Hello all!
So a pretty big moment in the shop…… I thought so...
Ok! So I have some working doors, well, I think they work, they open and close nicely. Open to a generous angle and don’t hit the body. But really how do they work?
The question was on my mind for a while so it was time to fit up some other stuff and find out.
So in with the foot boxes and pedals. In with the steering column and a quick dash mock up, then a seat, my seat.
Originally I was going to make the seat frames too as they are part of the drawing set but..... first off it’s a lot of tight radius bending and fit-up best done with patterns and jigs and secondly I was not having much luck finding anybody locally to pad them up and upholster them.
Honestly I really did not want to pay for someone to “learn” how to do it using up fairly expensive leather and shop time in the process.
Then there is the TIME issue, how long will it take me to make them vs. order from somebody else.
Also if I wanted black seats that could have been a bit more “off the shelf” but me being me I didn’t want black… or red…
In the end I decided to order some from a maker who seemed to have a lot more experience……
I knew I was going to need them for fitting up and honestly ordered them way back in February of 2023 and well........
I am putting it down to lingering covid 19 supply and manpower issues but they took a really long time to arrive, much too long but as the old saying goes….what’s time to a pig…..
I did some preliminary fitting when they arrived and figured out the approximate heights and position in relation to the pedals and steering wheel.
Bit of a head scratcher there though, every time I would try and go from the gas pedal to the brake my leg would contact the steering wheel
kind of a bit tight if you ask me.
However thanks to some good folks here I got some good measurements and realized my dash mock-up was too low and the wheel perhaps a bit too far to the right, but some other things I was afraid were wrong were Ok.
I came up with some seat mounts/ rails that I can adapt, then put the seats aside for a bit, but now…….
Ok, my burning question, with everything sort of in the right spots ( I think) how do you get in and out of this thing.
I tried putting my little 3 step stool up to the side of the car to get in and out and that just made me more worried…..
Am I building a car that I can’t get in and out of?
Did I get something really wrong here?
I tried watching some videos, car reviews and such just watching for the “trick” but it really was unclear if there is a “trick” to it.
Honestly I saw a video of a guy literally crawling out of a 427 ( with a top) onto the ground then getting up, to be fair he was a fairly round guy, but I don’t want to be THAT GUY
Saw another where a lanky young woman demonstrated just stepping over the door and slipping down behind the wheel, looked easy enough but that’s not really a practical answer for everybody is it?
So I figured the best way to know was…….. to take it off the jig and set it on its wheels
Oh boy, so then out with the engine, trans and diff unit.
On with all the suspension bits, held with my “theoretical ride height” spacers rather than the coil over units.
Then lift, remove the jig and ……holly crap….a flying car….well, flying chassis I guess……
I added the wheels, steering column ( still not 100% sure there), steering wheel and seat again, then the doors and wow, its…..much shorter now….
And really cool too, I even rolled it back and forth a bit…..I did refrain from making engine noises however
So then…..the big moment, the question of ingress and egress.
Yes it can be done! and it is so much better when you have the ground to stand on at the correct height and not trying to pivot off a step stool.
I tried to be casual about it, walk over open the door, get in, sit down and close the door, settle in a bit, grab the wheel.
Then open the door, figure out how to pivot, what to grab and get out and close the door.
I did this about ten times walking around the shop for a bit between tries and approaching from a different angle too I guess. After about 3 or 5 tries it started to feel more natural so I am very happy to report, yes I can get in and out of this car… comfortably…. That last part was the important part…comfortably…..not crawling on the floor
SO while I was sitting and getting a feel for the seat I also was getting a feel for the steering wheel height and lateral placement.
It seems Ok but if I can squeeze it a bit more to the left I would be happier but of course that will affect things on the dash ect. It’s all about the follow on with these changes. I am really trying to stick to the drawings as much as I can but….
So sadly after being on its own wheels for just a few hours, the chassis is back up on the jig for further work to be done, sure was cool to see it rolling a bit though.
So in the process of removing the suspension bits again I decided to shorten the steering rack input shaft as per the drawings, much as I tried I could not form a good enough spline with a straight knurl so I went with plan “B” and sectioned the shaft…. A lot
I left one end long a turned it down to a peg then drilled the other part to accept it with a nice tight fit.
After a nice weld, some clean up and final paint it won’t be too noticeable.
I also found a suitable short .750 X 48 spline shaft section that I am going to cut in half and using a similar process to weld to a center shaft section and make the intermediate steering shaft. However I will wait until I have the steering column exactly where I want it to make the final measurement.
So I will just keep building on till it’s done.
In other news....... I believe I might have tracked down a fellow here in Ontario to mould me a smooth (no scoop) hood skin. Apparently he has the old Johnex moulds and still makes bodies, and says he is happy to do just do a hood for me. I will let you know how it goes.
All for now, back to work.
Cheers,
Hudson
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