As usual, the workmanship is just stunning (and humbling). So much detail.
(BTW, is that F150 in a CVic chassis? I think I've seen it elsewhere on the web)
Thanks dude! Yes that's a '64 F250 on an '08 police interceptor chassis. Karl, Duder, myself, and a few other friends built it as a shop truck. We have a build thread
here on the Grassroots Motorsport forum if you want to see more detail.
The foot pedal that came with the bead roller was a real piece of ****. Karl and I spent an evening upgrading to a much nicer SSC Controls TIG pedal and an actual speed controller brain box from Automation Direct. The upgrade was absolutely worth doing, you can actually regulate the speed now instead of having to choose between too fast or way too fast. We had to body-lift the half-ass enclosure to fit everything but it works like a dream now.
Part of closing out the firewall was dealing with these goofy corners at the bases of the a-pillars. I decided to weld in some formed pieces of 4130 instead of tearing my hair out trying to fit and rivet aluminum. Started with a piece of 1" notched tube to make a good area for the aluminum to terminate to.
Definitely not eligible for instagram #weldporn but still acceptable for a home gamer like me.
The CAD model of the car just isn't accurate enough to laser cut pieces like this so I went with the cardboard method instead. I probably spent more time making the templates for these panels than the parts themselves which feels a bit wrong but I found it pays off 100%
Welded in this Z flange and some left over rivet flanges from the main hoop to fasten the last few pieces.
Last firewall section. The drivers side looks the same, just mirrored.
That wrapped up the firewall on both sides. I left the lower sections long for now, they will get trimmed, bent, and riveted to the underfloor at a later date.
Next up was the inner floorpan on the passenger side. The clecos are holding a Z shaped stiffener that will also get riveted to the underfloor and will hopefully keep that area from caving in when you step there to climb in or out. Also visible is the footrest, the front PDU, and a grounding junction box. Most of the wiring endpoints in the cabin have been at least mocked up so we can measure for final harness lengths and draw up a formboard. Karl has been killing the game on harness schematics, we're both pretty pumped to start wiring.
Scored some tools and rivets from a friend. These will come in handy when it comes time to attach all the sheet metal. The gun leaks a little oil but I have a rebuild kit on the way already.
Got the driver's side floor pan partially complete and tacked in.
After way too much back and forth with Woodward Machine I finally got the right u-joints and splined stubs for the steering column. The only rub was the partially blocked spline on the 240 ZF rack. My original plan was to use a 240 lower u-joint but it was just too bulky so I had to go with the slimmer Woodward part. To make it fit I had to remove six serrations on the spline.
I repurposed some junk in the shop to make a clamping block for the u-joint and totally free handed this broaching tool on the end of a piece of drill rod. Using the lathe as a shaper and some careful eyeballing I was able to shave down the offending spline serrations.
Frankly I'm shocked this worked as well as it did. My expectations were very low and for the amount of prep I did this really had no right to work at all.
I then welded up the lower column and installed it. The car now has functional steering and I stood there turning the wheel, watching the rack travel back and forth with a dumbass grin on my face for way longer than I care to admit.
