My progress

[Bonzo]

The sun is shining & my workshop has at last been warm enough for me to be out there working on my build.

Over the last few weeks, I have managed to get some serious time in on my build.

Engine & box all given a good clean, light overhaul & a nice lick of paint .... Now put to one side, under cover all ready for the grand fitting party.

Completed & painted the new engine mounts .... Not as good as Ginge's but will do the job nicely.

Overhauled my ebay steering rack, fitted new gaitors & a nice lick of paint .... Sorely tempted to buy a new one but would have been a bit daft to replace a still good, serviceable rack.

Overhauled my push in driveshafts. Good clean up, repack the CV joints with grease, fitted new CV boots & a good lick of paint.
Reluctantly I gave in to temptation and decided to try some of those new fangled stretchy, stretchy boots.
I was half expecting them to be as useless as the glue together wonder boots.

For once I had a nice surprise, they are the Ronseal of CV boots & does what it says on the tin :D
Took next to no time to fit them .... Well pleased.
The 4 boots & the plastic fitting cone cost me £27.30 delivered
A fraction of the time & cost of fitting original Ford CV boot kits ;)

I have fitted the Golf GTI radiator that I got from the breakers .... Big thanks to Gus for some inspiration at a time I had some brain freeze :o

Once I knew the Rad was fine I ordered a new one, this has arrived & is now fitted.
Had a quick trip to the breakers to find a suitable electric fan .... Found the ideal fan on a Citroen Xsara, only a very tiny mod to make on the fixing poits & now fits like a glove.

Result at the breakers .... Cooling fan & a pair of seat runners, £5 Bargain

My Two pack Epoxy arrived this morning so it will be all go on the wishbones & uprights next week.

Weighed in another load of scrap & collected another sheet of alloy ( Hopefuly the last ) Fook me, that has gone up some !!??
8" X 4" sheet of 1.2mm half hard £47.50

Keep looking at the things on my to do list .

Pedal box " Don't fancy doing that at the moment " ( It'll go tits up if not in the mood )

Side panels " Don't fancy doing them at the moment " ( It'll go tits up if not in the mood )


Diff, all cleaned up ages ago but still not painted !!??

So chaps, I have been having a real crack at the build & have enjoyed every moment .

In true me style .... The things done have taken ages to do but I am at least thankfull that I have the energy to do them.

Also in true me style .... I go to bed with the next day all worked out .... Once in the workshop, I do something completely different :D

Well that's it for now folks.

[HandyAndy]

Nice one Ronnie :cool:

You,ll soon be driving the Roadster ( erm testing it ) on that "private" lane of yours ;)

Its great to hear that you are making great progress......if you feel the need to do even more ......i,ll supply B&B and you can come and do mine :D

lets have some piccies please :cool:

cheers
andy

[Bonzo]

Cheers Andy

I'll get some photos up once I have the chassis rolling again, that'll be in the not too distant future ;)

As usual .... I have turned the workshop into a pig sty once more :o

The pictures will look well cool, outside in the sunshine :D

Forgot to mention .... I also altered the steering column support so as I dont have to take a big notch out of the scuttle :eek:

[gingea1pom]

Ronnie,

Some real progress there.

May I ask what car your seat runners are from and is the fan a push or pull (does it fit to the front or back of the Rad)?

Pictures, pictures, pictures.

Cheers Ginge

[Bonzo]

The cooling fan was a front mounted unit & pushes the airflow into the rad .... All sits under the nosecone a real treat.

