MadaboutKitcars

It was one of the benefits of being on this forum, Tim. I'd added a post saying I wanted to create a dashboard that put the instruments ahead of the driver, perhaps something like the original Lancia D24 Spyder -



I also said that I really like the simple, three dial dash panel in the Porsche 356 Speedster and 550 Spyder -



That's when Gary Janes (creator of the Sammio Spyder) contacted me, said he had a dash moulding taken from the Porsche 550 Spyder project that he'd sold a short while ago laying around in the workshop somewhere and would I like it? I bit his arm off at the price he asked and this arrived a few days later (if you're reading this, thanks Gary) -



As you can see, it didn't exactly fit straight out of the box, but then I didn't expect it to. After a bit of narrowing and fettling it ended up looking as if it was made to measure. I also had to modify the frame behind the dash to allow the instruments to fit without fouling -











So, after lots of filling, sanding and spraying, this was the result-



As with everything Sammio, simple, huh?

simple, not.
beautiful, yes.

top work

As a continuation of my suspension mods I've now ordered a pair of 175/80/14 tyres for fitting next Wednesday.

Reason for only going for two at the moment is that I know they'll fit on the back with no problems but I'm not sure I'll be able to get them to fit on the front without fouling the bulkhead.

So, the plan is to get the first two fitted and try them on the front. If I can get them to fit I'll order two more, if not I'll fit them to the back and keep the 175/70/14's on the front. Or maybe try 165/80/14's...

Just to prove I'm not a fair weather Spyder driver, I've just got back from Hunstanton beach where my son and I went for a bag 'o' chips for lunch.

First picture is of my car playing 'where's wally?' behind the sea wall -





There were some really dedicated windsurfers enjoying the gale rather more than we were -



And finally, a video of my lad enjoying the chips that weren't either blown away or eaten by the seagulls that kept mobbing us -



Spyder's safely back in the garage now before the rain starts

Mr T - I still can't get over how low your car is when compared to modern ones.

Does this present any visibility issues when you are driving along?

Cheers, Paul.

PS
Where did you get the stainless steel mesh you used for your fibre glass repairs?

No problems in modern traffic, Paul, you just drive defensively (assume everyone else is an idiot and leave them plenty of space to make stupid manoeuvres) and you won't go far wrong.

The stainless mesh is meant for modelling - model railway landscapes, etc - and I got mine from ebay.

Mr Towed, what a fantastic car! Its the first time I've seen it! Well done!
How long has it taken you to build?
It looks like a 2 litre GT6 engine you have there?
I also absoluteley love the way it looks so tiny and low, against modern cars, and hope that mine has the same stance when its done!
You just enjoy it now!!


Scottie.

Hi Scottie, glad you like my car, I'm rather pleased with the way it turned out myself

I took two years to build it after estimating I could do it in six months hwell: A lot of the extra time was spent rebuilding the chassis, which fell apart when I took the body off. At least it gave me the chance to learn to weld.

I did everything myself apart from trimming the seat shells and home made side panels, which were finished in black leather by some local craftsmen (who also made and fitted the tonneau). They did an awesome job for a very reasonable price and I'd recommend Brockwell Brothers in King's Lynn to anybody.

It's running a Triumph Vitesse 2 litre mk1 engine that came with the donor, so it's the same as a mk1 GT6 engine. It was rebuilt to run on unleaded by the previous owner and has a massive 79bhp! That might not sound like a lot but it has over 100ft/lbs of torque and only weighs 780kg's, which is a fair bit less than the current model Lotus Elise. It feels pretty quick, returns around 35mpg and sounds awesome now I've fitted a side exit cherry bomb.

I'm following your build with interest, I like what I see so far so keep up the good work and you'll be on the road before you know it.

Mr Towed.

Of course I like your car! I'm a petrol head! Its a credit to your skill and perseverance.
I was surprised rto hear that the engine had 89 BHP though, as I have had (over the years) several GT6's, and the mark two's and three's
Had basically the same engine which had been uprated to 104 BHP
Perhaps the extra power may be easy to obtain?

Also, every time I see your name anwhere on this site I have amusing thoughts, and I have tried to put them to paper!
I t is not my intention to upset you, but I somehow don't think I will
[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

Ha Ha! That was the reason for choosing the name and spelling it the way I did - an acknowledgement that I'm likely to end up being towed home in my old car.

So far, that hasn't actually happened yet. I've put 1,300 miles on it since it passed it's MOT in early August, and apart from the clutch failing on the dyno it hasn't missed a beat.

The engine should have 95bhp but the dyno chappy seems to think the carburettors aren't feeding it enough fuel at higher revs. The compression ratio is a bit low too (part of the unleaded conversion) so a head skim would add a bit more power.

My 35cc/min methanol/water injection nozzle decided to block before the power runs too, so I still don't know whether that adds any oomph. I've put a 70cc/min nozzle on it now to stop it blocking again and it certainly runs better with the methanol and water than without it.

I have a spare engine in the garage which I'll probably rebuild to fast road spec when funds allow, but, to be honest, the car's plenty quick enough as it is and never fails to put a smile on my face.

I can't begin to describe how much fun all those miles have been, so crack on and get yours on the road so you can find out!

Engines

I guessed you spelled the name that way etc etc.!!

I have looked into this engine thing, (I have a GT6 MK3,which I was renovating,) I have put it to one side until I have finished the build.

