The First Stages

The kit arrives! A "Luton" van was hired to collect the kit from the GTM factory . We took a lot of bubble-wrap and foam wrapping with us and ended up using all of it as well as some kindly provided by GTM - you can never have too much packing material! It worked though, we got the kit home without a scratch.

This is what you get for your money Some kits can be bought in installments: chassis pack, body pannels and trim for example. My Rossa came all in one large consignment, requiring some imagination in finding places to store it all. Parts were eventually stored all over the house - the glass pack, for instance, was stored under the floorboards! An understanding family is a prerequisite for building a kitcar.

The engine in its original condition A donor Austin Metro had previously been bought (I had originally intended building a Midas Gold Coupe before Pastiche went bust). This is the 998cc A+ Series engine prior to cleaning up, capable of a massive 45bhp.

The front subframe The first of the two Mini front subframes was totally stripped down, GTM supplied front drop bar fitted, painted and reassembled using new bushes, bearings and rubber suspension cones. GTM "Hi-Lo" adjustable suspension trumpets were fitted to allow the ride height to be altered. Metro hubs are used, requiring the fitting of Mk1 Metro upper and lower ball joints to mate with the Mini suspension arms. Mini steering arms (shorter than the Metro items) had to be fitted to the hubs to maintain the full steering rack travel. A standard Mini steering rack was bolted to the subframe.

The rear subframe The second Mini front subframe was also stripped and rebuilt. As this subframe was destined to go in the engine bay, it was painted gloss white to reflect as much light as possible, thereby hopefully making it easier to see things in the depths of the engine bay. Metro hubs were also fitted to the rear subframe.

The rear tiebar As this subframe was to be used at the rear of the car, the steering rack was replaced by adjustable tie bars mounted on the subframe. These allow adjustment of toe-in/toe-out of the rear wheels.

The front brake disk The advantage of fitting the Metro hubs is that four-pot disk brakes can be mounted. The Metro can provide either solid or ventilated disks. I chose ventilated diks as they were fitted to the donor car. The calipers were stripped and new seals fitted. Some of the pistons also required replacing. The calipers were finished off by painting with red lacquer. Braided flexible hoses were used as they look good and were actually cheaper than the official Austin rubber item!

The handbrake caliper With Metro disks and calipers all round, some method was needed to provide a mechanical handbrake (hydraulic handbrakes are illegal on road cars in the UK). The solution was to use a GTM handbrake caliper kit. These substantial items are mounted to the hubs using longer steering arm bolts. The handbrake calipers operate in a similar manner to the V-brakes found on modern mountain bikes.

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	The kit arrives!	A "Luton" van was hired to collect the kit from the GTM factory . We took a lot of bubble-wrap and foam wrapping with us and ended up using all of it as well as some kindly provided by GTM - you can never have too much packing material! It worked though, we got the kit home without a scratch.
	This is what you get for your money	Some kits can be bought in installments: chassis pack, body pannels and trim for example. My Rossa came all in one large consignment, requiring some imagination in finding places to store it all. Parts were eventually stored all over the house - the glass pack, for instance, was stored under the floorboards! An understanding family is a prerequisite for building a kitcar.
	The engine in its original condition	A donor Austin Metro had previously been bought (I had originally intended building a Midas Gold Coupe before Pastiche went bust). This is the 998cc A+ Series engine prior to cleaning up, capable of a massive 45bhp.
	The front subframe	The first of the two Mini front subframes was totally stripped down, GTM supplied front drop bar fitted, painted and reassembled using new bushes, bearings and rubber suspension cones. GTM "Hi-Lo" adjustable suspension trumpets were fitted to allow the ride height to be altered. Metro hubs are used, requiring the fitting of Mk1 Metro upper and lower ball joints to mate with the Mini suspension arms. Mini steering arms (shorter than the Metro items) had to be fitted to the hubs to maintain the full steering rack travel. A standard Mini steering rack was bolted to the subframe.
	The rear subframe	The second Mini front subframe was also stripped and rebuilt. As this subframe was destined to go in the engine bay, it was painted gloss white to reflect as much light as possible, thereby hopefully making it easier to see things in the depths of the engine bay. Metro hubs were also fitted to the rear subframe.
	The rear tiebar	As this subframe was to be used at the rear of the car, the steering rack was replaced by adjustable tie bars mounted on the subframe. These allow adjustment of toe-in/toe-out of the rear wheels.
	The front brake disk	The advantage of fitting the Metro hubs is that four-pot disk brakes can be mounted. The Metro can provide either solid or ventilated disks. I chose ventilated diks as they were fitted to the donor car. The calipers were stripped and new seals fitted. Some of the pistons also required replacing. The calipers were finished off by painting with red lacquer. Braided flexible hoses were used as they look good and were actually cheaper than the official Austin rubber item!
	The handbrake caliper	With Metro disks and calipers all round, some method was needed to provide a mechanical handbrake (hydraulic handbrakes are illegal on road cars in the UK). The solution was to use a GTM handbrake caliper kit. These substantial items are mounted to the hubs using longer steering arm bolts. The handbrake calipers operate in a similar manner to the V-brakes found on modern mountain bikes.

Rossa Mk2 Build Up - The First Stages