I have also started to make a battery tray. A couple of shortbread tins were cut and used to create the plug, which will be then used to create a fibreglass tray.

This will then be glassed onto the bulkhead. I have left the fibreglass to cure for a few days till I'm back in the garage next weekend, so I will post the photos of the finished tray next time.


Attachment 5928

Attachment 5929

Attachment 5930

The last thing I had time to do is to paint the frame and the chassis with another layer of paint (except for the places where I still need to do more welding).

The frame and the chassis were scratched on a multiple places due to trial fit of the body and the floor panels, so I thought it's good to do it before I glue the floor panels to the chassis and put the body on.

I will also waxoyl everything before I put the floor panels back on, as it is very easy to access the inside of the chassis now.

I have also inspected the fuel line and the brake line and they look in a very good condition, so I don't need to replace them.


Attachment 5931

Attachment 5933


The next step is to finish welding at the back of the frame and to fabricate the prop shaft tunnel. After that, I can install the petrol tank and radiator, finish the bulkhead and the compartment behind the back seats, install the master cylinders and handbrake, followed by wiring...still some work to do till I reach a moon buggy stage, but I am another step closer.

So much for now.

Cheers, D.

Great progress - love the pedal box solution.

As for the seats, if you can make them fit, the MGB seats are great.

You might want to measure the maximum distance between the outside top corners of the seat backs with the seats in place (dimension 'A') and the width of the cockpit opening where the seats will be (dimension 'B'). If 'A' is wider than 'B' they're not going to fit, I'm afraid.

The problem on a Spyder body/frame is that the chassis is in the way so you can't move them any further inboard without them being too high. Maybe the Miglia is a different matter, but the bodies look spookily similar... Good luck!

Deni – Wow!

It looks like you have made a HUGE amount of progress. :cool:

Looking at your MGB seats, I can tell why you liked the leather ones I am selling.

I certainly agree that an ‘old’ brown colour will suit the 1950s image of the car.

It also looks like you are embracing the fact that anything done in metal or fibreglass can be changed.

So, if your first attempt (battery box frame) isn’t right, you can simply cut and re-weld it.

It might be worth testing your pedal support plate before fitting the fibreglass bulkhead.

As this would avoid any damage from the heat generated if extra welding was required.

Obviously, I know I song about melting some plastic end caps while welding box section. :rolleyes:

If it helps, I’ve found some old photos of my original Cordite framework.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF6974.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...L/DSCF7377.jpg

Similarly, I would double check you could remove a spare wheel with the seats in place.

As, After fitting my seat belt mounting points, I realised I had entombed my petrol tank forever. :doh:

Finally, the main reason to treat the underside of your fibreglass floor panels is simple…

It creates a good first impression at the MOT station when the car goes up on the ramps. :icon_wink:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fo...=w1154-h865-no

Good luck, Paul. :)

D'OH!

Just realised Mr T had replied about the spare wheel already.

I don't know how accurate the info is, but I saw a report that Waxoyl will eat into and damage GRP - so maybe care has to be taken on the chassis/body interface that no waxoyl gets on the GRP.

Mister Towed - thank you for your comments. I have bought a couple of 2nd hand seat base assemblies, and, as an experiment, I have already made one of them narrower, just to see how much closer I can position the seats towards the middle. I might need to make some additional "brave grinder cuts" in the corners of the body. I will trial fit the body with the seats in this weekend and will post an update later on. I would really like to use these seats, so I will try and do my best to fit them :thumb:

Paul L - thank you too for your comments and suggestions. I did not think about the MOT, but you're right, it is important to leave a good impression.
Also, some of my friends were asking why am I painting the parts that won't be visible, like gearbox bell housing or diff, etc., and they would say "no one would see or know", but the point is that I would know. :wink:
Thank you for posting your photos as well. I was thinking that if I have to add the brace after fibreglassing to use bonding paste instead of welding, to avoid melting the fibreglass. I will weld the tubing below the plate and the battery compartment though before fibreglassing.

Mitchelkitman - Wow! I didn't know that, so thanks for the heads up. I will try to find more information about it. I will make sure that when I apply Waxoyl to avoid contact with fibreglass.

