New member

jw52 · #1 1st September 2011, 22:18

Hi All, I'm new to this site building a Spyder based on a Mk2 Vitesse,picked up my kit from Gary a few weeks ago know, got the body on to my chassis and am in the process of wooding out, Rebody check booked for 21st of this month at my local office,so keeping everything crossed. Ive been reading your entries on the forum and found an interesting read. I'll try and upload a couple pics when I get them loaded. Good luck John.

jmc14 · #2 1st September 2011, 23:10

Good luck with your build. I can't wait to get my body and get started on my build.

Psycho pops · #3 1st September 2011, 23:40

Great site for help and advice John, Where abouts are you based?
Cheers Stewart

Mister Towed · #4 2nd September 2011, 07:07

Welcome aboard, John. Looking forward to seing some pics of your progress.

jw52 · #5 2nd September 2011, 07:41

Hi Guys Thanks for the replys, I'm in Essex looking through your threads it would seem that most of you are in the South West.I'll upload some Pics when I work out how.It's amazing how quickly you can progress with this build it was only a short while ago that I was looking at a rolling chassis.

davecymru · #6 2nd September 2011, 08:27

Welcome to the club matey, it's nice to see that Gary has decided to sell a body to someone outside of Devon/Somerset for a change, i was starting to worry that he's got a thing for the West country accent

I'd love to see some pics of your build as I'm also building on a Vitesse MK2 and i've been noticing some differences between my build and the Herald guys, so it'll be interesting to double check some things with you!

Best of luck with the build.

Dave

jw52 · #7 2nd September 2011, 08:43

Hi Dave, I've looked through your threads and am impressed with your detailed Pic's nice job, did you complete the ply interior before your Rebody check, I wasn't too sure if it would be best to leave the interior framework exposed for all to see! I am very impatient and like to crack on with things. The only snag I've got at the Mo is the front suspension I've lowered the springs about two and a half coils, and that has brought the camber in nicely, but I know find because of the weight of the six pot probably, that I haven't got the clearance at the bulk head even with the standard 13 inch rims, looks to me like I will have to use my best persuader to engineer the bulkhead and create more space. How have you overcome this?

Mister Towed · #8 2nd September 2011, 08:53

Just for reference, I'm based in West Norfolk and my donor is a mk1 two litre Vitesse.

So far, it seems the biggest difference between Herald and Vitesse builds is the lack of space at the front end to fit the radiator under the bonnet.

I bought my donor months back and spent a fair bit of time (and money) getting it running before committing to buy the body kit.

As the crank driven fan was damaged on my donor engine I replaced it with a 16" electric fan, but I had to raise the radiator 30mm for the motor to clear between the crank pully and water pump pully. Then Gary tells me I need to lower the rad by 65mm to clear the bonnet...

In typical Sammio style I'll be addressing this problem as and when I get to that part of the build: I've had a couple of ideas but I reckon I'll be able to make up some Z brackets to move the radiator backwards and downwards while leaving space on the front of the rad for the big electric fan. As I'll probably have to grind some of the chassis away for clearance I'm going to wait until after reclassification to avoid iva. If that doesn't work I might just fit two smaller fans or one medium sized one.

BTW, if you go down the electric fan route, don't go spending a fortune on brand name parts, the 16" curved blade one I got new from ebay was £28 and is really good quality, while the thermostat controller was under £20.

Once I get some free time (School holidays end next week!) I'll start my own build thread and post some pics.

davecymru · #9 2nd September 2011, 10:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by jw52

did you complete the ply interior before your Rebody check, I wasn't too sure if it would be best to leave the interior framework exposed for all to see! I am very impatient and like to crack on with things.

Same here

I just "got on with it" and had it all boxed in by the time the inspection came. They were fine though as they can see from underneath that the chassis hadn't been altered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jw52

The only snag I've got at the Mo is the front suspension I've lowered the springs about two and a half coils, and that has brought the camber in nicely, but I know find because of the weight of the six pot probably, that I haven't got the clearance at the bulk head even with the standard 13 inch rims, looks to me like I will have to use my best persuader to engineer the bulkhead and create more space. How have you overcome this?

When you say you haven't got space, where do you mean exactly? can you get pics?

So far i've only taken 60mm off the springs as i too was concerned about the weight of the straight 6 compared to the 4 pot.
But i did that chop after the body was all mounted and the swing spring and lowering block were already fitted to the rear.

With 60mm off the front and the mods to the back suspension, the chassis ended up being just about level, but due to what i've been told are differences in the Vitesse chassis over the Herald, my body tub was slightly higher at the front.

What i've found this week now that i've got the bonnet mounted is that the front is still a bit too high (lots of air above the front wheels!) and i'm going to need to chop a bit more off the springs when i get my new wheels and tyres turn up.
Although I'm VERY tempted to just say stuff-it and buy some height adjustable shocks!

davecymru · #10 2nd September 2011, 10:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Towed

Then Gary tells me I need to lower the rad by 65mm to clear the bonnet...

I'd say it was more like 62mm in my case once i added spacers.... but that's just me being picky

jw52 · #11 2nd September 2011, 11:23

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Hi Dave I find that when the wheels are on full lock the rim of the tyre is very close to the front edge of the bulkhead,I have got maybe about 20mm but this dosn't seem like alot considering the tyres have very little tread.I was hopeing to put 14inch wheels on but they wouldn't stand a chance of fitting without serious bulkhead mods.
I think your right with the ply I'll just crack on with it,I am waiting for a roll hoop from Gary before I can fit the back panel as it will be much easier to fix in place rather than trying to work through the wheel arches.
Hopefully these Pics have loaded.

