76 replies to this topic

[pete]

can't tell from the pictures. you will need to put it next to a steel shell and measure things like inner sill height, angle of floor where it meets the inner sill.

pete

[Bendion58]

Hi Ben
its good to see that you are getting on with your Project
I take that you have a Space frame Chassis ? or do you have front and rear sub frames and bolt in roll cage
I was thinking of a Carbon Body for my Project the Difference Carbon and Grp prices was huge, so I settled
Grp and keeping the Body and panels light as possible, and just polishing the Gel coat, keeping cost down to save
Money for the Parts list for all my Turbo parts to be used later, I will run car to settle in to drive it, then off the road
to do the turbo,
see attachment

Regards Ben. http://www.absmotors...-shell-set.html

[benmoffat]

Hi Ben,

No I dont have the space frame chassis. I couldnt afford it at at the time as it was a lot more expensive than the road kit and I was planning on using my steel shell. Ive got the normal road bolt in kit.

There is a floor in my shell like a normal Mini so its not like the one on the link. So I will cut out the back as you would with a steel shell, then Im going to make a floor frame out of some box section, which I will mount my seats and centre console to. And it will also connect the rear frame to the front, extra to the door bars and roof bars. So the actual shell floor shouldnt be taking any stress one Ive got all that in.

There will also have to be bars going from the front subframe mounts through to the bars that go down the front of the door to brace it together, Zcars have sorted that bit out for me. I dont think the modifications will be too bad, and most of it will be hidden as the car is going to be fully trimmed. The bits Im more worried about is everywhere Ive got to fix something to the shell. For example fitting the steel doors to the shell, hinges for the front end, hinges for the boot etc. I imagine all those places will have to be reinforced or fixed the the frame somehow. Going to take a lot of thought. Especially the doors as they are damn heavy and Im sure the shell will not take the weight when they are open! Thinking about fabricating some hinges and getting them to hinge off the rollcage bar instead.

Will keep an eye on your build. Looking good so far. So is that going to be the finished colour? Looks cool. Will it be sprayed with laquer or anything? Mine is a gel coat finish too.
Good luck with the build.

Ben

Edited by benmoffat, 03 July 2011 - 10:08 AM.

[Bendion58]

Hi Ben
I feel like Im talking to myself HA,HA,

Anyway talk to Tony at the link I sent you, they can do you GRP Doors much cheaper than Carbon
mine are way lighter than steel ones, Im also using MK1 Door hinges on the outside.

Regards Ben.

[Bendion58]

HI AGAIN

Yes I will be using the Gell coat so will have to get the polisher out
it should look ok, saves paying for paint, another saving

I keep a record of all out going buys, and look well ahead to see where I can save Money
to put into other Areas of my Project.

Regards Ben.

[benmoffat]

Hi there,

Yea that was one major reason for me getting the shell I did. No painting costs. If I could have got a FG one in a different coloour I would, probably a red one. As thats what all the kit cars use, just gel coat in various colours. But I found this carbon one and went for that.
The reason I want to keep steel doors is so that if I have to go through an SVA test I can pass with the e marked windows. Something I hear you cant get in polycarbonate. Plus Ive heard bad things about FG doors with them flexing when driving along and wanted something sturdy as its going to be an everyday car, and couldnt afford full carbon doors. They will have carbon door skins bonded on to match the rest of the car.

I did find these very nice looking billet external hinges that could be used though, I might go down that route if I cant make some internal ones. link

I too am trying to save as much as I can, its pretty hard though. Got to buy an ECU before I can even get it running, and then the brakes, theres £1000 gone just on those two items! The good thing is thers no more bodywork issues to deal with (apart from trying to get the front end to fit, which Im not sure I can do) so I can hopefully concentrate on just fitting the kit and wiring and plumbing to get the car going.

I see the pics on your build are the same as on ABS, Is that actually your car, if not do you have any pics of yours?

