You sir are doing some dam fine work. Just an observation, I noticed that when the boys from HotRod Works in Idaho USA do a rear wishbone set up like yours in one of their open drive conversions thye use a torque arm to keep from tweaking the rear bones. Have you had any experience with a setup like yours before? The only rod I built with a setup like yours I actually broke the 36 rear bones and that was with a very potent 4 banger. I see a lot of builders doing what you are doing and am just curious.
Great looking fab work on the crossmembers. The car looks alot better with the wheelbase and stock hood. Are you gonna leave it stock height, or lower it? Kids car looks awesome too, good job. Keep us posted. Kevin
We're gonna be doing a twin torque arm system once the prop shaft and the quick change are in. I could have made it before but decided to leave it so I can pick up some lines from prop etc.
Pete, looking forward to seeing this weeks progress. The bulkhead mod. looks really clean and follows the lines nicely.
Excellent work! I do however have a concern about the position of the tierod you are using. I think the range of motion and the side stresses should be on the side of the joint ( like a steering setup) versus the pole direction. There is usually a spring in the joint between the joint and the grease cap and you don't want motion thoughout that spring. The way it sits in there now the thrust of the wheels wants to rotate the diff nose up and it will want to compress that spring in the joint. The joint is designed for side load and wearing longevity. I was going to run mine in the same fashion until I discovered what was going on.
That is some real nice fab work. Keep the progress pics coming. Does this Pete guy travel? I could use him for a few months on a project that I have.
I did have some initial concerns that the joint would be the right one for the job but after seeing several companies selling the same style as a kit I thought it would be fine. I do understand what you're saying though. I might see about changing it for the sort that's fitted to the TCI mustang II front wishbones. Same sort of joint but designed for the up and down motion. Cheers..........Pete
What gauge steel did you use for the 'L' shaped front floor supports?I was going to use 18 gauge(as I've got some),assuming that the plywood floor panels would stiffen things up a bit.Do you reckon that would be too thin? Cheers, Mark.
The 'L' shape ones that run front to back are 18swg but the two that run from side to side are 1/8". I made these thicker due to them only having a slight bend and thus not having the same strength. .........Pete
Following on from the header a 2" stainless pipe with cut out has been fabricated and bolts up to a Smithy either side supplied by Geordie Paul at Duksville http://www.duksville.co.uk/ Not an easy thing to photo and Pete would say a bloody pain in the ass to make,but his efforts are well worth it because it does look fantastic when you see it in person. Pete decided the system would look better if the silencer was bolted in place using the 3 hole flanges instead of normal exhaust clamps (he was right!) so 4 mild steel flanges were ordered as well as the stainless parts.
Exhaust hanger on mini bobbins we managed to roll the car outside to get some better side on shots to see how the silencers and the system looked in profile Things are coming on really well now!
Car sits really nice.Great wheel/tyre combo. Lovely work on the exhaust.I have a bag of those small bobbins,think they're for Harley oil tanks.Thought they were too small to use on mine.Didn't think of doubling them up.Doh!
Outstanding work! I love how the car looks now and can't wait to see to what it's finally going to look like. The chop may be my favorite part, especially the shape of the quarter window; just perfection. That, plus the stance, with the "A" frame and the wheel/tire combo give the car an aggressive character that's all business and the business is speed.
The 5" chop is one thing that neither myself or Pete can lay claim to, it was done by the previous owner. I have to admit that the chop was the major thing that drew me to the coupe
Pete gives us another heads up on the work he's done "bit more progress today. I have now done the other header and both are now fully welded. A bit of tech for those who are interested. As you can see from the pics the headers are bolted together. There are two reasons for this. One, when welding the flanges will turn up (warpage) as the weld will shrink as it cools. By bolting the flange to another flange that will be welded they will both put against each other as they are welded and the turn up will be almost nothing. This works even better than bolting/clamping to a large steel block etc. Second, you'll see a small pipe on one end and a cap with a small hole in it on the other, This is so I can pass pure argon through the headers as I weld them. This is called gas purging. What it does is gives any weld that penetrates (which is most of the weld on pipes like these) a gas shroud and will stop any oxidization (sp?) and will make the weld on the inside a nice smooth bead instead of the normal jagged shitty mess. Last pic is just to show how the bead of weld on the inside looks when welded from the outside. This is a 6" stainless pipe and although the weld doesn't look neat it is clean and very strong." In this last pic, the weld that Pete is talking about isn't the one in the foreground but the one inside the pipe.
i have seen this coupe around in the u.k and is one of the best for me! right up my street, makes me want one of my own everytime i see it!!! also sweet bobber man!!! matt.
The Jalopy Journal
