New Project... - Page 7

volospian · 20-12-2011, 10:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny69

I'd take a 9" to the chassis. Chop it up into bits that will fit in the boot and go and weigh it in.

Yeah, it's not the chassis per se that's the problem. It's so rotten that I could cut most of it up with a breadknife, lol.

It's just the engine, as it's still full of oil and crap and our local tip is closed for a staggering £25 million refurbishment (spent, of course, so that they can increase their recycling ability, although I wonder how many years it will be before it pays for itself...) so I have a garage full of oil that I need to dump before I can drain the engine. Then I need to rip it apart before I can lift the damn thing as it's made of pig iron and lead by the feel of it.

Anyway, when I get the time I'll sort it out...

volospian · 05-03-2012, 10:00

Another update... again, no pics as there's not really much to take pics of...

With a combination of cleaned and painted old parts, and a healthy dose of new parts, I am now just about to rebuild one side of the front suspension... apart from the brakes. It's been slow going as the wishbones and uprights all need years of rust and crap taking off, then a few layers of paint going on top, and it's been bloody freezing in the garage. I've bought new top ball joints and complete new trunnions. The old ball joints were a bit worse for wear, and the trunnions had siezed solid. I couldn't be bothered to waste time removing the siezed bolts, cludgy grease and general muck just to discover that the inner threads were worn and they were useless anyway. I've seen what happens when a trunnion gives up, so new ones seemed a much better option.

I've also had to buy new top fulcrums as the old ones were rusted and worn away so that the pins were about half the diameter they should be in places. The Scimitar suppliers wanted a lot of money for new fuclrums, but the front suspension is largely TR6. I asked a few people on the Scimitar forums if the fulcrums were TR6 parts, or particular to the scimitar, and all the response I got was "ring x to ask about the latest price" which didn't help, so I risked buying TR6 parts. They are indeed correct, so I saved myself about half the cost.

I do sometimes feel the the scim forums are run by people with a vested interest in the suppliers, as the members do seem so reluctant to talk about parts sourcing and are often less than helpful, often just suggesting you contact the suppliers to ask technical questions. That's all well and good if you genuinely don't know, but these are supposed to be forums for owners and enthusiasts. The TVR and Triumph forums are much more helpful, and I've found more technical knowledge about Scims on the V8 Owners Forums.

I've also aquired a decent 5 speed LT77 and bell housing off an SD1 (bought off eBay, but the seller is one of the guys off the V8 Owners Forum, so I'm happy with the provenance) to bolt up to the RV8 going in the front, so that's most of the drivetrain sorted. I just need to sort out the prop shaft when everything else is in place.

My wonderfully understanding wife has also bought me a MIG welder for my birthday, so I should be able to crack on with a couple of little chassis repairs and a few other minor jobs that need welding up. I just need gas and, of course, to overcome the minor inconvenience of never having wleded before. Luckily my next door neighbour is a CDT teacher, and he's going to give me lessons on wednesday nights. lol, my own private welding course!

The old chassis and engine is now somewhere in the steel recycling process having finally been cut up sent to the scrappy, so now the wife also has somewhere to park her car again.

When I'm actually rebuilding the suspension I'll put some pics up, probably some time in a couple of weeks.

I also have a decision to make... My original plan was to rebuild this car to be a daily classic drive. As such I had planned on leather interior, with heated front seats, a stereo, sat nav, wood, nice sound proofing, alcantara trim and so on. However, then I saw this.

While I'm not enamoured to much with the prototype pictured, the spyder and some of the others look great. I'm sure that I could get some mods made (like round arches instead of the odd angled ones in the pics, and so on). There's a guy building one here. If I went this route, it would be cheaper, a bit quicker (as I wouldn't have to spend so much time sanding the old body back, repairing the gelcoat and so on) and I would end up with a V8 powered, fairly unique fair weather motor looking something a bit like this (although the headlights are faired in on the G46, but they do seem to be a small "built to order" company, and seem happy to discuss options)...

What do you think?

05-03-2012, 10:00	#62
volospian Vodka Martini Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 786	Another update... again, no pics as there's not really much to take pics of... With a combination of cleaned and painted old parts, and a healthy dose of new parts, I am now just about to rebuild one side of the front suspension... apart from the brakes. It's been slow going as the wishbones and uprights all need years of rust and crap taking off, then a few layers of paint going on top, and it's been bloody freezing in the garage. I've bought new top ball joints and complete new trunnions. The old ball joints were a bit worse for wear, and the trunnions had siezed solid. I couldn't be bothered to waste time removing the siezed bolts, cludgy grease and general muck just to discover that the inner threads were worn and they were useless anyway. I've seen what happens when a trunnion gives up, so new ones seemed a much better option. I've also had to buy new top fulcrums as the old ones were rusted and worn away so that the pins were about half the diameter they should be in places. The Scimitar suppliers wanted a lot of money for new fuclrums, but the front suspension is largely TR6. I asked a few people on the Scimitar forums if the fulcrums were TR6 parts, or particular to the scimitar, and all the response I got was "ring x to ask about the latest price" which didn't help, so I risked buying TR6 parts. They are indeed correct, so I saved myself about half the cost. I do sometimes feel the the scim forums are run by people with a vested interest in the suppliers, as the members do seem so reluctant to talk about parts sourcing and are often less than helpful, often just suggesting you contact the suppliers to ask technical questions. That's all well and good if you genuinely don't know, but these are supposed to be forums for owners and enthusiasts. The TVR and Triumph forums are much more helpful, and I've found more technical knowledge about Scims on the V8 Owners Forums. I've also aquired a decent 5 speed LT77 and bell housing off an SD1 (bought off eBay, but the seller is one of the guys off the V8 Owners Forum, so I'm happy with the provenance) to bolt up to the RV8 going in the front, so that's most of the drivetrain sorted. I just need to sort out the prop shaft when everything else is in place. My wonderfully understanding wife has also bought me a MIG welder for my birthday, so I should be able to crack on with a couple of little chassis repairs and a few other minor jobs that need welding up. I just need gas and, of course, to overcome the minor inconvenience of never having wleded before. Luckily my next door neighbour is a CDT teacher, and he's going to give me lessons on wednesday nights. lol, my own private welding course! The old chassis and engine is now somewhere in the steel recycling process having finally been cut up sent to the scrappy, so now the wife also has somewhere to park her car again. When I'm actually rebuilding the suspension I'll put some pics up, probably some time in a couple of weeks. I also have a decision to make... My original plan was to rebuild this car to be a daily classic drive. As such I had planned on leather interior, with heated front seats, a stereo, sat nav, wood, nice sound proofing, alcantara trim and so on. However, then I saw this. While I'm not enamoured to much with the prototype pictured, the spyder and some of the others look great. I'm sure that I could get some mods made (like round arches instead of the odd angled ones in the pics, and so on). There's a guy building one here. If I went this route, it would be cheaper, a bit quicker (as I wouldn't have to spend so much time sanding the old body back, repairing the gelcoat and so on) and I would end up with a V8 powered, fairly unique fair weather motor looking something a bit like this (although the headlights are faired in on the G46, but they do seem to be a small "built to order" company, and seem happy to discuss options)... What do you think? Last edited by volospian; 05-03-2012 at 10:11.