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Here it is the substantial work involved in preparing the humble Skoda for
the might of a growling American V8!
At some point in the future this page will be subdivided further, time does
not permit at present though!
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This is the start of the project, a trip down to
Loughborogh to collect the Skoda that would form the basis for my mad
project! I wonder what the previous owner would have made of it if I told
her that her beloved little Skoda Estelle was going to be transformed in
to a V8 rocket!
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Here it is again, a lovely shot of the Penine Grey (pooh
brown!) standard Skoda before the transformation began.
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Whip the engine, gearbox and back axle out of the rear
of the Skoda and give them away and there is plenty of room for a Jaguar
V12 back axle!
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Here you can see another shot of the back axle. It looks to
me like it was made to go in the Skoda! I wonder why Skoda never thought
of that! |
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With the back axle in place the project is truly under way!
All I need to do now is figure out some way of securing the axle to the
Skoda chassis. |
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The Jaguar rear hubs sitting almost perfectly central in the
Skoda rear wheel arches. Looks like I wont even have to cut the arches! |
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Aha! Purchase one tube bender from Machine Mart, some tube
and angle from the local stockholder and we are away! The back of the rear
axle is now securely bolted through the angle section welded to the bent
tube. |
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Now, the Skoda wasn't designed for 800BHP so I better
consider bracing the rear chassis legs. A trusty bit of 2.5mm wall tube
should do the trick! |
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With the inside of the car stripped (well apart from the
nasty furry carpet backing that is glued to the body!) a couple of holes
are cut to enable the tube frame chassis to continue through the rear
bulkhead. |
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OK, now to brace the rear suspension struts a tube was
welded between them. You can also see the tubes that have been sent
through the holes created in the picture above............. |
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And here they come through the rear bulkhead and bend down
on to the rearmost chassis brace. |
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The same shot except this time from the rear. The blue rope
incidentally was to help me raise and fit the rear axle in the car single
handedly! |
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OK, I am getting in to this chassis building lark now, so I
immediately spot the potential for some more bracing! The tubes protruding
through the rear bulkhead are now diagonally braced to the rear axle
support tube. Looking Good! |
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In fact it looks so good I took another photo from the other
side. |
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And for good measure another one from under the car, you can
see hear more clearly the angle section that is used to bolt to the rear
axle. |
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Enough already! The rear diff in all its glory.......I think
those discs may need replacing and the whole lot cleaning up a little,
that's just cosmetics though! |
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To the inside! A roll hoop is bent up in a matter of minutes
and a few more later it is permanently fixed to the centre of the car. It
is welded to angle section at each bottom, which is in turn seam welded to
the inner sills. |
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Another shot of the roll hoop, this time to show that it is
also welded to the door pillars front and back. I dont think it is going
anywhere! |
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Tube bending is very therapeutic, so much so that I just
want to carry on! The centre hoop is now connected to the rear strut
brace, the strength is moving forwards......... |
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An identical (well as much as you can with non CNC
controlled gear and using your eye to match) tube was made for the other
side and welded in place. All the tubes were cut, bent, and welded in to
the car over the course of a weekend. Not bad considering I was on my own! |
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Now try as I might I couldn't get the Skoda wheels to sit on
the Jaguar hubs, a trip to the local American car breakers later and a
pair of 5 bolt wheels were sourced for £20. Now I know what you are
thinking......they are a bit too wide, but they are only temporary. |
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Now do I put flared arches on and ruin the stock look of the
Skoda, do I narrow the back axle, or do I get a pair of wheels with a more
appropriate back spacing? With a good 20cm clearance of the Chassis legs I
think some 12"x15" will fit with little effort. |
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I think they will stick out a little but not so much that I
need to modify the arches. It will all help with the 'sleeper' look. After
all with massive arches people might think twice at the lights! |
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ooooh oooh! The inlet manifold and carbs I ordered from the
states have arrived! This should help the breathing of the 1967 425 cubic
inch (7 litres!) Oldsmobile engine I have planned for this beast! |
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That is 2 600cfm Carter AFB competition carbs sitting on top
on an Edlebrock manifold. Yummy! Incidentally these items arrived at a
similar time to my fine from the DVLA......remember kiddies, if your car
is off the road declare it so with a SORN form! My mistake cost me
£25......nearly as much as the car!! |
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Now we all know that Skoda Estelles are rear engined......not
this baby! As you can see some of the floor at the front had to be removed
to make way for that thumping 425ci Oldsmobile lump |
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A view from the side showing the newly modified front end!
