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-   -   Davecymru's Miglia build :) (https://madabout-kitcars.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4953)

mikmiglia 17th June 2014 21:31

Dave , that is a great start, wont take so long as before with such a strong donor. I always say pay a little more for a good vehicle , as your time and interest can be used for the more interesting bits of the build.:eusa_clap:

Marc F 19th June 2014 17:25

And stop gloating with all your new shiny stuff :-)

Seriously though, looks like a good base car, so should be a sweet build.

davecymru 21st June 2014 19:18

Cheers both, it does feel like i'm (excuse the pun) motoring through this a lot faster than previously. At least so far.

A good bit of progress over the past few days.

Bulkhead off.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps15b9dda0.jpg

While the bulkhead on the Sammio was sound, i always regretted not taking it off, so i'm glad i _had_ to remove it for this build :)

Rear end stripped as far as i'm stripping it as everything else seems to be new or recently refurbished!

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps1a641a4d.jpg

Before i bought this donor i was expecting to have to strip and weld the chassis on whatever i ended up with and i was preparing to buy a soda blaster (i don't have that toy yet :) ) But now that I've seen the state of the chassis, all it needs is a wash, going over with a wire brush and then painting ! :)

Then lastly, those of you who may have followed my Sammio build will know that i can't praise "Spitfire Graveyard" enough! My last donor came without clocks, with the wrong carbs, no throttle pedal and a load of other bits missing. The team at the Graveyard always made sure that i bought the _right_ bits and they also made sure that i bought everything that was needed, rather than what i thought was needed.

So I've just used them to source the fuel tank, and while it will get a lick of paint tomorrow along with everything else, internally it's really good.
But they also left the fuel filler on for me! i'm well chuffed :)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps22f8f8ff.jpg


So..... given the good condition of most of what i've got ( sorry Mark!) what i'm now thinking my plan of attack with this car is:
  1. Get everything renovated that will be inaccessible when built.
  2. Get the frame on
  3. Get the body on.
  4. Fit a basic interior with minimal clocks etc. & reuse the Spitfire fuel filler
  5. Paint it
  6. Get in on the road and start enjoying it! :)

Then over time:
  • Enhance the interior (fit heater / glove-box / other shiny bits)
  • Fit a posher fuel filler.
  • Upgrade front brakes and replace front suspension with trunionless
  • upgrade rear brakes and suspension
  • etc.
  • etc.

I'm now thinking that this may be a better approach for me as i did get bogged down with some unnecessary bits on the last build..
At least that's the plan for today! :)

Thurcroft flyer 22nd June 2014 11:08

that looks a great start for you there Dave chassis running gear etc look fantastic. good look with the build looks like you have bought wisely.

davecymru 22nd June 2014 19:56

Cheers matey.


Despite saying that i was going to leave the rear of the chassis how it was, i decided to strip all of the rear end down anyway, as i'd only regret it if i didn't and i have a few weeks before the kit turns up.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps0912711e.jpg


So seeing as i'd been abandoned today (Cub fun day!) i had the garage to myself all day :)

So 4 hours with a filament wheel (my new toy for this build and very nice it was!) and the chassis was stripped and cleaned from the front outriggers backwards. and i looked like i'd just come up out of the mines!

Another regret on the last build was not using red oxide, so this time i invested in some etch red oxide! :)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps116735ac.jpg

That dried remarkably quickly in all of this heat! Which meant that i also then manged to get the chassis black on :)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psa68e2c23.jpg

And before the totally knackered Cubs returned i even had time to sort out the petrol tank.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps2e1a290f.jpg


So a bit of a mammoth session that's been put me well in advance of where i thought i'd be by now and ended with a bottle of "Daddys apple Juice", or Henry Westerns finest 8.4% if i'm being totally honest! :)

davecymru 6th July 2014 18:03

And the rear end is now reassembled thanks to the assistance of messers Rimmer, Canley, Fittchet, Paddock etc.

I've got for largely the same setup as on my old Sammio as i know it works "for me" and it also provides me with adjustment on the road. So I've gone for:
  • Swing Spring
  • 1" Lowering Block
  • Gax adjustable shocks
  • New trunions!
  • All new brake lines

It also turns out that under the muck of the original donor, it already had Stainless brake hoses fitted!! So those have been cleaned and refitted along with new stainless locknuts throughout.

I also stripped, checked and cleaned/repainted everything else and this time around it looks as though the rear brake components are good enough that i don't need to replace it all :)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psf92cee43.jpg

Now to see if i can sort out the front end before the kit turns up :)

Mister Towed 6th July 2014 19:44

That's all looking very clean DC. Good choice of donor.

davecymru 13th July 2014 19:09

Another weekend with the sprogs away with Cubs, means another unexpected boost to the timelines!

So with the rear end done until the frame turns up, i turned my attention to the front.

The engine was new only 11 years ago and it shows (ignoring the rocker cover!!), so I've no intention of removing it, but i want everything else off, cleaned and repainted.

So after a few evenings, a long Saturday, 2 cans of WD40, 1/2 a dozen 1mm cutting discs and amazingly all of my skin still intact! the front suspension (and other assorted bits) are now off!!

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psbc9cfc20.jpg

And yes, i do seem to be collecting Triumph Heater Matrixes, or is that Matrices? anyway...


Then came a few hrs with the fibrewheel to clean everything and it came up a treat!
This is the passengers side stripped, the drivers side is already stripped and repainted and just about visible in the background.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps40101050.jpg

There were a few.... 'interesting' bits along the way and as-ever both sets of trunions will be completely rebuilt. I'm also replacing all of the bushes, which is a good thing given what i found on the bottom of the shocks!

