MadaboutKitcars

Ok here goes.

I have been building cars on and off since my mid teens and many differnt kitcars have been built or passed through my hands.
So I have experienced the westfields (very detailed build manual and they can suck up as much money as you can lavish on them) to the Banham (heres a pile of metal and a crude fibreglass shell and thats the end of it)

Somewhere along the line they never quite hit the spot. I seem to spend to long building and forgetting that this pile of bits im playing with is a car.

So I was looking for a new project, im getting too old to build race cars and I haven;t loads of money to spend.

I decided that the donor had to be cheap, handle like a sports car and be reliable. The MX5 seemed to fit the bill and within a few months i had bought a car with tax and test for £300,
It had a dent in the front wing but i had already decided the body was going.

I saw the Sammio at Stoneleigh, I like many others took a look around it and walked on. A very pretty car and almost what i wanted.
I quite fancied a spyder but as the british summer continued my wife has constantly reminded me it will just sit there until one of the rare sunny days comes around.

So maybe a roof and a windscreen had to be part of the plan.

I took measurements of the spyder and of the mx5 monocoque body tub. It was similar dimensions except the width. A chat followed by a visit to Poole followed and to my suprise Garry was very supportive of the idea.

The plan had been cut a spyder down the centre and widen it but in the back of the workshop was the G46. Even in its eary stages its a pretty shape.

Garry and I measured it, it was the right width. The wheel base was too long as its Scimitar based but no matter this could easily be fixed.

So the idea for the Roadster was born.

The car is under construction as we speak, im waiting for a rear body section and the front is mocked up.

I will add pictures and update my progress and I plan for it to be at Stoneleigh 2012 but hopefully on the road well before this deadline.

early pic

Some early pictures
It is a Jag inspired sammio the rear of the G46 will give it a xkss kind of look.
More pics to come

That looks to fit rather well , doesn't it ?

Thank you for sharing ....

WOW
That bonnet looks fantastic :-)

Thanks yeah- its still has sections of the front wings underneath but they will be removed this weekend. The radiator undertray on the mazda blends into the nose so cooling wont be an issue and the trimmed front panel fits neatly between the lamp pods.
Im sure the back end will fit just as snug in fact it should be easier as it will be bonded rigid to the monocoque.

I can't wait to get her all mocked up and then i can set about making it look pretty. We will have to get a pic of this and the G46 next to each other.

Thanks GiantTribble i was afraid i was the only one who would appreciate it.

The one thing i quickly learnt when i started tinkering with cars and kit-cars was to ignore what anyone else thinks and to just do what you want! There are so many people with so many different ideas, opinions and tastes that what you like is always likely to upset someone

Looks like an interesting project, a bit more along the lines of the MR2 to F355 / F360 body conversions? So i can't see why it won't turn out looking as good as some of them do! Good luck matey and i'll be watching with interest. Partly in case i can nab any ideas to apply to my project

Dave

Thanks Dave,
Yes a bit like the mr2 rebodies i must admit i liked the idea of the retroforza italia but the front was pretty and the rear just didn't do the car justice.
I hope that when complete mine will confuse a few and if nothing else the insurance will be cheaper

Its been a while since I posted an update but I dont have a garage and rain is preventing my progress - im sure its supposed to be summer.

Im off to visit Garry tomorrow and check the progress on my body.
The plan is to collect it in the last week of August.

I have made a dummy scuttle panel and i have bonded it to the original front wings with fibreglass mat and resin.
The bulk of the front wings have been removed and the bonnet sits tightly against the newly made scuttle.

I will add more pics when i get a chance - there will also be pics of the work Garry is doing too.

I ventured down to see the progress on the G46 yesterday as it will form the rear half of my car.
The journey down to Horton Heath was longer and more frustrating than i had planned due to large quantities of caravans and boats being trailed around.

When I got there Garry and Mike made the journey worth while.
They are enthusiastic and helpful even though the workshop was overflowing with cars.
A good collection of little Spyders in for various jobs and lurking in the shadows behind them like a predator - the G46.

It isn't really a huge car but its wider and about 14" long so on the road im sure it will grab peoples attention.
Im biased and im really only interested in the back half. The rear section of the G46 is about 5 and a half feet long but i will modify it for the roadster and by the time its bonded in place it will only be 3 feet long.

Its changed a fair bit in its evoloution from foam strips and for the most part I am pleased with the shape. The rear hunches that are the rear arches will give the roadster a purposeful look.

The invaluble part of the visit was talking to Garry and Mike - I have played with cars for many years but there is nothing better than exchanging ideas with two like minded individuals. Some of the ideas are definitly finding their way into the roadster and I can't thank them enough for their time.

So as I left for a quick trip to Beaulieu with the family - the details on the order have been finalised and my next visit will be to collect the (half) shell.

If you are pondering building a Sammio of any kind eg a spyder, a 550 , G46 or even a one off like me and your not sure a visit to the workshop in sunny Poole is a must.

