Building on Lotus 7 principles

[Iain Hall]

For tear 002 and 003 I have taken commercially available trailer guards and by using one extra one as a source of correctly curved sheet metal extended each of them by 10 inches this makes them the needed half circle of coverage

Image Description
The next step here is to make a piece that properly covers the "inside" and to do this I have an old steel door that will be cut up and the plug welded to the guard's inside flange


Today's assignment is to make a square steel frames for the windows that go in the doors and the walls and to relocate a couple of noggins in the roof frame to suit the vent that I have decided to use, relocate the tube that the rear hatch closes against ect ect I want to get the frame welding finished so I can move onto fitting the floor and starting on the lining and the fun part which will be the fit out

[Iain Hall]

Managed to make four and fit three of the window frames to my Tear
It may seem strange to have square frames for round windows but as the glazing will be embedded in the walls it will work out fine

The first frame in place
Then I clamped a couple of pieces of tube to the frame to ensure that my windows would line up

the door frame


and the side view which looks good to me even with square window frames!

[Iain Hall]

I have finally started playing with wood, something that usually gets folk around here quite excited

first though I fitted tyres to my freshly painted rims and fitted those to the tear along with the Guards that have had undercoat and one coat of black

I have also attached the floor now after giving the bottom of the 12mm ply two coats of Gloss acrylic paint I attached it to the frame with several hundred screws (one every 4 inches!) I have used a piece of ply as backing for some PVC sheet that I scored on the Galley bulkhead
for the sides of the cabin I am using pine lining boards which do not work out to be that much more expensive than good quality ply but they look really swish in my opinion and even more so once I have stained them.
The door will have an inner skin of thin ply so I can get away with using the lining boards to form the lip around the door opening At this point of time the boards are not yet glued to the steel frame because I am not going to do that until
i have routed out the round openings for the side windows



i have

[Iain Hall]

Just a simple update as I work through doing the interior like this picture which shows how I used the router to make the round openings for my windows

and the finished result looks great!

[Iain Hall]

Have been busy with life but I have still managed to plug away at fitting out the teardrop focusing on the the entertainment center and the internal cupboard which I am make out of pine because it just looks so nice and it will match the lining boards I have already used on the side walls.
The shelves in this picture are about 8 inches wide
My brother came around and helped me make the box that the TV will be mounted in because I want a "retro" looking interior which is why I rounded the corners of the opening rather than having then with crisp square corners naturally enough my brother insisted on being on TV!

Below the TV i have a car stereo/ CD player to provide music also I was very please to find these "atomic" grills that are meant for use on computer fans. The openings they cover are in a small box like space that allows the sound form the bottom of the screen speakers on the TV to be heard
http://tnttt.com/gallery/image.php?mode=medium&album_id=4384&image_id=144910
there are two pieces of wood that go on each side of the radio that fit on top of the bottom shelf and a piece of wood that slides under the top shelf which attaches with screws so the box can be removed if ever I have to replace the TV


Two doors made out of the same pine boards as the lining complete the cupboard but I do think that it needs a middle shelf to finish it off and to make the space much more usable

[MadMango]

Moving right along, love those speaker grills!

[S. Heisley]

It seems that you're listening to the beat of your own drummer on your build. It's looking good, too!

I laughed when I saw this picture:

[Iain Hall]

Moving right along, love those speaker grills!

Just search computer fan grills on eBay and they have a number of different designs for only a couple of bucks each really good value for a nice bit of style

[Iain Hall]

It seems that you're listening to the beat of your own drummer on your build. It's looking good, too!

I laughed when I saw this picture:

That is my brother who has been very helpful at times on this project but I have always been willing to put my own spin on the things that I make.

[Iain Hall]

Thinking the thin ply would not be strong enough at the head of the bed I used short pieces of the lining boards first gluing the tongues into the groves with wood glue and then after fixing some light stainless to the floor with screws I used Sikaflex building adhesive to glue them to the steel spar because the bottom will not be seen under the mattress I put a single screw into each board to hold them in place while the glue set.



By strategically placing my stainless angle I have manged to get nearly an inch more length for the bed


screws were all cut off to stop them fouling the yet to be fitted outer skin

[Iain Hall]

Every kitchen needs its sink and I got this one by buying a double sink off eBay for $25 and then carefully cutting out the smaller bowl Then I drew around it with a sharpie then drawing a second line inside the first to account for the flange


To cut a hole in the stainless topped bench I had to first cut through the metal with a cutting wheel on my grinder and then use a chisel to remove the metal and then I used my jigsaw to cut through the ply underneath, a bit of finessing with a grinder ensures a perfect fit The bowl will be attached with silicone and the bowl will be weighted while the silicone cures. In the picture is also the spigot I intend to use which will be placed so that it can either be over the bowel or over the edge of the bench to fill a pot or kettle that won't fit in the bowl.

The Car battery that I have here will power the LED lights my radio and my TV. I am well aware that a car battery is not ideal but it is what I have, its in good order and it will do for now. My plan is to make two cupboards under the bench the one where the battery sits will also have a pump for water and other electrical stuff like a battery charger and a 240 volt input for shore power

[Iain Hall]

This should give a good idea of how my Galley layout is evolving The area behind the sink is going to hold my plates and bowls on the shelf above the flatware drawers there will be another shelf at the level of the 20x20 cross bar and this area will be for cups and drinking glasses. The plan is to have two more shelves in the area between the stove and this "hutch" which can be used for storing dry goods, rice, tea, sugar and spices, there will be a space behind the stove which will be good for pots and pans and a further shelf above that for more dry goods.
There will also be a bit more pantry space below the counter between the utilities cupboard and the cooler


I am very pleased with the way that the sink has turned out it really looks the part and I am sure that it will do the job perfectly well likewise I am well pleased with the stainless trays that I scored form my brother's scrap pile they should be perfect for cutlery and kitchen tools I am as yet undecided if i will add wooden fronts to them whcih would make them look more rustic

The boards really finish off the stove end of the gallery very nicely and they will look even better once they have been stained and varnished like the rest of the lining

[Iain Hall]

The plan is to have all of my plates and bowls fit in the lower section and cups and Glasses on the upper shelf

Don't my little drawers look good now they have knobs on them?

I picked this little Brass panel up at a swap meet for a couple of bucks t serves absolutely no practical purpose but I like it anyway

The clamps here are holding a wooden scabbard for my kitchen knife that I have glued onto the side of the hutch

[MadMango]

Looking good! The fun thing is, after one or two camping trips you will find a purpose for that brass item!

[Iain Hall]

Looking good! The fun thing is, after one or two camping trips you will find a purpose for that brass item!

I already have a couple of ideas and my wife picked me up a "Camping guide for New South Wales" as an encouragement to actually use the thing! So I will have no excuse.