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Thread: RWD, XE, MG Midget

  1. #81
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    I have found some images this morning off the t'internet which explain why I decided to mod the ARB mounts:





    Whilst I had heard of the problem I hadn't physically seen an example of it

    Cheers

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  3. #82
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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    jesus christ that must of been a big pothole
    love reading youre threads mate always really interesting read
    do ya like dags

  4. #83
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Cheers mate thanks for the comments

    The ARB mounts tend to pull out if a 'thicker' ARB is fitted or semi motorsport use such as trackdays or such like, so it's not accident damage just 'enthusiastic' use that can cause this

    Cheers

  5. #84
    Way too much free time Decade Plus User Retromotorsport's Avatar
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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    just 'enthusiastic' use that can cause this
    You mean thrashing the arse off it ...

    Still, means you know its located now .. soon be done, this year ?

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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Being the wrong side of 40, "one drives enthusiastically" All too easy to run out of talent these days...

    I'd really like to think it would be done this year but I'm doing another 10 race weekends minimum this year which cuts the available time nearly in half (but I'm not complaining as last year was pretty lean) Was at Silverstone yesterday on the new Arena track layout which seems to be getting favourable comments

    I have got a week off in a fortnight so I should get a fair bit done, assuming I can get the panels I need.

    Getting hold of any panels is becoming a headache as British Motor Heritage (who remake a lot of BL / MG etc... panels) seem to carry no stock of anything I want and some parts are taking up to a month so I have to keep moving around before I finish one area off properly.

    I'm still not decided on the final direction for the car which currently bounces between these three 'styles':

    Pretty standard looking in Old English white or Almond Green but older grille to make it look more 60's than 70's



    I know this is an MGB, but the works look is another option, Tartan red, debumpered, minilites etc…



    Or a Sebring Sprite replica, which adds considerably to the cost, loses wind up windows and door locks (practicality?) probably 30 – 50 kg lighter than std.





    Cheers

    P.S. I've located a type 9 gearbox mount, I tried PM'ing you but lost what I wrote so gave up!
    Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 18-05-2010 at 10:45.

  7. #86
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    When the going gets tough (Hot) the not so tough do some electrickery as its too hot to weld

    It's really difficult to keep going back to the looms as you can never remember what you have / haven't done but the Power Junction Box PJB is nearly there now:



    I am currently using the original fuel gauge (needs glass replacing) and the hazard switch. I have used very few of the original gauges / switchgear mainly for reliability in the case of the switch gear but also as for convenience as they fit the dash easily. So I felt somewhat justified in this decision when I was testing the PJB for functionality and the one thing that didn't work was the original hazard switch



    The two unpopulated holes at the bottom are for the downlead leads for the dash logger and the ECU. The rectangle in between them is for the PP9 battery which powers the fire extinguisher activation (I don't have one yet but the wiring is at least in place for it.)

    The big switch to the left is the Master switch, the ugly bolt holding the switch extension on will be replaced for a roll pin and the aluminium plate holding it in place is just temporary until the dash is properly fabricated to house the PJB panel.



    Still not entirely sure the old and the new integrate together too well so this might yet change for an earlier Spridget dash panel which is flat, a bit like this as an alternative:



    I will retain the original column stalk as well for indicator and main beam, with 'modified' cars people often remove them but if you have ever fumbled around for a dash mounted indicator switch in a hurry you'll know why I am trying to retain them:



    But I have done away with the original 35+ year old wires and bullet conectors for the stalk and soldered some type 55M in its place and will use a mini Deutsch Autosport like the rest of them loom.

    Cheers

  8. #87
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Finally finished the other ARB mount now and tidied both mounts and the flat repair up:

    This is the removal of the RH ARB mount:



    No lack of Waxoyl, rust has only got to the mating faces where the spot welds are, Waxoyl is probably too thick / viscous to get into the seams.



