Project Sanity

[peterc]

Hi Nige,
I had assumed that you had finished the enhancements to the Viper so yes, I was referring to the new project.
I guess that you would prefer to get it through IVA in basic form before enhancing it. Not forgetting that Owain will need to agree to the changes!

I would certainly recommend the Hawk tubular front suspension which allows you to play with shock absorber settings and spring rates. For reference I use 275 x 9" with a Rover lump.
Solid rear axle is a personal choice, some love it whereas some far prefer an independent set up. Of course independent is more akin to the original but if you do chose to change to independant then you could consider outboard discs as Roger created with Wards supplying the necessary parts.
I'm sure given the mods and experience already achieved with the Viper you can incorporate a few things into the current build to save agro later. E.g. The Ali engine bay panels as you say will be so much easier with body off.

Ref the Ali dash please don't tempt me. I don't think that I currently have the patience to start again on that aspect. Interruptions like Christmas have delayed my fitting of a P6 dip switch which in turn affects whether I put back the existing separate dip switch and flasher. I have now decided on the design of the mounting bracket but the switch has now failed! Fortunately the supplier has agreed to change.
I also got diverted to changing the instrument bulbs for LED's but this involved dismantling the dash to access the rear of the instruments so it all became rather frustrating. I think that having proper dash is at the bottom of the 'to do' list.

Best of luck with the new build.
Peter C

[agnoraan]

Hi Peter, yes it'll go through IVA before any of the modifications are done to the body etc.
I had quite a productive day today and managed to get most of the engine bay clad, (first fix) with aluminium. The car came with laser cut panels, but they were absolutely nowhere near like fitting properly. All of the measurements seemed off by a couple of mm and it just looked so wrong. I've ended up having to make new templates for some of it, whilst adjusting, cutting and reprofiling the laser cut stuff to make it fit tight. Not too bad all in all though for a days work and was a damn sight easier than the Viper to do.














Tomorrows task it to give it a final trim here and there, paint the footwells and fit the aluminium panels permanently

Nige

[amulheirn]

Looking good Nige...

Did yours have a couple of tabs at the top of the bulkhead where the bonnet catches go, or did you cut them off? I have this, and pushed the ally behind them. Wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do...

[peterc]

Nige ,
As usual the Ali work is looking superb. Hope this goes on into the nose area for being on show when the bonnet is shut.
I admire the profiled section around the drivers footwell. I assume you have lined the sides of the footwells for heat protection. I think normally it would have been a smaller remote panel e.g mounted on spacers.
Keep up the good work.
I'll try to catch up one day.
Peter C

[Roger King]

Nige ,
As usual the Ali work is looking superb. Hope this goes on into the nose area for being on show when the bonnet is shut.
I admire the profiled section around the drivers footwell. I assume you have lined the sides of the footwells for heat protection. I think normally it would have been a smaller remote panel e.g mounted on spacers.
Keep up the good work.
I'll try to catch up one day.
Peter C

Yes, nice work. Just for information, originally the footwell boxes were plain white fibreglass, no lining of any kind on them. No room because of the exhaust - the Hawk chassis is totally different - so the footbox 'finish' was a fetching brown scorched gel-coat effect.

[agnoraan]

Thanks Roger, I've lined the footboxes in an effort to try and keep the heat off them as in my car it gets quite toasty when driving. they'll be spaced away slightly from the fibreglass on final fix.

Andrew, there were no tabs on this one it's as you see it. I'll make my own latching arrangement for it when the time comes

Peter, yes, the aluminium will line the inside of the nose section. I'm also going to blank the sides of the radiator, so that all of the air that enters the nose will have to pass through the rad.

Nige

[Roger King]

Nige, in the interests of heat control and trying to stop the singed look I've used a few pieces of self- adhesive Zircotec sheet on the lower areas of my foot boxes. There's no room for Ali as original exhaust downpipes went outside the chassis rails, not inside as in the Hawk. Zircotec is extremely effective at keeping the interior cool and is fairly hard to see from above.

[peterc]

Roger is the Zircotec similar to the silver foil coated fibreglass woven sheet ( which I used on the sides of my footwells) or is it a superior product. I have only associated it with a ceramic sprayed on system for the exhaust not as a separate sheet.
Peter C

[Karl]

Peter, it is called: Zircoflex and you will find it on the web.
Karl

[IainS]

Why do you say the steering rack needs narrowing? The original used a Cam Gears Ltd rack that MG used, should fit the Hawk perfectly? I'd be wary of advocating using a Jag rear rear end until the car is registered. As far as DVLA is concerned Hawk=MGB donor. Unless you're not fussed about a Q plate....

Iain