While we were in the process of buying and selling, I had a lot of down time from physically working on the car. With that idle time, I took to CAD to work more on the Auburn dash panel. I already had plans to run six pull switches in the lower portion of the switch bank, centered around an early Ford starter push button in the center. I picked up some new brass marine switches for their high quality, however the bezel nut and knob designs left a lot to be desired. After measuring thread diameters and pitch, I took to modeling some new designs. For the bezel nuts, I designed a smooth shape that hid the joint between the switch shaft and knob when viewed from the side. For the knob, I played around with some shapes and diameters until I felt happy with the proportions. I wanted to label the switch knobs, but do it in a cost efficient manner, so I came up with the idea of using a coin insert with an embossed letter to note the respective function. This allowed me to keep the cost of the knobs down by machining six of one design rather than six individual designs.
After I finalized the designs, I went on to getting the parts made..... For the bezel nuts, I had them machined from stainless, and with a brushed finish. I thought that complemented the engine turned stainless insert well. For the knobs, I had them machined from 6061 aluminum, then hard anodized in black. For the coin inserts, I just had those 3D printed in white plastic. Since the letters are embossed, I'll fill the depressions in with some paint.....likely black. I was finally able to mock everything up today, and was pleased with the results:
Fantastic as expected. Got a source for switches? I’m Wanting to set up my current project with all pull switches and I’ve had my share of cheapies
I bought these from McMaster Carr. They seem very well made....plus McMaster has a major distribution house in Ohio so shipping is always next day!
I borrowed Dan's rotisserie '32 frame jig, with plans to build the '33-34 fixtures on the unused bottom side. I got it over in the new shop, prepped and cleaned off the other side in preparation for setting up the jig. I used a Wescott frame drawing, and built a 3D model to use for studying different chassis ideas. While I had the model built, I planned out the crossmembers for the jig too: With the 3D model in hand, I began cutting crossmembers and the vertical standoffs. With all the pieces in hand, I welded up the fixtures, and placed them on the rotisserie table:
After measuring a lot of times to make sure everything was in the right spot, it was time to try fitting the frame in the jig: Backing up a little, I scribed the center line on the rotisserie table, as well as every crossmember I built. I then used a laser level to align everything. The frame slide right in, which tells me this car must've had a decent life: I was happy with the fore/aft wheel placements with the current chassis setup, so I'll be building some fixtures to locate the axle center lines for the new chassis arrangement next. Once those are done, I'll strip the suspension away to start the actual work.
A little update..... I continued stripping the chassis down the bare frame. From there, I started to remove all of the added brackets over the years too. The x-member was modified in the past, then repaired, but I'd like to repair it to a better standard. I also want to box the frame, so I decided it would be best just to remove it temporarily. While I was in the cutting mood, I went ahead and got the rear crossmember out too. I left the front crossmember in place for now to help retain some structure while things are deconstructed, but it too will come out and be replaced. I started to weld up unused holes in the front of the rails, and also weld in cage nuts too.
In the last photo, of my last post, you can see the beginning of the front torsion bar crossmember. I designed a transverse torsion bar rack in CAD, then got all of the pieces laser cut out. Going that route saves a ton of timing cutting things out, and allows me to get right to welding the pieces together. I designed the crossmember to be fully close, keeping out dirt/debris/elements. The covers for access to the pinch bolts and jack bolts will either get machined out of aluminum, or maybe just 3D printed? Here are some shots of the CAD work:
I welded the inner braces (3/16" steel) to the bottom plate (3/16" steel). That was followed by welding the front and back walls (1/4" steel). The back (and matching front) wall is heavier due to the taking all of the front suspension loads. The pocket that holds the bar stop is pretty well captured by the torsion bar rack crossmember, the frame rails, and the boxing plates. I think it should handle the loads plenty well. You can also see a block of steel that the bar stop jack bolt rests on - it's a hardened piece of chromoly, which should handle any wear, but it also distributed the load across a larger area.
