Skip to main content

Greetings all

I find myself using this site every time I want to figure something out. So I guess it is a bit rude not introducing myself. So herewith a quick hello!

My name is Bjorn from South Africa. I have been an aircooled guy my whole life. I have had this hankering to build a car that would not look entirely out of place at Le Mans in the 50s. And probably ridiculous anywhere else!

I'm not pursuing an accurate replica in any way. It is just a fun thing in period dress. I have a build blog, so won't bombard you with my ramblings here. It can be found at resinracer.com.

Here are a few pictures. At this stage I have a painted body on a pan that still needs suspension, brakes, electrical, engine and some interior work. So almost done, haha!

20200929_17430120201011_224521

20201011_224838

Attachments

Images (3)
  • 20200929_174301
  • 20201011_224521
  • 20201011_224838
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Hallo, Bjorn!

Looks like you have a good summer project there, and it should be a head turner when finally done.  We all know it is a lot of work, so “Welcome to the Madness!”

@flatfourfan is on here from SA, too - Gary Bloom - and he’s in the final stages of finishing his speedster.  IIRC, he’s in Capetown and I know it is a big country but maybe you can contact one another for sources of parts and services over there.  We all know here how expensive US parts can be for you.  

Have fun with the project.  If you don’t find answers to your questions using the search, fire up a post and ask.   At the very least you’ll get a lot of conflicting opinions!!  

Hi Gary! Yeah we are in the same town, must make a plan sometime!

Today hasn't gone well. Hoped to have the seats fitted. Have fabricated some spacers for the seat rails from square tubing which I wanted to give a quick rinse in Deoxidene for some light surface rust, followed by a quick spray. Somehow managed to get it splashed into both my eyes! Turns out Deoxidene is phosphoric acid.... One trip to the ER later. Will make a full recovery, but no seats will be fitted today! What a muppet.

Here is a pretty engine picture while I wait for my eyes to stop burning.

IMG-20201012-WA0052

Managed to get the gaskets fitted to the headlights and fogs yesterday. Think is looks ok. I should probably change the cars name to the Salamander!

20201013_002147

Attachments

Images (2)
  • 20201013_002147
  • IMG-20201012-WA0052

Will do Gordon. Total freak event, but yes, nasty stuff. Will approach the whole build with more emphasis on safety now. Lesson learnt.

Yup, halos just like @Drumagination has on his build. Love it. With the mesh there is a bit of a steam punk element too!

20200812_155457

Started with aetna blue but this has a touch more green and less purple in it. Unfortunately impossible to capture accurately! Really wanted a retro colour. Think it works

Attachments

Images (1)
  • 20200812_155457

Its definitely darker than gulf blue in person. The candidates were Aetna, Meissen, Gulf, Aquamarine nonmetallic, Azure, VW Dove, Mercedes Blau Grau and even RAF PRU blue. In the end it was non of it! I call it Resin Racer Blau, haha.

There is a weird internal tug of war going on between getting it done ASAP in order to enjoy driving it versus just slowing down and enjoying the build.

So stupid 'Home Improvememt' style self inflicted ER trips aside, seats will hopefully go in this evening. Next up is electrics. Still trying to decide between putting the fuse panel below the dash, in the frunk or behind the rear bench. Major pros and cons to each..

Thanks for the inputs.  I have a centre fill vented cap, so can't see frunk filling up with vapors. Real 356s and 911s have fuse boxes next to tank. Guess it should be fine. Fuse box elsewhere will look neater though. Of course ease of access also important. Toying with the idea of mounting it on a tray which then gets attached below dash once done.

In other news, the driver side seat is in! (That'll be the right side seat to my American friends!) I faced an interesting dilemma - if the seat is mounted higher, fairly tall drivers will be comfortable. I hate it, however, when drivers looks like they are sitting on top of a speedster. I prefer my shoulder being flush with the top of the door.  For this reason the seat is mounted pretty low. As things stand, I'm comfortable in the driving position with only about an inch of rearward travel still available. I'm 5ft 10. Shorter people will have no problem as there is plenty of travel.

Seeing that it is my car and not a commercial enterprise, I'll obviously keep it the way it is. But it does highlight a potential compromise for the manufacturers. If I ever sell (doubt it) to a taller person (statistically insignificant probability) then the solution would be to add half an inch for more travel. Or the hypothetical buyer can sit on the rear bench...

Last edited by Bear911
@Bear911 posted:

Thanks for the inputs.  I have a centre fill vented cap, so can't see frunk filling up with vapors. Real 356s and 911s have fuse boxes next to tank. Guess it should be fine. Fuse box elsewhere will look neater though. Of course ease of access also important. Toying with the idea of mounting it on a tray which then gets attached below dash once done.

In other news, the driver side seat is in! (That'll be the right side seat to my American friends!) I faced an interesting dilemma - if the seat is mounted higher, fairly tall drivers will be comfortable. I hate it, however, when drivers looks like they are sitting on top of a speedster. I prefer my shoulder being flush with the top of the door.  For this reason the seat is mounted pretty low. As things stand, I'm comfortable in the driving position with only about an inch of rearward travel still available. I'm 5ft 10. Shorter people will have no problem as there is plenty of travel.

Seeing that it is my car and not a commercial enterprise, I'll obviously keep it the way it is. But it does highlight a potential compromise for the manufacturers. If I ever sell (doubt it) to a taller person (statistically insignificant probability) then the solution would be to add half an inch for more travel. Or the hypothetical buyer can sit on the rear bench...

A taller person can tilt the seat back slightly by raising the front and they'll fit fine.

The transaxle need to go back in soon, after which the motor won't have much reason not to go in too. So I figured I better get the engine bay sorted asap. I have kept the same pattern as with my door cards, but in fibreglass fire retardant fabric stitched onto commercial engine bay insulation. I love some detail on a firewall, but wasn't brave enough for leather ala Singer!

20201023_00124520201023_00564220201023_01311420201023_17343020201023_174412

When I say soon, I mean within the next 3 to 6 months, haha

Attachments

Images (5)
  • 20201023_001245
  • 20201023_005642
  • 20201023_013114
  • 20201023_173430
  • 20201023_174412
Post Content
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×