151 replies to this topic

[Custom_Minis]

Thanks for the info David.

The composite front should be laminated by Wednesday and finished ready for the weekend. I'm going to offer the subframe and front end up to the car and see how low the front will allow me to go. I'm still going to have to look into the rose joint system for the steering rack.

Done a bit more today as I overslept this morning and missed the cadwell track day event

Big thanks to Dean though for picking these up for me



Progress has been in the form of deseaming the A post pillars, cutting out the front bulkhead and removing the last part of the rear load floor.



I'd purposely left the last bit of load floor, knowing it was going to be a headache.............and it was!



I expected the load floor to have to go completely but its also taken the rear door step panel too.

So, that's going to be another job on the list now.

[markrally]

All those panels will be lighter in carbon anyway!!!

[Custom_Minis]

markrally73 Posted Today, 02:24 AM
All those panels will be lighter in carbon anyway!!!

You're right there Mark! and there's more steel to be cut out of that shell yet

Les.

[Rogue Se7ens]

Just found your thread Les, and love what you are doing. We don't see many estates over here, and rarely any type of clubman. I'll be watching your progress.

[Custom_Minis]

Rogue Se7ens Posted Today, 01:43 AM
Just found your thread Les, and love what you are doing. We don't see many estates over here, and rarely any type of clubman. I'll be watching your progress.

Hi Jim,

We'll have some pictures of an item you'll relate to by the weekend. Lets just say "carbon".
It came out of the mould on Monday, being finished and polished this week ready for trial fitment on Saturday.

Working really hard now on the door moulds - guess what composite they'll be?.............

Les.

[Rogue Se7ens]

You gotta love CARBON! Can't wait to see some pics. I make MKI doors so am am anxious to see your doors.
Keep up the good work,
Jim

[english-bully]

The race is on....whos will be on the road 1st lol...
Mine or your.....










only kiddin Les,The one im doin is A powerd baby !!!
See ya at Malvern if you going our kid !!!!

[Custom_Minis]

Well....... progress on the estate itself has been slow (again) but we managed to get the front end done, eventually.

Its a piece like this that makes you wish you had an autoclave and a roll of pre-preg carbon. Unfortunately we haven't !

Like many we have to wet lay our carbon in the traditional laminating way. Whilst this is acceptable you always get imperfections in the weave and very very tiny air pockets trapped between the gel coat and carbon layer. Most can be dug out and re-gelled and flatted and then polished but too much and you end causing more problems by flatting through too much or another area by mistake. I'm not overly impressed by the front but then I was expecting perfection when I really knew it wasn't achievable with the methods we have available. Oh well............time will tell

Anyway, heres a couple of pictures which actually make the front look better than it looks. The line you can see is a mould join that gets flatted out before the front is polished.




On a positive note, the front is really light yet very strong.

We're currently still working on the door moulds in between other jobs and I'll be starting the roof mould at the weekend.

The rear quarter panels we have are for a saloon as well so I need to start thinking about adding 4" extra length into them too!

More soon,

Les.

[Tomf]

Looks really good, will you be selling the Estate/Van roofs? If so what sort of money would you be looking for?

[Custom_Minis]

Hi Tom,

Its a possibility but we'll see what the first one turns out like. As for price, its too early to say exactly but can't see why it can't be done for a similar cost to current roofs on the market.

Stay tuned,

Les

[mika]

hi les have you done a full shell yet i seam to remember you were looking to do a full spaceframe at one time too

[Custom_Minis]

Hi Mika,

No sorry, the idea was shelved in the end. There are already a few on the market, some better than others! The shell that STIG is doing looks extremely good (very envious of that one).

If there was a big enough market it would be worthwhile but there just isn't enough interest to warrant the cost of the moulds. I thought you was going to use one of Dave's shells??

Any more progress on your car? eager to see how your front end works out.

Les.

[Rogue Se7ens]

Wow that looks great Les. Is that white gel in the middle with and exposed wings? Working with carbon can be tedious but a little clear coat later and it will be worth it. Maybe you can pick up an autoclave on ebay

Edited by Rogue Se7ens, 19 March 2008 - 03:47 AM.

[Custom_Minis]

Wow....another 6 weeks!

Where does the time go? In date order:

Had some really really nice Carbon headlight rings come through from Jim @ Rogue Sevens - quality is top notch! Thanks Jim.
I did have a few pictures but have upgraded my phone this week and lost them but will take some more and post up.

Bought a Rear LSD from Busa-Mini on the forum that had only covered a few miles - really pleased with that

Finally finished the door moulds and produced the first set:





These have turned out really well, a couple more gel coat sets to make for people and then on with my Carbon set.

My frame has also changed - The problem with getting the main hoop to fit without cutting into the roof strengtheners proved too much work:





So..... it had to go!

It was a good excuse to loose the 32mm Tube anyway. Its now all 38mm Clubman 500 CDS
At the moment it looks like a normal Roll Cage but the next update will reveal something special......

Edited by Custom_Minis_Ltd, 26 April 2008 - 08:48 PM.

[Custom_Minis]

Well........Another few weeks down the line and a little more done..............So much for the Avon Park completion date!

I fetched the Estate on saturday so its back home now. Gave Oulton Park a miss today and got the frame in (again) and got it on its wheels for the first time

Its not fully bolted up but it gave me a chance to see the suspension settings and adjust the ride height to trial fit the front end properly. The front subframe is going to need modifying or its gotta go! The ride height I want just isn't acheivable with the standard front subframe. (as expected). More on this over the next few weeks.

I bought some Weller wheels a while back and recently some ACB10's, so got them fitted too!

I'm really impressed with the frame and was able to have an input on the bars/design/layout. Its not finished yet as there are more bars to go in - will look quite something when finished!

I'm going to dry build the car now and then strip it all back down for final paint/powder coating.

Progress should be more frequent now as will the updates!

Cheers,
Les.