Cheers John

jw52 · #12 2nd September 2011, 11:41

Hi Mister Toad,
Nice to find someone who isn't the other side of the country.
I am hopeing to use the original fan I had a problem with the rad had it fitted but then sprung a leak so have sent it to Boston Rads should be back any day now. I havn't tried fitting the bonnet yet so I am sure that will open up a whole new kettle of fish,spoke to Gary he also told me to lower the rad by 65mm but I found when I did this the bottom hose was impossible to fit even after being modified so raised it by 20mm and that did the trick,but as I say I havn't got the bonnet on. I quite agree with this project it's a case of tackle the problems as they arise,but all in all so far nothing is out of reach of the average home builder.
Cheers John.

Mister Towed · #13 2nd September 2011, 16:48

Funnily enough my radiator leaked too. Although my donor came with a new radiator core fitted it leaked from the bottom hose connector. When I took the rad out and had a closer look it hadn't ever been brazed in, it was just push fitted. Sadly, the days of a local engineering company doing a quick fix on your radiator for the price of a pint are long gone, so I too had to send mine away and pay £45 to have it done properly.

The recon engine also leaks oil from the sump gasket while petrol was leaking from the strombrergs. That was an interesting moment once I had replaced the broken starter motor the first time I turned the key the starter solenoid exploded sending a shower of sparks into the stream of fuel peeing out of the bottoms of the float chambers. I had visions of my eyebrows disappearing in a massive fireball but I got lucky. I've now rebuilt the carbs and replaced all the starter electrics but I'm seriously considering fitting an automatic fire supression system under the bonnet, especially since I went to a job last week where an MGB had gone up in flames at the roadside while it was being driven by the owner's daughter. Luckily nobody was injured but the seat of the fire had started in the engine bay in the electrics below the carburettors...

Anyway, keep on Sammio - ing.

Mister Towed · #14 2nd September 2011, 16:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by davecymru

Same here

I just "got on with it" and had it all boxed in by the time the inspection came. They were fine though as they can see from underneath that the chassis hadn't been altered.

When you say you haven't got space, where do you mean exactly? can you get pics?

So far i've only taken 60mm off the springs as i too was concerned about the weight of the straight 6 compared to the 4 pot.
But i did that chop after the body was all mounted and the swing spring and lowering block were already fitted to the rear.

With 60mm off the front and the mods to the back suspension, the chassis ended up being just about level, but due to what i've been told are differences in the Vitesse chassis over the Herald, my body tub was slightly higher at the front.

What i've found this week now that i've got the bonnet mounted is that the front is still a bit too high (lots of air above the front wheels!) and i'm going to need to chop a bit more off the springs when i get my new wheels and tyres turn up.
Although I'm VERY tempted to just say stuff-it and buy some height adjustable shocks!

Funnily enough I spent yesterday afternoon at the motor heritage centre at Gaydon. Great day out for a petrolhead and loads of interactive things to keep the family happy. But what struck me was the original stance of most of the sports cars on display being nose high: The Spitfire 1500, for example, has loads of daylight between the tops of the front wheels and the underside of the wheelarches. I'm also a fan of the old beetle and read an article in Volksworld recently about VW having to raise the front of the beetle to improve high speed stability when they introduced the more powerful 1500 engine. It seems that the centre of pressure moves too far back on a car if the nose is level making the front end go light at speed.

Anyway, that's the technical angle but sod that, I'm going to slam my front end ito the weeds so it looks cool.

jw52 · #15 2nd September 2011, 18:39

I with you there at the end of the day it will be booted with whatever will fit!

Roadster · #16 2nd September 2011, 20:57

hi and welcome i am based in the essex / london border so you are not over here on your own.

East coast is now represented

jw52 · #17 2nd September 2011, 21:23

Thanks for all your comments and advice, I'll let you all know how things are going as work progresses. Cheers Guys

Psycho pops · #18 3rd September 2011, 03:25

East Coast is definitely covered, If i go any further East then I will be V wet.
Psycho - North Norfolk

Mister Towed · #19 3rd September 2011, 07:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho pops

East Coast is definitely covered, If i go any further East then I will be V wet.
Psycho - North Norfolk

I can't go any further East because of the queues of caravanners blocking all roads to the coast.
Mister Towed - West Norfolk.

soporsche · #20 5th September 2011, 15:22

Hi John

Another SS not too far away, Im on the London/Kent borders...
Mines on 14inch rims on wires but doesnt seem to foul the body, not that I remember anyway as I havnt seen it in months. Its been off having a few mods and hopefully should be in home garage in a few weeks, then the tinkering starts and I have a long list of bits to sort

!
Its been re-registered, new suspension fitted, 1500 spit engine in (currently with electrical woes), roll hoop, small bonnet scoop to fit twin SU's, panelled & trimmed interior, modded old Morris seats in trimshop at mo, and a few other minor bits.
Whats the exhaust system you have on yours - looks beefy? I have stock at the moment but Im considering side exit, may be a bit noisy/hot so prob a twin aftermarket will be the way I'll go in the end.
Anyway, welcome aboard!
Stephen