So, here we are at the end of another week, with plenty more productive days behind us. I welded the two center pieces in to make the tubes into one manageable unit. Now it is possible to mark up where to trim the ends to fit between the chassis rails. After a bit of judicial trimming here and there the new fits between the old. I have cut and fit some 3mm plate for doublers on each corner to help spread the loading where the welds will be. Tomorrow we weld!
Time for another Friday night update I guess! Trimmed the ends to fit inside the rails. The rear ends needed a little fettling to fit. I added a 3mm doubler plate at each cross member to chassis node to spread the loading. To help further I cut a hole in the doubler and welded it to the chassis before the cross member went in. Same on the rear. I also added doublers to the inside of each x member bends. Next was the engine mounts. Yes it's offset to the left 1 inch to gain a bit of clearance for steering, starter and exhaust on the right side. Trans mount was next. The engine looked really excited to be in the car! Very happy with the weeks achievements!
I'm knackered! Well maybe just exhausted! Trailing arms for the rear end are done. Rod ends on the front are 5/8" with a solid shaft machined to through bolt to the k member. A slight bend to give more space for the exhaust later. Stock jag rear rubber bushing should isolate for noise. A quick engine out of chassis job was a clearance for left side exhaust out of 3mm plate. Left side started and welded. And a bunch welded on for future O² sensor. Gotta love it when the couriers pay a visit. There should be enough to do both the 53 and the 39 coupe later. Time to find homes for all the pieces. Also toying with the idea of using the standard jag driveshaft with the carrier bearing in the middle and a few more u joints, because why not! On to the drivers side...... I removed all the hydraulic lines from the standard jag power assist and will remake them to run out of the route of the exhaust. Now we just have to leave room for the starter and allow for potential need to remove it at a later date. One of the reasons I am opting for vee band clamps is future ease of removal in tight spaces.
Not a heck of a lot of progress this week. Good things take time. Port side pipework has advanced a little. Making the penetrations for the pipes took a while. Working out exactly where to put them in half the battle. Starboard side getting around the steering and starter took a bit of nutting out too. Still, progress is progress!
This afternoon I spent a few minutes on the rear bumper and worked out how I will build the tow bar mounting. Another slow week on the delivery chassis, but I did get the roadster going again after it spat out a spark plug back in February, relocated the axle on the trailer 1" back from its original position to put more weight on the hitch, pulled the coupe apart after the gear shift cable broke the end off! I changed a couple of body mounts to the appropriate ones off a donor chassis. Earlier in the week I was at our local pick a part and found an electric hydraulic steering pump from a Mazda that will work in lieu of a belt driven ugly engine bay one. A mate on the other side of town was advertising a 38 Chev fuel tank which should fit too, will head over on the weekend for a look at that. Cheers team.
I picked up the 38 Chev car fuel tank and it fits, but, I think is going to be a couple of gallons short. The 38 is a few gallons smaller than the 53 ones. I gave that a bit of thought as to why they are so different, my guess is that the driving habits pre war were quite different to post war, especially with the advent of the nationwide freeway systems. More freeway driving meant less stops for gas so bigger tanks became the norm. So how does this affect me? I am thinking that the tank might fit but at 14 gallons verses 18 gallons that's a lot more stops on a long trip. So I might just pass on the 38 tank and make one that will carry more, there is plenty of room after all.
Smaller tanks will let us stop at intervals to enable us as we get older the stretch our legs and empty the bladder. JW
Just found this build, and caught up on all the work you have done on it. Great stuff love the CAD work. Following along, looking forward to your updates.
Very happy with the progress this week. Made a bunch of mounts for the exhaust using rubber cotton reels. These will enable the removal of each section of pipe and also make it possible to adjust placement up and down with the addition of washers/spacers appropriately. Both sides are now done to just beyond the diff head. I will revisit the last portion after the body has been back on. Looking pretty good so far.
We took the coupe out for a ride yesterday to a charity show raising funds for a local volunteer fire brigade. Had a great time despite the rain showers. See if you can spot the coupe in the aerial shots! Smack dab in the middle of the field! Surrounded by canals and fancy homes by the coast. Looking back up the harbour towards home. As usual I forgot to take any pictures of my own!
Amazing view! Could be a wallpaper photo or something straight out of a travel magazine. The best part is that with the gettingout software, you can send those stunning shots easily to friends or loved ones, no matter where they are. I’ve been using it lately to share some of my own pictures, and it’s actually a really convenient way to stay connected, especially with people who aren’t nearby. Keep the beautiful pics coming
On the coupe I added a hidden trailer hitch/drawbar through the rear bumper. Having one below the bumper would have been too low. The number plate mount slides into the trailer hitch receiver when not towing. On the delivery however the center of the rear bumper is reduced in depth to make a step to access the rear door, so I was not able to duplicate the tow hitch I made for the coupe. I came up with a cunning plan, so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a rat! The twin bumper over riders provided the solution! First of all I bolted the bumper with fresh bolts and made sure the alignment was good. Next I made packer plates (to clear riveted chassis) and mount plates to use the bumper bolts. Then trimmed off the inner 2 bumper mount spring steel that the over riders would bolt through. This shot shows the spacer and mount plates on the bumper bolts. Then marked and cut the penetrations from the back side of the bumper. I have come up with further cunningness to fit the over riders when no tow hitch is attached......... The tow hitch will slide into the receivers and join both sides together with the ball on it.
I like a bit of cunningness and i thought it was a Weasel. Well done on the execution of said cunningability. JW
Your fabrication skills are amazing! Thanks for creating this super interesting post about your cars. You will have two great cars to drive around in.
So what did you do this Easter ? A perfect day for some activities in the shed! Plucking the engine and trans out of the chassis. Safely lowered and supported on the hoist for storage. Jammed in a space out of the way for now. Engine out and ready to remove the rest. Exhaust and extra s all need to come out. Elevated and ready for work. Inverted ready to attack all the underside jobs. All the exhaust and bumper hardware will get some treatment to make it a bit prettier. Any way, happy Easter everyone.
A whole lot of activities this week, with no real visual changes. Such is the joy of finishing off all the welds on the chassis. I did find a brand new master cylinder and booster on marketplace and made a new hot rod mate. Had a drive shaft made to suit the jag mid bearing and the Chev trans. Time to reassemble it all for the certifier to check it out, then off to the blasters.
Whoop whoop! Had a visit with the certifier today and he is happy with where we are at with the chassis! So I spent the latter half of the afternoon pulling everything off the back end of the chassis. Tomorrow the front half and break it all down and get it ready for blast and paint next week. A great psychological boost for the build and time to get set to change phase and start on the body. I love this shit! Apologies for the recycled picture.
One last quick visit under the body to locate one body mount on the chassis before.......... ......it was on to the roadster trailer for a trip to the blasters for paint. Now, hmmm, what to do........
......well, there are parts to paint and a bunch more in the molasses bath that need attention. All the exhaust components had a quick coat of high temp black. Courtesy of the rattle can. Underside of the hood looks good, a little sanding to clean of some stubborn paint. Amazing how clean the molasses gets everything. All those fasteners should be a doddle to get undone. I plan to completely unpick the hood to get in the back of all the framing to appropriately coat all surfaces. The fenders can't hide any sins now. On the whole they are solid but in need of a little hammer and dolly attention. Flash rust happened real quick, even with a baking soda flush. A bunch of smaller parts have been soaking for a couple of months also. The bath looks yucky after 2 months of hard work. Replacement parts going into the bath for a soak. Most of the paint should lift along with the rust. Inner fenders and another inner panel.
The Jalopy Journal
