Thanks for that Jag - I had never heard of the quick release clamp, so have bought one just now. I will look for a small chop saw - I have a wood saw version but that will too fast for metal cutting I imagine, but they are great tools. I won't waste my money on the angle grinder attachment, so that is some pounds saved. Thanks again.

And ARB - yes, a thicker bar will lead to understeer, but is often required if fitting the swing spring from the Mk4/1500.

Marc

The evolution sliding mitre saw at screwfix is advertised as for wood or metal.

This is similar to mine
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-150...oAAOxy4dNSy-wB

Gary - thanks for the advice. I saw that piece of wood you have mentioned and it make sense to lift the hinges to make a clearance. I will experiment with this when the time comes.

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the advice mate. Yes, I guess I will have to practice on some off-cuts first. It should be ok, I have bought 3mm thick square tubing to make the welding easier and not to burn through the metal, as I am going to use an arc welder.

Hi Marc - yes, the adapter is a cheap thing Aldi was selling when I bought the grinder. I only need to make a few cuts, so I thought this will do for now. If I intend to do more work in the future I will buy something better or a dedicated cutting tool. This does the job just fine for now ( I am just cutting a few extra pieces of steel tubing to reinforce my frame here and there).

Hi Mitchelkitman - thank you for the comment and that is a good point. However, I was under impression that I need to install a thicker ARB because I replaced original Herald spring with Spitfire 1500 swing spring and I have installed 1" lowering block too?

Marc F - thanks for the confirmation. Maybe Mitchelkitman did not know I have changed Herald spring and added lowering block earlier in the build.

You are correct!

Mitchelkitman - thank you for confirming this.

Cheers,D

Hi all,

Can anyone comment on the drop link adjustment in the pictures above please?

Cheers,D

Hi Deni, sorry, meant to reply to this a while back. I used standard links on my Spyder so I haven't actually tried the Wolfitt adjustable ones. The Wolfitt items do look very well engineered, but having been perfectly happy with the Triumph originals I'd guess that they'll only make a noticeable difference on an extreme, track focused car rather than a fun, road car.

If they're something you're keen to try I'd suggest you run your car on (new) standard drop links for a while, then change to the adjustable ones to see if there's any real difference - it's an easy job changing them after all (if there is such a thing as an easy job on an old Triumph...)

Some of Wolfitt's other products are well worth a look though.

Mr Towed - Thank you for your advice, much appreciated. I came to the same conclusion. It is a great product but, I'm not going to use my car on a racing track, so I'll use stock drop links.

Hi everyone,

After being away for nearly 4 months I am back in the garage to continue working on the Miglia.

I have done the body trial fit - even if it looks that the body is not very straight, once it is clamped to the frame it actually fits much better and I think I will be able to position it correctly.




Attachment 5731




I have shortened back outriggers and front bar. This makes taking the body on and off the frame easier and it is easier to move the body too when experimenting with the positioning. I will bond these parts of the chassis to the body later on.


Attachment 5729




Attachment 5730



I have also made cuts in the floor panels to fit them on the chassis.


Attachment 5728

Next it was time to decide what needs doing before the body is on. I have bought a new welder and started practicing welding to improve the frame. I have been reluctant to start welding - I have an arc welder but I was not confident that I would be able to use it properly.

My new welder is a flux core, gases MIG welder, which seemed a bit easier to use.



Attachment 5732


My first attempt to put the wire in the welder...Inevitable rookie mistake...


Attachment 5733


My frame came without the pedals attachment plate and the base for the prop shaft tunnel, so I will have to weld these on. I will also need to strengthen the area around the steering column, brace the area behind the seats and weld a steel tube between the rear outriggers to stiffen the back of the chassis a bit. I will post photos when I start doing this after Christmas.

First practice welds were not good at all, as I had to learn which power and wire speed settings are most suitable, though I have made a bit better welds after a few attempts.

Attachment 5734

Attachment 5735

The welds do not look very good, but after a good old hammer test, they appeared to be reasonably strong.
After this trial I bought some welding spray to reduce the splatter.


Attachment 5737



Attachment 5738


Buying a MIG welder was definitely a good decision, and as I am getting more confident with welding I am also starting to enjoy it a bit more.

I would not be able to do more serious structural welding at this stage, but I am confident that I will learn to weld good enough for this purpose. However, I need to practice a bit more.

As I need to practice welding a bit more, I wanted to learn how to do fibreglassing too in the mean time. Like welding, I have never done this before and I will need to do it later on.

I bought some supplies and decided to make a copy of the original bulkhead.



Attachment 5739


I have used 450g fibreglass matting and a thicker matting called Diolen, which remains more flexible after the resin has cured.



Attachment 5740


I stripped and patched up an old and rusty bulkhead and gave it a go.



Attachment 5741



Attachment 5742


Attachment 5743

I painted the bulkhead to make it a bit smoother and applied a release agent to be able to peel off the copy when it is cured.


Attachment 5744



I started with the top part. I was happy with my very first fibreglassing attempt.


Attachment 5745


Again, not the best looking copy but it is very strong and very light.


Attachment 5746


Next time I did the bottom bits and these turned out even better as I had learned from the mistakes doing the top bit. They were also a bit easier to do to be fair.
I have improved the top bit further by applying a couple more layers of CSM, so it looks much smoother. Unfortunately I forgot to make a photo of the finished product.



Attachment 5747




Attachment 5748


Obviously I was planning to use these, as this would mean less welding, less weight and would give a good reference for the possible position of the pedals.

However, later on my mate Johnny dropped the bomb shell... and said that it would be illegal to use fibreglass for the bulkhead and the car would not pass its MOT if I didn't use metal to make the bulkhead.

Needless to say I was a bit disappointed, as I had allowed 1 week of resin curing time for each part before peeling it off, so if this is true I have lost this time.

I have called a few MOT stations to check this, and of course they suggested to use steel, but none of them were 100% sure if fibreglass was illegal.

I would appreciate it if anybody can offer any advice regarding this as I have seen in a couple of forums that some builders used fibreglass bulkheads too and the original kit used to be supplied with a fibreglass bulkhead, so I assumed it was ok.

So much for now. I wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year.

Cheers, D.

Wow, well done, and very adventurous too. Having made every rookie mistake with an arc stick welder, I too have been wondering about MIG too. There is one at the communal workshop I attend, so will give it a try after Christmas. Keep up the great work.

Deni - Good to see you back. :cool:

I'll write a proper reply to your welding & fibreglassing posts another time.

But just wanted to write a quick answer to this first.

This is no requirement for a car to have a metal bulkhead to pass an MOT.

As there are plenty of production cars with all fibreglass bodyshells (e.g. Reliant Scimitar, early Lotus Elans, etc.)

Lots of MOT stuff here:
https://www.mot-testing.service.gov....als/class3457/

The references to the bodyshell talk about "structural rigidity" not metal.

Which reminds me, there are a number of supercars built from Carbon Fibre which also don't have steel bulkheads.

So feel free to tell your mate to stand in the corner and think about what he said. :icon_wink:

Good luck, Paul. :)