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Spider Veloce from 1985 - 4 |
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Clic on the PICTURE for a 640*480 resolution |
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The restauration of the Spider Veloce from 1985 of Brock Brinkerhoff from Alabaster. |
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When I got home from work today, Indy & I felt like working on the car (go figure, huh?) Since I want to really get into the rear of the frame tomorrow, I wanted to finish the second frame rail. The idea at this point is to get the main rails in place and welded, and then use them for measureing/cutting everything else off of. |
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| * Since I want to really get into the rear of the frame tomorrow, I wanted to finish the second frame rail. The idea at this point is to get the main rails in place and welded, and then use them for measureing/cutting everything else off of. We started out tonight by fabricating the new legs for the right side rail. * Next, I positioned the left rail and right rail back under the car. * On the right you can see the uncut rail butted to the front cross-member. * Although the cut somewhat looks flat.... |
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| * It is actually a 3 way compound curve cut. * Here is the rail after cutting and fitting. * And here is what it looks like entering the engine compartment. * And now, for one of the cooler pictures taken of the project - Here is the rails from underneath - I REALLY liked this picture so I'm posting it full resolution. To position the rails, I created a piece of metal that is the exact correct offset between the existing 4" side rail and the new rail. Instead of trying to measure the gap, I used this peice of metal. I got everything with 1/32" - Even the front tongue hang-over on the cross-memeber is within 1/32" of each other (as measured of of the existing engine mount bolts). I tried to get them close, but I wasn't expecting that. |
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Ok - I know this update is going to seem a small, but I really did get a ton of stuff done today especially since I ran out of C25 in the middle of the process I took a lot of time measuring out things and get parts fabricated up. |
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| * Today I set out to weld in the main rails. In order to do this, I had to prep the cross-member for welding. I did this with a DA sander and 60 grit paper. * I went ahead and cleaned most of the cross-member since it will have to be done sooner or later. * Here is the final fit for the passenger side rail. * And now I'm committed (or is that "should be"). For the weld I am using my MIG machine with C25 gas. |
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| * The right side final fit. * The only way that is coming off is *with* the cross-member. * I was able to finish the passenger side but ran out of C25 gas 3/4 of the way through the drivers side - This almost put an end to my welding day. Here's what they looked like from the engine bay. * Since I was out of gas, I switched over to fabricating the rear portion of the frame that goes up and over the rear end. These are the upright pieces (note there is a 15 degree cut on the left side and a 37.5 on the right. |
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| * I love power tools. * This will give you an idea of the function of this section - Imagine the wood being the 4" round rails. Since I ran out of gas, I headed to my friend Klay's house - He owns a really nice Miller TIG setup. He let me use it to TIG the rear section. * I prepped the pieces for welding. * When doing stuff like this I like to get everything clean and tight - The gap on the cuts was ZERO. This picture shows the prepped edges. |
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| * I really like TIG welding - Klay is the one who taught me how, but I still need practice. * Here is a finished weld. |
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| * And here are both sections ready to go. As it turns out, he also had a spare cylinder of Argon. I brought this home with me so I'll be able to continue welding tomorrow. I hope to get more of the rear section of the frame done tomorrow - I've got more help tomorrow so it should go smooth |
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Time for a bigger update Today I was determined to get the main frame finished. I also wanted to get the axles removed from my new rear-end to get an accurate width for ordering the new axles tomorrow. |
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| * Today I was determined to get the main frame finished. I also wanted to get the axles removed from my new rear-end to get an accurate width for ordering the new axles tomorrow. I started the day with my newly TIG'd rear pieces - I tacked the drivers side into place. * The reason the wheel is in the wheel well is so that I can take accurate measurements for the axle center line. I need this in order to know that I'm in a reasonable range when I order the rear coil-overs. * I worked the lower edge where it meets the 4" round - then I welded the drivers side into place. * This rear section will all be MIG'd. |
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| * Once I got the driver's side welded, I measured again and put a leg on the passenger side so that the finish height would be exactly the same. * The reason the leg looks short is that I'm working from a table I placed in the trunk. * After everything looked good, I finished the weld on the passenger side. * Although things tend to move once they cool, everything was still within some tight tolerances. |
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| * These rear portions of the frame should be extremely strong - The nice part about welding in this area is that I could check the penetration by looking inside the 4" round - It was right on the money. * Then I changed my attention to the 4"x4" square stock for tying the side rails to the new main rails. To do this, I had designed them to overlap on the top of the tube in order to tie into the uprights as well. Here is what one looked like when I have finished doing all the math. * Since I don't own a band saw (yet), I do cuts like this with my jig saw and some very good Bosch metal blades. I can get the cut within 1/16" usually. * And here is the section once cut out. |
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| * Once rough cut, I dropped it in place. Since the main rails had moved slightly after cooling, it was a pressure fit. * Although the rough cuts were close, I took my time to get them as tight as possible. * The backside of this cut ties into the upright. This was pretty trickey because of all the edges coming together. * And if it wasn't tought enough to make one, I had to do it again!. |
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| * ..... * Each piece required about 15 minutes on the grinder to get exactly right. * This is what the finished cut looked like. * Both sides ready to be welded. |
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| * ..... * Before welding, I had to clearence the sides a little more - This is where the sheetmetal comes to to the old cross-member junction. * Although blurry, you can see in this picture the rear facing intersection of the 3 pieces - I could only hope for enough horsepower to be able to break this. * Here's a montage of the rear section after welding was complete - The main rails are within 1/16" of each other and less then 1/16" to the side rails - I am VERY happy with the results!. |
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| * THE RESULTS !!. |
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| * I also had some help today from my friend Shane (not my brother - This is a different Shane). He started on the rear-end. * Once he got the sway bar, brakes etc taken off, I got busy taking the axles out. To to this, you remove the center 7/8" pin holding the the planetary gears in, push the axles in towards the center, and remove the c-clip. * Once the c-clip is out, the axle slides right off. * I got the axles on the garage floor and measured them. I then got the wheels into position to take a final measurement. |
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| * It turns out that I will be narrowing the rear *exactly* 5" on each side for a finished width of 49 1/8", flange to flange. I'm ordering the axles tomorrow, and Moser has a max 2 day turn-around - They're in IN so I should have them Wed-Thurs. Then I'll cut the housing down, TIG it back together and have a full rear end for the car. I am also ordering the 4-link mounts this week. Hopefully, with any luck, I should have a rolling rear next weekend!. |
