Recent advice
 

Thank you Fatbloke and Tribute for the advice which I will follow up.

Today was a low for me, I felt I was not doing enough work, I had lost direction, the weather was against me, I was never going to get this car done etc etc. I expect you chaps have all been through this, but it was new to me.
Then a friend came to see me and suggested we put the body on the car.
The car by the way, even in its shit state, starts and drives.
Anyway it only took 10 minutes, and and JC! what a happy MF was I!!!
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc500b4b2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps9f200932.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4c7bead1.jpg[/IMG]

Scottie - It is easy to see why you have a smile on your face, the car already looks great. :cool:

I do like your temporary workshop, especially with the lighting.

I was trying to work in the dark today and it wasn't even 6pm. :(

Good luck, Paul. :)

P.S.
As for not doing enough work, you seem to be making great progress from what I can see.

Thanks for the encouragement Paul, I could really have done with it sooner, but you were not to know!!

Scottie, I'm enjoying your attention to detail and build. Keep it up.

Are you working on this full time? As your updates are coming thick and fast and lots of detail with the pics etc...looking really good.

Loving the garden..mine would be like that if she let me!

I'm impressed you had that many clamps

I thought it was a handy box for storing clamps.

Hello Redratbike

This'll put a smile on ya face!
didn't have that many clamps, and went out and bought extra ones just for this one job!
I bet I will never ever use them all again, at least not in one go.

As I said to (I think it was Paul) three years ago I had an unfortunate bust up with the other half and she had to go, I live in my house with my 14 year old son, joy of joys! Its like a second childhood! I can do what I want, bash holes in walls, build sheds where I want, no nagging or hassle!!
I am much more relaxed and happy now.

Of course that's not the answer for most people, but it worked for me.

Thank you so much for the positive comments, at first I though I was being a bit pedantic and over the top on some things, but after some thought I knew exactly what I wanted and decided to go for it.
Judging by all the comments, it seems to please a lot of people including myself.
So to all of you undecided guys out there :
GO FOR IT!!

Redratbike, forgot to answer your main question, am I full time on it?

Kind of yes and no,
I try to do something on it each and every day, the other day it was a one hour job making two little flared 10 mm pipes (3 inches long) and sticking them one at each side in the boot lid rain channel as drain holes.

Another day I may (and have) get carried away and work almost none stop ( no other half to get in the way, another positive!) for around 11 or twelve hours, but when I do that I know I've done too much, and it takes it out of me physically. I become so focused,I don't stop to eat or drink
until I fell shitty due to low blood sugar levels. I know all of this is wrong
but that,s how it is with me. So if there are others who can identify with this, You are not alone!!

Big milestone Scottie, a very motivating stage as I recall.

Do you really need to lower it any more? Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of slammed cars and my original setup was 95mm cut off the front springs and a 90mm lowering block under the rear leaf spring on the Vitesse chassis.

The experience of actually trying to drive it on British roads was a nightmare of fretting over ground clearance though, and not just over speed bumps. The exhaust was actually grounding on gentle crests and dips.

I've now changed the settings so that I've only lowered the back 15mm (but removed six out of the ten leaves from the spring) and cut 35mm off the front springs (albeit softer, 150lb Spitfire springs and with a heavy duty arb fitted). The resulting setup hasn't spoiled the looks but has transformed the ride and handling, and even given it just enough ground clearance, making it possible to drive it a lot quicker with confidence.

That's just my two new pennies worth gained from the experience of running a similar car, I'm not trying to tell you how to build your car :)

Is the red Rover in one of the pics patiently waiting to give up its motor for your XKSS?

I love my straight six, but if I were to build a road/track car I could be tempted to go down the modern engine route. Especially after coming across this modified VVC powered Spitfire -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg7j1Jt1Lys#t=14

Obviously there are some compromises with this conversion, like the £3,000+ it cost to convert and the interesting siting of the brake fluid resovoir. At least you'll see if you've lost your brakes before the pedal goes to the floor...

Just read your latest update, I lost almost a stone working on mine from dawn til dark while my wife was out earning a crust last winter. But then I kind of needed to lose it :)

Mr Towed,
I've had that Spit vid on my pc for ages and I still hit your link and watched it again.
I thought that thing on the dash was the fuel filter?
Also wondered why it was there?
I thought it wobbled about too much to be viscous brake fluid?

