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Materials
Adam S-J
Updated Jan 2001
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Steel: I couldn't find a kindly engineering
works with a bin full of 16swg 1" RHS offcuts, so I had to buy the steel
for my car. It was not a problem, although the gauge was not kept in stock.
The steel came in standard 6.5m lengths, which had to be cut to fit in the
garage. The whole lot, which I had worked out from the book, came to about
£110 - but I had to go back for one more length of 3/4" and one more of
1" (because I made mistakes), and I kept on going back for 1" by 3mm strip
for all sorts of things. |
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Aluminium: I got the aluminium from the
same place, at £22.50 per 2 by 1.5m sheet (this was 16swg, which is in fact
wrong but is specified in the book in the chapter on bodywork. It is quite
workable for the flat panels, but 18swg would be cheaper and is easier to
bend.) |
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Windscreen I have not made mine yet, but Martin Keenan recommends
aluminium channel of at least 2mm gauge, to take glass thickness of (as
far as he can remember, but you could check with a local auto glass supplier)
8mm, plus the thickness of any rubber surround or sealant. The exact size
of the material you use is not crucial. He thinks that the recent supply
of Caterham 7 screens may well have dried up, but if you do get one you
should get it before you make your scuttle - otherwise the bottom profile
of the screen may not fit! He also recommends you put your car through
SVA before fitting the screen, as you then don't need to fit the washers
and wipers.
You can buy windscreen frames, glass and pillars from Monospares - 07976
640841. Any windscreen which is presented for an SVA test will have to
be properly marked with the British Standard, which is a problem if you
are getting one cut yourself.
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Seamless tube: This caused real problems
- my steel supplier hadn't any and didn't know where I would get it. I found
a specialist supplier in Falkirk, which is a fair drive from where I live,
and although the stuff was a reasonable price for a 6.5m length if you work
it out in £ per metre, it goes up horrendously the shorter the length you
want. I paid about £160 for the metal to make the wishbones and links -
so apart from the fabrication problems, which are considerable, I suggest
strongly on the cost of materials alone that you buy your suspension parts
from Martin Keenan, Stuart Taylor or Sculptural Engineering.
You can now buy the tube and the other bits to make wishbones from Monospares
- see previous section but one. |
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Rivnuts: These were hard to find - no
supplier I talked to knew of them. Eventually found as Nutserts (the
packet doesn't have a manufacturer's name). You should need a special tool
to insert them, like a big pop rivet gun. It costs about £40, but you don't
actually need it as you can fit the inserts with an appropriate metal spacer
with a hole through the middle, and use a bolt of the size for the insert
to collapse the thing into place. See picture. |
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Locknuts for top suspension ball joints
The unusual thread size (M18 x 1.5) of the Transit ball joints makes it
difficult to find appropriate locknuts. If you bought the tap to make your
top suspension wishbones and you have either a lathe or a lot of patience,
you won't have a problem. If you made everything yourself except the top
wishbone bush (which I bought from Sculptural Engineering) then you will
have a problem. I have just bought a pair of locknuts from Martin Keenan,
for £2 each.
Monospares now sell the top bushes and locknuts along with the other wishbone
parts.
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