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December 2007 |
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December will be a
slow month for the project...too many conflicts for time. The first week
of the month started out with a trip to Rivergate to drop off the Datsun
5-speed for rebuilding and picking up the conversion kit. Later in the
week the rear axle components were cleaned, bench assembled, and
installation begun on the car.
While mock-up does
not really qualify as bodywork I am including it here as it is the bridge
between the rough bodywork, including panel/component replacement, and the
final bodywork just before paint. |
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Each side of the axle assembly will have the axle, bearing, brake backing plate, hub, and locking washer and nut used for mock-up.
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Here the axles/hubs have been pre-fitted...they are then removed so the...
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differential can be fitted...then they are reinstalled.
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Here the axle housing is suspended by the limit straps and the spring bolts then attached.
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A jack was used to compress the springs somewhat and then the bolts fit into place.
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Next to be added were the radius rods and rear dampers.
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Then it was time to do some more cleaning, this time, rear brake components and later, the driveshaft.
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A wire brush in the bench grinder and another in a drill cleaned up the drums.
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The drums were then put in place.
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I couldn't wait any longer to see what one of these great Superlite wheels would look like...
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on the car.
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I'll have to mount up a tire before I can...
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check the offsets.
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But, the look is going to be just what I wanted.
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Then it was back to the dirty work. I'm thinking I'll try to save...
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the original Lockheed wheel cyliners. the one on the left has been cleaned and looks good.
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I removed the yoke and flange from the driveshaft...
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and tried a wire brush...
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but the flapper disk did a much better job of cleaning it up.
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Going into the
Christmas holidays meant that a lot of other tasks would be competing for
my time and progress would be slow for a couple weeks. I can't say at this
time that I'm ahead of schedule or behind, as I'm not really performing
work based upon a schedule. I have goals; one was to have the major
bodywork completed by the end of this year and that goal has been met. I'd
like to say the goal for having the Spridget Project on the road is late
summer of 2008, but that may be a bit ambitious. |
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I finally got around to priming the driveshaft and flange.
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I also got the tires mounted and really like they way the Kumhos look.
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Clearance is very tight. When I get the front suspension on and drop the car I'll know if flaring is required.
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The 5.5" wheels and 185 width tires look good and will put a lot of rubber on the road.
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More parts to clean. Tools include a bench grinder w/wire wheel (not shown), drill w/wire wheel, Dremel tool w/wire wheel, and air grinder with pad.
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Some parts look bad to begin with, but clean up nicely.
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I'll go through the hardware and determine what should be reused and what will be renewed.
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I acquired parts for front disk brakes from a later model; the calipers shown here will be stripped, cleaned, and rebuilt.
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Some folks caution against splitting the calipers, but without doing so, how would you...
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get out the crud (white bubbles in photo) in the passages between the halves?
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Stripped down and ready to go into the parts washer.
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The Enots (England) Aston locking fuel filler cap components.
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Here you can see the inside of the cap and two of the three set (grub) screws that secure the cap to the stock filler neck.
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The locking cap fits in the top of the hinged alloy cap.
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The stock filler neck, or a portion of it, will be secured to the body and the cap attached.
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The Aston cap located on the filler neck...
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and the locking cap in place.
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Some cleanup will be necessary on the filler neck...
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a few minutes on the wire wheel shows that it will be an easy job.
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This is the flip (LeMans) style cap on my TR3. I've gotten used to it and really like the look.
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The flat bodywork between the seats and boot lid is not wide enough to accomodate the Aston cap...
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the blue tape indicates the approximate location of the convertible top or tonneau when in place.
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Even sideways the fit would be too cramped.
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That's OK though as I have already determined that I want a side mount.
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The cap is just laying in place...
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I want to be absolutely sure before making a hole. That will happen after the fuel cell is in place.
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January 2008 |
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Progress
continues...slowly; too many competing priorities plus its COLD in the
garage...even with the heat on. There are a lot of little jobs such as
parts cleaning and prep, not to mention a trip or two to Summit Racing
for parts and getting underway on the new garage. The cleaned parts
will be set aside until the weather warms; I use POR-15 for the
suspension, steering, and underbody and when brushed or rolled it does
not flatten out well if the temperature is too cool. So, it's on to
the small tasks. |
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The steering rack was dirty and greasy but in remarkably good condition.
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The tie rods were in good shape and the balls/sockets tight, so, no need to disassemble.
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The rack boots and clamps were cut off and will be replaced with new parts.
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The electric grinder with an 80 grit flapper and the air grinder with an abrasive fiber disk are the tools of choice for cleaning.
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The caked on gunk have protected the tie rods well. The threads will be chased before tie rod ends are installed.
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Forty five minutes later and it looks new.
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Next came the steering column.
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Again, some gunk and paint overspray...
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but the column itself was in excellent condition.
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The alloy (aluminum) dash clamp will clean up nicely.
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The column disassembled...
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and cleaned.
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Time to go back and finish cleaning a few odd parts, starting with the other front hub.
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A wire brush in the drill and air grinder with a medium grit sanding disk and fiber abrasive disk do the job.
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Then it's outside with the cleaned parts for a bath in Metal Ready...
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Metal ready is a trade name by the same folks that make POR-15 paint.
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I buy it in gallons and transfer to a sprayer. I've been told it's the same thing as the phosphoric acid at the builder mega-stores.
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Last job of the day is marking...
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and cutting out the (NEW) boot floor for the fuel cell.
