Urba Centurion #4

[GreenHornet]

Hi CJ,

I took some pics of the front attachment points for you to view. I do not see any additional steel pads being used for attachment points. I hope this is what you were looking for. As far as the back I am not there just yet but once I check it out I will update this post with some additional pics of the rear so you can compare.

GH

Ok CJ I got to the rear end of the car now and the under section It appears that the rear attachment brackets are the same as up front.

[GreenHornet]

I started to look at the Triumph Chassis a little bit yesterday. I was expecting it to be in far worse condition since it has been sitting out in Michigan for the past 25 years or so. There are a few areas with rust damage to be expected that are typical of these chassis. Overall though very minimal rust damage. There are also a few small spots that got banged up from underneath it appears. These are not really a big deal at all and will not effect the chassis integrity in anyway. I feel comfortable using this chassis from what I can see thus far however the real inspection will begin once the Centurion body is off and I can see it in its entirety.

Even though the chassis appears to be in solid condition I am still considering using one of my spare chassis instead. The reason is there is virtually no rust or banged up spots on it. Another advantage is that the tilting bonnet hardware is all ready present. All I would need to do is weld the radius rod attachment points in the rear and cut out a few parts and its ready for the Centurion body with its newly designed tilting front end

GH..

[GreenHornet]

Well Folks it is official today was the day the Centurion started its journey toward becoming a one piece front end. There is no going back now at this point. Now I am going to start working on getting the other chassis cleaned up and prepped for the Centurion body.

GH

[GreenHornet]

If anyone was wondering what all of these pieces weigh than let me shed some light :-)

Bumper = 10lbs
Hood = 10lbs
Frontend Body = 40lbs
Total = 60lbs

Now I estimate there is still around 4lbs of metal to take off the various pieces. If a guy wanted to lighten the entire front end up then once it has been refinished you could take a mold and then do it over in Carbon Fiber. Another way to loose some weight would be to replace the plywood with composite board or simply do away with boards entirely and strategically place metal attachments right into the mold. This would be how to make it the lightest along with vacuum bagging the entire mold.

I don't think you could cut the weight in half but you could feasibly shave off a solid 20lbs and gain a lot of strength as well. To me the fiberglass layups feel a bit flimsy and really are in need of reinforcement. So this week I am going to go and price out some Carbon Fiber/Kevlar composite material to see if it is even thinkable.

GH

[GreenHornet]

Just got another goody today so I thought I would share The Triumph D-type Overdrive adapter Woo Woo Woo lol...

I can also confirm that it fits without issue. Remember that this Overdrive came from a Volvo 1800 not a Triumph Spitfire. So for anyone who is wondering if this can really be done I am here to tell you it absolutely can. Quick recap for those that are unfamiliar and wondering why the heck would I get a Volvo OD instead of a Triumph. The main reason for using the Volvo OD is for the taller gearing. Triumph Spitfire/GT6 overdrives only came with a top of .25% reduction this Volvo bad boy has a reduction of .32%. This is a significant gearing difference and will drop RPM's quite a bit and in theory increase fuel economy.

Soon enough I will have the transmission out for a look over and then the full rebuild will begin

GH..

[changzuki]

Great pics GreenHornet!
You're moving right along and it's looking like you have a decent stockpile of goodies. It's pretty amazing these cars are as light as they are - but you are also correct - there is always a way to shave a little more.
Except for doing anything under the dash, these are pretty easy to work with so reach for the stars!!
~CrazyJerry
(I gotta stock up on some snacks - this is better than the movies!)

[GreenHornet]

Thanks CJ I am glad you are enjoying the show

Yes it is amazing how light these cars are but what is even more amazing is how much lighter they can be My goal was to reduce weight by 200 lbs which would put the car right around 1,000lbs even. The only problem is I am adding weight in a few key areas. So now what was looking like a very realistic goal is starting to get much more challenging. So I am being forced to get real creative in my thinking. In many respects this is a very good thing because I am exploring new areas that more than likely I would not have paid much attention to.

The more I explore the more I am finding out is that darn near every part on the Centurion can be made lighter. The majority of the time there is all ready an alloy part available for direct drop in replacement from the Triumph parts bin which makes it so easy. If money was not a concern I do believe you could get these Centurions under 900lbs at the same time increasing there power, strength and safety.

I don't believe I am going to be the person to take the Centurion to its extreme fringes. I have so much else going on in life currently but I will do some things that will further peak interest and add to there infamy lol I will do my part in making sure the Centurion goes down in history as one of the most fuel efficient cars to grace our roads and the coolest one at that

GH

[GreenHornet]

Ok gang it is time for a mini drum roll I have liberated the body from the modified Triumph Spitfire Chassis. Getting the body off was a much easier task than removing an actual Spitfire or GT6 body. I earned a lot about the Centurion and Triumph Chassis during the removal process. Some things to note in regards to the Centurion firstly there are 4 attachment points on the body 2 fore and 2 aft. So 4 bolts and the body comes right off the chassis.

