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Author: Subject: DVLA Rules on Rebodying
iank

posted on 31/1/11 at 10:07 PM Reply With Quote
I thought all their cars were on the Spitfire chassis, at least their website imples it.
I quite like the proportions personally, but then I quite like short cars (mini's, midas', 550 spyders etc).
The spitfire also has a long rear overhang which makes it visually longer than the wheelbase would imply, and as you say they are low.

Are these not on a spitfire chassis?





[Edited on 31/1/11 by iank]





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John Bonnett

posted on 1/2/11 at 07:01 AM Reply With Quote
They are based on the Herald/Vitess chassis which is 10 inches longer than the Spitfire
linky

The white car shown in the picture on the link given in my previous post was shortened to fit the Spitfire chassis and I think in doing this it loses its sleekness.

John

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iank

posted on 1/2/11 at 08:29 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by John Bonnett
They are based on the Herald/Vitess chassis which is 10 inches longer than the Spitfire
linky

The white car shown in the picture on the link given in my previous post was shortened to fit the Spitfire chassis and I think in doing this it loses its sleekness.

John


Penny drops, I thought they shared a common chassis.
Looking again the white car would look better if it lost an inch off the height along the flanks.





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John Bonnett

posted on 2/2/11 at 07:01 AM Reply With Quote
quote: Penny drops, I thought they shared a common chassis. Looking again the white car would look better if it lost an inch off the height along the flanks.

I thought they were identical chassis too Ian and if I'd realised beforehand I would have bought a Herald and not a Spitfire.

The white car based on the Spitfire shows just how important it is to get the proportions right.
Li nky

[Edited on 2/2/11 by John Bonnett]

[Edited on 2/2/11 by John Bonnett]

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cliftyhanger

posted on 2/2/11 at 08:44 AM Reply With Quote
ohhhh,
see what you mean, it looks rather "noddy-ish" when shorter.
The other issue I can see may hapen is the spitfire has no siderails and uses structural sills (sort of semi-monocoque on a chassis) which probably means the spitfire based one needs a rather more complicated bolt-on frame. On the plus side, hearld chassis tend to rot rather more than the herald versions.
Shouldn't be too hard to swap the chassis for a herald one, plenty about but most need a few bits of welding in the diff area.

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John Bonnett

posted on 2/2/11 at 01:10 PM Reply With Quote
I do seem to have made life difficult for myself by taking the Spitfire route not only because of the short chassis but also because as you mentiion the lack of body support which require the sills to be structural.

I really want to do this properly and legally with respect to the DVLA regs for radically modified vehicles and retain the Spitfire identity so inserting a Herald chassis would not be an option, sadly.

On the positive side the Spitfire designer has managed to produce a very pleasing result despite the short wheelbase largely because the car is low and I think that is the key to success. That is, retain the height to length ratio of the Spitfire in my design.

So, it's out with the tape measure!

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iank

posted on 2/2/11 at 07:53 PM Reply With Quote
Sure you've already seen these, but other options on the spitfire chassis are

Vincent Hurricane



http://www.caburn.demon.co.uk/Contents/CaburnEngineering/Hurricane/

and Fiorano Type 48 Corsa Spyder



http://www.corsaspyder.com/Home.html





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John Bonnett

posted on 2/2/11 at 09:38 PM Reply With Quote
Thank you for your effort Ian, it's really nice having someone batting for you.

I've been trawling through specifications given in Carfolio and the interesting thing I've discovered is that all the cars that I think look really well balanced, nice to look at, all share a similar ratio of height to length. These include;
Spitfire, AC Ace, E Type, C Type, D Type, DB9, Ferrari 250GT, McLaren F1 etc. Try it yourself on your favourites. So, this ratio seems to be the key to the ascetics. Get that right and we're well on the way to a nice looking car.

We've got really off topic now so perhaps we should move to another heading.

John

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SAMMIO SPYDERS

posted on 20/2/11 at 01:35 PM Reply With Quote
Hi,
Just found this thread whilst trawling through Google....

John is correct in saying that the Spit based cars are visually a bit short...I felt that straight away when we did it ....I do think the wheels and suspension height don't help in those pics though ....if someone whos clever with the photoshop stuff could lower the body about 4'' and change the wheels to steel or wire examples - I think it will look better...The original front works better than the newer Lancia styled one we do now...

The bulkhead issue as said previously is just a personal choice...I like the unmolested VIN tag and not interfering with pedals , steering etc keeps them an easy build...Triumph designed and built a bulkhead that works - why mess with it ?

DVLA are happy for you to just use the chassis , running gear etc and move the chassis tag to the new shell.... With the Mini's - modifying the bulkhead becomes a chassis modification ( mini is classed as semi-monocoque ) and does become SVA'able

Any serious body mods on a monocoque - bulkhead recess , roof chop etc takes you into SVA as well...

The problem with the Spitfire is the rear suspension tie bars - a herald has these mounted into the outrigger - Spitfires are mounted to the floor..When you take the body off , you need to mount the tie bar and any mods can infringe your SVA immunity !

I am looking at re-designing a version of the Sammio to cater for the Spit crowd - my plan is to make a minimal BOLT ON mount to accept the tie bar and some different floor styling to allow for no outriggers...I am still in negotiation with my local VRO to see just how much of a bolt on tie bar mount is acceptable before DVLA class it as a subframe ( subframe is classed as chassis mod !! ) No one can answer me yet !!

We make our inner frame to brace the chassis in a way that it can be removed with the Sammio body if you chose to....the wording in the regs suggest you must be able to remove without cutting off , ( ie. unbolt ) any body mods to take your chassis back to a state of originality that would allow a stock Herald body to go back on...this would need to be the same with your Spitfire Special.....

[Edited on 20/2/11 by SAMMIO SPYDERS]

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