I just got my Forte' TKX spacer kit -- well made and simple (just how I like it), and it matches my planned height of my stacked-up spacer washers (mockup only)
Believe it or not, I used up all of my 25' roll of off-brand Stainless Steel annealed 3/16" tubing while bending and flaring the hardline for my rear brakes. This would've been the final, largest piece. Since my flares split and I had already bent the whole line to shape, I decided to get some more tubing, and keep this piece for scrap extra...
I decided this time to get straight sections from Holley (Earl's branded). After trying my first flare, success! Then I cut that off and tried another -- success! I'm sensing a pattern here
It's still early days to celebrate, and since I also decided to change my bulkhead "stick-out" dimension at the bottom of my floorpan, I really don't have much to show this update. Here's a picture of that 1st flare attempt on the Earl's line anyway... Earl's SS annealed flare.jpg
I got my "production-intent" Craig-Brake bracket cut, bent, filed, and fitted to the trans tunnel frame tubing. Recall that my 1st bracket was set up for the shifter in the forward position. I wanted to try it in the rearward position (about 3" rearward from the forward position), and so far it fits well and I like the layout. There's only so much room for all the stuff so my design (as of right now) is not conducive to a single bracket for both positions. I'll have to think more on that...
I'm planning to use nut-certs on the right-side main tunnel tubing so that the passenger-side cockpit panel isn't affected, and likely thru-bolt holes on the diagonal tubing (since there's room for that).
I'm debating whether to simply enlarge the hole or add a dimple-die flare to this hole (since the rubber boot is touching). I'm leaning towards the dimple-die for strength and coolness factor, but am worried that the bending in the shop press might warp the flatness of the bracket bottom. I ordered some dimple-dies from Eastwood since they appeared to be on sale and will experiment on a scrap piece of my 14ga steel sometime this week
Happy Building!
Craig C
Last edited by cc2Arider; 03-17-2024 at 06:30 PM.
Reason: misspelling
Testing out the dimple die in the press on a scrap panel
Hey Y'All,
I went ahead and purchased a dimple-die set from Eastwood and decided to practice on a test panel. The instructions said that the quality of the pilot hole essentially dictates the final result...
Knowing that I just have big-box-store hole saws that aren't concentric, I decided to cut a slightly smaller hole and file and sand it out to get a good fit into the die. Furthermore, I've seen panels warp from deforming the metal this way, so I wanted to try it out on the practice panel. Here's the setup of the die and panel in the press dimple-die press setup.jpg
Craig-Brake panel bracket gets dimpled, cut, filed, and drilled
Hey Y'All,
Fresh from my scrap panel dimpling success, I prepped the real panel and proceeded to add a dimple to allow for shift boot clearance. The test fit looked good, so the next step was to cut, file, and drill out the slots and holes necessary to mount the Lokar handbrake assembly to my bracket. Here's a picture dimpled and slotted.jpg
Since the shifter was moved to the rearward position, there was slightly less room overall than on my prototype piece. Still have decent clearance to the bracketry and the clevis, but it is close enough to the shifter boot rubber for me to pay attention to it once I start the go-cart phase. I'm pretty glad I used the solid engine mounts too, since any drivetrain torque reaction makes that clearance even smaller. Here's an underside picture handbrake fits close to shifter housing.jpg
Lastly, here's a picture of it bolted together. handbrake bolted to bracket.jpg Those extra washers are just temporary spacers. I've got an extra coil-over spacer that I'll probably cut-down to fit at the back two bolts...
Next, drilling and bolting into the frame tubes...
Fastening the Craig-Brake bracket panel to the trans tunnel frame tubes
Hey Y'All,
Hope you had a Nice Easter weekend! I took advantage of the extra day off from work to measure hole locations for drilling and installing my Craig-Brake bracket panel onto the trans tunnel frame tubes. There's not a lot of room to get the holes drilled correctly -- fortunately, I had a right-angle drill attachment that worked out well. I also made sure to pre-punch for the holes, drilled pilot holes, and used 3 different step-bits to get the final result where I wanted it. I only had to get out the Dremel tool to correct 2 out of the 6 pilot holes...
