I am sure you have seen what the chassis is like but if you look at the pics of the Model B Hotrod build I posted, with the engine and box out there is not (in my opinion) a lot of metal involved. Remember the chassis on the project car has been strengthened. That's not to say it is not strong but the suggestion Chris made doesn't sound too daunting, especially if it makes driving it more enjoyable.
ray I'm on leaf spings - single transverse one at the rear and one at the front. The front end has been pushed over by almost 30mm - that must be adding to my iffy steering.
grumpynorthener - I did fear as much with the demise of chassis straighteners. No way do I want to build a jig at home to straighten it. I will have to come up with another plan of attack.
Bring it to a 'BRM Technical Weekend' at Grumpy Towers
Thanks for the words of encouragement I've been watching loads of chassis straightening video on YouTube. Amazing what can be done with some RedNeck engineering. A combination of heat, V-cuts, and pulling seems to get most things done.
Nothing I'm going to take on this year, but it will get done.
Whilst pondering all this chassis stuff, another small project was going on in the background. Originally there could have been wooden stakes added to the pickup bed, now the bed was clean and painted all the holes and fittings for them annoyed me. Also the pickup bed sides are really quite shallow.
So I got a piece of oak from B&Q, which they comically describe as straight edged. I wished I'd waited for the timber merchants to open on Monday, as their definition of straight edged, is you can place a straight edge on it !!
After faffing around for ages, managed to rip that piece into two straight planks, and wheeled the pickup outside for a mock-up.
I wanted to be able to tie things to the rails, so some clearance for ropes/straps was in the brief, but that is just a little too high.
Some very basic woodwork later, some wood glue, and stainless carriage bolts, and we are getting somewhere. The first coat of Danish oil makes quite a difference.
Bolted into place after another couple of coats of Danish oil. Yep liking that a lot. Simple, pretty period correct, and now gives me the scope to carry an 8x4 board should the need arise.
With the indian summer behind us - time to get back to the chassis/steering issues.
So chassis/steering. I get the chassis is out of whack, and that isn't great. But to me it doesn't explain why it steers like it does. Sure a bent chassis is never going to make things better, but it hops and darts all over the place, rather than merely pulling to one side or not tracking straight.
I got a couple of pieces of tube, from the scrap bin, and 3D printed a bunch of blue things. Can you guess what it is yet ?
With a pieces of 20mm conduit, it assembles to make a tracking gauge. The bracket on the left screws into the plastic foot. The one on the right is free to slide up and down the tube.
Most people say 1/8" toe in for these vehicles. Therefore I measured ahead of the axle first, and marked it with tape. Then measured behind the axle.
The gap between the yellow tape and the blue foot should be the 1/8" toe in. But no it is 13/16" - massively off !!
Personally I prefer metric for detailed stuff - it should be 3.1mm, but it is 20.5mm
Now that isn't good.
I backed the vehicle into the garage with the steering wheel central. I ran it back and forth a couple of times, to ensure the wheels were pointing straight. The offside to the naked eye looks straight, all the error is all in the nearside - the side that has taken a whack.
Now that goes some way to explaining the driving characteristics.
Whilst I was in a measuring mood, I thought I'd check the castor/king-pin angle too. I measured it taking the slight slope of the garage floor into account at 5.6 degrees. The consensus is that needs to be between 7 and 8 degrees.
Ho hum, not as bad as the tracking, but not easily adjustable. I think the fix is to put a shim between the wishbones and the chassis, but that along with fixing the tracking is a job for another day.
Post by grumpynorthener on Oct 21, 2023 17:52:26 GMT
I have a metal / more sturdy tracking gauge should you wish to loan it (I rarely use it) - I'm heading over your way one day next week to collect a rebuilt gearbox from a club member and could drop it off if required
I have a metal / more sturdy tracking gauge should you wish to loan it (I rarely use it) - I'm heading over your way one day next week to collect a rebuilt gearbox from a club member and could drop it off if required
Thanks Chris, but no need this home-brew one works well enough.
I like a nice dashboard in my cars, currently the pickup has a fuel gauge, non-working ammeter, dubious speedo, and a couple of aftermarket gauges, in an iffy panel.
As I've been in the States, I filled my suitcase with goodies, and fired up the 3D printer when I got back, and came up with this prototype.
