Okrasa Special

[Barry]

If you remember, the rear kamm line is now some 2 1/2 - 3 inches higher then the orginal shape. Also Steve is considering the possibility of going wider on the wheels, or at least, the tyres (we were both a bit worried the from the rear, the car looked like it was running on mountain-bike tyres ).

The higher bootlid had started to make the rear wing look a bit too subtle, and whilst we don't want them looking over-contrived, I thought we could give them some extra meat without going silly.

So out with the grinder, all of the old wing came away leaving just the final wires around the wheel arch and the bootlid.





And then MKII was formed up. A word of caution: where I've curved the wire up and down, it does change the shape as far as the pictures are concerned. Therefore, I don't think much can be drawn from the pictures shapewise, it's just to show the process. Next time I'll knock up a new wing and valance area which will really show what's what.

[Barry]

Meant to say, in the top picture of the above rear wing one, you can see three wires going across the wing near it's peak.

The topmost one is the new supporting wire, the next one down (thick) is the old line, and the last is actually a bit further back and is new.

The difference between the top two show how much clearance and general height I've added. I'm hoping this will keep Steve's options open as far as wheels, tyres and ride-height are concerned in the future, and visually should give a bit of welly to the area without looking OTT. We'll see when we skin it ....

[Pandora]

Looking great, and it shows how quiclky you can make real progress (even in practice) after decent planning.

Seeing this makes me really want a shot on a wheel!

From last week (or whenever it was), there was already quite a bit of shape* in the panel, but even so, it still looked dead flat. BTW it seems to be the convention that in order for any panel to look flat on a car, it needs a bit of shape anyway, otherwise it'll tend to look as though it's imploding.

If ever you need proof of how true this is, look at an '80's Ferrari Testarossa. I always thought they were so flat and boxy, all folded edges and slab surfaces, but when you actually run your hands over them they actually have a fair bit of curve on the panels.

They are still mingin' though...........

[steve wright]

What Barry politely omitted from the wheeling update was that he needed someone dumb on the other end: no thinking allowed, just a passive pair of arms to hold the panel and to go with the dance. Harder to do than you think if like me you're a control freak , but once you get into a rhythm it's fine! It did feel a little like Strictly Come Dancing, with Barry leading and me trying to avoid falling over . Great to finally wheel a panel though and it certainly spurred me on regarding the bodywork!

[dragonfly]

What Barry politely omitted from the wheeling update was that he needed someone dumb on the other end: no thinking allowed, just a passive pair of arms to hold the panel and to go with the dance. Harder to do than you think if like me you're a control freak , but once you get into a rhythm it's fine! It did feel a little like Strictly Come Dancing, with Barry leading and me trying to avoid falling over .

I once had a similar role and "helped" someone make a bonnet, so I can relate to your experience.
It's coming on really well now, I look forward to seeing the new wing clothed

[Macaulay]

YES! That higher curve on the wheelarch is def doing it for me.
I should probably wait until you got it covered, but I am quite possitive this is it.
Your sure your not having spyder like vents on top of the bootlid to break up the flat surface Steve?

(Btw love the camper Steve, I'm drooling all over those for sale over at the
samba, one day I will own one. But first a 356 then a camper, got to have your dreams organized.)

Great work guys.

[BAHumbug]

Hello. . .
Barry. . .?
Steve. . .?

The world didn't come to an end at 6pm last Saturday
but
It has been 10 days since the last post on the Okrasa Special

Am I the only one who feels a certain emptiness?

I hope that all is well and so much progress is being made that there just is no time to post and keep the rest of us up to date.

[Disco]

Hello. . .
Barry. . .?
Steve. . .?

The world didn't come to an end at 6pm last Saturday
but
It has been 10 days since the last post on the Okrasa Special

Am I the only one who feels a certain emptiness?

I hope that all is well and so much progress is being made that there just is no time to post and keep the rest of us up to date.

I think Barry is re-doing his calculations as to when the world will end next

[Gary71]

That will be when they realise the shape of the roof isn't quite what they are after...

[steve wright]

I've been busy preparing for the end of the world

Seriously, Barry had another job (can't believe he has a day job ) and I've been busy getting the 911 fettled (another 10bhp on the rolling road, thanks Nick of Redtek), a new exhaust on the Razor Edge (thanks Ian of WPS), and me sorting lots of minor stuff on the Westy. But, I did clean the gearbox and rear of the car of 40 years of crap which made a huge difference to how it looks. I know it doesn't move the bodywork on but it does mean the period Formula Vee rear anti-roll bar set up can be installed cleanly, along with the fully adjustable Koni shocks.... pics to come.

Cheers, Steve

[roy mawbey]

I like the new improvements. Its sort of funny with shapes and curves your eyes seem to know almost immediatly what looks best. Its rather amazing that a change of a few inches ( sorry mm's ) does that.

I suppose its like the difference between the back of Pippa and someone else.

Well done indeed.

Roy

[911hillclimber]

Yep, I sense a certain emptyness too...
Soon that Wheel will be v busy and we will get some action/attention from the Best Thread on DDK.

[steve wright]

speaking of Pippa M, as promised a photo of the newly cleaned naked rear end.... What was interesting was seeing the colour of the magnesium gearbox case - because it's brand new but been covered in oily muck for 50 years, it's still got a lovely golden colour to the case: virtually every other mag casting I've seen has gone grey.
[img][img]http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac13 ... 5a8686.jpg[/img][/img]

After much discussion we've decided to leave the existing exhaust as it is, but replace the muffler with one that fits in the same place but has two stub exhausts, much like the rally exhaust fitted to the early 911 but with shorter tail pipes. Ian (of WPS) and I started the car with just one silencer rather than the original two it had, and it had a great sound: like a race-tuned 356, which was a pleasant surprise. I was worried the sound wouldn't match the slightly aggressive and purposeful body design, but it looks like we've pulled it off. It also became clear the almost £800 it would cost to build a decent bespoke unit with equal length pipes and merged header was not worth the probable 10% increase in power (a massive 5 bhp!). I'd rather spend the money on making it handle and on installing the Shorrock blower to get a decent increase in power!

Anyway, all small steps, but part of the journey

[scotal]

What do you intend doing with the car once its built Steve? If its for track use, have you considered the noise regs? It'd be a shame to handcraft all this stuff to simply have Nimby's stopping your fun as soon as you tried to use it.

[steve wright]

Hi, good question and I'm not sure! I'd like to do some racing but that leads to a whole host of other issues like the petrol tank being in the main cabin, no rollcage at the moment, etc, etc. Having said that, it's not like a 911 engine - having heard it I doubt it's more than about 80 decibels at the moment.