Hello but I'm not building a Haynes roadster, quite

[Davey]

Hi guys, just found this forum today and spent a while browsing through, looks good so I joined.

I'm not exactly building a Haynes Roadster as in the book but I am using the book for guidance. What I have got is a 12 year old Locust which I picked up from the local breakers yard cheap minus engine transmission and steering rack. Once I got it into my workshop (just to make everyone jealous I run my own business and have a 2000 sq/ft workshop to play in:D ) I had a think about what engine to go for. I decided something outrageous was called for so started browsing Ebay and soon found a Granada Scorpio Cosworth going silly cheap and I got it.

Stripped the granny and disposed of the shell (still got a ruck of spares to get shot of on Ebay) and recently dug the Locust out of the corner to start work on it.

For those of you who don't know what a Locust is its a cheap version of a se7en style roadster that has a very simple ladder chassis and plywood body clad in aluminium sheet which actually makes it rather heavy, I weighed it when I got it and it came in at 570KGs with no engine or gearbox:( .

Anyway, we've stripped the bodywork off and I've started reframing the chassis, basically I'm adding framework made from 25mm sq tube and 25x25x3mm angle.

I hope you'll accept me as a fellow builder even though its not a true Haynes roadster.

Happy Christmas, D.

[Bonzo]

A very warm welcome to the forum Davey :)

It would be rude not to make good use of a find like that :cool:

I am sure the book will give you some great ideas for improvement of your chassis.
Plenty of friendly help & advice available here too.

Are you going to convert the chassis to run the grandad diff & IRS ?

I look forward to seeing some pictures of your progress ;) :)

[Davey]

Hi Rponnie and thanks for the welcome. Yes we're going to use the Granny IRS setup with fabricated wishbones, one area where the book will really come in handy.

You can see some photos on my website at www.cossie.davenewell.co.uk which is a sort of blog-ish that I try to update whenever there's anything new to say.

I'll try to post a picture or two once I've sorted out how to, shouldn't take me too long as I use a few motorhome forums.

D.

[Ryan]

Welcome to the forum mate.

You will find loads of useful info here. Friendly people as well.

Cheers,

Ryan

[Davey]

Thanks Ryan, I've browsed around a bit and it certainly looks friendly:D .

Happy christmas, D.

[Davey]

An attempt to post a picture of the chassis as I left it yesterday.

D.

Hmmm, not sure that worked properly but if anyone's interested some earlier pictures are on my website in my sig.

[Bonzo]

Just been having a read of your Blog Davey an interesting project on the go by the looks of things :)

If I had spotted that in a breakers, i'd have snapped it up myself ;)

The ole Cossie lump is certainly a beast :eek:

Keep the ole blog up to date mate, it'll be interesting following your progress :)

[Davey]

Thanks Ronnie, the cossie lump isn't going in as standard either. Its from a 1990 car with 60K genuine mileage, full service history and Ford main dealer serviced and repaired throughout with docs to prove it. As its an early one its of the BOA variety which means in essence that it puts out 195BHP at 5500RPM and just shy of 200ft/lbs of torque at peak. The later BOB gives even more and fitting BOB cams into a BOA lump instantly puts you into 250BHP territory. I just can't be arsed with swapping cams (I've seen the Ford training video on removing a camshaft from this lump and its just not funny) but what I am doing is replacing the original plenum chamber and two stage throttle body with a set of six individual throttle bodies.

I picked up two sets of Honda 600 throttle bodies off ebay for just over £60 and have broken them down into pairs (three of, one pair for spare) which will eventually be mounted on a custom fabricated inlet manifold, coupled with a decent set of stainless steel headers and free flowing exhausts along with an Emerald ECU I'm expecting around 220BHP and close to 250ft/lbs.

Ebay is my parts dept!

D.

[twinturbo]

The later BOB gives even more and fitting BOB cams into a BOA lump instantly puts you into 250BHP territory

BOB cams wont give you 250!

Decatting the BOA will get to about 200, BOB cams will see about 20BHP if your lucky . And fitting Vauxhall injectors another 10BHP

So on a health engine with CAMS, DECAT and Injectors you could get 230.. But it's more likly to be in the region of 210-220 given general wear .


They are good engines, a tad heavy mind.

The plenum is dreadful though, it badly afects the breathing. So the throttle bodies should be a big help.

TT

[Davey]

Cheers TT, I'm only going by what I've read on this 'ere interwebby thing;) and as I said I can't be arsed swapping cams out, on the Ford training vid even their demonstrating technician was getting a tad grumpy with it and lets face it, 195BHP/190ft/lbs in a lightweight car should prove interesting. Yes it is a heavy old lump and it does put a question mark over my 650KGs target kerb weight but I still think its achievable, time will tell.

D.

[twinturbo]

If you need info on the BOA/BOB then your best bet is

fordpower.org.uk

or

powerdbyford.co.uk


When you have to move BOA's arround you realise how much more weight there is than a standard 12V.

TT

[Davey]

Cheers TT, useful information there. I've been dow nthe workshop yesterday and today and most of the chassis is now in place and fully welded. Additional work needs to be done at the rear to carry the suspension and all the wishbones need to be fabricated soon.

D.

Hopefully there's a couple of piccies attached to show progress, blog site will be updated in the next day or two. The black parts are the original chassis and the rusty bits are the new, when its all done I'll get it shot lasted before painting it.

[twinturbo]

Don;t forget to put a spigot bearing in the crank when you swap the flex plat for a flywheel.

TT

[Davey]

Yeah, don't suppose the box would last long without it:D .

D.

[Davey]

Done a little bit more today despite dying of manflu. Last week I cut off the rear hub mounting flanges from the Granada lower wishbones with my new gas axe. today I started tidying them up ready to fabricate my rear uprights. I machined the inner face and reduced the overall diameter in the lathe. Pictures attached. One done the other raw.

D.

[Davey]

Rear suspension uprights are now fab'd up. Photos and a brief write up available on my website below:D . Your input is gratefully appreciated, either on here or on our own forum.

D.

[Bonzo]

Just had a look at your updated blog D :cool:

Tis really interesting to see how folk overcome particular problems when using non-Sierra donor parts.

Just goes to show ...... Most things are possible if a little thought is put into practice. ;)

Looking good mate :) :)

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, its good to get positive feedback:) , well any feedback actually as long as its constructive. It does help having 2000sq ft of workshop and an eight Tonne four post lift (makes a flippin' great workbench:D, especially for welding work ). 160 Amp Mig welder, 6" Clarke bandsaw, combined lathe and mill, pillar drill, 10 Tonne hydraulic press, 3' combined folding press/shear and rolling mill and oxy/acetylene cutting and welding kit to play with. All I need now is money:o .

D.

[Bonzo]

That's two things I would dearly like.......A decent set of rolls & a small press brake :) :)

No four post lift for me, I have to make do with a full length inspection pit & jacking beam......Next best thing I guess :o

[Davey]

A brief update. Today I lifted the Dragon off the trestles and placed it on 5" high blocks on the ground (my chosen ride height) then lined up the wheels using the original Granny bottom arms at the front temporarily so as to get some measurements and trial position the steering rack from the Granny. At the rear I mounted the driveshafts and fitted them to the hubs. Once it was all lined up I could take the measurements for the rear upper and lower wishbones. Hopefully the bush tubes, bushes and wishbone mounts will be with me later this week. got to get some Maxi ball joints and Tranny drag link ends (which model Tranny should they be from?) to complete the front wishbones then with some dummy shock struts I can at least get the beast on its wheels.

I was greatly reassured to find that left and right rear wishbones came out to identical measurements.

Here's a photo showing it mocked up.

[twinturbo]

Looks purpousfull on the cossy rims..

I would use my set but I don't want to go 5 stud..

TT

[Davey]

Cheers TT, doesn't look too rough does it?:D Not sure i'll stick with the Cossie rims, they're a bit plain but a decent set of alloys in five stud will not be cheap:( .

D.

[Bonzo]

Taking shape there Davy :)

The Dragon certainly looks a bit different from when you first collected it :cool:

The Transit joints you require are the Draglinks from the Mk2 Transit Late 60's to mid 70's.
These are easily avalable ..... I got mine from my local motor factors £6.50 each ..... Any problems with id, its the right handed ones with the 18mm X 1.5 thread that you need. :)

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, I'll get onto my factors in the morning:) .

D.

[Davey]

Should have the Maxi ball joints and Tranny drag links (that sounds kind of wrong somehow) tomorrow afternoon, ball joints at just over a tenner a piece and £4.30 each for the Transit links (assuming they're the right ones of course):D, Happy daze! Just waiting on the arrival of the bush tubes and bushes so that I can make the bones and mount them, hopefully they'll arrive tomorrow as I've got no work booked in and it'd be a shame to waste a day.

D.

[Bonzo]

Decent prices there Davie :cool:

I am rather envious of you folk that live in area's where the motor factors have stiff competition ;)

My only decent local factor has branches all over the county ..... Recently bought a budget wiper blade in the Plymouth branch £2.75 inc vat .... bought another wiper blade, same brand & size in my local Penzance branch, nearly £6 :rolleyes:

I guess that's the price I have to pay for the nice view from my window :D

[twinturbo]

I am headding down to Par Sands for my Hols in May... I prefer my nice quiet town to the BIG smoke, but being tooo far in teh stix would be a pain...

TT

[Bonzo]

I am headding down to Par Sands for my Hols in May...

TT

Cool :cool: Less than 3 miles from my place .... Feel free to swing by :)

Bet it's May bank holiday .... I'll be up at Stoneleigh on the Sunday & Monday :D :D

[Davey]

Got the ball joints today but they only sent one tranny drag link (still sounds wrong), minor mistake in the ordering so they're sending another one tomorrow. Interestingly the thread on the drag link is different to that specified in the book. Book says M18X1.5mm while this one is M20X1.5mm. Not a huge problem as I can bore out the tubes and retap them easily enough. Anybody else ecountered this or did I just get "lucky"?

bush tubes and bushes didn't arrive today so I've been tinkering along with the suspension bracket positioning. As mine is not built to the book the positions are somewhat different so its taking a bit of trial and error to work it all out. I also discovered that the Granada steering rack is a fairly high ration at 2.8 turns lock to lock but of course it does include PAS:D .
D.

[Davey]

Had a good afternoon, job in this AM then had to go bleed for my fellow countrymen at 5.30pm so only half a day to play:D . anyway the bush tubes and bushes arrived today so I've started fab'ing up the 'bones. Following the book design where possible but the dimensions are different due to me rebuilding a different chassis and using Granada running gear. anyway got the rear lower 'bones done this afternoon, got a small job in tomorrow morning so hoping to make the rear upper 'bones tomorrow afternoon then do a trial fit before I weld up the 'bone mountings to the chassis. Cutting the tubes for the 'bones is fun isn't it?:(

D.

