You need to check the "file last updated" date currently october 2012 for my car

Hey Paul, that pic would make a nice Christmas Card.....!

Hey Mocha, you've got it! Were all C R A Z Y over here, zooming around in cars we made ourselves,breaking as many laws as we can, just for the fun of it!! Sometimes, I even drive with my windows OPEN!

Since when has Westfield, tiger racing and sylva been specialists in seatbelt mountings? What technically correct information would you like Ribble (not Sammio any longer, try to keep up dear boy) to give? Its easy enough to state regulations but its upto the builder to make sure that his/her own car is safe.

For our purposes the seat belt mounts just need to be 'secure' to be legal.

To be honest, if you skid into the path of an artic it doesn't matter whether you're riding a unicycle or driving a Range Rover, you've had your chips.

As part of my previous life I had to clear up the wreckage of aircraft from both sides that'd been shot down in the Falkland Islands. If nothing else, ejection seats have 'king good seat belts and they were almost always intact. Sadly, the pilots hadn't always fared so well...

So, build and enjoy your own car. Put the best harnesses in that you can manage. But if a thirty tonne truck turns over on top of you on the bypass even the best racing harness ain't gonna save you. :)

- but do make sure they are suitably colour-coordinated for the benefit of the coroners photos..

And being a Tiger owner I can assure you that they know no more than is already available on this forum and possibly the iva manual! I think you miss the point of kit cars, they are built by the owners to the owners specification, we have a proud tradition of she'd building in the uk and generally I think most builders take their own safety fairly seriously, hence my decision to have a full welded cage fitted to my soon to be road legal tiger, not a legal requirement but after years of racing I have seen what can happen so have adjusted by technical spec to take that into account. There will always be those that do stupid things, believe me I've seen a kit car with one of the seatbelt mounts riveted on! But it would never have passed scrutineering, an mot or an iva,

Some of us might also argue that part of the enjoyment of updating the older type of vehicle, which is not liable to IVA inspection, is to research the available options. If the prudent owner wishes to fit the very latest in safety equipment it is through personal choice and not solely as a legal requirement, the major challenge being to fit any updates in a sympathetic manner.

- or go buy an off the shelf IVA compliant Cobra kit where its all done for you.

Sorry chaps, it was my own fault really, I tried to be polite and subtle. :rolleyes:

Micha - To remove any doubt whatsoever...
This is my build thread where I am documenting my build as best I can.
I hope that there may be things on here that might help others with their builds.
I also encourage other Sammio / Ribble builders to guide me & exchange tips & ideas.
It can also be used by my friends and family to see what I am getting up to.

It is NOT somewhere for you to complain about anything what so ever!
If I give you the benefit of the doubt, perhaps you don't know what poor forum form that is.
So if you must continue to rant, please take it away from here and onto the main forum, thanks.

Everyone else - Carry on. :icon_wink:

And here is something I prepared earlier...

Goldilocks & the 3 front indicator choices...
Well my Classic Mini front indicators arrived in the post and thankfully they do look "just right". :icon_wink:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bM...=w1151-h863-no

For the record, the new Mini lens is 54mm diameter vs. 70mm for the rear lens & 25mm for side repeater.

However, there are still two things I need to do before the indicators are ready for use:
The first is to add a separate earth wire that will be connected to the metal rim around the bulb holder.
As these lights were designed to be mounted to metal body work that would provide the required earth.
( This tip came from watching the Mark Evans "A Car Is Born" programme, as he used similar lights. :cool: )

The second job will be to establish the best place, & best way, to mount them onto the bonnet itself.
Whilst certainly not an urgent job, it would make a good little job for me to start working with fibre glass.
As I'd rather see how it all works with something small before I need to tackle something more substantial.
I just need to check the minimum working temperature as it may remain cold outside for a while. :icon_sad:

Stretching the fairy story theme a little bit further…

One hump, or two?
Once upon a time I talked about building a second car with twin humps after I had finished my first car.
That idea quickly when out of the window when the cold reality of building this one dawned on me. :rolleyes:

However, one of the interesting developments in the far away land of 'Ribble Kits & Classics' is humps.
All the future bodies with come out of the mould without humps, which will then be available separately.
This raises the possibility of buying an "extra" hump & retro fitting this car into a twin hump set up. :cool:

I will give this some serious thought, as I am conscious I already have quite an extensive "To Do" list as it is!
Once I have established just how many humps my car will have, I will order some padded heads for them.
I intend to use the company that did Mister Towed's interior, as they did a great job on his head rest.