    This is the ARB mount welded to the 2mm plate which is the internal rib which connects to the upper skin of the box section



    Cover skin in place ready for welding, working with metal this thick it is quite easy to fill the gaps with MIG



    I've been experimenting with the plug welds and normally weld on a setting of say 1, but I am up to a setting of 3 for the plug welds and they are much neater as they are nearer being a molten pool, up to now they have looked as though they are sitting on the surface and not penetrated (even though when checking them they seem OK) Which means less grinding and more confidence they are properly holding together.



    All linished and tidied up now



    Just going to get the car right side up now to look at putting the RH outer sill on before I continue with the rear bulkhead, just trying to avoid cutting too much out at once and the outer sill should keep everything straight (assuming I fit straight!)

    Cheers

  9. #88
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    I had myself one of them there character building days

    It is now right side up and I decided to have a further poke around the RF inner arch to try and decide how to try and repair the bulkhead to front cross member triangular stiffener.

    On top of the rust caused by the passage of time the car had a leak from the brake master cylinder which I had noticed when I bought it, the seller said whilst it had damaged the paint he had treated the affected metal, these are the white areas:



    It looked more like white emulsion that a bare steel treatment and underneath it was clearly pitted.



    What I couldn't see when I bought it was this area which the fluid leak had stripped bare. It had been covered with a mixture of underseal and oil.

    Also this area of the inner arch was a bit of a mystery to me, at first I thought it was accident damage that had been badly knocked out:



    But closer inspection shows that the 'dimples' are the original spot welds and the areas around them are where rust trapped between the two surfaces has swollen the metal.

    So it all had to go after lots of reference measurements:



    I guess it was due to packaging constraints but the fact triangular stiffener mounts in the middle of a panel is not a great idea as panel is very 'soft' even with the internal footwell stiffener, making the need for this panel to be free from rust and holes even more important.

    These holes were only evident once the stiffener was removed, they are right next to the repair panel I had already fitted



    I am reluctant to butt up another patch to this one as it will look like a quilt, but we will see.

    However after the panel was linished back to have a closer look:



    And I linished some more:



    The pock marks refuse to budge however much I linish, so looks like another panel to replace as most of it is affected.



    The cross member end has at least cleaned up well and is ready once I decide how to proceed with the rest.



    Cheers

  10. #89
    Way too much free time Decade Plus User PIG's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    good to see this still coming along bud.your loom work is excellent.1st class.

  11. #90
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Cheers Mate,

    I know it's a bit of a MG restoration thread at the moment but as soon as I get the basics done I'll be getting on with the interesting stuff

    Cheers

  12. #91
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Getting bored with restoration, plus I am waiting for panels again after my latest findings (well that's my excuse anyway)

    Decided to mock up the XE and the type 9 as I haven't had a complete gearbox in yet to check for fit:

    It doesn't fit:



    Tried to push the type 9 in to the tunnel but it gets wedged and is pushed off centre as a result, I know the RH side is OK as I have cut a huge hole, so it must be tother side:

    I wanted to try and keep the majority of the tunnel in place and dress / porta power the sides out where necessary but when you push one area out another pops in so a further incision is required:



    You can just make out that the LH side of the main gearbox casing is hard against the LH lateral box section, I have cut off the same amount that is done when K series Midgets with type 9's are fitted but I think my gearbox is about 100mm further back than a 'K' installation hence the fouling.

