152 replies to this topic

[TopCatCustom]

Well- I have been working on it every weekend since about christmas and it looks almost no different to how it started! I ended up replacing both outer sills, and making replacement patch panels for the inner sills too. I thought I may as well as although it takes time I now have a shell with NO rust what-so-ever and seam-welded sills on both sides. They are not genuine sills but fitted like a dream and yes i DID cut out ALL the old metal and finished it nicely before welding the new panels over I also took the opportunity to weld in jacking points in each corner, used round tube and welded it in the the inner sills and onto the strong bits where the rear subframe mounts, and into the door hinge panels, I wont use them in the workshop but will make it quicker and easier when in a hurry on rallies or whatever!

I also welded in my new turrets on the rear, I left the original pressed stiffners in place on top of the arches as they provided the positive location for positioning the the turrets and also tie them into the arches, and I didn't have to use silly thick plate. I made the turrets from some left over 4" ERW tube I had from a job, with 3mm plates welded inside and out, I'm going to put a couple of triangles inside each to stiffen them a touch more but I'm very happy with how they came out. Seam welded all round on both sides.

I'll upload more pics of the finished sills with jack points tonight

Edited by TopCatCustom, 22 February 2023 - 09:37 AM.

[george91]

Nice welding on the turrets, good work.

[BenH]

i must say that welding is great! only now that ive started welding myself can i actually apreciate a decent weld! mine are still messy! I also have a page of weightsavings as its good to know what youve lost and what your putting back in.
Do you have a rear subframe you could weigh? iv weighed mine before i went to rear beam but never wrote it down, bare or with radius arms etc i don't mind!

Regarding the rear seat and shelf youve lost, 1380 rich has done it and is using a multipoint cage and looking at his pictures and mag feature ,never rebuilt it all in ally. But obviously your tank needs to be fire-walled, wish id removed mine now but its a first project for me and wasn't too sure how far you can actually go with weigh-saving before you end up with no strength!

Also( i know im going on a bit!) removing the rear window rails or bars, Iv never seen that before, is there any reinforcement work required there or would the cage be sufficient?

Will be watching this very closely

Ben

Edited by BenH, 05 April 2011 - 03:21 PM.

[TopCatCustom]

Cheers guys, I am well please with the turrets, but was a little ashamed at my welding on the rest in the pics! I ground the top off but not flush so more strength is left there and they are covered by the sills anyway

Ben I have to say if I were doing it again I probably wouldn't bother removing the rear seat- I think I will save 3-4kg but for the amount of work it's debatable whether its worth it, all the seatbelt mounts tie the seat back in to the boot floor and arches, and are a complete pig to get out neatly. My cage will tie everything in so I'm not worried about the rigidity being lost, just a lot more hours work!

With only a bolt in cage I wouldn't even consider removing all that I have (and would agree with most other peoples opinions on the subject), but I will explain my thinking when I start welding the cage in and use some pics to help!

I think a 100% stripped rear subframe weighs in at almost bang on 15kg, I have it written down with loads more stuff that I will upload when I have more pics!

edit- I also meant to say that I wanted to keep some weight in the rear of the car, which is partly why I have kept the subframe. It is the strong bit in a crash and keeps some weight nice and low, I just couldn't help but feel if I had all the weight saving mods I have and a rear beam the car would be so light on the rear that it wouldn't hold the road very well if things started to get horrible (skipping around sideways on gravel at high speed sort of thing) and wanted to keep some weight distribution near stock!

Edited by C4NN0N, 05 April 2011 - 05:05 PM.

[george91]

Plus you would have to do even more strengthening to the turrets, as the rear beam puts the weight of the car on them and you would be giving them a lot more abuse rallying than you would on the road or track. I'm also following this one for more weight saving inspiration, keep up the good work.

[TopCatCustom]

Yes you just reminded me of another reason- the subframe spreads the load through 6 points, the 4 strong mounting points on each corner and of course the turrets.

[TopCatCustom]

And also got another goodie through today- I have a mint 1310 block, rods and pistons sitting waiting for the crank and ancilleries!

Love the crank- the original weighs 12.1kg and this one weighs 9.7kg. Also most of that weight is off the outside so has a much bigger effect than the 20% weight difference.

Edited by TopCatCustom, 22 February 2023 - 09:38 AM.

[TopCatCustom]

And I made up a surround for my Weber box from 2mm steel, welded in now to keep the bulkhead stiff as I'm going to make an ally box and rivet it in soon:
 

Edited by TopCatCustom, 22 February 2023 - 09:38 AM.

[sonikk4]

That's a big difference it's starting to take shape.

[george91]

The cage is looking great, top work.

[TopCatCustom]

Thanks! Thats the reason I wasn't listening in too hard when people kept saying I needed to keep the rear seat for shell stiffness! (Though I am putting a firewall back in anyway!)

[george91]

Yeah you deff haven't lost any strength there, heres the car i told you about that has the rear firewall removed too, by 1380rich.

http://www.turbomini...p...2114&fr=100

[TopCatCustom]

Wow thats a cool project, I daren't take off too much though as rallying will break it to pieces! I'm trying to compromise between light and strong, which drag and sprint cars dont have to worry about!

Still not sure whether to tub the arches, now is the perfect time as it's a bare shell but I'm trying to get it done as quickly as possible and being a rally motor the ride will be set fairly high anyway!

[TopCatCustom]

Good news- I had the crank crack tested just to make sure it was good before I use it and it is I'm not sure whether to have it hardened though- it's a fair bit more cost.

I'm also still not sure whether to tub the rears, as I think it will cause problems getting my standard black arches back on in the right place! Think I'll leave it for now as I can always do it at a later date.

Ally fuel tank sized up and material in, will be making that this week with any luck!

[TopCatCustom]

Right, little bit more progress, seat mounting tubes and plates made up and welded in

Edited by TopCatCustom, 22 February 2023 - 09:39 AM.