It was mouted to the original car via 4 strong wire/round bar arms .... Near as dam it, the same spacing as my new rad.
Sliced a few mm off & welded 4 flat tabs on them this allowed fitment to the mounting points on the new rad ;)

The seat runners were found on a Renault Scenic .... Middle rear seat ( The small one ) only abot 400mm wide.
There are clips on the front hinges to allow easy seat removal ..... The tricky bit is getting to the runner fixings.
I prised the uphostery clips out & removed the lower seat squabs, access to the 6 allen bolts was then simple.
Just as well my local breaker is not too fussed about collateral dammage cos it fubared the seats :D

The only downside is, you'll need to find Two cars though as there is only One in each car .... Although to be honest, I didn't look at the runners of the other seats in the car, they too may be suitable !! ;)

I'll take some pictures of the cooling fan & seat runners tomorrow mate :)

[dogwood]

Glad ya build is going well for ya.
Surprising how a bit of sun puts a whole different aspect on things.
It's 7:30 here the sun is shining, and I'm up a ready to go.
In the winter I could barly drag my sorry ar*e out of bed before 9:00:eek:

[Bonzo]

Couldn't agree with you more David :)

Been up at 6 am most days & dagging to get out there :D

Hopefully this weather will last a few days longer so as I can hang all the wishbones & uprights on the washing line

Much nicer to work al fresco :cool:

Sun is beating down again today, got a couple of quick bits of welding to do .... I'll not be in any rush to don a boiler suit though .... T shirt for me today :D

[dogwood]

Sun is beating down again today, got a couple of quick bits of welding to do .... I'll not be in any rush to don a boiler suit though .... T shirt for me today :D

Watch them rays though........:rolleyes:

[twinturbo]

The only downside is, you'll need to find Two cars though as there is only One in each car .... Although to be honest, I didn't look at the runners of the other seats in the car, they too may be suitable !! ;)

I'll take some pictures of the cooling fan & seat runners tomorrow mate :)

Err... The passenger does not need adjustment. they have no pedals.


TT

[twinturbo]

Watch them rays though........:rolleyes:



Yeah.... Whilst standing at saturn last week I was burning, as was the wife. Kids had Factor 8000000 on... So why am I building an opentop sports car???

TT

[Bonzo]

Err... The passenger does not need adjustment. they have no pedals.


TT

That's a fair comment if you dont want to make the passenger seat adjustable :)

On my build, just don't see number one son ( 6'2) and my good lady wife ( 4'10" ) being none too keen on a fixed seat position ;)

The ole arc burn is a real risk in this weather .... Way better that a nice big dollop of weld splatter doing one of the following !!??

Drop down into your rigger boots, fly down the top of your open shirt'n fizzle down your belly or my all time favorite .... Tricky bit of overhead welding, you know, the bit that takes you ages to get in just the right position .... Frigging splatter finds its way down your sleeve & comes to a rest, right in the fold of your arm :eek:

This is when you find out if you are a true, roughty tuffty welder & if determination will overcome the pain barrier :D

[twinturbo]

Fit two foot rests instead.. or get a wife with longer legs ;)

But when I went out in spuds car my legs just liad on the floor.. Don't see the need...

TT

[HandyAndy]

Fit two foot rests instead.. or get a wife with longer legs

But when I went out in spuds car my legs just liad on the floor.. Don't see the need...

TT

Having been out in spuds car on a couple of track days :cool: ...its nice to have something to "brace " your feet against :D especially hurtling into the corners when i thought he,d left the braking 10mtrs too late :eek: :o

cheers
andy

[mark]

Having been out in spuds car on a couple of track days :cool: ...its nice to have something to "brace " your feet against, especially hurtling into the corners when i thought he,d left the braking 10mtrs too late

cheers
andy

The only problem with spuds passenger foot rest is if you are of normal size like me.......ie over six foot :D you dont fit in properly!

I have to cross my ankles with my knees bent up against the dashboard which isnt comfy, but you soon forget about that when he gets his foot down.

If you have tall family/friends dont put a foot rest in

If you are an elf and all your friends are too then go for it :p :D

[HandyAndy]

The only problem with spuds passenger foot rest is if you are of normal size like me.......ie over six foot you dont fit in properly!

I have to cross my ankles with my knees bent up against the dashboard which isnt comfy, but you soon forget about that when he gets his foot down.

