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TheDoctor
TheDoctor New Reader
2/3/16 9:09 p.m.

Couple more pics from early fall of last year.

View of the front underside.

Engine Bay

Tow Bar attached

Exhaust detail

NOHOME
NOHOME PowerDork
2/3/16 10:18 p.m.

Curious what your plans are to cover those tires?

TheDoctor
TheDoctor New Reader
2/4/16 6:25 a.m.
NOHOME wrote: Curious what your plans are to cover those tires?

I haven't figured that out yet. crankwalk suggested trying these flares:

Fiberglass ZG Flare Kit

A lot of this stuff just ends up being way too big for the Berkeley. Possibly a project for this summer.

NOHOME
NOHOME PowerDork
2/4/16 6:38 a.m.

I do realize that you already painted this car, so not an option.

My inclination would be to reach for the cut-off wheel and make a long horizontal cut from just behind the headlight all the way to just before the end of the fender at the a-post.

Then another cut from the apex of the wheel-arch until it intersected the first cut.

Pull the pieces out until the tires are covered.

Start filling and contouring the gaps.

Repeat three more times.

chandlerGTi
chandlerGTi UltraDork
2/4/16 6:38 a.m.

I had some wiiide rabbit flares that I sold to Paul, he was going to pull repops off of them. They were pretty small, I think they fit fox bodies, rabbits and MGs perfectly. Four inch flares may be to much though...

Jambo
Jambo New Reader
2/4/16 6:41 a.m.

Are there any smaller fenders for a trailer that might work? If they're really wide, you might even be able to get away with just buying two and cutting then in half lengthwise to make a set of four.

Just a thought.

RossD
RossD UltimaDork
2/4/16 7:09 a.m.
NOHOME wrote: I do realize that you already painted this car, so not an option. My inclination would be to reach for the cut-off wheel and make a long horizontal cut from just behind the headlight all the way to just before the end of the fender at the a-post. Then another cut from the apex of the wheel-arch until it intersected the first cut. Pull the pieces out until the tires are covered. Start filling and contouring the gaps. Repeat three more times.

If that was done right, it would start to look like a Jaguar D-Type. And that's a good thing! Not that it looks bad now.

IndyJoe
IndyJoe Reader
2/4/16 7:32 a.m.

Try some flares from a Mini Cooper, the original ones. That was a pretty small car too.

Check out this link:

Austin Mini Flare Kit

These are pretty budget freindly at ~$60, made of plastic (so they will contort to your body shape) and I think you could install them with out a repaint.

IndyJoe
IndyJoe Reader
2/4/16 7:34 a.m.

How do you like those Falkens?

About a decade ago, those were one of the best budget friendly Autocross tires.

NOHOME
NOHOME PowerDork
2/4/16 7:35 a.m.
RossD wrote:
NOHOME wrote: I do realize that you already painted this car, so not an option. My inclination would be to reach for the cut-off wheel and make a long horizontal cut from just behind the headlight all the way to just before the end of the fender at the a-post. Then another cut from the apex of the wheel-arch until it intersected the first cut. Pull the pieces out until the tires are covered. Start filling and contouring the gaps. Repeat three more times.
If that was done right, it would start to look like a Jaguar D-Type. And that's a good thing! Not that it looks bad now.

Nice to see that my mental image transferred via written word. That is exactly where I was going.

RedGT
RedGT Reader
2/4/16 8:04 a.m.
IndyJoe wrote: How do you like those Falkens? About a decade ago, those were one of the best budget friendly Autocross tires.

Azenis were.

Those are 512s. Great road tire especially in the rain. I autocrossed them too but...Azenis they are not.

TheDoctor
TheDoctor New Reader
2/4/16 9:15 a.m.
IndyJoe wrote: Try some flares from a Mini Cooper, the original ones. That was a pretty small car too. Check out this link: Austin Mini Flare Kit These are pretty budget freindly at ~$60, made of plastic (so they will contort to your body shape) and I think you could install them with out a repaint.

Thanks for the suggestion, at $60 I might give these a gamble. I like NOHOME's suggestion as well, but I doubt my ability at not screwing it up

TheDoctor
TheDoctor New Reader
2/4/16 9:18 a.m.
IndyJoe wrote: How do you like those Falkens? About a decade ago, those were one of the best budget friendly Autocross tires.

I've driven it about 5 miles so far since it's been put all together, hope to have a better answer for you this spring/summer when I can make it to an autocross.

IndyJoe
IndyJoe Reader
2/4/16 9:57 a.m.

Doc,

I'm sure you've seen this one, but incase you haven't, there was one on barn finds a while back that had flares added:

barn finds 1958 Berkeley

TheDoctor
TheDoctor New Reader
2/4/16 11:21 a.m.
IndyJoe wrote: Doc, I'm sure you've seen this one, but incase you haven't, there was one on barn finds a while back that had flares added: barn finds 1958 Berkeley

That's one of the cars I keep coming across that makes me scared to do molded flares. I'm just not sure it looks right.

