MadaboutKitcars

Mr T – Your revised bonnet does look great.

Despite looking back at your old build thread recently, I’ve only just noticed the vents have gone.

Finally, could I ask for a close up of the hole in the top of your bonnet for the locking pin?
( Which is another thing on my ‘To Do’ list. )

How much extra space is needed for the pin to pass through the hole?

Cheers, Paul.

Looks absolutely superb!!

A smaller version of the main grill in the new vent would tie it all together.
It is a vast improvement.

Thanks for the positive comments guys, much appreciated.

Gary, I was never 100% happy with my original wide scoop either.

Paul, well spotted - I've removed the vents as they were no longer symmetrical to the new scoop. If you recall they started life as an aluminium double row louvred vent intended for a cupboard door that cost me about three quid from ebay, so I had no qualms about ripping them out. I won't be replacing them as the paint tended to flake off the louvre edges.

I'm not sure quite what you're asking about the holes for the bonnet pins, as they're just, well, holes. If it helps, these are the bonnet pins I used -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-Bonnet-Pins-Aluminium-kit-Drift-kitcar-Rally-Wrc-COMPBRAKE-CMB1523-/281603373337?hash=item4190de7919:g:v3EAAOSwPYZU5M3s -

I've fixed the pins to brackets on the bulkhead and the 'keyhole' escutcheons are screwed down over suitable sized holes directly above the pins. They're adjusted by just screwing the pins in or out as required and locking them off with the nuts provided in the kit. Couldn't be simpler and prevents the back edge of the bonnet from lifting at speed.

Jag - I'll be putting some sort of grille or mesh into the opening of the scoop as it's now very close to the water pump housing which isn't particularly pretty, but haven't fully decided what yet.

Right, back to the grindstone...

Mr T - Apologies for my poor choice of words.

What I meant to say was does the arc of the bonnet closing require a slightly larger hole to slip over the pin?

Cheers, Paul.

PS
I did think of you earlier as I was filling/sanding my own bonnet.

It certainly makes me appreciate how much effort you have put in to get such a smooth result.

Whereas my bonnet looks like the surface of the moon.

Your new bulge looks great Mr T, ooh er missus.

Joking aside it looks 100% better and was meant to be there. It's great to see that these cars are evolving and due to the rather cheap initial price can be chopped and changed with out to much nail biting.

Hows the other build coming on, it would be good to see pictures.

Sorry Paul, didn't mean to be rude. There's no issue with the arc of the bonnet fouling the locking pins.

The 'keyhole' escutcheon plates have a fairly large, oblong slot to take the top of the pin, and you just drill a hole the same diameter as the widest part of the slot. The edges of those holes where they're wider than the slot in the escutcheon are hidden by the aluminium surround and help guide the pin onto the oblong slot.

The tops of the pins are also rounded which helps guide them into the slot while my pins are mounted on stainless (kitchen cabinet) brackets that allow a little movement at the tips of the pins. That wasn't intentional but does make it easy to locate the pins properly by just sliding your fingers under the back edge of the bonnet and moving them into place if necessary.





Swifty, glad you like my more original looking scoop and it's surprising how little details like that can transform the look of the car.

My 356 is on hold while I refurbish my Spyder - after four years on the road in all weathers it was looking a bit tired under the skin - and even though I now have loads of time I only really have the space to work on one car at a time.

When I do start work on the Speedster I'll do a build thread somewhere, but there doesn't seem to be a forum for German cars on madabout. For the moment it still looks like this -





I had intended to go with a Speedster glass screen and convertible roof when I do build it -





...but the idea of a totally stripped out racer with a Spyder screen and dash is worming its way into my thoughts -



I'll let you know when the 356 build gets under way, but for now I have a Spyder to finish. Again...

Hmm, and in a parallel universe where I chose red...

Mr T - I hope the taking a mould process goes well.

Good luck, Paul.

PS
I'm sure your car would look good in red too.

Is that a test for lancia red Mr T.

Kind of. I needed some rattle-can paint to seal the bonnet buck prior to a dozen coats of release wax so chose Rover Damask Red just to see what a very dark red would have looked like.

