trackerjack wrote:Boost All the Dollys. You make me feel young again
Don't buy what has been created.......go your own way and tread where you want
Only dead fish go with the flow.
I realise now that the Hillman Imp with a motorbike engine inserted is NOT going to be made by me and many of the other crazy ideas I have had thought of over the years will also be stillborn.
My last great garage project was the car I built and finished and put through IVA.
IVA is horrible and there are so many rules and some of them are in the mind of the examiner, if he says no it's a no. Just my seat belt bolts upset him by being imperial and hence had three lines on the head which denotes a grade 5 tensile strength and as such legal, but these lines were slightly different to his pictures, so I had to find more bolts that were marked in the metric way which is 8.8 embossed on the head. I searched and searched and finally found some Jaguar bolts that complied with the correct 8.8 but had a thread of 7/16 UNF.
Safety is the name of todays game and the poor old Dolly would fail in so many ways.
My neighbour built a Ferrari replica and the four tests that it took to get it through had him so demoralized he almost gave up.
Keep up the ideas though and don't let negative folk stop you .
Cheers Jonny
After talking to some guys on PistonHeads, mainly on what a half shaft comes under (suspension or axle, turns out its transmission), and after talking to Carledo about the front subframe counting as an axle, if you replace the rear axle with a beefy one, you lose the points for axle.
If you place a diff in the front subframe with the input shaft poking through the rear cross member, along with a short adapter to help get around the gearbox. As the suspension, steering and the shell remain intact, I keep the ref plate and don't need to do an IVA
So many ideas... So little budget... So little time.
think I have it planned out now, but it may be difficult to explain on paper.
Engine: Rover 3.5 V8
Gearbox:LT77 with transfer case
Rear Axle: upgrade the rear axle to the Nissan pickup axle which DF has used for his car, maybe have it shortened for better fitment or even just use a sprint axle.
Front Diff: use either a Subaru impreza or MX5 rear diff mounted centrally in the subframe. have the input shaft sticking through the subframe and have two drive shafts to 'bend' it around the gearbox. the slot the FWD half shafts would fit through. this is to allow for the movement of the new half shafts.
Front hubs: either find a set of FWD front hubs and have the new half shafts machined to be suitable. OR take the standard front hubs and machine the area around the spindle out to enlarge the hole, then get either MX5 or Impreza rear hubs and machine the area around the shaft hole. so your left with a front hub with a large parallel hole and a insert that can be fitted to half shafts, then either weld or both the inset into the hub, then modify brakes to work. then shorten the half shafts to the correct length
Engine: nothing special, just 3.5 rover V8 with a modified sump to go around the diff, it may be too tall with the stock intake, maybe consider using a John Eales cross ram intake or down draft manifold
Custom exhaust to wind its self around all the components in the engine bay.
[Edit: Spelling]
So many ideas... So little budget... So little time.
Just a quick point. If you use a rear diff in the front it will drive on the wrong side of the crownwheel. Also youre going to need the ratio in the front diff to be the same as the rear diff or youll screw the centre diff into a ball
tony g wrote:Just a quick point. If you use a rear diff in the front it will drive on the wrong side of the crownwheel. Also youre going to need the ratio in the front diff to be the same as the rear diff or youll screw the centre diff into a ball
Tony
im going to invert the front diff so it runs upside down.
and th reason I mentioned impreza and MX5 diffs as they have similar ratios, mx5 has 3.636 and impreza was 4.11 compared to dolomites 3.63 and 4.1
So many ideas... So little budget... So little time.
Ok inverting will give the correct drive side etc but oiling may need looking at too. Diffs and boxes channel oil to the pinion bearings (highly stressed) and gear mesh points so careful here
another possible drivetrain could be a Suzuki jimny as its got a small, light engine which can be modded to be a Suzuki swift sport engine which may not be the most powerful but would suit the characteristics. the 4wd running gear doesn't look that big and could be good to use
So many ideas... So little budget... So little time.
Here is another to think about, Lada Niva! The transfer box is separate from the gearbox and the gearbox will bolt up to the venerable but poky Fiat Twincam engine. The Lada diffs (both of them) could probably be made to fit as well, the suspension design is similar at the rear and the Niva is comparatively narrow for a 4x4.
If you put a Rover V8 in on top of a diff, you will have to dry sump it, there will be NO space left for an oil pan!
Steve
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!
Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.
When I would build it I would weld a floorpan including pick up points in a dolomite body. A Sierra, celica or evo or similar. Like the rwd escorts mk3 and opel kadett 400.
Just thiking about this whole project on its head....
Try to convert an existing small 4x4 vehicle to look like a Dolomite?
So use Dolomite body panels as a "body kit" on an existing 4wd car. It wouldn't work very well and would look awful but would be a unique vehicle.
I saw a Scamp the other day- MiniMoke gone wrong.
soe8m wrote:When I would build it I would weld a floorpan including pick up points in a dolomite body. A Sierra, celica or evo or similar. Like the rwd escorts mk3 and opel kadett 400.
Jeroen
That would work, seeing as I would use mx5 rear suspension, the rear half of the floor plan would be mx5 and leave the front standard and make some front hubs to suit or half shafts to work with standard front hubs
So many ideas... So little budget... So little time.
soe8m wrote:When I would build it I would weld a floorpan including pick up points in a dolomite body. A Sierra, celica or evo or similar. Like the rwd escorts mk3 and opel kadett 400.
Jeroen
But anything of this nature is very firmly in BIVA and Q plate territory.
Steve
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!
Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.
soe8m wrote:When I would build it I would weld a floorpan including pick up points in a dolomite body. A Sierra, celica or evo or similar. Like the rwd escorts mk3 and opel kadett 400.
Jeroen
That would work, seeing as I would use mx5 rear suspension, the rear half of the floor plan would be mx5 and leave the front standard and make some front hubs to suit or half shafts to work with standard front hubs
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