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Go Back   Madabout Kitcars Forum > Mad Build Area > Formosa Builds, Ideas and Discussion

Formosa Builds, Ideas and Discussion Formosa 120 GR and related builds

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  #21  
Old 25th May 2017, 19:47
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The two new electric fans probably use more power than the whole of the original car. I found that my Kenlow on the Jag would get the charge light on the dash to light up when sitting in traffic. Fitted an alternator and it stopped happening, must be less than half the weight.
As it is a "new" engine that hasn't had any water in it I would be very tempted to go for the Evans waterless coolant, but expensive.

It really is turning into an impressive build.
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  #22  
Old 25th May 2017, 20:12
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Got a bit more done today .....made a start on the steering and nearly finished it ...I've about an hour left to do on it ...

I needed to change the angle of the steering due to engine setback and Grahams exhaust choice , a straight path wasn't easily achievable ... I could have gotten away with one u/j to change direction , but felt the column and wheel would be too upright , fine on a Hot Rod , but the cars of this style and era tended to have columns nearer the horizontal with slight inclines and not the 45 degrees that one u/j would have created ...

So , with the help of a pair of TR6 u/j's and a spare inner column from a Herald , I first cut the upper column off , both inner and outer , added one u/j to the bottom of this using the spare inner to create an inner sleeve , the flat section was used so the cottle pin bolt could go in and it was bolted up tight and then fully welded ....then another piece of the inner was welded to the bottom of the u/j , an outer section sleeved over it and fully welded , but leaving the splines exposed .....the outer aluminium colum that had been shortened was fitted with an oil lite bearing at the base to replace the rubber bush that was cut off ..



I then made the centre section using the second u/j , slipped a rose joint over the first part and clamped the lower part on using splines and pinch bolt ..this means the column can be split to remove it easily and the rose joint can be taken off if required ..



I mounted the column to the stock mount on the frame , the second bracket that normally bolts to the bulkhead was hung from a suspended steel plate , the rose joint has been bolted through a plate bolted up through the bulkhead just to the left of the pedal mounts ...see picture ..



Although its all working fine , there is a bit of twist on the rose joint bracket where it flexes through the thin bulkhead ...so I need to brace and re-inforce the bracket and its mounting plate , making it wider to spread the load a bit better .....also , although the lower shaft is straight and turns fine , it flexes a little due to its extra length and the fact they are generally pretty spindlely from the factory ...so I think I'm going to add an extra rose joint along its length mounted off a bracket attached to my inner wing framework , just to give it a bit of extra support ...

I think the revised column angle is much better now ...

Last edited by lancelot link; 25th May 2017 at 20:16..
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  #23  
Old 30th May 2017, 18:55
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GOT THE STEERING FINISHED TODAY ..... I made the bracket under the dashboard holding the first rosejoint twice as wide and triangulated it ..its bolted through the bulkhead with a matching spreadplate and 4 8mm bolts , so its not moving now !! I also stripped the lower shaft out , added a thin sleeve that my engineering buddy made for me that brought it up to the same width as the nearest rosejoint I could buy to the shaft size ..I slipped the second rosejoint over it , tack welded the sleeve in place and made a support bracket for the rosejoint out of 3mm and 5mm plate joined together with two short pieces of 12mm tube to match the framework it is bolted through ...it works a treat now , no flex and is all fully removable should you need to take it apart ...



I also finished off the top hose assembly with the inline filler and a bracket made fom an old coil clamp welded to a small box steel section to 'guide' the flexihose into the area of bonnet with clearance ...



so , not much to report , but a few more jobs crossed off the list .........
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  #24  
Old 7th June 2017, 20:39
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BIT MORE DONE ... I have added some harness mounts to the framework and floor sections to take Graham's belts he has supplied ... bit tricky to see but they are welded plate with captive nuts welded to them mounted to the lower cross bar and some captive nuts fitted to the frame either side of the dropped pans ...





I am at a point where I think all the welded attachments are done , so opted to paint the frame and floorpans ...We decided to do the tubework satin silver to contrast the red body and I have done the floors black to tie them into the chassis visually ...so off with the frame it was ....



whilst the frame was off I fitted the propshaft that I shortened just over 8''

The tubework is now silver and floors black ....






next job is to patch and modify the front pans to fit the chassis after the 8'' shift backwards ...
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  #25  
Old 9th June 2017, 19:55
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I have made a hardboard rear bulkhead pattern . The kit comes as standard with this flat bulkhead in 2 fibreglass sections with the central seam ...I just hadn't made the patterns yet !!
They are done now and Graham has opted for the bulkhead as standard ...so I will lay up some flat sheet and cut a pair out next week ...