I also decided to use "low-profile" nutserts, since I wasn't sure the standard ones would fit my bracket (accounting for all the stack-up). The nutserts installed well with a wrench-style tool and look great. Here's a picture trans tunnel low profile nutserts2.jpg. My only other concern was the twist-out torque for these nutserts. There really is a dramatic installed height difference between the low-profile and standard. I hope it'll be OK. I think my design is solid with mostly orthogonal loads on the fasteners, but time will tell. I used 1/4-20 nutserts and bolts with lockwashers.
I got my Craig-Brake panels back from the powder-coater and he did a great job (as always). It's a satin finish (not sure the code number) and while it doesn't exactly match the factory finish, it is good enough for me! Here's a picture Craig-Brake brackets after powder coating.jpg
Fastening the gas tank and IRS vents in place on the frame
Hey Y'All,
Fresh from my success at installing nut-serts (or riv-nuts) for my Craig-Brake, it was time to get back to other tasks...
This one required planning a little where and how to locate my gas tank and IRS vents. I'd thought about how to do this months ago, but never got around to drilling and installing the nut-serts for this task. Finally did so this weekend.
Sorry, I don't have the part number. If you're interested, it's from a Moto Guzzi V11Sport circa 2000. I liked it because it was a nice cylindrical shape and thus pretty easy to make a bracket for it. I plan to add heat shrink tubing to the large hose clamps to cushion it a bit and give it a finished look. I'll also get the bracket powder-coated later...
I spent the weekend visualizing and measuring where to precisely locate my Breeze battery tray. The instructions mention that the main 4" frame tube in front is not always parallel to the X-tubes for the front suspension. My frame was only off by about an eighth of an inch, so I proceeded to install it per the instructions, but since the fore-aft dimension was pretty tight, I did not use any washer spacers. Here's a pictorial history:
And after setting to the proper height -- mostly dictated by the existing holes and where they aligned to the 4" main frame tube. The X-tube tray holes did not align to my frame, but were pretty close. The difference being that this was likely designed for the square x-tubes, but for the round X-tubes, it's pretty close. As you might already know from my build thread, I like a little more precision, so I located new holes (equi-distant side to side and evenly spaced for 5 holes, and aligned to the centerline of the x-tube). Here's what that ended up looking like:
Happy with the holes, I tapped the front ones for 10-24 button heads, and the rear ones were 1/4-20 (per the instructions)...lock-washers and hardware are stainless battery tray installed with SS button head screws.jpg
I finally got around to making my rear brake hardline that goes from the footbox floor to the driver's side rear frame area. I had some trepidation (since my early exposure to flaring quality issues), but the job wasn't so bad with good quality hardlines and patience and measuring. I did make a couple of mistakes, but powered thru and I'm happy with the results
If I didn't mention in previous posts, I used a Ridgid tubing bender and a flaring tool from Eastwood. The connection hardware is Earl's and I added a stainless steel spiral-wound gravel guard, since I just don't like the low-mount routing (although lots of previous builders don't have road debris issues with this "traditional" routing). I got the hardline mounts from a vendor that Mike B recommended. I really liked the curved back-side surface that fits very well on the 4" main tubes
The routing allows for removal (if it comes to that)
Next, here's some pictures of the main straight section. Of note here is the gravel guard and how the mounts all lined up well even though I had one aligned with the flat outrigger tube, while the rest were on the 4" main tube at a different mounting angle. I also lucked out that I didn't have to drill any new hole under the driver's side footbox floor panel. I simply reamed out the 1/8" rivet hole and tapped for an 8-32 button head The last picture shows that I did have to approach the bulkhead connector at a slight angle (it was about 7 deg)
Thanks for looking thru my thread and the compliment
I wish I had an update for this past week that included some pictures, but instead, I spent some quality time with my Club Members who put together a nice annual meeting event
Then, I had to do some chainsaw work on some downed tree limbs. Losing out on garage time has me extra motivated to get back to it this week!