Cheers, Paul. :)

Paul. How's about this for a deal. Now I've got your missing bits organised, if I chuck in a spare hump to say sorry for the delay, you can play with it with abandon, document how you get on and we're all winners :biggrin:

Andy - Blimey! You have caught me completely off guard there. :shock:

That is a very kind offer, as I know a lot of the issues have been beyond your control.

Thanks, Paul. :)

Re GRP and temperatures, its very forgiving. Anything over freezing and it will go off, just add more catalyst. A lead lamp with a filament bulb our under the job, then covered with a tarp will bring the temp up locally to set it off if you do have a problem.
One thing though if it is cold, mind as you breath out you don't get condensation where you are about to put on the resin. That tiny bit of contamination will make it go milky and it won't stick as well. Just hold your breath!

Removable Frame & Body:
Charman.tech made a good point on his build thread the other day about "thinking time".
I've also spend a lot of time thinking about my build (as anyone reading this thread can probably tell :rolleyes:).
Even though there is little to show for it, it gives me comfort when working out how to put this car together.

I know the whole re-body inspection process relies on the frame and body work being removable.
However, based on previous comments, this is based on theoretical, rather than practical, evidence.
( i.e. As long as there are visible brackets that appear bolted to the chassis, that is good enough. )

But the more I think about this, the more I want to make sure that I do nothing to prevent physical removal.
I have been putting a lot of thought into the rear of the car & there are a few areas I need to consider carefully.
These are the petrol tank, filler cap, the rear frame bolts themselves & the fuel hard line...

Access Behind Rear Cockpit Wall:
This was my 1st crude 'mock up' of the rear of the cockpit which will be "fitted" around my handbrake panel.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7575.jpg

My understanding is that this panel is bonded / fibre glassed to both the floor & body shell for added strength.
So then it would be a case of cutting out a removable panel in this wall that would allow access behind it.

AndyP57 put a very discreet panel in his first demonstrator, for the fuel gauge wiring…

http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/...elia/Seats.jpg

Mister Towed has a much bigger panel providing access to his luggage area…

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...ion/004-28.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...ion/005-17.jpg

Sorry, I feel another Goldilocks moment coming on...

"One panel is too big and the other one is too small...

:icon_twisted:

So I will have a look at the weekend to see how easy it would be to reach the following from inside the cockpit:
- Petrol tank mounting bolts - Might need captive nuts at the rear of the frame rail.
- Rear framework mounting bolts - Hopefully these can be removed without removing the petrol tank.

The filler cap securing clips, fuel gauge wiring & the fuel line connection should all be easy to reach.
The fuel line itself is the next area I need to make some changes to…

Fuel Line:
I bought a cheap and cheerful pipe bending tool to re-route my hard fuel line to the new petrol tank location.
My initial plan was to bend it around the frame and clip it all in place before bonding the body shell on.
The downside to this plan is there would be no way to disconnect the pipe in order to remove the body. :icon_sad:

So new master plan is to use some of this flexible fuel hose instead…

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/oncirr...t-pet-hose.jpg

I would need to cut the existing fuel hard line at, or slightly above, the chassis level.
I would then run this flexible hose from the hard line to the tank, clipping to the frame work along the way.
But by disconnecting both ends of the flexible hose there would be nothing to stop the body coming off.

I would just need a simple rubber grommet to seal the pipe into the new floor (see below).

Rear Body Work:
Without doubt, my biggest headache is the area underneath the bodywork, behind the rear cockpit wall.
I have spent a lot of time trying to come up with a solution that will resolve these issues:
- Somewhere to mount my twin exhaust silencers.
- Inner rear wheel arches.
- Protection of, and access to, the rear lighting mounting points and wiring.

But no matter what I try, I keep coming back to DonnySoutherner's re-using bits of Spitfire solution…
( Which is why the new Ribble Navigator demonstrator being bonded to the Spitfire tub works so well. )

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xE...=w1024-h768-no


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lh...=w1024-h768-no

I plan to send the first photo to Spitfire Graveyard shortly so they know what I am looking for when I ring them.
( As I had enough trouble trying to describe the headlight rims I wanted over the phone. :rolleyes: )
If the price is right, then this is the road I will go down to sort out the back of the car.

