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Thank you Gaz....The website pics just don't do the car any justice....it needs some colour !
Thanks very much for showing us around last week Gary - it was really good to get an idea of size etc. I know that you were leaning towards red for the colour but how about Ecurie Ecosse blue?
(Maybe that's just my Scottish bias coming out though... )
Ecosse blue is a great colour .....Patrice wants red and I like red as well.....
Managed to get the car outside today.
Wire wheels are on ....combination of MG adaptors , 4.5'' pcd , drilled out for the larger studs , Jaguar 1/2'' unf wheel nuts to replace the Scimitar sleeved examples and some 15'' MGC wires ( Thanks Dave ) fitted with 165 x 15 front tyres and larger but same radius , 195/65 x 15 rears to fill out the rear slightly...
Doors are hung using Herald boot hinges.
Screen framework has been partially fitted and I started playing with some scrap screen sections to see where we were going.
The new wheels have really changed the car .....heres some pics...
screenwork to follow and then its bodywork / paintshop time !!
Hmm, I just know I'm going to get slated for saying this, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the G46 styling doesn't quite work for me as well as the Spyder does.
I'm expecting it to look much better once the headlights are in and the body painted - just avoid orange with black edged white bands or you'll be hearing from Disney/Pixar's lawyers...
I've got to say I wouldn't have bought a Spyder if Gary had stuck with the 'German' bonnet as that didn't work for me either, but Gary managed to transform the car with the 'Italian' look (imho). I'm sure he'll do the same again with Orca and I look forward to being proved wrong about the styling.
Funnily enough the front looks fine to me, the side is a bit heavy though. I am still buying one but thinking of how to split the side view bulk a bit.
SLR eyebrows perhaps and a skirt line between the wheels?
Funnily enough the front looks fine to me, the side is a bit heavy though. I am still buying one but thinking of how to split the side view bulk a bit.
SLR eyebrows perhaps and a skirt line between the wheels?
Agreed about the SLR influences, I think I posted something about that on an earlier thread - that it would look great in silver with a three pointed star set into the grille for the 300 SLR look on a budget.
I'm sure Gary will evolve Orca into something stunning but the head-on shot just reminded me of Nemo's Dad so much that I couldn't resist highlighting the similarity.
I can see the image on my screen, guess it must be a permissions thing.
I reckon it looks like a mix of Sbarros Mille Miglia and the SLR, especially the twin hump version I will be getting. Just happen to be a couple of my favorite cars which is good.
I also prefer the Spyder to the g46, but having seen the g46 in the flesh a few times i do have to say that only a few of those pics do it justice and it does look a lot prettier in the flesh.
But i've also found that with my Spyder where i've posted some pics of my own car on here and thought "does it really look like that?" Then when I check, it turns out that the photos just don't do it justice!
I also prefer the Spyder to the g46, but having seen the g46 in the flesh a few times i do have to say that only a few of those pics do it justice and it does look a lot prettier in the flesh.
But i've also found that with my Spyder where i've posted some pics of my own car on here and thought "does it relay look like that?" Then when I check, it turns out that the photos just don't do it justice!
I thought the pics might have something to do with it. I'm looking forward to seeing one in the flesh.
Funnily enough the front looks fine to me, the side is a bit heavy though. I am still buying one but thinking of how to split the side view bulk a bit.
SLR eyebrows perhaps and a skirt line between the wheels?
Don't think that would work, the bulk you mention is concentrated from the doors backward. Adding detail in front of the doors will only accentuate that, IMHO
We'll need to wait till we see it in paint and fully finished before passing final judgement - I'm sure that will really change the bulk issue as well as the 'Nemo - face' look!
I was really interested in a G46 and i viewed it a few times.
I agree it looks a little thick set at the side - i was going to fit it to the mx5 but that meant it would have to lose 6" behind the doors.
Ironically i think it would improve the looks - im still tempted haha
Maybe after the "sensible" Roadster i will have a mid life crisis and build one
A 6'' shortened rear and a similar amount on the front would really improve the looks ......I agree.
A lot of cars from that era were designed , cockpit to the rear , long bonnet ....
