Yup, I do.
We took a few of the TinTops there along with the Exige we were campaigning at the time and loved every minute of it, despite the rain.
Looking forward to more updates, hopefully by the time your back my 67 shell is on its spit in the garage and the grinder has been well warmed up.
Make sure you take your camera along with your grinder
Footwell tops and all that
Ill start a thread once i get it into my garage and up on the spit, progress wont be quick at the minute though due to funds, but should progress at a slow and steady rate.
Right Spencer,
Come on, youve had your wee holiday, back to the midget now.
Updates and pics required :P
Hope you enjoyed the time away
Good Morning Peter,
Sadly I didn't get back from Spa until last night and am still pretty kn@ckered and then it's Snetterton this weekend so still struggling to spend any significant time on the Midget for another week or so
Cheers
That must have been a great trip dude.
Hope you had fun, and of course, Snetterton should be good craic too.
Looking forward to any/all updates when you get a chance.
Yes but it was very tiring as all 24 hour races are, but it reminded me that Spa is still one of the few proper circuits out there
Plus I don't remember seeing photos of your footwells yet ;-p
Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 02-08-2011 at 21:51.
It's an update but it feels like very little achieved, but progress is progress...
Because I will be fitting the LH mudguard it will severly restrict access so I need to get as much mock up stuff done before hand...
Just trying to gauge how big a radiator can fit without chopping things around too much
I am looking at fitting a custom wider aluminium rad and making duct work to suit, there is a reasonable amount of room between the rad and the belt cover, so I would like to make a proper rad exit duct but it will be tricky trying to feed it in to the wheel well area
Also trying to make sure all the wiring looms I have made still fit as I have been revising the engine position which might change some of the lengths
And finally the last bit of the lower wishbone inner mounts
Welded:
A minor crisis when it came to fitting this clevis as the lateral cross member from the standard car is 'cock eyed' which makes the lower wishbone clevis' look out of line:
The arrows here show how much the cross member is off square, luckily I spotted this before I ripped out the old mounts out so I stuck to my guns, but a few double check measurements supported my positioning
Cheers
Spencer,
Before you totally commit to having your wiper motor there, would you consider putting it on the outer panel of the passenger footwell. Have seen this done on a few race/rally cars and it always gets me thinking.
Basically bolting it to the left hand side of the passengers feet, an alloy footrest would protect it or stop people from using it as a leaning post
I have looked at a couple of positions for the wiper motor inside the car;
- Basically where it is now but under the top of the footwell.
- Up behind the dash.
I was considering doing it for a few reasons:
- Getting as much weight as possible further back in the car to help with weight distribution.
- Lower in the car to reduce the CofG height.
- To help an already over crowded engine bay.
Because of the strengthening tubes below the footwell meant the motor was in a pretty nasty position for a passenger in an accident.
Up behind the dash is too crowded now with all the new wiring and the recess for the bonnet hinges really gets in the way, plus it's too high.
As far as your suggestion goes I assume you mean floor mounted and forward in the footwell (by the foot rest suggestion), which is good to keep weight low down and helps empty the engine bay (this is your smooth footwell fetish again isn't it) Have you got a picture of one if I have misinterpreted you?
We did a similar thing on a friends race Mini and found that with this 'dowty' tube system as used in the Mini / Midget (I think thats what it is officially called) every additional kink or turn you add to the tube it can slow the wiper speed down appreciably as it increases friction, so we ended up just positioning it to give a straight run to the wiper arm jockeys. If you time it over say 10 sweeps it was making a few seconds difference with a system that was already considered too slow (even with Rain X)
The best solution is to use a modern wiper motor (I think we used a Fiat Punto motor as most modern wiper motors need the car body ECU controller to work!, the old Punto one doesn't ) then floor mount this and have a shaft straight from the motor output up to the bulkhead linkages for the wipers, we have used this on all of the race / rally cars I have worked on and works well.
