I think I'm just too scared to risk pushing it too much (I did write my Boxster off last year pushing it a bit too hard)

Gary - I hadn't seen that 500 Mondial link before, what a great car and a great story too.
( I just wish I had some roads like that around here. )

If you can build something that is inspired by those two cars, it should look amazing.

Good luck, Paul.

PS
Just picking up your point about using other kit cars as a base…

I've seen a few examples on Rods 'n' Sods, where something like this:



Has been turned into one of these.





Or one of these.

Gary - I hadn't seen that 500 Mondial link before, what a great car and a great story too.
( I just wish I had some roads like that around here. )

Both those Petrolicious links are very good ...They are very watchable with some great cinematoghraphy .

I have watched them both several times and never tire of them ...

The Victory by Design series keeps me hooked in the same way too ..but because the Petrolicious clips are generally 7 or 8 mins long , I find myself watching them more ...if you look in the right hand column on youtube , you will see other great 'shorts' from the same guys ...this is another one that will appeal to most on here ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttl-kF8Rbuo

Absolutely stunning....and happens to have a wheelbase and track only a few mm different to a Herald, hmmm, next project maybe?

That skittish feeling is almost certainly down to the springs and/or shocks being too firm.

The revelation for me came in the 80's the first time I drove a humble Peugeot 205GT (five door, 85bhp 1.4, slightly lower ride height than base model) and found that the softer springs with good damping gave it vastly better handling on the Scottish mountain roads than the rock-hard ride of the XR3i I had been driving. The Escort had ploughed on towards the undergrowth a number of times and a friend had recommended that I fit harder springs and firmer shocks to 'kill the understeer'. That was just Pub talk though, and the opposite was in fact true, with the humble 1.4 Pug able to simply drive away from a lot of 'fast' cars of the day on those fabulous twisty driving roads. Ahh, nostalgia.

I'v been down this route and still do but it's a bit unpredictable with DVLA.
If your going to go this way make sure you take photos of the donor before you strip it.
Keep the paper work simple, if DVLA don't ask don't tell them.

Also check the chassis number most kits from the 80's and even 90's have there own chassis number. This normally mean the donor has it's own chassis ie; Moss.
DVLA pointed out that if the chassis number relates to a registered manufacturer ie; Triumph Spitfire then the chassis should be an original unmodified example regardless of it's history. which I think is wrong but hey it's DVLA after all.

I have once got around this problem by asking the local Triumph Owners Club to verify (in writing) the chassis was an "original" item.

We'll see ...imagine the bastard love child of the 3 example clips I have posted and we are somewhere handy ...

I think I need to go sharp styling on the front as I have pretty much done blunt faces in this area and don't want any confusion or comparisons marring the project ......

Herald viewed this morning ( local one that has been sat 18 months in a garden ) and returning tomorrow to thrash out a deal !!

Oi! Stop poaching all the Triumphs on my patch!!!

The 625 is a stunning car, i had seen that you tube link many times before, pinched a few ideas off it for my build, the rolled cockpit edge and the metal screen center support. One thing i wish i had made is a clock binical similar to the 625, but hey may be next time.

Gary if you can come up with something similar you have a winner and i may be tempted provided it was symmetrical.

Bloody cheek. The original Sammio Spyder is perfectly symmetrical. Erm, so long as you only look at one side at a time...

I took my son out in mine this afternoon to play mini-golf at Hunstanton, and people just stop, stare, take pictures and pay compliments all the time, but none of them ever comment on the lack of symmetry.

After three and a half years on the road I still can't believe what a jaw-dropping car I was able to build on such a small budget.

Good luck with your pointy nosed project Gary, I'll be watching with interest even if it isn't quite straight when it's finished.

As for a non-controversial model name, how about Dreihundert Möwe Flügel? Can't see any other manufacturer taking issue with that.

Gary

I have the answer you are all looking for a G46 based on the old SE5 chassis and running gear!!!!

What sold me the G46 was the picture stuck to Garys workshop wall of the yellow Ferrari, was that a Mondial 500 ?

and the screen saver on my computer is a Ferrari 625 TR with my G46 next to it or should I say "Charmarini or Charmarati" that where my inspiration lies

if I am honest I think the MX5 or even the Z3's are two small for the big car concept. However the sammio on the herald is perfect

That car is a 1956 410 I think , Charman ...another of my favourites

Paul, that 1929 Ford roadster from a Lotus 7 type?? wonderful is it a kit? do you have any info. on it? cheers Mike

Towed, I have a 205 1.4 as a daily driver. You're absolutely correct. Not fast per se, but on the twisting and falling 'A' and 'B' roads that make up my commute, very little comes close. It's not excess or illegal speed, it's not having to slow down for the corners!

Rare car now and a future classic for sure. Look after it!

As far as I know it isn't a kit, more a "one off' design.

It came up in this thread, but no one seems to have any detailed information on it.

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/garage/model-roadster-kit-car-based-152233

Although the link to the original Ebay advert gives some details.

Cheers, Paul.

I'D SAY ITS A ONE OFF USING A 32 BODY ...Shame about the track width but not the worst looking 32 Roadster I have seen ...

I went down the single donor route a few years back , not the commonly used Scimitar which works surprisingly well , but the less commonly used Beetle !!

