Preston Sammio - Page 3

AndyP57 · #41 15th February 2012, 13:52

I've promised myself a 'nut and bolt upward' rebuild of all the running gear so the suspension strip will be first followed by all parts being sand blasted and powder coated whilst the chassis gets its new outriggers. I'm hoping to get a full set of bushes, trunnions and bolts from the Triumph show in March and start reassembling from then. The Engine is getting a lot of attention too so when it comes time to run it and get the all important MoT, it shouldn't have any excuses why it shouldn't pass.

AndyP57 · #42 18th February 2012, 15:23

It's been a productive day

Starting with a very rainy windy day, I hid in the shed and have completely dismantled all the front suspension components and half the rear.

Brightening up a bit this afternoon, I set to on the bulkhead and cut it down:

Then removed it altogether. All but one of the bolts needed grinding off unfortunately and on removal, it seems one of the feet need replacing too.
I've been around the chassis completely now and there are no more attached parts so I've hit the place I wanted to be in. Being picky, I reckon I'll change both rear outriggers along with the Left hand centre one. The Left hand Boot extension has a hole in it but knowing it's going to be at best shortened and possibly cut off altogether, I'll use that for a practice weld or two.

I have to admit that my greatest tools in this build up to now have been the angle grinder and an impact wrench. Without them I'd be stuck

Happy days !

davecymru · #43 18th February 2012, 16:59

1mm cutting discs are great

jmc14 · #44 18th February 2012, 17:09

Looking good.

tlrtone · #45 18th February 2012, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by davecymru

1mm cutting discs are great

I agree with Dave, the super thin 1mm cutting discs are bloody mavellous!

And i have a grinding wheel with a wire wheel on one side which is excellent for cleaning all the small parts...

WorldClassAccident · #46 18th February 2012, 17:59

Angle grinder with a wire brush rocks!

Before :

After

AndyP57 · #47 22nd February 2012, 12:41

I am now a confirmed Sammioholic.

Having got to where I am in the Spyder build, I've gone and bought a good donor for a future Cordite build

A 1981 Spitfire 1500 which has already had most of the hard work done on brakes and engine (Got a nice stainless exhaust too). You probably won't hear much about this car until I'm much further down the road with the Spyder but it will be the subject of a new thread sometime during the summer (Probably once the MoT has run out)

garyh · #48 22nd February 2012, 13:00

But please don't keep that 'orrible looking no. plate

GazDavies · #49 22nd February 2012, 13:27

That's a great looking car and I bet it will be great fun to drive as is until you are ready to make into a Cordite.

I was very close to buying a Scimtar recently to turn into a G46. The only reason I didn't buy the car is because of the size of it, it just wouldn't have fit into my single garage. Maybe once the Spyder has been built and I've had the time to convince the wife that's it would be a good idea.

davecymru · #50 22nd February 2012, 15:33

I have to say that the Spyder is the perfect size to build in a "modern" garage as it has just enough space around it to do all the jobs you need.

I dread to think how i would have coped with a G46, or even the Countach that i've always wanted to build!

garyh · #51 22nd February 2012, 15:39

Don't press the door button.

BazMason · #52 22nd February 2012, 17:54

You're just showing off now Andy! 2 project cars....

I must say that the Spit look's ideal for conversion though - not one of the earlier prettier one and one with all the major jobs done - nice!

jmc14 · #53 22nd February 2012, 21:24

Good score Andy.

AndyP57 · #54 6th March 2012, 08:30

With luck, I'll have the chassis repairs done within the week (Work allowing) and the time has come to decide how to get it to the best condition possible.
I've looked at Shot blasting and powder coating, wire brushing and POR and now have discovered a local company (http://www.ribbletechnology.co.uk/) that can acid strip and prime it for me.
They are coming back with a quote today but I wondered if anyone has experience of this kind of treatment? The benefits seem to be that it can strip any non metallic stuff right back whether it's in a box section or not and doesn't leave any residual stuff like beads/shot behind.

Of course it could be that the cost is prohibitive but I'm very interested in what they might do.

AndyP57 · #55 6th March 2012, 08:52

Whilst I'm on, Does anyone have a good source for wire spokes suitable for the 60 spoke 15" wheels? I've got two I need to replace on my whole set (And sods law, they are adjacent spokes on the same wheel!

AndyP57 · #56 6th March 2012, 13:12

Ok, now I'm getting deep

After doing some chassis cleaning today, I'm of the opinion that after all, I'm not happy with ANY of the outriggers. Apart from the ones I'd already decided on (Both rears and a centre), the rest have an assortment of small cracks, thin parts, and the occasional hole. Whilst I'm changing 3 of them, I may as well dive right in and change the other three.

My question to anyone who has embarked on this path is do I cut them all off at once and rebuild them from there or one at a time to make sure the chassis doesn't change shape on me? Current thinking is to change both rears, then the centres and lastly the front. Doing it this way would make sure that effectively I'm keeping everything in shape by two outriggers at a time.

Thoughts gentlemen?

tlrtone · #57 6th March 2012, 13:25

Since the outriggers and side rails are just for body support, and won't affect the tracking, suspension or anything, then I would say that you could cut them all off and start afresh. Tack weld it all together and measure widths, lengths and diagonals to get is all straight and level. You could even offer up the bulkhead and the frame to get it all to fit together before final welding - but bear in mind that the frame is not your datum as may have variations!

I would say about 5mm tolerance is fine, you will probably find that is far more accurate that what you started with!

good luck!

garyh · #58 6th March 2012, 13:57

Maybe you could move the whole lot back 10mm to give you some room for 15" wheels? if thats what you're havin. The side rails are a set length, so everything has to be in line with them, also on my 2litre i have adjustable radius arms so i have plenty to play with.

http://garyssammiospyderbuild.blogspot.com/

AndyP57 · #59 6th March 2012, 14:38

That does sound like a plan starting to form but because of the curve in the spine, the outriggers wouldn't necessarily be the right length?

I'm a little more concerned about keeping the horizontal line correct as the new riggers have a good indication of the angle on them. Would a jury jig be sufficient strapped across the top of the spine so eveything lines up with that do?

garyh · #60 6th March 2012, 14:52

I woud start by pushing the front ones in place tightly, laying a straight edge across the the main chassis rails and see if the deflection is the same side to side.