Sports bodies for a special or replica or travesty (depending on your point of view)

[David.H]

There is a company called  MARTRIM (Sandbach) trim@martrim.co.uk  who sell Vynide (Vinide) /Rexine in a good range of colours. May be worth a look....A Z Magnette owner re-trimmed his door cards with it & it looked super. They claim it is "not stretchy!"

[Ian Williams]

The product most similar to the prewar rexine used by Austin is called Arbetex available from J Hewitt and sons. Sadly at present it is only made in thin grades which are perfect for door trims and on the rear of seats, the graining and weight is almost identical to original samples in my collection. However although it would look right it is not really heavy enough for use on the front of the seats and squabs where Rexine was used in Chummys etc. I know Ruairidh has been experimenting with it's waterproof qualities and durability on a luggage trunk with a view to then using it to cover fabric body's, any feedback to date Rory?

[Chris KC]

Thought I said this yesterday but I must have pressed the wrong button - I had some black 'Rexine' off David Nightingale which made a smart job of my Ulster interior trim (side panels and bulkhead). I'm not sure how close it is to the original product but it certainly looks better than PVC leathercloth.

[JonE]

Thought I said this yesterday but I must have pressed the wrong button - I had some black 'Rexine' off David Nightingale which made a smart job of my Ulster interior trim (side panels and bulkhead). I'm not sure how close it is to the original product but it certainly looks better than PVC leathercloth.

be interesting to see a pic of an offcut if you have one? Was it pricey? This Bentley exterior stuff was quite thick with its white underlay and coated top.

[Chris KC]

I'm pretty sure I must have a scrap left over if you'd like a 'swatch' Jon. I'm at Beaulieu overnight but will have a look when I get home tomorrow. Not too expensive.

[Jamie]

A........ With my latest special, covered on another thread here, I have addressed these points, one thing that really helps is lengthening the steering column, I have found an easy way of doing this by combining parts of a Big seven and Ruby steering column.

Good morning.

I was wondering, Ian, whether you might be able to elaborate on this or whether anyone else has suggestions on how to lengthen the column. Although I am a way off from building it, I am planning my special and one thing that it would need is either a lengthened column or the box moving backwards and the drag link being extended.

I should be interested in ways in which people have achieved this.

Jamie.

[Mark McKibbin]

Hi Jamie,

I have just finished lengthening my Ruby steering column by about 4.5".  I had a spare Ruby steering column so cut the inners to give me the length I needed, turned up a sleeve/joiner and welded it together.  I did it all in the lathe so it remained straight and just in case tapped in a couple of grub screws as a fall back if the welding was not up to scratch, the outer was butt welded.

I think when the steering column angle is reduced for a special, the centre of the steering is no longer in the centre so you may need to make a slightly shorter drag link to compensate especially on the Ruby box as they are designed to have very little play straight ahead, so you want the steering box in the straight ahead when the wheels are.

[Charles P]

I did a similar lengthening of a 1930 column but made a "tongue and fork" type of joint on the inner column before tig welding. I figured that this gave a good join length and if the weld failed the column could still turn. I also made a second joint from the spare length of left over column and attempted destructing testing (very, very strong) to prove the joint and weld approach.

Charles

[Phil Kingdom]

I moved my steering box back a few inches, because I had no other choice, the box is mounted on a wedge to lower the angle of the column and as a result the brake rod has to be altered and the drag link extended by turning down a length of solid bar to the correct diameter with the ends slightly smaller to fit inside the tube an inch into the tube, then welding and adding a pin at each end of the joint.

[Jamie]

Good evening.

Thank you for the replies about lengthening the column. It is good to hear that there are a few effective ways to achieve this. I shall keep an eye open for a Big 7 column and box, knowing that I can simply machine up an extension if I cannot find one.

Regards,

James.