4 litre Jag/Beta Coupe PROJECT :) Muahahahahaaaaaaa

[Badnews]

I have my mind set on mating a 4 litre engine/box/front and rear subframes from this XJS.........








In to this Beta Coupe............






Space-Framed, Polly windows, etc....

Going to be a good project if I do say so myself.....Lots of fabrication and welding to be done, I've had a quick comparison with the tape measure and it's do-able....albeit a tight squeeze here and there, with a load of custom parts needed...

Will be a crazy machine when it's done!

Will update here along the way, just moving in to new workshop this week so should be starting soon!!!!

Dan

*edit* trailer pic, long journey to collect it but well worth the effort.

[Badnews]

I say do-able....I need to find 5 inches more width at the rear!!!!  hehehehehehe Going to try and do it without a bodykit too.....might be a squeeze.

[Badnews]

Anyone after mechanical parts I will have a post up soon in the for sale section listing all the running gear and spares I no longer need for this project.  Just got to hit 30 posts

[MattNoVAT]

Thats some project - I will watch with interest as you make progress.

I'm sure if you bring it to one of the Lancia trackdays at Goodwood you'll have a few folks who'd be up for a ride round in that monster

[Badnews]

Quick update,

Engine and front sub-frame removed.  Noticed it's had a whack to the Fr/Rh side as chassis leg is a little kinked....not too much of a problem though as it'll be space framed by the time I'm finished....would have been awkward if I was staying std.  More annoyed I didnt spot it when buying tbh (not that it'd have stopped me).

More head scratching and tape measuring has shown me that the Jag sill-to-sill width is very close to the Betas....so the front floor/tunnel & bulkhead/front chassis legs swap from the jag might be my best option.

I picked up a 4 litre Jag engine to replace the 3.6 I was going to go with originally, as the 4 litre has coil-on-plug, knock sensors etc... plus a forged crank so lots more revs are possible.  Just in the process of removing the excess ancillaries & any weight I can then my attention is going to be on fabrication of the rollcage/spaceframe.....I've kind of pushed my other project (G-wagon Merc 4x4) to the side as I'm super excited about this one!!!! The merc can wait, I know it wont give me as much fun as this will.

I might cringe when I re-read this but I hope it's done for next Summertime  

Bye for now.

Dan

[Badnews]

Discussion about arches (Grp 3) thread....just for reference.

http://www.lanciabeta.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1696.0

Cheers
Dan

[Badnews]

Stripped almost bare 

[Badnews]

Tack welded sunroof in place, fibreglassed & rough filled the rest of the gap after aligning the roof a little better (It's been trampled on by vandals  in the past), filled a few low spots at the rear of the skin, lots more prep to do though before it's straight ... waiting on block sanders & fibreglass supplies I've ordered to arrive before I can make any more progress on the roofskin mould.

All stripped parts available in my sale thread....
http://www.lanciabeta.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1711.msg9691#new

Dan

[Badnews]

Starting to get tedious now.... another layer of filler went on last night, guess what my weekend consists of!

*EDIT*
More layers, more sanding, more layers, more sanding...you get the drift....



*edit*
Fibreglass mould making materials are here! CDS tubing for cage arriving next week....all systems go!

[Badnews]

Not spent as much time in the unit as I should have over the extended break but some progress to report on the roof.....I think I underestimated the job of blocking the old roof out, it was in much worse state than I thought once the sanding commenced 

Out of the bondo stage now, on to the filler-primer stage...taking some time to finish it off nicely but it has to be perfect!!  The darker areas you see are guide coat...It's a case of block sand the high spots off, fill the lower areas a bit at a time to get a nice smooth roof....that's the theory anyhow 


Also had an urge to remove the boot lock, glassing up the hole and prepping the boot skin for a f/glass mold (idle hands whilst roof was drying)... would be nice to have the top half of the car I.e. Bonnet, roof and boot all made from composite!  Reduced C.O.Gravity and weight saving    I think I may need a bulge in the bonnet anyhow so 2 birds with one stone LOL

Other points to note, 4 litre engine dismantled...bit of wear on timing chain tensioner and its a bugger to replace but hey ho, got to be done!   Cams are out and going to Piper Cams to be re-profiled to a hotter spec.

[lanciamad]

Great project Dan, will be following with great interest.
I might be interested in a fibreglass bonnet if you accidentally make two
Cheers, Marcus.

