Factoring in head clearance in the back seat is a good idea. I rode in the back seat of the Buddy Alcorn Merc one time. I had to tilt my head to the side the whole time and I’m only 5’8”.
This is the current state of affairs until I figure out the seatbelts. Which I have to do. Webbing will go over the holes in the base.
Jaguar used a rubber diaphragm for the lower seat cushion on a lot of their cars, I'd think those would work great there....
Your thread hasn't turned up in my alerts so I went looking for it, it is sch an awesome car, there was a chopped 38 Pontiac sloper in my home town growing up, sloper's have always tickled my fancy. Your's is looking great & will be long remembered!
You made those running boards look easy. Is it really that easy? Who made the covers, and what glue did you use?
I was quietly shitting myself about this task and procrastinated a long time as a result but, I had to bite the bullet. I asked a mate over to help because he is an extremely good cabinet maker, R/C model maker and generally good with his hands and gluing things. And I thought I could do with extra hands, eyes and brains. As it turned out, it was a lot easier than expected. Phew! I sanded both the epoxy painted boards and the rubber and did the gluing in stages one board at a time. After doing a thorough dry run to observe fitment and any issues 1st we did the lower edge/lip, then the flat surface in one go, then the ends. I allowed the glue to set a good 12 hours between each of these stages. The glue is a contact adhesive good to 130 degrees C according to the label (100 being water boiling point) so I figured that would be good for black boards sitting in the sun. I found it best to apply to both surfaces and allow it to become completely touch dry before bringing them together firmly. We used both hands and a hard roller to press the surfaces together. The ends were done last and as you can see in the pic with clamps, some pie cutting was needed to remove excess rubber to let it glue down flat around the radius of the roll. We also had dowels on the top of the board to prevent any out of control contact. That wasn't super necessary, but these things are pretty big to deal with on a benchtop so is worthwhile. The covers themselves are Drake. I've had them stashed away for nearly 15 years! They fit well. I can't comment about durability yet, but all in all, not the nightmare I was imagining for so long. More about taking care and not rushing.
Great job on a tough task! I know what you mean about being concerned about the task! I too have done it, but my results were not so well thought out and had a less than perfect outcome (but the covers are still on the car 25 years later).
Running boards look great, were they 'just blasted and pried? Mine have alot of flat areas from the manufacturing process, I thought I might have to smooth them all out before fitting the covers, looks like you didnt need to? Also, the light on the vw stork, did you add that? If so, what did you do? I'm also using a vw stork, and have been looking at doing the same thing. Thanks
My boards were in pretty rough shape. I replaced most of the front half of the one in the gluing pics. They went through a lot of hammer/dolly work and some filler to get them in shape. I didn't go as anal as if it were bodywork prior to paint, but any dings or waves will show with the rubber on, so you need to address any issues first. Pretty sure there are pictures of work on the boards earlier in the thread. The VW type blinker is a standard Hella part and comes with the red light. I found different versions of those housings fit different radius column mast tubes. I trimmed the old metal one but by the time it fit the tube the switch mech was protruding so went back to the plastic one, which is a perfect fit. The new and old switch mechanism and strap is exactly the same and are interchangeable. The black plastic housing is now in grey epoxy primer like everything else.
Wow. How'd I miss your build? Super cool, I LOVE the Packard grill, the lines of the car fantastic. Great job, and glad things straightened out and let you get back on it!
I'll have to look for an arm then, These are really expensive over here, as they are an early bug 'accessory'.
@neilswheels Try this one, good price. Less than 50 quid. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/172668594257?_trkparms=amclksrc=ITM&aid=1110025&algo=HOMESPLICE.COMPOSITELISTINGS&ao=1&asc=20220405142716&meid=a0d2efe57f984b39a13fe39630a1206f&pid=101506&rk=9&rkt=25&sd=152544903614&itm=172668594257&pmt=1&noa=1&pg=3458402&algv=AlgoIndex5SimRanker&brand=OEM&_trksid=p3458402.c101506.m1851
Thanks for the link, I was going to ask if you could post it to me, but did a quick search, and there's loads available over here for the same sort of price! Appreciate the heads up
Change of pace for me, it's engine building time. Nothing fancy. And I mean nothing! And a change of pace I wasn't wanting. While blowing dry the valve springs I'd just cleaned, I noticed a change in tone from the compressor, then the pressure seemed to fade. Anyway, after investigation, I had lost a piece of head gasket in the compressor...while preparing parts for my heads! Mmm, spooky. Looks like the same spot in the other cylinder was going away too. Anyway I made some new gaskets and it's functioning again. The thought of being without a compressor at this point gave me chills (as did the thought of buying a new one if this one was toast)
Good save! I had to replace my compressor a couple of years back. Fortunately it gave up prior to beginning my body/paint on the PU.
Nice work, now, about that bench vice? Maybe I've been living under a rock but I've never seen a vise quite like that one.
The offset vice? Yes, that's a thing. Really useful if you want to hold something long, vertically. I'm sure it's been discussed earlier in the thread? Others have also asked about it.
The Windsors were imported. Up to 1969 everything was Windsor both 302 and 351. 1970/71 was a transitionary period, if you chose a 302 you got a Windsor, if a 351 you got a Cleveland. From around '72 onwards both 302 and 351 engines were locally made Cleveland design, which were made well into the 80's. Also extensively used in locally made F100's.
This little side note may be of interest to some of you. With the engine basically built I started mounting shit (coil, distributor, a/c bracket...) so I could make up the plug leads and fuel hardline (mechanical pump.) But first I did a 10 minute challenge to see if I could make a better plug terminal crimper than the 'make-do' I usually battle with. Seems to work okay on this tester:
The Jalopy Journal
