Complete Kit Car
The magazine have published the build story across two issues.
July 2021 feature on the build
August 2021 car photos in sunny Malvern Hills
Wednesday 21 July 2021
Monday 17 May 2021
Build diary Porsche 356 Speedster Chesil replica - Final post May 17th 2021
End of the build process
The car is now fully and correctly registered as a Chesil Speedster 😀
Whilst I have thoroughly enjoyed all (nearly all) the build process, it has not been without some challenges. There was no accurate build manual which really didn't help, lots of undocumented issues that are "known" to the Chesil team but not documented and the wiring loom was to be polite, lacking! Most parts don't fit out the box, thank god for my Dremel and grinding wheels and I really underestimated how much research is needed to pull the build together.
The good news for future builders is that since I started Westfield has taken over of Chesil and I'm sure given time will sort out a decent level of documentation to support the amateur builder.
A big thank you goes out to Goose at Chesil now Westfield who was a great source of information when needed.
An update on the carbs. The lesson is buy original Weber's not Chinese copies!!!
"Finished" Car
Build Photos
I have gathered together a few of my favourite pictures of the build process which I hope you enjoy.
Next Job
A bigger garage!!!
Wednesday 28 April 2021
Update April 28th 2021
Hood all complete
The hood fit completed. A bit of care and attention on trimming the excess material and vinyl edge has paid dividends. Car look better without the hood, but living in the UK, its essential!! I have ordered a cover for the hood, which will make it look a lot tidier when folded down.
Front Bonnet Handle
I have fitted the front bonnet handle, it required drilling out the hood which meant I had to peel back some of the leather trim that had been fitted under the bonnet. Should have thought about that earlier!. Just need to fit badge once it arrives.
Badges
I had the front and rear "Porsche" badges powder coated in the purple highlight colour that has been used on the rest of the car and have been fitted to the front and rear. I also had a new badge 3D printed for use under the hood. (see next section)
Under bonnet cover
I made some templates for a set of covers to go under the front bonnet. I ended up with a main cover plus templates for trimming up the sides. Final cover and side trims have been made from scrim foam covered with a vinyl. Speedster logo on the electrics cover was 3D printed and then painted.
Steering wheel
The old VW steering wheel needed for IVA test has been removed and replaced with a nice item I sourced in the US a few years ago. I have the rim trimmed with the same leather as used in the seats.
Luggage Rack
Fitted the luggage rack that I got off eBay, two brackets bolted inside the lid. I have also fitted 4 self tappers through the grill cover to hold it in place.
Carburettor update
Long running saga of the leaking carburettor. Its annoying that it leaks under no pressure. I have even had it leaking on my bench being gravity fed from a bottle.
My current theory is that because the carbs sit at a 2-3 degree angle, sloping towards the front of the car, the standard float setting whilst providing the correct level of fuel to be in the reservoir when the carbs are level, on this car with the 2-3 degree slope the fuel may be too high at one end and may well be the source of the problem. I'm off to to have another adjustment on the bench and try out my theory.
UPDATE - nothing to do with the mount angle, so it went back to the supplier, they have replicated the leak, but like me don't understand where its coming from!!!!
DVLA Registration
I'm still waiting for the necessary registration documents to come back from the DVLA.
Next time
Full picture set of finished car and hopefully rolling road tuning results
Friday 2 April 2021
Update March 31st 2021
With IVA complete, all the rubber "bits" have been removed and my jobs have been focused on final trimming...plus an annoying carb issue
Fitted Headlight grills
Convertible Hood
This turned out to be a bigger job than I expected. Firstly I needed to make a couple of clips to hold the rear frame bar.
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| clip to hold the rear frame bar. |
Front catches then needed to be fitted to the windscreen frame. The catch positioned in the centre required a recess to be ground out in order to accept the vertical bar holding the rear view mirror. Another job for the Dremel.
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| Recess cut out the back one of the pieces |
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| Recess cut out the back one of the piece |
Attaching the catches required drilling holes through the frame and praying that I didn't catch the glass, which according to Goose at Chesil (Westfield) has happened a few times.
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| Catches in place |
The GRP front rail which sits on top of the windscreen was then attacked with my Dremel and a fairly rough sanding wheel. It needed a lot of material removed before it would fit. Once finished I gave it a bit of a tidy and a coat of paint and clear lacquer.
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| Area that will take the glue was masked out prior to painting |
Setting up and gluing onto the front rail, just needs patience but another pair of hands would have helped!.
I added some trim to the leading edge just to finish off.
Carburettor Issues
I have a reoccurring issue with one of the carbs, even after stripping, cleaning and resetting the floats it is still leaking fuel when the engine isn't running. Got to take it for repair, I'm out of ideas.
DVLA Registration
I naively thought that once the IVA test was done, it was easy. Well silly me. Registration requires numerous forms and support documentation, thanks goes to Mark at Westfield for invaluable guidance.
Next Jobs
- Finish Hood
- Fit luggage rack
- Fit remaining badges
- Fit bonnet handle
- Fit steering wheel
- Refit Carb
Friday 5 March 2021
IVA Results March 2021
5th March 2021
Nice to be able to drive the car (even if it was freezing this morning) more than just on and off the drive. a 55 mile roundtrip to the test centre and other than running rich all good.
The IVA staff were very helpful and I only had one failure due to brake balance. Rear brakes locking up too quickly. Everything else was ok. To rectify I'm going to fit a proportioning valve allowing me to adjust the break fluid pressure to the rear brake circuit. It will mean taking out the fuel tank but no biggy.
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| Brake Bias Valve |
Got the tank out and fitted the proportioning valve into the rear brake circuit up near the master cylinder. Scariest thing was carefully re-bending the existing pipework to a new route to allow for the valve.
16th March 2021
Retested at the DVLA centre today, good new is it passed!!! The proportioning valve did the trick
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Thursday 25 February 2021
Update Feb 25th 2021
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Gearbox issue
It was really nice to drive the car out the garage, however on the test drive it seemed that I had a fault in the gearbox, 2nd gear would not engage when changing from 1st or 3rd. Pulling way in 2nd gear didn't sound "good".
After several hours messing with the gear selector and gear selector rod unfortunately it seemed that it really was a fault in the gearbox.
With the car so close to being finished not what I wanted!!! Engine out time!!!!!
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| Engine and gearbox out |
Once the engine was out I did notice a small leak from the flywheel seal, a new seal has been fitted, sort of made me feel a bit better about having to take the engine out. It would have needed to come out at some point in order to fix the leak.
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| Oil from flywheel seal visible in the gearbox case. |
The problem in the gearbox has been fixed, it needed adjustment to the 1st/2nd gear layshaft and reverse gear.
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| Happy gearbox ready to refit |
Engine & gearbox back in the car, quick test drive and 2nd gear now works 😅
IVA Prep
I have gone through my check list of all things relating to the IVA test. Below are a few photographs of the items where the edges need to be "softened".
If anyone wants my check list then let me know, it may not be complete but its a good start
Car overview ready for IVA
I think I have the car ready for IVA, fingers crossed. Booked in for first week of March, just need a dry day!!
Once through the IVA there is still a few jobs to do.
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| Steering will is for IVA only it will be replaced! |
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