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps978a959e.jpg

What scares me most is that the previous owner really looked after the mechanicals of this car until it was taken off the road yet still things like this creep through all of the inspections! I also know he'll be reading this, so i thought this would be an interesting pic for him :)
Good job I've got new shocks to go on!

rattler 14th July 2014 17:32

hi dave all looks good you will be finished before you know it number 3 on the road/bressuire g/p next year ? rattler

rattler 14th July 2014 17:49

hi dave I have a standered t/rad with 14 inch fan car runs at90 d even on a short circuit track but it is only 1200 cc .sat in it my big head is 50mm above the hump rattler

davecymru 15th July 2014 11:40

Thanks Rattler, i'm hopefully going to get the front chassis painted over the next few days and the front suspension reassembled and then i'm onto cleaning and servicing the engine. At that point i'll start looking at my new radiator and my cooling system.

Looking at what Towed has recently been through, and also what i went through with the Countach, I've been revisiting my coolant volume calculations and from what i can see (in mm) the numbers are:

Towed
  • Towed original Honda rad - 350x430x42mm = 6,321,000 mm3
  • Towed new posh rad - 450x450x42mm = 8,505,000 mm3

Me
  • Core of my Alloy rad - 350x385x60mm = 8,085,000 mm3
  • Overall size of my alloy rad- 385x475x60mm = 10,972,500 mm3

Obviously i know that it's not a solid space and final volume depends on the number of cores, differences in shape of the header tanks etc. Let alone the thermal differences in materials! But with these numbers as a starting point I'm happy to continue with the alloy option for now.

What i also planning on doing is opting for the biggest single Kenlowe dual-speed fan i can get in order to get the best CFM airflow rate.

Ref: http://www.kenlowe.co.uk/fans/specifiers/fans-cpc.html

fun fun fun :)

davecymru 16th July 2014 13:07

Gearbox off and i find... i've got the newer style clutch fitted:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps0f05f98a.jpg

Which was a nice find :)

With a bit of "gentle persuasion" that parted company with the flywheel and everything seems to look in good condition and easily cleanable :)

What i don't know - so i thought i'd ask - is a clutch plate "cleanable-n-reusable" if the friction material is all there? Or do you just replace it rather than risk it?

I think I've answered my own question there haven't i!

oxford1360 16th July 2014 13:28

I'd buy a friction plate and release bearing while you have it off...........which is multi-tasking.

swifty 16th July 2014 22:54

Also check the pressure plate springs for signs of fatigue and the friction surface for wear, you can generally tell the condition of a clutch from the amount of friction liner left.

loxilane 17th July 2014 10:59

ISTR the clutch has done less than 2000 miles and the release was changed at the same time.
Looks as if all is going well :)
Brian

davecymru 18th July 2014 08:59

Brilliant, thanks Brian :)

Despite me saying that the engine was staying in and staying in one piece, i have two weeks until the kit turns up and with the Sammio there were a few jobs that I'd wished I'd done more-thoroughly,so.....

Engine lifted.
Manifolds off, dynamo off, fan off, steering rack off, front brake pipe off etc...
Front chassis de-greased and fibre-wheel'd
Etch-Red-Oxide applied:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps46ce02b6.jpg


Then when that dried, Chassis Black applied:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps4f03ba36.jpg

So that is now the whole chassis done, apart from the inner rails at the front which face the engine as after the grease was stripped off of those, they were mint! :) gawd-bless the Triumph rust protection scheme i.e. cover it all in oil-n-grease!

Exhaust manifold fibre-wheel'd and painted in VHT.
Steering rack stripped down, cleaned, painted, new gaiters fitted and new track rod ends fitted

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps954d7449.jpg

and while i'm waiting for the new gearbox and engine mounts to turn up i've also started de-greasing and cleaning the inlet manifold and gearbox:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps6a199b66.jpg

I should gain a fair bit of weight saving simply due to removing pounds of crud from inside the bell housing! :)

So "Fingers Crossed" this will be the last of the stripping and cleaning and i'll soon be on to the build/rebuild :)

Paul L 18th July 2014 10:17

Dave - This is all coming together very nicely. :cool:

Good luck, Paul. :)

swifty 19th July 2014 10:29

Stripping and cleaning all those parts is a wise move Dave as it easier now than it would of been once fully built plus you see what condition the parts are in.

The chassis look great, look forward to the rest of the build.

davecymru 31st July 2014 09:11

Just before 8am this morning I was greeted with "Hi I've got your kit for you" :D

Apologies to John for me only being semi-conscious while helping him unload! But it's the day after we came back from holiday and i wasn't expecting you until 8.30 so my alarm was set for 8.15! :)

But waffle aside i have now taken delivery of:
  • Main body-shell
  • Bonnet
  • Doors
  • windscreen strip
  • Main frame

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps135ca663.jpg

:D

with a few other bits-n-bobs to follow:
  • Floorpan,
  • Headrest,
  • Screen,
  • Grill.

and i'm still dithering about getting a fiberglass bulkhead from Mike or making one, as TBH after looking at the frame this morning it doesn't look like brain surgery!!

So progress this morning.... frame fitted:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps311563b3.jpg

Just kidding, it's just resting in place :)

Now i'm of for a bit of a tinkering session and to give everything the once over and i'll add a few more pics later on.

That said, just from looking at the molding of the wind deflector strip compared to my old Sammio one, i can see that things have moved on quite a bit in terms of quality!! :D

Paul L 31st July 2014 20:17

Dave - I always say the quality of the Miglia is miles better than the original Cordite. :cool:

The fact the gel coat is so shiny is also a good sign.

Good luck, Paul. :)


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