MadaboutKitcars

http://www.europaspares.com/interior-parts/seats/custom-classic-kitcar-seats/apollo-black-vinyl-including-coloured-piping.html

steering wheel sorted

So a few things have been happening this week - firstly I got my quick release steering wheel fitted and then used an old balti dish to make a billet to fit the badge into
so here's the wheel without the insert -
steering wheel 1 by paul ward, on Flickr

then I hack up the balti dish -
steering-wheel-2 by paul ward, on Flickr
then - hey presto - vintage Ferrari steering wheel
steering wheel 3 by paul ward, on Flickr

seats

So today I finally got my seats sorted out - after the fiasco of my old spitfire seats not really fitting, and then forking out for the Apollo seats from Europa spares (who were very gracious and gave me a refund) - I finally decided to design my own to fit the space - So I made the templates and then got a company called 'Inta Trim' near Telford to make them up for me. - not cheap, but I think they look great considering the circumstances.
seats1 by paul ward, on Flickr
unfortunatly as I couldn't get the car there he had to match the base and back without knowing that in the cockpit the bases are slightly offcentre - so they don't match up perfectly, but I think they look pretty cool.

Drat - I could see them fine when I posted them

got the pics working now guys
seats1 by paul ward, on Flickr

Yeah good idea - I was thinking something like that might work

couple more pics DSC_0029s by paul ward, on Flickr
DSC_0032s by paul ward, on Flickr

Yeah, I actually went to have a look at it to see what it was like - I think he's definitely overcharging for it - the paint has cracks and a couple of worn areas on it and the rear wing is not fitted very straight.
And it really put me off painting mine rosso corsa red!

Got the headlights fitted now - DSC_0159w by paul ward, on Flickr

cheers for asking -

I've been away for a month in Thailand - I came back expecting it to be almost done and they haven't really done that much, apart from fitting the rear wheel arches,
I'm hoping now I'm back and can hassle them a bit that they will get on it again.
I think it's basically just the front arches and frames to be made, and then it's almost ready for paint prep.

I'm not sure whether to try and paint it myself or fork out the money and get it done professionally or not.

There's an argument that many vintage looking cars don't have great looking paint - due to the patina and scuffs etc that they have attained over their life - so maybe doing it myself may look a bit more 'vintage' than getting a proper pro job done - undecided

Nice!! Interesting grille - I'm currently trying to work out where or how to get something like that made up

Thanks,
Yeah, me too - I'm hoping it might have an MOT by the end of next week - but still undecided about which colour to go for though - or who's going to paint it

Ok, so got it outside for the first time today to take a few progress pics -
wheel arches are on, next is getting rear indicator brackets fitted, and to fit a replacement alternator.

I think we have an issue with the exhaust though - it may need another box fitting to create some backpressure - apparently some of the fuel may not be burning properly - the mechanic thinks that more back pressure could solve it - any thoughts on this?

Anyway - here's a few pics - [IMG]back 1 by paul ward, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]front top by paul ward, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]front by paul ward, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]side by paul ward, on Flickr[/IMG]

Also, trying to work out what type of grille to have still - any preferences?


[IMG]grille 1 by paul ward, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]grille 2 by paul ward, on Flickr[/IMG]

Cheers

Cheers, I'll have a look

Glad to see my build has re-kindled a bit of interest in these kits again (maybe I should get some sort of commission)

One of the things that made me feel a little sad when I got it was that there used to be a network of people who had them, and that seemed to have disappeared a couple of years ago .... so the more the merrier in my opinion.

To be honest I bought mine already 'half built' - so I don't know what problems you might have at the start of the build.

we have had some issues - the one I have at present is that it seems to be burning way too much fuel - my mechanic friend seems to think it could be because the engine is angled slightly ( about an inch higher at the front compared to the back of the engine) - and he thinks this is making the one carburetor flood constantly. he's going to have to change the engine mounts slightly to try and overcome this - and see if it fixes the problem - fingers crossed.

The wiring loom could be an issue I suppose - mine didn't come with a loom from the donor car,
so I brought a generic kit car 12v loom (much cheaper than a spitfire one) but it had to be all wired up - which took a bit of time and skill from my mechanic friend.

one other problem I had was fitting seats - the spitfire ones I had just wouldn't fit in and I also tried some small bucket seats from a kit car parts supplier (like most fioranos seem to have) - and if I had fitted them - the driving position would have been so far out that it would have been uncomfortable to sit in and drive for very long I think.

so I ended up using old landrover seat bases, mounted onto old landrover 'middle seat' frames, that were then adapted to fit the removable bases. then I made a basic seat back that I had covered professionally by an upholsterer.
but I think now the driving position will be much better and the seats also look more 'period' maybe too.

apart from a few things like that I don't think it's been too bad compared to other kits - it's just taken a while because my friend who's helping me is busy with other work and so can't work on it as often as I'd like him to.

if you have any other questions feel free to ask and let me know if you manage to get hold of one

I'm hoping to maybe have mine roadworthy and drivable for the Stoneleigh show, but who knows

just posted a couple of ads for them for sale on your other thread

Cheers,
no not decided yet - I would have gone for rosso red - but I actually went to see the red car in that advert I posted - and I was very 'underwhelmed' with it on the car, so at the moment I'm torn between a darker - burgandy red or a mid silver like that new electric Morgan

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