Miglia Build
 

Hi everyone,
First of all I would like to say that I am very new to kit cars and in fact new to cars in general, so please bare with me while I ask lots of silly questions.
I have been lurking on this forum for a while trying to get my head around Sammio, Ribble and Miglia and thanks to some very useful links by Paul L I think I now know who did what and what is available.
I am very keen on owning a 1950's style Italian inspired sports car. I've been reading through some of the fantastic build threads here and in particular Mr Toweds silver build, DaveCymrus build and I'd probably say Mike from Miglias red car he did for for his customer in Germany (?) is pretty much exactly the direction I would like to go.
I've been looking into prices of a turnkey car from Mike at Miglia and have spoken to him briefly but the more I look into it the more I think I am going in the direction of building the car myself. Mike seems like a pretty busy guy.
Hopefully no one will mind me posting my build thread on here, making lots of school boy errors and asking lots of really basic( silly) questions?
the build will be a little way off yet as I have yet to see a Miglia in person, a few of the reason the Miglia appeals to me is the ease of registration and I believe the driver can sit lower in the cockpit ( I'm about 6'1" tall) and don't want to look like noddy. I also gather Mikes kits are very well thought out and well made, plus I like the idea of using an 'older' donor as opposed to an MX5/Z3.
So firstly I am still very much in the researching stage but would be interested in hearing any ones comments on my choice of Miglia or any suggestions as to what other kits/packages I could look at that are in a similar vein?
I'd also be very keen on seeing any similar cars in person and was wondering if any ribble/sammio/Miglia builds will be at Stoneligh in May? and if so would you mind sparing me a few minutes of your time there?
Thanks for the inspiration, there is some amazing work on this forum!

51TinTop - Welcome to the forum. :cool:

I think I am the current record holder for most school boy errors in a single build.
( And I'm not finished yet. :rolleyes: )

So I wouldn't worry about asking silly questions, as it can save time in the long run.

Just for now, here are a few photos to consider if you are 6' 1"...

Miglia Speedster - Dave Cymru - 6' 2"

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps1c8ea3fc.jpg

Sammio Spyder - Mister Towel - 5' 11"

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...psed7c9810.jpg

Sammio Spyder - Mulberry - 5' 10"

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/...akedown001.jpg[/QUOTE]

So clearly the choice of seat / floor pan arrangement can make a big difference.

Sammio Cordite - Paul L - 5' 8"

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N...o/DSCF2904.JPG

New Sammio Model - Under Construction - "...The seating position vs the side depth of body means you are sat right down inside, not sat on top like the Sammio's..."

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/...ps062676e1.jpg

http://i1329.photobucket.com/albums/...ps75dd54aa.jpg

Plus there is Tribute's A352, but that is clearly a British/Jaguar style and you said you wanted "Italian".

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0...1420674785.jpg

Good luck, Paul. :)

OK, in the time it took me to proof read my post, there is now a finished Miglia for sale & a very nice one at that.

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...ead.php?t=5348

Hi Paul, Thanks so much for the reply and photos, that literally puts things in perspective for me and I think it has made up my mind that a Miglia is the way to go although the new Sammio looks great too.. so is Sammio in business now? and where could I find more info on the new body?
Rattlers car is superb but the more I've been looking into it the more I'm set on building my own.
So I guess my first port of call is locating a donor car and getting cracking on that? From what I can gather the straight six Vitesse is the preferred choice.
Is there any particular year I should be looking for? or anything I should avoid?

51TinTop - Micky1Mo is currently looking to re-launch the Sammio brand.

So it might be worth dropping him a PM about possible timelines.

Details of this new car in development can be found here:

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...ead.php?t=5058

The car is currently in the Tribute Automotive workshop, although they are quite busy launching this.

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/...psa8x35ue1.jpg

My understanding is that this car will be available in either SWB or LWB to fit either a Herald or a Spitfire.

Similarly, the Miglia Speedster should also be available in either Herald or Spitfire format.

So personally I want to decide on the kit before I started buying a donor car.

Hope that helps, Paul. :)

Thanks Paul, it does help. I'm pretty set on the Miglia kit and Vitesse donor which i believe has the longer wheel base.

In case it helps, I also dug out this pic of my old Sammio with custom made lowered floorpans

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...915_165248.jpg

I would say from personal experience that for you as a first time builder (as I was when I did my Sammio) any of this 'type' of kit you will be fine with, so just choose the one you most like the look of :)

Each has their own challenges. On the Sammio you can keep the donor bulkhead in place and leave the steering and gear linkage alone, which I would of been nervous tackling on a first build. But you have other challenges such as the bonnet mounting and hinges to deal with and now that I'm just about done with the initial build of my Miglia I'm happy that there are simple and robust solutions to the quirks of the Miglia.


I'd suggest you start a build thread and not worry about making mistakes as we've all made them and laugh about the, and at the end of the day these cars are so simple that just about everything can be redone with a cutting disc, a bit of fibreglass or a welder :)

Go for it mate, there are no silly questions. Except for "is there really a verbal agreement form?" Haha.

Good luck!
T

Brilliant! Thanks for the replies and photos. They are very helpful,
I'm pretty set on the Vitesse Miglia. I'd still like to see a finished Miglia in person. If there are any Miglia owners reading this who might be at Stoneleigh could you let me know?

Hi Tintop, can recommend the Vitesse as a donor. Any Vitesse will do as they all sound awesome and really suit the 50's style race cars.

Early mk1's have a 70hp 1600, while the later mk1's ('67 on I think) have a 2 litre with 25bhp extra. Some time in '68 the mk2 was introduced with an uprated 105hp 2 litre and double-jointed rear suspension to replace the swing axles of the mk1. Don't fret over the swing axles on the earlier cars, the Sammio/Miglia/What have you cars are so light that there's no issues with jacking while cornering.

I'm aiming to go to Stoneleigh and I'll be driving this -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9bd65255.jpg

...as my next project still looks like this -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psqoddssoa.jpg

Hope you get to build your dream car - I did and I've no regrets whatsoever. :)

Hi Mister Towed.
Thanks so much for joining in. I have enjoyed reading your posts on this forum.
Thanks for the info too, the jacking was something I was concerned about.
Would you object to sparing me a few minutes of your time at Stoneleigh?
I would love to see your car and have a quick chat

choose well
 

Hey tin, not sure where you are in the country but I'm in Worcester. I was in your position this time last year. I decided on the Miglia which I started last september. Its on a spitfire chassis as I found they were the more solid that I found when I was looking for a donor.
My rolling chassis should be completed come the end of March. This coming week I will take some recent build photo and post them. The only thing thats outstanding on my rolling chassis is a gearbox.
My engine of choice is the 2 litre redtop rebuilt for racing but never was,a ford type 9 gearbox, wire wheels, with a bright red Miglia body. My kit will be ordered mid april once I've got some more funds together. Yes Mike seems to be very busy but he has assured me that I can have my kit within a short time.
good luck your project. You're welcome to visit my build at any time.

No problem Tintop, always happy to show off my car. :horn:

Should be going to Stoneleigh on the Monday.

Hi Carib Classics,
Thanks for the reply, I'm in Birmingham. I do like the idea of a Spitfire donor but was concerned they were a shorter wheel base than the Vitesse?
I would like to take you up on the offer of a visit at some point if that's o.k?

Thanks Mr Towed, I'l drop you a pm

spitfire Build
 

Hey 51, are you building a spitfire wheel base Miglia.
I'm in Worcester, not far from you. Lets meet.