So all in all I ended up with this lot on my Pool table!

Attachment 505

Looks like no pool for a week or so while I paint everything...

:frusty:

So quite a productive weekend in some ways, at least I can get on and paint everything ready for re-assembly.

Hopefully the weather will cheer up a bit so I can sort out the chassis next weekend! :biggrin1:

I'll bet 2p you end up with a bit left over after you've put it back together :-)

That's a given! :biggrin1:

What a fantastic weekend for building a Sammio!
The weather was great all weekend, so I made it my goal to get the chassis welded and painted.

I started off with this (and even this is after about a gallon of nitromors and lots of scraping)

Attachment 519

Yesterday I welded and got the grinder out to flatten out some of the previous patches that had been blobbed on. So by the end of Saturday I ended up looking like this....

Attachment 520

So today was just about getting it painted and ready for the build next weekend. This is what it looks like now...

Attachment 521

During the week I did get some more bits into the lounge to paint, so the car is slowily making its way into the house bit by bit.:smile:

Hopefully this week I will get the last few bits painted so it is all ready to go together.

I did also start to have a look at the engine, although I just got some foaming Gunk stuff that actually worked really well! The sump gasket and the rocker cover gasket were both leaking so there was a lot of oil and crud to remove!

Attachment 522

I am hoping to get the chassis together next weekend and then on to getting the floorboards in and the frame on so I can get on with the few mods I am planning.

Your chassis is looking really good! If mine comes out anything like that I'll be happy

Looking great.

Nice! i'm jealous of your chassis :)

I have eventually got round to updating my website! www.mysammiospyder.co.uk

I am setting myself a target of getting the chassis rolling this weekend, although we have some friends coming - one of whom is a car sprayer, so I may be getting him drunk enough to agree to paint my Spyder. We had a similar situation 3 years ago when he agreed to paint my Herald 13/60 :thumb::becky:

So I have not quite hit my target of getting the chassis rolling this week, as work seemed to get in the way!

I did manage to get all the new UJ's fitted....

Attachment 533

And built up the rear hubs and axles.....

Attachment 536


And then I played with the handbrake assembly, and made up a bracket to weld onto the frame this weekend. I will weld the nut on so I don't need spanners etc under the car to remove it in future!

Attachment 534

I am going to use a TR7 handbrake assembly as it has easy mounting plates and the connection is below. I am going to make up some easy way of adjusting the handbrake, but haven't though that far ahead yet! I will have a play when the frame is mounted.

Attachment 535

SO hopefully this weekend I will :

1. Get the chassis rolling!
2. Get the floorpans made
3. Trial fit the frame and have a look at the petrol tank mountings....

Well, this weekend moved things on a-pace! :flame:

I got the chassis rolling and tried on the frame for size....

Attachment 547


I then cut the floorboards (anyone interested I got 18 exterior plywood which i will coat with resin and paint in due course - B&Q I got them to cut a 8'4' sheet into two bits 950mm x 700mm which required just a but of shaping and trimming.) The bits of wood I had left over will be used for the storage bin and other bits around the car so it won't get wasted!

Attachment 549


I then made up the frame for the petrol tank and a storage compartment behind the rear seats.... Everything is tack welded as my welder was playing us so I will get a bigger one for next weekend


Attachment 548


I then cut the frame for the door pockets I want to put in and mounted the handbrake pivot and handbrake lever - so that works now too!

Attachment 550


So all in all a good weekends work and several trial fits of the body to get things looking right. I did have to cut and tweak the frame to fit, although I kind of expected to do a bit of fiddling, so that wasn't a big trauma.

I still have the seat belt mounts to sort out and the welding to complete, but I am certainly where I wanted to be at this stage, so I am chuffed with the progress.

Next weekend I want to get all the welding done, and the storage bin lined, which will also form the inner wheel arches at the rear. I am going to do a lot of that while the body is off. And I am going to start on the wiring!

NICE WORK Tony .....

keep it up !

Great job and nice pic's. That's exactly where I'm going to put my fuel tank so it will be great reference material for me. :love:

Towed, the rear frame on mine stands on two "feet" that will bolt onto the rear chassis struts, so as not to make any changes to the chassis for inspection purposes.

I did make mine a little high and have just noticed that the body rests on it at the back. However, that said, I am using 15" wheels and a 80mm lowering block so it gives just enough clearance IMHO. The suspension needs to settle down a bit and obviously with a full tank of fuel and my lardy frame in it, it will probably look slammed!

The tank is mounted with the sender facing backwards so I can change it at a later date if it buggers up and I will weld the bolts in so it is easy to refit tank by "hanging" it on the bolts before putting the nuts on! The tank should just come out the back underneath should I ever need to change it! I will coat it liberally in waxoly and it has had 3 thick coats of chassis paint so hopefully that won't be necessary in my lifetime!!

Here are a couple of extra shots for you...

Attachment 551

Attachment 552

Attachment 553

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Looks great and leaves a nice big luggage bay by the look of it. Will be copying!

That is such a cool mod, nice!


Are you going to create a "boot" in the space you've now created?

If so then remember to design it so that you can get to the bolts on top of the leaf spring in case you ever need to get the diff out, although fingers crossed you never will :) The only reason i mention this, is because i was under my car the weekend and it's only now that it's all together i realise that a few of my design decisions won't make for the most accessible solution should things go wrong :)

dave, the luggage space will be accessible via a hinged lockable panel in the cockpit. There will be an access hatch at the rear to get to the spring bolts, but they will also be accessible with the petrol tank removed - which is simply bolted in and will come out underneath at the rear easy enough! I am not putting in a bootlid or access panel in the body, don't want to ruin the lines.

I am trying to think ahead but will surely have fogotten something! :frusty:

Just brought my floorpans in now and gave them a coat of fibreglass resin to waterproof them. Several coats of paint this week to them and the frame (which will be fully weleded in the next few days) and I will be ready to get the body bonded on! :biggrin1:

Engine hopefully in too at the weekend!:faint2:

Wow, you're really making some progress now and we seem to have the same ideas when it comes to luggage space and access to bits that might need replacing one day. Looking forward to your next update. :biggrin1:

Hi, great progress, really enjoy the updates and photos. Keeping me sane at the mo as banned from stripping our donor until the DIY is done.

I am glad it's keeping you going. I must admit ot being a bit hooked on the build at the moment. I am either pottering in the garage cleaning something, or planning the next part of the build on the PC. I have made a list of the bits I will need to buy to finish the build, so roll on pay-day!

The frame has now been fully welded, including new seatbelt mounts and has had the first coat of black chassis paint applied today. The floorpans also got coated in fibreglass resin and a coat of black paint on the underside. I will do the top side when I have bonded everything in.

I am really aiming to get the body on and bonded this weekend, so I will also need to look at the wiring. Engine in next weekend, then off to get the registration doc changed by the end of the month hopefully!

PS I have just updated my website with more photos.... www.mysammiospyder.co.uk

The last couple of days, I have managed to spend the early evening welding up my modified frame and getting it painted...

Attachment 557

I welded in some seatbelt mountings as well while I was at it. :idea:

I also got my engine enamel painted and got most of the ancillaries on my table with a coat of paint on, so it will hopefully all be ready to go back on at the weekend. I really want to get the engine in this weekend! :biggrin1:

I also stripped down the old wiring loom and won a couple of old ones on fleabay so I can modify them to suit my needs. My aim is to get the wiring done while the body is off so it is a whole lot easier to do! :hippie:
Roll on the weekend - although the weather looks pretty crap so may scupper my plans totally!!