sgtpontiac
Older, Wiser and Still Buildin'
Roger that!!
Figured you had a plan....
Figured you had a plan....
Scratch Building a Coupe
- Thread starter rsfyj
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rods Rule:
Fast cheap lock for the clutch cable end. I used a scrap of the same flat steel I drilled a hole centred in the piece the same size as the cable end and slid it over the cable end. I then punched two holes for bolts to secure the pieces together. To bad everything was this easy and fast, eheheh. I also put a 5/16 bolt with two locking nuts in the hole of the stop on the clutch arm near the bottom. this will take up any slop in the pedal as needed. That worked nice and was a fast remedy. I installed my brake booster to see how it fit and it didn’t fit. So I had to adjust the clutch cable bracket as well as the booster bracket. I finally got them to all fit in the same space and in that one corner of the fire wall.. I wanted to install my brake master cylinder so I could pipe my brakes front and back. Now is the time to do this before I get the floors done. it will be faster and easier. I also located a slip yoke for the T9 transmission so I can build another drive shaft and spicer universal joints. I will save for this. Another thing was my steering post needs to be angled better so I can align with the shaft on the rack better. I will get to that soon. I took a few photos..
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Thanks!! Now I know how too.
Today i nibbled away at the fire wall bracing and structure for sheet steel. I used some 1 inch tubing I had left from the longer tubes. I spent considerable time in the drivers seat area welding and fitting. And I realized I needed more heel and foot room on the floor. It became apparent that I could drop the floors 3 inches by just adding another piece of 3x1.5 rectangular tubing to the bottom of the existing frame rails. I will start just behind the starter and end up just in front of the seat edge. that will give me the extra room i need. I could get by with it the way it is now, but I can change this easily as I have no gas lines or brake lines to move. this is basically a weld and cut operation. I can then lower my running boards 3 inches lower. This building on the fly is great as you are not held to rigid rules and blueprints, which I hate. This is the next step for me and then I can do the floors and tie them in with the fire wall. I'm glad these changes come quick and not after a long process of building has taken place, heheh. My wife will like this as she asked why we cant lower the running boards etc. I have some photos if you can figure out what I added? ahah
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sgtpontiac
Older, Wiser and Still Buildin'
Firewall braces????
Also, kill two birds with one stone....more leg room and make the wife happy...win win!!
Also, kill two birds with one stone....more leg room and make the wife happy...win win!!
Change
Most of the time changes are better, this is one. You hit the nail on the head sgt
Most of the time changes are better, this is one. You hit the nail on the head sgt
Well I cant take it back now. I cut the frame out and added another piece under it. I now have the left side done . Tomorrow I will do the other side. I ended up using 2.5 inch rectangular tubing because that's all the guy had today. So i used what he had. I gained 3.5 inches for my heels and feet more room all around where you need to relax your feet and still drive. This took a little longer than I expected but I elected to add the strips of 1/8 inch flat plate in pairs on each end so I could tie them together. I also continuously welded the seams where the two tubes meet. I was told once by a crafty guy who built Dirt cars when you z or lower a frame like this you need to have twice the depth of the piece you are cutting out. This would amount to a 7 inch long seam welded. 2X3.5 inches = 7 inches. I have nearly ten inches plus 4 side plates covering both pieces. Any way he always had winning cars and they didn't break so I used his formula. Of course more is better if you can do it. I'm not racing just going to Mc Donald’s and other places. This little change will make a nice difference for me. Of course I could have planed all this before hand but I didn't. I had no idea what this thing would look like or how big etc. I just fashioned it around me and my wife's tastes. Got some photos..
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I completed the floor lowering I finished the right side of the floor. just have to cap the open ends of the tubing on each side. I am ready now to do some more bracing on the floor and fire wall area. It took a day for each side but I am glad I did this it will pay dividends all the way when I rest my feet on the floors. No more modifying in this area I think I am done here.I have a few photos about the same as the day before.
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Well it came and passed I caped the ends of the tubing that I cut out. that's done and out of the way. Now I can cover them up with flooring. I used the 2 pieces of 3.5 rectangular tubing that was cut from the rails. I used them under the door posts for reinforcements. I noticed that my doors would hand or rub at times. So i jacked op the post enough to keep the doors free and welded in the 3.5X1.5 tubing pieces. This worked out nice I let the jacks off after they cooled down and everything was good to go. I am glad I had these scrap pieces as they fit the bill real well and is beefy also. That took 4 hours to get all this done. Tomorrow maybe I can work on some grid work along the transmission tunnel and adjacent floor areas. I have 3 photos..
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I found scraps enough and time enough to do some floor grid work for some sheet metal. All the time I have worked on this car and engine I just noticed that the transmission is installed about 3 degrees to 4 degrees to the left as you face the rear of the bell housing, it is not perfectly square and level as many are. i don’t know why the Germans did this but I had to work around the lop sidedness of the tranny when I did the grid work. Any way I was able to get all the way to the beginning of the seat area. and the end of the transmission torque tube. No looking back now I will start to piece in some sheet steel I have left over. Have some photos..
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Dirtyrat
Got Fins?
I'm just trying to picture your floor here, but why does the frame or frame extension come up close to the firewall, down behind your feet and then back up? What am I missing?
I just lowered the frame rails 3.5 inches, by cutting them out and adding another beneath them, just in front of the the seat edge area. And then continues as far as I could go without getting into major surgery on the frame rails. Big improvement for my feet.
Golly I ordered the wood this AM and minutes later the wood arrives at my shop. This was quick and allowed me to get an early start on this ceiling thing.. I am glad to report this project of framing is complete. I will be ready for sheet rock in May. And hopefully I will have the complete summer for Hot Rod work. And this will also allow me to get that Merkur back in the shop for this winters work. I want to transform the Merkur into a pick up. This will be something different and interesting to cut the back off and transform it into a pick up. Another good thing to report is my friend dropped by to see the Coupe. He told me he had a large piece of stainless steel that will cover my fire wall area in one shot. he said I could have it he will never use it. The metal came off a medical Cart from a Hospital. This made my day knowing I wont have to paint the darn fire wall ever. I have a few photos...