[HandyAndy]

Cutting the tubes for the 'bones is fun isn't it?:(

D.

I always thought the same, UNTIL Spud showed me a way to do it that takes a few minutes per cut,

tho i admit, the more you do the easier it gets , done lots lately :eek: :)

a little tip.......don,t "think" how the mitre should look like when its finished before you start, as that puzzles the thought process, well it does with me :o

cheers
andy

[Davey]

Cheers dude, done lots of tube mitreing(SP) in the past but its always been big stuff and cut with a gas axe believe it or not. This small bore thin stuff is tricky:D

D.

[Davey]

Well its been an up and down sort of week for me, work has been quiet but that's nothing new just before a major show (Boat caravan and outdoor show next week at NEC) as many people are hoping to pick up a bargain there. Bought suspension mounting brackets from Rogue engineering via Ebay and they arrived on Tuesday then ordered bush tubes and bush kit from 3GE which arrived on Thursday (Cheers Jon:D ) and finally got round to setting out the rear wishbones yesterday. Fab'd up the bottom wishbones yesterday and made the top ones today. I'm really building up a dislike for this thin walled small bore tube mitreing(SP?) game, (give me 2 metre dia 19mm wall tube and a gas axe any day) although I am getting better with every cut.

Anyway here's a phone photo of the finished (who am I kidding:p ) rear end.

D.

My own website will be updates with more detail and photos tomorrow.

[HandyAndy]

some nice progress there Davey, looking good :cool:

ah.... the fishmouths eh??? :D

easy peasey :D .....tho i,ve only ever done them on the tubes for the Roadster:o

cheers
andy

[Davey]

Webshite updated:D .

D.

[Davey]

I stripped the rear end down again the week before last to fully weld the wishbone mounting brackets and today is the first real day I've been able to get back at it (had a really good show at the NEC last week and booked plenty of work in:D ). Re-assembled the rear suspension this afternoon and dropped it back onto my 5" blocks so that I can set out the front end next. Here's a phone shot of me doing the obligatory brum brum bit!

D.

[HandyAndy]

:cool:
soon be getting the staff to push you around the workshop so that your brum brum noises mean you are actually moving :D

Nice work :cool:

cheers
andy

[Davey]

I wish but as the only "staff" at the moment is my wife running the office its not very likely. I've just been languishing in the bath and toying with the stupid idea of putting a 125CC Piaggio scooter engine in (its lying in the corner of the workshop and came off a quad bike my son and his mate bought before Christmas), strictly for "testing" purposes you understand:D .

D.

[HandyAndy]

:eek: what????? putting the scooter engine in the bath or in the chassis????:p

As for the "staff" situation........you could always put full size mirrors along one side wall of the workshop..............double you staff count instantly :D

I,ll bring my team of Huskies down, hitch em up to your chassis & you can make brum brum noises for miles :eek:

cheers
andy

[Davey]

Well I was thinking of putting the scooter lump in the chassis, could make a fun video for U tube:D . Thanks for the offer of the huskies (another interesting video sequence in the making), we have a Dexter who is a ten year old, 35 KG Staffie Boxer cross, I reckon he could pull it along at a fair lick on his own 'cos if I don't use a Halti when I walk him its like walking a landy in low range with all the diff locks in:p .

D.

[Davey]

Been tinkering with the front bones during quiet moments over the last couple of days. As mine is not strictly a Haynes Roadster there is some room for "adjustment" in the design. Anyway I have the front top wishbones made and this afternoon I have started to set out the lower bones and plate. proving to be quite fun and its resurrecting some of the tech I learned in college 30 odd years ago. I still have all my old text books and "fundamentals of motor vehicle technology" is still a good read;) . Between that one and the Haynes manual I'm hoping it will all work out ok in the end:D

D.

[Davey]

Gas cut the lower front wishbone plates this afternoon then tidied them up with the 9" angry grinder. all marked out for drilling to take the ball joints. hopefully I will take them down to my mate tomorrow afternoon to get the 10 degree end put in (he has a 100 tonne press;) ) then I can get them welded up and once I've got the uprights reamed out I will be about two steps shy of a rolling chassis:D .

D.

[Davey]

Quick update: I've roughed out the lower front bones including fitting the Maxi ball joints, I need to cut the tubes to mate up with the bush tubes and then fully weld them. I seem to have a slight problem with the rear uprights, I think I've made them both the same hand so the drivers side is out of alignment bugger it! Still that can be fixed with a bit of gas axe and welder:D .

I'm now on an enforced "weekend off" because SWMBO says I've been doin' too much so tomorrow morning its a lie in, followed by breakfast while watching the GP qualifying then we're going to the garden centre for some seeds and stuff so I can spend the afternoon in the greenhouse starting my tomatoes and chitting my potatoes:eek: .

Sunday is going to be another slow start with brekkie provided followed by watching the GP, then a gentle walk to the local hostelry with No1 daughter for a couple of hours before coming back home to a proper sunday lunch, then an evening in front of the box with a bottle of wine at hand.

Its a tough life but someone's got to live it:p ;) .

Even better, there's a six nations match on telly tomorrow afternoon!

Doncha just love life? D.

[Davey]

Another brief update: over the last week or so I've been tinkering with the front suspension setup. Yesterday afternoon and this morning I've spent a few hours getting it all welded up and I'm close to a rolling chassis:D . Just need to hook up the steering and fit some dummy struts to the front then I can at least wheel the Dragon around. I had a trial fit of the Locust nosecone this afternoon and its about 2.5" too narrow at the front of the chassis so it shouldn't be too big a problem to stretch it a bit:rolleyes: .

Anyway here's a couple of pics to show the latest achievements with No1 daughter at the wheel:D .

[HandyAndy]

well done Davey, looking good mate :cool:

That engine looks a beast :eek: bet you can,t wait to fire it up :cool:

be careful tho, looks like No 1 daughter has her eye on your car, she,ll be asking "Daaaaaaaad can i borrow the Dragon"? :eek:

cheers
andy

[Eternal]

wow great work. Andy is right that engine is massive!

[Davey]

Ha Ha, well officially No1 daughter and No1 son are part of the build team, they did a good job of stripping the original heap of sh!t down to a bare chassis but have not featured much in the rebuild. Not entirely their fault as its all sort of happening out of the book via my head ( if that makes any sense) so there has been very little they could do.

As far as "Dad, can I borrow the Dragon?" goes its a definite "HELL NO!" They can come out and play with it when I'm there but that's it!;) No1 daughter is only just learning to drive anyway so I think it'll be a while before she gets behind the wheel of a running, living, breathing Dragon:) .

I am very pleased with progress so far but you're absolutely right, I just wanna hear that motor ROAR!!!!

D.

[Davey]

wow great work. Andy is right that engine is massive!

Cheers Dude, it is a tad on the large side, just like moi:D :D :D .

D.

[twinturbo]

Andy is right that engine is massive!

Got two of them ;)

TT

[Davey]

Hi guys, I've been a bit tardy with updating my build site but the story to date is generally that I've got to rolling chassis stage and even have the steering connected (sort of). I bodged some temporary struts up so I can n ow roll it around the shop. I weighed the beast with flywheel, calipers and diff all sitting on top and it currently weighs a mahoosive 535KGs but the front rear split is about 60/40 at the moment, still got the rear end to frame up and mount the fuel tank, seats etc so I might just make it in under the 750KG mark. even though that is a bit heavy compared to a proper Haynes, or any other se7en type for that matter, it should still be pretty quick and fun.

Sadly now that our outdoor exhibition season is starting I've had to put the Dragon back into the corner as I have a trailer to build, and loads of work to do on our camper in time for our first show at Peterborough the week before stoneleigh. In total we have ten weekends out in the camper before September, six for motorhome shows and a few other events like stoneleigh and Goodwood FoS in July. I intend to try to get one day per month on the Dragon but finance is also an issue at the moment.

I must make time to update the build site.

D.

[Davey]

Wow, I've owned my second user, piece of crap, Locust (spit.....twice ) hoping to be a dragon/Haynes roadster(ish), kit(ish)car for a full year now! I know this is true 'cos DVLA (bless 'em) have written to me to say the SORN is due for renewal, gosh how time flies!

Having spent a thoroughly enjoyable weekend at Stoneleigh I've found some renewed enthusiasm for my Dragon:D . Got a bit of cash put by for some purchases (more news to follow soon hopefully) and I've got a rough plan for the next 8 days or so. Tomorrow AM is work, pm is trying to sort out the overheating fester, I suspect it has the wrong water pump causing a backflow:( !. Sunday AM is gardening followed by watching the GP with a beer or three:D in the pm. This is all followed by six full days of graft and then I plan to have the following Sunday working on the Dragon, watch this space folks:cool: .

D.

[Bonzo]

Missed this one Davey :o

Congratulations on the first anniversary of your build :)

Time does indeed fly .... It'll not be too long before I enter the 4th year of my build :o

If memory serves me right, I started about the beginnig of June 1997 .... Where the heck has that time gone :confused:

[RAYLEE29]

those bones look so much better than the originals in your early pics
looking good Ray:)

[Davey]

Cheers guys, ordered some ali tube, plate and flat bar yesterday to fabricate my inlet fanimold with, hopefully it will be here tomorrow. Got plenty of work on at the moment so I'm hoping to have Sunday morning working on it before getting back home by 12-1pm ish for the Monaco GP. If it all goes well I'll let you know and post some pictures (might even get round to updating my blogg-ish site) if it all turns out bad I'll just bury the evidence and save up for some more raw material:D .

D.

[Davey]

Inlet fanimold arrived today..................in kit form:D . Planning to start cutting bits up on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, nned to get some more oxy for the welding kit.

D.

[Bonzo]

Nice one Davey :)

You'll have to get some pictures up, once some progress has been made :cool:

Nice to know you are managing to find a few hours to work on the build :) :)

[Davey]

Soon as I have some progress to show I'll post a photo or two:D .

D.

[Davey]

Quick update:
I've been down the workshop for a few hours this AM and have now cut and machined the short pipes to take the itbs and I've made a mounting plate out of 6mm ali plate to carry them. I've also cut the six pipes to take the air flow from the bottom of this plate to the inlets on the head. I've yet to make the plates that will actually be mated to the head, they will be made from 50mmX19mm ali flat bar so that after all the welding is done they can be milled flat to mate with the heads. Here's a couple of phone pics, first one shows the itbs on the mounting plate and the second is the drivers view of the power unit. The itbs will stand about 7" above the bonnet line once they have 50mm trumpets attached:rolleyes: .

Now its time for the Monaco GP and a couple of tinnies!