I have also started to work out my grille insert ...the small section shown is what I am intending to do ...approx. 40mm x 40mm square sections in the traditional 'beer crate ' egg box styling ... about an inch deep and made from moulded resin ...

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  #26  
Old 10th June 2017, 06:58
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This is coming together very nicely.

I think the egg box grill will stand out much better than a 'traditional' mesh grill.
( In many photos, my mesh grill simply 'disappears'. )

I'm sure you will get a positive reaction at the BBQ.

Good luck, Paul.
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  #27  
Old 10th June 2017, 07:00
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Looking good. Beer crate grill will suit it but at the moment looks too heavy, can you use thinner material?
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  #28  
Old 10th June 2017, 09:54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul L View Post
This is coming together very nicely.

I think the egg box grill will stand out much better than a 'traditional' mesh grill.
( In many photos, my mesh grill simply 'disappears'. )

I'm sure you will get a positive reaction at the BBQ.

Good luck, Paul.
Thank you again Paul ...I'm really pleased with progress so far , cutting my teeth on similar builds has certainly been to our advantage with this one ...I agree with the mesh , unless you highlight it in a bright silver or similar , they disappear , which is ok in some situations, but not others ...

I was really hoping to make the BBQ , BUT a combination of child care duties , a customer visiting and really needing to layup some flat sheet for Monday , means I won't make it ...Saturday was always going to be the less convenient day for me ....
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  #29  
Old 10th June 2017, 10:06
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaguartvr View Post
Looking good. Beer crate grill will suit it but at the moment looks too heavy, can you use thinner material?
The squares are a bit smaller than I had intended but otherwise , it looks not bad ...I think the angle of the picture might not help ...I can only get this material in that thickness .... I'll take a picture from a better angle , that might help .....If I get a chance later , I might paint one satin black but keep the front face silver , see how that looks ?

Of course , anything I use is only a suggestion ...these are blank canvas builds , not replicating anything , the same ethos as the S*mmio before it and left very much to the builder to put their own mark on the car, they are 'specials' not kit cars ..I much prefer that approach to them , they are similar enough to a mid 50's Ferrari or Maserati to go down either of those paths stylewise , but not forcing the builder to try and copy anything , which brings plenty of criticsm if they fall short in any dept....

There is nothing wrong with replica's ...don't get me wrong , I started this journey because I wanted a Kougar Monza when I saw them in a magazine whilst I was at school and starting to get into Hot Rods etc. and similarly , wanted a 550 around the same time too ..... so have nothing against them at all .....but I chose an ''inspired by'' route for my contribution to the classic Roadster market .....

Last edited by lancelot link; 10th June 2017 at 10:08..
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  #30  
Old 10th June 2017, 19:52
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Here's a picture of the squares taken straight on ... ...you can see the headlight rings fitted in this pic too ...there is a little 'drain' hole at the bottom which you can reach the screw to screw them in place through ....



And here's a picture with the grille painted black except for the front face ... I like this one ...being moulded resin , these will be slightly heavier than an aluminium one but not as heavy as the old steel ones that S*mmio's and , strangely , Miglia's had ...




The grilles should workout to be about £45 ......

Last edited by lancelot link; 10th June 2017 at 20:00.. Reason: added some text and a price
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  #31  
Old 14th June 2017, 19:29
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2 Flatsheet rear bulkhead pieces cut and a stepped edge created on the passenger side one ..these will be glassed in when the tank work has been done and then a hatch cut into the centre ...



I have also started to fit a modified tunnel cover , the front half of a tunnel with the coin tray cut out ...this is going to be blended into the centre framework using some ally sheet that , hopefully is going on the inside to keep the frame detail exposed ...



I have also started to fit some bonnet bracing to the front ...starting with 2 inner arch sections that will be joined to a nose cone section both sides tomorrow to get some inner rigidity on the flip bonnet section....

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  #32  
Old 16th June 2017, 21:48
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SOME FLOWCOATING DONE..not sure how it comes across on here but its bright red ..bit like a Mars or Rosso ..

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  #33  
Old 17th June 2017, 06:36
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Gary – I like the inner wheel arches built into the bonnet.

Unfortunately, if I added any more weight to my own bonnet, I don’t think I would be able to open it.

