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Good job on the stretching and splicing, Gary. It gives the car a whole new character. A 'multi-donor' approach is a good one, as it increases choice for the customer and (dons his flame retardant suit...) anything that allows fewer Vitesses to be broken is a good thing! Runs for cover...!
Managed to get 4 hours in on the doors today ...I have decided to slim the framework down a bit on this one ...the doors are having their return edges cut right back too ...the internal frame and inner body is all being finished in black , so frames that can be bonded on , instead of bolt on fixing when they were highlighted in silver , is possible this time .
The skinnier outer skin should look more like an aluminium body too ...at a glance !
So a couple of hours gave me this ....
Using my scrap doors as patterns I was able to make the frames nice and snug and they are part welded but need finishing and tidying up , but I wanted to make sure they worked before I got carried away ...I need to add a latch mounting plate as well ...
The bolts holding them on will be replaced with welded on captive nuts and the hinges will affix to these using 8mm socket buttons...so doors can be removed with or without hinges attached ...( Grahams are welded on 0 so only come off at pivot point )
Doors frames nearly finished , captive nuts welded on , plates for the slam latches fitted too ......then it was frames off , body off and engine and gearbox out ...I have finish welded the space frame augmentation , fully welded and box braced the gearstick mount , refitted the door frames , put an extra brace rod on the hinges and started cleaning the framework up ready to prime / paint etc.
should get some paint on tomorrow ...
then I can fit some missing bits on the engine , refit it into the car ....start to do gearshifter etc...and hopefully have the body back on by the end of the week and start to actually fit the car up and move forward ...
Flywheel and clutch back on the engine , starter motor bolted on ...exhaust manifold re-fitted ( I had to cut and shut the tubular manifold to make it fit ... ) , alternator bracket and alternator in place too ...and then I fitted the engine back in the car which was an absolute bastard to do on my own as its a snug fit and has to be located in a particular way to clear everything ... an engine hoist , trolley jack , 2 scissor jacks and a pry bar did the job ... but shes in ...
I took the opportunity to fit new brake lines whilst the engine was out and access to tucking them away neatly was better ...
The body is back on for storage purposes but will be off again as part of starting to clad the bulkhead and do the floor ...
Lots more achieved since my last post ...fuel tank and line fitted , floors finished etc. lots of little jobs that the alternative engine have brought to the table ..silly things like creating a bracket to support throttle and choke cables etc...the engine was designed for a LHD car , so stock fixings are all on the wrong side...
The body went back on yesterday and I think it can stay on now ....
I have made templates for all the aluminium to clad the bulkhead area ...my ally guy has taken them away to fold for me and , hopefully , tomorrow bring them back so I can work out where I want the swage lines to go ...
I have also fitted the bootlid ..it needs a bit of tweaking , but is pretty much there ... a piece of wood bonded to the rear has two homemade steel tags fitted to it and these will pin the bootlid in place on its front edge , whilst the two latches will secure it at the bottom ...
I also made a good start on the bulkhead template ...this is in two halves to fit it and I still need to do a couple of hatch holes to access the fuel tank and filler as well as a couple of holes for seat belts ...but it gives you an idea... I'm getting this one done in aluminium with swages to match the bulkhead ...
I also made a start on the inner arches ...these will be in two sections , like before ...an upper part that braces the bonnet and gives protection to the engine area and I will fit a lower section to the car which will be overlapped by the top one ...
These were a absolute twat to make and fit on my own ....I have made them in 2 sections , a main piece and a smaller section that ties them to the nose section ...They are still a works in progress , but getting there ....tomorrow I can take the brace bar out when the paste and fibreglass are cured .....
Removed the brace bar this morning cut some end boxing pieces , bonded and glassed them into place ..after a trim , some latch fitting holes drilled etc. and a quick sand , the underneath of the bonnet can be flowcoated to make it a nice uniform finish
I also re-instated the exhaust that was removed , cleaned up and painted satin black ... and put some fixings in to hold the body on ...
As a footnote ..the bulkhead panels that I have templated are going to be available in aluminium as a full panel with swaige lines pressed in , very similar to the bulkhead on Graham's car , they will be supplied in 2 halves with a joddled edge on one panel allowing the other one to lap onto it nice and flush and a single row of rivets can join the 2 together ... ....prices to be confirmed .....
One of the biggest challenges with engine changes in a Scimitar GT/GTE is the suspension cross-brace - because the original Engine sits so far back. Leaving it out leads to variable camber when cornering as the damper top mount can flex.
Following on from Scimjim's advice yesterday ...I fitted a cross brace back in ...The standard item won't fit back on , so I made a replacement . The combination of this and the engine bay framing will have made this as strong , if not stronger than the original spec ....It picks up on the original mounting points and is still removable to so the engine can be taken out easily if required ...
SOME MORE PROGRESS ....John , the ally man dropped in my aluminium sections that he made from the hardboard templates I supplied and I started to fit them. I still need to tidy up edges etc. and fit the two inner pieces alongside the gearbox , but the pictures gives a definite feel of how it's going to be ....
I made a 20 x 20mm battery tray and fitted that on the passenger side as well...made with 45 degree jointed corners , so no open ends visible and tags welded to the sides to fix it down with 8mm socket button bolts and two on the sides to accept the battery clamp...
