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Jul 18, 2011 18:48:51 GMT
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THE CAR ARRIVES!! Matt arrived at the unit around 3pm on Friday and with the exception of a flat tyre, the journey went well....if very bumpy! I took the opportunity to record some of the most visible rust. Anyone who 'knows' Ka's will know this is standard issue rust for a 12yr old one. I know there is a lot more hidden away underneath, but I have a plan for that and hopefully this shell isn't too far gone? I know it's not great underneath, by any means, but I always find the challenge is far more rewarding than following the path of least resistence. I took the opportunity to get some shots of it in front of the blue doors at the starting point of a long journey to turn this into a cool and nicely built track car. Due to having other projects on right now, nothing will be done to the car until after the Gathering. Most of us want to get stuck in, but we also want to get the other cars finished which will hopefully be able to make it to the Gathering if we can get everything done on them. At least it's at Area 52 now and many thanks again to Matt for bringing it down. As soon as the journey takes its first step, I hit the pause button...but hopefully it's for the right reasons and hopefully will be worth the wait.
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Jul 18, 2011 19:27:55 GMT
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.....nothing will be done to the car until after the Gathering. ...and if you believe that for one minute then you obviously don't know me that well yet ;D Saturday afternoon, less than 24hrs after the car had arrived it was attacked with a grinder: A number of people knew I had planned this, but those that didn't had asked who I was selling the Puma bumper to after seeing it stashed in the unit. "Oh...that's for me, I haven't sold it. If my plan works it'll all become clear" Quite a bit of chopping later and all the bonded in reinforcers/internals removed with the help of RobinJI, Ruishy1 and Speedy88 things started to go how I had imagined and hoped they would from even before I'd bought the Ka or Puma: So much for waiting until after the Gathering ;D
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Jul 18, 2011 20:00:20 GMT
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Tell you what, it might not ride or handle sitting on the bumpstops but it doesn't half look good. Well, from a distance The Ka has to be one of the all time great small car designs. Looking forward to seeing how that Puma bumper is incorporated...
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Jul 18, 2011 20:36:54 GMT
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Looking forward to seeing how that Puma bumper is incorporated... Well it was one of those ideas that I thought could really work, but was worried that what I saw in my mind wasn't going to work as well in reality. Luckily, reality seems to match the picture I have in my mind. Exactly. Oh yes...I'm happy with that. The satin black paint was just to get it to blend a bit better than the red. The bolts will end up as rivets....but won't stand out as much when it's finished. Please don't anyone think it's getting more bodykit or Puma styling (lights etc..) - this it it. Puma/Ka hybrid bumper and nothing else (well, a lower splitter at a later date maybe but no more) Personally I reckon this works better than the SportKa or aftermarket bumpers/spoilers. I know I am biased, but this is how I wished Ka's would have looked from the factory.
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Steve
Posted a lot
Making progress in small, easy to handle chunks of awesome
Posts: 2,034
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Jul 18, 2011 20:46:02 GMT
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That just sooooo works!
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Jul 18, 2011 20:48:43 GMT
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That looks better than it should. Looks a bit like Darth fathers helmet. Now how does the Puma look with the Ka bumper?
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Click picture for more
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craig1010cc
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,998
Club RR Member Number: 35
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Jul 18, 2011 21:29:07 GMT
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That does work quite well bruce What was the starting weight at the bridge then?
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Jul 18, 2011 21:35:08 GMT
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looks mint bruce - the satin black was drying when i left saturday so although it looked good anyway, in black it really makes it that much better to the eye!!
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,926
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Jul 18, 2011 21:59:32 GMT
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Weight with minimal fuel, me in it (13st2lbs - checked today for accuracy), a big sub/box/amp and a few tools was 960kg. I reckon without those bits it would be somewhere between 800-830kg.
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Jul 18, 2011 22:01:57 GMT
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The exposed bolts look good to - like they do on some bolt on arches... Maybe make them a feature?
Whens the engine swap happening?
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Koos
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Looks awesome
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fordmonster
Part of things
metal mulishar !!!
Posts: 62
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waaaaaaaaawww
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crazymonkey
Posted a lot
ummm....what was I doing again???
Posts: 1,981
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I quite like the bolts like that. gives it a real "track weapon" feel to it But agreed, if kas looked like that from the factory I would have one like a shot.
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whoever said dogs were man's best friend....obviously never heard of cable ties
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Speedle
Posted a lot
Need a Country Rock band in the Hampshire Area? https://www.facebook.com/DirtRoadDiaryUK
Posts: 2,221
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that is the best KA bumper I have ever seen. I shall be watching this one with interest
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Reading this one with interest as always fancied a stripped Ka with a bigger lump. Sadly not too handy with a welder so the rust put me off so far!
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Jul 19, 2011 10:01:09 GMT
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good god i don't believe I'm going to say this about a K A
but that looks freakin sexual!
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Jul 19, 2011 10:56:01 GMT
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That just sooooo works! +1 ! Mystery Machine, you've got a bloody good eye to see that potential, that works perfectly!
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Jul 19, 2011 11:14:26 GMT
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Many thanks for the comments guys. I think everyone was happy how it turned out and thanks must go to Robin, Ross, Mark & Co. for their help in getting things chopped and fitted. I've taken the liberty of copying these shots taken by Lee (Ratters) over the weekend. Stunning photography and I am sure he won't mind me posting them up? Robin continues to cut away the original bumper. Cutting the outer skin was dead easy, but it took a fair bit of work to remove the reinforcing section in the middle. Chopping & profiling the ends of the bumper to match the wheelarch aperture of the Ka (about 6" had to be removed) Heating the Puma bumper at the ends to get it to bend to the same profile as the Ka bumper. Luckily it was only about 3" that needed profiling, the rest was fairly straightforward Both the Puma bumper and (even more so) the Ka bumper became very flimsy once they were cut to the right shape and the reinforcers removed. Luckily, once they were bolted together, they became a lot more solid.
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Jul 19, 2011 11:37:06 GMT
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Fantastic project
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Jul 19, 2011 12:26:35 GMT
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Just thinking aloud here Bruce....
If it's going to be a track toy, would it be prudent to use your new bumper as a buck and make some fibreglass ones so it doesn't matter too much if you end up in a prang? Actually, you could make a whole bunch and flog them.
Cheers,
Rich
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