Hopefully, I'll have some worthwhile post this week...
Since Spring has "sprung" here, I've had less time to work in the garage as I had gotten accustomed to over the Winter, so this post isn't that inspiring. I've been working on designing and locating several miscellaneous brackets that we all have to deal with...
First up is my plan for the hydraulic reservoirs. I intend to "sandwich" a pair of Al angle pieces around the 3/4" front top tube. My intention is to provide more support than a flat piece while providing some additional heat shielding from the header heat below. Here's some crude mock-up pictures: hyd res bracket mockup1.jpg and hyd res bracket mockup2.jpg
While I'm figuring that, I still need to locate my spin-on fuel filter. It's a Trick Flow unit that others have used and it came with its own Al angle bracket. It took me a while to play with the geometry, but I got it where I want it and it just took me to add some Al spacers so I could use the bracket that was already designed for it. The arrangement should direct the forces where I want them. Here's some mock-up pictures: fuel filter bracket mockup1.jpg and fuel filter bracket mockup2.jpg and fuel filter bracket mockup3.jpg
Lastly, I had heard other Builders mention that a support bracket under the outside front corner of the supplied fuse-panel bracket would be a good idea, so I thought about it and came up with this bent piece of Al sheet (~1/8" thick). Here's a couple of mock-up pictures: looking down from the top fuse panel bracket mockup1.jpg and a better side view here fuse panel bracket mockup2.jpg
Hopefully, I'll carve out some more quality time in the garage this upcoming week to wrap these up
It's good to be working in the garage again! This weekend I finalized the location and mounting choices for my canister-style fuel filter. This one's a Trick Flow unit, but there are other similar ones, too (Aeromotive, etc)
As others have done, I chose to locate the filter mounting bracket on the Passenger-side rear horizontal frame tube near the upper coil-over tabs. I stubbornly wanted to use the bracket that came with the filter, but you could easily cut a similar bracket from Al angle stock to use instead. The existing holes in the bracket are 5/16", so I used that same size nut-sert.
Here's a gasket/rubber damper I made from an unused riding mower tire tube fuel filter bracket gasket damper.jpg. Since the nut-serts have a small installed height (that is not flush with the surface), I wanted something that would support the bracket against the frame better and damp any vibrations on the bracket and filter assembly. I used a spare brass plumbing attachment as the hole punch. It worked pretty well
So here's the proof that I did my homework on the best overall location: easy to access all fittings from underneath the trunk panel, and relatively out-of-the-way of anything else
I hope your Memorial Day was as reflective as mine was
I wrapped up a task that turned into a goal -- get the fuel hardlines designed, routed, and fastened (at least for mock-up) by the end of this weekend. It was an intense goal for me because I ended up using a lot of geometry and Trigonometry and I didn't want to make mistakes! I figured minimum bending distances, critical offsets, coupler dimensions, access, etc. In the end, I got frustrated because I ran out of talent, or patience, or both I may decide to start over after I examine my work in a few days...
At this point, I was feeling really good about my work...then today, I ran out of talent, or patience, or both when I tried routing the fuel hardlines into the engine bay. I chose to route along the 3/4" diagonal frame tube so that it would be well supported, and reasonably protected from impact and heat sources. Others have done this, too. My hat's off to those who did this well because there's a lot of geometry to think thru!
My 1st attempt turned out pretty well on the feed line. I resorted to practicing on a spare hardline and this was a wise move! The return line was more complex because the angles just weren't computing in my head. Once again, the minimum distance between bends made for a "swoopy" shape. In the end, I resorted to "massaging" the fit a little. It's not my best work, but here's some pictures fuel hardlines engine bay detail.jpgfuel hardlines engine bay detail2.jpg
I'd be proud to have them on my car. That's some really nice work.