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The flat mount tabs will be removed and the fuel cell dropped through the boot floor.
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February 2008 |
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I decided to fit the roll bar and will then locate the seats; the first step will be to trim the rear mounting pads...
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to clear the brace bar, on the boot floor in between the the wheel wells, that I installed earlier in the project.
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The pads are then dressed a bit. The bar is in decent shape but will be cleaned up and repainted.
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It's hard to tell if the paint is original or out of a rattle can...but one thing for sure...it's tough!
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Once again the tool of choice for aggressive paint removal is the electric grinder and a flapper disk.
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After the sanding disk I smooth the work with the air grinder and fiber abrasive disk.
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Looks pretty good after the cleanup.
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The locations where the pads will attach are then cleaned. I'll be welding in the roll bar instead of bolting it.
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I'll spot weld the corners of the pad, then run a bead between the spots, then flip the car on it's side and weld through the holes to the pad.
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The roll bar tacked in place...just the look I wanted, and with the additional bracing and welding...
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it should be much stronger than before.
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Next the convertible top frame (hood sticks) was put into place to be sure it cleared the roll bar...
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it did...barely.
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The seat was trial fitted.
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Just right...right up to the roll bar.
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It's a 20 degree lay back so a couple inches remain between the seat and bulkhead...just right for the harness anchors.
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Leg room will be fixed (pedal distance and seat position) for me as driver.
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The seat side will come right to the door on one side...
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to leave a couple inches for the emergency brake handle on the other.
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TIGHT...but it all works.
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Enough trial fitting...time to get dirty. I marked and then...
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cut out the driver's side footwell top to match the passenger side.
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Pedals were test fit to see what additional cutting would be required.
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A 3/4" and a 1/4" board brought the seat to the correct height. When I mount the seat the boards will be replaced with a 1" square steel tube.
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With seat, steering wheel, and pedals in place it's time to try it on.
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First thing to do is to shorten the steering column...
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the angled spokes bring it too far forward; it will also be modified to fit the Rebco quick disconnect hub.
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Two inches will be removed bringing the wheel to within 1" of the dash. I later plan to make the steering column length adjustable.
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Not having a metal lathe large enough to handle the column, I used hand tools to reduce the diameter.
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I went slowly and did a trial fit often; twisting the quick disconnect fitting on the column left a mark that would indicate where grinding was needed
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The shoulder on the column was cleaned up with a cut off disk.
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In a short while, I had a good tight fit of the quick disconnect onto the column.
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I welded the joint and then ground down the weld.
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The wheel is now 1" from the dash cap...a little too close...
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but that will be corrected with the adjustment fitting I intend to fabricate.
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The earlier trial fitting of the pedals indicated that additional cutting would be necessary to get the pedal box positioned properly.
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I'll construct a steel pan that will support the pedal box; first step is to bend the two sides on the brake and cut out the two square pedal holes.
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The pedal holes are then cleaned up a bit with the abrasive pad and will be squared with a file
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The Tilton pedal box is then disassembled and reassembled though the pan.
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Trial fitting of the pedal box and pan.
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Checking out the pedal positions.
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I installed one of the large MC reservoirs to check clearance.
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Back at the workbench I lined the cutouts to cut down on damage to the pedals when inserted.
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Then the corner near the driver's knees was cut off to provide more room on entry and exit.
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A piece of sheet metal was formed on the brake...
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spot welded, and then a continuous bead run. The firewall edge was trimmed to size and drilled for spot welding into place.
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Another trial fit and then marked for the pan's side angles. The angles will provide strength and support for the aluminum sheeting to come.
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The side angles have been welded on and the inner side of the pan ground down flush with the angle and the pedal box mounting bracket.
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The flange along the firewall has been cut and bent down slightly to receive the pan; the side and front flange have been drilled for spot welding.
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The pan is spotwelded in place...
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notice that the driver's side bracket goes under the sheet metal where the inner bracket will support the aluminum skin directly.
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The pedal box bolted into place, pedals installed, and reservoirs placed...
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...even the large reservoirs fit without any clearance problems. This is the advantage of the recessed pan mount.
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1" square tube will be used for the seat supports.
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The seats will be rigidly mounted and set up for the driver...ME! Adjustment will be with alternate bolt holes. The seat supports are welded in...
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and the driver's seat bolted in place.
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The fit is good and tight.
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The Kirkey cover (with foam padding) snaps into place.
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The space gained by angling the rear corner of the pedal box pan is obvious. The pan's rear edge and the steering column are roughly equal.
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With the 14" wheel there is plenty of space between the lower wheel and seat bottom.
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Pedal location is good with relationship to the wheel. There is plenty of room for the accelerator and perhaps a dimmer switch.
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There's also room to operate the emergency brake without scraping knuckles.
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The passenger seat will mount in the same way and position.
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Trial fitting of the harness, marking and drilling anchor points, and trying on for size. What's that noise...? VAROOM!
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A couple fun project this week; first, cut some parts for the fuel cell cage.
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Two members will recieve three cuts and a bend...more on that in a minute.
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The large welding magnets are a lifesaver when it comes to this type of assembly; grips and holds the components at the correct angle.
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Here's the basic cage welded up; it will insert down through the hole in the boot floor and be supported by the angle at the top.
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There are those three cuts again...
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and here's a view of why they were made. The boot floor dips down at the rear of the car...so will the supporting bracket.
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The cell comes with aluminum mounting feet...
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they won't be used so they are cut away and...
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then sanded flush.
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