Okrasa Special

[ryans65]

[kiwisteve]

A number of us took a trip down to Mouland & Yates to see the fruits of Vic's work over the past 6 weeks. It's fair to say he's been busy. I must admit to a sleepless night the night before, partly due to excitement and partly due to a worry that we had got the design horribly wrong and that in the metal it looks like the ugly child no-one other than a mother can love. Fortunately I think we can safely say we've avoided that pitfall.

Vic was at pains to explain that the panels are only roughly finished and at the moment they're only laid over to give a sense of the overall shape and design, and that it will start to look better once some of the detailing and trimming of the panels begins in earnest.

The first thing to notice is how big the panels are. Rather than make up lots of small pieces and then weld them together, which would make life easier with the English wheel, Vic elected to wrestle the curves and shapes into much bigger panels to minimise the weld lines as he's aware we're not painting the car. The front of the car is just four panels...
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The next shot highlights the lovely curve Barry carved into the top wing of the front wheel arch and the gentle upturned sweep along the top of the door to marry the taller, more aggressive haunch we created over the rear wheel arch to give it more aggression.... I joked that we should leave the rear panels like this so we could run a Le Mans Langheck version! What we definitely will be doing is running bolt-on wheel spats front and rear for speed events.
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Again the rear of the car will be a very small number of panels to minimise the welding lines. A few things to notice here: firstly the treatment of the leading edge of the bootlid. Because the roof is steel and the bootlid aluminium they can't be welded together obviously. Although we could have one rest on the other as we're having a clamshell rear, the little upturn in the leading edge does two things: it gives depth to the rear end (something it always suffered from - the 'no hips' syndrome) and secondly the exhaust runs through the rear bodywork so we have to provide some cooling air in which will be exited out the rear panel. Also notice the sharpness of the inside edge of the rear wing. Typical cars of the period mostly had a gently curved radius, but a few have a sharper edge providing more aggression which really works.
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Here's a better picture of the rear wheel arch and the sharply tapered inside edge...
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We had intended to put Porsche RSK inspired oil cooler opening and brake duct apertures in the front, but they now patently don't work with the front of the car 'in the metal', so we've agreed an alternative. More on this next time. Ignore the headlamp and boot lid in paper - Vic (standing next to Ian Clark) had drawn these up to give more reality to the panels and bodywork.
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A parting shot showing how small the car is in the flesh (it makes the 356 look positively huge) and the overall proportions.
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We'll be going down in six to eight weeks time when Vic has finished the major panels and trimmed the existing ones to fit better. Oh, and we'll be taking a scotch brite pad to the panels to get rid of a bit of the shine! Until next time...

[kiwisteve]

As promised, here's the latest instalment on the bodywork. Vic at Mouland & Yates has been busy! I had planned to visit last week but work commitments got in the way unfortunately, so Vic kindly sent me through a few photos to update me on progress.

First up are two nice shots of the front of the car in the M&Y workshop, without the paper boot and headlamp shapes, showing how Vic has tidied up the panels. This gives a really good sense of how lovely the panel work is. You can also see the passenger door beginning to take shape.

Next up is shot of the side of the car, with work focused on finishing the quarter panel areas and sill. Notice the Coke bottle rise from the middle of the door, rising up over the rear arch, before disappearing in the light line down the rear quarter panel. Just stunning expertise on Vic's part to make all the work and testimony to Al's design influence tweaking Barry's original wireworm renderings. What you can't see in the photo is the sill dropping below the floorpan line. We intentionally created the bodywork to sit lower on the chassis to provide a more aggressive look but also so the airflow is channelled under the flat floor of the car.

This next shot is so satisfying! I lost count of the amount of time Barry and I spent trying to get the arse of this car to work, and here it is in all it's glory. It looks wider than it is due to the angle of the photo but it again shows the huge amount of skill required to create bodywork by hand: the rear panel is slightly curved (not flat), tapers under to meet the floor, and obviously has to meet the edges of the other panels with millimetre precision. The treatment of the rear bootlid as it meets the rear window is also obvious in this photo, designed to stand slightly proud to allow airflow into the rear of the car to remove heat from the exhaust which runs directly through this part of the car. In the middle of the panel will be a large square hole covered in mesh to allow the hot air to escape.

This final shot shows the subtle forward rake on the bootlid as it drops towards the rear window, designed by Al to marry the right height for the tail of the car with the rear window, without it looking flat and boring. It also allowed for the lip on the front edge of the panel to make it stiffer. I love this shot as it highlights the way the rear bodywork ties in so well with the side panels. It's not often that you find a car looks good from every angles but so far I've struggled to find anything bad!

