More Red Oxide...

I had some shotblasting done, all my wheels and most of the suspension parts. Suddenly there is lots to get on with, including topcating and fitting bushes / U/Js. By the spring, I would hope to have a rolling chassis...

Red oxide on chassis

First coat of red oxide paint has been applied to chassis, it makes it look quite fresh now. It certainly makes a change not to see rust... another coat next week, maybe a top coat of Ruby Red!

 

Chassis washed down and POR'd

I used metal ready prep on the chassis, then washed it down. The next step was to POR 15 it which gives a very hard surface and is now ready to undercoat.

I have started to shotblast parts and red oxide them... I gave one part a quick coat of Ruby Red top coat to see what it looked like. The chassis and most parts will be this colour with the remaining parts powder coated in satin silver. I will gradually build up over the winter months, finishing up with a rolling chassis.

Chassis is now complete!

Day 2 at the garage and I have finished the chassis, almost... I have seen 3 little patches to do, so I will start that in the morning.

 Took some time tack welding the outriggers on and making sure they are in the right place and level for when I make the floorpans etc...

Got myself another 3 days :)

New withbone brackets fitted and now fittng all new outriggers and chassis rails. I have 2 more days, so I should be finished with welding for the time being. I will give it another shotblast and start rust proofing and painting, the chassis will be old english white.

Chassis nearly repaired, at least the holes anyway...

The chassis is looking like n aerial shot from Google, a knitted network of folded metal resembling fields. As you can see, I have offered up new wishbone bracket with 3 sets of holes for adjusting suspension. I now hve to place in the correct position and weld in place.

And another TWO days of working on car!

Started work on the chassis rail, and have managed to get alot done. It was quite interesting cutting and stitching the pieces of steel together. It all feels very strong and now looking forward to finishing this part and moving on to the outriggers.

I'm on a roll, now...

Another few patches done, so thats all the easy ones sorted. Just started cutting one of the templates that will make up the 2 sides of the chassis rail. Once I have finished this side, hopefully putting some strength back in, I will patch the inside.

Actually got a lot of welding done today...

Today was a good day, probably should have started earlier but I am very happy that I welded in 7 patches. This means that I can now turn the chassis over and do the more difficult patches that require cutting around certain brackets.

A job to look forward to...

I was a bit bored, so i thought I would have a look at how I will make the floor up.

If you look through an older post, you will see a rusty bulkhead that I am going to make out of ply. It will be great to make something and improve on the original metalwork. 

More ideas to steal.

Some of these items I have already, the gearknob I will have made and the others are just more pictures I have come across that i will include on the build along the way.

Cutting out the rust.

 

One of the larger jobs I am putting off is the chassis rail that has rot on 3 of the 4 sides... unfortunately it travels under the rear wishbone mounting bracket, So I have decided to to cut both brackets off to make it easier to create a new side that follows the contours of the rail.

Rear Wishbone Mounting Brackets. A straight replacement for your rusty/bent originals, they also offer the advantage of being adjustable, allowing you to set your suspension to the optimum. The top hole equates to the standard setting, moving this point down reduces camber change further. So this should offer many advantages, as well as making it easier to repair.

More dismantling and cleaning.

I am getting ready to do some powdercoating, so have been getting some of the last bits dismantled. I read the Haynes manual showing me how to remove the UJs using 2 different sized sockets which worked very well.

This week, I am shotblasting and dismantling.

This week I received my Valve Spring Compressor, so I have stripped the head completely for rebuilding. I have also shotblast some parts ready for priming and powdercoating in the coming weeks. The dials from the dashboard are being cleaned and are looking quite new (pics to follow).

3D model, i thought it might help with colours etc...

I am lucky enough to work with some talented people, and i have asked them to do a rendering of a Sammio Spyder (when they get a chance). So this is what has been completed so far... thanks, Andy. Jamie the junior has also shown some interest and has done an illustration of me sitting in the Sammio. Cheers!

The bushes just slid out!

The 'Hot Air Gun' tip was recommended to me on the Sammio forum at 'Madaboutkitcars' website which i have been part of since last year. Anyway it worked very well, just a minute or so was enough to loosen the bush, then knocked out with a hammer and screwdriver.

How long til' a rollin' chassis?

I finally stopped putting off the welding, i guess i was a little nervous... i was pleased with how it went, certainly not professional looking but once i started cleaning the weld up it looks ok. This is probably one of the easiest holes to do as there is nothing in the way. Very solid as well, i used 1.2mm steel which seems to be the same as the surrounding metal.