In a quiet corner of Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK, another O/FF car takes shape

[Fasterbrit]

Hey Johnny! Just spotted this post... the car is looking great! Any more pix? Cheers, matt

[roland]

Yes more pics please! love it...

[Rob E]

Ive lived in Stratford my whole life.....never seen your car hiding.......ive got a slammed black 62 ragtop on 5 spokes.

think i recognise that housing estate too

saw your car down at waynes a few weeks ago. 

[Jonny Grigg]

Ive lived in Stratford my whole life.....never seen your car hiding.......ive got a slammed black 62 ragtop on 5 spokes.

think i recognise that housing estate too

saw your car down at waynes a few weeks ago. 

You won't have seen it around Stratford unless you go into my garage 

If you recognise the road, the house number is 72- knock the door and I'll put the kettle on and you can have a closer look at it.

It is now due to go to Dave Haywood for the full-on paint job and sign writing in January, so I have got my work cut-out getting it ready in time!

Gearbox and MSE V-Gate should be shipped this week from KCR - I lost out heavily on the exchange... goddamn global economic meltdown.

Progress could slow down fairly soon as I it now appears I have got to work in Kent for a year- which has pleased the wife no end  . Next step is to find a place to stay during the week, then set my engine stand up in the living room and start building that 2442 that is going to power this crate. In the new year I'll be limited to weekends only to get it all together, but will hopefully be ready for the first O/FF meeting of 2009, once it is back from paint.......

[Rob E]

ha, lets hope it is the road i think it is 

this gonna be one cool race car once done, the detail work so far is spot on 

lived in stratford long?

[Jonny Grigg]

not much of an update, but these two bits are on their way from California.......finally.

Pictures taken at Kevin Richards' workshop last week.





The trans is a single side cover T1 converted to swing axle, with the biggest bastard gussets I have ever seen.......

I can't remember the full spec, but I think it is 3.88 on a spool, pro-rings, chromoly main shaft yadda yadda yadda..... should take the planned HP given how light the car is. Kevin's reputation speaks for itself, so I hope it will hold together for a good few passes 

All-in-all £2.5k well spent (including the funky MSE shifter....)

Should be arriving next week so I hope to have some good playtime in the garage next week. I doesn't help that I am working 200 miles away from home at the moment 

I'll update as I go 

[Fasterbrit]

Properly digging the vertigate shifter setup! Dem's badass

[Jonny Grigg]

according to Bax Global, it landed at Heathrow this morning......

The tunnel is all welded up and ready to take the new shifter and rod set-up next weekend 

[Fasterbrit]

according to Bax Global, it landed at Heathrow this morning......

The tunnel is all welded up and ready to take the new shifter and rod set-up next weekend 

Sweet

[71CALRIPPER]

 Kevin's reputation )

Transwest ?

[Jonny Grigg]

 Kevin's reputation )

Transwest ?

KCR 

[71CALRIPPER]

ahh silly me, wicked set up mate

[Jonny Grigg]

Thought it was time to update my thread a little.

Whilst it doesn't look like much, i have been working quite hard on the car over the past few weeks.....:

MSE shifter is now in and 4 forward gears can be selected 











In this picture you can also see the substantial bracing around the rear end in the torsion tube and wheelie bar area:



Had a bit of a blow with the KCR trans as it got damaged in transit so needs to be re-cased- not the end of the world, but annoying nonetheless......

You can see I have had to chop a fair bit out of the tunnel to clearence the shift rods, but the car is substantially caged so shouldn't compromise integrity too much. Wayne Allman came and had a look and we have agreed to brace it a bit more around the B hoop and the torsion housing to make me sleep easier 

I have had a right game recently taking out all of the tubes inside the tunnel, including the old hand/E brake cable conduits exiting the frame horns at the back end- real nightmare and I recommend to anyone to never start down this road! It has worked out OK though now.....

Current work is making good the tunnel to put some strength back into it, and finishing off the shifter mount with some fancy drilling and gussets.... I spent today fitting a pedestal drill in my garage and am now about to venture back out there with my skiing thermals on.... it is -4c here 

Hopefully next weekend I can get the hydraulic stage brake mounted, along with the switch panel....... then it is the throttle cable, chute cable and a million other small jobs. I'll get there eventually.

I'll try and update again when I have something more substantive to show 

[Harry/FDK]

Awesome Work!
What happened to the Tranny ?

[richie]

hi jonny,
looks good,maybe you should just cut the tunnel out completely,it just gets in the way

cheers richie

[AntLockyer]

Looks great. Are you going for an upright staging brake or an angled one like a handbrake?

