October 2006
| Last month was a high point in the build. The progress is coming along fine and on target for full registration by the end of the year. The engineer is coming over for another inspection tomorrow and I hope all is fine with him. After that, it's off to the trimmers. |
| Here are a couple of pics of the 37 with all
the sheet metal attached. I fitted the lights and indicators that I had
stored for a few years now. I painted up the blanking plates in a spray
chrome. I know it was never going to be as good as real chrome, but at least
it looks better than plain black plastic. The conversion to Hella lights
look great and the integration of the indicators look nice as well. This
conversion comes from Julianos in the US and is fairly straight forward if
you have the original set up. I had a bit of head scratching as mine had
been modified way back with sealed beam converters. All the clips were bent
out of shape. I figured it out and now have super bright, adjustable lights
that enhance some of the 37s character.
And just to prove they are working, here is a pic with the lights on. It's good when things work right off the bat! I will give the rod a well deserved wash next. There's plenty of finger prints and dirt from man handling the panels into alignment. As of now, there are no more parts stored under my house, they are all on the rod....now that feels good.! |
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| Check out these stalks. I thought mine were OK, until I went to primer them. I then discovered that one of them was actually made from epoxy resin!. Not a bad job by whoever moulded it way back whenever, but it was now cracking up. I heard that another rodder called Noel, who also built nice 37 roadster, actually got some new ones forged in aluminium. I contacted him and he said he could make me a pair. I said I only wanted one side, but when he fronted up with two, I was stunned. They were fantastic, so naturally, I got both. He even polished them to a mirror shine. It was a shame that I was going to paint them, but I couldn't see them blending in with the rest of the car the way they were. So a big thanks to Noel! |
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| Here is the original, well actually, the epoxy stalk compared to Noel's. He even tapped the mounting hole. |
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| Ok, what are we looking at here? It's the
windscreen washer bottle that I painted black and mounted in the middle of
the fire wall, just under the bonnet. It's not to obtrusive and doesn't
restrict access to anything. Next pic is a bit hard to see, but its the dual nozzle mounted in the middle of the cowl vent flap. It was the only position where I could mount it. I didn't like drilling holes in there, but I had no choice. The washers work great. You may notice that the driver's windscreen is not there, as I am replacing the cracked glass. When I tried the washers, I forgot I had no glass in and it squirted me right in the face:-) |
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| I intended to cover the running boards but
discovered that the rubber covers I bought from Bob Drakes in April 2005 and
had stored for this moment are wrong. They are for a 39 Deluxe/40 model. I
don't know who stuffed up, but needless to say, I have placed another order
with specific instructions. Anyone need 39 Deluxe/40 rubbers, I have a pair, new
and fairly cheap;-) Oh well, in the mean time, I am wiring up my sound
system. Here is the power amp mounted on the back of the rear seat. I'll use
masking tape as a temporary cable holder until all wires are run. I will
then use spiral wrap and make them neater. When the car is trimmed, there
will be a false cover over the back so nothing will be visible. I had a visit from the trimmer and have got the ball rolling on having it trimmed. It may take a bit longer than I anticipated as we are getting some special work that should look great when it's finished. The colour scheme is not what I had in mind. Seems I have no sense of colour coordination;-) Marg and the trimmer came up with what should look good. It will be a lot more expensive than I had budgeted for. What I lack in colour sense, I make up for with expensive materials. Everything we chose is the top of the line. The trimmer is going to take progressive pictures as the 37 is being trimmed. He will give me the pictures to put on my web site. He is very excited to be doing the job. That's a real positive, because he keeps coming up with great suggestions and I have given him fairly free range to what he thinks is nice. It looks like it may go to him in about 4 weeks. I still have plenty to do, so that's OK with me. The engineer has given the car the thumbs up, so his final inspection will just entail taking numbers and a noise check. Which will be fine.
Ok, next pic shows how I ran the speaker wires into the front doors. I drilled a hole through the side and into the A pillar. I used grommets in all hole but made the one in the door a bit larger so the cable will slide through freely. I used a cable tie on the A pillar side to act as a stopper. I also used a cable tie and a spring to keep a bit of tension on the cable as the door is opened. As the door closes, the spring pulls the cable back in without it looping up and pinching. I need to get this done before the trimmer calls up and wants the car. He will mount the speakers properly, I just made temporary baffles and screwed them on the door. |
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| Here are new wipers I stumbled onto when
looking through a Bob Drake's catalogue. They are a new item and are similar
style to whet hot rodders prefer, but have a modern splined end that fits
the mini units perfectly. I took a guess on what length to get and they
turned out exactly right. All I did was made a slight bend into them. Here
is a comparison with the mini wiper I modified way back. A lot slimmer and
less obtrusive. You may notice the sweep area on the first pic with the
clean area contrasted with the remaining dirty section. It is not a total
sweep, but a good compromise. Still, a lot better than I had in the 34. Here is how well they tuck in when at rest. You may also notice the new drivers side wind screen is now fitted. I hope that doesn't crack! I wasn't as heavy handed doing the screws up this time. I just don't like leaks, especially when my CD/Radio is in harms way. I used my newly installed windscreen washers to squirt on a lot of water and not a leak was found. Time will tell when I get caught in a heavy down pour I guess. |
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| Here was my attempt to show how I covered
the running boards with the rubber covers. I took plenty of pics, but only
these turned out. I think it's time I upgraded my camera. Oh well, words
will have to suffice.
These are fibre glass running boards I bought a few years ago. I got a pair of Bob Drake's cover which are excellent. I scuffed the running boards with 80 grade sand paper. I wiped them, and the rubber covers over with Prep Sol. I then used Super glue to glue the front lip in place. It was recommended to use Contact Cement, but it is to messy to use in tight areas IMHO. Super Glue works great. I then poured Contac Cement straight onto the running boards and spread it out with a piece of scrap card board. I then done the same to the covers as they were now flapped upside down in front of the running boards and attached to the lip. Once all areas were covered with Contact Cement, I sat down and had a rewarding beer. After the beer, it was tack dry and all I did was roll the cover over the running boards. I did not stretch it, as it didn't need it. I cut slots on the side where it curves into the mounting flanges. That just needed a slight trimming so it layed flat. |
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| I then used my hands to push the covers down
so they the Contact Cement would do its thing. There is a gap at the rear,
but that's normal. That part of the running board is under the body. Both are done and ready to be fitted. |
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| They fit like a glove. You would never guess they are fibre glass unless you stuck you head under to have a look. Even that would be hard, as I painted the underside black as well. |
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| I finally drove the 37 out into the daylight and gave it a wash. Here are some pics as it is in the last week end in October. |
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| I have painted the tail light stalks and will bolt them up through the week. Both running boards fit nicely and make the rod look complete. I will wait a while before I worry about the height. I am told it will settle a bit. Even though, it still has a nice stance, but I think I'm biased:-) |
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| I have fitted the original trim panels so I can get it finally approved. I just wiped them over with cleaner and made holes for the handles and speakers. |
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| There has been a lot more done that can't be seen, like the boot latch solenoid is now operated by a switch/relay under the dash. Door alarm sensors fitted and wires run. Side curtain mounting inserts fitted and secured. All speaker wires covered with either spiral wrap or convoluted tubing. |