Once I had the torsion bar rack in, I began boxing the frame rails from that crossmember rearward. I picked up some plates from Wolfe Metal Fabrication - I've used these in the past, they're a great product for a great price. I decided to step box the rails, which for a '33-34 is a little more work due to the inner frame. I trimmed the plates for a tight fit, and got the front three sections boxed and finished: I also got the torsion rack fully enclosed. I took some 3/16" flatstock, and with a little help from the torch, got it to follow the shape of the side walls:
Thanks for sharing this beautiful build- the dash insert alone is several orders of magnitude above most builds. For example, I'm pretty happy when my MIG welds don't warp... much.
A little detour from the chassis work..... After repairing my Auburn panel, I dropped it off with Chris Schlaff for some Stewart Warners. Chris and I talked about doing something other than original Auburn instruments, and he had some different styles of rear mount Stewart Warners to pick from. Ultimately, we went with a design that is much more detailed/ornate that the typical gauge. You may have seen these in Cords, some different big trucks, etc, but in the end, they're a unique design with a bunch of custom touches.
One improvement Chris and I wanted to make was in the illumination category. Like any side-window lit gauge, the illumination isn't usually the best. Chris came up with the concept, I turned it into a CAD model, and we 3D printed some light rings for each gauge. The rings hold a simple low profile LED light strip, which focuses the light right were it needs to be, but also eliminates and light leaking from the backside of the dash.
Mr. Taulbert, as usual with any of your builds, your creativity and skill is second to none. I am really enjoying this thread as I did your '32 five window build thread. Your fabrication work is phenomenal. I have a few questions if you don't mind. 1) I really like how you did the custom dash insert and knobs. What are all the switches for? I am lost (probably staring right at me tho) about the one with "E" on it. 2) What CAD system are you using to draw all this up? Having been a CAD guy I am curious. 3) Will the placement of the torsion rods affect steering/bump steer with that offset? Or do they get attached to radius arms? 4) What type of lighting are you using on the gauges? Thanks and keep it up! Looking forward to more posts!
Cory, as many others have said, I wish I had 1/8 the ability you have. I just look and shake my head. I can't imagine where you will be in another 10 years. I'll just keep following along and shaking my head!
It's a divider between the "Driving Range" and "Danger Zone" verbiage that was part of the original design.
Thanks! The six pull switches from left to right are: Seat Heater (driver's) Lights Wiper Exhaust (planning for an active exhaust system) Heater Blower Fan Seat Heater (passenger's) I've moved over to use Fusion360 from Solid Edge (NX's low level software) a little over a year ago. It's user interface is different than NX or Solid Works, but once you overcome that, it's very easy to use and much more powerful than the monthly license I used to pay for Solid Edge. It's also offered free to hobbyists and start up companies. The torsion bar arms are going to extend forward, and attach at the front axle centerline. My current plan is to attach at the wishbone perch pins, so the axle will see loading very similarly to how it did with a transverse spring. I'm going to run a cross steer box, with a panhard bar, so the front suspension should have minimal compliance. The lighting is a 12v LED strip light that's about 1/2" wide. The LEDs are very bright! They came from: https://www.ecolocityled.com/product/supreme_warm_led_strip/12volt_warm_white_led_strip
I decided to shift the front axle center line forward a little, and that sort of turn into a snow ball effect of what to do with the stock crossmember. With it no longer having a spring, it could turn into something a little lighter duty, but the radiator mounts are sort of part of the front of the factory crossmember. After looking at it for a while, I decided to just make a new crossmember, and new radiator mounts. Like the torsion bar crossmember, I came up with a design in CAD, then had the pieces laser cut from 3/16" steel. I welded the sides and the center of the top wall, and again with the help from my torch, curved the end pieces to follow the shape. Before I removed the radiator mount brackets, I made a simple fixture to locate the radiator attachment points. With the new crossmember in place, I built some new pads out of 3/8" steel, and joined them to the newly bobbed frame rails (I'm not running bumpers).
I decided to locally notch the new crossmember along the side straps of the radiator. Moving the axle center line forward got the front wall a little close the side straps, and I figured a little extra clearance now may help when it comes time to fitting the sheet metal on the car. With that done, I trimmed down the pan that fits under the radiator to fit with the new front crossmember. At that point, I figured I might as well put the side aprons, grille, and chin pan on to check the fitment of everything. Fortunately, everything fits really well.
The Jalopy Journal
