Been a while since I updated progress on the coupe. Mainly because there wasn't much. A bout of poor health and the distraction of getting to race a flathead dragster meant the 5 window took a back seat but I'm back on it now. Since getting the car back from Kelvin I did undo the channel slightly at the cowl. Kelv had put where we agreed but I kept looking at it and decided it would look better with a uniform gap between the bottom of the body and side rail. Oh yeah, this was the distraction! With that done I could pull the body and continue the dry build of the chassis. It was a sketchy operation but I managed it without incident! First jobs were to fill in the many holes that had been drilled in the rails by previous owners for body mounts etc. I then added some crossmembers that will serve as mounting points for the removable roll cage that's required to run at Pendine. At present I'm just about done plumbing the brakes then I will turn my attention to the exhaust system. Once that is complete I can think about pulling the frame apart for prep and paint. I am ignoring the body completely at the moment, there will be a ton of work involved in getting it straight but that is something I will probably do over time once the car is on the road.
Bit more done. With the exhaust fabricated and the brake lines ran the dry build of the chassis is pretty much done. Managed to tuck most of the system up into the chassis so it wont be visible side on. Need to add some cut outs up front for when I want to piss the neighbours off but they have been marked out and can be done off the car. I will also fab some 'weed eater' style headers for drag racing. I also added a mechanical brake light switch as I have had a few of the hydraulic type fail on me. I could now put the body back on, using the sketchy method that got it off, and enjoy it looking like a car again although there is still a long way to go. Floors will be next along with how to mount the set back firewall.
Still chipping away at the coupe with the floors being the current project. I also picked up a tunnel ram for the motor!
Cool project, I forget how little space you guys have to work in (as I plan to stretch my shed) but turn out some killer hot rods! Keep it up & thanks for the updates
Love the build. Personally I really like the channel too, even if it was unpopular with others! Keen to see it done and driven hard.
Some small updates. I ended up removing all the crossmembers for the roll cage I had as a much better one came up for sale which had already been built for a 32. It was fitted in a roadster but after measuring I was confident I could squeeze it into the confines of the coupe. I ended up dropping the mounting feet through the sub rail's both to gain some clearance and to satisfy the regulations, there are brackets on the inside of the frame to support the overhang. Next up is a to fabricate a bar to support the rear of the cage. At this point I had fabricated the floors in wood but my neighbour, who restores VW t3 vans, said they would look much better in steel and dropped a bead roller, shrinker/stretcher and folder round for me to borrow so, now that the metal has arrived I will attempt to fabricate them again.
Progress is still slow on the coupe but I'm getting bits done here and there. The mounts for the removable cage were finished and tacked in and I made a start on the steel floors. Also, due to the engine set back, I needed to fabricate a piece in the firewall to allow clearance for the dizzy. I am by no means a fabricator and I nearly binned this attempt numerous times but with a bit of cleaning up and some paint it shouldn't look too bad. Next was mounting the rad so I could finalise the grill shell height. This can make and brake any car and we have all seen plenty of hot rods with the hood running upwards towards the shell. It never looks quite right. A roll of gaffer tape and lots of 'eye balling' and I think it's about right. At this point my enthusiasm was lacking a little, usual story so much to do not seeing the woods for the trees etc, so I decided that rigging up just enough stuff to get the big block fired up would be just the boost I needed. The motor, although rebuilt, has been sat for around 8 years so it would be good piece of mind to know it has no issues at this point anyway. I ran the fuel lines, fitted water hoses, wired up what was needed and incredibly it fired right up! Enthusiasm renewed! Hopefully more updates soon.
The Jalopy Journal