The fuel gauge is the original one to the vehicle, as I bought it. Warning lights are vintage Dialco items. Big hole on the left is for an oil pressure gauge that got damaged in shipment - doh ! I'm still messing about with switch positions, but overall - I like the look. Switches will be pull switches with custom knobs to match the choke and throttle pulls.
The plan is to get that professionally printed as one piece, and bond it onto the exisiting dash. A bit of filler, and then paint it all the original cream colour. Hopefully it will look 1/2 factory 1/2 hotrod, and not age dreadfully like the billet panels.
I also threw in the suitcase, all the seals and rubbers I could find to refresh the doors. One glass is broken, presumably because it rattles around so much.
Also picked up a simple hood stay kit, and I can now do this with my hood. Previously it was open one side at a time, and chip the paint as you lay it on the opposing side.
I've also adjusted the tracking to factory specs, but not test driven it yet. Eagle eye readers will notice, that I'm missing a horn/indicator. The welds fractured, and I need to fix that asap.
Not done anything about chassis straightening yet, as I've still got more US travel planned. But will need to attack that in the New Year, as I'm booked to do the Pendine beach race in June '24.
I like a nice dashboard in my cars, currently the pickup has a fuel gauge, non-working ammeter, dubious speedo, and a couple of aftermarket gauges, in an iffy panel.
As I've been in the States, I filled my suitcase with goodies, and fired up the 3D printer when I got back, and came up with this prototype.
Time for a quick test-drive after setting the tracking, and fixing the horn/indicator bracket.
Kill two birds with one stone, and take the empties to the bottle bank. Yes, the bottle run from our house does need the services of a pickup truck
Drives and steers so much better Unsurprisingly setting the tracking to factory specs has made all the difference, and it no longer feels lethal !! I drove it over lots of speed bumps, and it behaves consistantly. I've even got more self-centering, now the wheels aren't figting each other. Also now the wheels aren't fighing each other, shows a little bit of play in the steering box. I'm sure it is something a bit of adjustment will improve upon.
But there is still a bent chassis to contend with. I want to find out where the damage is, so I can hopefully come up with a plan to fix it.
Key piece of information is a period chassis diagram.
The plan is to drop a plumb-bob from those datums, and see where the damage is.
Spent quite a bit of time measuring levels and distances, so I can get it up in the air, but keep everything similar to it sitting on the floor.
I used my adjustable stands to get the levels exactly right. They claim to be good for 1.5 tonnes each, but they do look a bit spindly. So I doubled them up with some stands under the radius arms. Extra stands is always better.
Not looking forward to lying on my back on cold concrete, but needs must.
If the chassis is bent as much as you say it is, surely it’s going to be pretty easy to spot? It’s not like you are looking for 1mm difference.😊 Also factor in that this was built a very long time ago and what may have been close enough to ideal chassis dimensions for them, may not be what you would feel the same about…
It is a Ford after all, they have built some atrocious handling cars in their time, to which anybody that ever drove an XR3 will attest to 🤣
johnnybravo I've got my suspicions where the bend starts, as there is some wrinking to the main chassis rails. I'm just not 100% sure that is the spot, or just some ham-fisted jacking over the years.
I couldn't face lying on the concrete today, so I did something more fun.
First I took the drivers door off, as it is always in the way, with the right hinge pin tool, painless Then I unscrewed the dashboard.
Using one of my earlier 3D prints, I could line up on the centre of the speedo and mark a line for a cut.
I had thought long and hard, about doing a major cut, into a largely original 1930's dash. My compromise was to do the cut as neatly as I could, with a jigsaw and retain the panel. Should I or anyone else wish to revert the changes in the future.
I then fitted everything up temporarily. That panel is just glued in, nothing more for now. I needed to check for clearance around the back of the instruments, especially where the cowl vent is. I quick 2cm tweak to the lever of the cowl vent gives me more space for the wiring.
A close up reveals the curve near to the choke lever, needs a bit of a tweak. But overall I'm super happy.
The idea was to get the outer lip on the panel, as close as I could to the original design of the dash, which I believe I've achieved.
I've got the pull switches on order, when I've test fitted those, I'll attempt to get that panel reprinted in ABS or similar, in one piece, then bond it into the dash, probably with Sikaflex. Then paint everything cream. I'm going to try and get the cream matched, to a 2K direct to gloss, a bit more chip resistant, than what I have currently.
In order to make that dash work as intended, I need some more electrical components. Pretty much everything installed currently is going in the bin, there are a lot of previous owner bodges, and the stuff Henry Ford put in is 89 years old I assume.