    Placed the top of the tunnel back on but not sure how much if any I can retain and how much I need to make



    The std car spot welds the tunnel to the bulkhead using this return edge



    I want try and make the modified tunnel look similar to standard so I will use the same fixing method, but I need to move some areas of the return to give more space for the gearbox main case top cover which is very close to the top LH and RH corners, the black marker pen line shows how much it needs to move out:



    Having cut the old bits of the tunnel away, the front bulkhead looks a little, erm, unattached



    It seems sensible to cap the exposed ends of the box section, it will add a bit of strength and stop crap getting in



    Mocking up a gusset / rib to help tie the lateral box section to the chassis legs and also give a structure to mount the flapping end of the bulkhead



    Metal version welded in place:



    And it will give me something to attach this part of the bulkhead to (something the std car didn't do)



    Cheers

  13. #92
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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    who'd have thought such a small car would have so much rust
    love the resto though, nice to see your not afraid to cut a bit of metal out, and a dab hand at putting it back in

    keep at it

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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Cheers Steely Dan thanks for the comments, a bit more 'non' resto stuff today:

    Being as I now have a big hole where the transmission tunnel used to be I figured I should start to do something about it, this is one of the jobs I have been worried about as I haven't done any fabrication of this type before, plenty of simple folded sheets etc but nothing containing lots of radii and angles.

    So having made a card template I began the day folding the returns up with whatever I had to hand:



    Having given myself the limitation of keeping the tunnel as similar to standard as possible in terms of appearance and how and where it is welded I have had to make the tunnel in sections as there was no way I was going to be able to make it as one and have a hope in hell that anything would be in the right place

    So after a bit of trimming and hommering I am lulled in to a false sense of security as it looks like it will line up with the original top bit of the tunnel OK. I have already changed the profile of the opening in the tunnel to give more room in the top RH corner, The new side of the tunnel was made specifically for this reason :



    I've had to add two more folds and a cut line to bring the tunnel side in to meet the original tunnel



    The cut line welded up:



    Tidied up a bit:



    Started to connect the side to the top



    And this is how the day finished, most of the RH side done



    It looks OK as regards being similar to the standard tunnel which is what I wanted but it doesn't bare close scrutiny, but I'm quite pleased with the outcome even if it does seem to take me ages, this thread represents a whole day!

    Cheers
    Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 03-06-2010 at 19:33.

  15. #94
    World Champion Decade Plus User exboyracer's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Nice to see someone else who is a slow worker like me

    If it's worth doing, it's worth taking your time over
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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    I'm starting to comission the various parts of the loom that connect together, firstly 'belling out' the whole lot when it is connected from pin to pin.

    Part of the process was marrying the Omega dash loom to the PJB and I couldn't resist having a play, this is the Omega in demo mode:

    Power up page:



    Alarm mode:



    And a typical display page:



    In reality this only proves out a few wires but it feels like its coming together seeing bits like this powered up.

    Cheers

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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Progressing slowly with my Omega dash learning:



    Managed to connect an EGT and then via the 'Watch channels' options watched the temperature change to confirm both of the thermocouple channels are correctly wired / working.

    I did the same with the internal accelerometer watching the output on the dash

    Currently setting it up to manually log and download this data with toolset on the PC shown, also confirming the ethernet aspect of the download works

    Once this is done I want to connect the SQ6 and make sure the Omega can read in the data from it

    Cheers
    Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 23-06-2010 at 21:44.

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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Back to a bit of real work, the tunnel mods are essentially finished:



    Still a bit of fettling to do but the basic structure is done



    It's not welded in as being able to remove it will make fitting the gearbox mount much easier as well as whatever I decide to do as regards reinstating the lateral crossmember stiffness, then it will be finally welded in place.

    Cheers
    Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 02-07-2010 at 22:01.

  19. #98
    Way too much free time Decade Plus User PIG's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    lovely work bud

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Quote Originally Posted by PIG View Post
    lovely work bud
    Cheer, thanks for the positive comments.

    I think I've finished mocking the engine position up which means finalising, inlet, exhaust and engine mounts.

    Started with the manifold flange, still weighing up costs of Stainless vs Mild Steel bends (Ruled Inconel out already ) Getting some quotes from Good Fabrications http://www.goodfabs.com/ as I have used them before and quality is second to none.



    Trying to make it as light as possible

    Cheers

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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Having to start buying parts specifically for each project now as the requirements differ

    To give better bonnet clearance the Midget will have the engine installed level instead of 7 degrees, it also gives more room for the exhaust which is pretty tight.