Cheers, Paul. :)

Replies:
SeaNick - Thanks for the advice. :cool:
Although I might try wearing a mask rather than not breathing! :icon_wink:

Well the snow has finally arrived in London with a vengeance…

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Uz...4=w360-h270-no

But as SeaNick said the other day, at least the photo would make a nice Christmas card.

At least there are still a few little jobs I can be getting on with indoors...

Front Indicator Earth Wire:
This was a very simple & straightforward job (who said there were none of these? :icon_wink: ).
There were three tiny bolts & nuts to remove to allow the bulb holder to be separated from the seal.
( I will not be using these to mount the indicator to the bonnet, I will use fittings a bit further apart. )

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5l...s=w360-h270-no

Then I just recycled a length of the excess wire I'd already removed from my loom into two lengths.
I had to cut a very small hole in the rubber seal to thread the new purple earth wire though before I started.
( I will be producing my own version of the wiring diagram which will list all colour coded wired used. )

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Rn...s=w640-h480-no

I then crimped small 'O Ring' connectors to one end & bolted it to the outer bulb ring as the earth connection.
I just had to cut a small "V" out of the rim to allow the wire a new route in which wouldn't foul when fitted.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rF...8=w640-h480-no

So another little job done, and the philosophy on this build is still that every job done counts. :cool:

Rimmer Bros. Delivery:
Another very fast delivery of a big box of bits from them...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6H...8=w360-h270-no

Next Steps:
We are hoping to head off for a family Panto later this afternoon...

Oh no you're not!

Oh yes we are!

Etc. :rolleyes:

Although they did ask us to ring before hand to check it was did on.

But I have another couple of indoor jobs in mind if I get the chance.
( I'd dug out any bits & tools I might need from the bottom of the garden before the snow came. )

So until next time, take care, Paul. :)

What's in the box?

Radiator?

Sorry, just realised my shopping list was on the previous page...

Didn't get a chance to open it yet as my sister & her family are due any minute for Panto.

Oh no there're not!

Oh yes they are!

Etc.

Got to go, Paul. :icon_wink:

Nice work, good idea drawing up your own wiring diagram for future reference.

I've done a colour coded diagram of the mods to my loom, although, as I had a rather large reel of red 5 amp cable lying around, which I've used for everything, and could only find a blue pen when I drew up the diagram...

Front Indicator Earth Wire - Extra Photos:
Just a quick follow up to yesterday's post, I should have added extra "before" & "after" photos.
These are from the second indicator that needed to be done, showing where I made the cut...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Rb...=w1151-h863-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ML...=w1151-h863-no

Which leads me nicely into...

Front Indicator Mounting:
I still need to "mock up" the best location for this, but I already know I want a vertical mounting surface.
Mikmiglia had previously suggested one way of doing this, but this advice actually gave me another idea.
I've already collected some discarded sections of house insulation foam from nearby skips.
As I had a vague idea that I might stuff these inside the doors before adding some sort of interior door panel.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7902.jpg

Then I remembered my Fibre Glassing Instruction DVD using foam as a mould to make a particular shape. *
So I decided to have a go at shaping some of this foam into the basis for my indicator mounts.

* OK, technically speaking, the DVD suggested making a fibre glass mould from the foam, then using that.
But that sounds like a lot of extra work to me & I don't have any gel coat to play with anyway. :rolleyes:
So it will have a rough fibre glass finish, which be be "smoothed" on the visible bonnet side with some filer.

I just had to bare in mind a few things before I started attacking the foam with a collection of sharp "toys":
- I wanted it to match the contours of the headlights, which appears shallower above & deeper below.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/kx...=w1151-h863-no

- I needed to make it deeper than required, so that I can trim the back to blend into the bonnet's contours.
( Although the deepest point will still be less than an inch to keep in step with headlight mounting point. )
- I actually need both a 'left' & a 'right' mould to take account of the bonnet shapes.

So I started by cutting off a slightly over sized cube from the insulation block…

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_M...Y=w640-h480-no

I then used the indicator's outer chrome ring as a basic guide to mark a centre hole for drilling...