I had a Robin Hood couple of years back and the lowest point underneath was around 2.5 inches, it hit the rear lower suspension regularly and wore it away so much I had to weld it back to build it up. I welded two steel skids, one each side to help it "slide" when it touched the road, that worked quite well.
The "lowering it 2 " more " bit was obviously a FAILED attempt at humour!!
That Rover is my every day wheels and I have another ( in fact I have two) Rover engines with turbos lying around

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0496ffa2.jpg[/IMG]Mister Towed,
I was interested in what you put about you lowering, and how you approached it. quite brave stripping the spring and all!

My donar when stripped (and light) had crappy looking positive camber, and was too high.

I took the spring out de [IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf953a51e.jpg[/IMG]rusted, cleaned and painted it, put it back in, then it occurred to me I should have dumped a 1 inch lowering block in there at the same time!

I was basically too lazy to take it out and do it again, so I took both vertical links out, sandblasted them drilled two extra holes about 1.8 inches lower down, complete with welded in washers, which had the affect of bringing the spring eye down. I was very pleased with the result.

Scottie
i have a rover T16 engine in an 2003 MGZR
with a T28 pulsar turbo and that is pushing around 220-230bhp
i couldnt imagine that engine in your lightweight body
mind you, you would have to stock up on a few diffs!!!

Rover T16
 

Hi neemo,

post me some pics, it sound great, I've always been a T16 fan.
Greatly under rated engine, some say better than cosworth.
There is a company on the internet that takes one down the strip and it produces 900 BHP
Can't imagine that power in a Rover 25!!

Rear lights again
 

Listen in all you “attention to detail” freaks! You are gonna LOVE this one! It’ll have you grabbing a box of tissues and heading towards the little room!

With my Morris Minor rear lights modded to fit the car, I still needed rear Indicators. The XKSS used XK140 lights which had indicators built in. Apart from the fact that XK 140 lights cost £400 a set, I wasn’t even sure they would fit, so that option was out.
I bought the usual “tit” orange type indicators, but really did not want to Disfigure the car with them, so I decided to make my own.
Hmmmmmmmmm!
I came up with the following,
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8d0eaabb.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psb2ef84b4.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8ddbbb4d.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps2a5759f9.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps5b0990b3.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps35c76e68.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps68267169.jpg[/IMG]

I forgot to add that the whole operation to do one light ,was less than an hour, so it wasn't hours and hours like I thought it be!

I like solutions like that. Neat.

What a good idea. They look factory spec, well done.

Mister Towed and Oxford 1360, thanks for the comments, they do actually look as though Lucas intended them that way, even on close inspection!

Thanks for the replies....like the rear light solution..very neat

Problems...
 

My initial euphoria on finally getting the body actually on the car was short-lived.
I realised that the body was resting not on the scuttle as it should, but at the 10 and 2 o’clock position each side on the door hinge bracket. A totally impossible situation.

Doom gloom death and destruction. The plan is to remove the body again, and cut at least half an inch off the offending brackets, and weld back for strength if necessary.

On the positive side, the body should then be around 1 inch LOWER than it was. Ride on, way to go!!!! Watch this space………..

Sunday, I have to do SOMETHING!

My friend who would usually help me remove the car body was not available,
So I decided to tackle the job with the body in place,

More difficult and awkward, but I didn’t have much choice.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psdcbfe73c.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...pse2c437fd.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psb89584d3.jpg[/IMG]

Pre bonding work
 

Today I started the preparation I need to do before bonding the body permanently to the chassis / tub.

The nose and tail were too low, with a 3 inch gap between the chassis at the nose and the boot floor at the rear.
When jacked up enough to make contact, it raised the whole body off the
Spit tub, and was far too high.
I found that about half way was a good compromise, the body rested on the tub top, fore and aft, but that position left a 1.5 inch gap between the chassis at the nose underneath, and the boot floor underneath at the rear.

Therefore I needed a 1.5 inch spacer. A trip to my local scrappy yielded Several feet of stainless steel box section the correct size for the princely sum of 2 quid.

I then realised I had not ordered the bonding / sealing goo. Poosticks!!

Should be with me in a day or two.

Here are some not so good pics:
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps6aa20734.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps70f75d0b.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0b75b7d9.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps69180754.jpg[/IMG]

Inspiration
 

[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps20ac7f51.jpg[/IMG]

Don't worry, for two years I kept referring back to this picture -

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...-Spyder_11.jpg

While I turned this -

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...dpics014-1.jpg

Into this -

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8fee4bbf.jpg

Keep plugging away and you'll be on the road before you know it. :)

It's not been that long Scottie! Most kit car builders would be over the moon with your progress :wink:

Thanks for the encouragement fellas! I think I need it, as I feel I'm dragging my heels at times!

