Hot Rods 2022 Al Slonaker Award winner "The Gauntt Coupe"

I was wondering the same thing and guessed to myself that they were front and rear brake systems to give independent brake bias adjustment. But that's just my guess.

 

Great craftsmanship! Every part a work of art! thanks for sharing the details!

 

Those 2 cylinders work in conjunction with the other two cylinders mounted on the inside of the firewall. They adjust the stiffness of the shocks. The cylinders on the inside of the firewall are fluid reservoirs, and the knobs adjust fluid pressure in the shocks. The lever shocks have a bladder mounted behind the friction discs in the shock, so when you increase the pressure, the bladder presses tighter on the discs, and stiffens the shocks. One knob for front and one for rear.

 

Wow very ingenious! Wasn't aware such a system existed. That explains the gauges too. Thanks for the insight.

 

Nice quality work but too much of a christmas tree for me.
Congrats on the award

 

Thank you.
The car show stuff isn't for everybody, and that's fine. Just a different animal. And like I always say, if we all liked the same thing, "custom" cars would be pretty boring.

 

Incredible machining, workmanship, and presentation. That car is a piece of artwork !!!

 

Thank you very much for starting the thread. Kool to see all of the build a little detail pics. You are Blessed with a lot of talent please keep the thread going with other build pics. We will tell you when.

 

I found some photos of when I was in the process of making the parking brake, so I'll post them up and explain a little bit.
I thought I had more in process photos, but I can't seem to find them.

The first thing I did was look up other parking brakes for inspiration. Once the creative juices werre flowing I started coming up with a design. Sometimes I'll sketch out an idea, but I dont think I did on this one. I don't think I had the entire thing designed before I started, so I did some design work during the process.

I started with a stainless bar, and chose a handle shape that I liked.


I made two notches to depth on the mill.

I then used a rotary file and brought the piece into rough shape

Once satisfied with the rough shape, then I switched to sandpaper, and then to scotchbrite

I then cut out a cap to add a nice detail to the end of the handle.

I sanded it smooth, and rounded the edges, then welded it on.

Then sanded that weld smooth, and hit it with scotchbrite.

The next part I made was the release lever. I machined some steel rod into a taper, and then used it and some plate to make a press form. I pressed some stainless sheet, and then trimmed the piece out. I had left tabs on the bottom for the lever to attach to the linkage, but they must have gotten in my way, as I cut them off before the next step. I can't remember why.

I wanted to give the lever a little more character, so I stretched the top of it on a T dolly to give it a nice curve.

Showing how they will go together.

I cut the handle part free from the rest of the bar it was on. I then cut a length of stainless rectangle bar, cut a taper onto it, and rounded the edges. Then welded the handle onto the rectangle bar, and finished the welds.

I added tabs back into the release lever, and added a little step detail where the tabs attach to the lever. I then drilled and tapped the parking brake handle for the shoulder screws that hold on the release lever.

I then welded a pivot into the handle, and made a fixture to hole all the important parts in place I then started making the release linkage.

I needed to make pieces to engage the toothed ratchet pieces. I wanted the part that actually engaged the teeth to be relatively thick to insure a positive engagement, but I didn't want the pieces themselves to be too big and bulky. So, I layed out my shape on some thick plate, and machined the majority of the plate down, so I could cut it out and have the part thicken up just where needed.

It's a little tough to see here, but hopefully you can see that those pieces get thicker just before the end where they engage.

Shortly after this point, I had realized the handle had a huge design flaw, and with the teeth set up how I had it, it would work the opposite of how I wanted it to. After a short existential crisis, I realized that since it works the opposite of what I want, I need to flip it upside down, and I can make it work. Crisis averted. So, I flipped everything over and did what I needed to do to get it to work. I don't have any photos from this time, I must have been more concerned with rectifying my oversight.

Once I had the ***embly together and functioning the way it needed to, it was time to make the mounts to hole it all together, and in the car. I didn't get alot of photos of this part either apparently.
I first made a copy of the driveshaft tunnel it was going to be mounted on so that I could work on the bench rather than inside the car. I then made the pieces that hold the handle and the handle pivot.
Here it is all welded up before cleaning up the welds. If you've ever welded stainless before, you know how much of a pain this was to put that much weld on it, and keep it place the way I wanted.


I then made the mount for the toothed ratchet section in the same way as the mount pictured above. cleaned up all the welds, added springs to keep the latch engaged in the teeth, and ***embled it all, and checked function again.

Last step was to drill holes in the mounts, and do a little bit more cleanup. Then it was ready to dis***emble and send to the polisher.

Hope you guys find that interesting. I thought I had more photos of this process and others, but I guess not. If I happen to come across any more, I'll post them up.

 

@****** -

That was me who "mentioned" you (see this post).

Thanks so much for starting this thread highlighting your (& your colleagues at HHR) fantastic craftsmanship ... much appreciated!​

- @HEMI32