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And another dodgy picture of me at inspections to add to the collection !!
Thanks again Gary - enjoy the beer!
I have now cut'n'shut the lowering block to 60mm and the ride height is much better. Thanks - I should have listened to you in the first place!
I have fitted the fuel cap as well today. The fuel cap I used was an Aston cap for a classic Mini - £15 from ebay. It took a bit of working out how to fit it but managed it with a £5 three-step exhaust pipe reducer, and the fuel cap and filler neck from my old Vitesse tank. It is now secured, waiting for making good around the opening, so I can fill the tank with fuel and see if the old girl will start at the weekend!
Starting to get excited about the prospect of it being on the road in May!!
I am glad you have managed to get it registered and the build is looking great. It does make me laugh though that you can recondition the chassis and components related to that and change the body without the need for a new MOT. They seem to be so strict in some ways and lax in others. I bet you can't wait to get it finished now, stick the tax disc on the screen and go for a blast down the road. If you take a video camera with you we can all be with you on that momentous first outing. As you say we all love piccys!!!!!
This forum is better than any build manual and an inspiration to all. Cheers
Towed agrees with Froggy (amphibians of the world unite?)
You're doing a great job of inspiring the rest of us to bldy well get on with our own builds.
I also thought it's bizarre that hacking the car to pieces and changing just about everything doesn't void the MOT. There is always the catch-all law regarding driving a vehicle in a condition likely to cause danger to stop you driving the bare chassis round the bypass though.
quick update, I have been thinking of the rat-cammo look......
OK I got carried away with the guide coat! ( i have to put in the bonnet formers/strengtheners yet, hence the bottom edges still stick out.)
A couple of the detail shots....
I have made mould seats for the rear lights so they look more factory fitted
and the same for the number plate light...
and I have also moulded in the filler neck. This is the standard Vitesse cap and filler neck from the Vitesse tank, and adapted by means of an exhaust pipe reducer with some washers welded on and then the lot bonded on. It will be covered with a standard Mini Aston cap, so the locking cap will be hidden. The actual filler tube is on a flexible pipe to the tank and has a rubber seal between the bonded part, so it will move without cracking the fibreglass! (so the theory goes...)
6" sections of 68mm standard plastic rainwater downpipe - just the right size for my Lucas 488 flat lens lights when you have a layer of fibreglass and filler on it! Rough up the surface well and then hold them in place with some hot-melt glue gun and then use bonding paste and fibreglass to secure them behind and in front. Finish off with body filler to the shape/style you want.
The number plate light was done by covering the light in packing tape and then holding it at the right angle with gaffer tape down the sides. Fill from the top with body filler to make the wedge shape. Remove the light when it is all set (the tape stops the body filler from sticking to it) and then tidy up accordingly.
Thanks for the heads up on how you made the light pods up. My rear lights are going in a bit of a different direction if you'll excuse the obfuscation, but I'll need to make some sort of plinth for some of them to sit on. I find that although everything seems to be costing twice as much as anticipated and takes four times as long to fit, the process of building a Sammio is very satisfying. I love a challenge and this is really turning out to be a challenge and a half!
i havnt made any light pods up for my rear lights, but im guessing you use the good old glass fibre stuff and play around with it, and stick some on your clothes,and fingers and arms, then you finally get the shape you need on the car...oh and i forgot abour the itching........good luck
Since the weather has been 5h1te I have got round to updating my website... [url]www.mysammiospyder.co.uk[/url]
More pictures and blurb.
I have built up most of my interior now on my pool table in the lounge, so that is ready to go in as soon as the weather stops raining long enough for me to paint my car!!
I think I should be building an ARK rather than a Spyder.....
Well, I have been safely snuggled up in my tent with my Spyder, and it has persisted with rain today!
But we were nice and dry, and providing a spectacle to all the passing cars and dog walkers...
I had to resort to cutting a hole in the bonnet to lower it enough. I will have to cover it up with a Norfolk Scoop or perspex window?
The grille was next to be trial fitted again, to make sure it didn't foul the hinges etc...
And then it was on to the bodywork again, more rubbing down, and a trial coat of white primer I got at the show yesterday to see how it would look! The bonnet does pull down with the spring-type hooks I got but I will have to put a couple of flush mount locking pins in the two "dips" at the top of the bonnet as it flexes too much and does not follow the contours of the bulkhead on its own. I was hoping to avoid this, but the alternative is to make up a steel bar to the right shape and bond it on or fill out the bulkhead to meet it, which will not look right!
and the bonnet was gapped by building up the bulkhead to fit the bonnet, and all was tidied up and the end result was pretty good I reckon. I glassed in the strengthening webs as well while I was at it. I will make up some inner wings over the next week.
Great progress Tony, wish mine was advancing as quickly. Looks like the straight six needs a hole in the bonnet to clear properly though. Hey Ho, Norfolk Scoops all round then.
The white undecoat came out ok, did that scratch coat help?
yes, it did Gary, but I don't have a lot of patience, so I wanted to get a coat of white primer on so I could motivate myself some more! It worked, as it started to look almost finished!
Mister Towed wrote:
Great progress Tony, wish mine was advancing as quickly. Looks like the straight six needs a hole in the bonnet to clear properly though. Hey Ho, Norfolk Scoops all round then.
It is the thermostat housing that hits, everything else seems to fit fine, including my lowered radiator. I spoke with Mike at the show and he gave me an insight into how to make the scoop, so I will give it a go this week!
I must admit to being a bit more spurred onto to getting it finished now, and will be ordering the paint in the next week or so. I would love to have it on the road by the end of the month, but I am not rushing just to hit that deadline!
After having a chat with Mike at the show on Sunday, I decided to get up early this morning and start on my scoop.
This is one way of doing it, and by no means the only way, but in case you are interested..... (thanks Mike for the insight, it really worked well!)
1. Prepare a flat surface to lay the glass fibre matting on that is bigger than your required scoop by about 6" all round at least. I used packing tape as the release agent - it is cheap and plentiful and better than release wax! Then mix up some resin and lay up one sheet of 900gsm matting (or a similar) and soak well.
2. The idea is to make a thin, pliable sheet of fibreglass that you can lay on the bonnet and push up both sides to form an arch. I trimmed my sheet with a pair of scissors to the right size and shape for my own scoop....
3. Then hold it in place with screws, body filler or whatever you want, so it holds the right shape.
4. When you are happy with the shape, cover with another layer of 900gsm matting and resin to strengthen it up. I also used a fine finish matting to reduce amount of filler required to finish off.
That's it. It took me about 20 minutes this morning to make the first thin peice and I did another 30 minutes at lunchtime today to fit it to the bonnet and fibreglass over the top. Hopefully it will be cured for me to start filling and finishing tomorrow evening.
Scoops-r-us has arrived in a circus tent near you (if you live in poole!)
