Bobs V8 Roadster Build

[robo]

Brief recky of what I am building and why. A few mates of mine have been on the westfield scene for a few years and I have had the chance to drive them over a period of time. Also have a friend with a race tuned caterham 7 superlight , I was always impressed with the way they handled and being used to mental hp in other things I have had never been that impressed with the amount of grunt they had. That all changed when another friend built a westy v8, I was given the ride from hell and thought this is more like it . I got to drive the thing and although it went like stink the handling was ok ish it was not as darty or sharp as the four pot versions. On closer inspection westfield have got the engine pulled forward and sitting very high in the chassis just to obtain ground clearance and avoid messing with the already tight gear tunnel.
Anyway I fancied building a seven with a v8 and none of the kits on the market tick all the boxes which brings me to the Haynes, pretty much a blank canvas, wider than most of the other seven cars and plenty of leg room for tall drivers. The intention is to build a smallblock ford powered seven type car to have on the road but too also hill climb, sprint and track day. Along the way a friend of mine has been showing interest so he has bitten the bullet so there are two cars of the same spec being built along side each other. The build criteria is to get the engine as far back and as low as possible , this will be done by using a very small diameter nascar flywheel with an ap racing clutch, custom made bellhousing using a rear entry starter and a low profile sump. Shopping list on another thread and will be added to as and when.http://www.roadster-builders.co.uk/f...php?f=16&t=357

Any way time to crack on with the build and being a sunny day I thought it would be a good chance to get the chassis`s we got from talon in primer to stave off the tin worm,when all the mounts and welding are finished I will send them off for sand blasting and powder coating. Surface rust had already got to them so I attacked them with scotchbrite and a rotary wire brush. After about a hour all ten sheets of scotchbrite were in tatters but I found a rotary scotchbrite flap wheel in the workshop so set to with that http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10x-3M-SCO... tem27d2f23d8d. I have never used one before but shoved it in the drill, these are a fantastic thing for cleaning up steel without removing any material so I will get some more for later on. Primer was from a rattle can.

[robo]

First job is to clean up the bmw large case diff and make up the mounts to hang it off. These diffs work out well because you get a decent ratio with a lsd and the 108mm driveshaft flanges to match the cossie halfshafts.They also have the speedo transducer in the back which is handy as the getrag gearbox has no speedo drive. When phil made the chassis`s I got him to tack weld SB4 in place and omit cp10 and cp14 a these would be in the way.

Bob

[K4KEV]

way to go bob.... way to go ....about time you made a start

[Johno]

Well Bob I see the red mist has descended at last......

Good start with the chassis... Phil does top quality work.

I see on your front frame top cross member the box section is open. Obviously I'm not going to tell you how to suck eggs but when I built my chassis I welded end caps square to the box section. In hindsight I wish I welded the end caps in line with the top side rails to look in line with the bodywork..

[robo]

Just picked up this tvr pedal box that sort of lends itself to be chopped about for the roadster. Floor mounted and its very nicely made, only needs an inch taken off one side to fit. To chop or not to chop that is the question

Maybe just maybe :lol:

Bob

[K4KEV]

That is a nice find Bob ....it has oodles of adjustability in it, and would save some work

[robo]

A few more bits purchased. i got a couple of the billet rear hub carriers of the bay of thieves for £60 and a couple of quick racks.





Dave at equinox has done the body panels and i need to pick them up as they are in his way.

Bob

[SeriesLandy]

Long time no see bob. Glad your back
I was watching those hub carriers (I think)

[robo]

I am never far away Steve but work has been hectic to say the least so not much roadster time. Anyway I have been spying and watching progress As the nights draw in I will get a lot more free time to play with the build.

Bob

[robo]

I purchased some rather nice ali heads to go on the engine when I get round to building it. Big weight saving. These along with the alloy waterpump, manifolds etc get the engine weight down to less than a pinto.

Bob