costin Costin Walker F3/F4/FJ Imp Rebuild

[Mark (smokey mow)]

I wheeled the car out of the garage today to give myself better access to fit the clutch line so whilst it was out in the sun I took the chance to get a few photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

I’ll begin this update with an apology, I didn’t think I’d done as much over the last few months as I have and yet I’ve failed to keep this thread updated.

 

I’d been waiting on some parts from the powdercoaters, which to be fair to them they turned around pretty quickly, it was more to do with the fact it took me a few weeks to find a day to drop them off.

 

I then had a big order to send to the platers. but waited until I was absolutely sure it was everything.

 

While this was going on I was doing a few jobs here and there to keep things moving forward. Then today I took a step back and realised the last time I updated this build thread the car didn’t have any suspension fitted.

 

So here’s a catch up of where I’m up to….

 

 

Front suspension 

 

 

Rear suspension 

 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

The next part is the wing linkage. MSUK have been pretty clear that I won’t be allowed to run with an adjustable aerofoil and having it fitted to the roll hoop is also a big no from them but regardless of this the car had one fitted when on the stand at the 1969 Racing Car Show so I wanted to recreate the part for shows.

 

The original parts have been lost in time other than the mounting bracket on the back stay but luckily the Pathe film shows it’s operation clearly enough for me to recreate the linkage and I have Costin’s geometry plots for the wing. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Last update of the year.

 

progress has slowed a bit recently as a change of career and the cold weather has meant I’ve not made it out to the workshop quite so often.

 

I was fortunate to source a set of the correct Dunlop CR65 Tyres in the right size second hand, they’ve got some age to them and probably not ideal for serious racing but at 1/10th the price of a new set they’ll be fine for setting up the geometry and getting everything rolling and pointing in the right direction.

 

For now I’ve put these onto a set of minilites till I work out what to do with the JA Pearce Magna’s.

 

 

 

with the car now at a rolling stage and with not much more to bolt on other than the bodywork I decided to give e it a weigh, 105kg on the front axle, 140kg on the rear giving a dry weight of 245kg and 57/43% across the axles.

 

over Christmas I hope to get the firewall in and the fuel system finished I still need to fit the pump and filter, as well as terminate all the electrics at the rear.

 

There might be a pause after that as the final job I’ve been putting off for a long while is the bodywork. I’ve started stripping back the layers of filler and paint revealing it’s original gold colours from the Racing Car Show.

 

 

There’s also a lot of damage that needs repairing, so I need to find somewhere experienced with aluminium bodywork and probably also wheeling.

Before that can happen though I also need to buy a bigger trailer that the car will fit on.

A couple of pictures to finish

 

 

 

 

[Gary Taylor]

I don’t know how close ( or not) but Martin Batho ( Batho Sportscars ) does some lovely hand crafted aluminium panels / wheeling

love the updates and the progress , thanks for sharing 👍

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Over the Christmas break I found some time between eating turkey to start a few of the smaller jobs.

 

Although MSUK regulations don’t allow me to run with the moveable aerofoil I nevertheless wanted to make a small section that could be used to demonstrate its operation when displaying the car.

 

I’d had sone laser cut profiles made so these were welded up painted and then skinned in aluminium.

 

 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Since fitting it I’d not been entirely happy with the routing of the gearbox breather hose so I picked up a couple of different fittings that allowed me to shorten it.

 

before

 

after

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

The final job was fitting the fuel system which again was one of those tasks I ended up doing twice.

 

as it was such a short run I from the filter to the pump I’d originally run it all in flexible hose. whist this was probably the cheapest and easiest way to do it, I wasn’t happy with the overall look and I had concerns about using rubber hose next to the driveshaft doughnut should one let go and tear the fuel line.

 

This was the first cheep and easy attempt.

 

And then the expensive way.

 

 

 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

I’ve not forgotten about this, it’s just there’s not much visible progress to show.

 

I’ve reached the point of the engine bay wiring so other than crimping on lots of terminals and taping wires to various tubes to get the best route there’s nothing very exciting to look at and from a fleeting glance little change.

I made up a small section of aluminium panel to mount the master switch so I could hold it in the right position to get cable lengths. The lower body will eventually need to be remade.

 

 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Im still moving forward with little jobs here and there while I try to find someone that can sort the bodywork for a reasonable cost.

 

I needed a small spacer today to support a P-clip so turned this on the lathe and then milled the sides square so it would fit the existing bracket.

 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

At the start of the year I also bought a new trailer as I knew the Costin wouldn’t fit my old one. The access to my drive is quite tight which precludes using conventional car transporters unless I unhitch and then manually push it it. Fine if it’s empty but not so easy when fully loaded.

 

I came across a small twin axle flatbed with the wheels under the bed but just needed to make a bar for the front to act as a wheel stop and to replace the headboard.

[Mark (smokey mow)]

After leaving the trailer sitting in the garden for the last 6-months, today I thought I’d better check the Costin actually fitted since I’ve got a car show coming up in a couple of weeks time.

 

Also a good chance to give it a clean and take a few photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Not much luck finding someone who can take on the bodywork repairs for a reasonable cost so I picked up this a couple of days ago.

 

 

it’s going to be fun winter of learning 

[Nic Chase (NICO) - Shropshire & Mid-Wales AO]

This should be good 😉

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Oh my wordy! Looking forward to this!!