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Having spent the past few months stripping the donor, selling-off unwanted parts, repairing both my chassis and front bulkhead I am now ready to start the build.
Here are a couple of shots of my bulkhead which is going to be painted tonight.
I have had all of my front/rear suspension components powder coated by a company called Trestans in Southampton. Here are just a few examples - I have about 3 boxes full of nice, clean and shiny parts. They look great and would you believe that it cost me only £90 to get it all done!
I posted a few weeks ago about my repaired chassis when I saw someone on Triumph Torque being told that a chassis which had rot in its main rails should be scrapped. Got some reassuring comments on here from Davecymru & Mister Towed. Also talked to a local TR restorer who said that my repair is 'not pretty but neither does it lack strength". He suggested that I should drill a series of 3/8 along the bottom of the chassis (from rear outrigger back to start of boot outrigger) to let the air through and damp out.
Anyway whilst I was deliberating I came across a Triumph Herald chassis that has never seen the road and the metal work is as new. Secured it at a very fair price and it is now in the garage ready for my next Sammio build. But what is really ironic is that this chassis has had the boot outriggers and front bar ends removed as if it has been waiting for a Sammio body to come along. So when I build my 2nd Sammio I will, presumably, have to weld these extremities back to appease VOSA!
I have already got my frame but now need to get onto Gary and order the rest of the kit.
See pic attached. The ones i bought from Canleys have a constant edge all round, but in my pic it steps up to allow for the mounting bracket? So, does it mean I don't need a mounting bracket? my flooring pan will cover where the opening is that leads up to the hinges.
As well as the floor-pans you also need the repair section that forms a step in the corner and has the mounts on the bottom. This then needs to be shoe-horned between the bulkhead and the floor-pans.
Can't remember the technical details but the photo below hopefully makes sense.
These repair sections are (only?) available from Chic Doig in Scotland who has an Ebay shop and provides excellent service.
The only bit of rust i found on mine was at that point on the drivers side, i ended up stripping it down with wire wheels and then fabricating repair patches out of 2mm steel sheet which were welded and then tiger-sealed in place. twas very fiddly, so if you're not that confident welding or you can get repair panels then i'd say go for that option!
I will learn to weld, then i will be confident... hows that. So, anyway where my new floorpans just run straight across with out stepping up could not just extend sides of bulkhead down to meet floorpans and weld a nut/washer on the inside of the pan and don't worry about the mounting points? as long as the body comes off the same way... and its all covered over in fibreglass.
Mine were completely rusted away on both sides. I did a bit of measuring and head scratching before removing the bulkhead: they're 2" 'U' channel, and I'm planning to fabricate something to do the job.
Thinking Sammio style, ie, completely off the wall, how about a bit of 2"x2" timber cut to length, suitably treated with Cuprinol and bolted in. Anyone tell me why that would'nt work?
Given the strains that area is likely to receive and also a willingness to keep the nice ginger gentleman from VOSA happy with a like-for-like repair, I'd suggest possibly using some 50mm x 50mm x 2mm steel box section, simply cut to length and then bolted in place with either one long bolt or two shorter ones?
So the bulkhead is on and the front/rear suspension will be finished this weekend. I will also be cutting the bulkhead down this weekend.
I am hoping to collect my Spyder body from Gary next week and am leaving the rimming of the plywood floors until I can see how wide they need to be for the body.
I collected the body and bonnet from Gary and Mike last Thursday. Had to just put it onto the frame to see what it looks like. Some photos here - very pleased with the look of the twin headrests.
Comparing photos on the Sammio website with those of other builders on this forum I was not sure how far the plywood floors should extend outboard of the side rails.
If I have understood Gary correctly, the floor should be in line with the side rails at the back but meet the bulkhead pressing about 1" in at the front. I have added a red line to the following photos of my current floor to show how, I believe, it needs to be trimmed back
chris looks like you need to be wider on your front edge, take your line from the front edge of your wood. taper back to were you have drawn your rear red line.... hope it make sense.....ah double scoops,,, double the hassle.....only kidding
I know what you mean and that is what I would have done before I checked with Gary.
But Gary definitely said that I would need to take 1" off the width of the front pressing.
Chris
Yep, that's my understanding too. I emailed Gary ages ago about this and got the following reply:
The floor is 12mm ply and follows the chassis shape except at the front it starts full width less an inch when lined up against the A pillar area...this tapers back to exact width as rear outriggers...
So, the floor should meet the end of the outrigger at the back but be 1" inboard of the end of the front one, right?
hummmmm, i'd not heard that one about chopping the front end metalwork before?
i'd got Gary to cut me my original floor pans and i certainly didn't chop any metalwork off the front and mine ended up ok. i admit that it doesn't lip under at the front as it's a bit high due to bulkhead/chassis rail differences (LONG story!), but even if i had the front lower and lipping over, i'm sure i would be fine?
I'll have a look tomorrow and see what the clearances on mine are like as you've got me thinking now!
hummmmm, i'd not heard that one about chopping the front end metalwork before?
i'd got Gary to cut me my original floor pans and i certainly didn't chop any metalwork off the front and mine ended up ok. i admit that it doesn't lip under at the front as it's a bit high due to bulkhead/chassis rail differences (LONG story!), but even if i had the front lower and lipping over, i'm sure i would be fine?
I'll have a look tomorrow and see what the clearances on mine are like as you've got me thinking now!
Erm, not planning to cut any metalwork out of the bulkhead to fit the floors (well, apart from the rotten floorpan that needs replacing). My understanding is that you cut the floors to fit 1" inboard of outside the edge of the 'pans and taper them back to match the width of the rear outriggers at the back.
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...
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...
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.
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.
as long as the body comes off the same way... and its all covered over in fibreglass. 