But for now I think it will stay where it is as it gives a pretty direct route for the dowty tubing and is one less distraction when I need to crack on with the chassis and the front and rear suspension - wow what a load of b@ll@x I can talk just about a wiper motor
Cheers
Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 13-08-2011 at 07:50.
Have to say it is in aid of my smooth footwell fetish, but it was an idea stolen from one of the works cars (which one escapes me atm)
Ive ringed the area to mount it in the pic below.
It allows a smooth arc for the tube and subsequently the cable to run in.
Hope this helps a little
Yes I think that is in too much of an intrusive position for me, it's a long way back for a foot rest and I wouldn't be happy with how much width it took out of the footwell for a road car, fine for a race car which never has a passenger, too much compromise just to reposition a wiper motor. If I was willing to reduce the footwell like that I would have a duratec in there
But please feel free to keep on making observations / comments as I am completely open to suggestions
Cheers
Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 13-08-2011 at 14:03.
Whilst I had tried to do some research into alternative 'off the shelf' rads (as used by the 'K' series engined Spridgets) I ended up deciding bigger is better, after experimenting with a few this was as wide and as deep as I could fit in:
It fits below the std slam panel and clears the wings and std grille
I could still angle the rad a little yet with the top leaning towards the engine
The rad shown here is much further forward than the std, this allows me to move the rack up and down to correct bump steer with the other suspension types as the std car has the rad sat on top of the rack not allowing it to move up.
Once the slam panel and front grille is fitted the radiator dissapears as it barely visible in the engine bay
Also if I move away from NA I will need more cooling capacity and there is enough room to add an intercooler in 'V' rad layout if I do.
The LF suspension and wheel is fitted to make sure it clears at full lock and the headlamp bowl doesn't get in the way either
Depending how the inlet duct from grille mouth looks I might add an opening in the lower valance to better feed the lower section
Cheers
Now just to make some nice alloy ducting to prevent crap from the wheel arches hitting the rad
I have faith you will conjure up something beautiful for this
Yes as I was moving the road wheel through its full lock I had visions of a nice stone being fired through the core
I could have done with it being around 75 - 100mm narrower but it was an off the shelf Nissan Skyline (early RWD model) unit, a bit expensive ( a little more than the Radtec / Serck offerings but a much better spec core ) but nothing like how much it would have cost when it was new
No pressure then to make the 'beautiful' duct work
Cheers
I want to try and get the LF inner arch fitted, the last bit before this is the upper telescopic damper chassis mounting
3mm plate was used, mounting from the lever arm damper base plate and one of the triangulation tubes
The Meccano like piece is a 'jig' which locates using the lever arm mounting holes and fixes the through bolt hole position for the telescopic damper, this was made from the RF so that both sides are as similar as possible
The 'sides' welded in place:
And a back plate to help tie the two halves together
Cheers
Started work on moving the front anti roll bar to a position above the chassis legs, the FARB and its associated brackets hang down by around 40mm from the chassis legs so its no surprise they see a bit of damage when when a Spridget is lowered.
There is a school of thought that thinks that this is a bad idea because it slightly raises the vehicle centre of gravity as you have moved some weight upwards in the car - in my opinion this is nonesense - why? The FARB and its mounts come to around 1.5 kg and at a push I have moved them up 100mm. Compare this to being able to lower the whole car further which weighs 750 kg...?
The first look see:
The LF suspension and road wheel is fitted to check for clashes and to move the suspension from full droop, through ride height and in to full bump.
One big problem when fitting an anti roll bar in a custom position is the drop links necking out and creating side loads or other undesirable affects
I plan on fitting an adjustable (spherical) drop link on one side and a std drop link on the other, at the moment this set up is good at full droop and ride height but starts to load the anti roll bar laterally at full bump so I need to experiment further with drop link length and angles to make sure there are no side loads applied throughout full suspension travel.
