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Go Back   Madabout Kitcars Forum > Mad Build Area > Marlin Sportster, Cabrio, Berlinetta and Roadster builds

Marlin Sportster, Cabrio, Berlinetta and Roadster builds Enthused or Confused about your vintage Marlin build? Ask away here or show off your build.

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  #81  
Old 3rd March 2015, 00:47
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scimjim scimjim is offline
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while you're in B&Q looking for parrafin:



just made my fourth grille and I must be nearly halfway through the roll
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  #82  
Old 3rd March 2015, 07:44
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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Thank you, that's a good idea. I rarely go into B&Q since they introduced the self service tills... I will take my son Michael, he seems to like them for some strange reason???
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  #83  
Old 5th March 2015, 23:12
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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Default Un-planned extra task

I never liked the hinges on the Berlinetta. They were ugly and ill-conceived.

Because of the way my new engine side panels worked, I needed to take the side panels back to the front of the doors. That meant cutting out for the hinges. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted to make concealed hinges. Far neater and more functional. OK the doors won't open to 90º but who needs 90º door opening anyway.

So, rather reluctantly I bit the bullet. I was reluctant because my experience of this type of hinge is limited to say the least. However, I am very pleased about how they have worked out. It has taken me three days to do it, but I think it has been worth the effort. The doors still open to about 60º, which I think is enough, especially given how wide they are.

I used some off-cuts of 2" box section and several cutting disks! The doors are now more adjustable than they were and close more nicely. The channel is drilled and tapped and bolted to the inner panel of the door. I need to fit door check straps to prevent damage to the side panels.

This is what the original hinges look like at the n/s door:



This the 'after' pic with the new side panel in position with the door hung on my new hinges:



This is with the door open to about maximum:



The actual hinge, dismantled:



This is with the hinge in the fully open position with the side panel removed to show the cut out in the hinge:



Perhaps I can get back to the tasks of finishing the fuel supply pipes and making the bonnet now...

Yesterday evening I had a session on my friends lathe. I made a 'Y' piece union for the fuel pipe, I modded my angle grinder nut so it would grip the 1mm cutting disks properly and I made a threaded insert for my Marlin gear lever knob.

Last edited by 8 Valve Ed; 5th March 2015 at 23:18..
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  #84  
Old 7th March 2015, 23:36
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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A brilliant day today, I closed off a few minor tasks and started the bonnet!

I soldered and fitted the fuel union I made on Wednesday. It takes the output from the two fuel pumps and connects them to the main feed to the engine.

The fuel pumps are connected to separate suction tubes, one reaching almost to the bottom of the tank, which will be used as standby and reserve, the other pump's suction tube is shorter by about 30mm and will be regarded as the 'main' pump so it will run out leaving a reserve of about 30mm which should be a useful standby.





Here are a couple of pix of the bonnet, only the off side today, tomorrow I intend to do the near side. I formed the curve and toe gentle radios at the back of the panel on the English wheel with a rubber band on the top wheel. It worked really well although I do have some tracking marks, I think they will blend out as I continue to finish the body. They only show on close examination.

I was concerned about the transition from the flat section at the front of the panel to a 1200mm radius at the back where it sits in the rebate at the front of the scuttle. It seems to have come out perfectly.



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  #85  
Old 8th March 2015, 06:42
reneanglia reneanglia is offline
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Bonnet looks really nice.
The fuel connector thingy has a solid mount and the pipes are not clamped,are you not worried they will crack?
The copper fual lines i made in my hotrod are supported every 5 inch in rubber D-clamps to prevent this..........works well.
Better save as sorry.
René
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  #86  
Old 8th March 2015, 09:25
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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Thank you most kindly! I am hugely relieved the bonnet is working out. I came across some photographs of a Royale yesterday, this has thrown me into something of a dilemma. The Royale bonnet has a fold down of the panel at the hinge, avoiding having a row of rivets each side of the hinge. However, if I am to benefit from Scotties example, the detail is everything. It makes up for other shortcomings in the build which are impossible to achieve.

I am trying to make the car more like the original1930 Alfa Romeo cars, upon which they were originally (loosely) based, they have nice round head solid rivets along the hinges. They can be seen in many photographs I have of the original cars.






You make a very good point about the fuel pipes. They are unsupported at present, I have been considering how best to support them neatly because the whole fuel pump area is becoming a mess. I had originally tried to keep it simple and neat but with the pumps, pipes, filters and 'stuff' it's lost it's tidy appearance. I may devise a bracket from the side of the tub, or perhaps a longer piece of metal under the pipe. I am now wondering if the solid mounting under the union was such a good idea... I may replace it with a rubber bobbin to de-stress the pipe, or even leave it un-mounted. I had liked the idea of a solid mounting but now realise that will cause the copper pipes to flex, work hardening the metal and possibly leading to a fracture, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

I still have to make the fuel filler connection, another 'unknown' I have yet to decide how I am to achieve that. I didn't like the way it was mounted originally, far too close to the boot lid aperture.

