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Jul 12, 2020 17:27:35 GMT
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Looks great, must be good for the soul to see it rolling again!
When you weld the brackets on the axle do you have any problems with the axle tubes bending?
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jul 12, 2020 19:21:30 GMT
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Looks great, must be good for the soul to see it rolling again! When you weld the brackets on the axle do you have any problems with the axle tubes bending? No, I’ve never had any issues. it’s one of the reasons you always make sure you have the shafts and diff in and everything bolted up when welding a casing though. It’s also part of the thinking behind the full circle axle brackets. If I’m welding all the way round the tube evenly it reduces the risk of distortion compared to only welding half way round it. |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Jul 19, 2020 21:32:36 GMT
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I Had a look though the pedal assemblies. Seems I was slightly further on with them than i thought before the fire. They’re quite heavily modified series Land Rover ones. They’re flipped upside down, new mounts added, and then entirely new pedal arms made. (Quite cool I-beam design things I made, but i forgot to take a pic) The brake one is then modded to take two master cylinders and a generic rally design type bias pedal adjuster. Tbh the only bit of that one that’s really left is the bronze bushed pivot assembly. The clutch one needed some finishing off round the front edge and some lightness adding. The brake one just needed some corners rounding off and some holes drilled. This so the clutch before. I welded the corners internally and trimmed the lip off to tidy it up.  Brake. You can see here I’ve remade pretty much all of it. Might add some furthher bracing later in the corners.  Lots of holes drilled.   They drop into this tray I’ve made for their mounting, then bolt down. Very easy to access and remove to work on if necessary.  One thing that is a bit of an issue is space for the lines to exit the girling type master cyls is tight, as they exit from the top at 45 degrees. The clutch one steps up to 1/4” line as it leave the cyl (for volume reasons) but can be kicked over to the left a bit for foot clearance.  The brake ones are tighter and right in the way, but I found these 90deg banjo adapters for 3/16” lines which will help keep them under the false floor/heel plate nicely.  Speaking of which, a new bit of 2mm ally plate is on to way to remake the heel rest. Once that’s on I can replace the master cyls and paint the pedals and they’re about done I think. Well, if the new pedal rubbers I bought from speedway motors ever turn up. |
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Last Edit: Jul 19, 2020 21:33:38 GMT by Dez
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Remember a while back I made this?  Well to be honest I was putting off fitting it, a wriggling it betwixt engine and box didn’t seem the easiest task. Turns out I was wrong, after removing the cowl, firewall and side panels, supporting the engine with a jack and slackening the bellhousing bolts, I was able to wriggle the engine and box far enough apart to disengage the locating dowels and undo one bolt at a time to slip it in. Here it is all fitted up.    This meant i could start thinking about the other half of the panel, that would become part of the firewall. I figured 1/2” of overlap would be enough, with an extra 1/4” clearance. So before I fitted the sandwich plate I drew round it on a sheet of 1.2mm, and extrapolated the other lines from that. Here I’m pointing at the ‘original’ line traced from the sandwich plate.  I then cut out a couple of 1” strips from the waste in the middle, to weld onto the edges to take up the slope of the firewall panel.  These were welded into place-   And smoothed out.  I did this before cutting the centre out to minimise distortion. Then I cut the centre out.  |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Fantastic work lad.
I love this car.
Funnily enough I love hotrods, esp Model A Fords yet I've only seen one in person and I'v never been in one. Weird really.
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It really does give a sense of how little space Henry decided people actually needed inside one of his cars, when you look at how narrow the cab gets towards the firewall.
Nice work though, that's going to have added a decent bit of stiffness to that panel, should stop some of the squeaks and rattles in the front.