    An SBD zero degree bellhousing:





    This bellhousing has the gearbox mounts threaded so it can be a quick release unit but I will drill the the threads out and mount it normally

    It is quite different to the 7 degree bellhousing I already have and feels heavier, but I haven't been able to weigh it yet.

    Running the engine level and not needing any crossmember clearance in the Midget I will use a shallow wet sump:





    I have no idea why but the baffle is cast ally and weighs over a kilogram, it has both horizontal and vertical baffles



    Again it feels pretty heavy and a modified steel sump would have been lighter but I just need to start getting together everything I need instead of trying to make everything.

    The standard crank pulley / torsional vibration damper and the standard 60-2 trigger wheel weigh in at 1.9 kg, I will use the SBD one shown to replace both, it is 360 grammes, the quailty looks pretty good and it is hard anodized. I know it will have no torsional damping properties but it saves a lot of rotating weight.





    It has one less 'vee' than the standard pulley



    The idler wheels and bearings are also going to be replaced with SBD ally ones, they are also hard anodized



    Just need a clutch cover and then I can get all balanced and start to put it together.

    Cheers

  22. #101
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    I couldn't decide which to do first, the engine mounts or the exhaust, the problem is that they are both competing for the same space. The danger with doing the exhaust first is that the engine isn't properly located, but the exhaust path is more important than the engine mount positioning, so I made sure the engine was in its resting position and started the manifold.

    The plans for the manifold started off pretty grand, far too grand infact:

    Stainless manifold:
    Perge TIG welded, equal length primaries (weighed)
    x3 proper merge collectors, (x2 2>1, 1,75" > 2") and (x1 2>1, 2">2.5") £85 x 3
    as an example:


    Water cut manifold flange £80 (Inc material) as per drawing / dxf shown earlier
    Mandrel bends - 18 swg (x4 90 deg, x4 45 deg) £20 x 8

    formed manifold to header sections x4 (done as a favour) £20 drink


    These are the 'proper ' way to connect the manifold shape to the 1.75" tube, the basic problem is that the circumference of the oval port that leaves the head is about 20mm less than the cicumference of the 1.75" tube so squashing / reforming the 1.75" tube to the same shape as the head means the transistion is too big and we have a step


    The above came to £515, a bit more searching could knock some off but overall as a kit of bits its a bit daft in the context of the rest of the project / spec of the engine. Also as I have never tried to make a manifold before I was worried about ending up with a pile of expensive scrap - So from the sublime to the ridculous:

    So Plan B:

    A basic mild steel flange which is laser cut, 10mm thick and heavy, £25:
    Non mandrel 16swg (Too thick, heavy) bends, x4 90 deg, x4 45 deg, x8 £9 = £72:



    Pretty nasty 2>1 pressed collectors x2 £9 = £18



    So this is where I am currently up to:

    This is typical of the 1.75" tube reformed to fit inside the flange, still needs tidying up a bit and also as mentioned earlier the circumference of this oval is bigger than that in the head. I may try and build this area up with some weld and fettle it to the same shape as the head but I might also just live with it.





    I've tried to make the first part of the manifold as straight as possible as it exits the head which is easy for cylinders 1 & 2 but gets progressively more difficult as you get to the bulkhead / footwells



    Now as far as trying to get the primaries all the same length, this is where the non mandrel bends really cock things up. The cross section through these non mandrel bend is more like a rounded off four pointed diamond than a real circle. With the combination of 90 and 45 degree bends the plan was to cut through the bend section and therefore be able to make up a variety of bends and angles but because the the cross sections are not circular this is not possible.



    So the routing has to be much less adventurous and equal lengths have taken second place to simplified packaging.

