Spindles

I got my spindles yesterday. The winter weather has made car disassembly a bit slow. Soon the weather should be back to normal and I can get the donor out of the driveway.

Axle F

Rear axle removed. Once I get a hand to haul it out from under the car, I'll add a photo, but almost there.

I'm done being sick

OK. After a cold and the flu. I am done being sick. Now it is time to finish my dis-assembly.

Only 3 major components left:

• brakes
  
• rear axle
  
• fuel pump
  

New year

So Christmas was a down time on the car build. I was out of town. However, I did get a bevy of new and exciting tools and car parts for the holidays.

I got:

• Aircraft tin snips


• An air riveter


• A hand riveter


• A tachometer


• A Speedometer


• A die Grinder
  

All in all, a great haul. Thanks everyone!

-C

sick

Being sick is a very unproductive way to go through a week.

A week later

Well, I have the wiring harness out as well as the steering column. I hope to get the steering rack and brakes out this weekend.

I picked up a pipe bender at HF. I am going to try and bend my last rear tubes and try and finish the frame before the end of the year.

where am I at?

I have been plinking away at the harness. I have everything unhooked but the computer, which is partially buried behind the heater assembly.

This weekend I should have it out and I should start on the gas tank and the steering rack.

Soon ol' ugly'll be gone. <Sniff>

Weekend update...

This weekend I made some small progress.

• I cleaned the transmission off. It was pretty caked with road grime, motor oil and power steering fluid, a heady cocktail of filth. If you look at the pic in the last post the tranny was black, now it is a more original metallic color.
  
• I got more wiring unhooked. The dash is almost totally un-hooked. I plan on having the harness dis-assembled soon.
  
• I moved the car and engine and hoist to allow the M back in the garage. This was a big win on "wife happiness" front.
  

All in all it wasn't as productive as I'd like, but a lot got done. Pretty typical day for the project.

-C

Latest

The engine and transmission are now in 2 separate pieces. It appears the clutch is non-hydraulic. That is a nice thing and will make the pedal box easier to deal with. The clutch plate still had life on it, but I think the speedo cable is broken. I imagine it's not supposed to be in 3 pieces. Now to strip the rest of the car....


-C

before and after.

I took the bra off the car....eeeeewww. Leprosy of the paint.

Here's the car right before removal:



Here's the result.



...one heavy lump. Plus if you look closely you can see the valdez sized spill where the tranny dumped the fluid.

Outed

I have outed my engine. Thanks to lots of help from Bob (guy on left) and the equipment loan from Dean the Lima Lump is on the garage floor. Dang it is heavy. I'll post pics tonight.

pulling an engine

here

and here

I am doing this next. It should be interesting.

lotus super 7 race

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9UVV0XuiDk

Not positive what version of a 7 car it is, but it's cool. This was one of the things that got me interested in this project.

countdown

only 15 more tubes for the basic chassis

tiny bit o' progress

3 more tubes. 12 inches of steel.

I did manage to weld a lot of the tacked parts up.

1st ride

I picked up a hitch-hiker and took him for a spin.




Only progress so far is the tranny tunnel.

thoughts on progress

I would say the most difficult thing about this build has been finding the free time to do it. 2nd would be the compound angles with a cheap harbor freight cut-off saw.

If I build another one of these frames in the future, and I might, I'd liker to have a dedicated shop, because jockeying the motorcycle and M out of the garage every time I want to work gets a little old. In that shop I would place a metal band saw and a plasma cutter along with a large bench grinder.

All in all, I am happy with the amount I have done in little over a month. I will have to begin donor surgery soon. That will also cause a cramping of space as I extract parts and have to make room for them.

Progress-o-meter

Got some stuff done yesterday. Not as much as I wanted to. I spent a while trying to figure out how to do the bends. No luck yet. I'm gonna build the bender myself, I think. I'll post a pic of it if it is successful.

Much of this week will be un-productive. I am out 2 nights for a biz trip.

status

a quick breath

Stopping and looking back. It's been a month since I started fabrication on this thing. I have gotten a lot better at welding, but I would say that my biggest issue is getting the pieces cut right. My Harbor Freight Chop saw is not a precision instrument and I have to cut long and grind to fit. I also need to figure out my tube bending. I may get a bender this weekend and this will be a moot point, but if not I think I'll be back at HF buying something.

I still have the donor dis-assembly ahead. Some of that is going to be fun, but I don't expect it to be smooth. I can't remember the last mustang I disassembled.

Overall I am glad I started this. It keeps me busy and it is a constant source of fascination. I find new and cool sites all the time that are related to Locosts or car fabrication in general. I'm going to spend a few minutes and update the site. I have a lot of bookmarks that need to be organized.

I won't be getting much done this weekend since I need to go to Portland for a family affair. I need to get actual pictures of the frame up here soon.

-Chris