Nice work. Very nice indeed.

Here are a couple of update pics for the time being, I'm concentrating on the move for the and the cab is stuffed full of parts/tools ready!

Chargecooler pump is a bosch one and is said to be very quiet and efficient, I think it's the same one as used in the Ford Focus RS. It fits with plenty of space under the back seat. Luckily the 16mm heater hose just stretched over the pipe fittings (which are 17mm on the chargecooelr and 19mm on the pump) with the heat gun and a bit of lubrication.
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/cabri...ler_pump_1.jpg

I made a small stand for the pump which is bonded on to the floor, depending on how noisey it turns out to be I may wrap some rubber around the pump for better isolation.
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/cabri...ler_pump_2.jpg

Ground level view shows that there is a decent direct flow area available for the radiator.
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/cabrio/rad_intake.jpg

Roof and interior loosely fitted for the house move. The outer roof will get replaced by a nice mohair one later on..
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/cabrio/body_roof_1.jpg

Just the running boards and front air dam to finish off the look...
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/cabrio/body_roof_2.jpg

Beauty, good luck with the move.

Jason

yeah, good luck with the move Rik. Can't wait to see her finished.

Can recommend Steve Hudson for the roof. He's just fitted a new Sonnenland top to the 55.

Any idea how much Steve charges and where he's based? I'll probably do it myself in the end as I want the satisfaction of having done everything on my own other than the sewing ;)

He's in Stanmore, Middlesex.

Labour cost around £2k but I think an older car is more labour intensive so may cost you less.

The workshop/garage will develop over time but I've got it into a state I can use it now...

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/misc/garage_1.jpg
The bug's new home and my new workshop! Finally got a double garage... I have lost a lot of alternate storage though so I've had a bit of a clearout. All walls and floors have been painted, I've welded up a frame to mount the compressor up on the walls and made a new workbench.

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/misc/garage_2.jpg
Sandblasting cabinet has a new set of wheels to make best use of space.

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/misc/garage_3.jpg
You can see the compressor mounted up out of the way. Also, I've put up some hooks so I can hang a tarpualin down the middle to protect the car when I'm grinding etc etc

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/misc/stores.jpg
I bought a couple of 7'x4' bike stores for outside storage, the drive isn't really full double width so it's no big loss of space.

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/misc/garage_lintel.jpg
I'm pondering over whether to get a single full width roller shutter door or not as it would be fairly pricey. I'm also not sure whether I'd have to replace this wooden lintel, it's full width and 4" x 8". Can anybody advise? Could I bolt on some metal strengtheners and leave it in place?

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet garage! living the dream ricola hehe

You would need a structural engineers report to get a building warrant to be allowed to touch that beam.

The wood beam is supported by the load bearing pillar in the middle. If you remove the centre pillar, then beam would need to be much stronger to cover the full width unsupported (probably a steel RSJ). The engineer would also have to approve the brickwork at each end (now supporting the whole lot). You would probably need a proper set of plans to submit to the Building Control Officer. Could be looking at up to £1K to get plans, structural engineers report and building warrent.

Then you need to pay for the RSJ (probably), double door and builder.

Hi Rich,

The timber beam will not span the full width and take the pitched roof load. As Bruce said you will need a steel beam. I guess that the overall width would be ~4.5m (15ft). You do need an engineer to calc the beam(s) but to give you an idea mine over the same span were a pair of 230x90PFC back to back but that was to carry some cavity brickwork above. You don't have to consult Building Control as technically the structure is not a habitable space and the regs only apply to that. (It's not a workshops is it!?) (winks) The bearing at each end will be OK in a minimum of 2 courses of blue engineering brickwork.
I wouldn't use a roller shutter as the shutter box will be around 400mm dia that will compromise headroom. I would use an industrial sectional overhead door that will be insulated, look good and more importantly be QUIET (roller shutters are noisy in the wind). If you need an engineer for the beam calc PM me and I will send you a contact. He will be able to spec something remotely (he does it all the time for me).
Getting rid of the central pillar will be worthwhile and the only reason you've got two doors is that the house builder was looking after the pennies and sod the occupier.
As an aside, I hope the compressor was not solely supported on the 1/2B wall and that you've got legs down to the floor? The vibration will damage the wall over time especially if its the sole structure.
Are you still in Leamington?

Clive

Cheers guys, I'm still thinking about it but am not going to rush into it, I'll see how I get on, maybe insulate the edges and go from there. I'd definitely prefer it so I could drive straight into the middle but the bug isn't exactly a wide car. The width is about 4750mm between the brickwork..

At the moment the compressor is mounted on rubber bushes off the frame with several anchor bolts into the wall, I will be adding extra braces but for the moment it's just to get it out of the way and not being used, I will want to build some sort of sound insulation box with forced cooling so that's another job!

Slightly sidetracked but not for long, just bought myself a more interesting daily driver!

1998 Carrera 2
Factory fitted aero kit
18" turbo twist alloys
Porsche sports exhaust
Maual 6 speed trans.

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/misc/996_1.jpg

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/misc/996_2.jpg

http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/misc/996_3.jpg

Cool car, now put the steeringwheel on the left and it's perfect:D

Time to get back to the bug!
This was the whole loom out of the subaru before I started removing bits...
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/cabrio/wiring_1.jpg

..and now stripped down to the bare essentials! I plan to work out placement of it all in the bug now and then get the soldering iron out to start the shortening process...
http://www.ricola.co.uk/images/cabrio/wiring_2.jpg

WOW I know how much I hate wiring... So good luck :P

Chris.