Just what should a 'complete chassis' consist of?

[HandyAndy]

Originally Posted by RAYLEE29

I would have to say that to me a complete chassis would be exactly that "complete" in other words ready to receive all the other components without use of a welder.
I dont want to teach granma to suck eggs, but would suggest you build a complete car first then build chassis to the same spec to sell as then you can be confident that nothing has been forgotten and all the bits fit.
Thats what i would do if i were to offer a chassis for sale as "complete"
Ray

what i have in mind, done some research & putting things in place at the mo.

once my own car is complete i will take this further

andy

[RAYLEE29]

I too have considered making "extra" components as i go along and offering them for sale but feel that i should know that the parts fit and are perfect so as to be able to sell with confidence.
as in the case of steering rack extensions if you buy ones made to the book it seems they are too long.
Ray

[mr henderson]

Are there some doubts, then, as to whether or not Chris's design (as updated by the corrections published on this forum) works, then?

Apparently there are.

I can see building a prototype if the design was going to be altered, but sticking to the published design it should be OK, shouldn't it?

Anyway, getting back to the original question, are we all happy that the definition of complete chassis is, as suggested in the original post, just the welded central structure and doesn't include the roll-over bar and the pedal box?

One thing that concerns me with that definition is that without the roll-over baer there are no upper seat belt mountings.

[flyerncle]

Building a car for yourself can include mods to suit your self and correct the differences from the original design that were missed from the book.
Nobody is 100% right all the time and Chris's car has been made to a spec that would not be allowed on the road if not roadworthy and safe,then we add the human element of the home builder.

Chris's design is well tested as Martin Keenan I believe had a helping hand in it and there are a lot of similar kits and cars around.
Surely Haynes would not have anything to do with it if it were not 100% safe and tested.
I hope your venture works out Mr Henderson,in this day and age it's nice to see someone making headway.

[mr henderson]

Originally Posted by flyerncle

I hope your venture works out Mr Henderson,in this day and age it's nice to see someone making headway.

Thanks you for the encouraging words. My main venture is helping other people build their cars, and that seems to be pretty much ongoing. I've got another two cars coming in this week. The chassis doings is pretty much a filling in thing, and a response to the difficulty I experienced when trying to buy one.

It will be a little while before I have one ready to sell because I am spending a lot of time on getting the equipment, the jig and the techniques right, instead of just steaming ahead. If, in the meantime, somebody else is able to produce and offer a chassis then I may well become a buyer instead of a seller. Just have to wait and see, I guess.

I'll be getting somebody else to do the welding, as I am neither quick enough nor neat enough. My assembly is good, though, and my material preparation spot on.

No problem with Chris's design but if someone intends to make chassis to sell on then they need to build a car and get it tested to prove it's safe....a drawing is just a drawing at the end of the day..

Good luck to anyone getting into the weird world of kit cars especially the way the world is these days, often makes me wonder why I did....

[mr henderson]

Originally Posted by fabbyglass

No problem with Chris's design but if someone intends to make chassis to sell on then they need to build a car and get it tested to prove it's safe....a drawing is just a drawing at the end of the day..

But the problem with that is that the chassis being sold would not be the one that was being 'tested'.

I will be interested in hearing Chris G's thoughts on this one, whether he feels that a chassis built to the specs and dimensions given in his book, and ammended in line with the information published on this forum, would in any way be unsuitable for sale.

Personally I think the idea that a complete car needs to be built in order to test the design does rather fly in the face of both the published (and ammended) design and the cars that have already been built.

If what people are getting at is that the design might be OK, but my building of it might not be, then they should come out and say so directly. I have already said that it won't be me welding it, I will get a coded welder to do that, and it will be built to the published and ammended design and dimensions, so just what is the problem? Please be more specific in your replies.

Build a car and even non kit car folk will know what it is even if they do say "ooo it's a Westfield" make a chassis and 99% of folk won't know what it is.....simples!:

Also there are welders and then there are fabricator/welders two different things....I know a bloke who can weld like you won't believe, it's annoying how neat it is yet ask him to work to drawings, cut steel and make something and he is buggered...coding covers a set welding procedure not actually making something and usually the test piece is done by someone else and all you have to do is weld it up correctly...not easy but doable

[mr henderson]

Originally Posted by fabbyglass

Also there are welders and then there are fabricator/welders two different things....I know a bloke who can weld like you won't believe, it's annoying how neat it is yet ask him to work to drawings, cut steel and make something and he is buggered...coding covers a set welding procedure not actually making something and usually the test piece is done by someone else and all you have to do is weld it up correctly...not easy but doable

I'm sure you are trying to be helpful, but I wonder whether you are perhaps skimming what I have written (I know I tend to write long posts) rather than reading it. I have already said that I will be doing the material prepartion and assembly, and someone else will be welding it.

I may not be a fast fabricator, but I'm a bloody good one (not really 'talent' just obsessive attention to detail).

Oh, and by the way, the intention is only to offer chassis to people who already know what a Haynes Roadster is, so no need to build a complete car for the purpose of showing them.