Okrasa Special

[arminius]

Are the panels that sit on top of the sides of the bonnet one piece each side? Very dope work with the crease. You know its good when you can't see the tool marks, like the joggled flange for the bonnet to sit into is just so clean for a really wide flange thats going to want to wrinkle. Like wise look at the reflections of the fluorescents in the inner wheel covers - that is never going to be seen yet is perfect. Such nice work!!!!

[steve wright]

Thanks Arminius, I'm no metal worker or coach builder but I can appreciate the work that has gone into building it. Nice if others with more skill and an eye for this can appreciate the work M&Y are doing.

Speaking of which, progress continues at pace. Little details now to finish off the build all of which take time...

First up is the towing eye for the front of the car. this will be mounted to the subframe for the oil cooler. It needs to be bolted on as it needs to be removed prior to the front body work being removed....



Next up is an action shot of the already-completed Gurney roof bubble... Glad it's not me putting that curve in steel. It took three hours with that machine...



The next shot is one of my personal favourites for the whole build of the car. It's the lightening holes put into the tops of the sills. Not really required, but it all helps with weight saving, adds a bit of much needed access to the sill if we run pipes or wires along them, and looks just f*^king cool I think...



Another lovely shot here... this is the inside of the door. We decided a long time ago to put cut-outs in the door, again partly for weight saving, but also to give a bit more elbow room when you just need the space to 'crank the wheel'. Rather than put a simple rectangle in the door skin though we decided to follow the spaceframe...



Next up is the finished fuel filler cap. God this was a pain in the arse. The FIA requires all cars with a screw or Monza style filler cap to now have a modern threaded cap inside which is just horrible. Safer for sure, but horrible nonetheless. But this only applies if the cap sits proud of the. bodywork (it's in case the cap is ripped off in a crash...) so M&Y located it just under the bodywork line...



Here's the final make-up of the front bonnet and oil cooler ducting. So simple in it's final form but boy did this take some head scratching to make work. I'm pretty pleased with the final design, which ducts air over the oil cooler, through the bodywork, and vents it over the wipers, avoiding the need to dump it under the car and thereby creating lift...



The final few shots are of the doors, which are under final construction. Here's the VW bus rear latch push buttons in place, which we're using as door latches...



No door handles on this car, too much drag! Instead just small indents to get your fingers behind the door edge...



The latch needs to be floating to allow for adjustment of the door. An often overlooked detail on a special but crucial if you want gaps to be good all around....



Penultimate shot today is of the door latch, again made from scratch...



The final shot of the doors and indeed this session is the locating indent in the door for the Karmann Ghia/Porsche 356 door locator, that makes sure the door lines up square and shuts positively against the latch. All details but ones that mean the car will be a pleasure to use...



We're now into the final furlong, working out the myriad of small details, prior to me picking up the car and Ian installing the original engine that will be used for shakedown testing.... More in a month's time.

[KS]

I am left speechless by the workmanship (and planning of the project overall) - a far cry from how it would have turned out if I'd kept the car in the first place! Well done all!

[Pandora]

I can imagine you currently have a smile so wide that Ordnance Survey are having to update the maps of Sussex!

Al

[steve wright]

Thanks Keith. It’s been a monumental effort on everyone’s part to get this far. I would’ve probably never have have started the project if I had known it was going to take so long, be so involved, and have cost so much (I’ve sold the preA restoration project to find the build)! In fact part of that was self-imposed: when M&Y tried to quote the job I told them I didn’t want to know as I’d never have undertaken the bodywork if I knew the likely cost. They insisted I hear it and to their credit the job is going to come in almost exactly on estimate even after a myriad of minor changes back and forth.

[steve wright]

Hi Al. Yes happy is an understatement! We’re now literally a few weeks away from finishing the bodywork - then the car will come back to me for a couple of weeks to finish a few jobs (e.g. wiper install) before going to Ian for the myriad of finishing jobs like wiring, plumbing and engine installation...

[Lightweight_911]

What a fantastic little car it's turning out to be - all of those neat little details that 'aren't strictly necessary' make the difference between a 'backyard special' & a proper car ... fabulous.

[911hillclimber]

It will be fascinating to see the car on the drive of a house (say) and get a good feel of it's size and perfect proportion, suspension tweeked and away from the confines of the workshop.
The details are everywhere, but for me it is the placing, sizing, cutting and forming of the headlamps which is my fav part of this process.

Never seen a thread in such detail of this process and skill base. The people doing the forming, making those cuts that are so critical...wonderful to see.
Further down the line, it will be a treat to see the painting process and chassis detailing.

Sure hope there will be a DDK Open Day for the car! (hint)

[Bootsy]

a far cry from how it would have turned out if I'd kept the car in the first place! Well done all!

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[Bootsy]

Just been looking at the recent pictures again - just awesome work

[smallspeed]

such a beautiful car! the detail is just stunning..

[steve wright]

Thanks 911Hillclimber. We’re not planning to paint the car as covering it up seems a bit of a crime. It will be sanded down and just left to weather before we get to a suitable patina then we’ll just wipe it with an oily rag occasionally! On your other point about size, it’s tiny. It makes the 356 seem like a giant, and you could easily pack it within the shape of the ‘64 911. I did measure it’s height recently: 41 inches....

I plan to take the car back to it’s place of original creation: Colborne Motors, the VW/Porsche dealership David Small owned in the ‘50s and ‘60s. It’s a VW dealership now but I’m sure they’ll welcome a bunch of old Porsche’s turning up, especially as David’s grandson is keen to re-enact the first run of the car up farnham road with me.... I’ll find a date (almost certainty a weekend) and post it here as soon as I have it confirmed...

[roy mawbey]

Really lovely metalwork Steve, You have got what you paid for.It is surprising the quoted price was so near the required amount. Just to figure out the quotation takes real skill let alone the work.

Roy

[arminius]

Nice if others with more skill and an eye for this can appreciate the work M&Y are doing.

I just know how hard it is to get a compound curve totally right - the reflections never lie, loads of us can get 95% there but that last bit, total consistency in radii and blending them through, really is indicative of the master craftsmen, you just need such a good understanding of how the material behaves. Great project thanks for showing us the pictures!

[Pandora]

Nice if others with more skill and an eye for this can appreciate the work M&Y are doing.

total consistency in radii and blending them through

And the way light falls on the flanks to give a strong line through the length of the car was the key to the way I tackled the rear of the body, so it's great to see this carried through from the model into the metal so accurately.

This will be why they've got a waiting list.

Al