RossD
RossD UltimaDork
2/4/16 11:42 a.m.

Yeah, that doesn't work very well. Think less wheel opening flare, and more coke bottle hips.

Something along the lines of split the rear fender at the top of the curve on the top. And bow the outward section out to cover the wheel using NOHOME's explanation.

brad131a4
brad131a4 New Reader
2/4/16 1:09 p.m.

Looking at the picture I can barely make out the tire size. Are you running 175/65/14? Is there any possible way to run a 13" rim and just a little smaller diameter tire? Because all I see is a bunch of tire rubbing once you get into some spirited driving on the track or the street.

The flares on the one car aren't all that bad they are just to wide for the tire and rims that are pictured with the car. The problem I see is that you need to actually cut the top up higher for clearance. Even if you were to add bolt on flairs you would still have no travel area for the tires.

Now cutting the body like nohome said and pulling it out to cover the tire will give you the room for the suspension to travel up and down with out hitting the wheel arch or having a oddly shaped wheel opening.

Also on the mini I'm going to say those look like 12" minilites so they are going to be about a inch taller with the tires than the 14" rim. That would give you the travel you would need but then you'd look like a 4x4.

Online tires have 175/60/13 that would be a little over a 1.5" shorter giving you more travel.

Only other option is to get a set of rims made with a high positive offset to get the tires back under the arches and not under the body arch.

MrJoshua
MrJoshua UltimaDork
2/4/16 1:36 p.m.

IIRC stock tires on the Berkeley were under 20" tall (and something like 4" wide ). Its going to be hard to fit anything DOT under stock arches. Well, I guess you could do Hoosiers version of DOT.

TheDoctor
TheDoctor New Reader
2/4/16 9:12 p.m.
brad131a4 wrote: Looking at the picture I can barely make out the tire size. Are you running 175/65/14? Is there any possible way to run a 13" rim and just a little smaller diameter tire? Because all I see is a bunch of tire rubbing once you get into some spirited driving on the track or the street. The flares on the one car aren't all that bad they are just to wide for the tire and rims that are pictured with the car. The problem I see is that you need to actually cut the top up higher for clearance. Even if you were to add bolt on flairs you would still have no travel area for the tires. Now cutting the body like nohome said and pulling it out to cover the tire will give you the room for the suspension to travel up and down with out hitting the wheel arch or having a oddly shaped wheel opening. Also on the mini I'm going to say those look like 12" minilites so they are going to be about a inch taller with the tires than the 14" rim. That would give you the travel you would need but then you'd look like a 4x4. Online tires have 175/60/13 that would be a little over a 1.5" shorter giving you more travel. Only other option is to get a set of rims made with a high positive offset to get the tires back under the arches and not under the body arch.

Yes, 175/65-R14 and really limited on going smaller on the wheel without more negative offset (suspension and brakes start interfering). NOHOME's solution is probably the correct one since there is a fair amount of height under the opening. Wheels are just too far out. I'm going to mess with the ride height a little this summer and try to get some driving in to evaluate the situation. Maybe I'll get brave and try to tackle a big fiberglass project. The paint is not that big a deal.

CLynn85
CLynn85 HalfDork
2/5/16 1:24 p.m.
TheDoctor wrote: In the end, I just modified my existing wheels to imitate the late 50's Jag wheels. I think they fit in well with the car and look period correct. I also found some replacement hinges for the hood. I used chrome-plated brass marine hatch hinges. They worked well and brightened up the body a little without looking out of place on a race car.

I agree that the look is not perfection, but it's still pretty freakin cool! Need a video of this little beast ripping around!

I may have missed it, but did it come with a title? Able to plate it/make it street legal?

TheDoctor
TheDoctor New Reader
2/5/16 9:14 p.m.
CLynn85 wrote: I agree that the look is not perfection, but it's still pretty freakin cool! Need a video of this little beast ripping around! I may have missed it, but did it come with a title? Able to plate it/make it street legal?

High on my list this spring to get out and make some videos. Yes came with a title, so it is plated and has lights/signals/horn etc... Actually looks pretty normal all cleaned up.

but then I did this...

mbruneaux
mbruneaux New Reader
2/5/16 9:18 p.m.

So cool and motivational for people with long term projects like me. Patience is something I lack and you have abundance. Great build.

Woody
Woody MegaDork
2/5/16 10:02 p.m.

What's the wheelbase on that thing? I'm getting an idea...

TheDoctor
TheDoctor New Reader
2/6/16 7:29 a.m.
Woody wrote: What's the wheelbase on that thing? I'm getting an idea...

Tiny... Original Berkeley was ~70 inches, mine is ~73 inches. Really need to see it sitting next to normal cars to see how small this car really is.

JohnRW1621
JohnRW1621 MegaDork
2/6/16 8:33 a.m.

The meatballs are a fantastic choice!

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