Ross' Racecar Project

Hi everyone, been a long time since I've posted on here……lurked every now and again but been too busy to actually do anything to my boris.  Well the winter hasn't been kind to him being laid up, chassis legs have let go around the front turrets, add that to the fact I was never completely happy with the previous repairs carried out over the years by the last owners, something had to be done.  Been mulling it over past few months, and decided the best way to tackle it was a re-shell.  Had kept my eyes open but any decent shell that came up seemed to be either at the total wrong end of the country or an absolute fortune!

Then one day last week get a call from Jim (mk1jim) saying hes spotted a shell for me, and bought it before anybody else could get it and arranged delivery!!! Cant thank him enough!!! Cheers Jim!!! :thumbs:

So this is what arrived, after a bit of man handling it was off the recovery truck and into Jims back garden while I sold the mk2 polo saloon I had sat about in my unit



From the looks of it, a fairly solid bare shell, that's had both rear arches, lower rear panel and filler hole cut out and new panels tacked in.  But the best bit of all is somebody has done the horrible job of scraping off all the underseal from the bottom already!! And looks to be in immaculate condition!!! Even the edges of the sill where numpties jack them up and bend them are still straight!

The polo saloon has now been sold and sent on to its new owner, so with space in the unit, me and Jim on Sunday loaded up a very hastily put together trailer in the pouring rain!



Back at unit I had a spare couple of hours today, so have made a start.  The roof has factory steel sunroof, but the skin had a hole, and have always fancied a carbon roof, so……….



Off came the roof!!! Next started cleaning up the repair panels and seam welding them in







Hopefully get it on the spit im borrowing over the next few days, get it flipped over and get a proper look at the floor, and give it a good going over with sealer and stonechip ready to get it into a rolling shell, and weld in the roll cage I'm making ready for paint

Proper got the bug again!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Looks good project

Is boris 2 staying green?

jellybelly said

Looks good project

Is boris 2 staying green?

Yep he's definitely staying green!! Got far too much green paint kicking about not to!!    


Bit more work this evening seam welding in the repair panels, but have ran out of gas….so guess that's my cue to go home!

hopefully picking up the spit tomorrow from Brad, then time to get it flipped over for a proper look

Glad it wouldn't be boris if it wasn't green

jellybelly said

Glad it wouldn't be boris if it wasn't green

     

...long live Boris !

This is awesome! Nice one Jim! Looking forward to seeing this around again  

Been a busy few days here, with work, the driveshaft going on my T4, a broken spring on my BMW and now today managed to blow the headgasket on the beemer! But still been managing to sneak a few hours tinkering in on the golf………..





More seam welding of the repair panels, then got the shell on the spit and onto its side…..



Only rot on the bottom was round the side of one of the axle mounts and the bottom of one inner wing - dead happy!! Also had a snapped axle mount stud……theres always atleast one snapped stud!!!!

Luckily though it was on the same side as the rot, so made life really easy - cut the rot out, while the hole is there drill out old stud and put in a new one, then weld the hole back up





Then with the body back the right way up made a start on the cage.  Not a full on roll cage, but beefier than a show cage, sort of a half way compromise that should give me a little more stiffness without adding too much weight



Still need to put a few more bars in, but ran out of tube, and being bank holiday, bob all chance of getting anymore today!!



 

Looking good ross you still going to turbo the engine. 

Looking good. I saw this on ebay. Was very tempted by it