Okrasa Special

[Rich's 50]

[kiwisteve]

i'm obviously not going nearly far enough with the drilling….

[kiwisteve]

Good progress this month. a few giggles mocking the mounting of the twin superchargers for motor number 2…

Then more serious mocking up to ensure the Solex P11's don't foul the roll cage support for motor number 1…

Then motor out (thanks to Ian and Alex for the heavy lifting…) to see what an NOS Okrasa engine looks like…

And yes, it needs to come out the back window as the flat floor and chassis rails mean it can't come out underneath!

Pretty uninspiring as it turns out but look at the flywheel lightening, beautifully done and again evidence of the racer/engineering intent of the original builder…

Here's the motor we're chasing. Darrell Vittone's 170hp fixed pedestal Okrasa motor - more technology than we're allowed for historic racing but an inspirational motor nonetheless…

Speaking of inspiration, a recent visit to Prototyp museum provided an idea for cooling vents from the Auto Union cars, fortunately the replica's were built by the same guys doing the bodywork on the Special, so they still have the tooling from the first job!

Because of the Karmann Ghia roof we're able to use the original KG glass as templates for the Plexiglas except for the front windscreen which is a new one, which makes it a whole lot easier to draw up the shape of the windows. It's about the only time the roof has provided an advantage in the build - in every other element of the design it's been a complete pain in the arse. Here's original glass being used to mock up the vent holes…

I noticed the wheels on the RS61 when we visited the Porsche museum last month had an additional set of ventilation holes drilled in the hub (apologies for the rubbish photo, snapped in haste as it was being loaded on a transporter …

So… following the factory I did the same thing to the drums…

We've now taken almost a kilo from each brake drum assembly, which is a massive amount for rotating unsprung weight.

This weekend we have an 'Okrasa Special workshop day' with a host of mates and partners coming over, more soon…

[bally]

Looking good Steve. It's nice to see some progress and the details of what you're doing. Cheers. Dave

[mandraks]

good to see an update, just realized how long i have been watching this thread
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regards

Uli

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'53 3-Fold Oval, L35 Metallic Blue, looking for a narrow hatch panel

[kiwisteve]

Groan! shows how long it is taking me to build and finish the damn thing! thanks for your patience - feels like we're making good progress finally….

[tisius]

Looks awesome!!!!

My conclusion at this point....you have a drill bit fetish
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drive it like you just robbed the bank
you don't have to be crazy to be into VW's, but it sure helps!!
.... if it ain't dutch, it ain't much!

[kiwisteve]

So good progress on the Okrasa Special despite a few things having got in the way recently: fettling other cars, hill climbing the 356 at Chateau Impney in England...

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And in a moment of sheer madness almost buying another special, this time the completely knackered Nathan-Costin…

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Thankfully the cabin was too small for me and the bidding went beyond my budget to three times its estimate at £90k

There have been two big milestones recently. The first was the chassis going to Ian Clark's to wait patiently second in the queue while he finished the mechanical restoration of a RHD preA.

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So the car is now up on axle stands with Ian going through each and every component to ensure it's up to the rigours of racing. First job was to strip the brakes. Ian managed to find a NOS master and slave cylinder rebuild kit even though everything looked fine. He also found a period catch tank…

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He also located a few other bits and bobs:

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And I've not been idle either. Firstly I got the 'seats' trimmed

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Painted and assembled the lights

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Sand blasted and put primer on the rims

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Sorted the fuel filler cap as it was the only thing I wasn't happy with from Andy Robinson's, his looking too modern with a new cap, neck and lock. I've used a modified 356C filler neck…

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I've also been experimenting with titanium to replace bolts and small components. I've found a supplier of grade 5 aircraft standard Ti and Nick Wright engineering has been machining everything. This guy is seriously good - does a lot of motorcycle racing and historic motor racing fabrication for the big boys but keeps a low profile as he doesn't need to advertise. Here's the wheel spacers and castle nuts now in Ti….

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I also made templates of all the KG glass and sent them off to Plastics4Performance to replicate in Plexiglas. They even had the original logos which they etched into the windows. Here's me bending the Plexiglas to fit, the old school way with clamps and heat gun:

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Out of sequence but I also finished the brakes, drilling, deburring, and painting the back plates once the GT scoops had been installed by Nick W.

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And then finally last month we moved a step closer by taking the buck down to Gary and Vic at Mouland and Yates. It's such a pleasure working with these guys. They love the car, are enthusiastic about the project, are easy to work with and never short of a smile, and have decades of experience which will no doubt prove useful when it comes to solving the inevitable myriad of problems.

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We will take the chassis to them 27 Jan and then Vic will be full-time on the car, so I expect we'll see some major progress on the bodywork which will be very exciting, plus Ian is getting stuck into the first of the two engines (the naturally aspirated one).

My new years resolution is to update this thread more regularly than I have AND to finish the car this year! Merry Christmas and a happy new year everyone

[JWDII]

A Work of art in the making! Thanks for the updates!
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this space for rent.

[mandraks]

[SwappedGhia]

amazing work
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1971 Ghia swapped Ford 2.3

[kiwisteve]

We're now tickling along nicely with the mechanical refurbishment of the car. If this was driving we'ed be at 3,500rpm in top on a sunny day out

So first up, the front suspension and brake assembly:

What's fabulous is to see all the thought, effort, time and money now coming together in a completed car. Here Ian has finished assembling the front end with new Koni adjustable shocks, and spanner checked everything before installing new flexible lines. All the original rigid lines were perfect. Ian coated everything with a liberal dash of WD40 to clean everything and also lubricate and protect it. Next was the rear suspension and brakes...