Just dug out the pictures of the MGB GT seats I tried in my Spyder (hope they appear, photobucket are being a bit of a pain, these days...) -

Fitted quite snugly into the chassis once the floors were lowered enough to avoid the 'Noddy' driving position -

https://i1186.photobucket.com/albums...lion/010-1.jpg

Very comfortable and a nice, laid back driving position -

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...lion/012-1.jpg

But, once the frame went on -

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...illion/013.jpg

The upper frame box-section tube is only about 2mm outboard of the inner cockpit edge and the Miglia and Spyder bodies are virtually identical (in case you don't know, the Miglia prototype was just a Spyder modified by Gary J's ex assistant) so you might well face the same issue. It would've taken major seat frame surgery to the tune of about three inches narrower to get them to sit right (no pun intended), but they'll be very comfortable if you can use them.

Good luck getting them to fit.

Mr.Towed - thank you for the photos, much appreciated. I remember seeing those when I was reading your thread.

The seats in my photos are with the frame fitted, so the frame is not in the way.
I have tried a few things with the seat base. I have narrowed a 2nd hand Ford Focus seat base for 6cm and it looks like I will be able to move the seats towards the middle. However, I suspect the body might still be in the way. I could not trial fit the body this weekend to know for sure, but when I do I'll post some photos.

Cheers, Deni

Hi,

Does anybody know a bit more about this please?

Thank you. Deni.

The Miglia frame is simpler than the original S*mmio one , a little too simple in my opinion . Mike was an ok laminator but he isn't a fabricator and , I felt , the frame in the Miglia demonstrated this quite well ..its a bit lacking in strength in my opinion ...but this factor probably means it accommodates seats better .... I would take the opportunity to brace the frame with some triangulation whilst you are building the car ...

Hi Gary,

Thank you for the advice. Do you mean to add the triangulation at the area below the doors, from back to front?
I am going to add the centre section along the prop shaft, from front to back for sure and strengthen the area for the steering wheel column.

Thank you.

This might help -

https://i1186.photobucket.com/albums...lion/006-3.jpg

Thank you Mr T. I am planning to use the doors supplied with the body though, so I won't be able to replicate the Spider's frame, but I will have to try to improve my frame at certain places.

We discussed the frame previously in the thread but it was related mainly to the steering wheel column mounting reinforcement.

Not sure where exactly Gary suggests to add the triangulation, as the Formosa's frame is quite different from Miglia's. Only way I could do this is to modify the doors by reducing their height I guess , if that is the area he refers to?

.

Cheers, D

That is coming along very nicely matey! can't wait to see the moon-buggy stage as that is always a huge milestone :)

In case it's of any help as far as frame strengthening is concerned, i added a reinforced the central tunnel area on my frame made from steel box as i'd originally had flex from my handbrake area on the Sammio until i re-enforced it, so i thought I'd address that straight out of the blocks this tine.

Then rather than adding to the side frames with triangulated steel (as i wanted working doors as well!) i decided to do the rest of the strengthening with the alloy panelling and it's supporting alloy framework.

With my old v.hard front suspension i've very little body flex or creaking so far, so i'm happy with how it turned out.

davecymry - thank you very much for your comments and the advice mate, very helpful.

I can't wait to reach moon-buggy stage but I'm getting there (slowly :smile:). I am a bit slow as I can't work on the car regularly, but mainly due to the lack of experience, and sometimes have to research a lot and re-think some ideas to not make silly mistakes. This slows me down and for that reason I appreciate all comments and advice. I am pleased how it is all turning out and thank you and all the other people that are helping with invaluable advice.

I was thinking about the frame reinforcement for the last few days and came to the conclusion that if I want to keep the doors, I will not be able to do much in that area.
This only leaves me with a few possibilities, and adding a prop shaft tunnel is definitely the most important one, so I will do that for sure.

I was thinking to reinforce the areas in front and behind the doors on each side, but I would not like the frame to become too heavy - now you have mentioned that the internal paneling adds quite a fair bit to the overall stiffness and the strength, which makes sense, I will first add the middle section and then see if I need to add any further reinforcements in other areas.

Cheers, Deni.

