More metal

Well, I came to do the seat mounts, turned out it's going to use a fair bit more metal than I thought. It's amazing how such short lengths become big lengths when there's quite a few of them. So I had to get some more, but getting back to Camp Steel is challenging, especially with work and Birmingham traffic.

So I found Steel Express in Wolverhampton, round the back of where Strykers used to be on the Stafford Road. A length of 1 inch and one length of 3/4 inch cost just over £40 for the pair. They're actually longer than the Camp Steel ones, 7.5 metres, so the price is a bit more expensive than Camp steel but less fuel (and time!) to pick up.

I just needed to take my hacksaw and chop it up into 2.5m sections. Interestingly, my SEAT saloon was able to take 3 metre sections, whereas the Mercedes estate can only take 2.5m max!!

So now I have sufficient metal to continue, but as ever the time available is limited. Once the seat bars are fitted and I can put the seat in, I'll be able to gauge the position of the steering wheel and pedals.

Then again... am I going about this the wrong way? The seat is adjustable, but the relationship between pedals and steering wheel isn't. Perhaps that is the 'magic number' I ought to be considering.

I'll have a think about that...

(Later that day)

OK, I've thought about it. If I sit on the floor with my feet and hands in roughly the right place, I think there will be 70 centimetres from the pedal box rear panel to the steering wheel. The same 70 centimetres works for the Merc so it seems like a good number. Therefore it doesn't really matter where the seat will be, as long as the distance between feet and hands is maintained.

Let the cutting begin!

part 1... complete?

Time to take stock of where I am and plan the next stage.

So far, I have;

• A basic chassis from square section
• Front suspension mounts
• Full front wishbones (painted)
• Transmission tunnel
• Diff mounting
• Rear suspension mounts
• Full rear wishbones
• Seat belt anchors

In theory this gives me a rolling chassis, albeit with no floor! Well, it work for Mr Flintstone I guess...

So following the manual, the next things are;

• Steering wheel mount. This will be a variation of the Haynes one, to take into account the MX5 column.
• Handbrake mounting. I'm planning on mounting my handbrake under the steering column, similar to the white example. It seems quite tidy and keeps the transmission tunnel clean. This does mean I can't do much until things are built as I don't quite understand how it fixes in place.
• Steering rack mount. I think I have precut metal to just bend and mount.
• Radiator mount. Um, might leave this one until I actually have a radiator to mount!

Ooh, then the next thing in the manual is the engine mounts and the floor!!

Long time, no update!

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since I last updated this blog! Ah well, probably ties in well with the amount of work I've done on the car. Several months have gone past with virtually no progress, and I have nothing but my job to blame for it!

Anyway, a quick update mainly for my own benefit. It's relating to the bodywork. An LCB member posted a link to an Ebay ad where the bodywork was on offer. I won't post a link here as it's very unlikely the link will work for more than 30 days. However, hopefully kitbitsdirect won't mind me posting one of the pictures;

This was the shell I saw at Stoneleight 2015, and was only the second shell I'd seen of this particular Healey rep (the other being the completed white car). What I didn't notice initially is that this car has no wide arches, and comparing it to the white one;

Makes it look like a very different car. I can't say better or worse at the moment, just 'different'.

The point of this is that the standard kit was on offer for £449 (the narrow car), with an extra £200 for the wide arched version. Those are mega cheap prices, about half what I'd actually budgeted for. Even the wide arched version is still cheaper than expected, or even what it was advertised for as an 'offer' at Stoneleigh. The only thing will be pick up from Derby, but I'm sure a couple of hours with a borrowed transit will resolve that issue.

Now some techie details (for my own benefit). The wheelbase for the car is adjustable (as I remember from before). Standard is 92.5 inches, with an option to shorten it to 87.5 inches if necessary (so 5 inches of adjustment). And of course it can be extended if it's too short.

The width of the car is different for the two bodies (as expected). For the standard body, it's 54.5 at the front and 58.5 at the back. The wide arched body is 62 at the front and 67 at the back.

I am leaning towards the narrow body, just because it's closer to the original in terms of looks. Even the rally cars shied away from wide arches. So now I just need to measure my chassis and see what I can get away with!!