Codi

I like way you did that Brad.....nice and seamless, tight fit all the way around. Takes a bunch of effort to get that to look like that, nice job. cheers, tim

Stunning Pete. I love how they turned out & as importantly, the time you took to post pics and the method you went about making them. I truly appreciate what you did there & my hat is off to you sir! cheers

Thank you Cato for the update albeit as sad as it is. It's apparent you and Harry have a true friendship and that is something special that you'll always have. My prayers & thoughts are for Harry and his family.

Mike, I'd love to see the pics.............I've sent you a PM. Your encouraging words are most welcome! Chris, are you going to DSC this year as planned? Thanks too for the comments. cheers guys!

Been a while since I stopped by here and you surely didn't disappoint John. This must be a real fun build for you. I wouldn't know where to start other than the wheels first......just fantastic. Can I ask what tutorial or insight you had on doing them in the first place? So well done. I have to say that following your WIP's are some of the best with all the pictures AND techniques you offer up....great great way to learn something new. Thanks for sharing. cheers, tim

To all of you members attending the DSC, have a great time. That is one show I'd like to attend some day. Always a good turn out with quality builds & be sure to post pics as soon as you can. cheers

Sharp build Jason. I love that color that you picked out for it & how you did all the body trim. congrats on a nice one. cheers

That turned out really nice Dave. Your weathering techniques & abilities are really good. The shots of the bottom of the chassis are something you're going to have to be sure to exhibit, mirror beneath I'm thinking. Nice! cheers

Pete - Thank you, making them was actually pretty straightforward & I'm pretty confident now that when it's complete and off the jig, it will sit flat (it better right?) and be properly aligned etc. Oh, the reason for the shiny brass, I had to solder the thing up so I scuffed it with sandpaper 1st..........it IS shiny though. Thanks again & how are you making out with those valve cover clips? Maybe a pic at least of what you're making? I'm very curious as I know they must be extremely tiny. Brad - I wanted to share that the 1st pic is from behind the axle. I took the pic with the tie rod brackets (.3mm) in place but you're right, they are not soldered on as yet. The reason being I want to try custom ones that were pretty cool looking from that time period but to get the proper ride height for the axle with the wheels in place I had to put them on. I think of them as "spacers" at this point. Does that make sense? And btw, you don't miss a "trick". Davewilly & Bob, also appreciated guys! Dave (comp1839) Thank YOU for the idea in the first place. This will help me a bunch on the rest of the front end. You are also correct that most if not all of the remaining brackets will be scratch / custom in nature. I have a really cool idea in mind for the chassis shock towers but it might be more effort than what it's worth. Joe - Keep that humor coming, love it. I know that episode you're speaking of and it's a classic. I can't take credit though for what was not my idea in the first place but I DO appreciate your comments & humor. Next step is to put down fresh graph paper, confirm all alignments, set the jig & then begin the rest of it which will include some experimenting on how to fab some parts & drawing up some custom pieces but first it's back to "spring break" with the kids. Cheers !!

Little bench time today so I made the jig to secure the front axle. I machined twin posts with caster set at 12 degrees with a hole drilled in the center for a piece of .9mm stainless steel tube that was super glued into the top. I soldered them to a thin strip of brass and the axle slips on and off as needed. I'll check the alignment next and then super glue the jig to the steel table until the front suspension is completed. I borrowed the idea from Dave (comp1839) of the angled posts and in the future I'll use a wood base like Dave as it would just be easier that way. I'll go after the tie rod & panhard bar next & move on from there. cheers, tim

Gotta agree with Dave. No biggie for you on the bottle and the pic of the rear tray and set-up is looking good. Looking forward to your next update Dave and if there are any particular parts I might be able to assist you with, send me a note & I'll check the stash to see what I might have. cheers, tim

Nice how it turned out Niko. I like that shot of the pair together. Cheers, tim

Spring Break & the kids are home....not much bench time this week I'm afraid. I did make another drop axle, original was a 4" the new is 6". I'll post pics of the simple set-up that I'm "borrowing" from Dave later this week. Spindles too Brad. I admit this set-up has the potential to look pretty sweet if I can pull it off, but there's a bunch of stuff crammed in a tiny space. Would have been easier to do a torsion bar set-up, but I really want to replicate this one if possible. Appreciate your kind comments. Cheers!