However, the spit engine weighs 100 kilos @ 80 BHP
the GT6 engine weighs 200 kilos @ 104 BHP (not much gain for twice the weight)
a Rover 1.4 engine weighs 100 kilos @ 103 BHP (that's pretty good)

and I have a spare Rover T16 turbo engine which
weighs 170 kilos @ 200 BHP That would be insane!

But Like yourself, I think the engine in it at present ,will be perfectly adequate and quite tractable.

Should have added this bit

At a glance, the Rover 1.4 is probably the best bet, half the weight of your present engine yet more power. A double whammy increase in all except weight

Ahh, but would it sound like this though?



Just out of interest, how easily available are adaptors for the K series engines to fit to Herald/Vitesse gearboxes?

Hi MT,

I am not sure that an adapter is even available for Rover engine to Triumph box, but I know for certain that adapters are readily available
for Rover engine to Ford type 9 box, as that is the route that all Rover engined cars seem to go. Even the mighty Rover T16 with its 200 BHP drives through a Ford type 9.
Apparently they are kind of legendary in that capacity.
If you did go that route, there would be all the extra work that would entail, different gearstick position, mountings, trim etc.
But a 16% power increase and a 100 kilo lighter car, perhaps would have been the way to go if you known all this earlier.
I can identify with your situation, all finished all wonderful, don't want any more work, but niggling in the background is the little seed of thought!!!
In the not so distant future, I will be facing the same dilema!!

Mr Toad I should have added, to get the 103 BHP,
the Rover 1.4 twin cam 16 valve engine would be required, not the lower powered 8 valve one!

Thanks Scottie, I've just posted a video over on your build thread that might interest you.

I reckon the K series conversion would be pretty expensive, £2.5 - £3.5k could easily be swallowed once you've bought all the parts necessary for the conversion, but I do keep looking at the old MX5 and wondering if the whole drivetrain would fit in a herald chassis. Can't seem to find any dimensions on t'internet though...

BMW M42 1.8i weighs 81kg @ 115HP on a 5 speed box @ 64kg (that's bl##dy good)
SHOULD GO VERY WELL

I can see the attraction of going for a more modern lump but I do like having an "age appropriate" drive train.......and running a distributor and carbs.

I know that I am not sticking to the ethos religiously, but I want to own a 1950s special. I hated it when Formula Ford went from Kent to Zetec......I'm just a miserable old git.

I second that...

I totally understand where you are coming from, but we have to move forward and try differant things.

The Triumph straight 6 is a heavy and slow reving engine, compaired with a modern engines what ever the make.
They are getting hard to find and expensive to repair/re-build, and lets face it most of them need re-building as there 30 or 40+ years old.

The modern engines on the other hand are plentyfull, cheap, reliable and as a bonus return good MPG.
We are very lucky in the UK as Triumph spares can be found, but thats not the case around Europe.

There's as much fun in driving these cars as there is in building them, but, I find with a little extra punch under the bonnet there's a little extra fun to be had.
I recently drove Spitfire with a Zetec fitted and it was so much fun I do'nt want to give it back!!!!

Still, each-to-his-own

Was going to suggest a zetec as they bolt straight up to a type 9 and can be had brand new in a crate for about £600 to £700. Only issue would be that it would have to be a retro fit after the dvla inspection i think.

That should not be an issue. the DVLA says "an unaltered chassis and 2 major compontent" to retain the registration ie score 8 points and over, of the 14 points which makes up a vehicle.
Chassis= 5,
Axles= 2,
Supension= 2,
Steering= 2,
Transmition=2,
Engine= 1,
Total 14

But, it would be wise to have the replacment engine details ie; engine number and CC up-dated on the V5 before the inspection.

But again it's DVLA so anything can happen

Although I'd be tempted by a modern motor and five/six speed box if I ever decided to build a street/race Spyder, I'd be looking for an in-line engine and box from a cheap donor to keep the costs down, very much like Micky1mo is doing with the BMW four pot and box, which I'm watching with interest

The trouble with looking at a crated Zetec at £600 to £700 is that you then need to start shelling out on some very expensive ancillaries, like throttle bodies; megasquirt injection system; distributorless ignition; custom exhaust; etc, and the final bill can very quickly get out of hand. That's fine if your funds are limitless, but mine aren't.

Oxford's really hit the nail on the head too - these old cast iron lumps might be heavy, slow to rev and have a low specific output, but they're full of character, easy to work on and mine was effectively free as it came with a donor that cost less than I got from selling off the unwanted parts on ebay!

So, assuming you have any, which I don't at the mo, you pays your money you takes your choice...

I finally got round to starting on the secondary radiator at the back of my car today.

It'll only be needed at sustained motorway speeds - the temperature gauge starts to climb towards the red after running at 70mph for over an hour - but after completing the 400 mile round trip to Goodwood this year I've really been bitten by the touring bug. In fact I had planned to drive it down to the Exeter show at the weekend, but I didn't finish work until 3am on Saturday morning and the worst storm in decades was forecast for Sunday, so I had to abandon that particular plan

After lots of measuring and chin rubbing I bought an MR2 roadster radiator, which is suitably wide and short in height. Here it is with some brackets I fabricated from galvanised angle iron already bolted up -



And here it is bolted up to the now redundant rear exhaust hanger bar -





As you can see, it fits nicely in the space between the fuel tank and the back end without sticking out underneath.

Now, just the small matter of plumbing it in...

Do you think you might need an auxilliary water pump to help fluid circulate. BMW and Mercedes items might be appropriate. They go for about £25 on a well known auction site.