The Invisible Car Part II

[Relentless Rob]

I'm starting to think a bespoke Cinquetrailer would be better. The ramifications of the trolly idea aren't good. Even thought the trolly is braked because two wheels are on the road the car needs to be taxed, M.O.T'd and insured to be towed on the road. If that's the case I may as well drive to the track.

I'll think about it at work tomorrow. Should get me through a couple of hours eh?

[owelly]

Rob, your trolley won't work. Your wheels turn on thier own pivot point through yhe strut/ball joint not through a central pivot.
Dollys are for recovery to a safe place.
A-frames are also for recovery only. By attaching your Smart car to the back of your camper, your towing it as a trailer and as such, you have to fulfill the trailer regs which states the brakes have to be 'trailer specific with over-run and reverse functions'. Smart cars/any car do not have these brakes. Folks think that if the towed car is under 750kg, the brakes rules don't apply, but if the 'trailer' has brakes, they need to comply.
In short, those camper/car combinations are illegal. All those off-road buggies on A-frames are illegal. Those folks using dollys to transport are illegal.
Build a trailer. Simples.

[fha772]

Yep, what the fella from Whitby said...

[Relentless Rob]

Yep, this is what happens when you have second hand, second rate information.

[Steve33]

Or build a stretched hummer transporter.
Go on rob you know you want to
Use a lincoln towncar as a base

[Relentless Rob]

The car hasn't moved for over a month and has only been touched to get stuff out of it. I need to get back on track. The car will be finished, because I hate the term "unfinished project" and the whole "Lend Recumbent" project was supposed to have put a stop to that.

Got a weekend off this week and I have to do the clutch and sills on the Rover, Kev' (van of death) needs help spraying his Fiesta and it's insurance month so there isn't a lot I can afford to do but one job that has been bugging me and thanks to the towing frame idea being a flop I have the raw material to do it.

I need to set myself a realistic deadline to get the car done. I've already mentioned PPC in the Park so we will see you there.

[Steve33]

So new front end then?
Sounds like a good timescale ready for ppc in the park

[Relentless Rob]

Proper damage check first and cut off straighten and weld back on I think.

[Relentless Rob]

Two months ago the car ran out of petrol and I flattened the battery finding that out. Today I put a can of petrol in the tank, clamped the battery back on and she started first turn of the key.

Got some work done as well but ran out of light for photo's. I'll do that tomorrow.

The PPC "run what you brung" day on March 31st will be a better deadline than PPC in the Park.

[Relentless Rob]

Healthy and safe today.

[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/oI58JDCA[/url]

Rear strut bar in place to hold the shoulder straps.

[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/BQZp8yXS[/url]

[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/ZvgVjitC[/url]

The usual welding metal to crap you get working with Fiats.

[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/NYNKF8bq[/url]

[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/mcHN8lZc[/url]

Metal to metal wasn't much better but at least it's done.

Door pillar damage?

[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/EYK4GLvM[/url]

I think the gap may well be wing damage from the shunt. As for the tracking being way off I think where the front was stripped to replace the bent drivers wishbone it was done by someone who has never seen a spanner before in their life as it appears to have a tca's from a Punto or Uno as it bigger than the passenger side one.

I've been in contact with someone who had a Vauxhall Viva for sale to have a chat about it and it turns out he has two Pandas he needs to sell as well. So "Pandamonium" may be in "Guff" colours instead of sub-lime next.

[oldgit]

Possibly the best scene of father ted. That or the drilling holes in the walls one.

I must be missing something here, but this isn't very funny. Amusing, yes, very funny, no.

[Relentless Rob]

Back to plan "M". Tune the heck out of the 1108cc engine.

Just bought this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260886077558? ... 1497.l2649

...to go with the bike carb's and Uno/Panda distributor.

Just need a Punto 75 cam'shaft and a coil.

[Renrut]

Whats the plan to connect that up with the bike carbs? You don't have TIG do you? So you're not welding up some pipes to the ally.

When I looked at itbs on the 1108 I was looking at CBR600rr ones, they even had about the right spacing and some nice curved u-bends would have put them right on top of the cam cover. Maybe some sort of u-bend manifold?

[owelly]

Robs mentioned his TIG before so that would be the obvious solution although I would have cut a flange in steel and welded stubs to that, then used the carb rubbers to mount them.

[Relentless Rob]

I have a flat piece of Alumonum bar billet that I can used as a base with the Fiat manifold as a template; or I can T.I.G weld the pipes to the new manifold as Owelly described. I have the Aluminium washers from the seat lightening to weld between the pipes and use to bolt a support brace if needed.

I'm tempted to get a new gasket set and strip the head so the ports are as clean as possible when I find and fit the new cam. Also decrapping the tops of the pistons and check the bores for ring damage while I have the head off. I already have the Cinquencento turbo oil filter (narrower so the oil lines can come off the filter housing and doesn't get in the way of the radiator) so that will give me more room for a four branch exhaust manifold. When I change the oil I may drop the sump (have a look at the main shells) and take an Inch or so off it so I can mount the engine lower if that's possible. Keeping it simple as the RWYB day isn't that far away (28 days off and four visits from the payday fairies).

Anyway that's the (latest in a long line of) plan(s). We'll see what happens.