The other reason I want to move the FARB is that it just looks ugly hanging down, like an after thought... Plus anyone who knows Spridgets will think - "look that numpty doesn't even have a front anti roll bar fitted"
Cheers
Nice fabrication and engineering work there mate
http://escort.accelerator.org
1968 MK1 Escort 1300GT
1969 'Big Wing' MK1 Escort
1972 MK3 Cortina 1600XL
1984 Sierra XR4i
And other junk I don't like to talk about!
Thanks mate,
I'm just so slow at it, plus the welder (bad workman and all that...) is playing up, it's like it keeps behaving like it has no gas - so I am investigating if there is a chance there is a kink in the feed as I can't think what else it could be?
Cheers
im using 'pub gas' ... a few years back they had filled the bottle with the wrong gas and when i used it the welds wouldnt penetrate, got all thge right sounds from the welder but the welds were pitted...
also another time the earth wire connection was poor. ( had to re-connect it to th earth clamp ).....
have you checked the gas pipe hasnt come out inside the trigger ??
ps .... great project love reading this one...
Hi Chrisb,
I use BOC Argoshield light
When welding the same test piece of work I can weld for say 30mm and alls fine, then a second later continue the weld without moving or changing anything and the next weld is a porous as hell, then try again another second later and the weld is fine again
This is clean, new linished metal so nothing to do with prep
My earth clamp is permanently bolted to a linished part of the shell and I have checked it is still clean and tight
I guess I need to investigate the trigger and hose more closely for kinks or splits which open up or close up as the angle / route of the hose changes slightly during welding.
Cheers
My last bottle of BOC argoshield was crap dude
Unfortunately they wouldnt stand over it as without testing (noone could afford to pay for testing) we couldnt prove if it was good or not.
Fresh bottle solved it, sounded pretty similar to your problem too.
it does sound like a gas problem..... when i had the wrong gas... it welded but the welds had little pit marks in them...
Been working more than playing so progress is even slower than usual:
Started to seal and etch prime the bits I have already done as things need to be tidied up, I have put the thinnest 'smear' of seam sealer to the welded joints. Initially I brushed the sealer in place but I ended up applying it like you would if you were sealing a bath.
I preferred how it looked before the seam sealer better but realise it had to be done
Trimming the LF inner arch ready to weld in place:
Not quite there yet, but nearly...
I have done this side differently, I only drilled out the spot welds on the lower half of the 'triangulation' section and then stretched it over the tubular structure which basically means I dont have to disturb nor recreate all of the upper spot welds which saves time and looks neater and more original than my plug weld attempts
11 months ago...
Cheers
Can you tell what it is yet?
The work I have done previously on the front anti roll bar mounts was OK in terms of tidying the underside up but I want to tie the mounts better to the front crossmember.
The 25mm box section fits inside the main chassis leg and is tied to the chassis legs and the lateral crossmember
The two turned bushes will be welded to the box section and the existing threaded lower FARB mounting plate.
Before everything was welded the front panel was fitted and two chassis legs were aligned and G clamped to minimise how much it moves when welded
Tied to the tops of the chassis legs
Tidied up a bit
Plug / rose welds toe the crossmember to the internal box section, these were 10mm holes to ensure the weld gets properly penetrated into the box section
Just needs to have some internal plating and the external surface reinstated
These mounts allow me to fit the FARB above the chassis leg as previously shown but the original mounts still exist below so can be put back to standard but with improved location.
The difference it has made to the chassis leg stiffness ahead of the crossmember is really suprising considering the original chassis leg sections haven't yet been put back.
Also finished the LF mudguard / inner arch ready to weld in place, triangular openings again closed off.
Cheers
Last edited by Aubrey_Boy; 23-09-2011 at 18:43.
Inspirational mate, truly great work! I'm loving watching this progress. Cheers!
Thanks for your comments
I'm glad it looks like progress as it doesn't feel like progress
I keep thinking the front end will be finished this weekend...
