I know it has been a while since I last made an entry, but I have been working on the car. For the most part it just seems like everything I have been doing has taken time. That and the weather (it's been over 100 degrees around here lately, and it has rained hard for the last three days) has kept things from making what seems like a lot of progress. Never the less, progress has been made.
I fixed a lot of the cracks in the transition pan, cleaned up some pieces from the old frame rail that were rusty, welded them to the new rail, fabbed up some pieces I didn't have, took lots of measurements, fit and refit and measured and tweaked the frame rail. At this point I feel like I am just about ready to get this thing permanently attached to the car.
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| If you remember from an earlier post, this was quite a mess. As you can see, I got it sorted out and welded up. |
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| More fixed cracks. |
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| Still more cracks. There are a few more that I didn't fix due to the fact that they crossed over some of the welds for the shock mount. I didn't want to weld the pan more firmly to a piece that will be getting replaced. |
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| After many measurements, I determined that these were where the holes needed to be drilled at. They are for the exhaust, and for the tie down bracket. |
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| Holes drilled out with my spiffy new step bits. Gotta love those things. |
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| Another spot where an exhaust bracket attaches to the rail. This one will have a threaded reinforcement plate welded behind it. |
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| Reinforcement plate for the tie down bracket. This was fun to make using nothing but hand tools. I wonder how much a small metal brake costs? |
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| Added the support tubing, and bolted it in place for welding. |
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| A look inside at the bracket and tubing. |
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| Painted and shiny! |
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| Tie down bracket after soaking in molasses/water and scrubbing with a brush every couple of days to remove loose crud. |
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| Bumpstop and reinforcement bracket. I had to cut apart the bumpstop in order to make sure I got all the crud out of the corners. Making it fit back together was fun, lots of work with the hammer/dollies and clamps. |
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| Finished bracket bolted to the rail to check proper fitment. |
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| Bumpstop welded to the rail. I haven't installed a new rubber piece yet. That will wait til later. |
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| Exhaust reinforcement plate welded into the rail. |
Great work Grant! Glad to see you've been soldiering along and making good progress. Can't say I'd have the same motivation in heat like that!
ReplyDeleteFortunately most of the work is in or under the car at the moment, so it's not as bad as it could be. I'm thinking of setting up my canopy just to help give me some shade. And of drinking LOTS of water to help combat all the sweat that drips off in this heat.
DeleteWow, lots of work on that frame rail Grant. I had no idea that they were so incomplete. Looks like you got it all sorted out and with great results!
ReplyDeleteThere are actually two different ones available on the market, one is supplied by Mr. Mustang and the other by Dynacorn. Guess which one is more complete and more expensive. I will need to replace the other side at some point as well. It has got some buckling and rust cancer. If I go with the cheaper one, at least I know what needs to be done and how to do it. Won't take as long next time.
DeleteThat's some serious work there Grant! Glad you're still at it. And I can relate to the HOT working conditions. It's hard to get motivated when salty sweat is running in your eyes. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dennis. I am motivated to get this car running, always wanted one and I am enjoying working on it. (I think the wife really wants to drive it as well.) I try to think of it as one of those models I used to build as a kid, only much bigger, and I use a welder and grinder instead of a knife and glue. :)
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