Suffolk Jaguar SS100
Discussion
It's been a couple of months now, since I last posted, and I've been trying to trace my steps back to see where I had got to. I see that at that time I was pressing on with the body while I was waiting for some mods to be done to the engine, on account it was a 3.8 instead of the usual 4.2 that Suffolk usually deal with on the SS. So .. I'll continue here with the body work ...
The paint shop did a sterling job on the body in Rolls Royce Porcelain White. At this stage I made a mistake. I delivered the body straight to them out of the covered trailer from Suffolk. Not just the body but the doors, the alloy bonnet components and the alloy front valence - all to be painted at the same time. In retrospect I should have first mounted the doors and 'profiled' them to the body in order to eliminate any moulding imperfections before putting anything into colour - what Suffolk call 'correction'. But more of that later.
In my previous post - see page 5 - I'd drilled both wings ready to take the brass rivets, some 68 of them, prior to spraying. I was torn between installing them at this stage so that they get painted at the same time as the wings, or have them painted separately and glued in later. It was pointed out to me that it would be very difficult to 'polish up' a finished surface in between the rivet heads as it would be just as difficult not to take off the surface of the rivet heads in the process. So I elected to have them painted separately and glued in after the paint had been 'buffed up'. I acquired an old oak bread board from my wife and depth drilled the necessary 68+ 4mm holes so that each rivet head was a couple of mm away from the board surface and the complete board and rivets went through the painting process with the body.
|https://thumbsnap.com/KvL3Heb5[/url]
The finished result was 'spot on'! Get it?
The paint shop did a sterling job on the body in Rolls Royce Porcelain White. At this stage I made a mistake. I delivered the body straight to them out of the covered trailer from Suffolk. Not just the body but the doors, the alloy bonnet components and the alloy front valence - all to be painted at the same time. In retrospect I should have first mounted the doors and 'profiled' them to the body in order to eliminate any moulding imperfections before putting anything into colour - what Suffolk call 'correction'. But more of that later.
In my previous post - see page 5 - I'd drilled both wings ready to take the brass rivets, some 68 of them, prior to spraying. I was torn between installing them at this stage so that they get painted at the same time as the wings, or have them painted separately and glued in later. It was pointed out to me that it would be very difficult to 'polish up' a finished surface in between the rivet heads as it would be just as difficult not to take off the surface of the rivet heads in the process. So I elected to have them painted separately and glued in after the paint had been 'buffed up'. I acquired an old oak bread board from my wife and depth drilled the necessary 68+ 4mm holes so that each rivet head was a couple of mm away from the board surface and the complete board and rivets went through the painting process with the body.
|https://thumbsnap.com/KvL3Heb5[/url]The finished result was 'spot on'! Get it?
Edited by Roadstar800 on Monday 27th May 16:44
The next task at this stage was to fit the running board strakes, or treads as they are known. They come as straight lengths of alloy profile, being cut to length, with the mounting holes pre-drilled and the ends 'closed' to the correct profile. The actual tread comes as a roll of profiled rubber strip. Using measurements supplied by Suffolk, to start with only the first hole of each strake is drilled in the running board, just in front of the rear wing. Then, to get my hand in, I fitted the outermost strake first, on account that it is the only one that does not have a compound curve, being straight and only curving upwards to follow the rise of the wing. At first it seems an impossible task to curve a rigid length of alloy channel with your bare hands without making it look like a 50p piece - or in old money, a threpny bit! But incredibly, against all expectations, the heat from my hands did seem to soften the metal. Or was it my imagination? Anyway, once the strake was suitably curved, taking care to ensure the strake followed the straight line of the outer wing edge, I drilled the front hole in the wing and fastened it down fore and aft. Next came the innermost strake, the most difficult because not only is it the shortest but has to be formed into a compound curve without imparting a twist. Once satisfactorily conforming both to the sideways curve following the body line and the upwards curve following the rise of the front wing, that too, can be fastened down fore and aft. From then on it becomes easier - next the centre strake mid way between the inner and outer followed by the two other strakes midway between those - curving and moulding the appropriate strakes in turn before fastening them down at the fronts. The rest is by eye - judging when the 'divergence' of each strake matches its neighbour with a 'tweak' here and a 'nudge' there! When they appear perfect, then and only then is the running board drilled and the strakes fastened down, in this case with pop rivets.
Edited by Roadstar800 on Monday 27th May 12:50
I'd had the body painted locally - Rolls Royce Porcelain White from my original choice of Old English White because I thought OEW was a tad too creamy - and it was safely transported to my workshop.
The next job was to lift on the body to the chassis. The body is heavy and with some delicate maneuvering needs a bit of extra muscle - four of us to be precise, not that it was THAT heavy but more because four pairs of eyes are invaluable when clearances are tight. It was managed without incident, though, and once down we found we could shuffle it about a little to get it to line up with the various mounting points - ten vertical ones and, to be attended to later, six horizontal ones. Here is the illustration taken from the excellent Suffolk build manual ...
Body in postion and ready to be lifted on ..........