More in a few weeks time...
Cheers,
Steve

[falcor75]

Wow, I just spent the afternoon reading thru this entire build.

Amazing and humbling to see such fine work, from the initial photoshop and sketches to now seeing it come into metal. Well done and you have my best wishes going forwards!

Mats in Sweden.
_________________
Restoring a Porsche 914, one messed up part at a time. http://www.matsgarage.com

https://www.instagram.com/914rs/

[joey1320]

Amazing work
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**1971 Super Project
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

[kiwisteve]

Thanks Mats and Joey. More progress this month at M&Y. First up an insight into the planning and design that goes into a build of this sort:

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[kiwisteve]

Next photos of the internal construction that no-one ever sees but which is crucial to the structural integrity and design of the car working...

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[kiwisteve]

Now a few lovely shots of things coming to fruition...

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[kiwisteve]

And more...

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Next month the special (very special...) gearbox build starts and we convert a 10k Smiths tachometer to run with the magneto...

[Mr. OGPaint]

I've really enjoyed this build, thank you for sharing. Always looking forward to the next update
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https://instagram.com/mr.ogpaint
-
Patrick Hall

[kiwisteve]

Well the boys at Mouland & Yates have made real progress this last six weeks: they are really motoring now (no pun intended) with panel work and internal structures. Sills, wheel arches, doors, A and B pillars are all done, and the lads are now on the front of the car. Once they have fitted the panels more precisely and smoothed them up they can go for the big weld up! Enjoy....

More in a month's time....
Cheers,
Steve

[obieoberstar]

I would suggest a police escort and closed roads when driving this one-of-a-kind treasure!!!

Looking forward to the next update.

[kiwisteve]

Well our first outing will be next year, and be a rerun up Farnham bypass in Surrey England, where it took it's first test run, having been built at the local VW & Porsche garage just round the corner: Barnett & Small (David Small was the proprietor and originally constructed the car)

[RichOakley]

Great progress Steve. Good to see it taking shape!
_________________
1947 Beetle
1956 RHD Karmann Cabrio
1956 RHD Beetle
1957 RHD Pitt-Moto Type 2 Camper
1959 RHD Beetle
1966 RHD Type 3 Fastback
1976 RHD Sun Beetle

[kiwisteve]

The big weld up started earlier than planned this month which is great news. What it does mean though is that I need to land on final details such as oil cooler and brake aperture shape and size. The plan is to go with something similar to the Ferrari 250LM rather than Porsche 550 or RSK as it seems to suit the shape of the nose better. Thought the B&W shot was quite period looking and could've been taken in the Williams and Pritchard workshop in Edmonton, England in the late 1950's where it would've been bodied...

Here's a great shot of Jeffery welding the aluminium panels - this is such a skill as just one degree too hot and the ally boils to nothing!

Here's the panel almost finished...

And the rear starting to come together as a complete unit. The clamshell will open/close just about where the white tape is on the rear quarter panel...

And finally the front. Some big decisions to be made about how to vent the hot air from the oil cooler. The 550 and RSK simply exited it over the front axle, but that's pushing air under the car and creating lift which isn't good. Given the original designer (David Small) had gone to the lengths he did in creating a completely flat floor, it seems right we do something better than this. Other manufacturers were also more sophisticated, venting it through openings in the side of the wings (Aston Project cars and racing Ferrari's in particular). The other idea being bounced around is to vent it between the front valance and bonnet onto the windscreen but both require ducting so we need to figure this one out soon. Thoughts welcome on this one if anyone has experience...

[kiwisteve]

More progress, this time with the Big Weld. The rear of the car is now one piece, sills are attached, doors hung, and the front is ready for welding. A few of us visited last Friday to discuss a bunch of details and make decisions. Talk about one happy owner....

It's surprisingly roomy inside, with a great view down the bonnet and between the wheel arches. You sit a lot further forward relative to the wheels than in a 356 or 911, so it's going to feel strange driving the car to begin with I expect. Door handles are simple push buttons from a VW bus, with notches in the rear quarter panel for two fingers to slide behind the now slightly ajar door....

In this picture you can see the final bonnet shape in line tape and the combined oil cooler and brake cooling aperture. The headlights aren't the final shape and will require quite a bit of fettling before we land on the final location. Hot air from the oil cooler will vent up hoses wither side of the bonnet and then exit between the scuttle and a flare in the front clamshell like many period Abarth and Italian cars of the era...

The overall shape is really beginning to show now, but the photos really don't do it justice. There isn't a flat panel on the car, with real texture to the panels and flow to the curves.