[Bonzo]

Nice work there Davy, nice to see another one making some progress :cool:

Personaly I have not done a lot since my return from Stoneleigh :rolleyes:

You are going to need a nice power bulge for those & perhaps a booster cussion for your seat :D

Likewise, sitting here drinking a brew & waiting for the Monaco GP to start :)

[HandyAndy]

Nice work Davey :cool:

"Booster cushion" :eek: i,d need a ladder :D

nice progress mate :cool:

cheers
andy

[Davey]

Ha ha booster cushion indeed, I'm 6'1" you know:D . It does feel good to be making some progress again. If I can get this fanimold done and then get an ECU (I want an Emerald unit but they are soooooo expensive) I can hear my baby roar! Don't worry, if it happens that way video will be shot! I've also had a look at mounting the fuel tank this morning.

Monaco looks like it should be a good race!

D.

[aerosam]

Ha ha booster cushion indeed, I'm 6'1" you know:D . It does feel good to be making some progress again. If I can get this fanimold done and then get an ECU (I want an Emerald unit but they are soooooo expensive) I can hear my baby roar! Don't worry, if it happens that way video will be shot! I've also had a look at mounting the fuel tank this morning.

Monaco looks like it should be a good race!

D.

Dave, I just got back in from hearing my baby roar for the first time, I gotta tell you - it's a grand feeling.

[Davey]

Dave, I just got back in from hearing my baby roar for the first time, I gotta tell you - it's a grand feeling.

Coolio!:D S:D he sounds soooooo sweet:D .

D.

[Davey]

Finished cutting the tubes and plate for the inlet manifold this morning so I stacked them all up together to get a better idea of what it should look like.

Here's a pic.

D.

[gingea1pom]

Davey,

They look tidy, I know where to come when I need mine doing for my bike carbs!

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

I tried my hand at gas welding the ali this afternoon on a couple of offcuts.............what a bloody mess:( ! I'll give it another couple of goes and if I can't get it right its a visit to my mate with his professional TIG set to do the job properly, either that or buy a TIG set, Hmmm:p .

When you're ready I'll help you if I can Ginge ;-).

D.

[bobbyh]

is that for a BOA or the BOB engine. cuz if its BOA what throttle bodys you using and how much would you want for one of ur manifolds? because i will need to do it for my BOA

[Davey]

is that for a BOA or the BOB engine. cuz if its BOA what throttle bodys you using and how much would you want for one of ur manifolds? because i will need to do it for my BOA


Hi Bobby its for a BOA, I'm using Honda CBR 600 throttle bodies. How much to do a fanimold for ya? Bloody good question, so far there's about £50 worth of ali involved and I dread to think how many hours it will take to complete but I've already spent about five hours on it. Perhaps better for me to ask how much would you be willing to spend and see if we can do anything around that. Trouble is its very labour intensive work and this one I'm presently making is very much a prototype. The other question is how soon would you need it?

D.

[bobbyh]

not too soon not got the chassis rolling yet. have you machine the adaptor plate from ovle to round? cuz if not i would be able to get that done for you would make flow better.

[Davey]

Hi Bobby, I assume you mean the base plates that mate directly to the heads. No I have bored them yet, I'm just in the process of aligning them and marking them up. Before I weld them all together I'll make some drawings of the various components so it can be repeated easier if it works out. I'm away from today till Monday so nothing is going to happen till next week now. I hopefully will be able to get occasional internet access so I'll check in here for updates.

D.

[Davey]

I've turned the Dragon round so I can get at the engine a bit easier, even just pushing it round felt good:D

Anyway, to the point of this posting! I've decided that the type 9 gearbox just isn't going to like Cosworth V6 grunt being forced up its layshaft so I'm switching to MT75 (if I can get the right one at the right price), besides which it has become apparent that I got the wrong type 9 anyway, mine is a four cylinder jobbie when I need a V6 type. So my type 9 is up for sale if anyone is interested, there is also a type 9 V6 bellhousing available separately. The box cost me £100 or thereabouts, its dry (minus oil) and as far as I know hasn't been overhauled. The bellhousing and clutch release fork cost £250, all I want is my money back to put into a stronger box. PM me if you're interested or you can phone me during normal working hours on 07891 441883.

Cheers, D.

[Davey]

Well over the weekend I had a bit of a windfall so I've just bought a pair of seats, the same ones Ginge got from Stoneleigh, for £138 off Ebay and tomorrow I intend to buy a V6 2WD MT75 gearbox! Its £450 inc delivery but bearing in mind I paid £250 for an ali bellhousing and clutch fork for the type 9 I think it is a fair price.

I'm getting desperate to do some real work on the Dragon now!

D.

[gingea1pom]

Davey,

It must be great to be getting on with things, I can only imagine!:mad:

Those seats are great, they hold you really well. They might hold you a little more than they hold me though.:D

They are obviously a little higher than the fibre glass ones, which I like, being used to driving a Range Rover.

Must be time for a few pictures on here.:cool:

Happy building.

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

We are just so busy at the moment that I'm not getting much time to play with my dragon, its intermittent fits and bursts of about ten minutes at a time just lately. I had hoped to have Saturday afternoon on it but I'm now sorting my brother's clutch out instead:mad: . Still sorting out my inlet fanimold at the moment.

D.

[Davey]

Just done the deal on the MT75 V6 gearbox, it is a 2WD unit too so no bodging about making a hybrid:D .

D.

[Davey]

Been out today to Malvern to collect my suspension units, they're Koni dampers although sadly non adjustable but for £74 with springs what can you expect;) . They'll do as an intermediate step to further the rolling chassis. I must have met every doddering, dribbly eyed, dickhead with a licence today. What annoys me most is not the fact that they only do 45 MPH in a 60MPH limit but that they still do 45MPH in 30MPH limits!:mad:

I spent a couple of hours at the workshop afterwards on the inlet fanimold, its coming on.........slowly, but its proving to be a tricky job as the tubes have to go from round (for the itbs) to oval where they meet the cylinder head flange and they need to be cut at compound angles...........oh what fun:D . I will post some photos once there's something to really show.

D.

[Bonzo]

Sound's like you have a had a good day out .... What are those Sunday drivers doing out on a Monday, no excuse, they could have collected thier pensions on Friday !! :D :D

Pitty really, Malvern is quite a nice place.

Glad to hear at least one of us has managed to get some time in the workshop :o
My annual garden clean up is taking a lot longer than expected :(

I look forward to seeing some pictures of your progress Davey.

[HandyAndy]

What are those Sunday drivers doing out on a Monday,

:D its a Bank Holiday of course , they all come out of the woodwork on a bank Holiday :eek: :D

Davey, sounds like you,ve had fun, look forward to seeing the piccies :cool:

cheers
andy

[Davey]

Cheers guys, could be a week or two before any worthwhile pictures, All I've done so far on the fanimold is rough out the shape of and bore the ports through the mating flange plates and start to form the transfer tubes, got one somewhere near so far. Oh yes I've machined up the top tubes to take the itbs and the top mounting plate. It'll either be a work of art or a pile of scrap!

D.

[Davey]

Wahey, my seats arrived this morning and they fit into the chassis perfectly and they're really comfy too! Hopefully my new gearbox will arrive either tomorrow or Thursday but I'll have to leave it till Saturday afternoon/Sunday to fit it as we've got too much work on at the moment to do it during the week.

D.

[gingea1pom]

Davey,

‘Too much work’ must be a good thing, surely that means more pennies?:D

I think I must have sat in those seats for about two hours now, really comfy. I had to put them in the loft so I didn’t wear them out!:confused:

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

Webshite updated, pictures to follow later this week:D .

D.

[gingea1pom]

Davey,

I didn’t read your post properly and went to your web site looking for pictures!:confused:

It is going to look great with six bike carbs.;)

Not seeing any pictures just builds my anticipation; give us a shout when the pictures are up.

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

Cheers Ginge will do, they're ITBs not carbs though. There's been a bit of a hickup with the MT75 box though. Guy's e-mailed today to say its not the box he thought, it is an MT75 RWD V6 box but out of a Transit, he has a converter plate to match the Cosworth lump to go with it and has offered me that plus a partial refund. Alternatively he has offered me a V6 4X4 MT75 and a RWD MT75 to build a hybrid myself plus a partial refund. Third option he's given me is a type 9 V6 box with alloy bellhousing plus an even bigger partial refund.

As the type 9 is going to be too close to its limits I've bypassed that option although the bigger refund would have been nice:D . I've gone for the 4X4 and RWD MT 75 hybrid build it myself option as this will give me the chance to check the internals out plus I get a nice wad of cash back, that's what I call a result;) .

D.

[Davey]

Webshite updated with photos:D .

Basically Zoe and I have spent a couple of hours in the shop this morning and have now tacked the front and rear suspension mountings in place and started framing the rear tub area, then we went to the pub for a couple of hours:D .

D.

[gingea1pom]

Davey,

Wish bones looking great and that engine looks sweeeeeet.:D

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

Cheers Ginge, not looking too shabby is it?

Hopefully you will have noticed the difference in my front wishbones from the book spec but you will also see how I have utilised the Gibbs design and adapted it to suit. The only issue I have is that on full lock the wheels do just touch the rear edge of the lower wishbones, I think I will be fitting an end stop to the inner rack section to prevent this.

All of a sudden its starting to feel and look like a real car!:D

D.

[gingea1pom]

Davey,

I did notice the front wish bones looked a little different but didn’t comment as I have been caught out by odd looking pictures before.:eek: :D

Land Rovers use an end stop on the front uprights due to the varying sizes of tyres that can be fitted.

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

The front bones are different to book spec simply because mine is the bastard spawn of the devil:p , used to be a Locust but now turning into a Dragon via the Haynes manual sort of:D . The chassis as it was/is just wouldn't work with the standard Haynes/Gibbs wishbones so the design had to be adapted. The Granada rack had 2.8 turns lock to lock and once I've fitted end stops or shortened the main section (about 25mm too long I reckon and giving some naughty bump steer) it should be about 2.6 turns lock to lock so nice and quick (read twitchy:eek: )

D.

[Davey]

Just for information my MT75 boxes have arrived now and all I can say is Rob Smith who trades via E-Bay as "SierraShack" is a top bloke!

Original deal was for a V6 2WD MT75 and I bartered with him to get a £50 reduction off the original asking price, he threw in a clutch assembly (second hand but it gives me a pattern) for £30. Then when he took the box out of the Transit it was in it turned out to be a standard MT75 box with an adapter plate so he E-mailed me to let me know and offered me three choices:
1/ Have this box with the adapter plate and 25% refund.
2/ Have a V6 4X4 box AND a standard 2WD box and 25% refund.
3/ Have a V6 type 9 box complete with alloy bellhousing and 50% refund.

I opted for option 2 and the two boxes along with the clutch which while obviously used is in good condition arrived yesterday.

All the way through Rob has kept me informed and even asked about the project it was for, purely out of interest.