[Jonny Grigg]

The trans took a whack on the radius where the starter mounts on so there is now a chunk missing- you can probably just make it out on the last picture- from about 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock, if that makes sense. Both Kevin and I were both gutted, but it is just one of those things I guess...... Got a claim in with Bax Global now, so we'll see where that goes.

The staging brake is a 'horizontal' one, like a handbrake- the missus bought it for me for Christmas. I intend to make a locating plate for it and weld it to the LH side of the tunnel, just behind the shifter, so the handle starts slightly behind and to one side of the reverse lever. I'll also locate the master cut-off switch and some of the more minor switches (nitrous arm, purge, fuel pumps, lights and cooling fans) in the same plate. I've got it in my head, but probably not explaining too well- I'll do some pictures when I have done it.

Got further on with the back of the tunnel tonight, and also put a conduit in for the throttle cable. The pedal is now a JAMAR item with the cable located directly to it, but being a RHD car, it will look a bit Heath Robinson as the cable has to go diagonally across the RH floorpan before entering the tunnel. I'll get it to work. The throttle cable is now a Venhill teflon item- £46!!!!!

Nice to hear from you Richie. When are you back in the UK?

[AntLockyer]

You explained it perfectly well. I look forward to the pics.

I've got very used to having a vertical staging brake so that my hand falls directly to the gear stick when I let it go. I've got a vertical one I'm jsut debating if it's the right way to go or not.

[Deanodynosaurs]

Car is looking fu*kin amazing Jonny! I love all the engineering that has gone into this car! 

Cant wait to see it finished!

Dude 

[Fasterbrit]

Hey Mr. Grigg, what's the progress? We need some pix and a little progress report please

[jamiep_jamiep]

Seconded, come on Johnny lets have a look at whats going on!

Randomly I was going through some old pictures having a beer with a fellow Rennwagen member last night and found some with your bug when it was in the VWDRC (and a few other Outlaw's too, got a great picture of Pete Cogbox's Fiat completely airborne!).

[Jonny Grigg]

I have lots of photos taken recently, but none that'll really do it justice just at the moment.... i'll have a look through the digital camera and see what I have got. 

The car has been at Dave Haywood's place for the past 6 weeks or so now. There has been alot of subtle body mods done, most of which i doubt anyone will notice, however it is getting there now. Dave and Matt (Attwood) are both excellent at this bodywork lark but it all takes time, so it'll be done when it is done I guess!

I have also picked up my case from Pete's place yesterday, so I'll get on with trial fitting the crank when i prise myself away from this computer!

I'll get some photos up later on 

[RhoadsVW]

Can't believe that after all the work you put the steering wheel on wrong side.  Car looks really great.  I hope to see it someday.  It is coming along very nicely..   Dave Rhoads

[Fasterbrit]

I'll get some photos up later on 

Come on Johnny, we're frothing with anticipation. Your pix don't have to be contenders for the National Geographic - just some sneaky shots please

[jamiep_jamiep]

I'll get some photos up later on 

Come on Johnny, we're frothing with anticipation. Your pix don't have to be contenders for the National Geographic - just some sneaky shots please

It would be cool if they gave razzle some competition though Matt

Come on Johnny, we're dying here.....

[Jonny Grigg]

Ok guys, I thought it was time I updated my thread a bit more.....

So, in May, the car went to Dave Haywood's place (http://www.haywood-classic-custom.co.uk) to finish the body, chassis, prep and paint......

The day it left my place it was looking like this:





No spoiler or doors, but looking reasonable as a rolling shell



Momo quick release wheel as I can't get out otherwise!

Then I took it to Dave's place:





There has been so much work done by Dave and Matt it would be impossible to describe it all here..... suffice to say the body is beautifully straight, the doors and bonnet fit brilliantly, as does the rear bodywork....

the car is now in primer, being prepped for paint:





check out the doors- these still weigh in at around 7kg each, but have been fully welded up around the window area.... as has the door handle, so we'll open the door via a small slot in the window to reach the lever at the top.









and finally, some prized prat sat on a cardboard box making engine noises..... even at the age of 33 I don't think I have grown up yet ;-)



Since we have taken these pictures, the body has been flatted again ready for another coat of primer, the spoiler has been finished and a multitude of other areas have been worked on...... When it is finished, I'd invite anyone to have a good look around my car as the standard of finishing work by Dave is second to none..... if you are the Midlands/Warwickshire area, pop by his place and have a look at his work.... and Dave does a mean cup of tea too 

Be prepared for a multi-coloured OFF car in 2010.

[Jim Smith]

Looking good Mr Grigg.   

[beetletom]

thats awesome!!
love the smooth doors!

[SteveW]

Looking Good Jonny 
All worth the hard work in the end.

Adele

[dave.d]

looking good Jonny cant wait to see it finished