Re: Rcr40-31
The next update:
Body mounting is a LOT closer to "done" than a week ago. Monkeying around with the door hinges has gotten things a lot better. Hersh was over last week and got me further in the right direction. I spent more time this week pushing things around and, well you'll see what I got in the photos. I am thinking I am just about finished with the mounting thing.
There are two things I was dreading regarding this build- bodywork and wiring. This week I dove in the deep end.
Fran's molds are off an original which we all know is RHD. I have a LHD chassis. Even though I live in a desert, it still rains here and I want to be able to use the car as a real car- which means I need a wiper. On the left side. This weekend I cut out the wiper bump from the spider and front clip and swapped it over with the blank side of the corresponding panel. How did it come out? Check the photos. I will say that it was my first EVER foray into the world of fiberglassing and that it came out spectacularly!
Sequentially, I started with marking up the spider where it needed to be cut. I then took it off, nicked out the pieces and put it back on the chassis. With the front clip on, I marked it where needed. Then I took it off and nicked out its pieces.
With all the cutting out stuff done, I then positioned the pieces on the spider as needed and got out the stinky sticky stuff and went to town. Once this was "dry" I put the front clip back on and positioned its pieces. This time I took it off the car, flipped it over and glassed it on that ergo rack I custom made for it (yeah, the trash cans...). I held the pieces in place with normal packing tape and it work extremely well. The spider is virtually flawless and the clip matches up perfectly. I was SO stoked!
I kept the stoke and continued with the stink. The headlight buckets were next. I had already fabbed up the brackets so the next step was to get them set in. Half of a 5 Min Epoxy tube later, one lamp was in. In another 15m, the other was set. I let it cure for a little while and then glassed the whole thing in. Headlamps are now mounted!
Next was the wiring crap. I am still searching for the correct connectors to be able to install and remove the dash at will so I was hesitant to start. I sucked it up and just started it. So I now have the 12V feeds to all the gauges, the grounds for all the gauges and the lights for all the gauges wired up. I have the dedicated ground and power for the speedo set up as well.
While I was at it with the 5 Min Epoxy, I tried my hand at mounting the door handle. I ground off the side of a 2" bolt, bent up a fender washer and set it into place. End result is right on where I wanted it.
This has truly been a progressive 2 weeks. I also now have a flipped and prepped ZF-2 box in my garage. Just need a bellhouse and clutch for it now.
And looking at the calendar, it's been exactly one month since my dad and I picked up the car in Detroit.
On with the pics...
And PS - for those of you suffering through the 7° weather, the dash was wired on my patio (outdoors) in my pajamas while having breakfast. It was around 72°. I'll be bitching in the summer but this isn't all that bad right now...