the Steinard MK3 takes shape

[John]

what a scorcher of a day mid 30's outside and 40+ in the shed, but I did manage to get a start on the back stays for the ROPS, made the mounting lugs and welded them on then welded 5/8 bungs into the back stay tube and fitted a ch,mly 5/8 rod end, tomorrow its supposed to be a mild 27 deg so ill get the other end done with a bit of luck.

cheers Kaspa

 

[John]

Finished the back stays today, had to put a riser on top of the horse shoe so they would clear the exhaust, I was going to fit them between the head and the exhaust, but while cranking for oil pressure I noticed the rocker covers moving slightly so I will have to get some hi rise valve covers which means I would run out of clearance for the back stays,
one step forward two steps back.



just one fitting away from a start, which will be some time next week if all goes well,
stay tuned
Kaspa

 

[John]

Major milestone day, kicked it over this morning and she burst into life instantly, yeah ha, But oil light didn't go out so I shut it down, and bugger me the pump belt had snapped, turned the pump by hand and there's a notchy bit, so ill have to pull the engine to get the pump off and give it a thorough inspection. a disappointment for sure , but at least she fired , so my self modified and fitted wiring loom is all ok, so all isn't lost.

cheers Kaspa

 

[John]

Fitted new belt this morning gave it a kick and away she went, one very happy chappy

https://vimeo.com/194943932

cheers kaspa

 

[Jack]

Congrats John!

 

[Leon]

Awesome John, Your not far away now. The upright arrived on Saturday so I can finish your uprights this week. I will ship yours and Dazzes at the same time. Cheers Leon.

 

[John]

Thanks mate, if you send them both to me via Mainfreight might be easier, and I can pop down and get them and Dazz will be down before xmas, so he can get his xmas present then.
cheers John

 

[Leon]

I think it will be cheaper to ship the 4 together with MF going on what they charged for the T/A. I will try to get them away by Monday so hopefully they will be there by Christmas.
Cheers Leon

 

[John]

Tah mate, well seeing as i'm again waiting for bits I thought I may as well start on the body, so I refitted the front clip and got it lined up then fitted the doors, oh what a joy that turned out to be, took me all day but I've managed to get them both sitting on their hinges lined up reasonably well, will need a little fine tuning to get them just right but at least their on, so that's a start. tomorrow i'll try and figure out how I'm going to box in the back of them.



kaspa

 

[Russell]

John
That`s the fun bit...trying to juggle 5 bits of floppy fibre glass and get all elements lined up with each other, gaps acceptable and all looking right. Its like herding jelly fish.
Cheers
Russell

 

[John]

Your not wrong there Russ, I fitted the rear clip this morning got that lined up pretty good and you wouldn't read about it, the left hand door fits like I glove couldn't get it better if I tried, the RH. door was a bit twisted, hence the strap to pull it into shape, gap wise I'm pretty happy, so ill run over it with the heat gun while the strap is on and see if I can get the twist out of it, but apart from that its finally starting to look like a car at last.


now to make some dust, oh what joy, Not.

cheers John

 

[John]

bit the bullet today and took to the rear clip with the grinder and a cut off blade, as I have to lengthen the rear deck by 125 mm to accommodate the bell housing trans combo I will be running, the plus side is it will give me the same wheel base as an M8 so that wont be a bad thing, so far today after cutting and clamping it all into the new position I glassed in the longitude cuts and one side of the rear infill complete and 2/3rds of the other side done, before the heat chased me inside as it just got to hot to
work. hopefully tomorrow is a bit cooler as forcaste.



ill get the front sections done tomorrow



cheers John

 

[Russell]

John
What does your wheel base work out to be now?
Cheers

 

[John]

Hi Russ, wheel base is now 2500mm an 1" longer than an M8 but I can live with that.
have spent the last week or so sanding, sanding and more bloody sanding, but now I can safely say its ready for final block down pre paint,



I also made up a fill in panel to close off some of the great hole for the engine, I would have liked to be a couple of inches deeper, but that was the biggest off cut of 2mm alloy I had left, so it is what it is.



So all that's left now is to fabricate up a rear frame to support the clip and give me something to hinge it off.

cheers John

 

[Jac Mac]

John, on Fantasy Junction there is a lot of pics of 1965 McLaren M1A s/n 20/01, several without body fitted.

 

[Russell]

John,
with that wheel base, there is always the option to upgrade to an M8B....
Cheers

 

[John]

Hi Jac, yeah mate I have all of those, very handy reference,

Russ I'm more than sure the M1 with an LS will probably kill me, let alone going to a big block.

john

 

[John]

Well they say it never rains unless it pores, I put a post up on a closed motor sport group i'm a member of on face book, asking for expressions of interest in a McLaren M1. bugger me within half an hr it looks like I will have two to build so far.
who said retirement was boring.

cheers John

 

[Ryan L]

Looking great John.

Not long to go now, any estimates for when its on its wheels.

 

[John]

Hi Mate, well that's out of my hands i'm afraid as I'm waiting for parts like rims, hubs, clevis's, uprites, trans, you know the little odds and sods stuff.
once I have them a couple of weeks and she's on the dyno.

cheers John