brads 1963 mk1 850 - roll cage complete, got a weber & ideas

[MkI]

Beam looks nice and sturdy! Does the 4mm not really matter if they're not going to re-make it?

Oh its sturdy! Its 5mm channel (100x50) so it has no flex and will be bolted at the ends and then also where the inside of the trailing arms mount. Those inner bolts will go through the vertical to beneath the horizontal seat base. We can run shims on the inside of the channel to add positive or negative toe.

The 4mm in overall length doesnt matter but the holes needed to be 4mm further out. I dropped the beam back off and they'll weld the existing holes up and re-drill both pairs 2mm closer to their respective ends to get that 4mm. The holes will also be 9mm this time, 8mm was just too tight.

Picking it up at lunch or this afternoon depending on where im working (im 5 minutes away atm)

[anth]

Beam looks nice and sturdy! Does the 4mm not really matter if they're not going to re-make it?

[MkI]

Super cool project, can't wait for updates!

Thanks mate, i cant wait either! Slow progress... frustrating!

[gearheaded]

Super cool project, can't wait for updates!

[MkI]

Oh and just sorted the beam out this arvo. Popped past the fabricators at lunch and chatted. I'll drop the beam off tomorrow and they'll weld the holes, clean them up and re-drill. The rest of the beam seemed to fit so well its a shame to chuck it. Especially as the engineer could **** the idea and if i had a second made then 2 would be trash.

I also missed my delivery of seat mounts and slide, so have to work something out there. Shame they only deliver in my area at roughly 1:30pm

[MkI]

In good news Carls happy to split the set of wheels into two pairs. Which will save me a few hundred

I will be getting the CAMS paperwork for the rollcage today, along with (hopefully) the delivery from Velo that was the seat mounts and slide.

I had a beam fabricated but there were two issues, firstly i made the design 4mm too short - derp! - , and secondly the mounting holes on one end weren't drilled to plan... so i'll get them to do it again and ensure they at least make it to plan. It might be harsh but i gave them a good clear drawing with every dimension and they made one end perfectly and the other is just a mess.
So hopefully version 2 works

[MkI]

So sent this drawing off to be fabricated today. Should be done sometime next week. Its the base of the new rear suspension, the trailing arms mount to it, doing away with the subframe... well, as long as the engineer approves of it





And apoke to Carl @ Force Racing about some 3-piece 10x7 wheels. He has a new mesh design hopefully finished at the machinist today. Excitement

[MkI]

Seems from measurements the new seat has actually lined up better with where the steering wheel *should* be.

[MkI]

Interested to see how the OCD goes when you find the steering wheel sitting 20mm off centre from the driver... My old AU falcon was like that from factory. Worst car problem ever and I couldn't believe it was factory like that...

Well i know about it, how we handle it will be interesting. The centre between the original seat mounts is 60mm off the steering column. The steering column is also on an angle from the floor.
i might duck out and see the centre of this seat compared to the centre of the old mount holes. Would be interesting.

I do understand there will be compromises in the car. the most obvious currently is that i have shoved the passenger seat over so the drivers is in the best possible position. Its not symmetrical, but it will be a drivers car

[jazig.k]

Interested to see how the OCD goes when you find the steering wheel sitting 20mm off centre from the driver... My old AU falcon was like that from factory. Worst car problem ever and I couldn't believe it was factory like that...

[MkI]

and you're all up to date now... thats how the mini sits/stands.

Next up is fabricating the rear beam and sorting the suspension out. We're running with the good old camber pin idea, similar to below, on the trailing arms so we can have camber adjustment, and we'll be modifying the internal mounts so we have toe adjustment. It's simple so should be fool proof (i.e. i can use it)

[MkI]

Old mate Richard came over on the weekend and brought a little gift. a Weber 45DCOE

this is how the passengers seat sits when the drivers is in a more-or-less perfect spot to come forward on rails/slides. It will have to come across slightly, but i think we can make it work


drivers front on, the rails will angle up so the wing will rise as it comes forward to miss the b-pillar


Looking at the passenger seat as close to the b-pillar as possible



Said Weber 45DCOE, roughly setup for a 1408

[MkI]

So with the help of my brother and couple of mates we got the car back home last thursday. Roll cage is complete! I really couldn't help myself but i had to dummy the seats up











you can see how much space there is with the seats...

[MkI]

next was the cage painted assembled to check it went together properly before being mounted in the mini

[MkI]

The bloke is australian and spent over a decade at the highest levels of motorsport

hard to believe hey