Projects Austin Somerset Gasser Build (DragNasty)

New tach in place...very tidy. I am pleased.

 

So to begin with I will not even tell you why I had the supercharger back off this morning but by 10 a.m. everything was back in place again and we were back to the original plan for the day...wiring.


While sitting in the car this morning, I put the little burnout helper button in place. Actually what I was really doing was hanging out in the driving position trying to figure the most handy place for the Joe's Racing switch panels. The dash board is too far away, especially when you are wearing the safety harness. We considered the sheet metal console between the seats and while it provided nice access, unless we built a special box on top of it, we would expose the switches to the elements etc.

The obvious place was over head. I played around with building a header box attached to the front roll bar cross piece which would have put all the switches right in front of me but then had a bit of a brain storm while staring at the upper cage. This is what we decided:


I cut a piece of .040 aluminum to fit right between the two upper center support bars in the cage system. They run from the back loop to the center loop and then to the front loop above the windshield area. This is the absolute perfect spot.


The main ignition switch is wired to the MSD box, so one quick swipe at the safety switch and she is dead. As for the other four toggle switches, 3 of them are simply for relays: One is for the fuel pump relay, one is for the main cooling fan relay and the third is for the oil cooling fan relay. At this point the fourth one is open but will likely be for cockpit lighting.

 

I know it appears a bit discombobulated at the moment, but it is not a bad as it looks. We managed to get all the wire groups sorted, firewall holes drilled, grommets in place and wires pulled. Below represents three sections: Headlights and Front signal lights plus both cooling fan harnesses, Taillights, rear signals, brakeslights, etc. and finally engine compartment. All of the wires will drop right down together where the front frame X-member starts. Then they will be split up and sent in the correct directions etc.


At this point however, the cockpit is still a bit out of control but tomorrow we install the headlight switch and a few other pieces that will quickly find homes for all these loose ends!

 

Sorry for the GIFF Animation break above, I figured out how to make those crazy little things and just couldn't help myself. Meanwhile back to the build...

As you know we are deep into wiring the car but I am still missing a big component...tail lights. The original tail lights, that I really loved were simple, round and unassuming. Their diameter was only 2.75" and their are two small plateaus hammered into the bulbous back side by the factory just for them. However by the time the little Austin came into my hands, both lenses were broken. So with that being said, I have been searching quite a while for suitable replacements.

Here is what I came up with:


I know, there is nothing unassuming about Caddy lights! LOL. But they are the perfect diameter for the mounting area and what's more, these have the killer "blue dot" circumcision! But here is the crux, if you will. I only have one mounting point per side. That means only one 1157 bulb per side with two filaments to execute three potential functions. When faced with the same situation on the Model "A" a couple of years ago I simply added a second set of '39 Ford lights. In the end, it was a very cool look. It totally appeared to be a design intention instead of a lack of knowledge as to how to wire up one light to do three jobs!

Well since then I have learned a little secret and I thought I would share it with you. Just in case you have a similar situation on your rod etc. As the design of production cars began to get more and more sleek in the 1960s (meaning a move towards single tail lights) the factories were faced with the same question. How can we keep the chosen signal light flashing when the brake is applied. Their answer was to build a special signal switch that automatically cancels out the brake light on the side that a signal is in action. Now I don't want to know how much the initial investment in these switches was nor do I want to try and build one myself. But I will tell you this little secret, I spent $20 at the auto parts and I am ready to go!


This is a tail light wiring converter for trailers. No further instructions needed here as the decal on the back of the unit says everything. Just wire this little, easy to hide jewel in and you are done!

 

Nooooo, not '59 Caddy lights, again!!!

 

Look'n good.
You know, it's ok to admit it, cuz we all have done it, but I bet a few VROOM VROOM sounds were heard coming from the garage.

 

You can buy new Austin tail lights....check ebay UK , or just google UK classic car spares.

 

Or 58 Chevy, or mid year corvette lights frenched in. Just a different thought.

 

Try these ones - I think they are right for an A40 Somerset ...
http://jollyrogersmotors.com/store/p/768-Lucas-L488-Flat-Glass-Lens-Pair-New.html

You can also get complete new lights ...
http://www.triple-c.com/Products/L488_SIDE_or_BRAKE_LAMP_ASSEMBLY/L488

 

Sorry guys I was just messing with you, I don't have any Caddy lights...I just thought the blue dot circumcision was funny. I really just wanted to share the trailer light switch information. About six months ago I snagged a set of Austin Healey original glass lense Lucas lights from a restoration place in Kent, England.

 

Thought I would share some laughs with you guys.
Dueced Up, you no doubt have heard this before, I'm sure.

Lucas, for a long time has been called "The prince of darkness".


this is a list of just a few lucas electric jokes for fun.


The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."

Lucas denies having invented darkness. But they still claim "sudden, unexpected darkness"

Lucas--inventor of the first intermittent wiper.

