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Post by bren on Jul 22, 2008 21:29:00 GMT -5
Finally getting back to the project again. Sunday I fitted the pans to the chassis. Then I cleaned up the lip of the chassis with a wire wheel. Then I sanded off the paint on the edge of the pans. Monday I went to Auto Body Supply and purchased some weldable primer and some seam sealer. After the primer dried I tried my hand at welding. Started off OK. Then I was getting popping and spitting; realized I ran out of gas for the welder. Got some pointers from the welding supply shop for free with my exchanged tank of gas. Seemed to go better from there. Certianly not the best looking welds. Hopefully they are strong enough! Unfortunately I did not remember to take any photos while I worked. As of this morning the pans are in, have seam sealer and a coat of truck bed liner on the top and bottom. Sure is nice being able to put the chassis on it's side to work on the bottom. Here are a few after photos:     Still waiting on the beam to come in. Guess that will have to wait until after camping. |
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Post by Dustin on Jul 22, 2008 21:33:10 GMT -5
Looking good Bren, Its nice to put things together instead of continuing to take them apart. I hope I get to that phase soon on the '74
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Post by bren on Jul 22, 2008 22:15:42 GMT -5
Thanks Dustin.
Yes, it is nice to be going back together. Sure feels like I have a long ways to go though.
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jmallen05
1600dp
Posts: 602
Joined: Jul 6, 2008 14:40:12 GMT -5
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Post by jmallen05 on Jul 23, 2008 16:42:28 GMT -5
Where did you get the beam from and what size? How low are you going and what wheels do you plan on running? The pans turned out nice, will it be a driver this year yet or are you going to work on it thru the winter? Keep up the good work and get another one on the road.
Jerry
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Post by bren on Jul 26, 2008 22:39:09 GMT -5
I got it off the Samba. Guy built it for his car but abandoned the project. It is a 4" (actually just shy of 4" to avoid fit problems.) I have not decided on how low to go. Running the older smoothie wheels and older stock hub caps. Hope to drive it this year before the snow flies. We will see....
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Post by bren on Jul 28, 2008 20:26:40 GMT -5
Beam arrived today!   Can't wait to get it installed. Got some work to do before it is ready to go on though. First I want to get a second coat of truck bed liner on the bottom of the pans. Should be the last time the chassis has to stand on it's side!  |
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Post by bren on Aug 2, 2008 23:31:09 GMT -5
Got a couple hours in on the car tonight after Gilmore and mowing the lawn. Removed the steering dampner and the steering gear box. Got the beam ready to come off.   Beam is off:  Here is the frame head area ready for cleaning and painting.  Got the first coat of Zero Rust on the framehead and now it is time to get some sleep. -Bren |
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Chris
1500sp
Posts: 330
Joined: Jun 24, 2008 20:48:27 GMT -5
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Post by Chris on Aug 3, 2008 8:43:02 GMT -5
Looks good bren!!!
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jmallen05
1600dp
Posts: 602
Joined: Jul 6, 2008 14:40:12 GMT -5
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Post by jmallen05 on Aug 3, 2008 9:29:27 GMT -5
Have you checked that beam for clearance issues? The beam I got from chris ended up being 3", and my shock towers are notched, and it was still a pretty tight fit. Are you running shocks? I'm not, the ride isn't bad but I bounce the beam off the pavement quite a bit. Looks good to bad the pans didn't come from the factory with that treatment, it would've saved alot of rust repair for alot of people.
jerry
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Post by bren on Aug 3, 2008 11:19:11 GMT -5
No, I have not checked for fitment yet. I suppose I should do that next. The guy told me it was a little shy of 4" so it would fit without body mods. I hope he is right! The towers are not notched. I guess I could do that if I have to. I hope not. I was counting on this being a bold in. I plan to run shocks. I don't know how much of a difference it will make.
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Post by bren on Aug 3, 2008 13:04:15 GMT -5
I just checked. It is tight for sure. But, it looks like it is mainly due to the body damage. I managed to bolt it up to the body so it is not terribly far off. I am going to opt for massaging the inner fender wells over notching the beam. Jerry: Thanks for the pointer on fitment. Would have been next to impossible to work this out with the beam fully assembled. I probably would have found the fit problems while lowering the body back down.  |
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Post by bren on Aug 13, 2008 22:01:16 GMT -5
I got the price reduced on the beam I bought because the torsion springs were not done right. The dimples for the grub screws were not measured well and therefore the trailing arms did not seal well against the beam.
Today I got out in the garage and worked on this. I used bar clamps to hold the trailing arms to the right position then screwed in the grub screws to mark the springs. Drilled them on my shopsmith. Got the full spring set all installed and it came out real nice. One side is 1/16th (or less) wider than the other; good enough. I only did the top set. Tomorrow I hope to do the bottom set. Should go faster than the first, I hope. Bottom line, not as difficult as I expected.
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Post by bren on Aug 18, 2008 23:24:18 GMT -5
Got the bottom set done. Then I moved onto installing the spindles. I had the larger tie rod ends and the spindles took the small ones. So, since I am lowering it, I bought the tie rod relocation kit that allows the tie rod ends to be installed upside down thus compensating for the changed geometry.
I could not drill out the spindles so I visited George and he helped me out. Tonight I went to put it all together. The long tie rod end is rubbing on the tunnel. I hope that once the car is set down on its wheels and there is weight on it this problem will go away.
This narrowed, adjustable beam is turning out to be a real pain!
I hope it is worth it in the end.
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Post by ghiastein on Aug 19, 2008 7:35:05 GMT -5
Bren
How low are you planning to go in the front?
When I did my Ghia I started just like you did with the adjusters only. I was also thinking of the tie rod relocation kit. What I found out that with the adjusters only at the ride height that I wanted I had about 1/2" to 1" of travel. What saved me was the 2-1/2" dropped spindles. It gave me more travel allowing my front to drop lower. Also using the dropped spindles allowed for the more correct angle of tie rods. I did not need the relocation kit after all. The problem is cost but also check for the zero offset ones. Mine have the 1/2" offset that screwed me up.
What worries me is that with out the body on you can't allow for compression and check travel. If I were to leave my car with only the adjusters I would have destroyed my ball joints leaving me stranded.
AJ
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Post by bren on Aug 19, 2008 12:08:08 GMT -5
I don't really know how low I want to go. I used the tie rod relocation kit because the beam I bought came with the larger tie rod ends and my spindles took the small ones. The relocation kit was recommended as a fix, especially since I planned to lower the car. I should have checked before I drove in the sleeves. I would like to get the drop spindles, cost is the factor right now.
I just hope that the geometry will change with weight on the chassis. If not I will try to remove the sleeves and put them in from the top. That will allow the tie rod ends to install normal and provide the clearance I need.
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