So if anyone wants any Sierra parts I'd reccomend you try Rob, I'll check with him before I post his E-mail addy on here but you can certainly find him on the bay.

D.

[gingea1pom]

Davey,

Nice little find there and nice to hear of great ebay sellers,:D well in mate.

Cheers Ginge

[Davey]

Well I'm very happy with the service :D .

If anyone is interested here's one of his other sale items on the bay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SIERRA-2-9-V6-MT75-MANUAL-GEARBOX-4X4-2WD-24V-CNVERSION-/320535751501?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4aa16b6b4d

Cheers, D.

[Davey]

Well its taken me a couple of weeks but I've managed to build the hybrid box out of the two MT75s. I'm going to write it all up with pictures and put it on my website but I'll probably make it available as a word document via e-mail if anyone else wants/needs to do one, it proved to be not major league difficult in the end.

D.

[Davey]

Not much of an update really and I still haven't got round to updating my webshite, maybe tonight:p . Anyway during a spare hour today while waiting for parts to arrive I was looking at the Dragon and I think I have found me some good news:) . Due to the bellhousing of the MT75 being slightly narrower than the type 9 I can lower the engine by 50mm in the chassis, it will mean altering the sump but hey ho. It also means I can move the power unit back by about 75mm which will give more room at the front as well as improving the weight distribution. Downside of this revelation is that I have to cut off my beautifully fabricated engine mounting pads and remake them:( .

D.

[Davey]

Webshite partially updated, pictures to follow plus a blow by blow of how to build the hybrid MT75 XR4X4/RWD V6 box.

D.

[gingea1pom]

Davey,

Your hybrid box sounds really complicated, I will sit down with a clear head and read that one.:eek:

Cheers Ginge

[twinturbo]

OOoooo..

SierraShack usualy gets a bad wrap in all the circles I frequent..


Have you built the box just using the V6 front casing? I hope you have pulled the input shaft and swapped it for the V6 input shaft or your going to be cursing yourself.

TT

[twinturbo]

Just read your build, Glad to see you did the shaft..

But the flex plate bolts may not hold up, if they are the same as the ones on my 24V's then the head is quite thin as it has little mass unlike a large flywheel.

TT

[Davey]

Sierrashack did me what I consider to be a good deal, communication was loads better than some of the companies I regularly deal with and he volunteered the partial refund and gave me three options. OK so I could have possibly bought a 4X4 box cheaper and a DOHC box cheaper but not from the same source and if it was from a private buyer they would almost certainly want a personal collection "due to size/weight". I consider the deal I got to be fair and just, both gearboxes are in good condition, were well packaged and delivered to my door in a reasonable timescale. 'nuff said? I think so.

Ginge, the hybrid conversion is not too difficult if you're conversant with gearbox overhaul, don't forget I qualified as a light vehicle mechanic nearly thirty years ago when mechanics did overhaul gearboxes rather than just replacing them, we also replaced alternator regulators etc rather than just swapping out the entire unit:D .

Anyway, as gearbox work goes its a piece of wee wee:rolleyes: ;) . I will try ot get the blow by blow hybrid build procedure done soon but I have so many jobs to do and next Thursday we roll for Goodwood Festival of Speed till following Monday, can't wait:D

D.

[Davey]

Just read your build, Glad to see you did the shaft..

But the flex plate bolts may not hold up, if they are the same as the ones on my 24V's then the head is quite thin as it has little mass unlike a large flywheel.

TT

Flex plate bolts should be fine, they're high tensile and as for mass have you weighed a torque converter for a Cosworth V6? I have them tightened to the 65NM torque as quoted by Autodata for the XR4X4i 2.9 and they're fine.

D.

[Davey]

Just revisiting this thread and noticed I had not updated it since June, that means I haven't done anything meaningful to the Dragon for nigh on two months:mad: .

Anyway that may all change in the near future, I've just bought an AC/DC TIG welder off the bay, I've been bidding on several second hand units over the last month or so but they all went to more than I was prepared to cough up so I've bought a brand new unit. Its a "WSE 200" 200 amp AC/DC tig welder complete with foot pedal (which is damned near vital for aly work) for £350 delivered. I just hope it is as good as its write up.

Once I have this machine and a bottle of Argon/regulator I can set to with chopping the sump down and welding up the intake manifold, I have all the bits cut and formed just got to glue 'em all together:D . Its been a couple of years since I did any TIG work but I'm looking forward to getting back into it. The really good news is that I have a new product in mind for my business that will require aluminium welding so its all nicely justified:D .

D.

[Bonzo]

In the same boat as you Davy, not been able to touch my build for the entire summer. :rolleyes:

It sounds very much as if you have bought the same TIG welder as me.

I was a bit reluctant to go down the budget route but to be honest, I could not justify buying a high end set .... Not a hope in hell of finding a good quality, used single phase set in this neck of the woods.

Anyhow I was quite pleased with the TIG welder & it does what it says on the tin.

Here's a couple of test pieces that I done to try & get my eye back in .... Been over 20 years since I last TIG welded alloy :eek:

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj266/Bonzoronnie/100_0279.jpg

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj266/Bonzoronnie/100_0260.jpg

Here's hoping that your set will work as well as mine.

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, if I can make welds that look as good as that I'll be a happy bunny:D . I have done lots of aly TIG work in the past but its about 7 years since I last touched a TIG set so its going to be a bit of a "learning curve" as modern parlance has it.

D.

[Bonzo]

I have done lots of aly TIG work in the past but its about 7 years since I last touched a TIG set so its going to be a bit of a "learning curve" as modern parlance has it.

D.

Like riding a bike Davy, once the skill is learnt, it never really leaves you ;)

I dare say after a short while of getting to know the new set, you'll soon be back in full swing :)

Did manage to use about £30's worth of Argon messing about on bits of scrap :eek: :D

[Davey]

Yeah the cost of consumables is a bit daunting:eek: ! I seem to recall back in 1987 when I was foreman in a fab shop we charged (I think) £5 an inch for aly tig work:cool: . Can't wait to get my new toy and have a play with it:D

D.

[Davey]

Well I've just sold my type nine box on the bay, after seven days it had 57 watching it but only one bid and that was right at the end so it went for £50:( not as much as I paid for it but better than a kick in the sensitive bits I suppose:) . I've also got an Iveco wheel and tyre on and some eejit in Warrington actually asked me to "meet him half way" to save his delivery/collection costs:confused: :confused: ! Obviously I said "not a freeking chance bud!". some other muppet from Scotland complained that the overnight courier costs were too expensive and could i send it by some cheaper means? For a wheel and tyre going for £26 he really expects me to bust my nuts to find a cheaper way of getting it to Scottyland?

Obviously we all use Ebay at some point, some of us use it lots of times, I know I do but it does seem to be patrolled by eejits some days.

D.

[twinturbo]

£11 by Parcel Farce if it's under 25KG

TT

[Davey]

Wheel and tyre on a pallet weighs in at 45 KGs, Iveco wheels are on the larger side.

D.

[TSM Locost]

Hi Davey.

Check below:

www.directcouriersolutions.co.uk good deals for wheels.

www.parcelmonkey.co.uk

Hope that helps

[Davey]

Thanks for those links guys but they won't be necessary, the gearbox was collected this evening and the guy who won the spare wheel will collect it unless I can get it delivered for less than a tenner, guess he's gonna be collecting it then:D .

Better news is my new TIG welder arrived this morning and looks fan-chuffing-tastic:D . I just need to make a trolley for it, get a bottle of Argon and reg plus some hose and I'm away:p . Instruction book is the usual direct translation from Chinese, here's an exerpt:
"Electric shock-------------may lead to death!!........................................... .....Caution! The machine is mainly used in industry. It will produce radio wave, so the worker should make fully preparation for protection."

Can't wait to get started with it, D.

[Eternal]

nice welding! im looking forward to doing some ally welding soon myself. Hope i can get it looking half as good as yours.

[Bonzo]

That user manual cracked me up Davy :)

Did you get a free " Hand held " Welding screen with yours .... An absolute must if TIG welding :D :D

I am sure you'll soon get into the swing of it mate, I suspect like me, you are new to all of this new fangled inverter technology :)

[Davey]

Hi Ronnie, yes I got the "free" safety screen made of really cheapo plastic and hand held, I did wonder how you were supposed to use a TIG welder and a hand held screen but then the makers can use chopsticks without wearing their dinner so maybe they hold the torch and filler rod in one hand and the screen in the other.

D.

[Davey]

Well I managed to get out and source some Argon and a reg today so tried the set out forthwith and I have to say that although it was only a brief trial its pretty bloody good for the money:D . Tig'd up a small piece of 1.6mm thick 2"x2" angle and its looking damned good. You were right Ronnie, just like falling off a bike, you never forget how:D . Spent a couple of hours building a trolley to carry the TIG unit, its gas bottle, foot pedal and give a working surface on top but didn't have time to take any photos. Got a small job to do in the morning then have to move our son and his girlfriend back into our house:confused: (how did that happen then?) so probably won't get to play till Sunday AM.

D.

[Davey]

Had a good morning at work today, small job for a customer then I could get on with my TIG workstation, still a few bits to do to complete but the main parts are sorted, its on castors so I can move it around easily and it gives me a nice clear welding table too. Here's a couple of photos, first of my new TIG station then of my first TIG weld joining two pieces of 1.6mm ali together, ignore the lump of snot in the middle of the run, I tried to add a bit of filler rod but it was too thick.

D.

[twinturbo]

Did you forgot about moving your son then?

TT

[Bonzo]

Way to go Davey mate .... Green with envy over that neat little workstation that you have made :cool:

A propper stand is still on my to do list, just can't decide if I want to mount it onto the top of my Cebora DC tig set or to keep them sepperate .... Bit of a nuisance swapping the large Argon cylinder about !!

The weld is looking FAB

Got my Sherlock Holmes hat on now .... The heat got away from you a little in the middle, You reached for the filler rod & had a " The Eagle has landed " moment with the Tungsten, then promptly stuffed the filler rod right into the said Tungsten :D

Only kidding Davey, what you have done is looking great, told you that you would soon get back into the swing of things.

I have never used the inverter type tig before but I must say, I find the current really smooth, good cleaning cycle & produces a very tidy weld.

Like me, I expect you have loads of plans for some nice goodies for your build .... Swirl pot, catch tank & the likes :)

Very tempted to buy a metal polishing mops for my bench grinder, you know, just for that little bling factor ;)

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, not too far off with your sherlock holmes work:D :D . I'm well pleased with the workstation. I welded the frame up yesterday afternoon then my mate gave me a bread tray trolley which i was going to rob of its castors but when I tried it turned out to be a perfect fit so I just drilled and bolted it on, quick spray job with "poundland" primer and then a coat of black to make it look a bit tidier, a shelf for the welder to sit on and an ali deck on top as a work area and bobs your father's brother:p . I still need to make a wooden deck for the bottom and fit a restraint for the Argon cylinder then its good to go.

