Alpine Renault 8 GTT

[Steve Swan]

Today the parcel man was here bright and early



So they got added to the pile and I set about making a mess



Thats all the bits of the quickshift ready to finish and fit



Making stuff is good fun, but Jeesus the mess.. I wish someone would invent a self cleaning workshop.

Anyway one finished quickshift. It's little things like this that make a good car great and they usually can't be bought.



Ready to fit...
More soon................

 

[Steve Swan]

I thought I would give you all a rest, while I drove myself round the twist, but we have some more progress to report. Met @paule78 and collected the other plastic bits he has collected



GRP Face and Ass

The Bonnet (which is real nice)



Bonnet nice Picture awful, must remember to wear glasses when taking pics

Finally after much messing about the pedal box is back in and working well enough to get it to final set up (when it will probably piss me off and need adjusting)





THe R8 pedalbox is a real pain to get just right , but it is great when it is right.

At the back we have handbrake, speedo, rear brake lines connected, so just fuel flow and return to fit. @Brigsy Will 8mm flow and return be suitable????



If you use aeroquip you need to make one of these , it's my copy of the original assembly tool and is fantastic to use.



Pedals are in the right place, that's half the battle



More soon ....................

 

[Brigsy]

8mm fuel pipework to regulator and carb will be grand. Great work mate enjoying the updates.

 

[Steve Swan]

It is a no Photo update tonight. The gear linkage is connected and selecting all the gears, but as it is still dry it feels stiff and will need running to properly test, so a bit like the pedals it is as far as it goes for now.
Steering and front suspension for the big hit next.......... Stay tuned.

 

[Steve Swan]

Small update today
Have started on the front end components. Steering rack first as it has to go in first. Paul has bought conversion ends to get rid of the old rubber bush pain in the Arse method of tracking adjustment and replaces it with normal track rod ends.



Off with the old




On with the new

More soon................

 

[Mark_L]

Small update today
Have started on the front end components. Steering rack first as it has to go in first. Paul has bought conversion ends to get rid of the old rubber bush pain in the Arse method of tracking adjustment and replaces it with normal track rod ends.

View attachment 158656

Off with the old


View attachment 158657

On with the new

More soon................

This upgrade looks like a must for the 8's..

 

[Steve Swan]

Finished Steering rack

Not bad for 51 years old

The IN pile



Pending tray



More soon...

 

[DaveL485]

Cracking on mate. well done!

 

[Steve Swan]

Cheers @DaveL485 . Its difficult as it is a job, I am trying to crack on and not waste time.
Todays task was to get the 4 wishbones stripped down and de-bushed. This can be a deep joy kind of job and take forever. Well I remember doing my 8G many moons ago and a right Bugger of a job it was.
I wonder almost every day how I used to manage without a lathe, well actually I used to haunt an old guy and mechanical genius who did have one. He had an engine reconditioning shop and retired to a house near me with a few of his favourite machines. He was a true Gentleman and always helped me out. The best bodge I ever saw of his was to modify a series one Landrover crownwheel and pinion to fit a 1922 Invicta. He was also a legendary Marksman and gunsmith and made target rifles from scratch which fascinated me. The first 2 gearboxes I built were in his workshop under his guidance. There is not a week goes by my mind does not drift back to those days . I miss him, his wisdom and his tap and die collection.
You should consider getting a lathe if you can make space. It does not have to be Fancy or expensive. Even one of the cheap mini jobs from machine mart are great for making mandrels and bush removal tools, once you get started you will be away.

Step one make up some spacers from the scrap box



Push out the bushes which were effin tight



The pusher spacers are only about 20mm long as there aint room for anything longer and cant be seen in the pic



The sleeves were remarkably free of rust it's a theme on this car, but it's bound to go belly up sooner or later



This is in here so I can refer back to how the mountings are arranged

Final pic of the wishbones ready for re-enforcement and then the powdercoaters



More soon..........

 

[DaveL485]

I do feel the need for a lathe.

 

[Steve Swan]

Today got me a love bite from the grinder (not one of my favourite things) From the twist knot brush too. Right through the glove and into me



@paule78 That's another £20 on the bill...............

Anyway. The R8 wishbones need a bit of reinforcing as they are a bit flexible. Gordini's had it as standard and I am more or less replicating what the factory did. It is important not to overdo it, as the shell is not expendable . The issue is that with sticky wide tyres and hi torque brake pads , you stand on the brakes and the front wheels are all over the parish. Bottom wishbone is pretty good but the top one needs a fair bit of work

UN-ENFORCED



RE-ENFORCED



Much more to follow...............

 

[Turbell]

Coulda, shoulda.......
Kick myself, but I just didn't have room for it....
My Dad has a little Clarke one, really handy for bushes and bits and bobs.

 

[DaveL485]

From the twist knot brush too. Right through the glove and into me

Last time it got me was on the back of my left hand - they remove skin even faster than they remove rust!

 

[Mark_L]

We have a small Boxford at work.

But when @Duncan Grier was selling his Myford, I had to have it. Not used it much yet but have a garage full of equipment now, but a lack of space to use it at the moment.

 

[Steve Swan]

We have a small Boxford at work.

But when @Duncan Grier was selling his Myford, I had to have it. Not used it much yet but have a garage full of equipment now, but a lack of space to use it at the moment.

Yeah why is it we can be time rich or cash rich. Equipment rich or space rich, BUT NEVER all at once

 

[Mark_L]

Yeah why is it we can be time rich or cash rich. Equipment rich or space rich, BUT NEVER all at once

Would be great! Got the equipment, nothing else at the moment, need the Cash to get the space to make some Cash...

Always the same for me.

 

[Steve Swan]

After seeing your work I hope that the planets align and you can get your chance

 

[Steve Swan]

Brief update. More parts arrived and spent the whole day on the other 3 wishbones, they are ready for the Powdercoaters now

Caliper slide bolts were hard to identify from the many available, especially as they are just an unusual fitment for MK1/2 Golf GTI I thought they were from another make altogether and had been made to fit the VW carrier. Ah well you live and learn!



It's more common for them to be an M8 socket cap bolt with sleeves these are M10x 1.25 and most modern VW bolts are 0.5mm thinner with an M9x 1.25!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Wishbones are off to the powdercoaters today




That's all folks.......

 

[Steve Swan]

Next on to the bench is the hubs
Nice little upright forging and as Paul's car is a late one, it has 21mm pins, early cars are 19mm and prone to bending. It also has a lovely heatshield to keep the brakes warm ( you could tell they were not sure about the disc brake thing) It all has to go.





More to follow, just been too busy at the bench to get on here............

 

[Steve Swan]

Once the hub is dismantled, first job is to put the jig on it to see if the steering arm is in the correct place, Then as this is a road car I only intend to weld up the undercut at the end of the arm, If it was going racing or rallying it would get a spine attached to the complete arm. Once the reinforcing job is done, the jig goes back on to check I haven't bent it with welding it!



Then again after welding






Next job is to finish the discs to fit the spouts and chop out the carrier supports..........