If you have tall family/friends dont put a foot rest in

If you are an elf and all your friends are too then go for it


Sooooooo there is an advantage of being a short ar$e eh??????? :p :D

as for being an elf:eek: ....I can now see over the top of my aeroscreen with my seats sat on 25mm boxed tube :D

cheers
andy

[spud69]

You've got it spot on there Mark, if i try to get in the passenger seat i don't fit in cos of the footrest, only tried it once though... Only bought it since it was cheap and thought it looked alright. Think it's probably the best option to have all the way back without the rest, the only time i put the seat forward is for my 10 year old lad because the seat belt won't tighten up enough with the seat right back. Also you'll find anyone sitting forward will obstruct your vision from the left, can be a distraction and annoyance.

Mark, took your bits into powder coaters yesterday and shall let you know when they are ready.

Well done Ronnie, sounds like we've both been very busy this weekend....;)

AndyH

[Davey]

That's a fair comment if you dont want to make the passenger seat adjustable :)

On my build, just don't see number one son ( 6'2) and my good lady wife ( 4'10" ) being none too keen on a fixed seat position

The ole arc burn is a real risk in this weather .... Way better that a nice big dollop of weld splatter doing one of the following !!??

Drop down into your rigger boots, fly down the top of your open shirt'n fizzle down your belly or my all time favorite .... Tricky bit of overhead welding, you know, the bit that takes you ages to get in just the right position .... Frigging splatter finds its way down your sleeve & comes to a rest, right in the fold of your arm :eek:

This is when you find out if you are a true, roughty tuffty welder & if determination will overcome the pain barrier :D

Naah mate, the worst one is when you've spent two hours getting into a box about the size of a coffin to do an overhead weld but you can only get in by lying on your side with your arms ahead of you. Then when you make the weld a seemingly golf ball sized blob of white hot weld spatter drops into your ear hole and you can't even move to dislodge it so you just have to lie there and listen to it sizzle in the ear wax and hope your tears have dried up before you get out again:mad: .

Glad your build is proceeding, mine is definately on the back burner for most of the summer as its show season for us, first show next weekend at peterborough followed by Stoneleigh the following weekend (can't wait) then we have one show per month through till September plus weekends out for "us" time. First weekend of July is of course Goodwood Festival of Speed so that's a long weekend out.

D.
D.

[dogwood]

As we are talking about welding misfortunes.
Try this.
Welding under the arse end of a ship from a painpunt (Dodgy floating ply box)
Some clever C*** decides to start deballasting.....:mad:
Within 5 seconds the punt was full, and going down like the Titanic.
With me and all the welding gear in it.
Needless to say I was not a happy bunny when I got back onboard.
Waited for the tide to go out, then made the t**t resposible crawl out in the mud and recover all the gear..
Almost worth getting wet,
just to see him up to his neck in stinking Thames mud, then getting washed down with the fire hose.:D :D

[Land Locked]

As we are talking about welding misfortunes.
Try this.
Welding under the arse end of a ship from a painpunt (Dodgy floating ply box)
Some clever C*** decides to start deballasting.....:mad:
Within 5 seconds the punt was full, and going down like the Titanic.
With me and all the welding gear in it.
Needless to say I was not a happy bunny when I got back onboard.
Waited for the tide to go out, then made the t**t resposible crawl out in the mud and recover all the gear..
Almost worth getting wet,
just to see him up to his neck in stinking Thames mud, then getting washed down with the fire hose.:D :D

You paint a clear picture with word there. I just pee'd me pants.

