Update on DRB#5

Even though you work on these cars for a long time it looks as though you don't make much progress. At least that is the way it looks to me. I got the car back from the painters and now am working on the dash(See DRB#5 thread).
Danny Scott did a fantastic job on the paint and fiberglass work. I feel I got a real bargain with everything that was done. He really knows how to work with fiberglass and paint. I got to appreciate how hard it is to paint these cars as the humidity will alter the finish in a heartbeat. So if all is not painted in one shot, you have to be real careful. Danny is well known throughout the racing world for his work. They have worked for Panos, Lotus, Lamborgini, Ferrari and the racing Miata team.(all the replacement panels for 72 cars) I am trying to talk him out of one of the diffusers. If anyone is interested he has one of the renault transaxels from the Lotus racing team that somehow got left behind in one of their repair jobs.
I just finished working on the dash fitment.Fitting a dash to a rollbar is a lot harder than it seems. Fortunately I had the old righthand dash to use as a template.The corners were cut off and cut up enough to fit around the bars. Then I used Brown wrapping paper to form a template and transfered it to the new dash. Cuts were made inside all markings as the slope of the corners were reversed on the new lefthand dash. Then the openings were opened up slowly until they had a tight fit.\

1202955Dashtop.jpg


The area in front of the bar was cut out such that only the front cut is visible. The one on the side is hidden.

1202951Dashcutout.jpg


The hidden cut is made such that it sits on the dash side and is supported. I put a support bracket in the middle of the front cut for support. Since the dash will be covered with leather, the bolt is hidden in the padding of the dash.

1202948Dashcutoutsupport.jpg


The cutout and dash will be secured in the front with sheetmetal screws.
I finally got the guages I tought I wanted,(Autometer Ultralight) but found out the trans temp line was only 6 feet long. That put it at my feet. Looking around I found Stewart Warner's trans temp line was 9 feet long, so I opted for them. The SW's were perfect as they were full sweep function, the tach was 8000 and the speedo was 160. since the speedo came only in 5", the tach was ordered to match and the other guages are 2 5/8". The dash had to be altered to fit the larger guages and fortunately the SW's alow you to mount them using a 3 3/8" hole. Using a fiberglass repair kit, Saran Wrap, and a Dremel tool, the alteration looks like it came that way.

1202961Guages.jpg


The A/F guage is where the gas level guage will go. Haven't decided on which one will work as the proper ohm sender has not yet been purchased.
I'm planning on using idiot warning lights for high temps, as well as low pressure lights, cutoff, and inertia switches. I am only using one fuel guage(space and simplicity). I am planning on joining the two tanks with a one way valve system that willnot overload the tank with the pump and will allow fuel under full conditions, of the tank with the pump, to flow back to the other. Sounds confusing but the system is really quite simple. Hard to put into words, but basicly it utilizes hydrostatic pressure.
Will post more as progress permits.
Bill
 
Bill,

Even a blind old guy like me could read that tach!
Your dash looks great!

Please post some shots of your car out in the sun,
if you get a chance. I LOVE that color combination!
Keep up the good work! You ARE making headway!

Bill
 
Bill,
Kinda hard to get it out in the sun.It's stripped down to the frame and spider, sitting on a stand. You can see what there is on the builder's forum for now. Will post when can.
Bill
 
Back
Top