as for donor cars, I've long thought that repurposing something like the rather fugly Spartan kit car with a new body might be the way to go. Plenty of them around and cheap as they are so fugly. As long as they are registered correctly then it should make a cheap, no IVA needed donor.

John

Coming soon, the all new...

Spammio Cyder.

Funny how opinions are so different, I'm not a fan of the front end you posted, much prefer the blunt Sammio with flat round lights.... the Porsche speedster with the oval beetle headlights would be my limit..

You always hear about the dreaded 'swing axel' on spitfires, and mine is on such narrow tyres that I'm too scared to take corners at any sort of speed in case I end up in a ditch or worse.
I almost wish I had an identical car to practice on in case anything went wrong,

I do like the idea of taking leaves out of the rear spring though as mine has a very hard ride, presumably because there's less weight in it than on the original spitfire donor,
Is it difficult to do?

I have a mk1 Vitesse chassis under mine so it's on swing axles. With the suspension settings I have I don't suffer any unwanted effects, the car is just too light to trigger the 'tuck under' issues that Beetles, Heralds and pre Swing-spring Spitfires suffered -

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...ps04raigd7.jpg

The roughly 2" wider track that the wire wheel adaptors give also help stability in corners. Oh, and don't forget that Stirling Moss set a record Mille Miglia time in a Mercedes 300SLR, equipped with swing axles.

As for removing leaves from the rear spring, no, it's not difficult at all. Asuming you don't have a swing-spring at the back (which has a pronounced 'Mexican Hat' shape to the central top cover that clamps the stack to the diff) once you've removed the rear spring all you do is take the nut off the 'peg' that runs down through the centre of the spring stack into a blind hole in the top of the diff and you can just lift off the top three leaves.

Most people then refit the remaining springs and run with that setup. I found that the back end was still a little bouncy for my liking, so I ended up removing one more leaf from the next stack down. They're accessed by undoing the bolts on the two inner clamps (I had to cut mine off), lifting off the next three leaves, removing one of the lower two (the top one is riveted to the clamps) and then refitting the rear spring.

One bit of advice I would give anyone doing this is to Loctite the studs into the diff and use new Nyloc nuts on the top of the studs, otherwise they can work loose, which mine did.

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...ps75ae0724.jpg

If you get your spring rates, ride height and suspension geometry set right the car should feel light, grippy, agile and very confidence inspiring on the road. Hope that helps.

JG - I often look at Spartans and Pilgrims etc as they are ideal donors and , as you say , often registered appropriatley ...
The first Miglia was a modified S*mmio body on a Spartan chassis ..

Striker .. Bruce Meyers 625 TRC is one of my all time favourite cars and influencing my thought processes along with The Admirals 500 Mondial , another gorgeous car ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2O_L2SpEg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpfJ1b-X7p4

Cheers, maybe mine isn't that bad, but it feels a bit skittish and I think I'm just too scared to risk pushing it too much (I did write my Boxster off last year pushing it a bit too hard) :(

Gary - I hadn't seen that 500 Mondial link before, what a great car and a great story too. :cool:
( I just wish I had some roads like that around here. )

If you can build something that is inspired by those two cars, it should look amazing.

Good luck, Paul. :)

PS
Just picking up your point about using other kit cars as a base…

I've seen a few examples on Rods 'n' Sods, where something like this:

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/d...ject/image.jpg

Has been turned into one of these.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/d...356ADA632A.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/d...04DFA8CE1D.jpg

Or one of these. :cool:

http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/q...IMG_1281-1.jpg

Gary - I hadn't seen that 500 Mondial link before, what a great car and a great story too.
( I just wish I had some roads like that around here. )

Both those Petrolicious links are very good ...They are very watchable with some great cinematoghraphy .

I have watched them both several times and never tire of them ...

