It was exciting to see everything shiny, so I mocked it up, and realized there was alot of tuning to do. the frame and nickel looked to clean and new, so I decided to rattlecan the firewall. Since the paint will probably self-patina quickly over time, I did some color layers - red, white, grey than black. This kinda matches what patina I scrubbed off, unfortunately. It was too cold for the clear, it went on foggy but dried clear, with the help of some lights. Before putting the body on, I used some "gaff tape" to put between the body and frame. Hopefully it will eliminate any squeaking or rattling. I also lathered it up with grease to keep water out. It was cool to mock it up, but there was a long way to go. The firewall looked so nice, the body really needed to be cleaned up a little. I didn't want to have to take it apart later. TP
Travis, Will be looking for your next installment on the restoration of "Chief" ! Keep that shifter thread at the ready for the next tech week ! It's a winner ! Dave
I had used an old RV water tank for the fuel. Fortunately water hadn't corroded through it like another tank I was working on! Years ago I was stuck on the freeway going to Paso. A friend and his son helped me pull the tank. Some crap had gotten stuck in the hole. "Big Bill" used the cap of a pen to raise the outlet a bit. It was still in there. I had always wanted to do this. It helps funnel the last drop of gas out, with a riser to prefilter any junk. The main reason to split the tank was to make some baffles. You could really feel 100 lbs of gas sloshing around. There were two circular baffles and one side to side rectangular baffle. Better than nothing. The aluminum was kinda dirty, and wasn't much fun to weld, but it passed a pressure test. whew! TP
Another issue was the front spring. I thought I was sneaky making the spring perch at a slight angle, matching the angle of the spring and radius rods, but it would blow through those plastic bushings. I had tried adjusting them, but the answer came when I used a friends pivoting spring perches, and realized I just needed to bend some regular spring perches. It seemed to work, more importantly with a little weight. Meanwhile I went crazy with rattlecans and grease. Way crazy. Couldn't stop. to to TP
the dual master cylinders had some surface rust. So a friend, luke, sandblasted them for me. Epoxied them and some other things with that grey navy primer And then some chitty black paint. We'll see how long it lasts. After putting the body back on, permanently, it was time to figure out a seat. The old seat was a little too short, uncomfortable on long rides, so I wanted the new seat an inch more forward and back. but also match the expanded metal theme. But since 2 batteries were toploaded underneath the seat, (instead of 1 battery bolted up from the bottom) Some hinges were figured out. I figured 3 would hold me at less than 150lbs and a friend under 200lbs! There's no spring in the seat but there wasn't before. However, the seat is an inch or so lower, so there's space for a cushion of foam, which will help. The batteries are easy to get at, easy enough anyway. TP
Holy smokes! I was uncertain if I wanted to run a '46 side-shifted 3-speed in my A but after having Tim comment on my build thread (see signature) and turn me onto your thread then seeing your dual shifter set-up, I want to! I am now setting out on a personal mission to find out how to run dual shifter. Don't mind me snooping around your profile. The RPU is most excellent! Subscribed. iPhone - TJJ App
Because of what pros charge for their time, they couldn't build a car that labor intensive for less than a million dollars. Bob
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