Got a fiar bit of work to do with the TIG. First up is gluing all the bits together to make the inlet manifold then I need to hack about an inch and a half off the sump plus of course there's the SS exhaust headers and pipes to make plus a mate wants me to do some SS pipework for his bike and another mate wants me to fab up some throttle body inlets for some little shitroen cars or summat so there's a bit to go at yet. Probably will make a catch tank too and I'm sure there will be other jobs for it on the car. I've also got to make some brackets for sat dishes which I'm hoping will sell.

TT didn't forget my son I went and did the move about midday, thankfully only half a mile journey so not a major issue but he needed me to shift the bigger stuff in our camper so his bed is now back in his old room and the rest of his furniture is residing in the corner of my workshop. Hopefully not for too long though.

D.

[Davey]

Well I haven't had much time to play since I got my new TIG machine. It only came with a single 1.6mm tungsten which is a bit skinny for higher power jobs so I ordered a set of tungstens, shrouds and collets from the parts dept to give me all the options. They finally arrived today and this afternoon I tried it out. It seems to be stuck at a low current level and won't melt 3mm ali but I have the pedal attached. Although I have the switch set to "local" it seems to be controlled by the pedal anyway. Ronnie, if you read this, does the "local/remote" switch only control the switch or the current control too? I've only just thought about this as it was working well till I connected the pedal.

The only other Dragon news is that I now have a clutch cable! Last week I had to replace the clutch cable on my brothers Nissan Almera as it was seizing up! I ran some cleaning fluid through the old cable and you would not believe the crap that came out. Anyway after a couple of hours soaking in cleaning fluid I applied some slippy liquid (WD40) and it seems to be fine so I offered it to the Dragon and it is a perfect fit (although I've still got to make the pedal box:rolleyes: ). If it turns out to be a FUBAR cable I can easily replace it at a small cost.

D.

[Davey]

I've solved the lack of power on the TIG set, it was me:( . I'd got the remote/local switch set to remote so without my foot pressing the pedal it was only giving me minimum power. Sorted now and working like a charm.

D.

[Bonzo]

I saw your post earlier Davy

To be honest, I had not really given the foot control a fair go .... Me legs were playing silly beggars when I first got the welder :rolleyes:

Inspired by your post earlier, just had to give it a try.

I had a root about in my bins, found a bit of 50mm X 50mm X 3.25mm alloy box section & a bit of 5mm alloy plate.
Quite badly Oxidized, been in my bins for a fair few years, I gave it a quick token rub with a wire brush & heres the results.

3.25mm thick box section

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj266/Bonzoronnie/tigsample.jpg

A lap joint in some 5mm plate

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj266/Bonzoronnie/Tig2.jpg

Not too bad at all in view of the fact that the material is well past it's sell by date !!??

Foot controll works really well & welder was giving a good degree of penetration.
I thought it might struggle with the 5mm plate but to my surprise, coped easily & still had a fair bit of current left in reserve :cool:

[spud69]

Looking Good Ronnie,

Definitely a market for fuel tanks if your up for collecting some pennies.....;)

AndyH

[Bonzo]

Hi Andy

I did give some thought's re fuel tanks :)

A couple of the major drawback's for me, one would be the very high cost of alloy sheet in this neck of the wood's, the last sheet of 1.2mm cost me £47 & I dread to think how much the 2mm is per sheet now :eek: but by far the biggest drawback is the lack of a suitable sheet metal bender :(

My own tank was made out of sepperate pieces, this meant 3 extra seams to weld & greatly increases the fabrication time, not to mention the extra Argon consumption.

Been scouring ebay for a decent locost box folder for years .... Allways fetch silly money or are a gazillion miles away :rolleyes:

[Enoch]

Wow, that's some skill you have there Ronnie, can't say I have ever seen better than that. My Chinese arc jobbie doubles up as a tig but I think it needs some accessories eg gas bottle and regulator. I hope to look in to it and give it a go when I have a bit more time. Keep up the good stuff:)
Enoch

[Davey]

Nice work Ronnie, one day I hope to turn out welds as neat as that. All I've done so far is stitch up some brackets for work with it welding 3mm wall 50mm dia tube to 4"x2" 1/8" angle. Its not the prettiest welding but for what these brackets need to do its fine, maybe I'll take a photo or two tomorrow and post it up for public ridicule:D . Northern Tool do a combination shear roll and folder with a 3' bed length, its the one I got last year and works well on light gauge metal, I've bent up to 3mm thick ali at 50mm wide with it today. http://www.northerntooluk.com/metal-fabrication/shears/3-in-1-shear_brake_roll-machine_143342E.html

D.

[David_17]

looks fab ronnie. if you do decide to make a few fuel tanks, give me a shout. ;)

[Davey]

I had a few hours at the TIG set this morning gluing the bits of my inlet fanimold together till I ran out of rods:mad: . Anyway here's a couple of photos of my dodgy welding, it aint pretty but the fanimold will need some attention from a die grinder and a flap wheel when its all glued together anyway.

D.

[Davey]

Its been a fairly quiet week at work so I've managed to get all the fanimold bits stuck together at last after a new consignment of ali welding rods arrived. I have to say I am well chuffed with the TIG welder, despite it only having a claimed 60% duty cycle it hasn't cut out once, produces nice clean welds and with the foot pedal is super controllable.

I did quite a bit of cleaning up of it all yesterday with a borrowed die grinder and carbide bit then switched to my cheapo Dremel type rotary tool to polish it all up. It was all going swimmingly till 3 pm when the rotary tool suddenly lost power, I looked down to the main unit to see it glowing and unhealthy colour and pouring with smoke. So I chopped the plug off and went out and bought another!:D

Going in today to do some more polishing and hopefully will have a couple of photos for your delectation later.

D.

[Bonzo]

I missed those photos when you posted them mate :o

Certainly got a nice bit of penetration going on there & I must say, I do agree with your assesment of those inverters.
They do seem to have plenty of power in reserve for the heavier material .... I did slice open that bit of 5mm plate I used, a good 75-80% penetration, very good in view of the fact that I was not using that much power :cool:

Look forward to viewing the completed manifold mate :)

Been looking at that combined folder/roll/shear on the Northern Tools website, the current price is very good & I am growing ever more tempted :D
Could almost pay as much that for one of those lightweight Clarke angle iron type folders !!

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, your new website is looking interesting. I look forward to following it.

Attached should be three photos of the fanimold after initial welding and as it is currently. The third picture is a bit glary but it shows how I've built up "buttresses" around the fixing holes 'cos they were too close to the sides of the transfer tubes to allow for bolt heads. I've built them up with weld, drilled them through then I'll mill the tops flat and use cap headed bolts to fix it. There's still loads of tidying up and polishing to do but its coming along nicely.

I'll leave it up to you lot to decide if its a candidate for automotive porn or would be better consigned to the scrap bin and get Ronnie to do it properly:D .

D.

[Bonzo]

That manifold is coming along nicely :)

You have done well for such an intricate part .... A lot of folk under estimate the degree of difficulty on a project such as this, what with ever changing angles & material thicknesses .... not to mention dissimilar alloy types ;)

That is going to look the dogs danglys one you have lightly fettled & polished it all up. ,
I am sure once you have finished the manifold it will look every bit the part as a several hundred quid, off the shelf part ( Assuming you could get one in the first place ) :cool:

I am hoping to have a crack at my inlet manifold in the next week or so.

Really must get Junior to do some update work to my site .... Not been touched for ages :o

Well done mate

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, I'm pretty pleased with it so far. I seem to recall someone asked me if I could make him one a few pages back, trouble is the time its taking, about 40 hours spent on it so far:eek: . Of course a second one should be faster and they can do the cleaning up and polishing themselves which would save a load of time so it might still be possible. One for a four cylinder motor would be lots easier though.

D.

[Davey]

Well I've hardly had a chance to touch the Dragon since I did the inlet manifold over a month ago and its been bugging me so as we were quiet this afternoon I decided to have a play around with my pedals. I'm going for a top mounted pedal setup, for one thing I think it will be more comfortable with my size 12s:p and it also puts the brake master cylinder higher up so it should be easier to bleed, well that's the theory anyway.

I mocked the pedal box and pedals up first in 5mm plywood to see how it would all sit and how long the pedals need to be to give a comfortable position then I marked up the main pedal arms for brake and clutch onto some 5mm steel plate before gas cutting them out and dressing them up. Next I cut the pedal plates which are now waiting for dressing. I may get time tomorrow to cut the throttle pedal and finish dressing all the bits up ready for welding. The brake pedal arm may need a slight crank to allow it to clear the steering column.

Sorry no photos yet, maybe when its all sorted if it works out ok I'll take some:D .

D.

[Bonzo]

Good to hear that you have found a few moments for your build Davy :) :cool:

Can't be easy finding time with such a busy work schedule :eek:

Hopefully you'll find some more time as the winter draws on ;)

[Davey]

Hi Ronnie, yeah its good to do a bit now and then. The bonus of having the Dragon at work is I can drop onto it at a moments notice;) . As if I didn't have enough to do we've just decided to acquire an exhibition trailer for next years shows. If we can't find a decent trailer at the right price then we're looking at possibly getting a luton van and transferring the box to a trailer chassis, then its all got to be kitted out so either way there's going to be plenty to go at:D . Could make a useful "tea hut" for Stoneleigh next year though:D .

D.

[Davey]

Had another quiet day with just one small paying job in so I thought i could get on with my pedal box but............................

My mate on the other side of our trading estate is allowing his father to build a Haynes in his unit, Mick (the father) isn't on 'tinterweb yet so isn't a member on here so I downloaded and printed out the front frame info for him the other day. I popped over this morning to see how he was getting on and it wasn't too good. The front frame was 6mm out of square which in turn put the diagonals on the top rails (FF4 to the transverse rails at rear of engine bay) out by 10mm. So when he came in this afternoon I went over to help him out and ended up remaking his front frame from scratch. Quite pleased with myself as its the first one I've done by the book (and ammendments/tutorial) and it turned out fine, to within 1mm on the diagonals which I reckon should be OK.

To whoever wrote the tutorial all I can say is very well done, it makes a simple job of it. I was all done in just an hour and a half from start to fully welded:D . Mick can now crack on with his build and hopefully get it straight and true.

I did manage to get a bit more done on my pedals, I've cut the blanks for all three pedal arms and hand filed them to tidy up the gas cutting marks, I've bored the 19mm hole for the bush tube fitments and I've cut and filed the pedal plates for all three. Hopefully tomorrow I can weld the tubes and plates onto the arms ready for a trial fit.

D.