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7913.jpg

I used a wood working drill bit to cut a hole for the back of the indicator to go through...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/T3...E=w640-h480-no

Question:
Has any body used this type of drill bit to cut through their fibreglass bodywork?
Or do you have to use the cylinder type drill bits usually used on metal?

With the indicator's rubber seal pushed in place I could use a marker pen around the outside.
Which gives me the size of the vertical surface to starting working "back" from…

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--...4=w640-h480-no

At this point I sliced the block horizontally to give me the two "sides" I would need.
So this left me with two sections that both looked like this to play with...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ad...I=w640-h480-no

Then I slowly, but surely, whittled the foam down into something that looked like this...

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7920.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7922.jpg

I figured in the best Sammio tradition it didn't matter too much if it wasn't perfectly symmetrical. :icon_twisted:

I now need to confirm the final location for the indicators on the bonnet.
( Ideally as close to the "red circle" mock up in the bonnet photo above).

Then I need to do is to shape the foam's flat "bottom" to blend in with the bonnet's contours.
I also must work how thick the fibre glass will end up being after it is applied over the top of the mould.
As I will need to reduce the mould by this thickness, so the fibre glass ends up the required size (touch wood).

After that, I should be ready to have my first go at making something out of fibre glass. :cool:

Observation - Working With Foam :
This insulation foam is very easy to work with, a bit like a large cheesecake.
But the stuff gets everywhere & sticks to your clothes like iron fillings to a magnet!
I think I've spent more time cleaning up the mess than on the shaping work itself.

So another inch of progress made towards the finishing line.

Until next time, take care, Paul. :)

Replies:
Mr T - At least if you have an electrical problem, chances are it will be a red wire at fault.
:icon_wink:

Nice job, any hole that big in fibreglass needs to be made by either stitch drilling and filing or using a hole saw.

Agreed, I would expect that wood bit to split the edges of the hole in fibreglass and leave cracks radiating from it.

I bought a set of hole saws from my local hardware store for about a tenner. They work really well, cutting very clean holes, but I did burn out a reasonable new power drill using the largest saw to cut too many holes in quick succession for the gauges :(

Planning and executing all the little mods is one of the real joys of Sammio building. You don't get such little pleasures with a mainstream kit-car. :love:

Viatron & Mr T - Thanks for the feedback chaps. :cool:

I've seen cheap & cheerful drill bit sets on ebay that look like this...

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Hole-Saw-Cutt...pPw~~60_12.JPG

Although I'd still need to buy the odd bigger size for things like the gauges.

Is this the kind of thing you mean?

Cheers, Paul. :)

This will also work mate, i would prime foam with resin fast as it will be stronger, and when you add filler it will stick

Yep, that's the type of hole saw set although mine has them from about 15mm up to about 108mm.

Even though it was dark outside, I wanted to quickly check something in preparation for the weekend.
So sorry about the poor photos, but they are the best I could manage.

Mind The Gap - Part 1:
When removing the seat belt bracket fouling the body work the other week, I spotted something else.
The top edge of the rear cockpit body work is being pushed out by the frame rail behind it.
Not easy to see, but you can just make out the bulge in near the bottom of the hump…

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7932.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7936.jpg

This area is effectively being "stretched" to allow the front of the cockpit to fit over the frame at the other end.
Again, not easy to see, but it is the centre of the dash area that is bulging out...

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7934.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7933.jpg

So gap between front & back of the cockpit is marginally smaller than the corresponding gap in the frame!

I'd also spotted this photo when I was searching for one of AndyP57's rear cockpit access panel…

http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/...a/FrameOn3.jpg

I had previously noticed that his frame had a different design to allow the steering column to pass through.
( There is a "kink" in one of his vertical frame rails, whereas DonnySoutherner & I have straight rails. )

But what I hadn't spotted before, was that he had a revised design on the top "dash board" rail too.
So is looks like DonnySoutherner had a MkI version, I've got the MkII & Andy has a MkIII version! :rolleyes:
Which gives me some comfort that it may be the frame design, & not my fitting of it, that is the problem.

Before I start to take my jigsaw to parts of the body shell, there was one other area that I needed to check.
The body will only be able to move forward if there is a gap between the door cut outs & the frame work.
Unfortunately these touch the frame, with no real "wiggle" room to "shove" the body forward a few mm.