    1 and 4 primaries are pretty close in being the same length but 3 is going to be longer than 2, so 2 is shorter than 1 & 4 and 3 is longer than 1 & 4. It remains to be seen what effect this will have on power.

    Worst case scenario I will just use this manifold for the cars initial running and then get something better made having only spent £100 on the manifold, if however by some miracle the individual cylinder ignition / fuel trims and EGT's all look sensible and power is where I expect (180 ish) then it will stay as is despite being a bit heavy weight.

    Cheers

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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Progress is slow but the engine side of the engine mounts are done, just need painting.



    The mounts are slotted to allow the position of the engine to move laterally, this is to allow any fine adjustments for clearance and the ability to change weight distribution.



    Just the chassis half of the mounts to do next, these will also allow the engine position to move up and down to get the most ground clearance.

    And the last part of the engine puzzle, should all go together in the next few weeks.



    Cheers

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    This thread rocks !

    I've got a Sprite sitting in my garage, a massive interest in xe's and always thought I should combine the two ! Now I'm starting to think I should just drop one in there !

    It is a convertible though so christ knows how it would cope with xe grunt !

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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Jonboy,

    Thanks for the comments

    I know the K Series engine is the norm for Spridgets but I had the XE from my Mini project lying around to trial fit and it seems to fit suprising well with the right sump and cam cover mods.

    I know its no lightweight engine but I am confident the car will be sub 750 kg and I calculated how far the engine had to go back to maintain the weight distribution of the std car and if anything the weight distribution will be better than std with how far its moved back. 51 - 52% front. Plus other changes will help, battery in boot, 105e axle is a bit heavier, saved about 10 kg off the std XE...

    I know what you mean about it being a convertible as the std car has a reasonable amount of scuttle shake and unless I fit a full weld in cage nothing is liklely to have changed that, but again some of the K series Midgets have 180 hp and seem OK.

    Cheers

  26. #105
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Started on the chassis side of the engine mounts, these are slotted for engine height adjustments.



    This part of the mount is 3mm, I planned to use 1.6 - 2.0mm for the 'webs' but a lack of material meant they were also done in 3mm so a bit heavyweight.

    The web being shaped around a bar



    Both parts tacked together ready to trial fit to the chassis legs



    Just mocked up to make sure everything clears OK



    You can see the height adjustment and the fact that the parts of the chassis mounts are spaced apart such that the engine can move back another 25 - 40mm from its current position.



    This photo also shows the std alternator is hard against the steering column, but I was planning to fit a smaller alternator anyway, it will just need to be moved up about 25mm as well.

    The holes in the side of the mounts are to allow the mounts to be rose welded as well to increase the weld area. The mounts will be welded to the vertical sides of the chassis as this is the stiffest part of the chassis leg in this direction. If the top face of the chassis leg was used on its own it is quite flexible and it would 'pant' / fatigue - a bit like the ARB mounts pulling away from the skin on the underside of the chassis legs.

    Just need to make the same for the other side and get the mounts TIG welded together and then I can MIG them to the chassis legs, I'm just glad the engine mounting is nearly over as this was about the 3rd attempt using different sizes / types of mounts.

    Cheers

  27. #106
    World Champion Decade Plus User exboyracer's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Nice work mate, I like the engine mounts very much
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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Exboyracer,

    Thanks for the comments, they do seem to be taking a lot longer than they should though

    Still working on the chassis side of the engine mounts:



    The engine is as far back as at it can be within the adjustment, the washers are temoporary until I turn up some suitable spacers



    There is about 20mm of height adjustment and about 10mm side to side

    About half way through making the LH chassis mounts, I didn't want to start these until the RH mounts were welded in.



    Cheers

  29. #108
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Now that the engine and gearbox are finally positioned I can start to look at the bulkhead structure or lack of it...

    The centre of the main lateral box section has been cut out as part of the type 9 fitment, and it is whenever anyone fits a type 9 so not just specific to this project.

