July 2006

 

Last month was fairly eventful and I achieved a lot. This month I endeavour to get to the stage where I can start the engine. Firstly, I will complete some tasks so I can check them off my list.

 

I bought some ply wood and made the lids for the tool box. It's good when some pre planing works out. I created the tool box years ago and I knew that I needed lids, so I made provision for mounting tabs when I welded it together. To make the lids, I used cardboard to make some templates, then transferred that in ply. The outer pieces are semi permanent and  are held in with single screws. They are also resting on support tabs and can be easily removed when needed. The inner sections are just sitting in recesses and tabs. I drilled small holes so I can get my finger in to lift them off. I will paint them in GMH black later. They are flush with the floor and will be covered when the carpet is fitted. It will be easy to lift the carpet up to get at them. I also used Nutserts ( Rivnuts ) in the mounting tabs. They are a great idea and a good way of fitting small items after the car is painted. They use a similar principle as pop rivets and come in varying sizes.

Here I am trying to show that I have fitted the rubber boot seal. Pic is not to good but the words will clear it up. I had bought the seal a while back and never thought about it until now. I can't remember how the seal fitted so I had some thinking. The problem I can see is the seal was made for a sedan where the hinges are external. The open cars are a hidden hinge that fits very close to the top channel. The issue is the hinge actually encroaches into the area where the seal fits. If you close the boot, the hinge pushes the seal down. The only option was to cut recesses into the seal. I don't know if that's right or not, but that's the only way around it I think. I also used Superglue to  attach the seal around the channel. It was slow going, doing 4" at a time, inside, then outside but I like that instead of using Contact Cement, where you have to scuff up the paint to have a good bond area. Potential for rust as well I think. Superglue also loves rubber and where I attached the ends together is nearly undetectable.

Here is something I should have done before the car was painted. I had the running boards for a while. I knew they fitted, but never tried them when the body was on the chassis. I knew I had chassis issues and lining up the running boards to the guards would be a guess. When I replaced the lower sections of both rear guards way back when, I had no reference to how far down the sections need to be. The end result is I made a calculated guess. They aren't to far out, in fact, the side with the drastic chassis work  ended up near perfect.

The driver's side is slightly lower, or the running board it the wrong shape.  They do fit better than a lot of 37s I have seen. At least the gap under the door and quarter panel is fairly narrow. In any case,  once they are covered with rubber, which is getting nearer, they will look even better.

Here is the top of the fuel sender. I originally had intentions of using VDO gauges so I had the tank made way back with a VDO sender. I later changed my mind and got Classic gauges. I forgot about the VDO sender until after I installed the tank. I then had to think if they are compatible. I used a multimeter to work out the resistance of the VDO sender. I could not get a reading. I bit the bullet and removed the tank. It looks like the guy that made the tank had forgotten to put back a strap so it would have never worked. I thought I may as well put in the Classis sender while it was out. Thankfully, they had the exact same mounting flange so it was just a matter of working out the right depth to set the sender at. Once that was done, it worked fine. The only issue I have is the Classic sender uses a vertical lug for the connector and since the tank is mounted flush under the floor, it protruded up too far. I trimmed it down and I made a slight recess so I can mount a rubber boot over it. It should be OK.  The VDO had a splade connector and cleared everything. Oh well, fix something and cause another problem.

Next, I start on the electrical. I have been asked why I didn't put the battery in the boot. Well, I couldn't see any reason to do that, as there was a perfectly good spot for it in the engine bay. It is extremely close to all power loads, which means less cable running. That alone is a good enough reason in my books. Shorter cables means less loss of power.

I purchased an Optima battery with a CCA ( Cold Cranking Amps ) capacity of  780 amps. That should be sufficient for the high torque starter motor and all the loads I intend to place on it.

I had to devise a way of mounting the battery. I didn't want the standard garden variety hold down brackets so I made the rear bracket with the contour of the battery made into it. I used Nutserts and 10mm bolts to fasten the bracket to the base. The battery just slides into  the bracket. In the front, I drilled out 2 holes into the battery base plate, then screwed that into the Nutserts in the front. It looks  a lot neater and will support the battery very well. I will make a cover to go over the whole battery later on. You can also see in the pictures my cut out switch. It is very close to the battery and is quite accessible from under the dash in case I need to get at it in a hurry. ( I hope I never have to use it like that ).
Here we are under the dash looking behind the battery compartment. You may recall I welded some bolts there a while ago. Here is their purpose. This will be the main grounding point for the dash and general body electricals. I will bring a ground cable through the battery compartment and anchor it here. The brass bus bar will be the common point for all devises that require a grounding point.

Next pic is the fuse box. I divided all the wires into the intended direction they need to be. On the left will be the relays and blinker units. This is fairly accessible, as I believe it should be. Later, I will get some solid black plastic sheet and make a cover to hide all the wiring. All that will be visible will be the fuse panel. This is an E-Z wiring loom I got off Ebay. It is fairly comprehensive and has many circuits I won't need. I will use some for other functions, but many will be coiled up and left for future uses.

Well,  the weather fined up, so I spent my time doing the landscaping of my back yard. The only thing I done towards the build was to pick up my windscreen and wind wing glass. 

 

                    HOME               Wanna see August  2006?..Click    Here!