richyb66

I need to get the opening back window made next. The window shape will be rectangular, but the opening behind it will have rounded corners so the seal can run around smoothly. It will make access a bit more difficult but it’s not like I’m going to be putting suitcases in there. 4mm Polycarbonate (Lexan) sheet will be used for the window as it’s tougher and more scratch resistant than Acrylic sheet (Perspex). Firstly a rectangle was cut that just fitted inside the aperture and rested against the seal. At the bottom it was balanced on a couple of 3mm diameter screws (to set the gap). I could then mark off a similar gap around the other 3 sides. The picture is a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea. On the inside, I marked around the inside of the seal path, the footprint of the 2 hinges and also marked out and cut the hole for the lock. The seal will be visible through the window so the plan is to have a blackout area around the outside of the window so the seal etc. is hidden from view. Here’s the window in place, screwed to the hinges. This proved something I had expected to see – 4mm polycarb is a bit too bendy, particularly across the top between the hinges and it needs additional reinforcement. It does open nice and wide thought, I had a slightly bigger shut gap along the top edge because the window passes very close to the roof when it’s opened. (The prop is just temporary but you can see the sagging along the bottom edge of the window). Again, not the clearest picture, but the edge of the window is open here to within about 2mm of the roof surface which is the widest I want it to open. A small key lock will engage behind the seal carrier. Not exactly high security but more than adequate.

Ok, the decorating in the dining room is finished and the lpg issue with the Audi is now (hopefully) sorted so I’m back running with the hardtop. As a quick refresher, I’d got the main panels rivetted in place to the framework so I made a start on tidying up the joins and smoothing the metalwork out. Firstly, I tack welded some of the corner joints in between the panels. It’s difficult to get the rivets close to the corners so a tack of weld should stop any movement between the pieces as the roof flexes. At the front of the roof, a soft disc was used on the angle grinder to smooth things out. I'll need to use a skim of filler here and there but it’ll be easy to get a good enough finish for the vinyl I’m planning to cover the roof with.

IVA manual is ambiguous using words like "adequate" rather than specifying values. As Bob says, start with 300mm for brake and fuel lines and then see if additional clips are needed anywhere in between to provide additional support. http://www.rhocar.org/index.php?showtopic=34047&&do=findComment&comment=256742

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Sierra-Ghia-Banger-Kit-Car-Drift-/221191329607?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item338007d747#ht_480wt_1269

Steve, no problem, the oil is in the back of my car.

Steve - DOHC spec I found was 10W/40 so 5W/30 might be a bit thin unless anyone can confirm otherwise but if you want to give it a try, just bring a can along. Gaz - I've got 5 litres set aside for you, no need to bring a can.

If anyone wants some FREE oil so they can do on oil change ready for the new season then they can get it from me on Wednesday. This is top quality 5W/30 Castrol oil so ok for Zetecs but not much use in a Pinto (which is why I don't need it). All you need to do is let me know on here and bring an empty can and I'll fill it up. Not sure exactly how much oil I've got but there's probably 20+ litres so enough to give 4 people a free oil change.

Shouldn't be much difference between a carb pinto and a carb crossflow. The connections might be in different places but most decent harnesses will have enough wire spare to allow re-routing.

You could build it up but due to it's tacky nature you might find dirt sticks to it. It's really suited for sealing smaller gaps rather than filling in big areas (say greater than 3mm). On my 2B I filled the gap between the bottom of the screen frame and the scuttle with a shaped black plastic sheet that was thick enough to fit in the groove along the bottom of the screen frame and then just sealed that to the scuttle with a small bead of black pu sealer.

Use some non setting Butyl rubber strip, easy to disassemble the parts at a later date. http://www.cbsonline.co.uk/product/Butyl_Sealer_Strip_7M_BUTYL Probably also available at a bodyshop / paint supplier.

Deffo a Toyota box, fitted in plenty of different cars. Looking at the state of the box and bellhousing compared to the tailshaft housing, maybe the tailshaft housing has been swapped to alter the gearlever position.

This weekend at Stoneleigh (same venue as the Kit Car Show) http://www.stoneleighpark.com/modules/events/event.aspx?id=56&title=race_retro_2013 http://www.raceretro.com/

Toyota W58 - probably from a '83 - '85 Celica or Supra but difficult to tell as different tail housings are available.

Take them to the IVA to be safe. I had mine on a laptop and also on my phone, the inspector was happy seeing the pictures on the phone. The initial photos you send to VOSA are only to confirm amateur build status - they're not concerned with the quality or suitability of the build at that stage.

Erm, I think I'll pass on that one. Apart from the obvious stuff like every 2B chassis is different and no 2 cars have the screen in the same place - laying up firbeglass is messy and smelly! However, if you're looking to get rich quick - I think this might still be available: http://www.rhocar.org/index.php?showtopic=27266

Someone will buy it, finish it and then just ring it.