Driver's Side

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7938.jpg

Passenger Side

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7940.jpg

Therefore it may take a combination of alterations to both the body work & the frame to fix this.
So I will have another look in daylight just to make sure I am not missing something else.

The door cut outs lead me nicely to a related issue...

Doors - More Thoughts:
I found an old photo of one of MikMiglia's "hockey stick" bonnet braces for Mr T's build thread.
The photo was from Barry May's build and this had doors added to the original Spyder body shell…

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...DSCF0258-5.jpg

It is interesting to see how the shape of these doors & their openings differ from my Cordite ones.
The bodywork edges are very straight and only a bottom "lip" was added before this painting photo.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...k/DSCF0283.jpg

It is only when you compare the above with my first attempt at door "fitting" that the difference is clear.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lO...o=w647-h863-no

Mike himself hopes to post an update on his own build shortly & I look forward to seeing his doors too.
But I've got the feeling there is no escaping some major re-working to get my Cordite doors to fit / work.
The only good news is that if the door cut outs get re-worked the body might be able to move forward.

Rimmer Bros:
Received an outstanding piece of customer service from Rimmer Bros. following my "big box" delivery.
When I finally opened the box, there were a couple of items that were not quite what I expected.
There had been some sort of technical problem with the website photos so I needed to return them.
I spoke to them on the phone, then I needed to send an email to get a "Return Authorisation Number".
So I mentioned the headlight retaining rings I'd bought in error last year when I clicked on the wrong parts.
( I only realised my error months after their normal returns policy had expired & was planning to Ebay them. )
But fair play, in a very generous act of good will, they will let me return these at the same time for a refund. :cool:
I just need to pack everything up carefully and get it to the Post Office on Saturday morning.

Whilst I'd checked all the small parts, I'd actually left the radiator bubble wrapped for "safe keeping". :rolleyes:
So just to be on the safe side, out it came for a quick check before being tucked back up in bubble wrap.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dP...=w1151-h863-no

One thing that strikes me is just how light it is, I know it is made up of a large chunk of "air", but still.
I also realised just what a clever design it is too, as although it is wider, the inlet / outlet pipes are inset.
These pipes are effectively in the same place as the originals, so I can re-use the donor's radiator hoses.

I read that Mr T had accidently damaged his new radiator while working on his car which was a shame.
So in the 'learning from others' tradition I will not rush to fit this & then fit some sort of protection when I do.

Front Indicator Mounting:
While I was outside I thought I'd have a quick look at where the front indicator might go.
( Sorry I know the photo is very blurry. :rolleyes: )

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ov...Q=w360-h270-no

It looks like the overall diameter (taking account of the rubber seal) does get in the way a bit.
So I will need to "cut in" the foam to take account the body lines from the grille & headlight.
At least I have plenty of foam to mess about with if I need to try a few options.

Anyway I'm off to do a bit more beard scratching, take care, Paul. :)

Replies:
Mikmiglia - Thanks Mike, another great tip. :cool:
Mr T - Cheers, in which case, I'll keep an eye out for a set with a wider range of sizes.

I am sure Mike will point you in the right direction with the doors. As a quick fix Andy bonded his in. However I think it's worth spending some time on, to get them right, especially if you set your heart on doors in the original plan of things. You seem to be overcoming a lot of hurdles in far from ideal working conditions so I have every confidence you will find a solution.

Weather Watch:
Well it arrears to have rained quite heavily over night...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6N...=w1151-h863-no

[Thinking Positively] Well, at least it got rid of the last of the snow. [/Glass Half Full]

:rolleyes:

Jokes aside, I managed to grab a few minutes outside this morning...

Front Indicator Mountings - Part 2:
I had my first attempt at shaping the back of the foam to "blend in" with the contours of the bonnet.
This involved removing a bit at a time, offering it up & repeating until I had a half decent fit.
I've taped things in place for now, as I can't fit the rubber seal until I've drilled a hole in the bonnet.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x...Y=w640-h480-no

But this wasn't quite right, as although it looked OK from the front, it was not vertical.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TJ...8=w480-h640-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NV...E=w647-h863-no

So I had another go with my other mount (originally intended for the passenger side).
I got a bit closer to the shape I had in mind, but it still wasn't quite what I wanted.
( Red circle marked around edge of vertical surface just to highlight the angles. )

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mq...o=w270-h360-no

The good news is that this looks like a good way to build the indicator mounts.
Although, as I look at the photos, I think I might lower the position a little bit.

