CJ's Build

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by cbjroms

Davecymru,

I have seen your comment in your thread 'doesn't lip under at the front' but am not sure that I fully understand what you mean.

Could you just explain so that I can watch-out for this potential problem?

Thanks

Chris

Good point Chris, does the lower edge of the body-shell sit under the floor/chassis rail or on top? Haven't got to that bit of the build yet me'self...

[cbjroms]

Mr Towed,

I have not fitted the body shell as yet but understand that it should curve under the plywood floor and align with the bottom of the chassis rail.

Would be grateful for confirmation that I am correct in this.

Chris

[lancelot link]

As with many of the processes in building the cars , there are no strict hard and fast rules....

Chris , as you say above is correct for how I would do it...

The body should cover the side rails of the chassis , we have discovered on some builds that the drivers side can be a bit short sometimes - no idea why and it isn't on every car.

We developed the kit on a 1200 and I wonder if 13/60's are slightly different although I am assured by the experts they aren't.

It is possible to tease the body down a bit if it is a bit short.....on the worst one we had , Mike sliced the sill and pulled it down a little and reglassed it , thats extreme , I think that car had repair issues that were throwing us....

Floorwise , again , no rules but I found that the first few cars we did stuck out a little at the bulkhead ....not a big issue but as with all things that grow and develop with time , I found that trimming about an inch of the Herald sill width at the base of the A pillar and therefore narrowing the body slightly , meant we could pull the body in slightly....I prefer the look but that doesn't mean its the right way to do it...



At the end of the day , we advise how we would build the car , its not the only way ....I give the advise as I see it at the time I am asked , if it changes the advise will change !.....lots of cars are getting different building materials and styles incorporated into the builds and I find this aspect of the cars really interesting...

[cbjroms]

Thanks Gary,

I think that one of the great things about the Sammio is that there is no need for complicated build instructions because we can work most of it out for ourselves.

But your experience of what has worked best in the past is invaluable to us builders. I, for one, feel that you pitch your advice at the right sort of level (clear, easy to follow but without the need for immense detail) and the Getting Started section of your website is great.

Chris

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by cbjroms

Thanks Gary,

I think that one of the great things about the Sammio is that there is no need for complicated build instructions because we can work most of it out for ourselves.

But your experience of what has worked best in the past is invaluable to us builders. I, for one, feel that you pitch your advice at the right sort of level (clear, easy to follow but without the need for immense detail) and the Getting Started section of your website is great.

Chris

I'll second that. Thanks Gary, the above will really help.

[davecymru]

Third'ed by me!

Now I'm just about done i know i've not done things exactly the way Gary would have and I'm aware of a few boo-boo's i've made that are now "design features" but any issues i've encountered i've always been ready to simply give-it-a-go and figure out how i want to resolve them with the skills i have.

I think as Gary suggests, our cars are so old and there are so many variations and changes that have been made over the years, no two donors are ever going to be identical and so the challenges we face will all be slightly different. In my case it turned out that my 'Vitesse' was actually a Herald 13/60 with a GT6 engine and box and Vitesse suspension, breaks and other bits.
So when i placed my shell on and it rested fine on the bulkhead but the front end sat slightly too high for the shell to be able to wrap under the front of the chassis rails. I simply assumed this was the way it was designed and i worked with it. I now know different, but you'll only ever know, if you're in the know, if you know what i mean?

[cbjroms]

Managed to do a trial fit of the main body shell today.

Body 001.jpg
Cockpit seems to be in the right position against the front and rear parts of the frame.
Body 003.jpg
But the offside front of the shell seems to be sitting a bit high.
Body 007.jpg
The web on the left hand side of the photo below is supporting the body and so I will take some height of this web with the angle grider. It is difficult to see on this photo but this fibreglass lip is about 1" above the bulkhead and there is a large 2" gap behind it.
Body 008.jpg
The lip in the middle of the shell (ie where the heater used to be) is flush against both the horizontal and vertical faces of the bulkhead.
Body 005.jpg


Chris

[Psycho pops]

Hi Chris

Mine was the same - Higher on the drivers side, in order to drop it down I took the following steps
Took the corners off my frame as the body was grounding out on these,
Took the foot of the casting in your fourth photo and took the top off the metal that sits into the moulding (Where the bonnet stops used to be )on the drivers side.
Now the body fits down to the side rail, see latest pics in Stewarts build.
Cheers Psycho

[cbjroms]

Thanks Psycho pops,

I have made a few 'adjustments' to the web on the offside of the bulkhead and also the foot of the bodyshell that sits next to the master cylinder. Bodyshell now looks to fit well on both sides.

