MadaboutKitcars

I thought I would start a new thread, as I am amassing lots of pictures of the donor herald and strip down and haven't got round to building a website like my last one ([url]www.mysammiospyder.co.uk[/url])

This is the sorry donor, bought from ebay for £205 as a part finished restoration!






The nice thing about it (if there is one..) is that the chassis underwent a rebuild so everything was new - but that was about 6 years ago, and it was stood since then...





It will need a full strip and rebuild again, but has some nice touches like stainless steel brake hoses and a really good chassis that won't need any welding!!

Same colour?

the 1300 engine was not in a great condition though and so I have bought an even more sorry 1500 MG Midget engine....






When I started stripping it down, and got rid of all the corroded ancilliaries, the actual block and head were in great condition - I reckon it had a rebuild, with new bearings and piston rings etc only a few thousand miles before it was taken out and stored for 3-4 years...





The mains are 0.010 u/s so it had the crank reground and the big ends are std size. No wear on the crank or bearings so I reckon a spruce up , rebuild and some new bits (distributor, alternator, water pump etc) it should be lovely in the miglia speester.


Temp home for the rebuild pictures is here....

Gary,

this one will be a different colour, just haven't decided yet though...

We be adding in servo brakes on this one (with a BMW E30 pedal assembly) and some other mods here and there.

Aiming for end of May on the road!

looking forward to following this build, good luck.

When you say, part restored.
Which part?

err, the whole chassis - new everything - but then they parked it up under a tarpaulin for 6 years or so! The rear brake drums and front calipers still had the paper protection and labels on them!

Pity, as it will need a complete stripdown again but at least all the bolts should come off fine! Will repalce the rubber bushes with silicone ones as well while I am at it.

I am going to inspire you to build another "proper" kit car Dave! (only j/k Lambo kit looks cool btw)

I do miss the Little Red Car, although i can't wait to drive the Big Red Car!

If i only had the space and money I'd be not far behind you in talking to Mike!

Looks like id better get you a body , My kit comes with its own fibreglass bulkhead , so sells your s on . you dont mess around . Be interesting to see someone build one of my kits . Good on you Tony .

TriTone - Good luck Tony, I'm looking forward to following your build.

Donor looks like it was great value despite the years spent under a tarp.

Looking forward to seeing your build progress. Are you going to have lowered floors in this one?

yes, the chassis was a good buy, and the bits of body I don't need were sold for the price of it, so it has cost me nothing so far!

And yes, I will be putting in lowered floors this time, although I am sticking with the same seats (landrover two-part) as they were extremely comfortable and lent themselves very well to hinging forward.
(( The storage behind the seats was a godsend for making the sammio more practical - popping down the shops, storing jackets, picnics etc- and so this one will have a similar mod. ))

I am hoping for good weather this weekend so I can get the chassis stripped for painting next week - another build on the driveway - the wife is soooooo looking forward to arrival of the circus tent again in a few months!

Mike's Miglia kit has a built in bulkhead this time, no more bonding problems around that this time, so I am hoping for a fairly quick build of around 3-4 months - weather and time permitting. Just in time for the scorching summer we are going to have.

Mike has also muted torwards a hard-top option, so I have put my name down as first on the list for one of those!

I won't be adding a stereo and speakers this time - never had it on as it was too noisy anyway, and took away from the enjoyment of listening to the engine.

Summing up my thoughts so far...

• Swing spring conversion with 1" spacer block
• 15" wire wheels (again - silver or black!)
• rebuilt 1500cc Midget engine, with standard 13/60 recon gearbox and diff
• Landrover seats (hinged backs to access storage behind the seats)
• BMW E30 pedal assembly complete with servo and built in clutch m/c
• 'teardrop' miglia bonnet - not the V8 upside down wheelbarrow
• colour? not sure - quite fancy the Lancia D24 burgundy

The aim is to get it all on the road for this year with the standard engine and drivetrain - they are quick enough - and quite scary at high speeds anyway - not the road holding but the thought of being very exposed in a crash - quite sobering! then next year I want to do one with a V6 or V8 and associated drivetrain and improved chassis.

but as always, plans can change.......

I won't try and keep up with this build... maybe the V6/V8 that should hopefully take a bit longer!ray2:

Went down to see Mike at Miglia today and saw the first kit roll off the production line.....




I didn't fully appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this. The dashboard is actually part of the body ...



The door shuts are finished nicely, and the doors are pretty weighty items that should close with a nice thud! Even the bolt holes for early mini door hinges are moulded in so you can't drill then wrong! Nice attention to detail.




Another little "feature" is that the frame bolts to the chassis, and then the body is mounted, like the Sammio/Ribble kits, but this time, the body has mounting points so you can't get it misaligned.. nice! No more faffing with the bonnet gaps and door gaps this time!






Also, I didn't appreciate that the front end is significantly longer than the Sammio I built, meaning that the front bumper corners on the chassis won't need to 'fall off', and there is lots of room to put a choice of radiator and mountings in there.



And because the body is one piece, the frame comes right to the front and adds additional support. No more bonnet flexing or adding in additional strengthening. I am hoping for a quick build so all this helps a lot, having gone through the long-winded sammio route first time.

Oh, and you get a front bulkhead as well and this is set back from where the original is so you get around 8-10" extra room at the front in the engine bay - ideal for my BMW servo I have planned. The flat bits at the font cover the front outriggers, and is where I will be mounting the battery so it is accessible, but out of the way, again no more worrying about a lowered battery tray!




So really impressed with the set up - even the jig for making the frames is a work of art!



And here's the next kit underway...(hopefully mine )







So all in all I can't wait to get mine started now!

There are some lovely touches in there, looks like Mike really learned from some of the interesting "quirks" of the Sammio!

Nice to see you today, im glad you like the kit. Ive tried to make it , so the customer enjoys building their Miglia kit. I forgot to mention the kit also comes with the new longer bolts , so you will be able to fit the frame and body. This should only take an hour to fit too .

Excellent looking kit, very comprehensive. Also like Tirts enthusiasm... I'll get back to my long winded Sammio kit that you made for me. Keep up the great work.

Thank you Gary, it can only get better from now , how are you getting on with your car mate ?

Painting house... Going very well. Got all my classic parts ready and will make the rest. If I keep painting, I am promised another couple grand, but that's it.

You sound like your under the thumb like me still do you think your have it built for the summer ?

Was you laughing because i asked if the car would be on the road this summer

I got bored with a black engine, so I went for a colour that was going to look period....

from rusty old engine to shiny enallemed one...






(yes, I know the valves are in the wrong way round! )




Also got some new and old bits for the build.... Early Vitesse 1600 Header tank which I loved on my old sammio, poly bushes for the chassis and a full accuspark distributer and electronic ignition kit with plugs, leads and blue coil...




And this is my BMW e30 pedal set complete with servo...






and my TR7 handbrake that has convenient flat mounts and just needs an appropriate nut welded to the cable end so it fits the herald standard handbrake cable (same as I had on my Sammio)





This week will be rebuilding the engine and painting the gearbox so that is all ready to slot into the chassis once it is stripped, painted and rebuilt.

Looks good Tony, looks like dove grey ? What paint did you use .

it's Harrison Lathe blue/Grey actually

It's 0.5litres from ebay - a company called Stationary Engine Parts.

Engine enamel, good and tough and a whole range of colours, heat and oil resistant.