1968 Scimitar Coupe' Rebuild - New Updates For a new Year!

[bub2006]

I also am a big reliant fan. My daily is a low mileage h plate robin. Always thought the coupe had a Thunderbird esque front end. Maybe just my eyes! Good luck with it.

[coalnotdole]

Cheers,

 

As an update on the suspension issue I think its pretty much been decided that the setup on my coupé uses the same vertical links hubs / stubs as the Daimler SP250 and some of the earlier Scimitars, both cars appear to have made minor alterations to the standard triumph setup. I can only assume reliant were using up some of their old parts stock when they build my suspension out of bits they had left on the shelf...! If i cant find a correct replacement stub I'll have to convert it to use the similar but more available 5a setup. This has already been done by a number of earlier cars.

 

I'm also in two minds about what engine to go for. When my Coupé originally left the factory with the less common 2.5 liter Essex. At some point in its life this was swapped over to the more common 3 liter (filled out on the log book). Part of me thinks it would be nice to put things back to standard as part of an engine overhaul and find out how this economy Essex performs. Obviously I don't have the original block so whatever engine goes in wont be totally correct. Supposedly the 2.5 is more efficient with only a modest loss in power. The physical differences are in the crank pistons, and cam so with careful work and the right parts any Essex block could become a 2.5.

 

While It would be an interesting technical project to find out what it would have been like as a 2.5 I'm slightly worried its going to dent its desirability in the future if i ever came to sell it on. I also have a perfectly good 3.0 block that could be fitted more or less straight away....

[coalnotdole]

I have noticed quite often when you see project cars advertised on the internet sellers use the phrase: "an ideal winter project..." It must be a line used by people who have no concept of what its like to lie on a cold concrete floor in an unheated and crowded single garage attempting to reassemble a car in sub zero temperatures. In my humble opinion winter is not the Ideal time for projects!

 

This past weekend has been spent putting the body back on the coupe's chassis. The weekend got off to a fairly bad start when the oil filled radiators that normally heat the garage were moved into the house as the central heating had stopped working. I have neglected to take many photos of the work it was too cold but I'll endeavor to describe the pictures that I have.

 

Friday was spent building up suspension components, The Rear Axle was built up with new genuine Girling cyinders, New Shoes and adjusters.

 

 

 

The rear axle was then refitted fitted with new metastatic bushes bought from QRG.

 

 

 

 

The Refurbished 5a front suspension was resembled ready for refitting. With new components where needed: Lower shock mount plates Stub axles, ball joints, a trunnion, and all bushes and seals were replaced.

 

 

The new front suspension setup was to use 5a hubs, vertical links, stubs, and lower wishbones while the steering arms, and upper wishbones were kept as standard coupé parts.

 

 

The following day saw the additional help from my friend Marlon. Cheers! The chassis/suspension build up continued and revealed that the outer bearings did not fit the stub axles, some checking in the manual revealed that the late 5a hubs i had did not fit the 5/early 5a hubs and bearings. A lot of time was wasted attempting to find somewhere local that would supply new bearings of the right size to fit. In the end the decision was taken to temporarily fit the hubs with an assortment of old bearings to allow the reunion of body and chassis to take place...

 

 

 

Refitting the Hubs has highlighted the need for wheel spacers on the front wheels to make up for 1/2inch of difference in the hubs either side. precise measurements will be made once I've sorted the hub/stub issue. I'll fit longer stubs if needed. Setup of the shims will be left until the engine and gearbox is in and things are sitting at a more normal height.

 

 

 

 

With the front end temporarily assembled and New chassis foam the chassis was ready to roll. This was handy as it needed to be pushed a mile to the garage where the body was stored...

 

 

The body was retrieved from the lock up garage where it had been stored since October.

 

 

 

Marlon contemplating the chassis...!

 

 

 

With the help of friends and family the body and chassis were reunited.

 

 

 

and finally the body and chassis were then pushed back home where the car can at least be worked on in one piece.

 

 

Engine bay:

 

 

 

The priority is to sort the suspension hub / stub situation out, I also have new front spax shocks to fit rears and springs still need to be sourced.

 

The next stage will be fiberglass repairs, these are fortunately much less than first thought. The a posts and sills are actually in reasonable condition and will only require minor attention rather than actual replacement. The front footwells need repair where they have been botched in the past. As does the the fiberglass around the steering column and nearside front suspension mount. There are also some other smaller repairs.

 

The plan beyond that will probably be to fit an engine and gearbox and brakes attend to small jobs like steering and electrics. The plan will probably to try for an early MOT before worrying about paint or interior as I want to get the mechanical issues sorted before worrying about the cosmetic.

 

[ps will try and correct any mistakes in the write up tomorrow]

[nigel bickle]

Coo- you have been busy!

 

Glad the weekend went well. You certainly seem to be progressing well.

 

Not much to add, other than you must be pretty determined to work in that level of cold!

[bigstraight6]

Nice update, coming on really well Looking forward to seeing it finished!