More late January when we there will be more significant details to report on....

[tisius]

I understand where the smile on your face comes from
Top job!
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drive it like you just robbed the bank
you don't have to be crazy to be into VW's, but it sure helps!!
.... if it ain't dutch, it ain't much!

[kiwisteve]

So this time a smile on Ian's face (owner of WPS Engines and the guy restoring the mechanicals of the Okrasa Special).

Progress since my last update has been focused on the rear panel: converting the large expanse of rear bodywork into a clamshell. It's so great to see the car coming alive with each and every panel that becomes a working part of the car...

Here's a great shot of the rear clamshell fully open with the finished hinge: a simple affair, very much as done in period (that's Gary Yates one of the two owners, smiling next to the English wheel)...

Here's a close up of the hinge during construction - you can also see them method of wire-rolling the edge of the panel, again a period treatment for finishing a panel...

This shot gives a lovely view of the construction inside: we're trying to keep the weight down to a minimum while keeping the construction to what would've been done in period. Here you can see the stiffening bulkheads that also separate the wheel arch from the gearbox and exhaust area, reducing the amount of dirt (and air) that would be forced into this central area...

Last up for the year is a photo showing where we finally finished up with the location for the petrol cap. Because the tank is in the middle of the car (and is effectively the back of the seat) the outlet had to be somewhere here, but FIA scrutineers these days are very fussy about exposed fuel filler caps because in an accident that turns the car over they can get ripped off and hence bleed large amounts of fuel onto hot engines and exhausts...). So if you have an exposed filler it requires a second, modern filler cap inside, making for a large, modern and in my opinion horrible arrangement on an old period-correct car. So we've gone with an alternative, which is to mount an old 356 bayonet cap into the quarter panel so it's flush with the bodywork. Here you can see the location of where it finally ended up. A minor detail but there have been a million things like this that we've had to work through. It's also a great photo as it captures a moment with Ian - we've had lots of great moments with this car; I'm sure there are lots more to come...

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Here's to 2018, finishing the build, and racing the car...

[kiwisteve]

Another solid couple of weeks effort from the fantastic and highly talented lads and Mouland and Yates. One of the things that's never apparent from photos of part-completed or finished bodywork and fabrication is the amount of planning and thinking time that goes into design before any metal is shaped. When Ian, Alex, Andy and I made the visit in mid-December we spent almost 6 hours discussing various things. Here's the email sent afterwards summarising what we all agreed:

- Oil cooler to vent between trailing edge of front clamshell and scuttle. Maximum height of upswept lip (full width of clamshell) to aid aerodynamics over wipers to be 20mm, and to be slightly forward of wipers rather than hard up against windscreen

- Period Dzus fasteners to be used front bonnet and rear clamshell (Ian to supply from his mate who restores old aeroplanes), six in front bonnet as per Porsche RSK, four in rear clamshell (2 either side). I think we should also use the same Dzus fasteners for the fixing in the rear window….

- Front bonnet size and shape as per line tape. Slight indent in front bodywork to accommodate flush sitting, single skin bonnet

- Oil cooler opening as per final brown template taped to car. A second to be constructed with smaller ‘land speed record’ inlet

- FIA towing eyes to be fitted front and rear: front to be fitted in centre of oil cooler aperture to avoid fouling bodywork when towed on an angle, well inside aperture via front structure (steve to supply towing eye and threaded mounts)

- Doors to be opened via supplied press-button latches, with finger indentations as per Jefferey’s mock up to avoid needing to use a handle, to keep frag to minimum but also comply with FIA requirement to be able to open door from outside

- Petrol cap to exit as per drawing/markings on rear quarter panel, not from inside door jam as originally planned due to concerns with fuel ingress into cabin of car and risk of fire. Petrol cap neck to have 16mm outlet with right angle joint pointing to rear of car for breather hose. Petrol cap itself to lie horizontally (i.e. with flange parallel to ground) to reduce drag

- Door windows to be supported with already fabricated angle riveted to upper door, and with n-shaped frame around upper edges of Plexiglas to stop pressure build up in cabin blowing unframed window out as many race cars seem to do

- Rear quarter windows to be supported by bung or clamp installed by Ian to optimise airflow into engine bay: sufficient for engine but as little as possible to reduce drag

- Rear opening in tail size and shape as per drawing/marking on rear bodywork. Mesh not to be fitted but six aluminium threaded studs to be welded to inside lip of opening for later possible fitment of mesh so we have freedom of space for constructing the exhaust. Licence plate to be painted on somewhere

- Internal liners to be fitted in front and rear wheel arches in thin gauge aluminium to reduce pressure build up and reduce lift at high speed

- Insides of doors to be cut-out as per drawing/markings to give elbow room when you need to flail arms wildly to keep control!