Pete the engineer man also turned up with the modified steering boss ...A stock Scimitar boss is huge and the Steering wheel Eric supplied had a small centre ..so Pete turned it down and cut it down , fitting a 30mm deep ally block to it and tapped to accept the new wheel ...it's a much prettier boss than Scimitar offered ...
I should be getting the two rear bulkhead sections tomorrow morning , so , hopefully , will fit those and the two left to fit at the front ...When the front bulkhead is fully boxed off , I can look at tying in the extended wing sections to the bulkhead too ...
I rivetted some 20mm box sections to the rear of each panel to stiffen them up a bit and then glued and rivetted them in place. using some flattened aluminium angle at the base to tie it into the steel framework.
I fitted the hatch to give access to the fuel tank on the passenger side but haven't fitted the seat belt surrounds yet or the panels that will tie the rear doorshut area into the rear bulkhead ..
I am going to suggest that all the aluminium on this car is painted body colour as there is quite a bit of it and it could be overpowering if left bare ...
Bulkhead ally now extends to tie wing extensions in ...I need to fibreglass the piece next to it , which is going to be a job for last thing Saturday to let it cure nicely through Sunday ...
Rear light apertures have been cut ..going for surface mounted not tunnelled like last time ...
Eric bought the higher quality , glass lensed examples and they are really nice , supple rubber bases unlike the cheaper plasticy ones ...
I also , cut and modified the fuel cap supplied ..nice one with bolt on flange ..adding an extra piece of 2'' pipe so the cap can sit flush on the car but still have a straightish line to the fuel tank.
I have used a commercial Morris fuel tank this time around rather than the standard Spitfire tank and the neck is over to one side ...I looked at creating a fill pipe to centre it , but Eric is happy to not get too obsessed with symmetry and we decided to fit it in its natural seat as regards the fill neck of the tank , so the stock rubber joiner was re-instated to keep this nice and simple ...
I also cut and modified a rubber boot that was originally intended to go on the rear of a headlight unit with an H4 style bulb to protect it from the elements ..rivetted in place it now forms a steering column 'gaiter' ...
I shall find something suitable to do a similar job with the tubing that exits the bulkhead too ...
final job was re-instating the door frames which are a bit fiddly but not too bad ... Tomorrow I will play around with the doors , latches etc. and probably take a look at the gear linkages I have been avoiding !
Gary - The internal framework in Post #81 looks great.
Although as I look at the lovely alloy panel work and front inner wheel arches I keep remembering I still have some work to do on mine.
Good luck, Paul.
It's all relative Paul ....these are being built to a higher level , read that price than previously ...doesnt make the S*mmio range any less worthy ..just different way of tackling similar cars ....
After a trip out to see Chris at Tribute , I felt a bit happier about tackling the shifter on Eric's car ...I owned a car with a column shift / floor shifter conversion a few years back but thats my only involvement with them ...I was struggling to get my head around how it worked ...a quick lesson from Chris who has played with them before put me straight and gave me the confidence to tackle the job ... A lot of parts were missing from the shifter after a quick bit of internet research , the missing parts were identified and using a combination of a couple of bits made by my engineering mate , including a couple of turn buckles with 3/8 unf thread one end and 5/16 unf the other , some unf studding and a couple of clevis's from trailer brake compensators ... I managed to fashion 2 operational rods to connect the shifter to the gearbox.
I've fitted the door latches , standard Land Rover style slam latches , the same as before and I tweaked the doorframe a bit on the passenger side as removing it and replacing it changed its gapping slightly..I also sanded and trimmed the doorskin taking some time to thin it out a bit in places to get a nice fit in the shut ...these will be bonded onto the frames , but not until I am happy that nothing else needs doing before the final glue on ...
I like Grahams door on the first car , but I think the slimmed down version is simpler to fit and looks more like the Italian cars ...the German cars tended to have busier doors ...
I'm waiting on a few parts , so did a few jobs that needed doing whilst I'm waiting ....
I trimmed , sanded and tweaked the drivers door to get it to fit the frames and doorshut ...it's ready to be bonded on now ...
I plumbed up the radiator and expansion tank etc. The radiator to the best of my knowledge is a new replacement for a Lotus Eclat or similar ...so using that with the U.S. spec. Ford engine meant the outlets on the engine were both different sizes to the radiator .......I made some steel tube reducers to step down from the larger engine hoses to the smaller rad. ones ...the top hose reducer also has a hose fitting welded into it to allow it to be used as a fill point from the expansion bottle.
An aluminium loop bracket helps hold the top hose away from the steering rack at the base ...
I also took the chance to fit a choke cable mounting it down to the drivers right side tucked in near the door hinges and exiting the bulkhead through a brake pipe union acting as a grommet to keep it straight and mounted to a homemade throttle and choke cable housing sat on the carb.
The following pic is not very clear , it was getting dark when I took the pictures , but it does show the choke cable exiting the bulkhead , lower left , and the rubber boots I fitted around the frame tubes where they enter the bulkhead ..I found 2 rubber boots that when cut down were perfect for dressing the tubes either side ..
I fitted and removed the seats and put them back in the parts room to stay clean ...hopefully seatbelts will be here soon and the other bits , wiring loom etc..... starting to see some light at the end of this build now ...things are coming together really well ...