Note Ian has also removed the side panel to check removal of the gearbox so you get a sense of how the chassis is constructed. It's pretty rigid! Next is a detail shot of the rear brakes, again notice how much material we've removed from the various components to reduce weight and promote airflow through the brakes... Notice also the lovely titanium castle nuts

The only concession to modern components that we've made is to fit a modern lightweight starter motor in the interests of reliability and weight reduction. Painting it black at least hides it a bit but I'm not sure it will remain. We might have to revert to the original and find the 6kg weight saving elsewhere!

Ian has reassembled the rear suspension to make sure it's all screwed together properly - this is the last build before we start shakedown testing and driving the car on the road for assessment.

Last up is a couple of moody shots of the car in Ian's workshop. Next update in a week when the motor is installed and the car ready to fire up. Ian is also planning to complete a mock up of the twin Shorrock superchargers to confirm the installation/ set up, then we're trailering it to Mouland & Yates Friday....

[overrestored]

here's some more inspiration...

(when done on lightweight bicycles... this is called "drillium" Search "drillium" on the net for more shots)


Eric Meyer

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some cars
some bicycles
some old skateboards
One cool crazy cat
a yard full of fruit trees
26 chairs for some reason
a crapload of old shoes
a lot of books on history of the Mexican Ranchos
200+ kamax bolts... stacked in rows

[overrestored]

bit more...

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some cars
some bicycles
some old skateboards
One cool crazy cat
a yard full of fruit trees
26 chairs for some reason
a crapload of old shoes
a lot of books on history of the Mexican Ranchos
200+ kamax bolts... stacked in rows

[JWDII]

Beautiful!!
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this space for rent.

[kiwisteve]

thanks Eric. I'd seen a couple of those photos before but I'm not brave enough to go that far!

[kiwisteve]

Well a momentous week: a running car and finally delivered for coachwork. Approximately six decades after first being built it's finally getting dressed!

But first a few photos of Mr Clarks handiwork. The first is a simply beautiful shot of the early Okrasa TSV1300 motor in all its glory. I just love the simplicity and symmetry of these motors. A huge thanks to Ian who has done three straight weeks without a break to get the car ready for M&Y. Thanks Ian.

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For the observant who wonder, the metal loop between the magneto and generator pedestal is for lifting the motor out the back window....

Ian has gone to great lengths to ensure everything on the car is period correct for the 1950's: all the hoses, fittings, and components, right down to using correct nuts, bolts and washers are as they would've been in period.

Next is just a couple of fun shots of the blower mocked up to run one either side of the engine. There is a serious purpose to this though: we needed to know the set up was going to work in the car. Here Ian has laid up the blower to ensure there is physically enough space, that it lines up with the crank pulley, that we can get the blowers nice and low, and to check how mounting of them will work. We've landed on a steel cradle which will have to be bolted to the chassis as the two blowers weigh quite a bit. The motor is solid mounted so this set up should provide the rigidity we need to avoid constantly throwing belts.

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The twin SU's will be mounted at an angle as per the photos to give a better angle to the port as well as putting the inlet directly in the airflow to ensure the air is as cold as possible.

Right, onto the main event of the week, delivering the car to Mouland and Yates. Vic is going to be building the car: a lovely chap (that's him on the far left of the photo chatting to Ian) who like his partner Gary has only ever worked on metal.... With a lifetime of experience I feel extremely comfortable the car is in good hands. There outfit is unbelievable - just look at the machinery in the photo of the car as unloaded. In the photo you'll also see the box with 'lights' written on it - we took every single component with us so Vic could begin to visualise some of the details:

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We bolted up the buck made by 3D Engineers four years ago and stepped back to look at the little car. It looked good! There's a purpose and purity to the design which should really make it stand out.

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Vic's first observation was that the very detailed and painstakingly researched 2,000 word specification I'd written up last year was going to result in a very fussy and horribly expensive car! In that polite but firm way good people gently guide a novice Vic and Gary explained how the car was simply beautiful proportioned as it was (thanks Barry and Al!) so didn't need a host of grills, vents, creases, and details I had specified. They also highlighted that this was where vast amounts of time gets sunk.

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What we agreed was the they would build the car without any of the details and Ian and I would then start driving and racing it. If it needs something then we'll bring the car back for the modification. That way the car only gets what it needs and nothing superfluous, but it also evolves as all race cars do. I love old unrestored cars that show the passage of time and evolution that inevitably occurred: thinking evolved, original ideas didn't work, things broke, parts overheated or things proved ineffective. Because we're not painting the car this approach works really well and also shortens the build time (and cost!).

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The final shot is a lovely photo of one of the original boxes parts came in: I'd forgotten I had this, but we will have to put the Okrasa logo somewhere on the car - it reminds me (and may very well be inspired by) the Pegasus logo:

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Although sign-writing is some way off (!) it's always good to be thinking and planning these things. The next instalment will be in couple of months - Vic warned me that the car will very quickly look like it's almost complete but that's false. As Barry highlighted, it will be all the things you can't see that will take the time...

[DDub]

That logo would look good on the front of a T shirt, either big or over the pocket.

[bally]

Just caught up on the last 7 months of updates Steve - what great progress - you must be stoked!

Cheers,

Dave

[vwovalguy]

Not sure if this was posted? I was looking through some of my literature and saw this picture. Not sure what it says though.