With lousy weather prevailing, progress on the OT 1300 continues at a rapid pace. I am not sure how long this will last, so I am working on getting as much done as quickly as possible.
The engine is installed, along with all the bits except for the muffler which will go on last. I had trouble with the braided hose, which is either too small or too big (3/4" at scale) and for now have not plumbed up the remote oil filter mounted on the left rear fender.
It's all looking pretty good and mocking up the wheels with the central body section is pretty exciting. The little periscope for cockpit ventilation is cute if a bit silly.
It's tiny, with the Lotus Europa, complete with trunk, looming over it. The picture shows a total of 16 cylinders, roughly 6.5 litres, somewhere around 450 hp between the four of them.
In a similar vein, I once had the pleasure of driving a Ginetta G15, with the Hillman Imp drivetrain which was a street version of the lovely Coventry Climax engine. With a short-stroke aluminum block, wet liners, aluminum SOHC head, a pair of little Webers and ~100 hp from 1100 cc, the Coventry Climax motor was a lovely little unit and found its way into all kinds of classic items like the Lotus XI. The Imp version was sleeved down to 875 cc with two Strombergs CDs, probably about 50 hp, all to fit under the tax limit in the UK while also competing with the Mini at 850 cc. The motor was far more advanced than the Mini's long-stroke, iron block with siamesed 8-port head, but the rear-engine design of the Imp doomed it from the start when compared with the massively space-efficient FWD design by Alec Issigonis.
Of course as one of the few people in North America to have even seen a Ginetta, let alone driven one or worked on one, I can honestly claim to be something of an expert. A Ginettacist, what! Ha ha, get it, geneticist/Ginettacist... OK never mind. Twin-cam fours forever! I've got a resin kit of an Offy motor on order.
UPDATE: Photo of the front axle in response to a question posted by Aurfalien. Part M57 certainly appears to be present and accounted for.
Update #2: Photos of the carb side of the engine in response to a question posted by Aurfalien.
Hope this helps!
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI've started on the OT1300 and was wondering if you could help a bit with some parts identification? While I've managed to identify many parts already, I can't for the life of me find M57 which help book end the front spring dampers with M52. Would you mind taking close ups of your model? I'm starting to feel that those parts are missing at which point I can fabricate if need be.
I've only got one picture showing this, which I've zoomed into and will post in an update to the original post. It looks like M57 was available and in the kit. But I've often found that identifying all parts in MFH kits is an ongoing activity as you build it.
DeleteThank you very much Tom, very nice of you!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to know someone is reading!
DeleteNo worries Tim. You've a great blog which I find very helpful for our hobby. This kit is sort of a bear, the chassis spins like a table top. So I've measured and there is a 1mm difference between the middle and ends. The body sits true on it so it's not warped. I'm simply sanding the middle with care. Also the silver springs don't fit over any shock towers so I've emailed MFH for some guidance. Did you find the same?
ReplyDeleteSorry, don't recall issues with springs. The kit is long out of production and MFH might not be able to help either. And as long as it sits square on its wheels, I haven't worried too much about chassis; this is one of their Lightweight kits which means it's a lot simpler than some.
DeleteHi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI hate to bother but would you mind taking a close up of the carbureted side of the engine?
I'll add a picture to the post.
ReplyDeleteNo bother, as I've said it's nice to know someone is actually reading this.
Ah wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! Thank you sir.
ReplyDelete