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Managed to tick a few of the remaining jobs off. Had a bit of a headache with trims for the headlights not fitting. It’s almost as if they drilled the fixings in the wrong place (wibblepoo repro stuff). A couple more holes and some self tappers got it sorted. I’ve had an early grille kicking around for a few years. It was a bit battered so I had a bit of play around and quite like the outcome. Not to everyone’s taste, but replacements are silly money so it can stay for now. I also have the chrome surround but I’m still unsure if it would look right, or if I should just leave it painted. Uprated front springs finally arrived and the car now sits much better. Starting point:  Springs fitted:  Sits just about right to keep it useable. Feels better on the road but it’s still not right. It’s very skittish and does not feel at all planted on ghe road. Think it’s a combination of old shocks and the fact I haven’t even had the tracking checked yet. Just suspension work, a couple of bits of trim and the speedo still to sort.    N.B. MoT also passed! |
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Jun 20, 2022 12:37:41 GMT |
Put the Midget up for sale at the weekend. Advertised Saturday evening and it was sold by 10:00 Sunday morning. Either I fell very lucky, or I undervalued it somewhat 😂. After owning it for 13 years I’m surprisingly not that bothered it has gone - gives me a few pennies in the bank to either get started on the kit car I’ve been sat on for two years, or look for something else (my favourite bit).   |
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Jun 20, 2022 16:08:47 GMT |
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Nice to see the progress, it is very shiny!
If you are not replacing the front "rubber" bumper, then you can swap onto the 1275 front springs which give a lower ride height ( or chop a coil or two from the 1500 spring and reprofile the cut end).
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One door closes and another opens! I’ve owned a few kit cars in the past. Generally sh*tting in the shallow end, buying abandoned projects or cars that needed work. After finishing the last one I said I’d not do another until I could afford something decent like a Caterham or Westfield. But mainly something that didn’t need loads of work (I think you can see where this is going 🤣) Anyway, a couple of years ago something caught my eye at a decent price. With the ongoing Midget build I knew I couldn’t devote and real time to another project - so i bought it anyway and stashed it away…until now. It’s a GTS Wide. Quite a rare kit that was well designed and decent quality. However, it appeared the manufacturer had some very poor business practices, leading to the company closing. By it’s name it’s a bit bigger than the usual Locost builds, which suits me at 6’3” and 17 stone. But also helps with the engine bay being a little bigger, meaning a greater engine choice. The plan is circa 600kg and 3-350hp which should keep things interesting It’s still going to be a budget build as I just don’t want to plough £10-15k into something that’s only ever going to be a weekend toy. Collected a couple of years ago   |
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Jun 22, 2022 10:39:49 GMT |
As this will be the last 7 I build, I wanted something properly quick. I looked at a few engine choices from Jaguar v6, rover v8, Zetec turbo etc… In the end I settled on a Saab, B204 or 234. It a proven engine with loads of knowledge out there, but not common in kit cars. I managed to fall on a complete rwd package. I’ll need to revise the mounts and the sump to suit rwd isn’t the best, but it’s a good start.   Currently running around 270hp but there’s plenty of scope to up this post IVA. |
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Jun 22, 2022 22:49:15 GMT |
I actually started tearing it apart last night (not that there was much to start with), then my phone battery died. Safely stored:   The main difference with the GTS is it uses a De Dion rear suspension set-up. It supposed to be a halfway house between a live axle and IRS.  |
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Jun 23, 2022 14:05:04 GMT |
I know this car had been through a couple of owners in it’s life and luckily never progressed too far. The first and main thing I found is that the old pedal set-up had been hacked out in favour of a generic bias pedal box. I removed the thin tin plate that had been pot riveted on and some thin wall box tube that had been welded in badly. There is no way it could’ve took the pressure of someone stamping on the brakes.    Someone had also made a bit of a mess cutting through the bottom of the chassis. Off came the front wishbones and side panel to allow me to weld this and redundant rivet holes up. Leaving me with a blank canvass.    I’ve just ordered in some 3mm plate and thick wall box section to make a slightly stronger mount. I don’t think there have been too many other ‘modifications’ made. There’s just a pile of parts to sort through that came with the car. |
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Jun 23, 2022 14:13:30 GMT |
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It is always good when you discover the bodges, weak points etc early on, and can repair them before progressing too far.
I am watching every move you make, as the song goes.
Silly power to mass ratios rock, mostly.
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mat88
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,371
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Jun 24, 2022 19:36:22 GMT |
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Bookmarked for the inspiration (not that I need any encouragement to make stuff do Choo Choo noises) 😂
A slightly larger version, that would be handy as at 6'2 and 17 stone the tiger is a bit erm... Snug 🙈
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