The Spyder doesn't follow that trend , and works ok....
The Cordite will be more rearward due to the Spit donor..
The problems arise when you are restricted by the donor vehicle.....a Herald is a 4 seater - we make it a 2 seater without moving the driver , hence longer tail ....The G46 is based around an estate car !
If there was one thing I could change it would be a shorter rear....I think the 2 hump versions will help with this visually by giving the car more height.
The problem with all the pics of the G46 so far , is that satin white gelcoat has no reflection at all.....it just doesn't show the curves.
The side shot of the car is a curvaceous wing flowing into a nicely humped bonnet behind it , but you can only see mass !!
I ALSO TOOK INSPIRATION FROM THIS CAR ......
This is a slightly bigger than average Ferrari and the squarer arches were used to make the car obviously different from the Spyder .....I think we need to go with rounder arches to soften the cars looks ...something I will be looking at in the near future...
Of course , the biggest problem is really that IMHO , the Spyder concept is just soo pretty that its a hard one to beat....
( I have got an idea for a special based around the Spyder and Cordite that might beat it though !! )
Shot in the dark here Gary (and heading even further off topic) but have you thought of taking the hump off the Spyder, opening the rear body up and retaining 4 seats? Would have to look at the frame and mounting the tank further back but I remember many happy days with my mates in a herald 12/50 convertible back in the 70s ;-)
gary - I absolutely agree about how much better the car looks when you can see it for real that in the pictures. I still love it and am still buying one. i am interested in hearing about your plans for the wheel arches. If you can show me what you are thinking I think i would prefer them on mine.
I am sure that when you get it painted most of the comments will disappear.
The limitation of the donor is the length between the door and the rear arch. That to me is the only bit that visually jars with the rest. The idea of losing that length by using a TVR donor was my first plan. Now I am thinking of hiding some of it with air vents for the brakes of something.
Still a thing of beauty. Don't take anything I say as a criticism, it is better than anything else I have looked at.
Yes, you really do have to see the G46 in the flesh to appreciate the nuances of the design.
The matt tones in the pictures flatten the image somewhat and a good colour paint job, (whether it be Italian Racing Red, German Racing Silver or British Racing Green) will bring out the styling.
Gary, please excuse us for all our comments on the looks of your babies! I can imagine that the criticism hits hard after all the hard work you put into them.
But rest assured that our intentions are only to be constructive.
Looking at what you have been able to come up with to date, we have total faith that once you've finished the G46 and Cordite to your liking, we'll have two more gorgeous cars to look at and dream about :-)
Hi guys, noob poster here, but I'm currently restoring an SE5 Scimitar and stumbled across the G46. I've been lurking for a few days reading this thread with interest and just thought I'd post my thoughts.
So.... I think the cockpit is too far forward for my taste. I understand exactly why it's in that position, being based upon the standard scim, and I think it will probably look OK when the car is complete and painted, but for me personally I prefer the "classic" sportscar look of short rear and a long bonnet, al la the 300SLR, C-Type, etc.
However, I'm wondering just how difficult it would be to commission a version where the cockpit has been moved back and the bonnet extended?
It makes the effort worthwhile in my opinion as, for a start, my scimitar is in pieces in the garage at the moment and the body has had a smack in the nose at some time, the roll bars have rotted out (as seems common) and need repairing, and the steel reinforcement tube that runs up the A pillar has rotted out and needs replacing so I'm going to have to do quite a bit of fettling to the existing body to make it suitable if I want to keep it, so cutting the old body off and chopping and shutting the floor pan to move the driver back 6"-10" or so isn't really going to be any more work than I'll already have to do, if you know what I mean.
Secondly, I'm fitting a Rover V8 with 5 speed LT77 'box. From some of the pics I've seen of other conversions, this can be a tight squeeze in the standard engine bay with the crank nose pushed up only millimetres from the steering rack. Moving the seat (and thus the bulkhead) back would also allow me to mount the engine further back, bringing more of the weight into the centre of the car and leaving more room in front to clear the rack, plus more room for a decent rad and perhaps an intercooler (as I'm thinking of a blower..).