Lucas--inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF.

The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.

Lucas dip-switch positions: LOW and BLOW (Bruce Miller, www.hermit.cc)

The original anti-theft devices--Lucas Electric products.

"I've had a Lucas pacemaker for years and have never experienced any prob...

If Lucas made guns, wars would not start either.

Did you hear about the Lucas powered torpedo? It sank.

It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they met too much resistance.

Did you hear the one about the guy that peeked into a Land Rover and asked the owner "How can you tell one switch from another at night, since they all look the same?" "He replied, it doesn't matter which one you use, nothing happens!"

Back in the '70s Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which didn't suck.

Quality Assurance phoned and advised the Lucas engineering guy that they had trouble with his design shorting out. So he made the wires longer.

Why do the English drink warm beer? Lucas made the refrigerators, too.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone. Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb. Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.

Recommended procedure before taking on a repair of Lucas equipment: check the position of the stars, kill a chicken and walk three times sunwise around your car chanting: "Oh mighty Prince of Darkness protect your unworthy servant."

Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency.

How to make AIDS disappear? Give it a Lucas parts number.

Recently, Lucas won out over Bosch to supply the electrical for the new Volkswagens. So, now the cars from the Black Forest will come with electrics supplied by the Lord of Darkness -- how appropriate!

Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices.

 

Baaaaahahaha!

 

Denny that was great
I work on a bunch of that stuff and have never heard most of those.
I laughed tell my gut hurt.

 

What about '50 Pont. tail lights?

 

Hey man, are you and your pops going to go on the Hot Rod Hundred next week?

 

Yep...with a roof this year! Saw your wagon at the man show...(love that thing). Dad and I are upstairs with his 3 window.

 

Their diameter is too big...4" ...The original style lights I got from England look just like them but half the size.

 

I was going to try and run up there today sometime before I take the car home. I didn't get to look around yesterday much when I dropped it off.

 

Remember one safety precaution. Holes through the fire wall are all blow holes. All my wiring goes through the floor. I try to keep all holes through the fire wall at an absolute minimum.

 

In a fire holes in the floor can be just as bad--ask me how I know.

Roo

 

It has been slow going the past couple of weekends on the Austin Front. Two weeks ago we had an area indoor show and Dad I hung with his 3 window on Saturday. This past Saturday we had the Hot Rod 100 Reliability Run which was a blast. Several area H.A.M.B.ers were on the run including one not so local.

Afterwards we were all having lunch and I noticed one of the organizers talking to a fellow and pointing my way. He "mouths" from across the pavilion, "this guy is looking for you." I look around in the direction he was talking and no one was looking back. Sure enough it was me. A H.A.M.B.er all the way from Massachusetts "HOOP" came over and introduced himself. He said he had been following this thread. What a small world we live it. It was great meeting you HOOP and putting a face with an Avatar, have a safe trip and enjoy Route 66.

After hanging with the family on Sunday for Easter about all I got accomplished was to slip out to the shop later in the evening and install the taillights. As I mentioned before I got these original equipment replacements with glass lenses from Kent, England. They look pretty cool!

 

Yep that is why I put all the holes on the passenger side of the car!

 

Gotta be able to cook fish.

 

That is exactly what I was thinking...steer it like crazy, shift it like mad and flame grill Northern Pike all at the same time.

 

Was talking different fish.

 

I know...lol

 

So I took a few days off work to "work" on the Austin. I had the seats in it and opened up the Simpson belts that have been on the shelf for nearly 6 months. They are a five point Cam Lock quick release belts.


After taking a look at the mounting points we noticed we had an issue. There were no mount points. Changes and additions to the cage during fabrication a year or more ago sort of eliminated them. So with the seats in place, we took some good measurements and made the following quick edits to the cage.


First we added these cool mount points for the shoulder straps. Originally we had planned to wrap the upper belts around the lower cross member. However we actually added a plate right there as a heavy duty gusset to shore up the lower set of tubes that start right there and run down through the trunk area. At the time it sounded like a really good idea but that eliminated the opportunity to wrap the belts around that cross bar.


But these little edit are cool and actually placed the belts at a more ideal angle for safety.


Then on both sides we added these down tubes for the outer lab belt mounts AND edited the height of "our" drive shaft tunnel so that we can use the center down tubes for the inner lap belt mounts. I don't know if we can really count the new outer down tubes as mount points but if we did...that would make this a 16 point cage! LOL

 

Dad worked all day Friday removing the white letters from the Hoosier slicks and front runners. Something that has to be done before we run the Meltdown Drags. They really look good....a tooth brush, CRC Nonchlorinated Brakleen and more patience than I have...!

 

It was great meeting you and your dad! We had a great time on the Hot Rod Hundred and meeting Brett and all the club. Everyone was so welcoming. We would recommend this event to anyone.