The starter, doesn't look in the first flush of youth, but appears to work, so that can stay. Ignition points have been replaced with a Petronix ignitor system, with matching flame thrower coil, so that can stay too.
Main battery wiring, and cutoff switch, I've tidied and reworked where necessary. Rear lights and loom, I've already replaced.
Ignition switch and steering lock is period correct and super cool IMHO, so that is staying too.
But various shopping trips have netted this little pile.
Main item is a 12-way fusebox, it is a design I used on the Morris, it has busbars built in, which simplifies the wiring. I'm going to power that off of the original ignition switch, but feed it though the big relay. Fusebox is rated for 75A which is plenty.
I'm going to try and future proof the wiring, there will be some spare circuits with a 12 way fuse box. One will be for an electric fan, should it ever prove necessary, that will be driven by the relay in the piccie. Another will be for electric power steering, which is a long way off, but now is the time to provision for it. Also a heater fan and a couple of other creature comforts.
Also in the piccie is a retro style column indicator switch, along with a flasher relay. That switch is a bit more user friendly than the switch I have currently. The red button also provides hazard flashers, which can't be a bad thing in an old car.
I'll be designing a bracket(s) so that all tucks up behind the dash, and out of the line of sight.
Then I need to sit down in a quiet room, and work out what wire I've got left over from previous projects and what I need to order.
One thing, for wiring I also need to ponder is, future maintenance. In theory I can remove major components such as the cab, load bay, radiator shell. I don't want to paint myself into a corner and have to cut wires in the future. So I'm looking at some kind of connectors.
Bullets are period correct, but largely horrible, especially in bunches of wires.
I'm thinking about Deutsch connectors, but they don't look period correct, so I need to be careful where I place them.
I also think I might need different sizes of kit for different wire gauges - which makes it complicated and expensive. Nothing is ever simple
One thing, for wiring I also need to ponder is, future maintenance. In theory I can remove major components such as the cab, load bay, radiator shell. I don't want to paint myself into a corner and have to cut wires in the future. So I'm looking at some kind of connectors.
Bullets are period correct, but largely horrible, especially in bunches of wires.
I'm thinking about Deutsch connectors, but they don't look period correct, so I need to be careful where I place them.
I also think I might need different sizes of kit for different wire gauges - which makes it complicated and expensive. Nothing is ever simple
Definitely not period correct for your project but in the process of fitting out my T5 as a campervan I've discovered Wago connectors, highly recommended!
I've been a bit quite - sorry about that - but I've been away for work for 3 weeks. Before I went, I tackled a job that is supposedly a swine - steering wheel removal. Removing the wheel will give a lot more space in cab whilst I'm working on the dash and the rewire.
An offcut of Unimog torque tube (don't ask) was fashioned into a collar to slide over the steering column, and pull upon.
I wrapped that ring, in an old intercooler hose, to protect the wheel as much as possible. Got the big'o'puller on it
Popped straight off - guess it has been removed relatively recently.
Then it was jump on a plane to USA. Whilst the exchange rate for us Brits, isn't what it once was. It is still a great place to go shopping for parts and tools. I visited a few local emporiums and abused my Amazon account, and the hotel front desk, and ended up with this haul of tools.
The big heavy plate on the left, is a stupid thing to put in a suitcase, but is designed for lifting FlatHead engines, like mine out. The hand held rivnut gun sets metric and imperial rivnuts. I've got an extra packet of 10/32 rivnuts, a box of matching screws, and some 3D printing inserts in the same useful size. Some of the bits were floating about at work, and it was my duty to tidy them away
Then there was similar stash of car parts.
I need lap belts for the Pendine beach race next year. Stainless conduit for tidying up the headlamp/horn wiring. There is a kit to split the V-shaped front wishbones, that will allow me to set the castor accurately. Load of misc fittings/hardware too.
I'm particularly looking forward to doing the underhood fuel lines in period correct red transparent hose. Along with a fuel pressure regulator and a gauge that mounts to the Stromberg carb.
I put together a kit to fit telescopic shocks to the rear. Alas the security people rifled my suitcase and removed the shocks themselves. I guess they look dodgy on an x-ray - ho hum.
The stash has allowed me fully populate the dash panel, with the previously missing oil pressure gauge and pull switches.
Super happy with that. I'm going to do some very minor tweaks to space out the switches along the bottom a little more evenly.
I might eventually do some laser engraved knobs, but those will do for now.