The removal of metal was not without incident......Several cuts and grazes
were encountered when chopping the front out with a jigsaw......mmmmmm
sharp edges!! |
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A view from inside the car showing how the central tunnel
section had to be removed to allow the gearbox to fit. Its a Turbo 350
automatic in case you are interested! |
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A lower shot showing how the bulkhead needed a small (?!)
hole cutting in it for the gearbox to pass through/sit in. It also shows a
mess of wiring round the steering column, but that is of no importance! |
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Thanks to my local garage for the crane........Here it is in
all its glory. OK so its just a bare block and a gearbox, but you get the
idea. 7 litres of Americas finest! |
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Somehow the poor Skoda looks dwarfed by that huge engine
gearbox combo. Looks like it will fit quite nicely though doesn't
it..........doesn't it???! |
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Wow the trial fit was a huge success! The engine sits snugly
in the newly formed engine bay. There are a couple of points that cause
clearance problems so the whole lot needs to come out to perform the
necessary metal manipulation. |
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OK with the engine out its time for some chassis rails to
mount the engine on. Tube benders rule! Oh and you can see for yourself
the minor cutting job! Note that the steering rack is missing (for the
observant!) It was in the way of the engine and box so had to come
out........it may not fit back in but I will have to asses that during
final fitting. |
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From inside it is very clear that there is now a big hole
where the floor used to be! This lets the gearbox sump hang below the car
and prevents any clearance problems! You can also see my lovely bendy
tubes that replace some of the strength lost from chopping the floor. |
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While I had my cutting head on I thought I may as well make
a bit of room for the sump! This involved cutting huge sections out of the
front subframe and the anti roll bar mounts. At some point in the future
this will be beefed back up again with some tubing. But for now lets throw
the engine back in.......only because it looks good! |
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Why Skoda never thought of this I will never know! It just
looks so right sitting there in the front. In fact it almost looks like it
was made to fit! |
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Some home made engine mounts look 'functional' they may be
replaced for nicer items in the future, but for now they appear to do
their job just fine! Its amazing the uses you find for junk in the garage,
backs up the theory you should never throw anything away! The engine
mounts used to belong on a Jag back subframe............ |
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Oooooh look! Dont know where I am going to put my feet, but
I will cross that bridge when I come to it! For now It just looks so
beautiful! Thats it then the engine and gearbox mounts are done it can now
come out and be rebuilt....... 800hp here we come! |
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OK I couldn't resist! I put one of the heads on and thought
that it looked pretty mean, so then.......... |
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I thought I wonder what it would look like with both the
heads on.........oooooooh nice. I wonder if I can find any more of the
bits in the garage............ |
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Some brand new shiny chrome plated rocker covers make it
start to look like its going to fire up! I cant wait to get the machining
done and frighten some of the local boy racers! |
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Hmmmm with the inlet manifold on you really start to get the
feel of the sheer size of this monster engine, the engine bay is filling
up rapidly! |
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Stick some carbs on top and there you have it. A 7 litre
Skoda is not just a mad dream! It is a reality and a reality people will
need to take note of sometime in the not too distant future! |
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From above you can see just how big the 'engine bay' of the
Skoda is. I wonder if I can get my hands on a Merlin! |
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From the side the car still looks like a standard Skoda.....