[coalnotdole]

Cheers, It took some motivation to go out in the cold and get on with it but sometimes that's the only way to get things done. It would be very nice to a have a decent bit of workshop space some off road parking and storage but in the meantime We just try to work with whats available.

 

Hopefully will get some better photos showing what needs to be done in the next few days. Probably not tomorrow as I'm getting my 5a Mot'd

 

Fingers crossed the coupé will be ready for an MOT of its own by the start of the summer.

[coalnotdole]

Its been a while since this thread was updated, mostly because progress has been slower than id hoped due to the arrival of two unexpected rebels this summer! but the coupe has not been totally neglected. The following three posts will hopefully bring this thread up to date.

With the body sitting on the chassis we had a decent opportunity to evaluate the body and see what structural work was going to be needed... As it turned out there was quite a bit to do!



There were many small marks chips and spits as a result of its time in storage to be addressed. There were also a number of previous repairs that once they were poked at quickly snowballed into being much bigger jobs... for example the coupé floor is quite a weak design in comparison to the GTE and required quite a bit of remedial work to get it back into the correct shape.

The following photos show the work identifying some of the areas needing work and the subsequent repairs in progress:

GRP Turret mount had been previously repaired....



But not very well...



There was very poor penetration in this repair, it was nearly completely dry in the middle and was not bonded to the car in any structural way.



To do a decent repair the front was jacked up, to allow both sides to be cleaned and prepped.



New matt going on (seen here before grinding back)



Work in progress on a repair around a rear light:





A few other areas that needed attention:









The drivers side footwell has also been patched up with the sh*t blue fibreglass...



An oversize cutout around the handbrake needed repairing.



Passenger footwell



Interior GRP repairs:







Repairs were also done around the bumper mounts:





A large gash in the boot was found and repaired:



The structural work to the body is now mostly complete, It will be returned to when the prep work is being done for the paint which will not be until after the MOT.

[coalnotdole]

Brakes:

With the bodywork at a stage we turned our attention to getting the brake lines laid and rebuilding the calipers. We decided to rebuild the calipers in house with all new pistons and seals this offers a decent cost saving on sending them away. After Spending hours cleaning and prepping the bodies they were finally painted and ready for rebuilding.

The main seals are fitted first: they go in the second grove from the top and are inserted into the grove by hand having been lubricated by fresh brake fluid.



Next stage is to fit the dust shield, again the fitted edge is lubricated with brake fluid to help insertion.



The lubricated caliper piston can then be inserted.



Single and double pistons ready for joining. Important not to forget the seal which goes between the two caliper halfs.






Finished on the bench,



Fitted to the car, also worth noting the correct spacers have now been sourced and the wheels no longer have any clearance problems.



We also refitted the rear loom, fitted new cupro-nickel brake pipes all round and new flexi hoses, the system has been bled and tested though it is obviously without a servo at the moment.



There was quite a bit of messing about to get the dust shields to fit original coupé/daimler dart type were found to be incompatible with the later front suspension. In the end 5a ones were used, though it was necessary to remove the brake pad indicator brackets and use coupé brackets for the flexi hoses.

[coalnotdole]

Doors

Coupe doors seem to be a bit of a weak area, lots of cars seem to have had problems around the hinges and door stays, The steelwork bonded in at the factory is quite under specced for its task. My doors showed signs of previous repairs but closer inspection revealed just how badly bodged the'd been... (both doors were like this)

Bare CSM hints at a previous repair:



Some work with a chisel reveals a bit of galvanized plated bodged underneath.





Stay plate which has distorted and pulled though, this will be replaced by a modified version which will be galvanized, thicker gauge and of an improved design, introducing a fold along the edge for strength and it will be larger to better spread the load. It won't be Australian coupé spec (http://www.scimitarweb.co.uk/sgwrs/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=10292) but it will be a significant improvement on Relaints own effort.

This photo shows the hinge spreader plate this will also be replaced with a galvanized plate.



This pretty much brings the thread up to date, I'm about to get a lot of new steelwork folded up for the doors, seat runners etc and will soon begin work on the gearbox bushes and seals and will need to pick an engine out of my stockpile!

[Jim Bell]

Amazing thread. Please don't paint it when it's fit for the road.

I think it wears its years well as it is.

[garethj]

My 1958 Peerless had a similar weakness with the doors, the way the internal metalwork bonds to the fibreglass was a bit rubbish so they often sagged.  For the Phase 2 cars they strengthened it completely and basically used a submarine door as design reference.

 

I think you're on the right track for spreading the load further down the door, and folds in the metalwork to stiffen it.

 

Years ago a mate had a Lotus Eclat where the doors dropped, but that was a good thing because it would make electrical contact through the bent hinge pin, allowing the electric windows to work again

 

I love fibreglass cars, me.  Keep up the good work!

[coalnotdole]

I'm a bit dissapointed by the recent lack of progress on this rebuild, I think in my head I had become used to the red hot pace that I'd had on other projects in the past, back then I was self employed and had more free time and less money...!