I am considering boxing the fuel pump area off with an easily removable panel, both for neatness and safety, preventing them from being damaged by any loose objects in the boot.
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  #87  
Old 8th March 2015, 09:55
reneanglia reneanglia is offline
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If you make a 45 degree angle in the fuelpipe above the pump and you a small piece of rubber hose to connect it to the pump,than run the copper pipe against the floor area,drill a hole in the piece of box section it's now clamped on,run the pipe trough the box and clamp it down with D-clamp(with a rubber sleeve)it would't look much better.
Don't clamp the connector thinghy,just clamp the fuel lines about 1 inch before and after the thinghy.
Personally i am not fond on soldering fuel lines,i rather use pieces of rubber hose to connect them.
I use a Y shaped plastic connector to put 1 into 2 lines with hose clamps,with a roadside repair you can always find it easy to repair with a piece of rubber hose.Soldering at the roadside is a bit difficult sometimes.
René
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  #88  
Old 8th March 2015, 10:25
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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Thank you Rene for your input, it is much appreciated. This is a really critical aspect of the restoration. I don't want to build in a poorly designed feature of such an important aspect of the car.

I will go back to the drawing board on this.

I can't easily go on the boot floor because the suspension bracket for the damper is in the way, which is why I went over the top of it. I am not sure what thread the fuel pump outlet union uses because I was reluctant to remove it and break the seal. I will do that now and establish if I can obtain or make a 90º elbow connector for the pump.

What it really needs is a 90º elbow outlet connector the same as the main pump with the red dot sticker has. That would improve the pipework a lot. I may go with a plastic 'Y' piece connecter but had avoided them because plastic can become brittle especially perhaps with the high ethanol content petrol we now 'enjoy'.

More thought needed!

Must go, have another bonnet side to roll!
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  #89  
Old 8th March 2015, 11:07
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ethanol also eats copper - I'm using nylon lines. I presume the "main" pump is switched off when the level stops it drawing fuel (as they're cooled and lubricated by fuel). Perhaps something like this Tee piece would simplify things?
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  #90  
Old 8th March 2015, 13:54
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scimjim View Post
ethanol also eats copper - I'm using nylon lines.
Ethanol seems to have a varied appetite. I thought copper was OK.

Quote:
I presume the "main" pump is switched off when the level stops it drawing fuel (as they're cooled and lubricated by fuel).
Yes, I was/am proposing to have a change over switch a bit like an indicator switch (on-off-on) in a concealed position, which gives some theft protection.

Quote:
Perhaps something like this Tee piece would simplify things?
I had looked at a 90º 'T' connector but not keen on the 90º for flow. That's why I made a 'Y' connector, although I have since seen a plastic 'Y' connector like Rene suggested since I made mine, it probably doesn't matter that much but it just seemed better to have a 'Y' connector.
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  #91  
Old 8th March 2015, 13:56
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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Second bonnet half almost made, a little fine adjustments and the hinge line to cut...

Will post some pix later if I don't make a complete hash of it.
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  #92  
Old 8th March 2015, 15:04
reneanglia reneanglia is offline
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Ethanol is nothing else as alcohol............moonshine is brewed in a copper pot
So what's the problem?
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  #93  
Old 8th March 2015, 19:57
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A copper pot is probably 10 times thicker than your pipes. coupled with the risk of cracking through work-hardening, copper is just a risk you don't need to take IMO. non SAE R30 J6 rubber hoses can be eaten through within 12 months, copper can take 12 years but I prefer my cars to last bit longer

http://www.dieselnet.com/news/2014/07nist.php - bear in mind that report says 15 years for 1.2mm copper and the stuff we use in brakes is normlly 0.7mm.
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  #94  
Old 8th March 2015, 22:23
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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I understand the copper fuel pipe has a 0.6mm thick wall. Not sure what will dissolve first, the filler neck, the tank, the fuel pumps (c1985), my 'new' pipework or the carburettors which were new c1977.

This is going to be a can of worms for older cars.

For now I am simply going to make a better support for the copper pipes. In some ways this is a development car. Once it is on the road I will need something to tinker with. It will be monitored and revisited once the car is back on the road. It is partly for this reason I passed the copper pipe through a conduit to facilitate replacement should the need arise.



I haven't achieved as much as I hoped this weekend, we had a dog staying which hampered things a bit. I still managed a major milestone, that of making the new bonnet. It's all trimmed and ready to rivet the hinge in. I need to order some solid rivets.