< Cough! >

< Splutter! >

What???

You are making great progress Scottie, and with a nice record of your build to match. :cool:

Remember you are not even building a standard kit, you are modifying one to recreate a classic Jag.

Keep up the good work, Paul. :)

You are too kind Paul! I KNOW when I've been shirking!
The guilt gets to me!!

Spinner problems
 

Earlier, when I engineered the spinners to fit, I realised I had a problem with being unable to get a wheel brace past the spinner arms.
I needed to make a specially shaped one.
My first attempt was a failure, and it bent in half.
I did some research, and found that Spit wheel nuts should be torqued to 48 foot pounds.
I made a beefier spanner and gave it a good test, and it worked.
I then hit other problems which I have tried to show in the following pics.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps5d9f137f.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps2fb41549.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps164a40c0.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps01412ccf.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psb1f45202.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps76be66a9.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps354867e9.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps03787679.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4bb068ab.jpg[/IMG]

Exhaust dome
 

The bonding goo STILL has not arrived, but I have lots to do before I finally use that anyway.

I need to make a dome type thing to go over the front part of the side exhaust. Also to fabricate brackets to hold it all in place

This really has to be done before the bonding bit.

I always knew that making this dome thing was going to be difficult
But F.H. it taxed my patience I can tell you, and it’s not finished yet!
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psca21e7ca.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc210f6bf.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps17be6493.jpg[/IMG]
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[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8d7d65b1.jpg[/IMG]

Scottie - Love the idea of using a soldier's helmet, very outside of the box. :cool:

But I have to ask, does the dome need to be made of metal?

Would fibreglass with some heat reflective material on the inside work?

Not sure if you have read SeaNick's build thread?
http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...ead.php?t=3924

But he would probably be doing something based on a drinks bottle for that shape.

Obviously not great timing with the suggestion given how much work you've already put in. :rolleyes:

Good luck, Paul. :)

I think you are right Paul, some of the D type replicas have fibre glass
domes. I think it was the challenge that made me pick the hat!
I wanted steel, but the amount of welding I will need to do, it will most likely look crap, and I'll end up filling it anyway!!
I intend to heavily wrap all the exhaust in the right stuff to prevent the
heat from affecting the fibre glass body, so I most likely could have made it from something else.
The work I still have left to do is daunting enough to make me consider
something else anyway! I will have a think about it.

I knew this exhaust mod reminded me of something else I had seen.
These photos are taken from Charman.tech's G46 build thread.

http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/...025_150057.jpg

http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/...025_145904.jpg

http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/...025_154501.jpg

Full details here:
http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...ead.php?t=3211

I am planning to have the same problem in mine

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_...o/IMG_3928.JPG

Photos of the end result on Saturday but this was the start of the first idea


http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/...psc86aa818.jpg

Exhaust
 

Thanks for the input Paul and WCA, it is interesting.
At least I have no worries about using filler or fibre glass to finish off what I started.
I still find it hard to believe that the red hot exhaust does not damage the fibre glass which is so close to it.

With your spinner/spanner conundrum, could you maker the spinners, er, spin?

Seanick, when the car is finished and has the wheels attached, and when it is driven, I fully expect the spinners to spin!
In fact, I'd be mortified if they didn't.

Screen
 

In working on the exhaust, I somehow managed to sprain my wrist,
and am out of action for a few days. So I should post some earlier
pictures to alleviate boredom!
.

When I got my body shell from Chris, there was no windscreen or real plans for one. Most people that have built a 352 have gone for the D type Perspex wrap screen look.

I wanted the XKSS proper screen look. For 2 or three grand I could buy a replica Screen and frame, but even if I had the cash, it would be far too wide. The D type shell was cut down to fit the Spit body, but this meant that almost all Car windscreens were too wide.

Chris suggested the Morris Minor screen, but even that was too wide.
In the end I cut a Morris Minor REAR screen out of a car complete with the original steel screen frame. I hacked it about a bit, and did some welding, until I reached the stage when I realised that I could not go any further until the body was on the chassis tub, and I could actually sit inside the car and work out screen rake, head room, bum position etc.

I have had a few soft top cars, and being a six footer, my head always was up above the windscreen, this as some of you will know, is not ideal, and I was determined that this time it was within my power to prevent this problem arising.
[IMG]http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/a...psb1c8ebc1.jpg