These days I'm now working full time, up to 50 hours a week and while the budget for the projects has incresed, the time to do the work seems to have decreased I generally work on the restoration projects with my mate Dave ( Owner of nice boat and most of a Red Rebel) Where as I own and look after the rest of the cars ( The Red GTE, Straight6 GT, V6GT, Rebel Van and The crossflow rebel.) Dave's commitments too have increased a lot recently which has had a knock on impact on the HL(D) and the red rebel. Last year I made a new years resolution to not take on any new projects and I think thats going to be renewed for next year!

The progress on this car has come and gone in fits and starts, Its progressed but there are only a few photos and I've lost track of where I am with it a bit.

In the new year I'm going to be looking for a decent push to get this project back on track, hopefully with more regular updates!

In the meantime here are a few photos of the engine installation from last year which I'd forgotten about!

I gave quite a bit cof consideration to refitting a 2.5 Essex to this car but in the end opted to fit a decent used 3.0 engine, The new engine was from a late se5a which I had tried unsuccsessfully to sell on as a restoration project and had in the end broken for spares. I'd had it running in the donor and new it was in good order but it still needed some attention before fitting it to a coupé.

It was fitted with a new steel timing gear:



New Core Plugs, Seals and a coat of paint,



As we were fitting a later Essex engine to an early car it was nessicary to convert it to front bowl sump (including fitting an early timing cover, and revised oil pipe.



Oil Pickup, This had been brazed together from a rear type pickup.





Engine bay:



Sorry no midway photo of dropping the engine in, Heres one of the end result!



I'll try and grab a few new photos tommorow which will bring it completely up to date!

[djimbob]

Very fond of Reliants, had a few of them in my earlier motoring years, the SE5a was a load of fun and frustration, the Robins and Kittens surprisingly reliable and also most enjoyable, keep thinking of getting another every so often, but then common sense rears it's ugly head!

 

Keep up the good work, looks like a fine fleet you have there.

[coalnotdole]

Very fond of Reliants, had a few of them in my earlier motoring years, the SE5a was a load of fun and frustration, the Robins and Kittens surprisingly reliable and also most enjoyable, keep thinking of getting another every so often, but then common sense rears it's ugly head!

 

Keep up the good work, looks like a fine fleet you have there.

 

Keep the numbers to just one or two and you'll be fine, its when you have to find room for 5+ that the problems start!

 

You could even buy my Blue Rebel van! I'll be advertising it in the new year as I'll need the money to sink into painting this...

[djimbob]

Keep the numbers to just one or two and you'll be fine, its when you have to find room for 5+ that the problems start!

 

You could even buy my Blue Rebel van! I'll be advertising it in the new year as I'll need the money to sink into painting this...

I had a red rebel saloon which didn't last long, tried to trike it but that went the way of several projects over the years - to someone else to neglect

 

I imagine the asking price will render it out of my current budget, although I am contemplating getting a proper job in an office and everything this year, so you never know, my wallet might start bulging and my need for rewarding myself might escalate accordingly

 

Everytime I see a Bond car I get the urge to throw money at one, but again something more modern and useable comes along for bugger all and I end up with that instead, currently rocking a Hyundai Atoz in auto form which is a delight in the city, purchased for the princely sum of one hundred quids, and that was as a favour to Our Lass's friends daughter saving it from the scrappers - stuck a couple of hundred quid into sorting it, and it is stupidly sensible and versatile

 

Anyways, stick a price up and lets see what happens

[Asimo]

Pay attention engine designers, THIS is how to drive a camshaft!

 

[coalnotdole]

As promised I got a few fresh photos today which should bring this thread completely up to date:

 

Overview, Headlights have been refitted and electrics are now all connected and tested.

 

 

Engine Bay. Shortly after fitting the engine the exhaust manifolds, waterpump and down pipes were fitted.

 

 

The radiator has also been checked for leaks, flushed and refitted. The hoses and pipes are all new silicone/stainless pipe with stainless jubilee clips.

 

 

 

Not much has changed on the inside, the next stage will be fitting the seats and doors. I will MOT it before retrimming and painting as this approach seems to have served pretty well in the past.

 

 

I ordered all new seals for both coupés in the autumn. The screens will come back out again before painting. I've got chrome insert for them but wont use that until the final fitting.

 

 

A full stainless exhaust system has been fitted,

 

 

Including stainless hanger brackets & Clamps,

 

 

Boot with fuel tank, this is yet to be plumbed in. I'm replcing the origonal fuel lines with ethanol resistent rubber and the front to back line is now cunifer rather than nylon. the cunifer will be shortened to end just under the boot floor.

 

I'm considering funning a second line under the car to use as a fuel return, but this will mean modifying the tank to take a return pipe so Have not fully decided yet!

 

 

I was going to do a short video with the engine running but I'm out of fuel so that will have to wait for another time...

 

[billyboy406v6]

Excellent work ! Should sound great with full stainless system ?

[coalnotdole]

Its very loud, as standard they only have middle silencers so the exhaust is anything but subtle.