Thanks

Ben

Edited by benmoffat, 03 July 2011 - 03:01 PM.

[Bendion58]

Yes that is my Car,
ABS seen my photos and Contacted me saying they made it for me through Z Cars
and contacted me to ask if I had any other photos to ad the there Web Site if it was OK
Im just cutting out the head light and indicators on the front end just now, as I want to get as much done
before it goes down to Z Cars for wiring, shift Kit and Commander unit fitted and SVA
and when its done it will come back to get all the little finishing touches done, my car will not be a show car so
I will be keeping the weight down for Hill Climbs and Sprints also Road use, cant wait till next year when I fit a Turbo to it
I will be fitting Carbon Door Cards to clean the inside up a bit, and Carbon Arches, as you know weight is a Killer

RADIO NO WAY, only what I need maybe a socket to run my tom tom and charge the Phone when down south Visiting you Guys
wherever

Regards Ben.

[benmoffat]

Would love to know how you get on with the SVA. When is it being tested? Are Zcars doing all the work to get it passed?

My kit is being redlivered tomorrow, so I hope to fit it into the shell next weekend and start on the wiring as soon as possible, and get it running. Thats my first aim. Then I can start on making up the frame and mounts.

Shame you are so far away, be good to see the Mini in the flesh!

Edited by benmoffat, 03 July 2011 - 08:30 PM.

[Bendion58]

Yes Ben
Z Cars are going to do all the work to get through the SVA Test as my nearest test centre is too far away
from where I live
and Z Cars no all the pro,s and Cons to get Through it, as to when mine will be done ? my work takes me all over the World
sometimes for weeks or a couple of Months, but hope to have it done this year
I will let you know when it goes down to Z Cars and you can pop in to have a look if you live nearby.

Ben

[benmoffat]

Hi,

Looking for some help from you fellow Volvo builders please.

Have any of you got a picture of this part on your kit?

Im trying to find the bit thats missing, do I need a bearing, or a cv joint? Can anyone shed some light on this please?

Thanks

Ben

Attached Files

•  DSC00655.JPG   796.67K   47 downloads

[minibugga]

Looks like you are missing the bals and the outer cage. Might be easier to replace the shaft for one out of the scrapyard (25 pounds mine) other than fitting the missing bits.

Cheers

Attached Files

•  Driveshaft2.jpg   144.47K   13 downloads

Edited by minibugga, 07 July 2011 - 02:28 PM.

[benmoffat]

Thanks Minibugga, are they standard Volvo items? I thought Zcars manufactured the driveshafts.

Ive had a look around and I cant find anything that looks like what Ive got. Do you mean the complete bar that runs in the middle, or the short one that goes to the wheel either side?

Thanks for your help.

Ben

[minibugga]

Hi Ben,

that coupling is standard Volvo and the two shorter shafts are the ones done by Zcars. I had similar problem on my Mini and got that long shaft with the mounting braket to engine from a scraby, as I couldn´t refit the bals. Hope this helps.

Is your Mini registered? What did you had to do after the conversion?

Thanks,

Gonzo

[benmoffat]

Hi Gonzo,

Thanks for that, that clears it up. I will see if I can find one of the long bars. What holds those balls in then? Just the small outer shaft against it?

I havent registered my car yet, still not sure on how Im going to go about that.

What stage is your build at? You got any photos?

Thanks

Ben

[minibugga]

Hi,

looks like you are missing the end cap. This is how my broken one looked like. There was no way of fitting the cage and bals with the cap on so I decided to get a spare one. Go to the scrapyard and take a look. It´s easy to replace!

Thanks for the interest; my Mini is ready to work. Have just test it forwards a bit as my cooling circuit needs finishing. I build a low budget car so let´s see what comes out. Lots of scrapyard bits, std ecu, loom and dash, etc etc. I´ll post some recent pics when I download them from the camara.

Cheers, Gonzo

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