So as I have got plenty of foam to play with I will have another go.
But this time, I'll shape the back to match the bonnet first, then sort out the front.

I've got more things to update today, but that will do for now.

Cheers, Paul. :)

Replies:
Froggyman - Cheers & thanks for the vote of confidence.
I would like the doors to work if possible and will be updating more on that later today. :pray:

Mind The Gap - Part 2:
Before my quick check the other night, I was convinced this was going to be an easy fix using my jigsaw.
But the cold light of day confirms a fundamental problem that I need to take more time to resolve correctly.
This "three way" join in the frame protrudes beyond the body line of the dash & really needs to be moved.
( Photo taken underneath the dash, looking up. )

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7969.jpg

So I will add cutting & re-welding this section to provide a better fit to my list of frame mods required. *
Until then, I will not start taking any chunks out of the dashboard body work.

* It looks like my welding lesson will now take place in early February, which is fine by me.

However, not all of the bodywork was safe from my jigsaw as I returned to the perennial thorn in my side…

Doors - Again!:
It is clear that I really need to decide whether I am going to keep working doors, & if so, how will they work?
( As potential changes to the existing door cut outs may give me a better overall fit of the body shell. )

AndyP57 has effectively abandoned this design on both his own build & future Ribble kits.
Given that he'd already told me he had spent a long time trying to get the doors to fit, I was losing faith a bit.
But the photo of Barry May's build (see earlier post) actually gives me a small glimmer of hope.

Door Opening Lip:
I think one of the reasons that I was convinced the "lip" around the door cut was important was this...

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7979.jpg

This is how my body shell arrived & to me, it looked like the start of a cut in the wrong place that was stopped.
So part of me kept thinking it should remain for some reason, but now I know it needs to go.

Therefore I took a deep breath and removed the passenger side's lip completely with my jigsaw.

Before:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7973.jpg

As I started to cut I found it hard to see where the lip & body joined, so out came my marker pen.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/40...=w1151-h863-no

This made it much easier to see what I was doing.

After:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Kf...o=w360-h270-no

Doors:
I finally removed the yellow releasing wax that has been on the doors since they were delivered.
I figured it would be easier to see how well the doors were fitting without yellow blotches everywhere.

Before:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6p...E=w360-h270-no

After:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Mg...8=w640-h480-no

Whilst this looks a lot better from a distance, both doors are actually in pretty poor condition.
They are splitting apart all over the place and there is "daylight" in some of the gaps (spot my orange glove).

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7962.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7966.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7997.jpg

Plus some missing gel coat (I have similar "bald" patches on the body shell too).

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7971.jpg

There was a time where finding this kind of thing would knock me back a bit.
But these days I just want to find out what needs to be done, add it to the list & keep going forward.

Door Fitting - Take 2:
I'd already done some basic "mock up" work with the doors, but removing the "lip" made things clearer.

This was the passenger side:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K5...o=w640-h480-no

What I cant understand is why the inner door's leading edge bears no resemblance to the door cut out's profile?
External hinges allow the door to swing out without any danger of catching anything along the way.
And the forward edges in the Barry May photo posted previously clearly join up nicely.

The other thing visible in the other Barry photo was a "strip" added to the body opening.
There is plenty of room on the inside edge to do something similar on this car too.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7989.jpg

This was the view of the outside of the passenger door:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7986.jpg

The good news is the outer door skin is generally bigger than the opening, so can be trimmed to fit.
The only down side is the condition of the edges themselves (see above), but they can be fixed.

Top Tip:
One thing I always remember from reading another forum was to fit the passenger side door first.
So when you fit the driver's side, you will have learnt from the experience & hopefully do a better job.
Given that the driver's door gets used more, & by you, that is the more important one to get right.

Driver's Side:
As I was happy with the stage I'd reached on the passenger side, so repeated it on the driver's side.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7992.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7994.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7993.jpg

Mirror Images:
I know that you can't see both sides of the car at the same time. :icon_wink:
But you can see the insides of both doors, so why don't the trailing edges have the same set up?