    The Midget suffers to fair extent with 'scuttle shake' in standard form which is a reasonable indicator of a lack of torsional stiffness, as do many soft tops.

    My current aim is to still try and hide modifications of this type to keep the car looking standard-ish.

    Started off with a hole courtesy of a Starret hole saw...



    Into which went a tube, 38mm DIA, 1.6mm, T45, which was originally intended for the Mini (The colour coding is used to identify T45)



    Essentially a 'dash' tube, to start the bulkhead structure



    It connects the 'A' pillars together, the only panel which does this on the standard car is the shallow vertical bulkhead panel. The heater tray (which has also been removed) indirectly connects the upper surface of the footwells but in a pretty inefficient manner.

    The steering column needs to be slightly lowered as a result of the tube but not noticably. The dash and the centre console will hopefully cover most if not all of it.



    Then a vertical tube to start connecting the dash tube to the floor box section. The tube passes through the top surface of the box section through to the lower surface and will be welded to both not just the top skin.

    The vertical tubes will make the centre section around the tunnel noticably wider which will be hidden a little by the power junction box / centre console but I still think it will be visible.

    I had to make the vertical tubes the same width as the chassis legs so there was no real option to make it as narrow as standard.

    Once the other side is done then I can look at adding some diagonals to close the rectangles and add strength. Then I would like to try and tie the front suspension cross member to the footwells / bulkhead better than standard, but there are few easy routes to do this.

    Cheers
    Last edited by Graham; 23-10-2010 at 11:47.

  30. #109
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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Ive just read thread all the way through, very intresting and nice to see the images.
    Keep the good work up and the pictures comeing.
    A quick question if you dont mind, where did you get the gear change part of the type 9 shortened as I would like to get mine done.
    all the best Paul.

  31. #110
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Hi Stomper,

    Thanks for the comments.

    I shortened the type 9 myself, just as the photos show, the only part not shown is shortening the selector shaft which was shortened with an angle grinder with a cutting disk and then a roll pin hole needs to be put back in.

    The roll pin hole position and angle is important as it needs to be exactly the same as the original hole terms of position and relative angle otherwise you wont be able to get all gears (ask me how I know! )

    The aluminium TIG welding was done by a friend - you need to be very careful about the heat going into the case as the rear bearing is white metal (mine melted) and there is a selector shaft oil seal which is easy to miss and it also gets cooked when welding. I only shortened mine by 67 - 69mm - anymore and you have to remove a DU bush wish the selector shaft uses, I know others who have removed this bush and got more like 90mm but then the oil seal is the only thing which positions the selector shaft radially, hth

    Cheers



    Cheers
    Last edited by Graham; 23-10-2010 at 11:46.

  32. #111
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Cheers Exboyracer,

    I have tried the uploader with the same images and it seems to work now, so hopefully these are the missing images from the last post about the build:



    Then a vertical tube to start connecting the dash tube to the floor box section. The tube passes through the top surface of the box section through to the lower surface and will be welded to both not just the top skin.






  33. #112
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Slight change in plans

    These are the vertical tubes mocked up in position:



    It just looks too wide and the drivers side tube is very close to my knee, so I am going to go down in tube diameter and move the tubes inwards



    I have welded a 'spreader' patch to the box section and the welded circle is a piece of tube which connects the upper and lower skin, the spreader is both seam welded and 'rose' plug welded, the plate is long as I will add either a gusset or a short diagonal tube to connect the vertical tube to the chassis



    Also the area where the dash tube goes into the A pillar is quite thin this so I have added another spreader plate but will also add a couple of gussets to connect the tube to the A pillar

    Cheers

  34. #113
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    The thread is looking a bit of a mess with the pictures not posting and the last double post

    So if any moderators could delete the double post and maybe the pictures which dont work

    As previously mentioned the centre section of the bulkhead looked too wide / out of proportion.