Gary - That car popped up on Rods 'n' Sods the other day with a new owner.

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/garage/volksrod-32-roadster-464729

Sorry I meant to post the link when I first saw it, but completely forgot.

Cheers, Paul.

Thanks for the link Paul ...thats interesting ....I sold it before I'd put too many miles on it and the new owner reported it was getting hot on longer runs ...I see the bootlid is louvred now ..that will have sorted that out ...

The engine is interesting in that car ...I got rid of the dynamo and cooling fan as they stuck through the bootlid ...replaced it with a 2cv alternator mounted at the bottom of the engine and an electric fan inside the fan shroud tinwork.
The carb was the next issue ...again too high and broke the boot line again ...twin carbs either side would have worked for that but I had a VERY limited budget on that one and I made a new manifold that put the carb in front of the engine instead of behind it ...a bit of trick exhaust work , a slightly deeper rolled pan than usual ..and it was all pretty much hidden ...

The Pickup resurfaced recently ...a friend of mine in France Jean Louis has bought it and loves it !! It was a great thing ...I had a really good Summer driving that around the Purbecks and the beach etc around here , probably 8 or 9 years ago now ...I know it was pre Sam , as Jennette and I were out in it fairly regular ...... I tried to market it as a kit but Hot Rodders and Beetle guys didn't embrace it ...

As a side note ....The Black Roadster was plumbed up so you filled the fuel tank through the radiator cap !!

I love that idea.

with today´s kitcar regulations there arent much loopholes in the law:

on 1st view, body conversions are the easiest and cheapest way for the builders and kit-supplier.

but here also the problem starts: you need a donor with an independant chassis. surplus, this car should not be too expensive.

unfortunately the car industry has stopped buildng cars with independant chassis long, long time ago. so all donor cars suitable for a body conversion are minium 30, more likely 40 and more years old. so itselves already collector cars.

we are talking here about?? hmmm ...triumph, maybe triumph...or a triumph?? hmmm, looks that there isnt much too choose?

but exactly those cars are becomming rarer, and more expensive.

if we are honest to ourselves ( talking to triumph specialists they also confirm it):
a herald chassis is very weak, prone to severe corrosion with a questionable rear-suspension layout.
the same triumph specialists confirm that spitfire´s are totally different cars and much better.

the problem here is: Herald cheap --> from this aspect, perfect donor. but not from chassis & suspension --> finally not a perfect donor...also prices for complete cars are rising too.

spitfire --> more expensive (prices rising) --> on 1st view not a perfect donor- from chassis & suspension much better than herald --> at the end of the day, thats the better choice.

but as you see, we are turning in a circle....a good spit cannot be bought for a few 100 quid...and a cheap herald is mostly a wreck.

building a 50ies style car with a good built quality and a perfect spit-chassis, incl. several technical improvements (uprated engine, T9 conversion, CV driveshafts, uprated suspension etc) will rise the total built price in a dimension where you already might be able to built, for example, a MEV RepliCar. Due to its MX5 base it does everything better, with its "modern" suspension & "modern", also reliable drivetrain.



at the end of the day...the problem here lays in lack of suitable donor cars for doing a body converion, instead building a new car, which has to pass IVA.

... and the Replicar is a snip at a mere £7,200 for the kit, plus donor, plus trimming, plus IVA fees at £450, plus £90 for each retest when it fails, plus £235 road tax when it passes, etc, etc.

Should be fairly easy to get a basic one on the road for about fifteen thousand Pounds/Euros/US Dollars (whatever, they're all pretty much the same since ExBrit).

Based on his previous Sammio offerings, I don't think Gary's new model will cost even half that to build to a high standard, more like a third.

As for the suspension and handling, the old swing axle setup is much maligned and works perfectly well on a lightweight sports car. After all, if it was good enough for the Mercedes Gullwing...

Also, Phil J took his Herald Courier van based Spyder to a race track and his car was poo pooed by a chap with a Lotus Eleven replica with rose jointed independent suspension, etc, etc, etc. Phil trounced him on the track.

I agree that prices have risen for restored Triumph Heralds and Spitfires, but millions of them were sold and they're still cheap in comparison to just about anything else from the period.

I recently bought a solid, rust free 1968 Spitfire chassis for £35. Its body panels had dissolved into dust long ago and it would cost more to replace them than the restored car would be worth, so I don't feel guilty about using it as a donor for a kit car. I'm going to have it grit blasted and galvanised, and I'm pretty sure I'll rot away before it does.

You pays your money, you takes your choice.

http://www.mevltd.co.uk/kit-cars/mev-replicar/pricing

Rochdale - Welcome to the forum.



There is one part of the "maths" that you appear to be missing, as you get to sell the parts you don't need.

I actually paid over the odds for a 1980 Spitfire 1500 unfinished project.



But the bits I needed were in great condition, including a rebuilt engine, poly bushes, new wheels & tyres, etc.
( Plus a brand new Moto-Lita steering wheel. )



By the time I sell the last few parts (in a box 'somewhere') everything in the photo above should have cost me less that £200.

Now some would argue it is a shame to break a decent car, but I actually helped to keep a number of other Spitfires on the road.

Anyway, just a thought, cheers, Paul.