Before the body is released, Suffolk put it on a jig at the factory and tailor the doors individually to the body. During the process they shim the body mounting points so that the doors fit precisely with the correct shut lines and they supply the spacer shims, and even the brass door hinges, all individually bagged and ID'd so that theoretically the builder reproduces the factory clearances when reassembled. I say theoretically because inevitably some discrepancies get factored in and so a little tweaking and adjustments is necessary to get everything perfect - but that's part of the satisfaction of the build. It would be boring otherwise! The only shim/spacers that are not supplied are the horizontal ones - those you have to make yourself once the vertical ones have been installed and adjusted to perfection - a fiddly, time consuming job getting it just right so as no undue stress is put on the body which would, in extreme cases, cause misalignment of the doors and subsequent cracking of the GRP gel coat. To make the spacers I used thick walled aluminium tubing filed to size with stainless penny-washers sandwiching the steel reinforced GRP and stainless steel bolts, assembling the penny washer-the spacer-the standard washer super-glued together to make a double ended 'top-hat' and making them a 'finger tight' fit so as not to
introduce the dreaded stress!
|https://thumbsnap.com/a487tQLc[/url]
The next job was to lift on the body to the chassis. The body is heavy and with some delicate maneuvering needs a bit of extra muscle - four of us to be precise, not that it was THAT heavy but more because four pairs of eyes are invaluable when clearances are tight. It was managed without incident, though, and once down we found we could shuffle it about a little to get it to line up with the various mounting points - ten vertical ones and, to be attended to later, six horizontal ones. Here is the illustration taken from the excellent Suffolk build manual ...
Body in postion and ready to be lifted on ..........
Before the body is released, Suffolk put it on a jig at the factory and tailor the doors individually to the body. During the process they shim the body mounting points so that the doors fit precisely with the correct shut lines and they supply the spacer shims, and even the brass door hinges, all individually bagged and ID'd so that theoretically the builder reproduces the factory clearances when reassembled. I say theoretically because inevitably some discrepancies get factored in and so a little tweaking and adjustments is necessary to get everything perfect - but that's part of the satisfaction of the build. It would be boring otherwise! The only shim/spacers that are not supplied are the horizontal ones - those you have to make yourself once the vertical ones have been installed and adjusted to perfection - a fiddly, time consuming job getting it just right so as no undue stress is put on the body which would, in extreme cases, cause misalignment of the doors and subsequent cracking of the GRP gel coat. To make the spacers I used thick walled aluminium tubing filed to size with stainless penny-washers sandwiching the steel reinforced GRP and stainless steel bolts, assembling the penny washer-the spacer-the standard washer super-glued together to make a double ended 'top-hat' and making them a 'finger tight' fit so as not to
introduce the dreaded stress!
|https://thumbsnap.com/a487tQLc[/url]Edited by Roadstar800 on Monday 27th May 14:33
[url]Edited by Roadstar800 on Sunday 17th November 23:21
Before delivering the body, Suffolk put it on a jig and the doors are made and tailored to the individual body - during which process the eight main vertical body mounting points are measured and shimmed with hand made spacers to ensure the door alignment and shut lines are correctly adjusted. Just one mm of adjustment on one mounting point can affect the door alignment. It's a tricky job! The body is then delivered with all the shims, spacers, nuts and bolts - even the door hinges - all stamped up and identified so that the builder can re-produce the factory set-up at home - in theory! In practice all manner of things can upset things which need a bit of tweaking to get right, but at least the builder has a datum point from which to work. Even the thickness of the paint can upset things! In my case it took me several days of 'tweaking' to get the doors to fit anywhere near my expectations - it is a decidedly tricky job when adjustment of any one of six mounting points can affect the fit of either or both doors! In my case I had to file down the door hinge beds and re-profile sections of the door to match that of the body - and THAT is when I realised my mistake! I should have had all this done BEFORE I had the body painted! Of course, had I elected to let Suffolk paint the body before got it, all this would have already been done for me but in my wisdom I thought I would have it done locally not realising what was involved. You live and learn! But then again, I COULD have let Suffolk build the ENTIRE car for me ... but then I wouldn't be writing this blog, would I? Or having the satisfaction of getting things right - I AM a bit anal when it comes to the detail! Although tedious at times - I must have had each door off twenty times - it's a bit like decorating - the satisfaction comes when it's finished and you sit back and look at it, giving yourself a metaphorical pat on the back!
Before ...
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Before ...
[url]Edited by Roadstar800 on Monday 27th May 16:50
Roadstar800: I've been eagerly following this post from the United States, as I have long dreamed of undertaking exactly (well, almost exactly) the project you're describing -- I'd have chosen the 4.2L engine and without knowing it, looks like that might have helped me avoid some trouble. I salute your ingenuity in working through those little issues. I've been sorely disappointed that you haven't posted lately, just as your car is coming together. Nothing has gone amiss I hope.
How's the project progressing?
How's the project progressing?
Hi Adade - I'm gratified to hear from a fan from across the pond! Thanks for your interest and obvious concern. Don't worry, I'm still alive and kicking alongside my project - neither of us is dead! The fact is that I spend most June months on the Continent (of Europe) every year and work stops in May! Coupled with that the day after my return on the 1st July I was booked in for minor surgery on my hand that has left me incapacitated for at least a month. It is incredibly difficult to do anything with only one hand! But the surgical wounds are healing well and I should be able to take up from where I left off in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile Suffolk have been catching up with some outstanding parts delivery including the newly designed hollow steering column that I asked for to enable a steering wheel horn button to be fitted in lieu of the Suffolk under-dash mounted one. Also, they've replaced the old transmission tunnel previously supplied with a newly designed two-part one that facilitates future clutch changes, their policy being of continual improvement. I'm itching to get back on the job ..... ! Keep in touch.
Edited by Roadstar800 on Sunday 21st July 13:14
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