Monocoque? who offers the option What pros and cons?

I sold my 40 on the forum and after saying never again, I get to considering doing it again. I am tempted to use a moocoque this time; is this a good idea, who can supply this for a self build? What are the gains and downside problems? ....Discuss!

Or would a spaceframe and cladding be a better bet.

No seriously I would appreciate your views

Steve
 
My impression is that enough GT40s come up for sale in the UK for less than the cost of building one. So unless you
are determined to have a mono, why not go that route?

If you are determined to have a mono, you have to decide
what level of originality you require.
RCR and CAV are basic...ERA is more original...
SPF'will be MORE original....and some custom builders
are almost dead on ($$$).

MikeD
 
Mike
There are cars available in the UK but my thing is the building. I did take on a KVA that was part built, after repeated ugrades on almost everything even then it still needed more as the limitations were inherent in the package I started with. Had I started from scratch the limitations of the chassis , brakes, engine, suspension and bolt on wheels could have been avoided.
I looked at the site Paolo sugested...wow! the budget would not run to that. The RCR might be more my budget.
The chassis and suspension is the foundation and from appearance and weight consideration monocoque looks more attractive, that said, what are the downsides, weld stess, corrosion,cost???. I am trying to guage if it is wise or feasible to do at reasonable cost compared to the paneled spaceframe.
The first car helped to build a picture of what to do next time.
Steve
 
There is a Guy over here who builds Mono's in steel, was lucky enough to see his work last summer, more like a work of art than a Monocoque chassis, all is own tooling, lots of work.
I believe his name is Ray and he lives near Andover, I am sure someone on here will be able to give you more details, really nice guy.

Cheers
 
It is Ray Webber,
he has used a dave brown chassis for measurements, belonging to chris Melia and measurements from Chris's Tennant panel chassis. Tel: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Steve

The latest batch of space frames (RF40/DRB/etc) are
much more advanced than the KVA. We've seen little to suggest a mono will perform significantly better for
most driver's talent.

The appeal of monos is because the originals were mono. And as you would expect...originality is more expensive.
RCR and CAV kind of bridge the gap...not as expensive as more faithful monos...
but of course not as original. A discussed concern on monos is the cost to repair if you crash....it could be significantly more to repair. If you plan to race a lot,
I'd investigate that further. However if your crash risk is low, then it's probably a non-issue.
Regards

MikeD
 
Well Roy

Nice to hear from you, I sold my Dave Brown chassis a long time ago to another member of this forum, and Ray is assembling it for him.

Ray was chosen because he had already built a monocoque before he started on the Dave Brown pieces.

By the way, what happened to your Dave Brown monocoque? you know the one that arrived in the same box as the one I had?

Did you scrap it??

I sold mine because there was no point owning another besides my Tennant mono, but what happened to yours? did it turn into an HSF or what? Whose monocoque are you building? Is it yours or Groans? Sorry I mean Dave Browns?

Regards

Chris.
PS. I think that its inappropriate to put someone's private Telephone No, on a public forum without getting their permission. How would you like your home telephone No on here?
 
Hi Chris,
Only tried to help someone get in contact with Ray, no offence meant. Didn't think it would be a problem.
I do remember Ray using your Dave Brown for reference when I was at your place, don't you remember?
My no. is 0794 131 9754.
regards to Ray
 
Roy

Ray and John were at my place to see the Tennant chassis that weekend, the Dave Brown chassis was still hundreds of bits of steel plate in a box in the garage.

As I said before, Ray had already built a monocoque at that time and had photographs with him that weekend of his tub. It was months after that, that he was asked to assemble the Dave Brown chassis.

Wasn't that the weekend you were doing your good samaritan bit for your lodger without a car that had the family crisis in Brandon?
Still it turned out OK for you managing to bump into the guy from Scott Racing that sold you the side-oiler engine didn't it.

So what's the answer to my questions? reference who's Monocoque are you building as I asked before and what happened to your Dave Brown monocoque?

Chris.
 
Chris,
you seem irritated, my answers will probably irritate you more, this forum is not the place to air our differences, is it?
I still have a Dave Brown Mono though.
Roy
 
Roy
If you are going to post inaccurate statements regarding what I am doing then, I will have something to say about it.
As I said before posting peoples personal telephone No's on a public forum is unacceptable behaviour without their permission, if you were not up to mischief you could have sent the guy you were trying to help a personal mail.

However it's nice to hear that you have finally acknowledged publicly your Dave Brown monocoque, Dave Brown deserves a lot of credit for the development and work that he has put into his product.
I suggest that this is the last word on this.

Chris.
 
Oh dear, handbags at dawn...

Guys, your not doing yourselves any favours. Why not have your dicussions via private messages as it seems clear you have unfinished business.
Chris, I'm not taking any sides here, but I will say the panels of Roys I have seen bear little resemblance to the David Brown panels he has shown me. Having original drawings obviously makes a big difference. Sure, David must be acknowledged for what he did, but what Roy is producing is not a rip-off of Davids panels, as you seem to be suggesting.
Now lets have a group hug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Mr Moderator, can I suggest you edit the emails above please to remove the offending phone numbers
(unless of course Roy is able to edit these posts himself this late after posting them).
Hopefully that will settle the original complaint from Chris, and avoid future hits picking up on the numbers.


SteveB, I would start out by deciding the level of budget and originality you require. That will help you rule out some of the options out there.

There are a few other places in the uk able to supply original monocoques (Adams McCall for one). They come at a price though, and a bit of a wait too.
For me, the best price vs originality option at present is the superformance car.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
John.
 
Lads,

Why not join me in the OFF Topic section for some Lemon Tea. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I am really sorry about this, I did not mean to start anything, for my part I saw both the Mono's Ray was working on along with all the tooling he had produced to make the panels and found it very impressive.
I believe I saw a Dave Brown Mono at RF last year,

My only concern with the steel mono would be anti corrosion treatment and accident repair, its so intricate that I would probably want it dipped to give it some life against the UK weather and salted roads.
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
[ QUOTE ]
Lads,

Why not join me in the OFF Topic section for some Lemon Tea. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
With crumpets and scones? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bash.gif
Rick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/1poke.gif
 

Charlie Farley

Supporter
Joe T
Rays chassis is made from zintac steel, thus galvanised, or a close cousin to it. He then coats it in 2 pack and finally i believe its powercoated and baked.
Most of the corrosion problems with the original tubs, involved water ingress into the front sill area. This was mainly down to poor design and in part, not expecting theses cars to be around for 40 years!!
There are simple design modifications that can be made to eradicate this water ingress and i am planning on doing just that, to my chassis.Im adopting a 'belt and braces' approach to the dreaded rust. Ill be Waxoyling all the cavities and using a flexible undersealer.
Im sure that with modern materials, the rust problem need not be a great headache.
Especially as i dont intend to take it out much in the wet.
If anyone out there has and tips on this subject, feel free to advise please.
 
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