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-   -   My rebuild updates.. (https://madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showthread.php?t=566)

ricola 5th April 2006 08:48

My rebuild updates..
 
If you have been to my website you will know the background, but here's a quick summary...

I bought the 'green' car from Chris Greville-Smith (GTR designer) after it had been stolen and crashed. It has a few developments on it and I plan to enhance it further.

Plan is to have it in a BMW silver with black leather interior, fit a decent sound system in it (Ed's influence!), electric power steering and a new centre console.

A few pics so far:

As it arrived
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...tom_home_1.JPG


http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_images/front_1.JPG

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_images/rear.JPG
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...interior_1.JPG
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_images/strip_10.JPG

Broken suspension parts will be remade
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_images/strip_12.JPG

Electric assisted steering column with Rover switchgear fitted
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...a_column_1.JPG

Cosworth radiator in case of future engine upgrades
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_images/cossy_rad.JPG

New engine, been sitting around a test rig for years, never been in a car!
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...new_engine.JPG

Beginning of the sound system, it will all be hidden
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_images/pg_comps.JPG

Honda S2000 leather seats fit perfectly!
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...2000_seats.JPG

My website will be kept fully up to date wiht more pics, but I thought a quick summary might be handy..

Rich

Ex-Biker 5th April 2006 13:33

Very nice car.

Looks like it will be a much improved car when it's rebuild.

ricola 12th April 2006 16:34

Starting to fine tune the position of the corsa electric assisted steering column, the mounting points are a fair bit further back than the Rover column ones

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...a_column_4.JPG

Dash moulding will need tweaking to fit more neatly with the corsa shroud

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...a_column_3.JPG

Rich

Patrick 12th April 2006 22:21

Nice choice of speakers! Are you going to need a lot of new bits to repair it?

Which silver you going for, I really like titanium silver - it looks so good in the sun after a good clean and wax.

ricola 13th April 2006 09:14

Ed is leading me down a pricey path for the stereo! Should be a nice quality system when it's all done tho'. The mids will get custom sculpted centre sections in the doors, tweeters in the A pillars and a sub in the back, not sure whether to make it removable or not yet. I'm also going to have to hide 2 amps, crossover and the DAB tuner box somewhere!

I know which silver, but don't know the name. I'll have to get over to a BMW dealership and ask them.

I'm getting a new front section of the body, bonnet and front luggage tray. I want to guarantee no crazing in the future so am being careful about where I make the cuts. Chris has lent me the wishbone jigs for this car so they will be easy to reproduce, I will use the later style bushings which are slightly narrower to give me some caster adjustment in the top wishbones in case I need more self centring with the power steering.

Rich

ricola 22nd April 2006 13:29

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...t_repair_1.JPG

body repair will commence shortly! I also have a new bonnet and front luggage tray..

bgullatt 25th April 2006 05:02

Wow!
 
That is the nicest repair piece I have ever seen. That puts many of the Vette pieces here in the states to shame.

Bill

ricola 25th April 2006 12:32

well it came out of the same mould so quality is the same as the body, they just laid up the section I needed..

Rich

ricola 25th April 2006 21:51

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...t_repair_9.JPG

more details on my website..

kenmorton 25th April 2006 23:07

I take it you won't be taking your car to Stoneligh then. ( :sorry: )

ricola 29th April 2006 18:01

Made some good progress today!

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i..._repair_15.JPG

ricola 6th May 2006 19:46

I've finally sold my GTM Libra which was going to help fund the GTR's completion. Hopefully I'l get a bit of a bump in the enthusiasm stakes and get some more work done now!

Rich

bgullatt 7th May 2006 12:25

You are really making headway. I like the mating jig you laid up. That will probably save you hours of shaping on the seam.

I noticed the moulding around the door glass looks as if it is actually part of the body. In other pictures I assumed it was chrome or black moulding. Is it actually just a contour line that is painted?

When you finish the body reconstruction will you remove the body and refinish the chassis or are you leaving it as is?

Bill

ricola 7th May 2006 15:39

You're right, the side window moulding is actually part of the body. Most people paint it a contrasting colour and I think it really sets off the car.

The plan is to get the body all sorted, then lift it off and fully strip/rebuild the chassis. I'm still contemplating the options of LPG and air con to make it more usable for everyday.

Rich

bgullatt 7th May 2006 21:26

LPG? As in Propane?

ricola 8th May 2006 07:28

As in liquid petroleum gas. You get similar mpg but it's half the price of unleaded in the UK so a conversion would pay for itself pretty quickly..

ricola 31st May 2006 14:26

progressing along nicely now, lots of fine tuning was needed to guarantee the front end ended up in the right place.. lots of upside down fibreglassing!

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i..._repair_24.JPG

Bi-xenon projector headlights from a BMW M3 will fit into custom mouldings.

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_images/bi-xenons.JPG

ricola 5th June 2006 14:12

Body is in one piece again!

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...front_on_1.JPG

Time to get on with the chassis now...

Rich

GJGB 18th June 2006 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricola
If you have been to my website you will know the background, but here's a quick summary...

Honda S2000 leather seats fit perfectly!
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/gtr_i...2000_seats.JPG

Seats look nice! How accessible are the adjustments on the Honda seats? I've got some aftermarket electric Recaro's but am not totally convinced I'll go with them! How about the reclines - wheels or levers on the Honda seats?

Another options I'm looking at are Impreza - my other half had a "classic" WRX (before the current bug-eye one) and the seats in it were very nice! The bug eye has inferior ones.

Cheers
Greg

ricola 18th June 2006 20:47

Hi Greg,
They are quite easy to access, there is a lever at the side of the squab which you lift, this releases the seat forwards but is also used to set the recline position, slide adjustment is by usual lever at front.
One thing I have noticed recently is that the rails have two different brackets at the back, which effectively changed the length between holes, I'll just cut off the longer one and make a duplicate short one..
Hope that helps,
Rich


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