result! I think I will need a small power bulge in the bonnet fro the
carbs and air cleaner, but it will all be very subtle! The rear wheels
will be replaced too.....for wider ones! The skateboards are used as the
back axle is ceased on its rusty brakes by the way.......just makes it
mobile! |
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From the front it looks pretty standard too......if you see
this in your rear veiw mirror, be afraid........be very afr....too late I
have blown you away! |
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The engine is back out now, you can see the engine mounts
just waiting to be used in anger.....for the time being though I need to
think about finishing off the tube work chassis ready for the monster to
come alive! Watch this space! |
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In anticipation of very slight clearance problems with the
carbs I have been thinking long and hard about a bonnet scoop.......well
all day at work anyway! Inspiration struck, and from items in the garage,
suddenly a scoop appeared! |
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As you can see it looks quite purposeful, and only detracts
from the 'standard' look slightly. A bonnet scoop on a Skoda is more
likely to cause amusement than caution!!! |
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So you have seen it from 3 angles, so just what was it I
found in the garage to make a scoop from.........on old Halfords oil
container obviously! With some fibreglass reinforcement it will be just
the job! It might allow me to run a filter as well...... Bonus! |
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I thought it was about time to sit the car down on its
wheels. Luckily Skoda seem to have put their turrets in a very convenient
place if you want to stuff a jag axle in the back. mounting was therefore
a doddle! The car sits about 2" too low at the moment but that will
be easily rectified. I took the opportunity to free off the ceased brakes
too......it moves now! |
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I noticed the mounting of the rear axle was not sturdy
enough and the whole lot tended to want to rock back and forth. The
addition of some bracing (shiny metal!) Seems to have stopped that. I will
do a similar thing at the front when I get round to it! |
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The rear end in all its glory, the car is sitting on its
wheels in this picture for the first time. The rear lower axle bracing
that I have just made needs to be removable so you can get the back axle
in and out easily. This has meant incorporating some brackets to mount it
on which can clearly be seen. |
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OK, to the interior........A brace has been welded in to the
upper rear hoop sections which will strengthen it and enable me to put
some diagonals in. |
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The first diagonal in place, looks good if I do say so
myself! |
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OK, obviously the second diagonal needs to go in in 2
pieces, so here is the first. Looks strong enough to me! I have been
swinging on it all day as well to get in and out, and it copes with my
slight (19st) frame! |
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As if by magic, the second piece appears! The cage is
starting to look very purposeful now. But a slight oversight has seen me
run out of steel tube with a 4 day bank holiday upon us! Doh! |
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You will notice that the headlining has gone......slight
mishap there! Whilst welding the last diagonal piece in there was a little
fire! To put it out I had to rip and pull at the headlining so as to get
to the corrugated cardboard that was smoldering away underneath! Oh well I
didn't like it anyway! |
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Aaaah, the good old British weather! You can almost guarantee
that if you take a day off work to work on the car its going to rain! And
rain it did, all day! My rather elegant solution was to create an
undercover working area with a large tarpaulin I had lying around. More
elegant still would be to have space in the garage! |
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OK, rain aside......there is work to be done! The next job
to tackle is the transmission tunnel. A lot of strength will come from
this so I am going to use my thick wall tube to construct it. First off, a
brace from the front cross member in the passenger compartment to the
lower chassis rails. |
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And then a similar one for the other side. I say similar as
things are not exactly precise! There is only so much you can do with an
angle grinder and a tape measure! Oh for some CNC equipment! You will note
the rear seats residing in the engine bay, I should really chuck them as
this Skoda has no use for them! At this point I had sustained a nice burn
from the top of the left support.....see Injury
Corner! |
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Tie the two together with a cross member and things are
really taking shape. The rain is almost forgotten, and its full steam
ahead! |
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With one of the top tunnel bars in place its beginning to
look very 'meaty' in the passenger area........Cool! All that tube work
should help keep the chassis from bending under the strain of all that
Torque!! |
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An identical (ish) left hand tunnel top bar was now welded
in place. It sat a bit lower than the other one, but this was corrected
with a bit of brute force provided by a jack. Marvellous! |
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A view looking backwards along the tunnel top rails sees
them terminating just before the rear axle assembly. They are welded
firmly to the monocoque though and will be braced some time in the future.
