I feel saw...

It has begun... again... well properly this time. I mean the making has begun.

Today I became the proud owner of 12 metres of 25 x 25 x 1.6mm square tube steel and I started to cut the hundred or so lengths that will make up the space frame of my car. The University of Nottingham engineering stores did not have all of the material that I needed, so I took what they did and made a start with that.

I learnt how to use a new tool; the horizontal metal band saw. Possibly one of the least stressful tools to use with its quick lock clamps and the automatic hydraulic cutting blade and switch off (you just press go and it turns off when it's finished).

The result of my work was 28 lengths of steel cut down to rough dimensions ready to be taken home at the end of term. I also managed to find a place to store the parts in the engineering department.

As well as this I managed to get the relatively small amount of round tube steel 19mm dia. that I will need.

To give a rough idea of what this metal is actually for, here is a cad image from the book that shows the assembled space frame:

Its been picked up!

My Dad picked up the car today and took it to my house in London. I have yet to see it still, but I am told by my father that it is in good condition and drives well. The exhaust sounds a little rough, but as I will be replacing this it is not an issue. The clutch was replaced 2 years ago apparently and is good, but does feel a little heavy. Otherwise all is well, by dad is going to drive it up to Nottingham next weekend so I can see it and have a look over how big the job of dismantling it will be. I will post some more pictures up then.

Cost so far:

Car - £451
Months worth of insurance for my dad + the cancellation fee at the end - £100
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Total - £551

A little more info - The Plan

Ok, so by no means am I intending to write on this blog everyday from now until the beginning of September. However I feel that I should give a bit more of an intro in terms of what the project entails.

I have managed to keep good connections with some great people from my old school. I worked there in my gap year and still help in holidays pat testing and fitting projectors. It's because of this and because of their supportive nature that I have managed to get access to a school owned garage for 10 or so weeks of the holiday, a garage which is, during term time, the home of the automobile society or "autosoc". This is fantastic as I live in London and space is at a premium especially if you're planning on turning it into a temporary workshop.

I am in the middle of my first year Uni exams at the moment, but have spent the "small" amounts of time when I am not revising sourcing parts. This was really aided by the adverts in a few kit car magazines that I purchased when the car idea was in its infancy.

The main websites that have sourced from are components suppliers list on the right. As well as sourcing I have put the cutting list into an excel document and downloaded a trial of a piece of cutting optimisation software which is perfect for finding the best way not to waste materials. I would like to buy it but as it stands I am on a budget and it has a perfectly adequate 30-day-trial. The software is called "cut logic 1d" and can be found on http://www.tmachines.com/cl1dp.html it is perfect for tube steel cutting list optimisation.

The next step is to start construction on the smaller more complex parts immediately after the exams using the workshop facilities up here at Nottingham. I could also use this opportunity to cut down the tube steel, which I am hoping to source through the University, into the many individual pieces. This should give me a head start and make things a lot easier later on in the project. I am also limited by the fact that I can't use the school garage until term at the school ends; this is a noticeable length of time after my university term ends.

When it does end however I should be ready, with cut steel ready to weld, certain parts complete, many parts on order, a sierra ready to dismantle and about 3 days before I go to Malia for a week. What can you do though? When I get back it will be go go go from there though, and that is when the real making begins and I spend my time sleeping, building and blogging car.

But for now, I wait. That's what I do. Tick follow tock follow tic follow tock... Twiddling my thumbs until these exams are over.

In the beginning god created... wait... no, that cant be right...

SO IT HAS BEGUN!!!

So, although it has been a passion to build a car since I was very small, there always seemed to be obstacles in my way. The Caterham 7 that I dreamed of making since I was 12 years old was just out of my grasp, or more specifically, about £12,000 out of my grasp. No, pocket money just did not cut it and my penchant for spending the pocket money on the latest gadget did not help either. So what did I do? Simple. I became a student and it was not long before the student finance company sorted out a healthy sum of money for me to spend on what I pleased. (I lie they took forever, an uphill battle the whole way, not just for me I hear). Either way, this influx of funds also fitted in neatly with the chance meeting of my new friend, in the form of the HAYNES manual entitled "Build your own Sports Car on a budget" and so the story begins.


I have set myself the goal, or rather the almost inevitably impossible task, of building a sports car in 11 or so weeks, on a budget. I have a garage for 10 of those weeks, a LADS holiday in Malia for a week, somewhere near the beginning, and a sponsored Kilimanjaro Climb at the end (Sponsor me at: www.justgiving.com/hugowilson) goes to a great charity called childreach international, but I digress.

Today it all began as I purchased the DONOR CAR off eBay, from which I will salvage engine, drive train etc. It cost me the healthy sum of £451, a tad more than I wanted to pay but I get excited when I use eBay and my logic is that if it was worth that much to someone else then it can be worth £10 more to me.



Either way, pick up is soon, and I felt that it would be a good time to start keeping an account of what I am doing. So if anyone reads this then great and if not then confirmation that I am talking to myself is here and I am proved to be mad, but at least no one will know. Take care all, and I will keep you... blogged?