Technically there are 6 bolts counting the 2 bolts up front holding the front end in place. I guess I did not count these into my equation as I turned the front end into its own entity. But for those that do not have a Greenhornet tilting front end option lol you will have 6 bolts and as Crazy Jerry pointed out on his Centurion there was also 2 rear bolts for a total of 8.

Now if anyone ever decides to build one of these and you need to install or remove the body I will give you a few pointers. You want a Cherry Picker to lift the front. The front is the heavier end and place where it makes most sense to lift from with the cherry picker. Do not try to lift the body from the roof as you will lose the roof I am certain of this. There is only foam and fiberglass there no structural wood to handle the load when jacking it up. Next run a strap through the transmission shifter and over the middle of the dash. All of this is constructed of plywood and handles the load no problem. Now all you need to do is lift the rear end up and over the fuel tank and you are home free. I was able to lift the rear end no problem over the fuel tank and swing it out of the way.

I took a weight of the body plus some other parts still not removed yet such as the pedal cluster, windshield wiper motor, Hand brake, and master cylinder. So this weight is not the definitive weight of the body but gives you a fair idea of what this thing weighs. I ended up getting a weight of 256lbs. So I think it is pretty fair to say we are right around 240lbs once everything is removed. Add that with the 60lbs of front end parts and 25lbs for each door and you are looking right around 350lbs for the Complete Centurion body shell per plans.

Next I noticed that the Centurion had the upgraded swing spring suspension This was an extremely sought after upgrade to the fixed spring that helped suppress the Spitfire jacking effect. Along with the Swing Spring the setup came with a thicker more robust front ARB to help with roll stiffness. This was something that I had planned to purchase for the Centurion which now has saved me a good chunk of change because these conversions are not cheap.

Another thing I noticed was that the 1.5" exhaust of the 3 cylinder Kubota is the same as the 2 cylinder. Not that I am saving any of the exhaust as it was a bit rusty but it is a nice fact to know. I will be designing my own exhaust for this project. I have all ready got it worked out in my mind just need to get all the parts purchased and fitted.

The Triumph Spitfire Chassis unmodified weighs 105lbs BTW just thought I would throw that out there for the heck of it. I spent a good part of the day weighing the fast majority of the parts taken off the Centurion. I now have a really solid idea of what everything weighs down to the bolts LOL. I also started to plot my next moves and search for part upgrades. So it has been a pretty busy last few days in Centurion land

I hope you guys enjoy the pics..

GH

[GreenHornet]

Another part I was able to get worked out was the flip up hood hardware. I purchased a few brackets with new bolts and washers. The only thing I need to do now is drill out a few holes in the brackets and we are good to go

I think most likely I will utilize a simple gas strut in order to raise and lower the front end. The front end will be held down much of the same way they did with the Spitfires. Two latches on the sides will hold it down but instead of having them on the outside I will locate them inside to the rear of the front wheel wells. This will help with aerodynamics and also keep people from getting into my engine bay

All of these parts can be found on Ebay or locally.

[changzuki]

Originally Posted by GreenHornet

Some things to note in regards to the Centurion firstly there are 4 attachment points on the body 2 fore and 2 aft. So 4 bolts and the body comes right off the chassis.
I hope you guys enjoy the pics..

GH

GreenHornet,
Yes, the pics are great and I for one am enjoying them!
Earlier I had asked about attachment points, mainly because I know that some are easy as pie to get to and a couple aren't. The attachment points I have are:
- 2 bolts at the front bumper bulkhead
- 2 bolts at the firewall bulkhead
- 2 bolts just in front of rear tires (mid-cabin bulkhead)
- 2 bolts at the rear bumper bulkhead

As a side note, the 2 bolts at the rear bumper bulkhead are removed, then, the added frame rails are actually a rail-in-a-rail, where they can be retracted to clear that rear pocket for body removal.

The reason I mention this is if your last attachment point is in front of the rear wheels, then the rear is more or less dangling free, supported on by the body construction. Over-time vibrations along with any weight in the rear storage area will pull down and you may have stress/distortion around both the door openings and windshield pillars. Once the body is remounted, you can test this yourself by placing something in the door opening that is dependent on the opening not moving. Then press firmly downward on your rear bumper area and see of the item falls from the opening as it distorts. If this is the case, consider adding those other two attachment points. Another possibility exists where door opening distortions can also cause pulling on the windshield pillars and should this flex the windshield enough then it may not seal or even break.

Flat roads are no problem but we are just short of the Dukes of Hazzard up here so thought I'd throw this in. Your Mileage May Vary!

Looking forward to the next installment in this thread!!!! Good job on the weighing in!

~CrazyJerry