Cheers,
Nige
Mk.4 FFR supplied Right hand drive
Received 12/2012 completed 12/2019
Gen1 Coyote / TKO600 / IRS
Lots of mods to make compliant for Australian design rules
Many THANKS to my BroBro, Nigel, and Chewy for the compliments and encouragement It helped a lot! I went out to look at my work this AM, and it wasn't objectionable...I'll keep it.
Chewy,
The line separators were from a vendor that Mike B recommended. Yes, they are radiused on the back. This was a selling point for me since they're pretty stout for the purpose. I was going to mention this in my post, but had a difficult time getting everything documented before my connection got interrupted (sometimes this happens for my posts). I'll look in my email receipts to get you a contact...
I owed you a response for the special line separators I used. I'm not sure if this violates the Vendor policy or not, but you can contact Rick at Lodestone BilletWorks. As I recall he is a builder, who knows our products well
Next up, see if I can install them with the footbox panels in place. No. Too long, but not unexpected. There's only so much maneuvering with such a complicated shape. I ended up installing the feedline into the engine bay 1st, so that meant I needed to trim the area near the filter. I already knew that I needed a minimum of 7" between the filter and the feedline, so that's where I cut it. Next, the return line needed more length near the filter, so I trimmed it back in the engine bay side. Both lines suitably trimmed, I could get them both into place with the passenger-side footbox panels in place fuel hardlines engine bay detail3.jpg
Everything fit pretty well, but I did have a tight fit at the trailing edge of the passenger footbox floor, so I'm planning to add an adhesive-backed stainless steel shim (cut to fit), so it doesn't wear on my nice panel powdercoating Here's where I'll add that later fuel hardlines passenger footbox detail.jpg
Making an access panel where the standard handbrake used to be
Hey Y'All,
Since I relocated my handbrake to the top of the transmission tunnel, I had a big panel hole that needed to be covered. I made a simple panel many months ago, but finally decided to make it removable
There's probably not much point in it, but I did notice with my transmission mocked into place that the oil fill plug is right there! Also a switch plug is located near there, too. Since the transmission is shifted to the passenger side a little, and has less side clearance to the panel, I figured, "Why not add an access panel?"
The difficult part was that I had already drilled the rivet holes kinda close to the panel's open edge. The "usual" nut serts would be too big in diameter. So I found an alternative in McMaster Carr. I could get some pretty small diameter ones, that would still fit a 6-32 screw size. Not too bad!
These are made for "soft" metals, and don't squish or deform themselves. Instead it has grooves that bite into and slightly deform the holes of the parent panel metal.
After successfully adding those specialized nut-serts to my access panel for the traditional hand-brake cut-out, I decided to apply the same treatment to the Driver's side inner-top panel that has an access panel for the master cylinders.
I got to finishing the final details of my fuel hardlines. I decided that instead of flaring the ends, I'd use AN fittings that use a brass collar as the sealing mechanism. This simply gets compressed around the tube like a similar home plumbing fitting. They are -6 Earls if you're interested...
I also really wanted to try the new Ultra Flex hose and fittings, but they're not available in the -6 size, so I went to another Vendor to get the braided hose. I chose a nylon-braided lightweight hose.
Here's a picture of a short section joining the rear feed hardline from the fuel filter canister. This is a viewpoint looking up from the floor: underside view of short fuel hose from filter to hardline.jpg I purposefully made the length and approach angles so that slight bends of the hose would keep it in a little compression. Worst case, I figured it better than a little tension!
