41 replies to this topic

[smiley]

 

Unscrew the fuel filler cap surround and then lift up and hold in place

 

You expect me to read all that text? I just saw a pretty picture of a hinged clam, and responded

[smiley]

But my intention is to have it so that you dont need to take the filler cap off to dismount hence the fact that you can see a bit of the surround attached while I make the mod. If it doesnt work I will fix it back and go back to plan A.

Have a look at this.

Edited by smiley, 27 June 2013 - 10:45 PM.

[Baron Von Scubadaddy]

it's a shame he is standing in the middle of the shot !

[The Fat Man]

  I have to say that now that I have done it I cant understand why the designers didnt do it in the first place.

Downright inconsiderate , thoughtless even! Top top job :

[Baron Von Scubadaddy]

want this !!!

want it now

even more than carbon things or coupes

you could coupe it once you hinged it 1

then be for you know it ..........it's just that little bit better than the exige

then you super charge it.

 

stick that up your lotus arse coz the vx 220 posse got it going on !

Edited by Baron Von Scubadaddy, 27 June 2013 - 10:54 PM.

[The Fat Man]

He gives a close up pic of the recessed fuel filter on last page of thread.

http://www.vx220.org...fferent/page-14

[bunsenburner]

I could really have done with that.

Rear clam off just yesterday!

With a supercharger and charge cooler pipes/tanks its impossible to even seen below the surface let alone work on it.

[Baron Von Scubadaddy]

looks so filthy with its clam off!

 

Great shot.

Edited by Baron Von Scubadaddy, 28 June 2013 - 12:08 AM.

[thoughtless]

Some quick and dirty pics are on skydrive now. That programme drives me mental!! Pics are crap as it was with iPhone with half lights on.

 

https://skydrive.liv...5D1B840C83!4436

 

If it doesnt work please let me know.

 

The pic of the removed clam brings back bad memories. I always had this feeling that with so many parts to take off I know something would be missing or out of alignment etc. Even with a method.

 

Just saw the pics of the other hinged clam project. Very smooth action and looks counterbalanced nicely. Different approach but same problem solved. I did consider something similar i.e. a full clam tilt but if I remember back the reason I didnt was that I would have had to modify some of the shape of the car and I wanted to keep the original shape 100%. Also it was the fact that I wanted to see if I could actually utilise the full width of the boot for storage as that would be very handy. Like the ease of access though and I will contact the guy to ask what release mechanism he used.

 

Thanks by the way for the encouraging and positive feedback. Its spurred me on to complete and get to a repeatable job. Share the fun.

[Graeme Lambert]

They work for me and it looks ace!

 

G

[TazN]

that looks absolutely top! good effort.

[TazN]

Any more news on this? Would like to hear how you've got on.

[thoughtless]

So for those interested here is an update on this project.

 

Pics are at:

http://1drv.ms/1ilRZMW

 

Should be a link on skydrive. Pics are of v1 rear hinge and v2 front top hinge.

 

As you can see my original design was to have a hinge at the rear of the car. The good thing about this was that it gave the cleanest lift in terms of clearance. However when I took a good hard look at it it actually reduced the boot to 3 small compartments. With some good engineering I could have probably gotten the size of the hinges down a bit but it would still have compromised the boot space. Also the lid would be in the way for most practical access to the engine bay. So I started over and went back to the idea of a forward hinge. The key was making a part to replace the roll bar cover that would be strong enough to take a hinge. However I have done that now and am happy with the results. The part is two piece and ribbed and now that its bonded its taken a lot of the twist out that I was worried about.

 

The result is that I now have a working clearance and the mechanism is fundamentally working.

 

I now need to fit the fasteners. I am going for 2 QR type that will be accessible in the door reveals. 2 safety catches on the front wall of the boot and 2 backup catches on the rear wall of the boot. Seems a bit excessive but better safe than sorry. Need to rewire the lights and tidy up in the boot and then add a bit of rubber seal and jobs a good un.

 

I will be posting more over the coming week. Wife is due to drop a sprog this week so have some time off and can do some work on the car (if mother in law comes to help... baby not car!!)

 

Also, for anyone reading this in the High Wycombe general area who can give us a bit of help with the Engine Management Light. Got a TMS stage 4 and during last MOT it got a bit hot and I think popped a hose. So loses power at high boost. Don't think its serious but need to get it sorted for next MOT due end of this month. Could do with someone who knows what they are looking for helping diagnose.

 

Will post more soon when all mode are done!!

 

BTW, please can first readers let me know if the link to SkyDrive works.

[thoughtless]

Forgot to mention.... for those interested. You can get a full set of golf clubs in the boot!!

[techieboy]

Good skills. 

 

Also the lid would be in the way for most practical access to the engine bay. 

 

That's always been my thoughts on a rear hinged clam. It might look good, but the reality is, it doesn't improve access and more often makes it worse (though it would help you turdo drivers accessing your leaky intercoolers).

[The Fat Man]

Such a timely thread revival ! I had been thinking of it only yesterday having had difficulty getting garages to do some work on mine lately. Good to see you stuck with it. Pics working for me. Hope all goes well with the young 'un :

[Gilgamesh]

nice, these cars should have been designed like that from the very start.

Edited by Gilgamesh, 11 June 2014 - 07:03 AM.

[FLD]

This project is epic!  Looking at your pics it seems that access is better with the rear hinge than with the front hinge although it 'looks' better with a front hinge.  Despite the boot problems whats your thoughts on the two variants in terms of engine access?

[thoughtless]

With the hinge at the highest point on the roll cage it can be raised so that access to the engine bay is virtually 100%. I have only raised it about 60deg in the pics and the boot is full of crap. I will post better pics soon. When working on the engine you don't really ever access it by leaning over the cockpit but you do quite often lean over the back and in from that side. So I think that access with the back on is as good as poss. However now I can remove the entire back in about 2mins. The front is held on with 2 hefty bolts and the only other attachment is the wiring loom for the rear lights which is qr. also the boot floor can be removed separately. so for boot access and engine access I think this is optimal.

[FLD]

This is great!  Fantastic work