Codi

Doh!! WOW John. Let me repeat, WOW John. Before I forget, those are the most realistic seat-belts I've seen. How'd you do them if you don't mind me asking? The hardware in particular. Fantastic work. Cheers,Tim

Promised Joe a pic of the mangled one...alongside a good one. The blue markings are where I'll cut the disc to make the 4 necessary brake caliper brackets. I did it this way to save a little bit of time and to ensure accuracy/ consistency regarding the hole placement for each bracket. The "ring" is 1mm wide and .5mm thick...which I will thin down just a little bit more. No sooner did I get the part off the mill then the power went out (yup Dave, dodged a big ol' bullet on that one) and the DRO went off of course......I count myself lucky on that one. Cheers Just a quick mock-up, nothing bolted, aligned etc. but you can kinda get the idea.

What a treat to have you back on your build Cato. These are all significant updates and I really appreciate your detailed photos and descriptions as you progress. Many lessons to be learned here. And you have phenomenal taste as well. Your chosen paint colors are just sublime and will really compliment the car. Well done sir............it's obvious you're having fun with it. cheers, tim

Must say Eric, I've not seen a 4 cylinder in a nasty Cuda like you're building but you've made a it very convincing build here. The engine looks really good and that pic you shared of that 1:1 manifold is just sick. Big fan of the stance and flares on the car too, will be sure to follow along. cheers, tim

Really like the solution you came up with Art to mimic the fuel injector nozzles. Already looking forward to your next posting. Cheers again! tim

Joe, I was thinking about you today and your new drill press. I spent time remaking the piston "pucks" as they were .4 mm too large so now I've squeezed 3 tiny holes in a disc that's 2.6mm.......then I started making the brackets that support the caliper and after almost 2 hours, had them perfect with all 4 on one piece that I just had to part off, and I screwed it up big time. So, another attempt tomorrow. It did proof out my numbers though and everything is dialed in really well.....Next time I share some pics I'll show you the butchered one just for giggles. Tyrone, thanks dude. I'm really anxious to see how these look once I get all the teeny components made and assembled. I'm getting anxious to see it all together. Art, thank you man. It's fun doing the little things and then seeing how it looks when assembled. I think when I have these calipers and brackets done I'll have probably 25 to 30 hours into them, but should really be a solid addition to the build. Dave, Eric, John and Leonard........appreciate the interest you've shared. This whole front end portion is everything I was expecting and then some, but I know I'm making headway and can't wait till the struts and brakes are on the car. I think I'll have some new pics to share by Monday. Cheers to all! tim

That's a mighty fine swimming pool for the eyes. Everywhere I look John, you can just "drown" in the details. The ones that caught my eye THIS time, the ed pink decal on the valve covers, the drape of your ignition lines and of course, the perfection / symmetry of your bent, metal fuel lines in the manifold and injector. Great work. tim

Appreciate your comments guys. I've been machining the calipers. Had some outstanding dimensions to work from that Dave provided me. I couldn't have attempted these without his contribution. I've got some brackets and spacers to make for them yet then I can move on to getting the front rails and struts on. thanks again for your posts and interest! cheers Joe, stopped at the pencil / penny store, they were having an after Christmas sale...........

Coming together nicely John. That's a great update but I'm curious, can you focus your eyes now after putting in all those rivets? Cheers

Chipping away at it. (a little machinist humor there) I wasn't satisfied with the way the brake rotors were sitting on the hubs. The rotor should be flush with the hub on the backside. My original ones stuck out. So I re-made the discs and this time put in a notch on the inside of the rotor so the hub slips down inside. The notch is .2mm in depth and width. Looks better. Also started the struts and wanted to add the adjustable collars that are on the bottom of the threaded portion of that have notches cut in for the wrenches that are used for adjustment. They're a reasonable facsimile. Starting on the brake calipers and brackets next. Cheers In this pic you can see the notch that was cut in. In this pic, just below the spring, you can see the twin notched collars. The 2 in the background are for the other strut.

