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?

[martinclan56]

Whilst I think about how to best make the bonnet tops I have been working on a few other items.
The exposed section of the exhaust is pretty much complete now. As it passes pretty close to the inside of the rear wheel I decided to mount it close and rigidly to the chassis. My theory is to allow for engine movement by adding a flexible section, where it passes under the car, to meet up with the downpipe. That's the theory anyway... The silencer ended up in a pretty much perfect place following the chassis line but a few mm away, enough to get some heat shield in I hope. The tail end exits nicely under the rear wing. I will shorten that and add some sort of bend so that the exhaust gases don't end up fouling the chassis.
exhaust1 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
exhaust3 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
rear_lights1 by Robin Martin, on Flickr
As you can see I have also mounted the rear lights. They are Lucas and are nearly a perfect fit. Actually about 2mm to wide but it doesn't really notice.
I have also fitted the doors with door cards so I could check the fit of the door seal I chose. Door also misses exhaust which I always planned but you never know....
door_card1 by Robin Martin, on Flickr

[MOC Chair]

The exhaust looks a really good fit. With any luck the airflow will keep things cool around the pipe.
As a matter of interest, you will need to fit separate reflectors since those lights do not incorporate any. They do look better than the originals though.

[martinclan56]

Thank you. Yes, aware about the need for reflectors. Just haven't decided where to put them yet!