Okrasa Special

[KS]

Can't wait to see the end result!

[356sc]

...starting to take shape Steve!

It will be interesting to see if the drilling you have done to save weight creates any stress risers....

[steve wright]

Hi Will. We've drilled no more holes than we did on the 356 and other cars, plus the factory cars and early racers of the '50's, so we're pretty confident it should be okay. We'll keep a close eye on things as the racing unfolds.... Cheers, Steve

[Pandora]

Can you put the old starter casing over the new starter to hide it - like those small alternators in Dynamo cases?

Oh, and tell Ian he needs a chuck guard on his Lathe. 'elf & safety never sleeps..... :0)

Great to see progress.

Al

[andytat]

Just an observation Steve.
The front brakes are set up to be trailing shoe, is this by design?
I seem to remember, from my Mini days, that leading shoe set up was
preferred for sporting applications.
The car is looking great btw.

Regards

Andy

[steve wright]

Well spotted Andy! They were mocked up in 2009 the wrong way and Ian changed them after I posted the photo, so it's been corrected. Good spot! More photos to follow at the end of the week including a mock up of the twin Shorrock superchargers...

[steve wright]

Hi Al, we could but it weighs a ton. The best solution is probably an ally cover but it depends on how much it irritates me!

[Pandora]

Steve, as an aside from the Okrasa, I meant to email you to say that I'm holding you and your 356 wholly responsible for what I did to the wing of my current toy, an Austin A40 Farina.

It looked a bit dull as it has had the chrome embellisher along the wing removed, so I did this to it, along with a few other wee mods to the headlight area.:

A40 stripes

You're an inspiration! :0)

Al

[steve wright]

Looking good..

[Barry]

Lots of good progress, and not just the Okrasa, but the A40 as well . Nice seat colour BTW, really like that. Also, that must have been a massive box of holes you bought .

Looking forward to Gary and Vic getting going, particularly the fiddly stuff; door frames and openings, bonnets etc. The big swoopy stuff looks lovely in pictures (and in real life), but it's the hidden stuff that's really interesting (and eats the hours). Mind you, having said that, the return from bonnet side up into the front wing is a tricky one, which I know M&Y can do in their sleep, but would keep me awake.

[steve wright]

Well a momentous week: a running car and finally delivered for coachwork. Approximately six decades after first being built it's finally getting dressed!

But first a few photos of Mr Clarks handiwork. The first is a simply beautiful shot of the early Okrasa TSV1300 motor in all its glory. I just love the simplicity and symmetry of these motors. A huge thanks to Ian who has done three straight weeks without a break to get the car ready for M&Y. Thanks Ian.



For the observant who wonder, the metal loop between the magneto and generator pedestal is for lifting the motor out the back window....

Ian has gone to great lengths to ensure everything on the car is period correct for the 1950's: all the hoses, fittings, and components, right down to using correct nuts, bolts and washers are as they would've been in period.

Next is just a couple of fun shots of the blower mocked up to run one either side of the engine. There is a serious purpose to this though: we needed to know the set up was going to work in the car. Here Ian has laid up the blower to ensure there is physically enough space, that it lines up with the crank pulley, that we can get the blowers nice and low, and to check how mounting of them will work. We've landed on a steel cradle which will have to be bolted to the chassis as the two blowers weigh quite a bit. The motor is solid mounted so this set up should provide the rigidity we need to avoid constantly throwing belts.





The twin SU's will be mounted at an angle as per the photos to give a better angle to the port as well as putting the inlet directly in the airflow to ensure the air is as cold as possible.

Right, onto the main event of the week, delivering the car to Mouland and Yates. Vic is going to be building the car: a lovely chap (that's him on the far left of the photo chatting to Ian) who like his partner Gary has only ever worked on metal.... With a lifetime of experience I feel extremely comfortable the car is in good hands. There outfit is unbelievable - just look at the machinery in the photo of the car as unloaded. In the photo you'll also see the box with 'lights' written on it - we took every single component with us so Vic could begin to visualise some of the details:



We bolted up the buck made by 3D Engineers four years ago and stepped back to look at the little car. It looked good! There's a purpose and purity to the design which should really make it stand out.



Vic's first observation was that the very detailed and painstakingly researched 2,000 word specification I'd written up last year was going to result in a very fussy and horribly expensive car! In that polite but firm way good people gently guide a novice Vic and Gary explained how the car was simply beautiful proportioned as it was (thanks Barry and Al!) so didn't need a host of grills, vents, creases, and details I had specified. They also highlighted that this was where vast amounts of time gets sunk.



What we agreed was the they would build the car without any of the details and Ian and I would then start driving and racing it. If it needs something then we'll bring the car back for the modification. That way the car only gets what it needs and nothing superfluous, but it also evolves as all race cars do. I love old unrestored cars that show the passage of time and evolution that inevitably occurred: thinking evolved, original ideas didn't work, things broke, parts overheated or things proved ineffective. Because we're not painting the car this approach works really well and also shortens the build time (and cost!).



The final shot is a lovely photo of one of the original boxes parts came in: I'd forgotten I had this, but we will have to put the Okrasa logo somewhere on the car - it reminds me (and may very well be inspired by) the Pegasus logo:



Although sign-writing is some way off (!) it's always good to be thinking and planning these things. The next instalment will be in couple of months - Vic warned me that the car will very quickly look like it's almost complete but that's false. As Barry highlighted, it will be all the things you can't see that will take the time...

Until next time....

[Pandora]

Good looking car that.

:0)

Al

[Barry]

Vic's a lovely chap, I chat to him all day.

Have you settled on the wheels shown? Hope so, they look so right.

[steve wright]

Hi Barry. We're going to run two sets of wheels; the ones in the photo - they do suit the car don't they?! Plus a set of magnesium BRM wheels: British made, lighter than a feather and 5 inches wide for the road. Slightly later build than the car - 1965, but they are the same stud pattern and look lovely. The 356 rims have been a labour of love I have to say but they've worked out well, glad you like them. Next time we go down to M&Y to see the car you must come along and 'see the metal in the flesh'

[Barry]

Would love to!

I've just noticed an important typo in my post above, it should read 'could chat to him all day' . They both made me feel very welcome when I visited when the bick was being done, it just happened that it was Vic I spoke to more.

Wheels look absolutely lovely, and really do suit it well. Also, they even tie back in to that very first rendering.