Here's the -6 AN fittings for the engine bay. I forgot to mention that I used Earl's assembly lube since I wasn't sure what to use for the fuel line. General guidance is to use the fluid normally in the lines as the assembly lubricant, but since they're fuel lines, I just used the assembly lube to prevent galling and ensure smooth tightening. added AN fittings to engine bay fuel hardlines.jpg another view added AN fittings to engine bay fuel hardlines2.jpg
Lastly, I decided to add some shallow bends for the hardline return back to the fuel tank. My initial fitment didn't leave much room for the fittings to be installed (maintained), so here's how that adjustment turned out: added AN fitting to fuel hardline returning to tank.jpg Note the temporary fuel hose to prove the routing is still good
I've read many a regret from other Builders that they wished they had mocked up the harness (especially the rear harness) before the final installation of the panels. So, I heeded their advice and started the harness mockup with no panels in place. Truth be told, I've been building like this anyway -- too many things to go wrong which means disassembly/re-assembly multiple times
Also, I'm going to stubbornly avoid drilling unnecessary holes in the firewall -- I want a clean look and have some ideas I'd like to try
A milestone kinda came and went this past week. It has been a year since I've had a Mk IV Roadster kit in my possession
Overall thoughts: I'm glad I prepared ahead of time for my build vision, garage space, chassis dolly, and body buck. I'm also glad I decided to make custom touches and not rush thru a me-too build. My overall motivations remain the same and for the same reasons...
Pace of progress: has been slower than I expected. Apparently, I think things thru a bit much (and often is not as effective as I desire anyway)
Learning skills: I'm very pleased with my skill improvement. I applied myself towards aspects of a typical resto-mod or custom build that will come in handy in the future. I don't have the courage to just charge in and not look back, but I can apply my vision and achieve a desired outcome.
Completion of planned tasks/activities: I "more or less" am following the build Manual, but I've taken liberties ...
- I started to "final assemble" according to the Manual initially, then decided that there are a LOT of interactions with the different subsystems of an Automobile, so I've dedicated my approach towards "mock-up" until I'm pretty sure I don't box myself into a corner with an initial decision on something. I think for most, this won't be an issue if you follow the Manual rigorously. For me, I've decided to make my own deviations from the manual to integrate my own personal choices -- of course built upon the Giants that proceeded me in this endeavor!
- I'm about up to page 250 in the build manual -- major exception being that I haven't permanently mounted panels. This allows me to access parts of the chassis freely for drilling holes, etc. I realize that I still need to think thru what happens when the panels are in the way later
Special Attention: has been applied to the fitment of the various parts included in the kit. I'm really motivated to assemble parts and fasten to hold into place -- not force into a shape that is convenient. I also was very motivated to making my own parking brake / handbrake design. This deviates from the heritage of the build, but I wanted something more functional ergonomically-speaking when I'm belted into the seat. I'm also wanting to design a console under the dash panel, and I've got styling elements that I'd like to apply to the dash panel facade , too. I'm also thinking about making heat shield panels for the engine bay.
This post has been a catharsis, and I'm ready to get back into it!
I tried my hand at cutting and assembling fuel flex lines, and it wasn't too difficult. I chose the nylon sheathing because I'm not particularly a fan of the SS braided look for everything. I did use Al vise jaws and a Special AN aluminum adjustable wrench, but I suppose you could just apply some protective tape to the jaws of your steel adjustable wrench and/or vise if you had to...
I also used a simple hacksaw to cut thru the flex lines. They had embedded stainless mesh within the synthetic rubber. I believe that kept the cut pretty clean. I suspect if I used Stainless steel braided line (on the outside) I'd probably need to use a cutoff wheel instead...
Assembly was straightforward and used Earl's assembly lube on the swivel ends. I left the lengths long so that I could choose to tighten before I raised the tank into position (and vice-versa if I needed to remove the tank). I like options I'm thinking of using some MagDaddys to secure the loops directly onto the top of the tank
RT tribute Turn Signal collar bracket installation
Hey Y'All,
I got my RT tribute turn signal assembly from TJ and I'm very happy with it! This past week, I centered the bracket onto the FFR upper steering shaft frame bracket (per the instructions), and I'm happy with my work. Here's a couple of pictures: RT tribute bracket install1.jpgRT tribute bracket install2.jpg
I was so excited to get that installed that I didn't notice until later that the assembly shifted towards the center of the cockpit by about a 1/4" or so. I based this observation on the shaft distance from the original FFR steering stem bracket bearing clamp holes. Here's a picture with a ruler to show scale RT Tribute offset.jpg
Am I the first builder to notice this? Can't be...
