Oxford build - Page 23

oxford1360 · #**441** 28th July 2014, 08:45

T, Paul, Gary, Swifty and Scottie - thanks for the positive comments.

It should look good but will, no doubt, give me some grief on the way. I shall chronicle all aspects just in case another idiot wants to give it a go in the future.

garyh · #**442** 28th July 2014, 09:35

Charming...

oxford1360 · #**443** 28th July 2014, 09:36

That was aimed at me! Perhaps I should have said, "over-ambitious optimist".

Viatron · #**444** 28th July 2014, 16:03

Aren't we all........

Scottie22 · #**445** 28th July 2014, 17:03

We HAVE to be don't we??

oxford1360 · #**446** 3rd August 2014, 17:48

Well, a productive 48 hours......Part I

It is well known that Sammio cockpits are not the place for a tape measure or a straight edge.......

Front.....

Rear......

The crossmeber for the roll hoops makes for a good datum point so I marked a cockpit opening that is within 5mm of being true front-to-back and side-to-side.

and used a bit of hose to get the corner radii looking right (150mm for front and 180mm for rear).

I then drilled holes from above along the outline so that I could see the lines from the inside of the shell.,,,,and cut off the unwanted return.......

and put some formers in place.

I'd planned to use some uPVC strips to provide a former inside but I couldn't get a constant radius with a heat-gun or steam.

So I used 25mm high closed-cell foam. It is 10mm wide so you can get a good contact with the hot glue gun. I parcel-taped the foam before glueing, and then hit it with some gelcoat.

Part II to follow shortly.

oxford1360 · #**447** 3rd August 2014, 18:17

...........after some lunch I went back and laid-up a a couple of layers of 400gsm mat.

This took a couple of hours but the pictures are a bit boring.

This afternoon I returned to start peeling off the wood and the foam and I was really pleased......this is the back.

The side before the original edge is removed.

I trimmed all four edges back to the new lip.

There is now plenty of shoulder room in the driving position which makes life much more comfortable, and there is good space between the steering wheel and the edge. The edges are now in the same plane as the side bars in the frame (and at the front and back).

All in all, a result.

garyh · #**448** 3rd August 2014, 18:26

That tidied up vey well... where do you get that closed cell stuff?

oxford1360 · #**449** 3rd August 2014, 18:33

Very high tech.....a spare camping bed-roll that I had in the loft. By far the cheapest way to buy it as well.

garyh · #**450** 3rd August 2014, 20:35

lateral thinking.

swifty · #**451** 3rd August 2014, 21:40

Nice work Oxford, its a neat tidy job.

The thinking behind the camping bed is what makes these threads excellent, keep up the great thread and looking forward to starting work on my tub.

Scottie22 · #**452** 3rd August 2014, 22:25

It looks like you've done a good job there, and I thought I had problems!

Scottie22 · #**453** 4th August 2014, 14:42

Oxford. I have for the first time read the first page in your thread, and understand the "obsession bit" a little more.

At first I could not understand why the Towed had said his build took two years, (longer than he had anticipated), and wondered why.

I suppose my build has been on the go now for about a year, and like yourself and Towed, I realise I have become "obsessed" and that is why it takes so bloody long!

Everything has to be "just right" and exactly "spot on" and of course, this all adds extra time to the project.

I am now wondering if I will complete mine this year!!!!
Eveything I do seems to throw up more problems which then puts the completion date further and further away.

Good luck with your build, it appears to be going well!

I envy your lovely green painted chassis, mine, although not rusty, looks crap by comparison!

Scottie

oxford1360 · #**454** 4th August 2014, 14:51

Gary, Swifty, Scottie - thanks for your comments; they all help to keep up morale.

Scottie - yes, what started out as a pragmatic "get it on the road" build quickly changed to a "I will probably keep this car until I die so I may as well have it exactly as I want" build. And, as a result, I enjoy just about every minute that I am down at The Glade.

Yes, it can be bloody frustrating, but it is such a great contrast to everyday life.

I would like to have it completed for my 50th - late 2015 - but who knows.

A friend of mine came down to see it yesterday and uttered the that great sentence......."when you build your next one......"

This green one is meant to be a quirky English take on a 50s racer. If I were to make another I think it would be as close to an Ox-blood D24 as I could get.......131 Mirafiori twin cam and gearbox and lots of body detailing. Now, that would become an obsession.

Keep up the great work. I've always loved the SS and yours will be stunning when finished.

Viatron · #**455** 4th August 2014, 15:13

Nice work Oxford your really creating a one off, but then I guess they all are :-)

Thurcroft flyer · #**456** 5th August 2014, 21:12

nice work on the body lip edge, it's great how some of you people make it all seem easy and effortless, take a pat on the back you deserve it.

oxford1360 · #**457** 6th August 2014, 00:10

Thurcroft, thanks, but I'd not done any GRP lay-up before. I got my ideas and techniques from Seanick (see Tribute threads) and Mac, a book, and YouTube. The other trick is to buy lots of materials so that you can do whatever you want when you want.

micky1mo · #**458** 6th August 2014, 08:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by oxford1360

Thurcroft, thanks, but I'd not done any GRP lay-up before. I got my ideas and techniques from Seanick (see Tribute threads) and Mac, a book, and YouTube. The other trick is to buy lots of materials so that you can do whatever you want when you want.

Never-the-less it looks a neat job.
I'll call in soon and have a good look over a cup of tea and a Hob-Nob

Paul L · #**459** 6th August 2014, 19:21

Oxford - Great work.

Plus more ideas for me to steal when I come back to finishing the new cockpit lips on my own build.

Cheers, Paul.

oxford1360 · #**460** 9th August 2014, 19:50

Why does life get in the way of car building? Not as much time as I would have liked this week but I managed to sneak a few hours this morning.

The nice thing about this type of build is being able to swap between mechanicals, fibreglassing and metalworking. This morning I fancied metal, so I started on the hinge and frame for the rear end.

A length of 6mm strap across the back. This will be strengthened with a spine later.

I'm using some gate hinges which will allow vertical adjustment......and the race cars of the 50s were a mix of "high tech" and agriculture. I will cut these to a more sensible length when I know how much adjustment I need.

A bit of cutting and drilling to produce four brackets.

A little bit of welding and stage one is complete. It is square and true, even if the picture suggests otherwise.

The frame to support the deck should be easy (famous last words).

The hinge point will be very close to the under-edge of the rear deck which should mean that it doesn't foul on anything. The removable pins are ex-MOD and look the part. I will add spacers for lateral adjustment.