27-01-2023, 01:29 AM
Here is the result of a bit of dreaming to pass a dreary rainy day.
With judicious cutting of a strip 120 mm high around the body of a Ruby, a low profile Ruby coupe shown in the photo could be obtained relatively easily. The positioning of the cut, shown in the other photo is determined by finding areas of the body where the upper and lower sections will mate together fairly closely, minimising the amount of surgery and panelbeating.
The height of the strip, 120 mm, corresponds to the amount that the front seats can be lowered by removing the plinth that they sit on and bolting them to the floor (with appropriate stiffening pads under). There's no simple way to lower the rear seat, so the upholstery would be removed and a parcel shelf created. Hence the Ruby becomes a coupe.
The dashboard would remain unchanged. The steering column would have to be angled down a little.
I would change all windows except the windscreen to acrylic and remove the winder mechanisms to save weight. As it is no longer a saloon, the rear side windows can be fixed in place. The front windows can be converted to simply being raised and lowered with a strap.
To suit my preference for appearance, I would make the crank handle removable and cut away some of the mudguard sides. I would exchange the rear number plate lamp for lower profile chromed lights each side of the number plate.
A smaller radiator would be required. Experience with my Ruby using the 4-bladed fan indicates that losing 120 mm height from the radiator is unlikely to be a problem. It could be dropped 20 mm and then only require a 100 mm height reduction.
The battery could be moved to the passenger side a dropped a little into the passenger foot-well.
The small weight reduction and the lower profile would give slightly better speed and cornering.
With judicious cutting of a strip 120 mm high around the body of a Ruby, a low profile Ruby coupe shown in the photo could be obtained relatively easily. The positioning of the cut, shown in the other photo is determined by finding areas of the body where the upper and lower sections will mate together fairly closely, minimising the amount of surgery and panelbeating.
The height of the strip, 120 mm, corresponds to the amount that the front seats can be lowered by removing the plinth that they sit on and bolting them to the floor (with appropriate stiffening pads under). There's no simple way to lower the rear seat, so the upholstery would be removed and a parcel shelf created. Hence the Ruby becomes a coupe.
The dashboard would remain unchanged. The steering column would have to be angled down a little.
I would change all windows except the windscreen to acrylic and remove the winder mechanisms to save weight. As it is no longer a saloon, the rear side windows can be fixed in place. The front windows can be converted to simply being raised and lowered with a strap.
To suit my preference for appearance, I would make the crank handle removable and cut away some of the mudguard sides. I would exchange the rear number plate lamp for lower profile chromed lights each side of the number plate.
A smaller radiator would be required. Experience with my Ruby using the 4-bladed fan indicates that losing 120 mm height from the radiator is unlikely to be a problem. It could be dropped 20 mm and then only require a 100 mm height reduction.
The battery could be moved to the passenger side a dropped a little into the passenger foot-well.
The small weight reduction and the lower profile would give slightly better speed and cornering.