You've got it sitting perfect now Chris. Hadn't noticed it before, but with the pic in the background, you can see how nice the mods make it look. Kudos for taking the time to do it right. Cheers

Hope everyone had a great Holiday and New Year. I had an opp to meet with Dave while making changes to the jig in preparation of doing the front suspension and brakes. He was kind enough to use his mill to narrow the hub and widen the outer rim of the front wheels. I'm trying to make these as accurate as possible and the start of it all began with having some wheels that will permit the brake caliper to sit where it belongs. I machined a small adapter that represents the holes on the back of the wheel where the brake hub and disc threads to the back of the wheel. The wheels are going to be spindle mounts and you can see the spindles I've done on the lathe but not parted off to length yet. The carbon discs have yet to be "washed" yet with paint but I did machine them from Renshape (Dave used it on his cars quite successfully so I thought I'd give it a try) I really like the stuff and how it machines. The brake hub (have to make it's twin) is 6.5mm in diameter, 1.2mm in depth and has a .6mm relief on the backside for the nuts and bolts. btw, Joe......I had to drill out the 10 tiny holes of course and on the very last hole, with only .25mm to go, I snapped one off IN the hole. I parted off the hub carefully and this time got lucky as the tip of the bit came out......just lucky as I said. After 4 hours of making one, I didn't want to lose it. Cheers, tim In this next pic you can see how well the disc sits now with regards to it's overall height on the wheel. Originally, the caliper wouldn't have even fit inside the rim and the caliper would have extended well past the wheel rim which to be correct, it shouldn't. In this pic you can clearly see the nut that secures the wheel to the spindle and hub.

Nice to see the progress you've made John. I really like the engine too. Nice touch on the "x" on your master cylinder too. Love those sorts of details as you know. cheers, tim

Must say Brad, I do like the color a lot too. Can't wait to see the entire car in paint. cheers

Great idea Chris. I purchased those same templates many moons ago but haven't used them yet. That worked out pretty slick. Cheers, Tim

Thank you Bob & Dave....this is my last post till after Christmas. Today I completed the front hoop which lets me move onto the front suspension. For reasons of clean-up, I'll do the roof bars and pillars towards the end of the build. Another thanks to Dave (comp1839) as I've been inspired by his previous builds and have "borrowed" liberally from some of his design and fabrication ideas. I would have had no idea as to where to even begin building a chassis like this one without his insights. As challenging as the build has been, it's been infinitely more manageable thanks to him. Cheers, Tim

That IS great news Cato. Happy Holidays to you and your family! Tim

Hey Joe, I'll take a pic or two of my drill press................it's a derringer. Oh, and you've discovered the "dirty little secret" of machining. The cost of a lathe, mill, press or whatever is only the beginning....it's all the accessories you'll find yourself needing (WANTING is more like it) that can drive the cost up substantially. But once you get started, you can rationalize anything. Cheers, Tim

Thank you very much Nie and Dave. I was able to get the steering wheel brackets that support the curved bracket on the frame. Took me longer to do that than to make the actual bracket I believe. The 3 hoop pieces are done and bolted in place so I'll solder them on tomorrow so I can finish this part. After tying in some support bars I'm finally moving onto the front frame rails and suspension.......then it's back to finish up the interior, roof rails and other assorted bits and pieces. The list IS getting smaller. Merry Christmas everyone and for those that celebrate other Holidays, a Happy Holiday to you and your family as well. Tim

Thanks guys. I have to admit I really enjoy making parts such as that one.....especially when they turn out the way I had hoped. To answer the questions that Art and Scott asked: the coiled wire on the steering wheel I purchased from Parts by Parks. Like everyone else, we search for the best products for a given application....this wire met the bill perfectly I thought because of the way it winds up AND the shade of the red is just right. I simply hand wound the wire around a #75 drill bit and it holds it's shape nicely. Cheers, Tim

Thanks everyone. Today I took a slight detour and decided to make the steering wheel bracket before continuing on the front hoop. I saw a pick that Dave provided of a pro car that had a unique steering wheel bracket and I wanted to see if I could replicate it. Took the morning but it's done. I need to solder it to the upper trans tunnel rail and nickel plate. The drilled, red steering wheel shaft was removed for the pics.....I think it will really set it all off when finally assembled. Cheers, Tim

Very slick John. Looking forward to your next post already. Cheers

Your paint brings new meaning to "smooth as glass". The entire car is very sharp........cheers

You had a very productive Ludwig. I really the paint and finish on each and every one. cheers, tim

Boy is that a clean build. Congrats! tim