Project Scimitar MV6
Discussion
Its been a while. There has been steady progress, but not masses to show for it, so I thought I'd wait till there were a few photos to show.
First of all I cut a couple of panels for the back of the car, just to tidy that area up a bit
Then before deciding where to put the speakers I had to make sure there was somewhere for the spare wheel to go, as I plan to use the car fairly frequently. There is a nie little space for it behind the passenger. It'll be secured with a rachet strap anchored to the harness eye bolts that will be redundent while the car is used on the road.
Now the Speakers could be mounted. I made up some alu panels to put behind the fiberglass with rivuts in the alu sheet, this will spread the load a bit as the speakers are a bit heavy to be mounting on rivnuts alone. I'm quite pleased with their location, although it still pains me a little that I'm adding such obvious "ICE" (cringe) to the car. They do sound good though and should overcome the engine noise.
I was on the home straight with the back end of the car at this point. All that needed doing was a new battery clamp, then it could all be pulled out, cleaned and refitted. I put lots of renforcing in under the fiberglass as the battery is obviously a heavy item and doesn't want to be loose in an accident.
As above what could be easily removed was then removed and the interior hoovered and wiped down. A few more brush strokes of garage floor paint patched up some areas and now its all in. I even fitted the passenger seat and will hopefully get the drivers in tomorrow. The windows and boot hatch are now on too.
The MR2 mk2 seats (as in the picture) will remain fitted and used with normal seat belts for the majority of the time. When I finally make it to a track day, bucket seats will be fitted and the harness clipped in place. I've found driving on the road with a harness and bucket seat to be fun but a pain in the arse.
Its fast becoming apparent that the car will be effectively ready very soon, but won't be on the road for months as the money has dried up for a bit. I've still got to pay for the prop shaft, MOT tax and insure it, and sort the AVO bushes out. I have a plan for the bushes but it still requires more money.
More to come.
First of all I cut a couple of panels for the back of the car, just to tidy that area up a bit
Then before deciding where to put the speakers I had to make sure there was somewhere for the spare wheel to go, as I plan to use the car fairly frequently. There is a nie little space for it behind the passenger. It'll be secured with a rachet strap anchored to the harness eye bolts that will be redundent while the car is used on the road.
Now the Speakers could be mounted. I made up some alu panels to put behind the fiberglass with rivuts in the alu sheet, this will spread the load a bit as the speakers are a bit heavy to be mounting on rivnuts alone. I'm quite pleased with their location, although it still pains me a little that I'm adding such obvious "ICE" (cringe) to the car. They do sound good though and should overcome the engine noise.
I was on the home straight with the back end of the car at this point. All that needed doing was a new battery clamp, then it could all be pulled out, cleaned and refitted. I put lots of renforcing in under the fiberglass as the battery is obviously a heavy item and doesn't want to be loose in an accident.
As above what could be easily removed was then removed and the interior hoovered and wiped down. A few more brush strokes of garage floor paint patched up some areas and now its all in. I even fitted the passenger seat and will hopefully get the drivers in tomorrow. The windows and boot hatch are now on too.
The MR2 mk2 seats (as in the picture) will remain fitted and used with normal seat belts for the majority of the time. When I finally make it to a track day, bucket seats will be fitted and the harness clipped in place. I've found driving on the road with a harness and bucket seat to be fun but a pain in the arse.
Its fast becoming apparent that the car will be effectively ready very soon, but won't be on the road for months as the money has dried up for a bit. I've still got to pay for the prop shaft, MOT tax and insure it, and sort the AVO bushes out. I have a plan for the bushes but it still requires more money.
More to come.
More work on the car today 
Got the drivers seat mounted and cleaned up a little, very pleased with the results although it only just goes far back enough owing to the fact that MR2 mk2 seats are a little wider in the rails than scimitar ones.
Then I got on with the front stuff, Got the grill fitted with 7 SS M6 nuts and bolts
This meant that the Radiator cover could finally be fitted properly with the hoses all connected up.
There were other little tasks but thats the bulk of it
I'm sure there are folk that can relate to this next bit...
