Davecymru's Build thread

[tlrtone]

I have always thought that with a list of fail items, it is a great result as you then know what to deal with. I have put many cars through MOT's with a couple of minor points, knowing it will fail so I can get the full list to work with.

Sounds like you've got it all under control and well done for getting this far - those are minor bits after basically building your whole car, so good news. And yep, I am with you, work with your tester as it is better all round and you know you end up with a safe car! I have done the same wiht many bike MOT's over the years, especially putting quiet exhausts on for the MOT!

Overall, you have done a great job and to say you have built the kit car from scratch is a huge acheivement over most of the population! Being in IT though I am surprised you have not got WIFi and GPS and 3G built in!
Maybe you can look at it on a wireless IP camera on your smartphone when you are not there or a media centre in the boot!

Nice to see it on the road though, I want to get mine done now. Put some bits on ebay already so the dismantling will begin in earnest this weekend.

[andrewhush]

Dave

my first post on the web so here goes.

Back in 1980 I built a vitesse based Spartan kit. The instructions for the kit recommended fitting softer springs to compensate for the harsher ride that would result from fitting a lighter body and to restore the ride height to standard. The advice was to go one step down the following list.

vitesse 238 lb/in
herald and spit iv 200 lb/in
spit i-iii 150 lb/in

i.e. vitesse engined kit should use herald springs and herald and spitfire engined kits should use the lighter spitfire springs

With new standard dampers (couldn't afford adjustables in those days) the ride was a bit firmer than the herald saloon I also had at the time but still comfortable. At the back end I changed the vitesse leaf spring for a second hand one from a GT6 but this sat a bit low as it was fairly tired. A new GT6 spring worked perfectly with the chassis sitting at the same height at both ends.

Hope this helps

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by andrewhush

Dave

The advice was to go one step down the following list.

vitesse 238 lb/in
herald and spit iv 200 lb/in
spit i-iii 150 lb/in

i.e. vitesse engined kit should use herald springs and herald and spitfire engined kits should use the lighter spitfire springs

Hope this helps

Excellent answer! I've spent months tyring to think of a way to lower the front end without making it over stiff and I think that might just be the solution.

[davecymru]

What a good idea, thanks Andrew! Being a relative 'youngster' i've always fancied a set of the adjustable shocks just to play with, but i might still experiment with the Herald springs depending on how it goes, cheers

Originally Posted by tlrtone

Being in IT though I am surprised you have not got WIFi and GPS and 3G built in!
Maybe you can look at it on a wireless IP camera on your smartphone when you are not there or a media centre in the boot!

Been there done that with my old XK8, to which i upgraded all the speakers, fitted a free-air sub and then added a double din touchscreen carputer, TV and DVD Player, along with a night vision reversing camera and about 32gb of solid state storage which i could all sync with the house PC

For the Sammio though I'm going completley the other way and only having the absolutely bare minimum with no unnecessary extras at all It's not even got a heater atm, although i may relent on that one!

That said.....
I do have one idea for integrating a 10" tablet PC in between the tunnel top and the dash, to provide a media hub, add additional instrumentation and to double check the accuracy of the speedo. But that's on-hold until after i finally get it through the MOT

[tlrtone]

That said.....
I do have one idea for integrating a 10" tablet PC in between the tunnel top and the dash, to provide a media hub, add additional instrumentation and to double check the accuracy of the speedo. But that's on-hold until after i finally get it through the MOT

I've got an iPad that I might recess into the dashboard

[lancelot link]

You do that and I have got two i-patches I might have to wear !!

[Psycho pops]

Dave,
No mention of rear reflectors, did you fit them or were they overlooked, this is still a concern of mine.
Psycho

[davecymru]

They weren't mentioned.
Since this started being discused, I have been looking around at a lot of production cars during the daily commute and quite a lot don't have seperate reflectors. They seem to rely on ones built in to the rear lights, or the reflectiveness of the lights themselves.