[Bonzo]

Sound's like you have had an eventfull day Davy :) :D

Fancy finding another Roaster builder within spitting distance .... Sure is a small world :cool:

Heck, even my eldest brother lives in Shropshire .... Don't get up to visit as often as I should :o

[Davey]

To be honest Ronnie Mick is building one because of me:D . He saw my build anddecided he wanted to build a car so I pushed him gently but firmly towards the Haynes roadster:D. My business neighbour two doors the other way is talking about building one too but he still needs a few more gentle shoves in the right direction;) .

D.

[richardk]

Davey, that manifold is going to be perfectly ok, I can only mig myself so I think the work you've done is really good. I dont recall if anybody has asked this before, I apologise if they have but was your motor registered? Guessing it would have been, is there any chassis numbers etc that could help you get a copy of the V5 :)

Anyway nice work

Rich

[flyerncle]

A quote for ally sheet Ronnie,2 mm half hard from Aalco 8x4 £75 quid non polished.

All the 2mm 5 bar chequer plate to make a tank 24x9x12 "£15" !!! from a good friend.

Sheet of 1.6 polished from the mate £47 inc vat.

[Bonzo]

A quote for ally sheet Ronnie,2 mm half hard from Aalco 8x4 £75 quid non polished.

All the 2mm 5 bar chequer plate to make a tank 24x9x12 "£15" !!! from a good friend.

Sheet of 1.6 polished from the mate £47 inc vat.

Thank's Paul :)

I guess my local stock holder must be feeling the pinch a little, I enquired about prices a couple of week's back.
2mm 1050 half hard was £67 + vat

That is a fair bit cheaper than the 90 odd quid that I was quoted earlier this summer :eek:

Wish I coud get mates rates :D

[Davey]

Davey, that manifold is going to be perfectly ok, I can only mig myself so I think the work you've done is really good. I dont recall if anybody has asked this before, I apologise if they have but was your motor registered? Guessing it would have been, is there any chassis numbers etc that could help you get a copy of the V5 :)

Anyway nice work

Rich

Thanks Richard, I have the V5 and the car is currently on SORN;) ;) .

Pedal box is coming on nicely but we've been away to the Welsh lakes this weekend so no more progress as yet.

D.

[Davey]

My mate's dad Mick has been having some fun. Having got his front frame sorted last week I popped over yesterday morning to see how he was getting on and woe of woes all his diagonals were out plus a few of the BR rails were wrong dimensions so he spent yesterday afternoon cutting it all up again. Anyway I spent an hour with him this afternoon and we got him back on track. He now has the outer BR rails in place and tacked along with the front frame tacked in position. Tomorrow he should be cutting the two longitudinal parallel BR rails (BR9 and 10 I think) and then he can get them tacked in place.

D.

[Davey]

Well work has gone quiet at the moment (slightly worryingly so:( ) so I've been doing a bit to the Dragon. Over the last few days I've framed up the rear end, I'm going for ali sheet over steel tube frame. The bottom rails I've made out of 25mm sq 3.25mm wall the same as the rest of my chassis but I've used a piece of 19mmdia round tube for the top rail. I nipped round to a local electrical contractor yesterday to see if they could make the bends for me with a conduit bender, they did and I had a nice little chat with the boss while his mate bent my tube. Turns out the gaffer is a petrolhead who runs a 7 litre V8 Corvette, he showed me a pair of tyres he has on the shelf ready for it (cripes they're wide) and reckoned they'll be the third set on it and its only done just shy of 7K miles so far:eek: . Anyway they did a smashing job of bending my tube and the only charge was a promise to take gaffer for a blast when its done:D .

I've been working on the pedal box too but today I tried it all for size with the drivers seat in place only to discover a major cock up, the top of my scuttle is about four and a half inches to low:mad: . This is the trouble with not doing my build by the book I suppose. Not a major headache to sort out, probably about two to three hours work I reckon but it does come with some good news. I am planning a top hinged pedal set with the brake master cylinder in front of the scuttle, as it was the brake reservoir would sit about two inches above the scuttle top. Once the scuttle top is raised the master cyl reservoir will be about an inch and a half below the scuttle top. The bonnet line will also be better for covering that mother of a motor.

I do have some photos but they're on my phone and I've left the data lead at work so I'll have to post them tomorrow.

D.

[Davey]

Had to go out to collect the Mrs from the train station so called in to get my data lead. I also discovered a slight cockup with the inlet fanimold, essentially the transfer tubes foul on the fuel rail thereby stopping it going all the way down to the heads, possible solutions are:make a pair of spacer plates to take up the distance (about 12mm) or "adjust" the transfer tubes to clear the fuel rails or alter the fuel rails to clear the fanimold transfer tubes. I'm open to alternative suggestions too;) .

Here's a few pics of todays cockups:D .

[Davey]

Due to the weather I've been able to spend a good couple of hours on the Dragon today. I've now got the rear end all framed up and 90% welded, only the underneath bits to do once its all stripped down and I can flip it over to do them. I've framed the transmission tunnel up and again that is welded on the top sides. I rebuilt the scuttle frame a week or two ago, just a couple of bits left to do on that and sort out the pedal box finally and I'll have a completed chassis:D . Then it'll be time to strip it all down, flip it over and weld the undersides then grit blast it and paint it.

I'm using the fuel tank that was fitted to the original Locust which measurements show should hold six gallons of go go juice so it should have a fair range unless I get a touch of leadfoot disease:D . I'm going to make the rear tub panels in three sections with the actual rear one as a separate removable panel so I can get the tank out should I ever need to.

Not sure when I can get any photos as I've got a big job in tomorrow and rebuilding/redecorating the front room over the weekend but I'll try soon.

D.

[HandyAndy]

Nice work Davy, sounds like your build has made some nice progress :cool:

You,ll need the extra capacity of the fuel tank for that beast of an engine :eek: :cool:

Look forward to seeing some updated photos.

cheers
andy

[Davey]

I'm expecting 30+ MPG from it when driving sensibly Andy, it did up to 32MPG dragging the Granada shell around when cruising at 70MPH so with more efficient breathing and a lighter body to haul it should be OK.

D.

[Davey]

Progress of late has been patchy but I've had a decent day on it today and I now have the lower steering cloumn bush mounting and drivers footwell end plate tacked in. I've also been working on the pedal box, I've opted for top hinged pedals so as to mount the brake master cylinder higher up than the Haynes design, this should make bleeding the system a whole lot easier as gravity will be on my side;) . I've acquired a master cylinder from a Saxo so I've set it up using that but I really need to calculate the pressures/clamping forces and pedal travel using this and Granada calipers so I've only got the MC mounting tacked in place for now.

I've also looked at shortening the steering rack centre shaft as it is about 25mm too long and giving rise to an unacceptable amount of bump steer. The good news is it looks like it will be really simple! The centre shaft is made from mild steel (checked with a nick from a hacksaw) so it won't be difficult to hack 25mm off the nearside end. The track rod knucle jonit is screwed into the centre shaft on a M14X1.5 thread and my local tool supplier is getting me a tap for tomorrow morning so I should be able to just tap further into the centre shaft (there is plenty of hollow length available), hack 25mm off the nearside end and refit the knuckle joint with thread lock. I think I will almost certainly need to make some track rod extensions though.

I'll try to get a few photos tomorrow afternoon and I also need to update my website.


D.

[Davey]

No progress to report sadly as I've been floored with serious manflu for the last two weeks:( . I have been to the workshop twice in that time, once to fetch the van for a ride to Norfolk to collect a trailer and once to meet up with Triff for a good old chinwag, (thanks for the mushies bud, I haven't been close enough to the Dragon to try them yet but they look good and I'm sure they'll fit a treat;) ).

I had intended to spend at least half of this fortnight working on the Dragon but this manflu has beaten me down, I even had to go see a doctor type person in hospital the other day:eek: .

Anyway down to the real purpose of this posting, my next door neighbour is a mature single woman who has in ther last few months found a male companion. today he said to me "you've got my old motor in your place" which nonplussed me a bit. My face obviously gave away my confusion 'cos he then said "little two seater sports car in green"! My first thought was I hope he hasn't read my description of the car when I got it.

Apparently he had a Zetec in it but it suffered really bad bump steer. his description was that it was "bloody awful at 80MPH":eek:

Would you believe it?

D.

[AshG]

inlet manifold looks ok now its been tarted up :D my mate tom could never get the hang of ali he always said to me you dont need to be a good welder as long as you are good at grinding things lol.

i have finally managed to get the nack of ali but it took me a good year and about 3 big bottles of argon at £50 a pop. i found that a little bit of high frequency pulse helps when doing thick stuff to thin. will have a look at what the numbers on my welder say for the freq settings that i use for that sort of stuff (i just remember the positions not what it says on the switches lol).

Also i found that using Ceriated tungstens made life easier on ali, they can also be used on steel so double bonus.

[Davey]

Cheers Ash, I've done plenty of ali work in the past but it was many years ago so my skills are a bit rusty, your mate does have a point;) . I'm pretty sure I am using ceriated tungstens now, the originals that came with the TIG were plain tungsten but I had to buy some more because you only get a couple of really thin ones as standard. The manifold does still need some more work and fettling but its coming along. I'm just working out a little deal that will hopefully pay for the Emerald ECU, fingers crossed that it all works out:D .

D.

[AshG]

at the end of the day its function over form that is important. ali is usually my last choice when it comes to materials :D think i would have done the manifold with stainless :D

been tinkering out in the workshop and have made a charge cooler out of ali and shortened the sump on the new engine which is also ali. dont know what the composition of the ali on the sump was but the thing was a total pig to weld even using rods with extra silicone especially for welding cast.

will stick some pictures up when new year is all done and dusted and im let back out in the workshop.

[Davey]

I made a good start on shortening my sump today, yes its ali and full of all sorts of crappy inclusions so just like yours Ash its been a pig. I managed to reduce it by 35mm which should be sufficient (damn well better be:D ) using a reciprocating demolition saw with a coarse metal blade. i've taken a few photos as I've gone along but I'll wait to post them till its all sorted and I know it don't leak:) .

D.

[AshG]

i had a couple of little pin holes in mine filled the sump up with water mixed with a bit of food die and left it over night. marked the points it dripped from then went over them again, its unavoidable with cast ali as you can get little air pockets caused by crud in the material, reheating it usually brings the crap to the surface :D

[Davey]

Well I've now completed the sump alterations and hopefully there should be some photos attached to this posting. I cut 35mm out of the sump pan using a demolition reciprocating saw with a coarse metal blade fitted, to hold the sump while I cut it I clamped it to the front rail of the Dragon. I re-used the front and sides of the piece I cut out to extend the mid section to retain a similar volume to the original, I reckon I'm probably about half a litre shy of the original which I don't think will cause too much of a problem as its not really going to be a race car.

