Well i decided to take the afternoon off to get the cage finished, all done except for the finish welding which will be done on the bench. Right from the start i wanted to install a diagonal bar just like they had in the old days.
Langy, Roll bar is coming out great. As usual all the work you do is very clean. Hey move to SoCal. Got a couple rods that need your tender touch. I can feed you and keep your tummy full. Dave
Its funny you should say that Dave as i had an oppurtunity about 10 years ago to move to SoCal, I often wonder if i made the right decision ??? especially when its raining here
Managed to get my seat belt bars in at the weekend, its mounted by flanges either end and a slip joint at the bottom, turned up the inserts for the seat belt mounting bolts, will put them in when my belts get here. My best mate Brizey popped over on saturday and we got talking about fuel tanks and placement, It turned out the Brian still had the tank from the 46 Ford pickup he broke to build his roadster 30 years ago !!! A quick measurement check and it looked like it was made for it, The mounting flange was even at the same angle as my floor !!! I picked it up from Brian monday morning and installed it monday night. its in amazing condition for 65 years old, the inside is like new !!! Thanks Brian. First job was to cut a hole for the tank to drop into. The sender was a large 6 hole jobbie so i spun up a simple adaptor in the lathe from a bit of scrap aluminium.
I don't want to sound like I know what I'm doing, but I thought you would have hung the seat mount from the outside mid thigh to the main hoop about armpit height to match the shape of the side of the seat. Would think it would be more effective than what was done. Not trying to criticize, but you may not have thought about it that way (or you may have, and decided it would look dumb). Crastmanship is Top Notch.
Langy, That fuel tank looks to be the same as the ones in my '41 Tudor and business coupe. May bw a souce for my Fordor that had a very rusty tank ........... Makes a good tank for your Willys ! Dave
Yes mate we did think about doing it that way but we thought it looked a little arty & modern, we thought it should be more simple & practical looking. Don't worry about being critical, I welcome constructive criticism, Its good to bounce ideas off other people. thanks for posting.
Yes Dave couldn't have been easier to fit, just need to sort out a filler and put a larger diameter feed into it.
Langy, For the Fords (cars and trucks) The filler was in the left rear corner of the tank. I don't see any in the pix so was wondering where the filler is on your tank. Oh I see it. The tank you have is sitting in your trunk the opposite way from stock. Another clue is the central tab is used to mount off of the rear spring crossmember. Answers all my questions. Dave
Yep your right Dave, my filler is front & right, just where the stock Willys filler pipe is I just need to make up a tube to go from filler to tank.
Well in between the showers that wern't supposed to happen I had a pretty good day Got the seat belt mounts in, I've only got a 4 point harness on the drivers seat but some in on the passenger side just incase. Had to get longer eye bolts as the standard length wern't long enough. Thought it was time to get the steering column sorted so had a rummage through the scrap bin and came up with some 1.75" x 16swg stainless tube and a piece of 3/4" x 1/8" steel tube, and a lump of Nylatron bar, perfect ingrediants for a steering column. I'm using a stainless Double D U joint so first thing was to make up a bung and weld into the tube. The bung is a piece of 3/4" bar that was roughly ground to have flats on each side then finished with a hand file to ensure a nice snug fit in the DD joint. Next the bushes were turned up from the nylatron bar and bush holders turned, these are welded into the ends of the 1.75" tube for the bushes to press into. I had a quick release hub for the steering wheel end so the hex insert was turned to be a nice press fit into the inner tube then welded and rosette welded in the sides. Viola !!! 1 steering column made for peanuts. Topped it off with a 15" Grant wheel. A few bits of tape to hold in place while i settled on a comfortable position.
Langy, Once again another triumph on the build of your steering column. Love what you can make from out of the scrap bin ! Looking forward to the build of the column drop. Dave
Lookin ace mate. But dont you want your shoulder belts more or less straight back with a little down angle rather than straight down like that?
Yep i know what your saying, they may get moved. The problem is i have to have a sealed bulkhead to seperate the rear from the front, if i put in slot for the belts it won't be sealed. I'm still thinking it out. Thanks for the input though its really appreciated. Any ideas you have would be welcomed.
Yeah no problem man I really enjoy watching your builds. Gotta make my way up there some day and see it in person I see what your saying with the rear being sealed. Best bet would be to put in a harness bar in your main hoop. Might not be the way it was done back in the day but it'll get you through tech inspection.
You may not be able to see it but I already put a bar in just behind the seats, my belts pass over this at a slight angle then go down at around 60 degrees, this stops the crushing motion that would occur if the belts went straight down. Our tech guy thought it fine. Thanks for the comments they are appreciated.
Dave the scrap bin is becoming very important to this build as I've spent to much on it already !!! Sent from my iPhone using TJJ
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