Phil
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It really does give a sense of how little space Henry decided people actually needed inside one of his cars, when you look at how narrow the cab gets towards the firewall. Nice work though, that's going to have added a decent bit of stiffness to that panel, should stop some of the squeaks and rattles in the front. Phil Original drive train left a lot of leg room though! Well, comparatively anyhoo haha |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Fantastic work lad. I love this car. Funnily enough I love hotrods, esp Model A Fords yet I've only seen one in person and I'v never been in one. Weird really. Sounds like someone needs a passenger trip up the hill at the gathering next year. |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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It really does give a sense of how little space Henry decided people actually needed inside one of his cars, when you look at how narrow the cab gets towards the firewall. Nice work though, that's going to have added a decent bit of stiffness to that panel, should stop some of the squeaks and rattles in the front. Phil Removing 10” of height at the firewall hasn’t really helped either 😂 But yeah even Henry knew his bodies were too narrow at the cowl by this point. Hence the 30/31 being about 4” wider there even though all the running gear was the same. The panel is a lot stiffer. I expect some squeaks and rattles as I’m keeping all the cowl and firewall bolted together for accessibility, but then if I wanted something that wasn’t a bit raw to drive, I wouldn’t be building this. |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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It really does give a sense of how little space Henry decided people actually needed inside one of his cars, when you look at how narrow the cab gets towards the firewall. Nice work though, that's going to have added a decent bit of stiffness to that panel, should stop some of the squeaks and rattles in the front. Phil Original drive train left a lot of leg room though! Well, comparatively anyhoo haha Unless you’re familiar with them it’s hard to comprehend just how big a Y-block bellhousing is compared to model A. The flywheel alone is 15” across, the bellhousing with the stater motor housing and clutch mount bosses is just over 20”. In a chassis that only 30” across externally (so 26” internally) at the bellhousing. It’s also placement though. The gearbox in a model A is below the floor that sits flat on top of the chassis rails. My crank centreline is level with the top of the chassis, so the motor/box is considerably higher up. |
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Just read this from beginning to date, amazing work and bookmarked for the next lot of work
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Current Fleet:
2004 Audi A4 1.9tdi Sport Avant
2014 Ford Fiesta 1.25 (wifes car, curse word box)
1987 Volkswagen Polo CL
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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I really needed to get the body off this to allow the next bits to happen. So that’s what I did. It needed to be lifted even higher that before now with the roll bar being on there, but 3 of us managed it without much hassle. Further down the line I’ll make a lifting frame for it to use on the gantry crane so I can do it by myself if needs be.  I still had the wooden dolly for the body so it got plonked on that so it’s still movable. To remove the body the cowl/firewall panels are unbolted and removed, for clearance and to make it lighter. Then the body bolts are undone and it goes up and off and you’re left with a v8 powered gokart. The main reason for body removal was to jig up and weld on the lower 4 link brackets. Until this is done it’s not fully rolling so couldn’t be moved at all which isn’t ideal. A job that’s much easier to do without the body in the way.  The axle pinion angle was set again, the brackets checked for distance to the outer end of the axle, the angles set to match those on the upper links, than a good heavy tack was put on each bracket.   The lower links were then adjusted up to length, and bolted in. They dropped into place perfectly, signifying everything was aligned right. Pinion angle was then set using the upper link. You do it this way so the spring doesn’t bind.   I then obviously spent a bit of time jumping up and down on the rear suspension 😂 It seems a little stiffer than before which is good, and also a little higher. I did think the old spring was a bit tired given it ended up lower than expected, this one is obviously in better condition. So it’s a roller again now, which I’m rather pleased about. Only rear axle related jobs to do now are the rear shock tabs and brake line tabs. The brackets will be finish welded when it’s stripped for sandblasting. |