- Cut lightening holes into top of sill in door opening area to further reduce weight and provide access fro oil lines, electrics, etc.

- Headlight position to be determined by creating ‘tube’ for headlamp and installing tube via rear of wing

- No flare to be added to wheel arch lip front or rear as wheel liner will create rigidity and wheels on full lock clear bodywork....

Anyway, onto the photos....

So, first up is the headlamp construction. This is one of the tricky jobs as the lads only get one shot at cutting a hole in the lovely front wing. First up they made a headlight bucket to take the headlamp, but not trim it....
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We've used Karmann Ghia headlamp mounts and adjustment units as this would've been easily obtainable in period...
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Then the smart bit. Vic and Gary turned off the workshop lights, and shone a high intensity lamp with a small beam at the front wing, creating the exact shape on the wing, to enable the headlamp bucket to be trimmed perfectly...

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This then allowed them to draw the headlight opening on the wing...

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Before making up headlight covers.... Now before you freak out like Ian and I did, the covers are oversize so perspex covers can be made...

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Next up is the construction of the scuttle. If you recall the car was left with the NOS Karmann Ghia roof welded in place including the front scuttle which is trimmed up when welded to the rest of the steel bodywork. In our case this has to be trimmed to suit the front aluminium bodywork, and allow for the front of the car to be attached. Vic and Gary very wisely suggested the front bodywork be bolted in place not welded to the sills, so if we need to, the front can be removed...

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Here you can see the huge amount of fabrication required to make everything (A-post, scuttle, inner wheel arch, door mechanism, etc.) work...
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Next up is the construction of the front subframe. This looks like it was the last thing David Small constructed given it's unfinished state. Given we're putting the oil cooler in the nose of the car we've combined Chapman-style the oil cooler mounts, the supports for the bodywork, and the mounting required for the towing eye all into one lightweight sub-frame...

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In this one you can see the new ally panel being fitted to keep water out the front hood area...

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And here's the oil cooler fitted in-situ on the sub-frame. It's probably bigger than we need but Ian would rather be conservative on this given the compression we're running and the heat that will inevitably be generated when we super-charge the engine...

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Next up are the wheel arch liners. In insisted these were installed to reduce air pressure in the wheel arch, a common source of aerodynamic lift which we obviously want to avoid. We'll be adding wheel spats for speed events and we have a few other tricks we will employ to keep air from getting under the car, but one good way of reducing the drag and pressure in the wheel arch is for it not be to able to build up anywhere. This is one of my favourite photos from the month, with Vic and one of the lads discussing the construction of the second front wheel liner...

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These will be trimmed to match the wing once they're ready to be installed...

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Notice how the liner has been trimmed beautifully to fit tight against the torsion bar mount so as to minimise the air getting past into the front bulkhead...

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I also love this photo - the talent and experience to create this kind of shape is just rare!

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And then finally, the front back together with over-sized headlamp covers and the untrimmed bonnet laid on top of the nose, as well as the large oil cooler aperture mocked up. A smaller one will be used for speed events...

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Final photo for the day... In this you can see the slight flair that will force air up and over the windscreen, and also allow for hot air from the oil cooler to vent over the body, rather than under the car creating lift...

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[kiwisteve]

They say the eyes are the window on the soul, and when it comes to cars they make or break the look of the thing. So it was with some trepidation that I opened this weeks email update from Vic and Gary at Mouland & Yates because I knew this was the big one. The best I hope for each time the car has more work done to it is that it hasn't taken us backwards: that we've at least maintained what we had in terms of design and overall aesthetic.

So, the first step was for the lads to offer up the headlamp bowl to the outside to give them the exact shape to cut...

And then check it and check again...

Then, they dived in with the cutter. This shot is a long way on from the first cut as they've created the back of the headlamp bucket, welded it to the tube, welded that to the wing, and recessed the outer rim to take the Plexiglas cover...

You can also see the front beginning to take shape now Jefferey (the chap doing most of the work) has welded the headlight assembly into the wing and the wing together with the front nose panel. This shot also gives a view of the shape of the front detachable panel, a simple single skin affair that will sit on a recessed lip and be held with period correct Dzus fasteners that Ian has managed to acquire from a friend who restores WWII aeroplanes for a living.... The lip of the panel will be wire rolled to give it some stiffness....

Now for the money shots. I'll let you decide whether the latest work detracts or moves the design forward. To my mind it's definitely the latter... Enjoy.