1946 Morris 8 Series E - off to storage

Would it help if the balljoint was above arm rather than below like above? Would that help with the bump steer.

I had to use 3" spacer bar on each side on the manta to dial out bump
I managed to keep the racks stock position but 2" lower hence spacers,

I'd have to make some adapters if I put the steering arms above. If i cant get a good position by moving the rack then I'll be giving this some thought.

I'd already got the guys at the machine shop at work to narrow the rack for me. Its set to be exactly the right width to line up between the joints when in a given position, which is why i'm scratching my head a bit as to why its bump steering.

I'll get it sorted. All part of the "fun"

Its not an ideal solution, but as i found with my build the only one

Well, interesting few weeks mainly no doing car things.

I crashed my mountain bike, ended up in A&E for stitches and xrays. Luckily only a cut and chipped elbow as thoguth i'd broken my arm. It was a bit uncomfortable but all sorted now.

I also ended up at Manchester classic car show which was interesting, mainly speaking to some of the stands. It turns out there's a custom prop place in Chorley called North West Propshafts who do custom props which is handy seeing as I need one :-)

I ordered up some of the bits I need to move the rack, but completely forgot to order rod ends or taps, so have put the rack on hold.

As i'm home, rather than waste a weekend, i decided to make some more of the plethora of brackets required. This ties the main hoop onto the shell at the point the sunroof tray joins the body.

Template 1



It was a pain to make, so i put strips of masking tape across to fill the gap, then drew along the edges, peeled off and stuck to card before cutting out. Worked well and was much quicker than faffing round cutting card repeatedly.







then measured up to make the proper template







Looking at it, it was just going to be too "heavy looking" even with lightening holes, plus it reduces access to put the side glass in.

new design - template 2



this one moved up the bend a bit, and gave greater clearance to the window. As its not really a major structural point i can be a bit lighter



Looking at the pic you can see it doesnt quite touch the roof... cue template 3...or 4

evolution of the templates



I also worked out lightening hole positions



transferred into 1.2mm steel which was a pig to cut the curves with aviation shears.



Only little returns so had to bend on the bench



then manhandle round using the shrinker, some tube, a hammer, and clamps to get the shape





all made





test fit





good fit all round



but looks a bit heavy. should have swaged with larger hole sizes....

re-make bracket.....

the one on the right is the re-made with larger holes. Much "lighter" looking





just got to make the one for the other side and weld them in...

Tomorrows fun :-)

Yes, it was a complete C U next Tuesday.

I ended up having to cut three slits in it as well so I could massage it more with the hammer.

good to see a tidy a shop, but like me i guess it lasts all of five minutes! Ive got a vac now i leave setup and run it round like a proper little housewife when I'm packing up lol

Cleaning of the workshop, my OCD and I approve.....

Nice car too

The mill is an Alpine complex mill/drill. Its a handy tool, but isn't really big enough for chewing through heavy things quickly.


I'm not very hopeful of the workshop staying tidy for long.

back on the car for a bit today.

I made in metal the bracket the card template is for.

Mark out






Cut



Punch holes



Swage




Fit













I then made the otherside and fitted it... but forgot to photo.. .It looks remarkably like the one above, just mirrored :-)

I then decided it'd be nice to tie the whole roof panel into the cage.

Here



After making a trial piece to see what it'd look like i decided a full size mock-up was required

markout



Drill pilot holes



Punch.... punch.... and punch some more



this took a while and my hand was aching by the end.



Its not so easy to see, but one side is straight, the other has a curve to it. I folded up the straight side in my bender then set about the curved side



my handy flange bending bolt



first pass



another



dressed with dolly and all the holes swaged.



I had to use the shrinker to straighten it a bit as all the holes had pulled a slight curve

In situ







I very much like swaged holes, but cant decide if its going to look excessive. There will be a transverse outrigger going to the door pillar top part way along (where the long black line is), so this will break up the lines a bit.

Whats your thoughts?


Is moar more, or is less more?