Then I spent ages looking at it, sitting in it and making brum noises
More to come
Got the drivers seat mounted and cleaned up a little, very pleased with the results although it only just goes far back enough owing to the fact that MR2 mk2 seats are a little wider in the rails than scimitar ones.
Then I got on with the front stuff, Got the grill fitted with 7 SS M6 nuts and bolts
This meant that the Radiator cover could finally be fitted properly with the hoses all connected up.
There were other little tasks but thats the bulk of it
I'm sure there are folk that can relate to this next bit...
Then I spent ages looking at it, sitting in it and making brum noises
More to come
I just put the bonnet on and clean up the hinges when one of the bolts snapped 
I was thinking about how heavy the bonnet is and the thought of doing something about it had crossed my mind more than a few times, well now it looks like I have too do something.
Heres the broken one
There is also damage around the one remaining bolt
And the other side doesn't look too healthy either
Well I've put angle grinder to GRP and cut the C**p out of it.
The underside was indeed not attached to the top side in the middle and offered very little in turns of strength, only really giving the bonnet more torsional rigidity. So thats gone. It weighs considerably less now too, which is nice.
To start with, and to get back into glassin' I reinforced the bonnet catch area.
Now I've run out of GRP kit, so its break time till I can get some more.
More to come
I was thinking about how heavy the bonnet is and the thought of doing something about it had crossed my mind more than a few times, well now it looks like I have too do something. Heres the broken one
There is also damage around the one remaining bolt
And the other side doesn't look too healthy either
Well I've put angle grinder to GRP and cut the C**p out of it.
The underside was indeed not attached to the top side in the middle and offered very little in turns of strength, only really giving the bonnet more torsional rigidity. So thats gone. It weighs considerably less now too, which is nice.
To start with, and to get back into glassin' I reinforced the bonnet catch area.
Now I've run out of GRP kit, so its break time till I can get some more.
More to come
GRP never stops boggling my mind, one minute, its one sheet of soggy fibers, next you can stand on it, I really enjoy Glassin'.
So I welded the SS bolts to the SS strips, and glassed them in, then filled over the top with an alu sheet as the mating face for the hinges. ITs all smoothed out now and ready for garage floor paint (when I can afford the next tub).
After looking at the bonnet for a while and trying to hold it up in the same place that normal bonnet strut does, it seems that it puts a lot of bending stress on the bonnet and it puts a lot of tension on the RHS hinge mounts, which is probably why they cracked to much. So I'm doing away with it in favour of a less glamorous swing down strut. I hunted high and low for something suitable, then as I was about to give up the solution presented itself. A broken golf club, with a very rigid and very light shaft. Its about 1.3 the mass of the original, and while it might look a little silly, I quite like the solution.
I know this is no race car, and I've got speakers , CB, etc, but I'm really pleased that I've been able to shed so much mass from the bonnet to at least offset some of the extra weight I've put in.
Its back to work tomorrow , so progress will be a little more gradual for a while. I've really enjoyed cut the bonnet about as it was always niggling at me how heavy it was. Its given me a new enthusiasm to do something similar with the doors. I know lots of folk with race cars have stripped the doors before and added polycarb, but the challenge here is to retain the lowering windows, I like having the windows fully open in the summer so I'll be looking into ways for doing this soon.
More glassin to come
So I welded the SS bolts to the SS strips, and glassed them in, then filled over the top with an alu sheet as the mating face for the hinges. ITs all smoothed out now and ready for garage floor paint (when I can afford the next tub).
After looking at the bonnet for a while and trying to hold it up in the same place that normal bonnet strut does, it seems that it puts a lot of bending stress on the bonnet and it puts a lot of tension on the RHS hinge mounts, which is probably why they cracked to much. So I'm doing away with it in favour of a less glamorous swing down strut. I hunted high and low for something suitable, then as I was about to give up the solution presented itself. A broken golf club, with a very rigid and very light shaft. Its about 1.3 the mass of the original, and while it might look a little silly, I quite like the solution.
I know this is no race car, and I've got speakers , CB, etc, but I'm really pleased that I've been able to shed so much mass from the bonnet to at least offset some of the extra weight I've put in.