Hi all,

More progress, so here are some photos. When I had a trial fitted the seats, I have noticed that I have to raise them quite a bit to be able to see above the screen. I decided to do an experiment and I have bought two 2nd hand adjustable seat bases with the sliders, which can also be height adjusted. They can also be electrically adjusted apparently, but I am not bothered with that to be honest. I just want to make sure that I can pass the M.O.T and to be able to see above the screen.

Attachment 5947


I have removed two back mounting plates, as they were pointing in (for my purpose) wrong direction and would not allow the seat to fit in the floor pan.


Attachment 5949

...no way back now...:lol:


Attachment 5950


I have narrowed the seat for 6 cm and just tacked them for now.

Attachment 5951


They fit very nicely now. There are plenty of possibilities to use my MGB back part of the seat and attach it to this base. I will use the original foam and the vinyl from the MGB seat to cover this new seat base.

I could not trial fit the body this weekend to further check the clearance on top, but I can now move the seats more towards the centre, and if I have to cut into the body to make it all fit, then so be it...:smile:


Attachment 5952



I will post further update on seats when I trial fit the body.

As I could not trial fit the body this time, I have continued with welding the additional bits on the frame.

I have added the reinforcement to minimize the movement of the pedals plate and done the same on opposite side.


Attachment 5954


Attachment 5955


Attachment 5956


The frame was delivered without the mounting points to the back of the chassis, so I've added those too. This will make everything a bit stiffer and help carrying the weight of the petrol tank when filled with the fuel.


Attachment 5957


Attachment 5958


I will weld it all to the frame later on, as I would like to take the frame of the chassis to be able to turn it upside down to make it easier to weld the bottom side of all added bits.

I have also prepared the back plate for the pedals. This will be welded below the pedal plate as the bottom part of the bulkhead will be a bit further away than the original, as the square tubing is surrounding the plate. I will attach the back of the pedals to the bulkhead too using some tube spacers.


Attachment 5959



Attachment 5960


My lowered battery tray has cured now and I have peeled it of the mold. This is now ready to be inserted into the top part of the bulkhead and glassed in when I am ready to do final bonding of the fiberglass bulkhead to the steel frame.



Attachment 5961



So much for now.

Cheers,D.

Deni – That is definitely a good call, as there were rear “feet” on the original Cordite framework.
( Although I had to shorten mine to accommodate the Spitfire rear arches I used. )

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...o/DSCF4530.JPG

Also, it looks like you have reached the ‘fearless’ stage of cutting and welding now. :cool:

Good luck, Paul. :)

Paul L - :biggrin: yes Paul, it looks I am in the 'fearless' stage as I am getting more confident in my abilities. I just have to make sure that I don't progress too far, i.e. the 'reckless' stage :lol:

Thank you for your encouragements.

Cheers, Deni

Hi all,

Just a quick update. I have had a chance to trial fit the body this weekend. I am very pleased that I will be able to use my MGB seats. Narrowing the seat base worked out and the upright part of the seats fits without need to cut the body. I will tweak this further when I bond the body onto the frame, but it is good to know that I can now commit to these seats.

The angle of the upright part of the seat is adjustable and it can be folded too. The seat base is fully adjustable too (height and back/forward) and pictures show the base of the seats at it's highest position, so there will be enough space for head rest cushions too. :peace:


Attachment 5970



Attachment 5971



Attachment 5972

Looking at the photos it seems that I did not do much last weekend, but I did lot of measurements, drawings and head and chin scratching to decide (figure out :wink:) what to do next and how, which also need to happen I suppose....I have made a mock up of the compartment behind the seats. I will make a wood template and make a fiberglass copy of it. Still need to finish the mock up, as I keep changing it to maximise the space. I would like to fit a spare tyre in it and a small bag of tools/things, jack etc.


Attachment 5973


Attachment 5974


I am trying to extend the box to go over the swing spring. I will make sure I make access to the spring to diff mounting area if it is necessary to access it in the future.


Attachment 5975



I will also make it a bit longer at the bottom. When I've trial fitted the seats I noticed that there is available space behind the seats, even if they would be in their position furthest at the back, so the back bulkhead can also be angled rather than straight, which might look good actually...to be continued...


Attachment 5977


I have also traced the line of the body curvature at the back of the bonnet area to make a template for the upper part of the bulkhead. This will also be made in fiberglass, glassed together with the rest of the bulkhead and bonded to the body later.