Once I'd welded the base back on and the extension pieces on I cut out the section where the sump pan goes down at the front (photos will explain better than words) and then welded on a piece of 3mm ali sheet to close the whole sump off. Inside I drilled three 8mm dia holes in the pan base to prevent air locks. I filled it with water and found a couple of pin holes just as Ash did so just went over them again. The sump plug had been butchered in the past and was a real mess so I turned the head down in the lathe so that it was a nice fit in a 12mm nut which I then welded onto the plug so it now has a nice big 19mm hex head.

D.

[Davey]

Here's the last few photos of the sump.

D.

[Davey]

I managed to get an hour on the Dragon today and have refitted the sump and oil pickup pipe. While I had the engine hanging on the crane I used a G clamp to measure the required travel on the clutch release fork. From fully engaged to fully disengaged the fork moves 20mm at cable position which works out perfectly as my clutch pedal has about 24mm movement. I also had a stroke of luck with a radiator, a nerighbouring business specialises in French cars and has a C5 diesel he's breaking. well a quick meausre up and the rad will be just the job so £20 later I have a rad and both hoses, might try for the fan too on Monday.

D.

[Bonzo]

Sump looking good Davy :cool:

Pleased to see that you are managing to find some time for your build :)

Never know, you may even manage to get the motor up & running before the start of your forthcoming silly season ;) :)

[AshG]

sump looks good like the stepped design should reduce the need for baffles

[Davey]

Cheers guys, "design" might be over stating the case a bit Ash, it suggests forward planning:D . Not so sure about firing the lump up Ronnie, I'm still saving for the ECU:( , it would be nice though;)

D.

[Davey]

No actual progress to report as we're in the middle of our "silly season" workwise but I have had an absolutely brilliant day today. Mrs booked and payed for our Goodwood FoS tickets this morning (£618 for a long weekend away in the camper van:eek: but what a weekend:D ). I also had a good and lucrative day's work which is always a pleasant experience:D . Then I managed to do a bit of a deal that will pay for the Dragon's ECU:D. I haven't touched the beast since before Christmas as I have to get the exhibition trailer sorted, only four and a half weeks to our first outdoor show and I reckon I've still got about a hundred hours worth of work to complete by then so the Dragon is buried in the corner again . anyway by this weekend I should have the wherewithall to buy the Emerald ECU so it might just be possible to fire ethe lump up in about two months I reckon.

Happy daze, D.

[Davey]

At last a bit of good news to report, I have just won an Emerald ECU on the bay for £510 plus P&P, well happy now:D :D ! Yes I know there are cheaper ECUs available so don't bother yourselves telling me I could have got this that or the other for £XXX cheaper, it was an Emerald I wanted and now I've got one!:D :D

D.

[Bonzo]

Blooming heck Davy

You could have got a XXX or a YYY & even a ZZZ for less than that :D :D

Great news mate, it feels great when you manage to get the very thing you wanted :cool:

Nice to hear that you are still plugging away on you build even though you don't have the time due to your heavy work schedule .... At least the parts will be all ready & waiting when you return to building :)

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, the exhibition trailer is nearly done now and just three weeks to go before the first show. Hopefully then I can dig the beast out of the corner and get back to doing bits on it. I rexkon a couple of months before I'm ready to fire the motor up............watch this space:D .

D.

[Davey]

The Emerald arrived today, very well packed and complete with a brand new manual, Coms lead, software CD, and unused 36 way plug and wiring pins. Been scanning the manual and this baby has some cool features, really looking forward to getting it all wired up and firing the motor up now but its going to be a month or two before I can find any time to play:( .

D.

[Bonzo]

Great stuff Davy :)

That is going to seem like the longest couple of months ever :D :D

Bet you'll be playing given half a chance ;)

[HandyAndy]

Nice one Davey ,

I,m sure it,ll be a great feeling hearing the beast start up for the first time in a long while, don,t forget the first start up video :cool:

all the best with the next couple of months build progress :)

cheers
andy

[Davey]

Cheers guys, no worries on the first startup vid, I've got the cameras and floodlights sorted and tripods at the ready:D . I'm not even sure I'll have much time to dream about firing it up for a couple of months. This Saturday we move our second daughter, the following weekend we move our eldest daughter, the weekend after that we are at our first exhibition of the season. Two weeks later we're in North Devon for a long weekend with the mag I scribble for then two weeks after that is our second exhibition. A month later is our third exhibition followed Two weeks later by Goodwood for the Festival of Speed then another two weeks to our fourth exhibition...................I think;) . Its certainly going to be a hectic summer but no roadster this year:mad:

D.

[Davey]

Well so much for "a couple of months" to first start up! I finally dug the Dragon out three weeks ago but have had little time to do anything to it. The manifold I made still fouled the fuel rail and so needed some spacer blocks making to lift it clear, I have now made these;) ;) Over the last two days I've done a bit of "feel good factor" work and painted the cam covers, I think they look the dog's danglies!:D

D.

Goddammed picture won't load, I'll try again soon.

[Davey]

Lets try again to post a picture:cool: .

[Wgroove]

The Emerald arrived today, very well packed and complete with a brand new manual, Coms lead, software CD, and unused 36 way plug and wiring pins. Been scanning the manual and this baby has some cool features, really looking forward to getting it all wired up and firing the motor up now but its going to be a month or two before I can find any time to play:( .

D.

Hi Davey,
Where did you get the Emerald ?

Regards,

Wim

[Davey]

Hi Davey,
Where did you get the Emerald ?

Regards,

Wim

Ebay, if you're patient they do come up from time to time.

D.

[Wgroove]

Ebay, if you're patient they do come up from time to time.

D.

And did you get a good price ?

[twinturbo]

Looks good Davey.

The engine will probabbly tap like hell for a good few minuets after start up, mine does it every time it's left for a few months.

Have you checked the tensioner blade's condition?

TT

[Davey]

Wgroove, I paid what I consider to be a good price.

Rob, Cheers mate:-D yes I expect it will tap for a while, not checked tensioners yet but will do before it gets run for serious.

D.

[twinturbo]

Yeah if the tensioner blade is worn then a big failure my not be far away.

The hydraulic tappets take a bit of time to settle after a lay up, but if your hearing a rattle in the timing chest then the tensioner or a guide is probably goosed.

TT

[Bonzo]

Looking very smart indeed davey :) :cool:

At least one of us is making some progress :o :o

[Davey]

AND I'm back in the room! It has been way too long since I've had any playtime with the Dragon. The Emerald is still sat in its box and is likely to stay there for a few more months ( read as next year at least :-( ). The good news is that because I've been a good boy for the last few weeks and spent every spare moment on insulating and lining the camper van I nkw have 1.5 days free to play :-):-D . The Dragon is already sitting on my four post lift and first job tomorrow is to check the chassis and wheel alignment. After that I will tackle jobs as they pop up for this weekend, it just feels so good to be having a crack at the beast once more :-D .

Stand byfor updates LOL, :-D

D

[Davey]

Hopefully here is a piccie of the Dragon on the lift awaiting my tender ministrations :-D .

D.

It seems not to be! I am using my tablet at the moment and the photo editing software doesn't seem to have a resize function. Added to which the "select file" button doesn't seem to work with Android devices.

I'll post zome photos tomorrow evening hopefully.

[Bonzo]

Hi Davey

Great to hear that you have managed to wangle some time for your build :cool: :)

Look forward to seeing some pictures of the Draggon, been a while mate.

I cuss those darn fangled Android gadgets, my pea brain cant cope with those :o :D

[Davey]

Hi Ronnie, both my phone and thd tab are android units and overall I love it. Just new versions of techy cak to learn :-D

D.

[Bonzo]

Must admit Davey

My Samsung Galaxy S is by far the easiest mobile phone I have ever had :)

I guess that it is easier for me to follow the pc'ish user interface

All I got to do now is find out how the heck I managed to screw up the MMS settings :o :D :D

[Davey]

Well I've had a good but slow day today. First up was to take some measurements to check everything was ok, I started with corner weights as my coilovers are not adjustable (this can be easily remedied later on). Thankfully they are exceptionally good coming in at 165 kg each front and 170 each on the rear with all tyres set to 20 psi. I have four individual wheel scales and I took four readings so that each wheel was weighed with each unit then took the average reading for each wheel. I also checked the rear wheel alignment which came in at 5 mins toe out and equal about the centre line of the car. The front end will be set up later. Overall I am a very happy chap with this :-D .

I have also now fully welded the front coilover mounting brackets, both on the chassis and the lower wishbones. I've added some gussets (you gotta love that word :-) ) to the lower wishbones as the coilover brackets are off centre on mine (see earlier postings).

I've also welded up the rear suspension top plates and the rollbar, back braces to be added later.

Stupidly I left the camera with the car in the workshop so I can't post any photos tonight, I'm going back for four hours at it on the morrow and will do my best to remember the camera :-):-D

D.

[Davey]

As its worked out we have very little work in this week, both a good and bad thing, good cos it meannss I get to play with the Dragon but bad cos it means little or no income this week:eek:

Anyway, I've been playing today and have managed to fit the heater (my feet cramp badly when they get cold and I really don't do pain), finish off the pedal box (top hung) and fit a working handbrake ;) . I do have photos but they're on my laptop which presently seems to think its a chopping board!

D.

[Bonzo]

How are things with your project mate :)

Hope you are managing to make some time for the Dragon :cool:

[Davey]

Hi Ronnie, not had chance to do anything for a few weeks as I've been concentratingg on getting the camper finished off then had to put a new rear arch on daughters festerin fiesta and work has picked up a bit recently. Next jobs on the list are to finish the chassis, couple of struts to add to the trans tunnel plus rad mountings then strip it all, flip it to complete welding underneath then its off to the powder coating shop. Would be nice to get it coated in January. I really must get a flickr or similar account sorted as wel las updating my webshite.

D.

[Bonzo]

had to put a new rear arch on daughters festerin fiesta

D.

Don't envy you that job Davey :eek:

Managed to get my eldest to scrap his crappy Escort van this year, good job too, that would have needed yet more mega welding to get that through one last test.

Look forward to seeing the Dragon chassis all powder coated :) :cool:

[Davey]

It wasn't too bad a job actually Ronnie and the new mig welder made light work of it. I chucked some 0.6mm wire on and on power setting no1 it just mullered it. Quick skim of filler then let daughter do the rubbing down, quick couple of coats of basecoat (Ford Performance blue metallic) then three coats of clearcoat and job done and all for £42.

D.

[Bonzo]

Sounds like you made light work of that job Davy :)

How Green with envy am I, having a daughter who isn't afraid to get stuck in & help out :cool:

All I get from my 2 is " Dad, broke & fix it " :rolleyes:

Perhaps I'll have better luck training my new Granddaughter up :D

[Davey]

Our eldest daughter Zoe is brilliant, she will have a go at anything and always succeeds. She did a HND in fashion design but worked her way through college with part time jobs. After college she has worked mainly in catering and is now catering manager in a garden centre restaurant and a bloody good cook. she comes down to the workshop whenever possible and loves to have a go at new skills, she's mastered MIG, TIG and gas welding so far and she put in plenty of hours stripping the donor Granada down with me.