Its back to work tomorrow
, so progress will be a little more gradual for a while. I've really enjoyed cut the bonnet about as it was always niggling at me how heavy it was. Its given me a new enthusiasm to do something similar with the doors. I know lots of folk with race cars have stripped the doors before and added polycarb, but the challenge here is to retain the lowering windows, I like having the windows fully open in the summer so I'll be looking into ways for doing this soon. More glassin to come
lozzzzzz said:
More work on the car today
Got the drivers seat mounted and cleaned up a little, very pleased with the results although it only just goes far back enough owing to the fact that MR2 mk2 seats are a little wider in the rails than scimitar ones.
Then I got on with the front stuff, Got the grill fitted with 7 SS M6 nuts and bolts
This meant that the Radiator cover could finally be fitted properly with the hoses all connected up.
There were other little tasks but thats the bulk of it
I'm sure there are folk that can relate to this next bit...
Then I spent ages looking at it, sitting in it and making brum noises
More to come
Hello again Loz - you must have felt brilliant looking upon this view. I love this thread, can't wait to see the old girl moving under her own not inconsiderable power. Got the drivers seat mounted and cleaned up a little, very pleased with the results although it only just goes far back enough owing to the fact that MR2 mk2 seats are a little wider in the rails than scimitar ones.
Then I got on with the front stuff, Got the grill fitted with 7 SS M6 nuts and bolts
This meant that the Radiator cover could finally be fitted properly with the hoses all connected up.
There were other little tasks but thats the bulk of it
I'm sure there are folk that can relate to this next bit...
Then I spent ages looking at it, sitting in it and making brum noises
More to come
As for brum brum noises - I remember going to pick up my first SE5A. The 'pig-iron
' had recently been dyno'd and had definitely been breathed on, it was giving 159 at the wheels! Certainly the quickest Scim I've ever driven or owned, though obviously not in the same league as your MV. Anyway, I flew on a one-way ticket to Edinburgh from Brum with cash in my pocket to buy it sight unseen. Drove back home to Shropshire and arrived about 2am. I went and made a brew, then went back outside and sat in it for half an hour, smelling it cool down. I then turned the key and went out again, only returning home just before dawn because of a lack of fuel. Happy days.I keep thinking about an Alfa 3L V6 & transaxle setup in a Scim....
Got a little done this afternoon. Its only a bit of bent aluminium but I got the bonnet stay bracket done. And for some reason the Lathe has started working again and I was able to fix the boot latch.
It seems the lug that holds the boot shut (on the boot lid), is made of some kind of a cheese based alloy, and while it might taste good its pretty useless at being hard wearing. Here you can see the deep groove warn into the side of the lug (after it was cut off).
And the hole that I drilled in what was left.
Then it was a case of turning up a thingy on the lathe and drilling a hole through it, then taking the top off an M8 bolt to hold the whole thing together.
And bingo, a boot that actually shuts tightly and doesn't rattle (this bugged me a lot before I took the car off the road)
I've had the AVO shock units off to have a look. While trying to free the adjuster I seem to have broken it This is the straw that breaks the camels back. After thoughts of trying to redesign the bushes, I think I'll be buying new units from Gaz now. I'm a little worried the same thing might happen again though, it might just be a case of getting the car set up right and covering them in elephant tape or something?
On a side note the E36 works a treat in the snow, with chains its an amazing snow machine
More to come
It seems the lug that holds the boot shut (on the boot lid), is made of some kind of a cheese based alloy, and while it might taste good its pretty useless at being hard wearing. Here you can see the deep groove warn into the side of the lug (after it was cut off).
And the hole that I drilled in what was left.
Then it was a case of turning up a thingy on the lathe and drilling a hole through it, then taking the top off an M8 bolt to hold the whole thing together.