Also in this picture you can see the bracing that has been added between
the front mounts for the Jag axle and the rear cross member, this should
help to firm things up a bit. |
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A better view of the brace, what would I do without a tube
bender!! You can also see in the foreground where the black sticky stuff
that covers the whole floor of the car has melted and dribbled around the
welding on the tunnel top rails. Evil stuff.........It catches fire quite
nicely too! |
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As if by magic a panel covering the mess at the back of the
passenger compartment appears! If only it was that quick to make! Since
this photo a few mods have been made to allow removal of the vertical
panel without interfering with any of the planned tubes. |
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Right, back to the front of the car, as the back is getting
rather boring! A bar was made to fit across the top of the windscreen and
was welded in place. I was going to put a straight tube there, but settled
for a went one as it looks pretty! Had a slight mishap though, too much
heat was applied in close proximity to the windscreen and it has cracked
in the top right hand corner........only about an inch though! |
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You will note that the original Skoda panel that spanned the
width of the car has gone, it will be replaced with some tube once I get
some seats and work out the mounting points. In the meantime, I know that
I need to reinforce the sills, so I get to play with the tube bender
again! This bar is welded directly to the front wheel arch, to the angle
under the roll bar hoop and to a vertical strut in the tunnel assembly. |
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From the passenger side you can see that things really are
taking shape now, and quite surprisingly it all looks reasonably neat and
tidy! I think you have to know me to understand that.............Well
after a long hard day, I am wet and sore and its time to pack up and get
cleaned (and patched!) up |
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So with the drivers side done, its time to move to the
passenger side, a strut was placed vertically between top and bottom rails
and welded in place. And look a welder, how exciting!! |
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A perfect fit! The passenger side floor thingymijig is in
place and looks like it was made to fit...........mainly because it was!
At first it was ever so slightly overbent, but a little tweak and the jobs
a good 'un! |
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The next logical strut was to go between the cross dash bar
and the recently introduced floor bar. Nice and straight, with no
particular dramas. Did I mention at no point have I done any design work?
It is all being built 'on the fly' and if it looks right its being welded
solid! Of course I have some idea about where things should go......but
not much! |
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This makes me proud! I have braced the Skodas door opening,
and I can still get in and out without having to contort myself into
unwelcome positions (or lose weight!). What is more, you cant see it from
outside, which is all important when I destroy the unsuspecting boy racer
brigade! |
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It looked a bit weedy (well as weedy as 42mm 2.5mm wall tube
can!) on its own, so some strategically placed braces were added, first at
the back.............. |
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Which you can see here, from the inside, is welded to the
the angle supporting the roll hoop. |
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.......and then at the front, which you will be pleased to
hear still doesn't cause any particular access problems. My only worry now
is whether I can get the seats in! As I have yet to get hold of any seats,
I will make damn sure they will fit! |
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From the inside, you can see just how meticulous I have been
with the design of the door bracing.........it is positioned such that the
standard Skoda handle can be used to close the door, and what is more you
can operate the window winder! OK, OK.........it was just luck! So tell
me, does it look like a race car yet? |
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And we all know, a race car needs a name! So based on the
Oldsmobile engined Skoda, we immediately get OldSkoda! At some stage I
hope to emblazon this down both sides of the vehicle.........but not until
I have had my fun with the locals. If any of you out there want to come up
with a better design, feel free to send it to me, who knows......I may use
it!! (Clean suggestions only please!) |
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So the chassis rails looked a bit weedy, so with the aid of
a tank cutter I drilled a big hole through the bulkhead and firewall. This
allowed placement of some more strengthening in the form of the bent bar
over the top of the wheel arch. |
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Here you can see the other side. You can imagine that this
is welded to the bar that sits between the two door pillars on the inside
of the car........strong, but no crumple zones I am afraid! |
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And from above you get the impression! I think at some point
I will beef it up some more, perhaps a removable strut brace across the
front and back.......we will see! Looks good, even if I do say so myself! |
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OK back to the inside for another engine/gearbox trial fit.
It all looks so neat inside the tunnel there. Shame about the huge mess of
wires, but who cares, just look at that gearbox! OK some of the more
observant have noticed that the footwell is now quite small.........Auto
box, therefore only 2 pedals! Sorted! (I also have short legs which
helps!) |
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I was not happy with the Heath Robinson engine mounts that I
made. So I got myself on EBAY and found me some pucker rubber mounts. No
sooner had they arrived than I had replace my old nasty mounts with sexy
new ones. I am sure you will agree they are much much neater! |
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While I was in the replacing mood, I decided my oil can
scoop had to go, so another EBAY bargain (£15!!) saw this rather subtle
scoop winging its way to me. Looks mean dont you think?! |
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From the front it looks a bit on the narrow side......may
have to alter it slightly so that it does a proper job of concealing those
dinner plate carbs.........the basic shape is there though! Fun Fun Fun!
The idea of a standard looking car is slowly going out of
fashion............... ;-) |
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Back to the welding, a matching door bar for the passenger
side was cut, bent and welded in place. Splendid! |
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