[Badnews]

Hehehehe I think I might make a few of each  

Got some sparks flying today whilst waiting for yet another coat of filler primer to dry..... chopped out the front chassis legs and lower x member...Just left the section the wing bolts on to for reference when fabricating it all back up....The RH chassis leg was a mess so next step at the front is to fit the RH wing/bonnet and make sure it all lines up properly before fabrication can start.

Engine bay looks properly empty now  


Picking these up Sunday too....Genuine M5 BMW split rims, 18x8 front and 18x10 rears  


Once the wheels are here I can mock up the front and rear axles  

Cheers
Dan

[peteracs]

Hi Dan

Not wanting to appear too dim, but what parts of roof/a/b posts are you looking to replace with composite and are you then expecting a cage to replace the rigidity of the roof etc?

BTW you can get off the shelf composite wings for the coupe, though I guess that may not be of interest as you are widening the track somewhat....

Peter

[Badnews]

Hi Dan

Not wanting to appear too dim, but what parts of roof/a/b posts are you looking to replace with composite and are you then expecting a cage to replace the rigidity of the roof etc?

BTW you can get off the shelf composite wings for the coupe, though I guess that may not be of interest as you are widening the track somewhat....

Peter

Thanks for the info Re: wings...do you know where from at all? it might be worth me just grafting an arch to an existing composite wing instead of making a steel version as a buck for a mould.

Regarding the roof I intend to cut a large square section from the top/flat bit of the roof, leaving the framework along the top of the a/b/c pillars and across the top of the screen(s).....I then intend to use a bead roller tool to put a 'lip' into the old skin remnants to sit the new panel in to.  Bond it in place and bond it to the roof diagonals of the cage....
Doing things this way kills lots of birds with one stone from my perspective as (A) it has a sunroof which I don't want (B) The roof had been vandalized/trampled on prior to me owning it so has about 4kg of filler on it to get it straight (C) allows proper welding to the top sections of the cage where pieces meet the Main hoop, which follows the B pillar profile (D) Reduces C.O.Gravity

If the roof wasn't already shot when I got it I'd have probably just welded up the sunroof and filled it over, but that was not an option for me unfortunately.

The reason this has been attacked relatively early on is that the main hoop I am going to have made needs to fit nice to a non-sunroof skin (i.e minus the sunroof framework/slider section) so once that's done I can start removing structural parts at the rear of the car for the axle fitment...keeping the body straight and doors fitting means I have to follow this process.

Make sense?
Cheers
Dan

[peteracs]

Hi Dan

Yes, makes perfect sense now, thanks.

I will ask my bodywork guy where he bought them from as he put them onto my Spider and they fit pretty well.

Peter

[alexmaccoll]

What was wrong with the engine in the Beta? Is it a 1600 and do you still have it? Will pay good money for it if it's running

Alex

[WestonE]

Alex

I know he does not because I know it is already fitted in a Beta Spyder.

Sorry

Eric

[Badnews]

Beat me to it 

[Badnews]

Little bit of progress to report....

Panel beating hammers and dollies came through the post so I had a quick bash at making a plug to fit the old fuel filler location in the wing, not the prettiest but it's not bad for a 1st try at beating sheet.  It's nice and thick along the rim to weld too but single thickness in the middle....got to drag the welder over from my other unit and make some sparks soon 



Fetched these BMW M5 18 inch x8 fronts x10 rears Sunday, Need a damn good refurb but a steal at £350 IMO, genuine BBS Split rims 
I just had to poke one behind the arch to see what they looked like....any opinions?  Bear in mind they'll be about 6 inches wider with a custom arch extension when I'm done...



And finally getting there with the roof, figured out a trick of using knifing putty and a steel ruler to level off a section that's been plaguing me.... I also used some el cheapo aerosol as a guide coat which reacted with the filler primer at the rear of the roof and on the boot a bit, had to dig this out and put some more filler on there....  Boot lock gone and filled over    Bootlid needs a quick sand and its ready for making a F/glass mould from.  Bit more work on the roof, couple days more prep and a few more coats of filler primer I think.



Coming along nicely. Not had much time lately to get on it...I'm moving house Sunday too so it's going to be slow for a few weeks I think   

Cheers
Dan

[HFStuart]

The wheels look surprisingly good. Apart from the blue & white bit in the middle - that's got to go!