And bingo, a boot that actually shuts tightly and doesn't rattle
(this bugged me a lot before I took the car off the road)I've had the AVO shock units off to have a look. While trying to free the adjuster I seem to have broken it
This is the straw that breaks the camels back. After thoughts of trying to redesign the bushes, I think I'll be buying new units from Gaz now. I'm a little worried the same thing might happen again though, it might just be a case of getting the car set up right and covering them in elephant tape or something?On a side note the E36 works a treat in the snow, with chains its an amazing snow machine
More to come
lozzzzzz said:
We've got it bad haven't we! the bug that is
You should definately do it, when you say trans axle do you mean engine in the back? By all accounts its a cracking engine the alfa the V6
I've owned a few Alfa 75s, one of which was a 3l. One of the best engines ever produced anywhere, reliable(ish), powerful (used to have fun with a local lad who had an M3) and characterful; the cackle it used to make on the over-run still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up at the memory!You should definately do it, when you say trans axle do you mean engine in the back? By all accounts its a cracking engine the alfa the V6
Transaxle setup looks like this in Alfetta/75 layout:
http://tinyurl.com/akvw9a3
Engine, direct drive from crank -> prop, gearbox mounted next rear axle, LSD and inboard rear discs as standard...
Edited by itsrodders on Saturday 19th January 20:02
Well I took the doors down from the rafters and stripped them, stared at them for a long time, then bit the proverbial bullet and took angle grinder the GRP.
A plan is hatching for a sliding perspex window, so a little mass will need to added in that form and a lightweight pulley design to raise and lower the window. But.. the doors weighed in at a heafty 21kg before and 11kg after (add a couple for the addition of the perpex and it should mount up to quite a saving. At least 20kg if the bonnet is included.....
Just to be offset by the roll hoop and side bars
More to come
A plan is hatching for a sliding perspex window, so a little mass will need to added in that form and a lightweight pulley design to raise and lower the window. But.. the doors weighed in at a heafty 21kg before and 11kg after (add a couple for the addition of the perpex and it should mount up to quite a saving. At least 20kg if the bonnet is included.....
Just to be offset by the roll hoop and side bars
More to come
lozzzzzz said:
I've got a lot of time for that idea, that would be superb! the weight balance would be perfect!
Are the engine and transaxle all bolted up firm? would the transaxle have to be mounted on rubber "engine" mounts too?
Weight distribution & lsd Are the engine and transaxle all bolted up firm? would the transaxle have to be mounted on rubber "engine" mounts too?
The Alfitar (see what I did there, hoho) has long been a pipe dream. Have never had the wonga to give my dream substance, tho. I nearly made a start on an Alfa twin-cam twin-spark version, pretty easy to get up to 180ish brake, and the twin-cam is another of those characterful engines that just gets under your skin. But then I needed the engine for my roadgoing 75 ts and that was that.You know how these things roll!
Anyway, in answer to your question about mounts, this (rather good!) thread http://tinyurl.com/auzy6c6 shows you pretty clearly how it all sets up. He starts dropping the rear subframe and transaxle about half way down the page.
Rodders
lozzzzzz said:
That's a serious project, and that is a serious running gear, When do you start?
As soon as I restore my fortunes! I am currently Scim AND Alfa-less, for the first time in nearly ten years... And I now live in town centre flat as opposed to the large, many-barned farmhouse of old. They will be mine again. And Alfamitar will live and breathe...
Hi folks, I thought I'd try something new this time. A friend of mine suggested making videos instead, so I thought I'd give it a go.
I'd love to hear if people prefer the photos and text or the youtube links?
http://youtu.be/0BkQKyKZbGs
http://youtu.be/R-Lb4u8JZcw
http://youtu.be/4O8pyPPXScM
Thats it, please let me know if the videos are a bad idea and I'll go back to photos. I've edited the two videos that are at the wrong angle, it'll just take a while for the changes to take effect. I think I'll concentrate more on keeping the camera pointing the right way next time.
More to come
I'd love to hear if people prefer the photos and text or the youtube links?
http://youtu.be/0BkQKyKZbGs
http://youtu.be/R-Lb4u8JZcw
http://youtu.be/4O8pyPPXScM
Thats it, please let me know if the videos are a bad idea and I'll go back to photos. I've edited the two videos that are at the wrong angle, it'll just take a while for the changes to take effect. I think I'll concentrate more on keeping the camera pointing the right way next time.
More to come
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