    I'm much happier with this, it only makes a slight increase in the width (10 - 15mm per side) but does the job of tying the A pillars to the dash tube, the dash tube to the chassis legs. The whole car was levelled and supported from underneath whilst these tubes were welded in place just to make sure that the lateral box section which is cut in half is level and parallel one side to the other.

    I plan to add some further triangulation and also to tie what is essentially the front suspension cross member - but again try and do it so it is discrete / hidden. So far these tubes have only added around 1.8 kg and 5.0 kg is the planned total for the additional triangulation.



    Cheers

  35. #114
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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    great work posted edited

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    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Graham,

    Thanks for the comments and the editing

    Cheers

  37. #116
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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Great Work and very nice project

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Cheers FreDOoOo thanks for the comments,

    I need to do a last few checks of engine position before comitting to anymore metalwork, the oil filter is tight but should be OK:



    It just clears the lateral cross member and is about 10mm from the chassis leg, which will hopefully be enough with engine rock. It is the short filter which is about 10 - 15mm shorter than std.

    Room is tight for a proper airbox, the No.1 ram pipe is close to the bonnet edge stiffener.



    I have partially cut the siffener away but still may have to resort to individual K&N cone filters otherwise.

    Another seemingly backward step as I am cutting out one of the first welded repairs I did when I started to restore the car, but I am not sure about the floor / footwell in this area now:



    Looked about as bad as I expected



    Hole in the sill....



    Spreader plate added to chassis leg:



    When I started on the XE route I did a low tech chassis torsional stiffness test and to say the front crossmember was free to move is an understatement, some could have been due to the deterioration of the car itself such as the outer sills but from the outset I wanted to try and improve how the front end is connected to the bulkhead



    The lateral tube is to connect the outer sill to the chassis leg, it connects through the spreader plate and the additional gusset shown.



    Starting to add a tube to from the lateral tube to upper part of the cross member, it is not ideal as the tube connects mid tube but it will tie in to the std triangular lateral section which the lateral tube runs parallel to.

    Hopefully tomorrow I will add a tube from from the upper footwell.
    These bracing tubes are intended to fit inside the std triangle section and therefore not visible, but that remains to be seen.

    Cheers
    Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 26-11-2010 at 22:44.

  39. #118
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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    i must say this really is a quality thread, some excellent work and thought going in to this build.

  40. #119
    Spanner Monkey Aubrey_Boy's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    Cheers, thanks for the comments Old skooler

    Nearly finished now as regards the additional bracing on the drivers side which is intended to tie the front cross member to the front bulkhead.

    As stated before this tube should ideally go to the junction between the lateral tube and the chassis leg for best triangulation but this would then be clearly visible and also would be assymetric as it would not be possible to do this on the other side whilst keeping the exhaust routing as std.



    Welded in place:



    Other bracing tubes have been notched:



    Not quite able to get this vertical tube to the junction but it would occupy the same space the brake pedal if I moved it where it should be



    All welded up:



    The triangle now complete and you can see the sheet metal version in the background



    And hopefully if the tubes are correctly positioned, then once this sheet metal triangle is reinstated all of the tubes should be hidden inside it:



    Another tube path which has been heavily compromised is this tube which runs parallel to the steering column, it should go from the triangle which has just been created to the vertical tubes either side of the tunnel but this would mean a new steering column path which would need UJ's



    The positive thing this tube does provide is a solid mount for the pedal box which the std car lack as the std pedal box flexs quite a lot due to being mounted on a flat panel with little strength.

    So this gusset attempts to brace it back to the vertical tube without getting in the way of the steering column.



    So next I will position the pedal box so I can attach some mounts to the bracing tubes and then fit the sheet metal which covers this area

    Cheers

  41. #120
    Way too much free time Decade Plus User PIG's Avatar

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    Re: RWD, XE, MG Midget

    love looking through this thread and reading the updates,as always mate some fantastic work.keep going back to your loom work tho it really is fantastic.great build so far.

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