Result is that it looks good but shows flaws in the prep that silver doesn't, so silver it shall remain.

I'd recommend metallic silver to any first-time amateur sprayer as it's very forgiving and really sparkles when the sun shines.

Progress so far -

The finished bonnet scoop plug was given a dozen coats of release wax, two coats of gelcoat then had three layers of 300gsm csm sandwiching core mat to create the mould.



The mould then got a dozen coats of release wax and a thick coat of gelcoat buffed to a sheen.



Followed by three layers of 300gsm csm



24hrs later, tra-laa!



While it was curing I made a start on another issue that affected a number of Sammios, mine included -

Passenger side 'sill' tucks under the chassis.



...but on the driver's side



Hmm, looks like the lower part of that side of the shell never got properly moulded. Having cut off the lower section it was clear that it was also far from straight.



So, I've now fabricated a proper tuck under for that sill and am in the process of bonding it back into the shell in the right place.



More later.

Mr T – Looks like you’ve done a great job making your replacement bonnet section.

I’m sure it will be a somewhat nerve racking process cutting out the old and ‘stitching in’ the new.

Another brave cut to fix the driver’s side sill too.

I guess that bridging the gap is a lot harder to do with the body shell bonded into place.

Good luck, Paul.

PS
If you could keep finding extra jobs to do, then I might be back on the road at the same time as you.

Mr T - I was thinking of you earlier as I was crawling around on my driveway painting my car's sills.

So have you made any progress 'healing' the gap in your body shell?

Good luck, Paul.

Hi Paul, yep, it's all beginning to come together nicely but is taking far longer than I intended. Will take some pics in a day or so. Keep up the good work on your car, the light is at the end of the tunnel now...

Want one.

Well, bike and car to match, actually...

https://vintageelectricbikes.com/pages/emory-outlaw-tracker-electric-bike

$7k for the bike ..

.how much for one of their outlaws these days ?

$120 upwards?

But yes would love one.....

Mr T – Thanks for posting the link, very interesting.

Whilst the ‘Outlaw’ electric bike looked great, I quite like their ‘Scrambler’ version too.

But the video clip showing a storage rack crammed with bare metal 356 body shells was something else.

Cheers, Paul.

good to see you towed....get that run out in a few weeks when you done thanks for cuppa

Always a pleasure to see you Phil, thanks for dropping in. Enjoyed the passenger ride in your car too, 190bhp at the wheels of a 650kg car certainly feels like a lot from the passenger seat!

Enjoy your trip and I'll see you when you get back.

Come on Mr T, I thought you were a retired man of leisure now, so where are the photos?

Jokes aside, I hope your repair work is going well and I certainly know all about things taking longer than expected.

Good luck, Paul.

Nicely understated.

Can we rename this thread "Mister Towed not on the road"

Sorry for the delay in replying Paul, my internet service has been a bit pedestrian for the last few days.

The replacement bonnet scoop is now finished and I resprayed the whole car on Monday. I refitted the dash/loom and got the engine running yesterday and I'll be putting all the lights, number plates etc. back on later today so it should be back on the road this afternoon.

I'll be using it to take my son to his High School Prom on Friday evening (hopefully it won't be too wet) and will get some pictures then.

On Saturday I'll start stripping it all back down again as I'm not happy with the paint - it looks 'okay' but I want it better than that this time - so the plan is to flat it all back, buy a better (budget) spray gun https://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/index.php/ani-full-sized-conventional-gravity-spraygun.html#sthash.uQOI6X3U.dpbs and give it some more coats.

That might not be until the end of July though as two family holidays plus a load of other life stuff might just get in the way.

Oh, and 'man of leisure' my arse, I'm busier now than I've ever been.

Mr T - Many of the people I know who have retired also wonder how they ever found time to go to work!

I'm glad to hear you will be back on the road shortly, as that was some major rebuilding you took on.

I look forward to the 'Prom' photos, especially if the 'alternative' transport is anything like the last one you went to.

Without wishing to put the curse of a deadline on either of us...

It sounds like August / September might be a good time for a Sammio gathering in Norfolk.

Cheers, Paul.