Yesterday saw the arrival of the first shell at Ribble HQ. As Viatron's is now in (or possibly by now, out) the mould, we're getting a wriggle on with the new frame.
You will have seen previous photos of the prototype but in the interim, we've had some thoughts as how to make the design even better so we're starting over. Firstly, we realise that virtually everyone will want lowered floors so why not build that into the frame itself?
By replacing the side and cross rails for the floor support with 3" x 1" box section, and lowering it on to the chassis so that the top of the section is level with the top of the chassis, we can weld in a steel plate at the bottom, effectively giving a lowered floor as well as some good strength to the frame.
To that end, we've measured the shell at the floor position, placed the rear cross member position where it can support a bulkhead tucked in to the rear of the cockpit and the centre cross member so it rests at the front of the chassis cowhorns. When this is dropped down, an angled bracket will allow the frame to be bolted into the original mounting holes.
As it progresses, I will put photos up here so the words above can make more sense so here are a couple to start with. Note that the floor is being initially fabricated as one piece and when we're happy with everything, it will be cut to fit either side of the chassis rails.
