DRL152K Marina based roadster rebuild

[martinclan56]

Can you get your knees under the steering wheel, especially when the seat is in?
Following your build with interest. Looking good
liz

Haven't tried that test yet. I am vertically challenged haha - even so perhaps I better do that next.

[jon_cox]

And I have been thinking about the exhaust route. I was always going to have a side mounted silencer but I would like the actual output to be at the rear of the car - not by the passengers ear. It looks like I should be able to route it between the chassis and the rear nearside wheel. Again - what do people think?
exhaust_1 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
[/QUOTE]

You would probably want to consider the fitting of a panhard rod assembly to guarantee no interference. It is surprising how much the axle moves laterally under spirited driving. Also, keeps the wheels vertical as a hard right hander could see the axle move closer to the exhaust plus the angle of the wheel and you have contact.

This setup is however used by other manufacturers. Caterham, Morgan and Merlin have used this in the past. I think the Merlin used an oval pipe to give more clearance.

Another option would be to take the pipe under the car, between the spring and the chassis just in front of the rear wheel and over or under the axle. The original Marina exhaust went over the axle.

[martinclan56]

Thanks Jon. That's something I hadn't considered. Although I don't do much spirited driving nowadays I'll certainly look at fitting a panhard rod. There is aready more clearance than normal between the tyre and chassis as the wire wheels add over an inch to the track. But nevertheless I can see how extreme movement of the axle may cause contact.

Cheers, Robin

[lizbillings]

Going back to steering wheel, the Roadsters we have owned have had smaller steering wheels than a Herald fitted, 12 or 13 inch more common. Liz

[martinclan56]

Going back to steering wheel, the Roadsters we have owned have had smaller steering wheels than a Herald fitted, 12 or 13 inch more common. Liz

My previous roadster was fitted with a 13 inch wheel. The Triumph steering wheel is actually only 15 inch so only 1 inch bigger in radius. It just looks huge in the picture. Nevertheless I will make sure I fit it!

[martinclan56]

I had always planned to make new bonnet tops as the original ones were rather scarred to say the least. I thought it would be relatively simple to use the old ones as a template. However....

I trial fitted the old one last week having cut it in half as the new one is to be hinged in the middle. The fit is absolutely awful. In fact it's so bad I am beginning to wonder if it was for another variation of the car. It is particulary bad at the scuttle end where it is a complete missfit. So, first I am going to have to do some serious fettling fit before I can even consider using it as a template. You can see from the picture just how bad it is....
bonnet1 by Robin Martin, on Flickr

And, in addition it is also too wide at the scuttle end. You can see the overlap of the two halves in the picture now I have sliced it in half. I will have to take about 10mm out of the width plus the width of the piano hinge. Strangly the other (radiator cowl) end it is the correct width.
bonnet2 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
If there are any original builders out there, can you remember having such a problem?