Cheers
Replaced the outer skin of the front chassis leg after I had added a few more bits of internal stiffening, basically connecting the 25mm box to the lower skin of the original chassis leg.
Welded an linished in place:
Just the two holes give the game away as all else in now hidden again.
Got hold of a steering wheel QR, not sure if I will it on this or the Mini, but it has a proper spline and having used them before I know there is no slop between the inner and outer spline as some types have.
I also have started getting the various fasteners I will need together, I don't like using Nylocs, especially as they still seem to be regularly used near heat sources such as brakes and suspension parts.
I am using K nuts which are aerospace locking nuts, they also have the advantage that they are much smaller in size and for things such as the track rod ends which tend to touch alloy wheels gives a useful couple of mm extra space.
Cheers
Only managed a few hours today as I have been working most of the weekend again...
Still working on the FARB, in order to get the FARB in the same fore / aft position as when its below the chassis legs I needed to modify the vertical rad supports.
This the std position
And this is the new, the lower opening has increased in size and the legs have been splayed further apart in order to miss the bar itself, you can see the forward leg is now right next to the bosses in the side of the chassis leg.
This shows how close the bar is to the front leg in order to be in the same fore / aft position as standard
A general view, quite happy with the drop link now and its movement through the full suspension travel
Cheers
Getting the RH FARB mount stiffening done
Primed and painted inside before the top goes back on
While wainting for the paint to dry I started the on the attachments for the spits
Plan is to attach them from the front bumper mounts (once the internal stiffening is finished)
Should finish the FARB mounts tomorrow and then do the rest of the rotisserie / spit attachments
Cheers
Looking lovely! You must be pleased with your progress so far. Keep up the great work!
Love the attention to detail as usual
http://escort.accelerator.org
1968 MK1 Escort 1300GT
1969 'Big Wing' MK1 Escort
1972 MK3 Cortina 1600XL
1984 Sierra XR4i
And other junk I don't like to talk about!
Thank you for the comments, they helped on a day when a 1mm cutting disc tried to cut the end of my finger off
Anyway, Positively galloping along,two consecutive days on it now...
At last the FARB mount stiffening is done...
Well nearly I still need to splay the legs of the RH side to clear the bar itself, but will do that once its on the spit
Also added a little more lightness
Carried on making the spit adapter for the front which I plan on finishing tomorrow and then I can work on the underside of the chassis legs to complete the lateral stiffening between the lower wishbone pick ups.
Ordered the bits I will need next once on the spit:
New full floor
New full boot floor
Already got the inner and outer rear bulkheads
Cheers
Whilst it didn't feel productive as I haven't been working directly on the car I finished the front spit mount this morning:
Bolted to the spit itself, just bolted in the existing holes at the moment until I decide how high the shell needs to be clear when rotated
Cheers
Stunning !
Looking good Spencer, a real joy too follow your awesome build, – canīt wait too see the finished article
//Marcus
Hi Marcus,
Thanks for the comments
No progress over the last few weeks due to various issues...
But what will really help (NOT) is the purchase of another Mini project
http://www.turbosport.co.uk/showthre...Roundnose-Mini
But I only plan to 'tickle' this one and spend more time driving than working on it
Cheers
Famous last words!
http://escort.accelerator.org
1968 MK1 Escort 1300GT
1969 'Big Wing' MK1 Escort
1972 MK3 Cortina 1600XL
1984 Sierra XR4i
And other junk I don't like to talk about!
Spencer,
Any updates dude?
Hi Peter,
Life, work, more work and a little bit of time on my daily driver at the moment, but the race season just comes around so fast again, already been testing, next weekend Brands, then Monza and then Thruxton all in one month!
I will have some time in May hopefully but the Midget looks more like a storage shelf than a project at the moment
I could do with paying someone to at least finish the chassis side, but not really anyone around here and Gary (Retro) is a bit too far for what would be relatively little work for the effort of getting it delivered and collected
Worse things happen at sea
Cheers
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