D.

[Davey]

Oh me oh my, I haven't posted anything on here since December! Well I managed to grab a couple of hours this morning and got the old Locust nosecone cut in half ready to widen it. I've followed Eternal's lead and fastened the two bits together with thin plywood to fit it up. I've got the brackets welded onto the chassis to fit the nosecone now so just a few weeks work with GRP laminating and bucket loads of filler and lots of sanding before I give up, chuck it in the skip and commission someone to make me one properly:D . To be honest I'm tempted to speak to the local company who will shot blast and powder coat the chassis for me as they do GRP work. It could be worth a ton to get it done properly.

Anyway here's a link to my facebook photo:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150736798168816&set=a.10150271816853816.336711.695178815&type=1&theater

D.

[Davey]

Due to a no show customer today I managed to get another couple of hours in and I now have the radiator mounted and the cooling fan tacked in place. Rad is from a Citroen C5 HDI and so is the fan. The fan is a huge unit fed by 6mm sq cables and on full pelt it blows like a hurricane! Hopefully cooling won't be a major issue.

D.

[Not Anumber]

H5 rad sounds like a large unit, is there much clearance when the nosecone is in place ?

[Davey]

Vertically the read just about fills the rear end of my nose one, horizontally there's about three inches at offside and two nearside. Its deliberately offset to clear the steering column.

D.

[Davey]

Just a brief update to let you all know I haven't given up, fell off the planet or anything. Being a double bank holiday weekend You might have thought we'd be away in the camper or perhaps I'd get a few days on the Dragon, not so. We had planeed to redecorate the spare room at home this weekend but I never quite found the time to aquire a double glazed window unit for it so we decided to remodel the office at work instead, extending it by 1.3 metres, doesn't sound too much does it! Bleeding knackered after three days of serious demolition and reconstruction but we're over the hump of it now.

So what's that got to do with roadsters I hear you shout. Well because we've been so busy for the last three months my bank balance has improved no end as I haven't had time to spend anything so the other day I went online and had a mooch for headlights, mirrors and instruments. Got me a pair of 5 in 1 headlights/sidelights/DRLs/indicator units (some people don't appear to like the looks but I do so there!), a pair of F1 mirrors with LED indicator repeater built in and a Vapor digital dash. £500 lighter in the ban kaccount but I can't take it with me when I shuffle off this mortal coil (no plans on leaving yet, way too much living to do still) and I only plan to leave debts when I do go.

D.

[twinturbo]

One day the dutton will live again, :)

TT

[Davey]

One day the dutton will live again, :)

TT

It was never a Dutton, its worsee than that, it was a Locust!

D.

[Davey]

I finally managed to get a few hours on the Dragon today before the British GP so I'm glassing in the centre of the nosecone where I've had to widen it. I followed the lead of another builder who had done similar and pop riveted aly sheet across the break then glassed over the inside face, I'm now filling in the top surface with glass and resin. It may be ok when its done or it might be a complete cock up and end up three inches thick with filler:D . Got
planet rock on the radio, loud and the estate is currently empty except for me;) .

D.

[Bonzo]

Hi Davey

Pleased to read that you are managing to find some time for the Draggon :)

I am sure the GRP work will come out just fine :cool:

Looking forward to some progress pictures when your ready.

Been avidly following your progress from the start mate & can't wait to see the full transformation. :) :)

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, its getting there but slowly. I'm fairly pleased with the GRP work on the nose cone so far and think it will be alright in the end. I'm just in the process of joining the Hagley car club and thinking about the possibilities of doing some hill climbs, although not in the Dragon as yet. I'm looking out for a cheap Fiesta Zetec S as my eldest daughter has one and it goes really well and handles prety well too. Probably won't do anything this year but looking to do a "driver's school day" at Loton Park next year and take it from there. In the meantime I'll keep just tinkering away at the dragon whenever I get a spare hour or two.

D.

[Davey]

I've managed to get a few hours in this week on the nosecone and overall I'm rather pleased with how well its shaping upalthough I've spent about six hours removing all the old horrible paint from it. I have about an hours work this morning finishing off a service on motorhome thn the rest of the day is mine! Got to pop out late morning for an hour on the golf driving range but other than that its Dragon day! I hope to get the nosecone into primer and possibly mount the seat runners, watch this space.

D.

[Davey]

Hopefully this post will include a link to my Facebook page where a photo of the Dragon should be, as she sits this afternoon:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151087578003816&set=a.10150271816853816.336711.695178815&type=1&theater

Nosecone is now in barcoat and there are a few little details to tidy up before final painting but overall I'm well pleased with it. Seats are now fitted on runners. Headlight brackets are there but need altering to suit the new headlight/sidelight/DRL/indicator units as shown in photo. I need to make some mounting plates for the mirrors (as seen in photo) and weld them in plus a mounting bar into the roll bar for the upper harness mounts.

I think the chassis will be ready for stripping down ready for powder coating then and following that I can start the final build up.

D.

PS, anyone mentions "BRUM" and they're off my Christmas card list for good :-)

[Bonzo]

Hi davey

Looks as if you have made some cracking progress with the Draggon :cool: :)

That nose sure looks as if going to be really nice once you have the top coat on.

The Draggon has totally transformed since you first bought her into the workshop :) :)

[Davey]

Had a good day today. Started off with a quick trip to Shrewsbury to the best steel stockholders in the county (possibly the ony one:D ) for some 33.7mmX4mm wall round tube for the cross bar of the roll bar to take the upper harness mounts. I also grabbed a couple of feet of 42mm X 2mm wall round tube to remake the headlamp mounts (new headlamps need a 16mm mounting hole and are fixed with a 24mmAF nut so existing tube was too narrow).

Got to the workshop late morning and got stuck in. I've mounted the cross tube by cutting 34 (ish)mm holes into the rollbar upright setions and inserting the cross tube into these. The harness mounting bushes are cut into the tube and tig welded in place then the cross tube MIG welded into the rollbar. I beleive this will give a good strong upper harness mounting.

I've also done the headlamp mounting brackets in bigger diameter tube to acomodate the larger fixing nut but I'm not sure I like the look of those mountings, I'm thinking that a curved tube from the chassis up to the lamp mounting position would look better but haven't figured out how to access the fixing nut with such a design:confused: . I've now fitted brackets to take the brake hoses as well.

For fun I've fitted the seats and the harnesses along with the nosecone and headlamps. Apart from the headlamp mountings (which I'll probably just go with as I can't figure out a better option) and final welding/dressing of welds I think I have just about got a complete chassis.:D

Here's a link to my facebook page with a photo. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151118040003816&set=a.10150271816853816.336711.695178815&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
D.

[Bonzo]

Just had a gander at the picture Davey :)

Boy, what a transformation, the Draggons come a very long way indeed & if I may say so, a vast improvement. :) :)

Still following your build with interest mate. :cool:

[Davey]

Cheers Ronnie, nice to know someone is following my build;) . Spent a few more hours on it today dressing a few welds down and starting to strip it all back ready for shot blasting and powder coating. I also spent a couple of hours tweeking the steering rack length as trials were showing it still had some bump steer, I'm pleased to say that is all but dialled out now and the tiny bit that's left is (hopefully) not going to be a major issue. down to 2.5 turns lock to lock now but I wll have to make some rack extensions as there is less than 20mm of track rod thread into each track rod which seems a tad short to me.

Got a quiet week at work this week, job in tomorrow with a doc visit in the afternoon for a stubborn cough, nowt Tuesday, golfing Wednesday, my birthday on Thursday and my golf mate's on Friday. Saturday could be messy:D but hopefully I can finish stripping the chassis tomorrow/Tuesday and get it away for powder coating before the week is out.

D.

[robo]

Its got a v in it so I am watching with interest.
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k577/mypickys/311514_10151087578003816_1697754073.jpg

You have got that lump nice and low ,is that in its final postion?. I was wondering if it all ends up under the bonnet. :cool: Are those the headlights with the indicators built in?

Bob

[Davey]

Hi Rob, yes that's the final position for the donkey, Throttle bodies will be above bonnet line so a large cut out in centre of bonnet is planned with a clear perspex dome over them. Sump has been cut and shut to accomodate engine position. Headlights are the Venom 5 in 1 units with LED indicators and LED position/DRL lamps. I had to remake the headlight mounts as the tubes weren't big enough dia for the fixing nuts, I've also raised them by about 20mm from this position.

D.

[Davey]

Well late last week I completed welding on the chassis and at 07.00 this morning delivered it to the local powder coating outfit for shot blasting and finishing in glorious gloss black. Will post photos when it comes back in a day or two.

D.

[Davey]

Quite surprised this afternoon when the phone rang about 4 o'clock and it was the powder coaters to say "it's all done and can you come fetch it please?" 'cos its blocking our track up. Got it back still warm from the oven and a nice job they've made too. Just got to get the wishbones done and I can start to build for proper.

D.

[robo]

From now on its like freewheeling down a hill on a pushbike:cool: Cant wait to see it in the flesh.

bob

[Davey]

Don't know about that Rob there's still loads to do. I've just painted the diff last Friday so that's now ready to go in. Then I've got the wishbones to paint, drive shafts and uprights to clean up and paint, front uprights to clean and paint, calipers to overhaul clean and paint etc. etc. etc.

D.

[Davey]

We were supposed to go to a motorhome club AGM this weekend but circumstances overtook us and we couldn't go so I've had a day on the Dragon instead. Got the rear wishbones dressed up and three out of four in paint. The welding was done with my old MIG welder which wasn't very good, the welds are perfectly good just looked rough so I've ground off all the rough crap, derusted and primed then top coat in Hammerite smooth red. Also managed to get a bargain set of BBS wheels for "Dierdre" off the bay of E this afternoon for the princely sum of £57 so taking a ride up to Buxton tomorrow morning to collect them. Touring cars on ITV4 tomorrow afternoon so that's tomorro sorted. Monday hopefully I can get another day on the Dragon and finish the rear wishbones off. Leave them to harden for a week or three and sort out the rear uprights for paint then the rear end can be re-assembled.

D.

[robo]

We wont get to smoke it round the car park then in a few weeks time :( :)

Bob

[Davey]

Just a quick update, I've cleaned, painted and re- assembled all the suspension, diff and driveshafts so the Dragon is now back onits wheels. Tomorrow morning I have to check my son's "new" car over (52 plate S3 Quattro) then I plan to clean and paint the front calipers and steering rack.

Haven't done much to the Dragon for a couple of months due to my new toy, Roary the MX5 which is going to be racing up hills next year.

D.