Driver's Side - Rear of door on the left, bodywork on the right, not a great join, but a start:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7995.jpg

Passenger Side - Not even close:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7996.jpg

I have got more build news from today & more thoughts about what to do about the above.
But it has been a long day and I am going to call it a night now.
( Plus my first attempt to post this exceeded the 20 image limit. )

More tomorrow, cheers, Paul.

Keep going, Paul. I can feel your frustrations but it will be worth it in the end. I like your "There was a time where finding this kind of thing would knock me back a bit." A project like this certainly builds resilience.

I would do whatever it takes to keep the doors (more in a bit).
If you have doors you can still get in with a soft or hard top fitted. Whilst you may not be planning this at this stage, I found after a wet summer I was tired of leaving the car at home if rain was forecast for the evening run home. A modified midget hood would probably fit.....

With the doors you have, keep the outer skins and junk the rest. Make new frames by adding an inch spacer all round to the body aperture, face them up with Formica, then you have the basis for a plug (or buck) from which you can form a mould. Make mould, then make new inners that actually fit.
Alternatively, make new inner frames from ply and glass over.
At least if you do this you will have frames that can come up against the lip with a door seal, which umm....you have just cut off...:sad:

Hi Paul, PM in your inbox

Seanick's tip about junking the inners is a good one.

I have similar door issues on the G46 which although I may (or may not) be selling, I keep thinking about. The fit on mine isn't so bad but could be a lot better.

My doors are good enough to make fit but if I redid the inners I could get the door much better and get door bins like I want. I could also glass in reinforcement points for the slams and catches in exactly the right place at the right angles.

Nothing like being unable to walk to give you time to think

My sole reason for going doorless was that they're notoriously difficult to install, even in high cost kits, never mind a budget special where you do everything yourself.

Have you considered having just a driver's door? If you look at the original Lancia D24 it only has the one door on the off-side which looks race car cool imho. Phil J's probably going that way with his third build so you'd be in excellent company.

It'd give you the access you want while only giving you half the installation headaches. 99% of the time you'll be the sole occupant anyway and it's easier to climb into the passenger side as there's no steering wheel in the way.

As for weather equipment, I'm going with a zip centre tonnaeu cover, a gore-tex suit, goggles and just drive faster when it rains so the flyscreen swooshes the rain over your head into the slipstream. Oh, and a bucket and sponge in the passenger footwell :(

Best of luck and I know you'll get there in the end. :)

Here we go - full weather equipment Spyder style...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3506323081...84.m1423.l2649

Had a similar door issue on a mates car some years ago, can't remember the make now but they weren't around for long as the bodywork was awful. We ended up glueing foam all around the outside edge of the door shell then sanding it till it fitted nicely, we then just glassed over it finished with some tissue for a decent surface finish, obviously this relies on having a decent fibreglass backing to glue and glass to, no good if your filling thin air. As per the cordite the hinges were mounted on the door skin so before we glued the foam we bonded metal plates where the hinges were to go and made a cutout in the foam to still allow access to the back of the plates for doing up nuts, hope that makes sense?

I have one of these from my racing days, very good at keeping the rain out, also retry good at keeping the sweat in though....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OMP-Kart-R...item1c2f808031

Whilst tidying the kitchen....I had a better idea for making door inner frameworks.
Use the door aperture on the car as the mould, gel and lay up your grp and make a new inner. Pop these out. When done you will need to shorten the length by say 2" and the height by say 1" for clearance of hinges and catch. Morris Minor hinges are an easy internal fit.
To reduce the frame simply cut into quarters on the straight sections, feather the edges of the joins (12:1 ratio) and glass over internally. Hang this frame without the skin, and when all good fit the skin, holding in place with small blobs of filler. Carefully glass skin to frame when this has set.

The wet weather gear and drive fast bit is fine until you come up behind a slow moving car, then you just sit in a puddle. The seats take weeks to dry, and the dashboard electrics corrode. I felt like a prate at traffic lights too! Totally different to motorbiking. I have the t-shirt!
Back to the housework......

Ah yes, the plastic onesie. Probably not the most breathable garment available.

And Seanick I take your point about the impracticalities of driving an open car in the wet. I feel a mount for a golf umbrella that automatically deploys at under 50mph could be on the cards...

Umbrella...mmmmmm, never thought of that!

Or alternatively emigrate to the south of France!