That's pretty cool Brad. I didn't have the dimensions of their car Dave but I'm pleased that it's pretty close to it, dumb luck I guess. I'm going to use one your methods Dave for setting up the axle & caster angle........then I can get onto the rest of the pieces. I only got the spindles soldered up yesterday so no real progress to share but I was happy to see how straight & strong they turned out to be. cheers, tim

Chris, sent you a PM. Brad, that's the stuff, works pretty slick and is durable as mentioned. John, the bracket you see is for the twin remote oil filter system. I drilled the top just for giggles with a bunch of tiny holes too. btw, I adjusted this morning the chassis height and ended up adding just .60mm. Made an important difference. Took a couple pics of what the final stance will look like and when I compare it to my favorite, the Tramp altered, it's oh so close. Cheers!

The colors you chose for the build really "pop". The accent colors of the decals & headers complement it too. cheers, tim

Jimmy, thanks for your post. I truly like the fact that you like what you see and have been following along. Hope you like the rest of the build. btw, I have a bunch of pics of the Tramp........just a great car for inspiration as I move along with it. My car wasn't intended to be a clone of it, just was one that I liked just about everything about when I switched this to an altered. Thanks Brad, I'll have to try that to see how it might turn out for me. Appreciated Art...when will I get to see your brass short track thread again? Chris, how are things sir? Anything I can do to encourage you on the Vega? Hope you get some bench time soon! Brad/Joe..........that's actually something else I've tried, called "dip-it" Think I got it at micro-mark or somewhere. It's a liquid silicone for tools that you just dip and let it dry. Lasts pretty long too. I've used shrink tube too but this stuff wears a long time and has a softer "feel" to it. Different colors available, not sure why I picked white, maybe so I could see stuff?

I have a couple minutes before I have to run but I want to thank you for your contributions. Whether it's encouragement, tips or information, they're all appreciated. I machined the spindle knuckles and did a very quick mock-up. Good thing as I caught the fact that the front end my chassis was about .75mm too low. I couldn't figure out why the axle height wasn't where it should be based upon my tech drawing that I did. Double checked and sure enough........I was glad to discover the mistake and when I adjusted it, it matched the drawing. Nothing has been cleaned up or soldered yet. I'll make some brackets to set the axle at the proper angle and height then I'll start on the shock towers & brackets to get that set. Randy & Dave in particular, yeah you saw that.....one of the more time consuming parts of the front end was getting the bends even and correct on the axle..........gotta quite the pile of scrap. Thanks for the pics too Brad, that turned out pretty cool.......I was surprised that you soldered the stainless steel tube to the brass as I didn't know it would solder up. I use s/steel tube all the time for setup and securing brass tube as need be because the solder never stuck to it. Any secret to how you did that? cheers, tim

It's the little things Brad that make a build. That bumper & bracket DID turn out cool and I especially like the driver's window you installed half way up.............very creative. cheers

It's the little things Brad that make a build. That bumper & bracket DID turn out cool and I especially like the driver's window you installed half way up.............very creative. cheers

That is VERY impressive looking Jim. Cheers, Tim

That's pretty trick Brad. I have some other ideas I'm exploring on the steering arm, but I like what you did. I printed out a pic & put it on my desk as part of my reference material. Cheers, Tim

Randy Randy Randy...........I know it takes time to correctly jet 4 webers, at least that's what I'm guessing you've been doing since the last post but it has been quite a while.............ready to share yet? Hope so! cheers, tim

Okay Pete, I gotta call you and Randy out tonight......time for some updates right? cheers, tim

Thank you fellas..........I wanted to address Pete & Brad's question. Pete, I drilled holes in a piece of wood & put 2 pieces of stainless tube in them. They were my anchors. I slipped twin pieces of brass tube over them and checked them for vertical. Next I put the axle between the two, used tape and 2 small machinist angles to keep them aligned. Soldered and done.....well, sorta, the one side I had to fuss with 3 times till it was correct. Brad, my intent is to machine the spindle bracket and solder the spindle into them. I'll probably not bother to go to the trouble that I did on the Henry front spindle struts of having them be threaded on. I'll probably just glue the wheels onto the spindle and secure the wheel cap over it. The steering will turn. I'll draw up the spindles and figure out a thing or so before I start. I want to get the axle & spindles done so I can come up with a practical way to secure the axle at it's proper angle before going onto all the other bracketry etc. The list of pieces to fabricate kind of surprised me when I put it together to be honest. There's more to it than what you might think although I know you guys are well aware of that. I remember Dave saying that he likes this part of his builds, I'll reserve judgement till I see how I do with this. Appreciate the question(s). Cheers