776 replies to this topic

[mini93]

Naa not yet, not had chance to crash it at the Ring yet... ;)

[mike174]

wheres your rubiks cube?

[mini93]

It got binned when I was around 8 as the stickers kept falling off after i cheated

[mike174]

good i dont recommend them in a track car for some reason...

[mini93]

Im going to tiger seal one onto your bonnet as a permenent hood orniment reminder!

[mike174]

did consider it as a gear knob lol

[mini93]

Got a bit more done today...

This shell prep really is a mountain of work to do, just as your looking up, thinking your reaching the crest, you get there and suddenly you see a whole other peak to get to before discovering another.

Its just seems to take forever to do things like grinding the welds back. Im supprised my grinder hasnt died a death from over use!

 

So complaining over, afterall I was the one who chose to do this!

I got on with starting the cage modifications.

 

So as an idea, heres what it was like before... Odd going back over to the C piller and down onto the wheel arch.

 

Some time later, i was left with this...

Removed over to the main hoop.

The lower back stays are being kept (resisting saying, they are staying) These will intercept the back stays from the top of the main hoop before they (the back stays) mount onto the shock mount.

A cross bar will be welded in aswell as the additional harness bar.

 

So also while i was chopping out the back of the cage, I was curious to see how sh*t the cage welding actually was... I was quite correct

the pictures show some sections where theres absolutly no penitration, weld simply layed over the joint. The 2nd weld even showing a porus weld. To be told this shells been rolled before, how it even survived I dont know!

 

So after doing all that and the shell being the correct way up, I ground the new exhaust tunnel down, from the inside this time.

and with the welders gas regulator having less of a paddy, I even managed to get a little welding done, nothing major enough to require pictures though.

 

Might do more tomorrow...

[Artful Dodger]

Looks pretty bad that welding on that cage:/.

What are you doing about the surface rust that's now on the shell? Blast it again after you done your work or??

[mini93]

This is something Im not intierly sure of yet.

Im kinda aprehensive about blasting it again as all those nooks n crannys I found blast media in, when i removed what ever panels, may still hold some extra after a 2nd blasting.

 

Now, a lot of the media should drop out as what was holding in in before were the box sections such as tricking down the A piller from the roof rails. Now that the sills have been replaced and are totally free inside theres not a lot to keep it all inside. Just the front bulkhead to get trapped in...

[Artful Dodger]

yeah..  im just thinking that now rusts set in to the bare metal, it will rust whatever now, even if you spend a week rubbing it down!  id say dip it, get it E coated. its hella expensive, but must be worth it.

[mini93]

Its really not that bad, it is just that, surface rust.

I wont be getting it dipped, with the stupid quotes they give out and the long lead times, its not worth it. Id rather get it blasted and just spend extra time removing the media.

Plus there's horror storied about the acid from dipping staying in seams and creeping out further down the line ruining and seam sealed joints/paint

[mini93]

Done a few more hours in the evenings this week.

I bought a B&W electric power file, needing to get into a few of the small access areas where I cant get the angle grinder into (like behind the rollcage). Its quite useful, going to need quite a few belts I think.

 

So in other news, been doing a bit to the front bulkhead.

Cut and plate the old pedel box master Cyl. holes as ill be using an internal box

 

seam welded the lower bulkhead/toeboard to the cross member at the rear side. Usually this is welded to the upper bulkhead, with this being removed I had to replace the stregth.

I also deleted some of the other small holes on the bulkhead and on the scuttle keeping only the wiper holes for the RHD. I also deleted the extinguisher and electric cut off pull holes. Im going full electric here (useful part of working for an extinguisher manufacturer!)

 

Not all good news... found some more rust... and I thought I was done!!

 

Thats the offside shock mount. yay... so more cutting and welding to do

[Baldspeed Racing]

shes defo going to be a lot stronger once youve finished mate, such a shame the cage is such a mess tho but im sure you will sort it all out

[mini93]

Thanks and yeah, bit of a bugger about the cage. but yes. it'll get sorted. I just need to find the time to go get some CDS to do it.

Need to buy some steel aswell.

[mini93]

Not done a lot over the last few weeks, a combination of GTA5 and annoying neighbours.

I took to tacking the inner wing earlier in the month.

 

After starting with the above, rusted behind the shock mount in a quite bad way, I took to removing the inner wing right upto the cross member.

The shock absorber captivated nuts were also stripped previously so I just chopped and ground the boss back to the cross member.

 

Cleaned up and the inside primed

 

I was a little unsure of the contruction here, after careful deconstruction over various websites/ exploded diagrams/looking at another shell I have, this is was roughly what I could see, adding an extra layer onto the inner wing and closing up the crossmember. The inner wing will be spot welded to this.

 

Going to make the inner wing look a little better the edges were to be rounded with a lip.

Home made repair panel fully seam welded in. Not yet spot welded to the cross member.

 

This is where I go to, tonight.

Spot welded the wings up.

Chopped the section of the inner wing on the radius edge, this was to allow me to fold and form the lip.

 

You can see here where I welded the slits up. Just need to dress the welds.

 

Not the greatest picture (it was kinda dark)

Just showing the lip folded over and welded upto the x-member.

 

So thats 1 side almost finished. Still another side to do, although not rusty I might still take to the chop to ensure its solid (and matching)

 

 

das all!