Attachment 5976

I have trial fitted the bulkhead too, just to confirm it will fit. The template I am making is to bridge the gap in between the bulkhead and the body.


Attachment 5978


So much for now.

Cheers, D.

Great that you can use your MGB seats, they are very comfortable.

Leave yourself plenty of space around the rear spring as it's a bugger of a job to remove it if you need to (make sure you loctite the studs into the diff and use new locknuts as there's a tendency for the studs to come loose if you don't).

I found the space behind the seats very useful for 'hand luggage', a towel to wipe your face when it rains, a bottle of water etc. A sealed in, sloping bulkhead might look cool but the space is too useful to lose imho.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you Mr.Towed. Yes, I am really chuffed I can use these comfy and, in my opinion, good looking seats.

The panel on top of the swing spring will be removable, if I decide to make the box so deep. I will make sure I put some loctite on the studs, thanks for the tip.

The angle where the back bulkhead will be looks greater on the photo than it really is, so even with the slope I will still have some space behind the seats.

I will try to make it like this, just to see how it fits/looks, and if it does not work out I'll trim it back.

Finally Back In The Garage...
 

Hi all,

Finally I can continue with the build… I have made more modifications on the frame, so I think the front side is done now. I will only add another L shaped brace in the middle of the top bulkhead rail to connect it to the bottom rail (marked with masking tape).

It's all just positioned on the frame at the moment and I just need to finish welding it to the frame. I did not have time to do it this weekend, after measuring and fabricating the parts - I have to do it slowly and generate as little heat as possible, as I have filled the frame with the wax to protect it from the rust at the very beginning of the build...:icon_biggrin:


Attachment 6347


Attachment 6348


Attachment 6349


Attachment 6350


Attachment 6351

I am happy with the frame modifications at the front, so I can continue with placing fibreglass bulkhead parts. After all the welding is done I will glass/bond it all together to make a strong structure and clad it all with aluminium sheet to finish it off. Photos show mocked up bulkhead.


Attachment 6352

Attachment 6353

Attachment 6354


There is a lot of space behind the bulkhead to make a decent size storage box too…


Attachment 6355

I am planning to use original engine side panels to mount the radiator. I've temporarily placed old radiator to the panels using cable ties to check how it all fits. The top of the panels will stick out, so I have marked the area that could be trimmed to fit under the bonnet.


Attachment 6356

Attachment 6357


I hope that the radiator is positioned high enough, using mounting points (holes for the bolts) below the top ones that will be removed :eusa_think: (I think these are original mounting points). It will sit a bit higher when it's connected to the top hose, but it seems that the fan sticks out a bit, just above the top of the radiator. Hope that this is ok…any advice is welcome.

Another thing I'd like to check - my clutch slave cylinder is fitted with a plastic pipe instead of copper one, so the connector attached to the slave cylinder does not have a nut/bolt thread.

Attachment 6358

Attachment 6359

Attachment 6360


I am planning to use a new flexible hose in between master and slave cylinder copper pipes using a rubber break hose.

Am I right in thinking that I can remove (unscrew) the plastic pipe connector from the slave cylinder and screw a new (short) flared copper pipe with the fitting directly into the slave cylinder?

Attachment 6361

Attachment 6362


So much for now.

Cheers, D.

Deni - Sorry I can't help much with your technical questions.

But it is nice to see you still chipping away.

Good luck, Paul. :)

Hi Deni, that clutch hose looks very much like one from an MG Midget -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MG-Midget...MAAOxymxFRnXEI

You can either just use a new Midget one or replace the whole thing, connectors and all, with a copper/kunifer one for a Spitfire/Herald, and both solutions are likely to be more reliable than trying to adapt a brake hose.

Paul L - Yes bud I am still chipping away :eusa_angel:, thanks for your comment. I am not always able to work on the car, but I will finish it!

Mister Towed - Thank you very much for your advice. I was looking to buy a Spit/Herald copper pipe set, but I did not find any containing a flexi hose (which I believe have to be implemented due to gearbox vibrations), so I thought I can use a brake flexi hose in between the copper pipes.

