Fri.06.10.06. I must have been looking at the wrong side of the oxo cube yesterday because, on reflection, there had been developments that have moved the project forward: steady as she goes. Today we have witnessed the rewards of Thursday’s procrastinations.
The ‘63 bucket seats, although covered in decades of rust and neglect, have scrubbed up well boldly revealing their true sexy curves. Generous layers of rust proofing have produced a mottled black/brown surface, dramatically outlining the sumptuous, contoured, solidly dished back. The lower seat rails have also suffered little damage over the past 40 years; they are sturdy and mirror the sweeping lines of the rear support. The actual seat baskets appear flimsy but their ‘grid iron’ design ensures their strength emphasising their comfortable, deep bowl form. When the seats are finally covered with magnolia leather then piped in Connaught green trim they will be a delight to the eye. Sitting and driving will compare to nestling into the welcoming lap of a rubenesque 50’s movie star, perchance Jane Russell or Ava Gardner. I can’t wait.
Using ‘daler board’ the boot box was much easier to construct. The provisional dimensions have produced a 12cm height by 66cm width and a 33cm depth. There is a dogleg on the front face elevation to enable the box to skirt over the differential. At the moment, the model has a 5cm lip that sits on the bulkhead suspending the box above the petrol tank. Later in the afternoon the maquette was fitted; remarkably no adjustment was necessary. The supporting lip will be extended by 7cm wide to 20cm on the leading edge, to cover all of the boot area. The space that has been created will easily accept several items of luggage, a refridgerated section for picnic provisions together with a number of bottles of Dom Perignon. If, at a later stage a boot rack is added there should be sufficient storage capacity for not just a daily jaunt but some serious European travel. What Ho, Bertie!
Throughout the morning Chris has been busily assembling the front hubs. The hubs themselves are placed in a hot oven to expand slightly whilst the bearings are put in a freezer to contract. When the two are brought together assembling the units is greatly facilitated.
The bearings themselves have different origins; one has been engineered in the States, the other in Japan. The bonus being that they both have decent provenance, consequently they should deliver decent service. Naturally, the construction of the master cylinders exposed similar anomalies. The repair kits contained extra washes and clips which seem to be unnecessary. The rubber shrouds appear to be too large yet the seals fitted tightly. Blame for this may not lie at the door of ‘thieving fuck up, lying bastard Steve’, who reluctantly supplied the components, but the wholesaler who makes up the order. Who knows? We have met these problems before and I suspect we shall meet them again. Gracie Fields.
The main focus of the day was to remove the wings, nose cone and engine panels so that the body tub could be lifted to reveal the chassis. Whilst Chris was methodically extracting all the bolts I began to mock up the dashboard area by cutting and forming a piece of scrap card that was gathering dust in the workshop. The sections were held together with masking tape but nevertheless this crude example could be the basis for several designs.
Extra ‘dummies’ can be fashioned at home to be re-fitted later to the cockpit. The decision to use aluminium, wood or a painted dash will then be considered. Having stripped the car we then began to move the body tub onto the spare trestles. With both of us at the boot end we gingerly raised the rear of the car at the same time sliding the tail area towards the waiting supports.
“Fuck me, this is heavy, it must be all that tete that’s been used!” I ignorantly thought. “Wait, wait, we are lifting the friggin’ chassis and ‘diff’ as well; I’ve forgotten to take out the four screws from the boot supports, put it back quick!” But it wouldn’t go back. Chris began frantically pulling at the stand underneath the car in an attempt to return the body back to position one. Meanwhile, I struggling drenched in sweat held onto the complete rear of the car. “Bring one of the spare trestles over to take some of the weight.”
“No, I can fettle it here.”
“Just bring one over, it will give us time to assess the problem?”
“No, I’ve nearly got it, oh no I’ve not, it’s getting worse!”
“Bring one of the trestles over to take the weight!”
“Nearly there, don’t drop it, we will be in the shit if you do, just one more tug and I’ll have it, oh bugger, it’s hanging off!”
“Please bring over another trestle; it’s an ideal substitute for the jammed one?”
“Now then, I know what to do, you won’t beat me Bertie! Oh frig it’s nearly off, hang on, don’t drop it now!”
“Bring that other trestle over, now!”
“We don’t need it; I know what to do, oh fuck!”
“I fuckin’ need it, bring it now!”
“Okay, that’s got it; you can ease your end down now.”
The offending screws removed the tub was freed from the chassis. It was then a simple matter to relocate the two sections. “I can’t believe how light it is!” commented smiling Chris. “I think I can!” replied Nigel, with the broken back. The chassis was then swivelled over exposing the underside which now could be ground, sanded, polished and stroked, ready for the application of rust proofing, the final coat of protection: Hammerite or Zinc 182 may be used.
This has been a quite excellent day.
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