I think moving the floor around would require some additional metal in the chassis as the position of the driver relative to the outriggers would move but and you would lose some support but, again, my chassis needs a spot of welding anyway so adding the relevant supporting metal would only be a little more work.
Anyway, I just thought I'd put my 2p in and see what people think...
Firstly ....thank you for your comments - I take on board all comments , good and bad ...when you work around this stuff all day , you sometimes can get a bit blinkered ..its good to hear other peoples takes on it.
I appreciate honesty , its important to get the cars right....
I could do a shorter tailed , longer bonneted version of the body , its not too bad to do ....the flip front helps.
You would have to chop and section your floorpan , move the bulkhead , lengthen the column etc. but its all do-able....
A body completed to that spec would probably cost about an extra £500.
THE CHASSIS WOULD NEED TO BE LEFT ALONE AND EXTRA BRACING INCORPORATED INTO THE INTERNAL FRAMEWORK....
All do-able and would be a great car....just extra work to get there !!
If I wasn't all spent up on developing as it is , I might have had a go at it !!
Gary said to us when we bought the G46 that everyone would end up being personal no one car the same.
We knew the limitations on the rear quarter when viewed from the side, incidentally ours is in a dark blue gel coat and does look a lot less bulky.
After lots of deliberation Charlie and I are incorporating the following. but did not want to say anything until we had got the work under-way.
1. We are setting the doors back 200mm cutting and refitting both front and rear bulk heads whilst leaving the centre section of the cill in place.
2. Forming round wheel arches.
3. Fixing the front end solid and cutting in a bonnet.
4. Square of the back end like a sbarro
5. As we are using the V8 having the exhaust exposed running down each side in a recessed cill under the door sections only
It's all ambitious, but we will get there and certainly no comment on Gary's design, without Gary's inspiration we would not be able to make what I hope will be improvements to suit our taste.
Lots of sports cars have this long wheel base ie series 111 E type.
So we hope to:
1. increase the focal length between the back of the front wheel arch to the door. decrease the focal length of from the rear of the door to the front of the rear wheel arch
2. Put the drivers bum nearer to the rear axel.
3. Smooth the side by loosing the bonnet shut lines.
4. Reduce the focal height between the under side of the door and the cill.
The car is all marked up with lines and where to cut, finished rebuilding the front suspension to day so it's now sitting on its wheels.
We are using a set of 15" 205 x 70 series 111 E type wire wheels. With the rover v8 and gear box in place it sits very high I think we are going to need to reduce the coil overs from 15" down to about 10" and have some softer springs.
Gary's last photo shot is more where we hope to be, will post some photos as soon as we have done the surgery.
i like your plan"Chairman"
I can't wait until a Sammio gathering when can get these all together.
All kitcars are different built to the builders personal taste - but in recent years this has started to be paint and wheels. If you look at the big club displays at Stoneleigh.
Garry's cars are different he provides a basic starter kit at a price that allows us to get creative and build as we think. I can't imagine a Cordite being built by a man following a build manual.
When we all get together with all our variations it will baffle anybody who doesn't know the marque.
What are you going to take to the shows this year Garry?
Are you going to Detling this year?
After lots of deliberation Charlie and I are incorporating the following. but did not want to say anything until we had got the work under-way.
1. We are setting the doors back 200mm...
2. Forming round wheel arches.
3. Fixing the front end solid and cutting in a bonnet.
5. As we are using the V8 having the exhaust exposed running down each side in a recessed cill under the door sections only
It's all ambitious, but we will get there and certainly no comment on Gary's design, without Gary's inspiration we would not be able to make what I hope will be improvements to suit our taste.
This sounds exactly what I have been thinking. I have mocked up a really bad photochop of pretty much that picture (although I'm thinking of both exhausts exiting down one side in a similar vein to the C-Type). I would like dual "headrest" humps too as I really like the look of 722. I have flattened off the bonnet a bit and straightened the bottom sill lines too...
I can only load it up to skydrive at the moment, so it won't embed. The link should work though...
) 
