MadaboutKitcars

Hello everyone,
my name is Martin, I live in Paris so excuse my poor english !

I was looking for months now for a unique car inspired by the 50's when I saw on ebay a sammio spyder for sale. The guy wasn't asking that much for an almost finished project on an Herald basis. No one bidded on it so I called him few days later and we were about to finalize, told him I needed a couple days to think about. So I spent that much time that night on this forum, google, sammio website and youtube. I realise that if I take time to search, I should build my own project for the same price, and would love to have a straight six under the bonnet. I was about to sleep when I found on ebay a never finished body-off restoration project on a Triumph Vitesse! Chassis, drivetrain, gearbox & engine rebuilt, but body never bolt it back!! I bid on it, and when I woke up the next day, I won the bid
So I emailed Andy from Sammio to get tips on a kit builder, and few hours later I was on the phone with Dave, based in Pooled.
Actually, Dave completed the RHD to LHD conversion, and I believe the frame is already fixed to the chassis. My LHD spyder kit will be delivered next week, so I'll keep you updated as soon as I get new pictures.

I really felt in love with Phil's spyder, especially the interior.
I've decided yet if the car will be painted in british racing green or in silver, I did not see many silver ones yet, got another few weeks to decided.
It will have chrome wire wheels, two brooklands and a tan or cognac interior. The interior will be a mix of leder (bacquet like early 356, steering wheel covered, door panel) and aluminium (center console & steering wheel, pedals and floors). Actually Phil's spider dash and console is exactly what I'm looking for.

I've actually 3 questions for now :
- What's the name of the leder parts we have behind our head, in the hump ?
- What's size of bacquets do we need to have the above mentionned leader parts centered on the driver seat ?
- About gauges, I'm really a neophyte on it, could we fix any gauges or it must be Vitess based modified ones. I would love to have ones going reverse (needles going from right to left).

Thanks a lot for your attention

Bonjour Martin, et bienvenue!

I am also new here, so I my answers are based upon my understanding, not my knowledge.

First, in English, the word is 'leather'. 'Leder' is German, which isn't always popular around here, it seems. The name for the leather in the hump is 'headrest'

Second, I don't think it is easy to centre the seat (baquet) on the hump. Most builders say that's not a problem. I think to get the seat in the centre, it will be too narrow to sit on.

Third, you can use any gauges, as long as you have the legal requirements ( in UK you must have a speedometer, but everything else is optional - I think France is the same). Reverse-wind gauges are cool, but not easy to find.

I intend to begin my own Sammio soon, but I have not decided on left hand drive or right hand drive. I am in UK, but also in 87, so maybe I need two cars?(!)

Nice to see some new members to the forum. Hi Martin.
You could have a bench seat, then you can slide across?

Thanks for your time guys.
@jonesey : Thanks for your answer and for the english lesson
Will check pictures to see if headrest not in the center is a big deal or not.
About gauges, I'm really surprised but looks cool. Anybody to share is experiences with gauges ? Any tips ?

@Garyh
Bench seat is not that beautifull right ? I really made my plans with two baquets!

Ca va Martin and welcome to the friendliest forum on the web.

Great choice going for a six cylinder Spyder in my opinion, well done!

In answer to your questions:

The hump behind the driver in English is called a 'head fairing' and the leather pad is indeed known as a padded head rest. These were an option with the kit when I bought mine in 2011, but any half decent trimmer should be able to fabricate one for you. I'm having mine re-upholstered in black leather to match the seats that are being done at the moment.

The driver's seat doesn't centre on the head fairing, it's slightly to one side. this isn't a problem as it's how the original 50's racing cars were anyway.

The cockpit is a tight fit for most seats, but I know that these will fit as I have a pair in my car - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dax-AC-Cobra-427-Fibreglass-Seat-Shell-/130625517895?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1e69e33947

As for the gauges, the original Triumph ones are cheap (or free if the donor's ones are working), look the part and are easily replaced if they go wrong. You could, of course, fit any gauges that you can make work. Cobra ones that contra rotate - speedometer going one way, rev counter the other - are available and the electric ones come with appropriate senders to get them working -

https://www.europaspares.com/68/GAUGES/SMITHS_COBRA_GAUGES.html

Good luck with your build and I look forward to seeing your eventual colour choice. I was torn between red, black, silver or Ecosse blue. I eventually wrote the colour options on slips of paper and drew one out of a hat. When it wasn't silver I was really disappointed so I knew that was the colour for me. I've got the paint already and will be spraying mine within the next month or so (I hope), so you should get the chance to see a silver one before you decide.

Bonne chance Martin.

Hi Martin and welcome.

From my experiences building my Spyder, i'd say that you can plan as much as you want, but that actually trying things when you've got your kit in front of you will always change your mind on what you are going to do!
So i would suggest that you plan for exactly what you want, but keep an open mind and expect things to evolve as you progress.

The cockpit of a Spyder is quite snug (i hope that translates?) but if you are creative with your build you can fit all sorts of seating.

I wanted a bit of comfort so i went for a pair of these:
http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=3634
and altered my cockpit so that they fitted. Every time i drive my car i know i did the right thing!

Best of luck with your build and i look forward to seeing a LHD one progress.

Dave

Bonjour Tin tin,

Great to have a new builder who will be doing something a bit different with LHD.
We are all neophytes when it comes to building - each new phase requires some thought, and that is why we all seem to love it.

Hey, n'oubliez pas - beaucoup de photos.

A bientot, Oxford1360

How come you can all speak French? Are you all using google translate or are you all bilingual... nearly said bisexual

Aves vous un cuppa, anyone.

Google translate is very useful, but I do speak a little French as a result of doing a day-trip to Boulogne as a teenager and completely failing to get served in a Cafe.

I've spent the last thirty odd years trying to get to grips with the language, including a stint working alongside a French Mirage Squadron in the Middle Eastern desert (although we were never sure if they were really there...) mais mes amis français me disent que je parle français comme une vache espagnole.

Say no more, a nods as good as a wink... bonnet de douche!

I'm married to a Frenchie. Vive la difference.

We have a house there. It's astonishing how little use O level French is when you need to get a problem with your internet fixed, or buy a new wishbone for a Volvo V70...

Welcome and 'bon chance' indeed.



Hope this helps...



So your seat should line up with the steering wheel, but the hump is off centre.

Cheers, Paul.

Thank you guys! I really appreciate your help.
So I'm not going to worry about my seats centered anymore.
Cobra's classic bucket seats looks fine. I've just found a cheap pair, will drop them to the "leathershop" (don't know the name) to have them redone in tan or cognac.


Dave, what do you mean by "altered" ? Could you explain what you exactly did ?

I married a welsh girl first time round, isn't it. Now I'm married to a Northerner, by 'eck.

You should be able to see how i tackled this in my build thread: http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3004

But to summarise, the main bits i had to do were:

1) Back corners of the cockpit are rounded by default, i had to cut them out and square them up to fit the seats how i wanted them.

2) Then the side wall panels which people used to mainly screw/bond on top of the shell, i bonded behind the lip of the shell to get another few cm width so when i added the wall cards i could still fit the seats in.

3) Finally i had to fabricate lowered floor pans and also angle the seats so that the backs don't sit up too high.

You can see how they turned out in the pic that Paul posted above as that is my red Spyder just after i'd finished painting it and i was still flatting and polishing it (hence the red looks all dull on that pic) but obviously some parts of of how i fitted mine were dictated by how i'd done other bits, especially as i got carried away with fabricating the sub-frame for my seat belts!

Dave

Just a little pictures from the car before ...

Then having the frame fixed after rhd/lhd conversion!

Body getting fitted!