I wouldn't worry about it, just do what I have done and pick up two small round reflectors (i got mine from the Exeter show) for a couple of quid and keep them on the shelf just in case.

[Mister Towed]

Both the Construction and Use Regulations and the MOT manual are pretty clear on this one - all vehicles need a pair of rear reflectors regardless of their date of manufacture.

I'm including a pair in my rear light set mainly to help prevent anyone driving into the back of me if the electrics fail and I coast to a stop in the middle of nowhere in the dark, which is why the regs require them in the first place.

But you pays your money you takes your choice...

[davecymru]

That's fair enough but how this is implemented is weird as from what i've seen in practice a lot of manufacturers use the reflectiveness of the rear lights to class as reflectors and that is the route I'm also going to use, at least for the time being.

i.e. i was behind a new style VW beetle this morning, and there was no sign of rear reflectors at all. But a Megane that passed me had the full on Jimmy Saville jingle jangle reflector set on all corners

[Mister Towed]

Like many modern cars the 'new' beetle has its reflectors incorporated in the rear light unit. If you look closely you'll see that there's a reflective outer ring surrounding the inside of the unit which complies with the regs. After all, there's no mention of the reflectors needing to be separate from the lights.

[davecymru]

Well spotted that man!
I may just bolt on my two reflectors before the retest to be on the safe side.

[Patton]

Skippy went passed no reflectors and not alot else!

[davecymru]

Progress update:

6) N/S & O/S front springs incomplete!

FIXED - New shocks and springs arrived and being fitted.

7)O/S drive shaft rubbing on flexi-hose.

FIXED - Looks like someone way back in the mists of time had re-welded the flexi-hose bracket on (badly) and with the lowering of the rear end, the pipe was rubbing slightly, but only with weight (i.e. me) in the car! Easy fix, bent bracket to proper angle, problem sorted!


8) N/S rear lower suspension joint, excessive wear.

IN PROGRESS - Rear trunion lining & bushing replacement kit arrived and i tried removing the rear lower trunion bolts last night, but they're going nowhere!
Tried screwing a nut on the end of the bolt and "persuading" with a hammer, but i ended up taking the skin off of three of my knuckles and the bolt only moved about 1mm.

Any advise / help on how to remove this while keeping my remaining knuckles in tact would be appreciated!

[garyh]

I know you have a compressor, do you have any air tools? like a chisel...
hot air gun around housing? more WD, if it moved a mm it should go again, just keep hand out of way

[davecymru]

Can i first of all apologise that this post will have a certain "carry-on" tint to it and that Mister Towed may have to leave the room for a glass of water before the end!

I have now finally got to the bottom of my rear end problems and i've managed to remove my sticky trunions by stripping everything apart and going at it hammer and tongs with some power tools.

I'm now in a position to insert the new linings, reassemble and give everything a darn good lube'ing.

I would recommend that any builder gives their trunions a least a once over during their build as years of neglect can lead to sticking and extra wear and this is easiest to spot and remedy when everything is stripped.

[Mister Towed]

Fnaar. Fnaar. Glup...

[davecymru]

I'm currently up to my elbows in grease and crud from the brakes and trunions and i'm realising that the old Haynes manuals could really do with more photos!

So after a quick check of this'ere interweb, i found some pages that while primarily Spitfire related, are also relevant to us Herald/Vitesse types and have loads of good hints, tips and photos for stripping, cleaning and rebuilding brakes!

http://www.totallytriumph.net/spitfire/brakes.shtml

In those pics it shows that the top springs go "behind" the brake shoes. On mine they were on front, so either someone somewhere over the last 43 years made a boo boo on mine or the Heralds are different?

Any of you lot know which they should go for us?

[mulberry]

dave my springs were fitted behind the shoe`s this helps to pull them inwards, fitting to the front is the easyer, but tends to pull them forward and can cause binding drums and uneven wear..

[davecymru]

Superb ta!¬