Ed, just stunning. Total respect for you man.
Just saw this thread and spent the past hour and a half reading every post. Hats off to you, and love the color
With the rear and front suspension in, we got the brakes installed and ran the fuel and brake lines thru-out the car. This was thought to make up new lines. I have the brake line fittings already installed to facilitate getting the flairs done correctly, however, come to find out the fittings did not fit thru the rear axle housing, so we had to cut the ends and slip them thru first. It is my belief that the brake lines were put on the car as straight pieces, bent as they felt necessary to hit the mounting tabs and they flared accordingly. Additionally, the brake backing plates and shoes/springs, cams and emergency levers were all assembled off the car originally. I tried to do them the car and with the close tolerances on the back sides to the axles etc, it was impossible to do it this way. Thus assemble all the backing plates on the bench, attach all the parts and then mount the whole assembly. The challenge was now getting to the backing plate bolts in a very tight situation. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Now with suspension and and brakes done (need to do the brake bleed - will be done later) we loaded the car and back to my shop for the final assembly - starting with the insulation and wiring harness, gauges etc. Ill probably take a break over the xmas holiday and hit it hard in january. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Another item that was necessary to make related to my previous post on the seats was the seat hinge bolts and the seat adjuster knob. The seats have a very large head screw with a shoulder on it to allow the seat back to pivot. So we made these and had my chrome guy do his thing like the originals. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
To simply the make on these adjuster knobs, i have them made in steel (brass could have worked as well) and we will paint satin black like the originals. There was discussion about doing these on a 3 d printer, or black delron material - but i felt this was the quickest way to get the look i needed. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Anodized aluminum would likely be better. To paint the steel, epoxy primer is best for adhesion. But, molded plastic is a bit glossy so I would try to locate a paint that matches. Forgot 3D printing for a component like that. Would require a lot of post processing. Machining was the way to go.
Another item related to the brakes....so originally when i preassembled the car to see what was missing, one of the emergency brake arm - return springs , that mount on the backing plate was broken. My thinking, wow, where in the heck to i find one of these....well to my surprise one of the big suppliers had them on the shelf! so i order 2, because they are left and right orientation. So 2 yrs later i go to install them and i find that they are clocked differently than my original ones. This issue would not allow the arm to mounted with tension on it. Upon questioning what we had here, i contacted the supplier and they never heard of this issue....see pic and you can see the mounting tab is 180 degree out of sync with the original one i have. The solution would be to redrill the hole in the backing plate (which could work fine and is what i think their assembly shop does) or try to find the correct ones. Another large supplier did a search for me, and has found the correct ones somewhere....wish i knew where, as I'm pretty good at sniffing out these parts and who makes what. Anyhow i have a correct set coming..... My error for not taking closer inspection when the parts arrived 2 yrs earlier.....just a subtle difference, but one that held up the assembly for a week sorting this out. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you for the advise - i made several sets so i may experiment a little with the anodized approach. Oh, i stand corrected -we did make them out of alum...just forgot what we did!! So the anodized process can easily be done.
Any serious spring manufacturer will make you new ones in no time for peanuts, let's say $100 for a pair - or a few hundreds for 100 pairs.
Thanks John, kare, i got a pair coming from GTO....never had springs made before - that is intriguing ...
Update on the seat track knobs...had then black anodized I'm happy with the look, satin and can pass for the plastic that they were originally made in Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Currently working on the timing cover for my engine guy. The timing cover has a lot of responsibility, water pump, generator, fuel pump, oil pump, tensioner, cam gears etc..... A lot of mechanical analysis, new parts and tolerance evaluations went into fitting all the parts and the timing gears. The engine guy want to install the timing cover, and cycle the engine over to assess the valve to piston clearances before the final assembly. I said i would do the timing cover pieces - which took way way more time that i expected - however they needed to be done and correct, and i learned a lot! Once all the items have been fit and tolerance assessed and fixed, then off to paint, plating of the bolts/nuts and assembly. So...i think I'm there - delivery tomorrow to the engine builder for his piece to complete and hopefully final assembly. A heck of a lot of detail when you take the time to look at everything! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks great Ed. Is the big domed nut part of the tensioner? Seeing the 1, 2, 3 stamped on the intake manifolds made me remember something. The 12 holes in my air filter box used to line up with the carb studs just fine. Then once I had taken things apart and after I put them together the studs no longer lined up. It was a big pain in the butt figuring out the right order so things could line up. Do you know if your 1 is in the front or in the back? If not, figure it out before you torque everything down. For that matter, I can't remember if each casting can be flipped either way, if so, that would add even more confusion. john
Yes big dome nut cover the tensioner adj screw ...... Numb 1 is front of engine - believe was done by previous owners.....not me
It is really starting to come together. The detail is spectacular. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
Started to add a few more bling items to the car....i could not hold back, wanting to get a look at the Marshall Headlamps, buckets and Chrome Rings i made. I also installed the chrome grill surround - the paint job it took up a few more MM of space that i could not afford to lose on the grill fit. It took a while to get this in without scratching and a little force to get the screws started. I have to say, the fit looks real good - these grills unlike the later cars do NOT get the rubber grill surround piece. This would hide a bit of anomalies and fit with the grill. These grills have to fit right on with the front nose edge - uniform all the way around. I know we worked this grill many many times, in and out to make this happen. Im in the process of have new grill slats being water jetted - once they get back, ill have to do the end to end measurements, trim, fit, fit and fit, trim, trim and refit . This will be a tedious process getting the egg crates perfect look vertical and horizontal. More of this later when the parts arrive.
Last weekend i also started on some interior pieces - getting the new door panel material, rear luggage shelf, side panels and the kick panels remade and fit to the car. I wanted to get on these and do the work myself, so i can get the upholstery guy to begin to assess what needs to happen. Im thinking i might have used a slightly too thick panels....orig's are 1/8 and I'm using the 3/16. Im hoping this is not an issue..... Just realized i did not snap pics of the new stuff.....will do Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