BodyFit 003.jpg
BodyFit 004.jpg
BodyFit 002.jpg

So next stage is to get the engine/gerabox into place and adjust the front springs. Then off to VOSA to get the V5 changed.

Chris

[mulberry]

that looks better

[cbjroms]

Just got around to bolting up the plywood floors to the flange on the rear of both floorpans.

I have put my floors on top of the metal flange which, itself, is sitting directly onto the chassis. I know that on the Herald there was a rubber strip between the flange and the chassis, but don't want to raise the plywood floors any higher off the chassis.

Wondering whether other builders have put the plywood underneath the floorpan flange so that it sits straight onto the chassis and is nice and flat?

What is the perceived wisdom out there? Plywood on top or underneath?

Thanks

Chris

[Paul D]

Crikey, had to go and check that... funny how soon you forget.

We put our plywood on top of the rearmost part of the flange, but set the plywood down onto strip rubber to isolate it from some of the chassis vibration.

Then through-bolted along the flange in three places, with partially countersunk washers let into the plywood to lose the bolt heads flush with the floor.

Hope thats some help.

Paul.

[Psycho pops]

Mine is on top for max support as are most I believe, not a problem if you are careful with you choice of seats. The alternative being steal drop pans if you aren't vertically challenged like me...
Pops

[davecymru]

My original ply floorpans are on top of the chassis rails, with a thick bead of Tigerseal between them and the chassis and then bolted in place as well.

But seeing as my legs were designed a bit long to fit the Sammio, i did chop a hole in the middle of the ply and fit a lowering pan, the bottom of which sits flush with the bottom edge of the chassis rail.

I know that another alternative is that Trevor had some small angle brackets welded on the bottom edge of the chassis rails so that his wooden floors sat lower naturally, if that helps?

[cbjroms]

Just finishing-off a few jobs before the body goes on for the final time.

Fitted the steering column tonight. In addition to the column support that bolts to the frame, there is another bracket on the column that looks as if it might have been bolted to the bulkhead in the past. But as it does not line up directly with any matching hole on the bulkhead I am a bit stumped. Can anyone advise please?

Thanks

Chris

[cbjroms]

Having had to 'cut and shut' my outriggers to get the chassis true, I have fitted a pair of Gary's new floorpans and put the engine in place to see how the chassis now sits with the body rested in place. Photos below.

Fit1.jpg

Fit2.jpg

Fit3.jpg

Fit4.jpg

Fit5.jpg

Just wondering whether there is an optimum test as regards levelling the body 'fore & aft' and would be grateful for any lessons learned by someone who is ahead of me.

I am assuming that the front of the body is set by the ledge which sits on the bulkhead where the cut-out for the heater used to be. But you will see that I have cut some big slots in the back so that I could drop the rear of the cockpit down onto the frame but that looks too low to me as I feel that the sides of the cockpit need to be parallel to the ground. I realise that there will be no single, correct answer but want to avoid any knock-on problems later in the build.

Thanks

Chris

[Mister Towed]

Looking very good Chris. That's a good question about setting the body - will be reaching that stage shortly myself and I am awaiting the answers with eager anticipation.

[Psycho pops]

Hi Chris
I am still test fitting my body, I cut slots in the rear for the outriggers and dropped the body until it rested on the framework, at the front it is resting on the lip in the centre, however i notice tonight it is slightly higher passenger side so will remove the lip to set it down slightly.
Are you running standard suspension? as your body is sitting higher at the back than mine. I will level mine off by dropping the front suspension a little.
Have twin exhausts at the rear with abut 4 inch clearance at the boxes.

Pops

[cbjroms]

Pops,

I have Gary's lowering block on the back and have cut the same amount voff the front springs as Trevor did.

You have done exactly the same as me 'I cut slots in the rear for the outriggers and dropped the body until it rested on the framework, at the front it is resting on the lip in the centre..'

But I found that this looked wrong as the sides of the body were lower at the back than the front and photos of other builds look like the side edges of the cockpit should be horizontal?

So that is why I have packed the slots for the rear outriggers back out again, to lift the back so that the sides are more horizontal.

Chris

[Mister Towed]

Chris, check your shell is true before altering anything else. The bottom edge of mine is horizontal on the passenger side and inclines up towards the front on the dirver's side, and it's not my chassis, bulkhead or frame that's not straight, it's definitely the body.