Good luck, Paul.
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  #34  
Old 17th June 2017, 10:25
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This one is getting quite heavy too ...6 oz layup , longer and wider than a S *mmio , nearly half a sheet of 12mm ply bonded in as well ... It feels really solid when operated and no flexing about like it's cousins do ..I need to add a brace or chain to stop it opening too far , which will go from the front tube on the chassis to the inner wings ...
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  #35  
Old 20th June 2017, 19:27
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Lots of little jobs being achieved and some larger ones too ...

fuel tank went back in , filler neck and new sender added and then Grahams fuel cap fitted using an adaptor ring that my engineering mate made to get it down to Spitfire tank size .....The large cap looks great ...



I've also panelled in the tunnel on the inside using aluminium and fitted a top section ...Right pig of a job to do after fitting the frame !!

The rear bulkhead has had its hatch cut and some wooden baton fitted around the opening to brace it and create a stepped lip to fit the hatch lid to ...this has been fitted to the floorpans using an angled piece of steel pop rivetted in place , its fibreglassed and sikaflex'd to the body sides and sikaflex'd and rivetted at the top ...



I've still got to dress the edges and put some detail in around handbrake etc...but it gives you an idea of where it's going ....

The bulkhead panel has now been fully fitted to the front also , glued and rivetted around its perimeter and glued and rivetted to the bulkhead / body too ...



I made a start on inner rear arches too ...I have made the outer section that braces the body and ties it to the frame both sides ...I will add a lower section at a later date and also tie them to the rear of the bulkhead with a removable panel to access the harnesses , if required .... the outer sections have been fully glassed in ...



Whilst the fibreglass was being thrown about - today was not a great day for glassing ! I made the 4 x tubes to accept the rear lights ...made in the traditional way of placing 4 x Pringle tube halves on an aluminium sheet , glassing around them and onto the sheet to give a top lip ..then cutting 4 discs from flatsheet and rivetting them to the lip to make a little pot ... ( Actually Lidls versions of Pringles - other stackable crisps are available ..)

Tomorrow should see me making a start on fitting these into the rear of the body along with further progress ...


Last edited by lancelot link; 20th June 2017 at 19:36..
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  #36  
Old 20th June 2017, 20:02
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Great progress Gary, really taking shape
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  #37  
Old 21st June 2017, 20:25
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Well , I thought yesterday was a bad day for fibreglassing ...well today wasn't any better !!

I was on a mission to get the rear light pods fitted today , and I very nearly did it ...they are in and fully glassed in place , sanded back but I didn't get a chance to blend them in with a bit of filler due to waiting for sikaflex to cure and I haven't trial fitted the units properly yet , just placed them in ...again due to curing times ...about an hour tomorrow should see those bits finished ...

I needed to workout their location , which on a totally rounded car with curved rump , isn't straightforward ...you need a central measurement position to work from ...so I found the centre line and fitted a temporary number plate made from scalpeled masking tape to the correct dimensions of a real plate ...this gave me somewhere to start with the measurements and a focal reference for spacing the units ......

My initial plan to put the units in from behind half worked ....the outer ones went in perfect ...the inner ones wouldn't go in due to the internal frame being in the way ...so I cut the bases off , fitted the tubes from the front and then glassed the bases back on in position ...not too much of an issue but added some time to the job ...

so , apart from a bit of blending and stuff ..we have some lighting detail ...



Picture quality not great as workshop was very dusty today ...but hopefully shows the intention ...

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  #38  
Old 21st June 2017, 20:58
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Just had confirmation that Graham is happy with the paint quote we just received ....so , in a few weeks time the car is heading over to HILLTOP AUTOMOTIVE for Jeffy Baby to perform his magic on her ...I'm very pleased about that ....
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  #39  
Old 21st June 2017, 21:08
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lancelot link View Post
Just had confirmation that Graham is happy with the paint quote we just received ....so , in a few weeks time the car is heading over to HILLTOP AUTOMOTIVE for Jeffy Baby to perform his magic on her ...I'm very pleased about that ....
After seeing Jeffs work on the other cars his body/ paintwork will ensure your bodyshell is shown in the best possible way .
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Old 22nd June 2017, 07:36
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Hi Jeff, thanks for looking at the car yesterday and quoting for the painting, as you know I am happy to go ahead as Gary has said you are the man for the job and I am really pleased that you are going to do it. As with Gary I am more than happy for you to post updates here. As I am not in a position to do much work myself I hope that by showing Gary`s and now your skills helps in a way for people out there to see the quality and skill of your work and hopefully its a good advert for any of your future business. Ultimately I am trying to achieve a superb looking car and having the experts working on it I know this is what we are going to achieve and it couldn't be in better hands

Cheers Graham (Alex)
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