[Davey]

As we are talking about welding misfortunes.
Try this.
Welding under the arse end of a ship from a painpunt (Dodgy floating ply box)
Some clever C*** decides to start deballasting.....:mad:
Within 5 seconds the punt was full, and going down like the Titanic.
With me and all the welding gear in it.
Needless to say I was not a happy bunny when I got back onboard.
Waited for the tide to go out, then made the t**t resposible crawl out in the mud and recover all the gear..
Almost worth getting wet,
just to see him up to his neck in stinking Thames mud, then getting washed down with the fire hose.:D :D

Cool response to a dickhead. I was taught to weld by an ex Barrow shipyard boilermaker and I've done some interesting stuff through the years. One job in Peterborough was to weld two 5 metre lengths of 1.75 metre diameter 12mm wall sewer pipe together. This was then craned into place across a canal where it had to be welded to an existing pipe. so there's me and my mate up to our knees in canal and mud stick welding with two dirty great diesel welding gen sets, high cycle stuff that runs at 3kcycles. We're pushing 80 volts at 180 amps into four mm rods and its raining, every time we changed a rod we got a 3Kc belt off the buggers so we soon learned to line up the next half dozen rods on the concrete bank edge and just grap them with the rod holders. doing the inside of the pipe was not fun because of the high cycle welding sets, the weld doesn't hum like an ordinary arc welder it screams at 3000cycles per second. sit inside a 20 metre long 1.75m dia pipe for an hour with that going and your deaf for hours afterwards.

D.
Apologies to Bonzo for hijacking the thread.:D

[AshG]

my passenger seat is adjustable. the bonus of it is that nearly anyone can sit in it and brace themselves, you can also put the seat forward put your take away behind the seat then move it back to stop it going everywhere as you hurtle home at 500mph before it gets cold.

[Bonzo]

David

I have had many amusing moments during my dockyard years but can't top that one mate :D :D

If I had witnessed that one, they would have needed an ambulance for me as I would have cracked my ribs, split my sides & pissed my pants !! :D

Davy

I was one of the lucky ones .... For some reason, whenever we had double bottom work coming up, I piled on the weight & was deemed too large for that kind of work.

Personaly, never had a problem with snots on my overhead welding :p

Seriously mate .... Completely forgot about those buggers that fizz about in the ear !!??

[Bonzo]

Here you go mate

Here's a picture of the Renault Scenic seat runner

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj266/Bonzoronnie/100_0430.jpg

Each runner is aproximately 360mm long and are 24mm in height.
The adjustment lever simply unclips to leave you with two individual runners, once they are mouted to the seat it'll be a piece of cake to alter the adjustment lever to suit ;)

Here's a picture of the Citroen Xsara cooling fan

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj266/Bonzoronnie/100_0431.jpg

This was a front mounted fan on the Citroen & will push air into the radiator.

Ebay link to un-modded fan unit (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120540591475&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)

It all fits under the Saturn nosecone well ... Quite tight on the top left hand corner but it clears by about 20mm.

Unable to find another Golf GTI radiator the same as my old one, I chose the Polo Mk3 radiator .... Same physical dimensions as the golf one, just missing the small vent pipe at the top.

I opted to use the larger Polo Mk3 rad because the core size is slightly larger than the Polo Mk2 rad & a good deal thicker too

Just keeping my post IVA options open ..... That Redtop engine is still calling to me ;)

Polo Mk3 Radiator (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180436755024&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)

Today ended up as a Grand Prix / Gardening / Rubbish clearing / Dog walking .... kinda day !!

[twinturbo]

Ear fizzers are a pain..


I guess my two silly moments where back at school circa 1991.

1) I was wellding a Z-Shaped leg for a computer desk with the Oxy kit. Did a nice neat weld well impressed with myself. Shut the rig down so I could move the work round. turned back and grabbed the work by the corners, and listend as something sizzeld.. Then ran to the sink and ran my hand under the tap for 15 minuets.

2) Was welding the table top on the workshop floor, crouching over the workpice, all going swimmingly. Stopping and resting periodicaly to check the work and rest my filler rod hand. One time during resting I smelt burning and then found I was resting the filler rod on my foot just befor the shoe started... OUCH!!!

TT