This is how I left the car this afternoon. Ready to bolt in the central hinge and mount the catches. The orange patches are strong adhesive gaffer tape, holding the bonnet in position.


Last edited by 8 Valve Ed; 8th March 2015 at 22:27..
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  #95  
Old 8th March 2015, 23:26
reneanglia reneanglia is offline
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Factory look!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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  #96  
Old 9th March 2015, 01:02
scott h scott h is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 8 Valve Ed View Post
Thank you Rene for your input, it is much appreciated. This is a really critical aspect of the restoration. I don't want to build in a poorly designed feature of such an important aspect of the car.

I will go back to the drawing board on this.

I can't easily go on the boot floor because the suspension bracket for the damper is in the way, which is why I went over the top of it. I am not sure what thread the fuel pump outlet union uses because I was reluctant to remove it and break the seal. I will do that now and establish if I can obtain or make a 90º elbow connector for the pump.

What it really needs is a 90º elbow outlet connector the same as the main pump with the red dot sticker has. That would improve the pipework a lot. I may go with a plastic 'Y' piece connecter but had avoided them because plastic can become brittle especially perhaps with the high ethanol content petrol we now 'enjoy'.

More thought needed!

Must go, have another bonnet side to roll!
Car Builder Solutions do right angle fittings for fuel pumps.
http://www.carbuildersolutions.com/u...osetail-18-npt
This one is for 8mm hose but 6mm and 10mm also available.
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  #97  
Old 9th March 2015, 01:46
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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Rene, it's a long way from perfect, but with a little work...

Scott, I hadn't really considered that, thank you for the link, in fact I think the rear pump with the straight connectors has 1/8" NPT threaded connectors, I just looked the spec's up on Wiki and it seems that way. I will measure in the morning. That would be a good fix for that aspect of the snag.

I just got home a few minutes ago, according to the car thermometer it's -2ºC outside so I thought it prudent to drain the Marlin. I haven't added antifreeze yet... It's very cold with a clear sky so the temp could drop quite a bit further by dawn. No point in risking my newly built engine and repaired radiator.

Looking forward to fixing the bonnet hinge in the morning.
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  #98  
Old 9th March 2015, 07:54
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8 Valve Ed - Great work on the bonnet and doors.

As ReneAnglia says, it looks very professional.

Good luck, Paul.
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  #99  
Old 9th March 2015, 12:01
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Just catching up with this thread :-)

Copper is generally frowned on for fuel lines (and brake lines) as it work hardens with vibration and then cracks. I believe thats the reason it is not accepted by the IVA testers. I used Kunifer for both brake and fuel lines. Its an alloy of copper and something and doesn't suffer so much from the work hardening issue.

Great pictures! For those interested in making bodywork from ali its also worth a look at the Pembleton forum. http://thepembleton.org.uk. These little three and four wheelers have a body made entirely of ali.

Cheers, Robin
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  #100  
Old 10th March 2015, 20:01
8 Valve Ed 8 Valve Ed is offline
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Sorry my contributions here are a bit gappy, I have been working on the car since first thing, dragged myself away for a dish of Kedgeree which I threw together, I am off back out now to finish off a couple of tasks which have been put off to often...

Paul, thanks for the complements, close up it's not as good as I would like but I am sure it will do what I need.

Robin, My preferred material would have been Kunifer, 10% nickel and copper, it's much tougher than copper. I had several rolls but due to lack of space I gave a lot of that gear away to friends. I used to have a really well equipped workshop and store with everything I needed but due to things beyond my control I had to give much of it up, my greatest loss is not having my own lathe any more. Eventually I may replace the fuel and brake lines with better material. I have to discover if this car is really suitable for what I need before I start refining it. My priority is to get it on the road.

Thanks for the compliment on the pictures, I try to take some which may help others understand there are many roads to Rome. I am overcome with the bonnet, it was so easy to roll, I am sure with more experience and a bit more patience I could have made a better job but I think it will hold together!


I have finished fitting the bonnet, I still have to set the rivets but I am waiting until the w/e when I have some more hands to help. I think I will need a lot of help to set the rivets, 23 each side for the central hinge, plus a similar number in the engine side panels. I am toying with the idea of peening them with my air hammer. I dug it out last night and it appears to be rusted up, the trigger is seized so I think some thin oil and a bit of encouragement may be needed.

While I enjoy contributing here, my priority is to get the car on the road ASAP, it's hung too long. So off out to get some more done. If I still have any energy I will post a pic or two when I get back in.

Last edited by 8 Valve Ed; 11th March 2015 at 07:49..
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