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Removing 10” of height at the firewall hasn’t really helped either 😂 But yeah even Henry knew his bodies were too narrow at the cowl by this point. Hence the 30/31 being about 4” wider there even though all the running gear was the same. The panel is a lot stiffer. I expect some squeaks and rattles as I’m keeping all the cowl and firewall bolted together for accessibility, but then if I wanted something that wasn’t a bit raw to drive, I wouldn’t be building this. Well, no. But you can't really achieve that look without. And, you probably figured the squeaks and rattles comment was slightly tongue-in-cheek! It should eliminate some of the hard acceleration shake though, which will make it more fun to drive. All progress is good progress though. Been trying to do one thing a day, no matter how small. Doesn't always pan out that way but it helps the mental state, I find. Phil |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Removing 10” of height at the firewall hasn’t really helped either 😂 But yeah even Henry knew his bodies were too narrow at the cowl by this point. Hence the 30/31 being about 4” wider there even though all the running gear was the same. The panel is a lot stiffer. I expect some squeaks and rattles as I’m keeping all the cowl and firewall bolted together for accessibility, but then if I wanted something that wasn’t a bit raw to drive, I wouldn’t be building this. Well, no. But you can't really achieve that look without. And, you probably figured the squeaks and rattles comment was slightly tongue-in-cheek! It should eliminate some of the hard acceleration shake though, which will make it more fun to drive. All progress is good progress though. Been trying to do one thing a day, no matter how small. Doesn't always pan out that way but it helps the mental state, I find. Phil I did, show me a stock model A that doesn’t squeak and rattle like a butchers bike on cobbles! 🤣 I’m hoping the fully boxed frame will take out any shake. Especially as the (huge) rear kickup, which is the prime place for flex, is now essentially braced by the roll hoop too. I very much subscribe to the one thing a day method. As you say, it helps mentally even if you’re only creeping rather than leaping forward. |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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You may recall back somewhere vaguely near the start of this thread, that I intend to make some changes so it is drivable as a chassis without the body. Because if you could v8 powered gokart, you would wouldnt you. One of the major changes needed was the fuel tank relocating from being hung behind the rear crossmember off the body, to in front of it sort of above the axle. I’ve had the appropriate tank for ages, an old spun ally one. I think it’s about 10 gallon capacity.  I knew where I wanted to put it, but the brackets wouldn’t be too straightforward. I’d been planning them for ages and new they’d be quite a lot of work, but also a real focal point. So much so I took some measurements and did a drawing to get my head round it.  The design was tweaked a bit, then some CAD was employed before I cut them out as I had to buy extra materials to do this and I didn’t want to waste them.  Well it fits the tank at least.  And on the chassis-  A couple of other small tweaks were made then I was ready to lay it out properly. So I chucked some poor mans layout film onto the part sheet of 3mm steel I’d acquired.  Some scribing and scribbling later-  Mucho cutting and grinding later, and we have one side made. Drops in perfect.  This was then copied, roughed out first then ground to exact by clamping to the other one as a pattern.  Then both of em were dropped into place and the tank tried for size.     This is by no means the finished product, but it’s the fundamentals of the dimensions pinned down. I especially like how the shape of the tank mirrors perfectly the shape of the chassis gussets.  Even though the tank is now fairly close to the back of my head, it’s arguably safer than before as it’s now within the confines of the chassis and rollcage, whereas previously it was basically my rear crumple zone. |
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Last Edit: Oct 8, 2020 20:40:47 GMT by Dez
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Just how long did it take to carve out those 2 (neat) brackets please?
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
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Looking good! Where is the rear floor/bulkhead going? Under the tank and over the axle, or over the tank with the filler poking through?
Will you have to lean through the roof to fill 'er 'up??
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Just how long did it take to carve out those 2 (neat) brackets please? That depends on if you just count the time with grinder in hand cutting it out, or if you consider the whole planning/design/drawing/development/cutting and finish grinding. To physically cut them out and fettle, maybe 3hrs. The whole process well over a day. And there’s a lot more to come on them yet, they’re by no means finished. |
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,790
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Looking good! Where is the rear floor/bulkhead going? Under the tank and over the axle, or over the tank with the filler poking through? Will you have to lean through the roof to fill 'er 'up?? The floor will run where it did previous, so under the rails then returns up to the crossmember with the loop in it. It will then have a second, separate floor panel that runs from the edge of that floor right back to the bottom of the body at the rear, including wrapping up to cover the wheel arch areas, so it’s got a full belly pan. There won’t be a bulkhead/floor panel above that, it will all be open, so the axle is essentially in the car with you. Yeah The fill will probably be through the roof, I have designs on an extension pipe that will screw on to take it up to roof skin level, that can then be removed when running without the body. |
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