Flexi hose
 

Hi Deni if you need a flexi hose lookup pirtek uk they will tell you the local depot to you they will make you one up just take fitting sizes up or the old fitting and give the length of the hose keep up the good work

Dale J - Thanks for the info, I will check it out. I hope you have made more progress with your car - your engine bay panelling looks very impressive.

Cheers, Deni

GAZ Adjustable Shocks and Coil Springs
 

Hi all,

I have bought a pair of front GAZ ride/height adjustable shock absorbers and I am seeking a bit of advice/opinion on the springs rating and their unfitted length most suitable for me to buy.

I know that Mister Towed opted for 180lb and 11 inch unfitted length springs for his Spider, with 6 cylinder engine.

I also know that Dave Cymry at the end opted for 200lb, 9 inch unfitted length springs for his Miglia, also with 6 cylinder engine.

From Dave's pictures it seems that the ride height was easy to adjust, but I would like to check if I have understood the adjustment description. I was reading that it started with the shock height adjuster 2 inches from the lowest setting and by raising the shock adjuster further up (and compressing the spring more?) the front end was raised - is that correct please?

My car is fitted with 4 cylinder Spitfire 1500 engine, so it's a bit lighter and I have to lower the front end of the car probably 2-3 inches.

I have a feeling that 180lb rating would be ok for my car, but I am not sure about the most suitable unfitted length to be able to lower the car sufficiently.

I apologise if I sound a bit confused, but I am a little… :wink:….any advice is helpful and welcome.

Thank you.

Cheers, Deni.

Hi Deni.

You're right about height adjustment on the GAZ shocks - wind the adjustable spring-seat down the shock to lower the ride height and wind it up the shock to raise it.

As for spring rate, that really depends on how you want the car to behave and where you're going to drive it. 330lb. springs work great on a race circuit, but would throw you into the nearest ditch on the fen roads of East Anglia where I drive. As your car is likely to be 2-300kg's lighter than the donor, standard 180lb springs should give you a firm but still compliant ride.

The free length isn't too critical as you have about 5" of adjustment on the Gaz shocks, with a light car I'd say the shorter the better. Just don't go so short that the spring is free to move up and down between the top and bottom seats at full extension. They don't need to be under much compression, they just shouldn't be able to move. I'd measure the distance between the inner faces of the top and bottom spring seats at full extension and add 1" as a minimum spring length (I hope that makes sense).

One final thing worth mentioning, you might find that the inside diameter of the spring is narrower than the raised portion of the lower spring seat that it's supposed to slide over to locate it laterally.

I had to grind about a mm all round from the spring seat to get the (standard Spitfire) springs to fit and I don't think I'm the only one who's had that issue with them.

Ultimately, suspension and wheel alignment/geometry on these cars is very much down to owner preference and trial and error testing.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your advice Mr.T. You're spot in regard to my uncertainty about compressing the spring too much if it is too long, so your clarification is much appreciated.

Thanks for the heads up regarding the lower spring seat too!

I know that achieving a good suspension set up (in our case) is not an exact science, but your advice helps a lot, so ta mucho.:hail:

Hi peeps,

Finally had some time and opportunity to work on the car....

I have experimented with modification of the seats in order to get the height of the back rest right. The base of the seats is a bit wide, so if I raise the seats the backrest sticks out too much. However, by raising the seats I am gaining more space to move the seats left and right and I can position them more towards the centre of the hump. This is just a mock up before I decide to cut the original frame.

This is a work in progress and I will continue experimenting with this as I really want to end up using these seats.


Attachment 7025


This is approximately what I'm aiming to achieve.


Attachment 7026


Attachment 7027




I've used a Ford Focus backrest and chopped it to see how it could look when it's done.

Attachment 7024




However, to not lose a lot of time with this at this stage, I bought a pair of Spitfire MK4 seats which I will use in the meantime. They have a much narrower base and are easy to position. I will clean and recondition the leather, so they will look nice when it's done.


Attachment 7028

I have also fabricated a two-piece centre section to further improve the frame. I will probably weld the back to the frame and leave the front piece removable for easier access to the gearbox if necessary.

Attachment 7029

Attachment 7030

Attachment 7031

Attachment 7032

Attachment 7033