Visits

Hi, always worth a visit over to Poole for getting the grey matter going off at tangents as I'm one for a different way of doing it. I'm keeping a watch for some more piccy's roadster.... Pat

the sun was out so i got a couple hours on the car = literally just 2
and the things i got done doesn't look much but here are some more pics

I have been blending the fake scuttle into the body - this will continue into the front of the doors.

The indicator holes are being filled as the indicators will be behind the headlamp covers.

pics

Hi, looking good or as my young lady said it looks like a shark, a great white, girls AH! she likes it and I do too...Pat

Thanks Patton
I have been working on it most nights but it doesn't seem to look any different.
I have been fabricating the closure panel for the bonnet and cutting the original bodywork. Still lots of work to do.
So like Patton when I feel the need of a break I reversed it off the drive and took it to the end of the close and back.
You get a completely different view of it when you move it away from the build area.
I confess im excited to get the back end from Garry so i can finally get an idea how it will look when its finished.



Heres a pic of it on the road.

Yeh , I know how that feels........looking good though mate...

Mark , just sent you an email with pics that may be of interest....feel free to post them on t'internet if you want....

The Roadster design has changed slightly but projects like this often manifest into something different to how they were imagined.

Originally i was going to modify a spyder rear end for the project but on visiting Garry i was inspired by the G46. Those curves on the rear flanks i loved it.
The G46 was in its early stages in foam and filler. As Mike shaped it more it started to morph away from what i had imagined but still i was content to use it as a base.

Garry is constantly working on new projects (or tinkering with slower paced projects) and he has an Mx5 outside his premises to aid him with the US builder on here body requirements.
He was working on the 550 when he realised that it was far closer to the designs i had spoken about. It still needs some cutting and splicing and i will miss the large hunches of the G46 but the revised body section has been ordered.

So I have booked a van and god willing the 20th August should be the day i collect.

My original ideas for colour scheme (dark jaguar racing green) may be changed but I will need to see the car closer to completion before i decide.

I will post pics when the parts come together.

Any comments are welcome and f you are considering a similar build i will try to help/

Roadster,

Great news, just over a week to go!

Trevor.
http://sammiospyder.blogspot.com/

GRRR i have so much to do and it has rained 3 out of 4 nights this week.

Im counting the hours Saturday I collect the body from Garry.
Its a long trip down to Poole but I always enjoy the visit and I know that the next time I will take the roadster with me.

Same here, to be fair though, this is the first evening in 6 and half weeks that I've wanted to work that's been rained off.

Do I read that correctly that its this Saturday you collect everything?

Exciting times!

Trevor.
http://www.sammiospyder.blogspot.com/

ok where do i start
Collected the body on Saturday - it took me forever to get there and the weather was miserable.
But as i loaded the body the sun came out and i took the wife and son to the beach at Boscombe and watched the air festival off the Bournemouth coast.

This morning I was excited to get the body over the rear of the MX5
Grr it didnt fit the measurements seem about right but it refused to go anywhere near where it was supposed too.

This isn't surprising as it wasn't made to fit.
All along I was convinced that the G46 was the better bet but in the end i opted for a 550 rear. Its just too shallow.

So I am back to making something - it will still use the 550 rear but heavily modified
No pics this time as it is in its very early mock up stage - if all else fails I will have to buy the G46 rear but im sure I can work some magic.

And too think i was worried about cutting a boot lid into it hehehe

A bank holiday weekend and i should be able to get lots done ....
but the weather is playing about and everything i i try to do seems to be fighting me so i have decided to leave it for the day.

I need to rebuild my enthusiasm so here so pics (thanks to the practice pics thread)

There is a glimpse of the rear end but its still to high but the front is coming along nicely.


And for all those curious what lies beneath.....


Not a huge V8 lump but a reliable and willing powerplant

I will try to get more done tomorrow....

some progress finally

I have been meaning to update the build but progress has been slow and boring = yeah i did spend a few hours undersealing the chassis but all i had to show for it was a stiff neck and an aching back - im starting to feel my age

The big job of creating a rear shell was causing me trouble.
I had looked at lots of 50's sports and race cars and i liked lots but how do i get the elements i like into the roadster.

The costin jaguars and tojeros caught my interest as did the listers and aston DBR1 but i kept hearing Garry's words of wisdom on my head "Its not a replica" and his advice "try to think 1950's"

So the resin and foam and some pieces of ply came together and finally we have a rear.
Its not as i first imagined but I think its sticks to the Sammio's idea.....



This shows the rear as it was being mocked up



The body was created so it looks right with the roof up
The angle of the rear of the hood flows straight down the boot


This is how she looked tonight

So still a fair way to go - but i was getting jealous of all you filling sanding filling sanding

Note the twin exhaust it doesn't sound like a wimpy 1600 now. It is a classy Borla exhaust.
The recessed monza style fuel filler is plumbed in too.

Still have to cut that boot out - i think i will be ok though

I have got more achieved than i thought.

have you done this before?

Do you leave the bit in between or change that as well? What do the wheels do on the front wings do?