19?? chrysler sunbeam no 2 (+½ )

Nice work, looking forward to seeing more :-)

Hi Mel any updates on the garage,rolling frame or sunbeam??

finally figured out how to bluetooth pics from my phone to my laptop so time for a bit of an update


I have welded the bracketry and supports together for the car part of the rollover jig.

i then cut a hole through the front and rear supports with a holesaw, and then welded in a tube for the car to rotate around





bolt in brace between the bumper mounts on the inner wing and the crossmember, makes it a lot less flexy





brace from the top of the rear upright to the rear cage fixing points.

the rear bumper mounts are fitted to the rear chassis box section so shouldn't flex too much (hopefully!)








doors and windscreen mesh also removed




I tried to get into the car for the first time when i removed the doors and i have found that i am too old/fat to clamber over the top bar of the roll cage

i guess i need to do some yoga or change the door bars

after assembling 4 legs i welded up a pair of bolt in base frames from dexion.

while i was at it i bolted a pair of dexion support rails between the ends.



this was obviously an inappropriate material choice as it was much too bendy.

plan b was put into effect and i put the kettle on


after a few cigarettes and several cups of coffee i decided that for plan c i would use the only other long material i had available


i welded a sleeve of 62mm? tube to the side of the legs





drilled 8mm holes at each end of the sleeve and welded an 8mm nut over the hole.





all to support some fairly thinwalled 57mm? (can you tell i haven't measured anything ) tube.

this inconveniently was only 2.5m long so i welded 2 bits together for each side, using the floppy dexion to keep it square(ish) while welding





previously, out of camera shot , i had cut and shut the crossmember pieces of the pallet bay to form the horizontal support of the jig.

to these i added a similar sleeve with a bit of extra gusseting(great word )

I'm going to work with a huge smile on my face now that I've had my 'fix' of "chrysler sunbeam 294" great work mate,keep at it...whereever this car is shown/taken when its completed I will be along for a look,I've got to see it in the flesh!!! You are a star mate.

GENIUS !!!!

Great progress there mate.

Sorry to everyone that thought this was an update its not its just another photo to keep Mels mojo up! ;D

thanks for the pic gurners




i tend to agree with you ruishy

i am a bit scared at the moment as i have got to the stage of actually having to do something constructive to the car!



interim update:

no actual time spent on the car since the last update



i have decided (ie got out my measuring stick ;D)that the car on jig is a very tight fit in my personal workspace

with plan b in mind i have managed to wangle a fairly short term rental of a barn/lockup/workshop area on the farm i work out of.



this will enable me to use my bosses forklift for the nasty heavy bits ;D



the downside of this is that i will have to get a shift on or i will be paying full rent for the lockup.

(anyone want to share a fairly large workshop 5mins from stansted @35quid a week each?)




as mentioned previously i have spunked a fair bit of cash on ebay for bits i don't really need yet

picking up a n/s wing up on thursday and hopefully collecting a set of impractical rims in the same journey.

i will try to do the financially painful update on friday with pics of these and the other new (to me) bits

decided to start on the drivers side sill area as it looks to be the worst for corrosion.


rear inner and outer sill holed





bottom of a post is a bit of a horror not only is it rotten but it is buckled upwards and pushed out , separating from the sill and floorpan





jacking point is almost non existent
\




first time for the welder to touch the car





although i hope the cage will give the shell a bit of stability,
its good practice to brace the door opening.










i may do something a bit less half arsed when i chop a bit more out


"first cut is the deepest"

not really

first off i cut around the rotten area (leaving the sill end as a wobbly datum point)




could be much worse

the inner sill in this area is only rotten in the bottom 2 or 3 inches, with the rest of it still mostly showing the factory coating.


the a post is next for a bit of exploratory surgery






i cut the face of the a post bottom off





fairly thin/rotten all over and the sill end is also quite poor.

until i get a new avenger cover sill to fudge in i don't know what i will have to fabricate here so i will leave it for the time being.


so back to the back


sill cut back to access the rot







rusty bits hacked out





looking at what is left i decided to cut more out to make the repair a bit easier.




ready for cleaning up and repair panel fabrication.





too sweaty under my newly purchased 1kw halogen site lights so i called it a day


total time spent (wishing i had ordered some new sills last week and bought some cans of etch and weld through primer today ) 48 hours

total spend £650 (still too scared to add on the stuff I have bought recently +the 2 argos style order forms i filled out @toolstation when i only wanted a freestanding light and some cutting disks ;D)