2118 replies to this topic

[Heath]

Haha, I cannot imagine reading this whole thread in one hit. Might be a bit much, but nice to hear you obviously found it addictive, Mando.

To get myself into the mindframe of a sheety, I designed a little roof console and cut out a pattern in nice thin stainless (prick to work with as it buckles so easily, but at least it's lightweight)


A few minutes in the brake press:


I added some extra meat with the MIG onto the interior rear view mirror bracket to make it a little fatter:


Folded a bit of stainless sheet to follow that profile:


Used some unconventional folding techniques to prove I'm no professional:


Grafted the bracket into the roof console shape:


Finished the tissue-paper thick stainless as best I could:


Poor old mirror deserved some love too:


Much better:


And there she is mounted up in the roof, just below the sunroof assembly & headlining:


I still haven't found the exact map lights, switches etc. to install in that yet, but that can come later.

When I was looking for the old mirror, I also found some old glovebox hinges that were looking a bit heavy:






Sorted.

Edited by Heath, 15 April 2019 - 03:02 PM.

[Heath]

Bought a simple rubber mount kit for the radiator (it's designed for a Mini) with grommets and crush tubes, and installed that in the radiator mounts which I've trimmed back:


I also turned my flat ally sheet into some bent ally sheet.


And that's loosely how it will fit together in the bay:


Was waiting for someone to ask me how my seats were going, but I'm a little impatient, so this is how they look now ft. yours truly; the fella who gets to sit in them:


And door trims to match (done by Dash Original):



Original 40 year old NOS Fashion Pack tartan inserts in LX-C's, original type black vinyl everywhere else.

Edited by Heath, 15 April 2019 - 03:08 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Seats and trim look great. You're going to have to work overtime on drilling holes now to make up for adding extra pieces!

 

I wonder if drilling the mirror mount helps change its resonant frequency? Mine vibrates (not loose, doesn't rattle) which makes the view a bit blurry, nothing I've tried so far has helped much :-/

[V-SLR5000-P]

Lightening holes in the seats too   Great work Heath.

[rodomo]

Next he'll be playing bagpipes?

[LXCHEV]

I’m digging that interior!

Also the roof console - Mad Max style

Are you planning any booby-traps in this beast?

[axistr]

Good work Heath, just wondering how many drills and drill bits do you think you've gone through now.

[jeffblanco]

I have never seen an interior like that before. It looks fantastic.

 

Regards Mando.

[SHEEL]

Love Love Love the trim Heath. You have supreme taste. 

[CYCO355]

Saw this on stalkbook and thought of Heath’s Hatch


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[rexy]

Now that adds a new dimension to the “full hole saw” descriptor!

[Mitchyboy]

Holey Moley

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[gtrboyy]

Recaro/scheel frames or all custom job?

[Heath]

lol I was tagged in that VW many, many times on FB.

The seats are Recaro's, no trickery with the frames, just standard LX-C's with adjustable knee support at 14kg a piece. I've got block and fishnet headrests (not pictured) that I can switch between, to match my great taste as Daniel pointed out.

So I've folded the top lip of my rad support down (instead of up) and want the radiator etc. probably around 1/2" lower than normal. Caused a few little dramas, such as...

The three little tabs for nosecone bolts upset the radiator lower tank being able to sit snug against the rad support, and that area of my nosecone has been cut away anyway. Easy.



Made an inner and outer piece:




All smooth:



THEN I tried to fit the nosecone and front spoiler... next problem, the bottom corners of the radiator tank foul on the brake ducts:





There's clearance.


With duct installed.


Figured the best way to complete the radiator mounting was to weld some studs onto the car (rather than trying to line multiple components up with a nutsert). Grabbed some stainless bolts and ground the heads down.

[Heath]

Went to get started on the driver's side tank.

This tank is a radiator overflow bottle with a washer bottle reservoir welded onto the side of it. The washer bottle actually has a recess cut in the back of it too to hide a HZ Kingswood style washer motor/pump; I just welded a little strip of alloy on and the body can be hose-clamped in position. You don't see anything once it's installed - it just looks like a tank unless you remove a headlight.


Overflow bottle is just an empty box with an elbow welded on the top, an 8mm hose will feed loosely through that hole to the base of the tank.


Bought an alloy cap & threaded neck from eBay, which was far too long. Cut it down on the lathe with a lip to help it locate in the hole for assembly:


The cap assembly and some -10 weld on fittings.




Then to the passenger side which is a catch can for the motor. This will have a short hose connected to the bottom of it, leading to a drain tap for easy servicing.

Bought a little brass globe valve from bunnings, a brass hose barb, and an alloy weld-on boss from Speed Pro.


I'm all about weight reduction - and brass is a dense material - so lost some material on the lathe and made a sharp 'spout' on the outlet to reduce hang-up:


Nice and simple, the alloy bit was to be welded into the bottom of the catch can.


Welded the little stainless mount for the catch can drain tap on the lower rad support area, hidden behind the front spoiler.


Bought a shielded Aeroflow breather which i will use for the catch can. Had to make an alloy boss up out of some tube:


The breather itself will not be visible in the engine bay, it'll be hidden in the guard. Below is a bit of an exploded view of the concept.


Had to add a baffle, if for no reason other than making somewhere to contain the steel wool.


Added the Heath touch.




Welded up:


Still to do a few little tweaks with rubber grommets and stuff to get it perfectly in line, but looks basically as I intended here:


You can see the tanks through the headlight holes. Yes, the headlight plugs will clear.

Edited by Heath, 04 June 2019 - 01:53 AM.

[turbo76lx]

Nice work, but also want pictures of the next project you brought.   

[76lxhatch]

Loaded with smart thinking :-)

[Heath]

Nice work, but also want pictures of the next project you brought. 

 

Haha may as well fess up on here. I've now got one of these to build when I finish this Torana.

 

Mine are a bit more basket-casey though...

Edited by Heath, 04 June 2019 - 10:16 AM.

[myss427]

Looks like you have more than one!

[V-SLR5000-P]

Looks like you have a Manta, theres a blast from the past, Alan Devine was bringing in kits about 1980. Can Am car for the road, mirroring GT40, Detomaso Mangusta and Pantera concepts. I think they were supplying Corvair gearboxes but there are probably better options today. You will need to think about air-conditioning or it will cook you even more than a Eureka with either eight cylinders of Ford or Chevy at your shoulder. I don't think l have ever seen one finished so looking forward to seeing what you do with this too.  

[rodomo]

The work modular comes to mind with those shiny bits?

Remove headlight to change globe?

[Heath]

Yeah, I have a few obviously. That number will hopefully, ultimately, be reduced to 1, and then it will become a good one after I have a chance to do shit on it.

 

One of those is a car that would have come through Alan Devine, as I understand.

 

One bolt holds each tank in, I'll show you the mounting system - just need to grab some photos. It shouldn't be too tricky for changing globes (which is not an awfully common exercise lol)

[Toranamat69]

The torana's comkng together nicely Heath.

[Adam77]

Fantastic fabrication work Heath,really different ideas I love it.The sports car looks like a McLaren M8a with a roof.
Keep up the good work mate.