Hopefully, I've not been to Stoneleigh for about 20 years so I'm due another visit.

Never again! I'm keeping a rough total of what it's costing and I'll post that when it's finished but I'm not remotely keeping track of how long it's taking because I'm not the fastest worker and taking it steady can often save doing jobs twice. I had a few options for the finish: 1.Leave it natural - this would mean a lot of metal finishing around the corners of the roof for it to look decent and not leak so this isn't an option unless I want to spend a lot more time sorting the finish and sealing all the rivets. 2.Paint it - this was a possibility but again I'd need to do a lot of prep to get a paint standard finish and I don't think a painted finish would be durable enough to take the knocks it will undoubtably get when the roof is removed and stored. 3. Vinyl wrap - similar to paint really, probably more durable but due to the size of the roof, I'd probably need to have it professionally fitted. 4. Vinyl material - this is currently looking favourite. It's durable, will hide surface imperfections well and I can trim the lower halves of the doors to match.

Inside the roof the joins between the individual panels look like this – 30mm wide strips of 1mm sheet with double rows of countersunk rivets. The protrusion of the rivets doesn't matter, they're nowhere where I'll bash my head and I plan to line the inside of the roof with carpet to keep the drumming down: A length of 10mm tube was added across the inside of the frame to provide additional support to the frame corners: The inside of the window frame had edging made so that a seal could be fitted, it was made from 4 corner pieces shaped like this so the seal can form the corner easily and 4 straight pieces in between the corners: Seal fits thus: At the top I need a pair of hinges. The window will be a piece of 3mm clear polycarbonate and I'll paint a blackout area around the edge of it so that the seal will be hidden and the visible opening will be rectangular with rounded corners: Swan neck hinges are needed to clear the seal. These were cut out of some I section ally extrusion I had lying around. This is the closed position: and here it is open: More pictures to follow……

Right, this should finally tidy things up a bit - the second half of my original post as it should have appeared: At this stage the frame was self-supporting so I could remove it and start marking out the 1mm ally that I’m using to cover it. The main bends at the side of the roof were formed around a length of 4" bog waste pipe and the smaller bend at the front was formed over some 20mm round bar. The front corners have a complex shape so will be made as separate pieces, so for now, the corners have been cut away completely so the 3 main bends can be made. Here’s one of the front corners. The shape was too tight to hand beat without putting a few cuts in so the piece was made as shown then welded and rivetted in place. The saw cuts will be tack welded and then skimmed with filler. There’s a massive amount of trial and error involved here so the panels were self tapped in place to allow for re-fitting. With the main roof area covered it was time to attack the rear pillars. I started with 2mm cardboard templates - £2-10 an A1 sheet from Hobbycraft but it bends nicely and it cheaper that ally when you make a cock up. Once again the sheet was former around the 4" bog pipe and I was looking for a shape that was nice and even with no nasty kinks. At the bottom of the pillars, the sheet was initially held with self tappers but in this picture you can just see that I have turned 2 areas back underneath on themselves so that they grip the 3x30 strip around the rear panel corner: With the main panels in place, a strip with a bend across it was added at the rear of the roof above the window. This gave me the final boundary so I could form the infills in the main roof corners. The shape is complex and I knew I wouldn’t be able to form it in a single piece so I started with the flattest part first: Basically just lots of clamping, marking and trimming and in it went. The remaining hole was filled in 2 pieces which were made from a rough card template which was transferred to ally sheet and cut 25mm oversize all round. These pieces were then had formed using a bossing mallet (Google it if you haven’t seen one) and a sand filled leather bag, together with steel panel beating hammers and blocks. I’m not an expert, it isn’t easy but if you’re determined (and I am). You end up with this: …and a few scrap ones as well. (Practice makes perfect). I’ve actually progressed quite a bit from this stage but need better photos so I’ll post more pictures later in the week. The hardtop will be removeable - the weight isn't an issue but it is a bit unwieldy to lift on my own but just about manageable.

I could fill a years magazines with hard top info. I've got another project on the go at the moment that I might hold back for the magazine.

I'm just hoping the hard top is more successful than my attemps to edit my image links.

I can get in and out but it's a bit tricky so I'll be getting another quick release wheel. I had one before but the quality wasn't brilliant and I was dubious regarding it's strength so I took it off - I'll have a look out for a better quality one later.

I keep getting this annoying message: "Sorry, but you have posted more images than you are allowed to" when I'm trying to edit the image links in my post in the BODYWORK section. I need to edit my inage links to add blah blah blah so the images appear in the thread rather than as hyperlinks. Is there a linit to the number of pictures you can put in a thread, or the number you can edit at one time? Very annoying!

I need to edit my image links so they appear as pictures in the post - currently it won't let me edit the links so I'll sort it out tomorrow am.