The Victory by Design series keeps me hooked in the same way too ..but because the Petrolicious clips are generally 7 or 8 mins long , I find myself watching them more ...if you look in the right hand column on youtube , you will see other great 'shorts' from the same guys ...this is another one that will appeal to most on here ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttl-kF8Rbuo

Absolutely stunning:faint:....and happens to have a wheelbase and track only a few mm different to a Herald, hmmm, next project maybe?

That skittish feeling is almost certainly down to the springs and/or shocks being too firm.

The revelation for me came in the 80's the first time I drove a humble Peugeot 205GT (five door, 85bhp 1.4, slightly lower ride height than base model) and found that the softer springs with good damping gave it vastly better handling on the Scottish mountain roads than the rock-hard ride of the XR3i I had been driving. The Escort had ploughed on towards the undergrowth a number of times and a friend had recommended that I fit harder springs and firmer shocks to 'kill the understeer'. That was just Pub talk though, and the opposite was in fact true, with the humble 1.4 Pug able to simply drive away from a lot of 'fast' cars of the day on those fabulous twisty driving roads. Ahh, nostalgia.

I'v been down this route and still do but it's a bit unpredictable with DVLA.
If your going to go this way make sure you take photos of the donor before you strip it.
Keep the paper work simple, if DVLA don't ask don't tell them. :nono:

Also check the chassis number most kits from the 80's and even 90's have there own chassis number. This normally mean the donor has it's own chassis ie; Moss.
DVLA pointed out that if the chassis number relates to a registered manufacturer ie; Triumph Spitfire then the chassis should be an original unmodified example regardless of it's history. which I think is wrong but hey it's DVLA after all. :hurt:

I have once got around this problem by asking the local Triumph Owners Club to verify (in writing) the chassis was an "original" item. :eusa_liar:

We'll see ...imagine the bastard love child of the 3 example clips I have posted and we are somewhere handy ...

I think I need to go sharp styling on the front as I have pretty much done blunt faces in this area and don't want any confusion or comparisons marring the project ......

Herald viewed this morning ( local one that has been sat 18 months in a garden ) and returning tomorrow to thrash out a deal !!

Oi! Stop poaching all the Triumphs on my patch!!! ;)

The 625 is a stunning car, i had seen that you tube link many times before, pinched a few ideas off it for my build, the rolled cockpit edge and the metal screen center support. One thing i wish i had made is a clock binical similar to the 625, but hey may be next time.

Gary if you can come up with something similar you have a winner and i may be tempted provided it was symmetrical.

Bloody cheek. The original Sammio Spyder is perfectly symmetrical. Erm, so long as you only look at one side at a time...

I took my son out in mine this afternoon to play mini-golf at Hunstanton, and people just stop, stare, take pictures and pay compliments all the time, but none of them ever comment on the lack of symmetry.

After three and a half years on the road I still can't believe what a jaw-dropping car I was able to build on such a small budget.

Good luck with your pointy nosed project Gary, I'll be watching with interest even if it isn't quite straight when it's finished. :rockon:

As for a non-controversial model name, how about Dreihundert Möwe Flügel? Can't see any other manufacturer taking issue with that. ;)

Gary

I have the answer you are all looking for a G46 based on the old SE5 chassis and running gear!!!!

What sold me the G46 was the picture stuck to Garys workshop wall of the yellow Ferrari, was that a Mondial 500 ?

and the screen saver on my computer is a Ferrari 625 TR with my G46 next to it or should I say "Charmarini or Charmarati" that where my inspiration lies

if I am honest I think the MX5 or even the Z3's are two small for the big car concept. However the sammio on the herald is perfect

That car is a 1956 410 I think , Charman ...another of my favourites

Paul, that 1929 Ford roadster from a Lotus 7 type?? wonderful is it a kit? do you have any info. on it? cheers Mike

Towed, I have a 205 1.4 as a daily driver. You're absolutely correct. Not fast per se, but on the twisting and falling 'A' and 'B' roads that make up my commute, very little comes close. It's not excess or illegal speed, it's not having to slow down for the corners!