Apparently, it's not that big of a deal to sweat this detail. I did post a question in the Roadster forum, but no one has replied...However, if anyone DID observe this with your build, what did you do about it?
I'm thinking about making a new alignment plate since I have some spare 11Ga steel. I might just do this as an experiment anyway...
Fresh from being inspired by the cool people and Cobras at the London show this past weekend, I got to finishing my Remote Hydraulic Reservoir Bracket! I'm pretty sure it will fit with the body and hood on, but if not, I can recreate something similar later...
Here's my design: remote reservoir bracket1.jpg It sandwiches the existing tube and provides flex support about 2 1/2" down from the tube. I'm not sure it's necessary, but I think it'll be strong for it's purpose. I flipped the "support" side so that the "backing" side has more room to route the rubber hoses to the existing hole in the driver's footbox bulkhead panel. I countersunk the holes so that only the thickness of the support panel extends into the engine bay from the 3/4" top tube. I plan to fasten a bent piece of thin Stainless sheet to the bottom of the backing plate to act as a heat shield
Here's a couple of pictures after drilling for the three reservoir clamps: remote reservoir bracket with reservoirs1.jpgremote reservoir bracket with reservoirs2.jpg I have enough room to fasten the clamps to my "support" side, and I have some margin to lower the reservoirs about 3/8" more if I need to. I managed to level all of them and have a tidy appearance
Lastly, I cut/sanded holes for the rubber hoses to go thru the footbox bulkhead panel by making a grommet out of a floorpan body plug. The overall hole diameter is 1.5". Next, I'll have to enlarge the existing hole in the Al panel (which appears to be only about 1" diameter from FFR). The bulkhead hole is much larger anyway, so I just need to make a round/smooth hole. Here's a test-fit picture: hydraulic reservoir tube grommet.jpg
Several weeks back, I purchased a fiberglass-backed silicone heat shield from Holley. I intended to use it in my engine bay for the fuel lines running up/back to my pressure regulator...
The trouble was, they only had the 18" long size (for the 2" diameter product), so I got myself some quality shears from a sewing retailer last Friday. I asked for heavy-duty that could be used for upholstery, and I got Husqvarna-branded shears -- this was kinda cool! Anyway, I used them to cut the heat shield down to about a foot long, and it came out great -- nice clean, straight cut!
Here's a picture of the finished product in the engine bay: engine bay fuel line insulation wrap.jpg It's a wrapped sleeve fastened to itself by strong velcro, so it can be installed/removed at-will...
I still have to finish plumbing the hoses and locate the regulator, but I think it'll work as intended
I decided to make a simple bracket for my RT tribute steering shaft assembly because it appeared to need a left-ward offset of about 1/4"~3/8". I know this sounds OCD, but it made me happy to craft something to achieve a desired outcome
Here's a picture of the bracket made from 11Ga steel sheet, cut on a table-top bandsaw, and drilled with both drill-press and hand-drill, and finished off by hand-filing and belt-sanding the edges: RT Tribute offset bracket.jpg I'll powder-coat this soon...
Here's the mock-up. RT Tribute offset bracket mockup.jpg Notice the comparison to my earlier posted picture. This aligns very well with the FFR-designed upper shaft mount Mission accomplished!
I learned from previous builders that the main wire loom (simply due to its size and location) gets in the way of or rests on the steering shaft. I don't think it would impede the rotation, but why leave it that way? As other builders have posted, I decided to make a simple bracket to keep it (and other obstructions) free from the steering shaft.
Here's my simple bracket made from 14ga sheet steel, cut with a table-top bandsaw, bent on a bench vise, and drilled using a hand-drill: steering shaft wireloom bracket.jpg
Earlier in the year, I posted about my rear brake hardline design, and I just wasn't happy with the level of "stick-out" underneath the footbox floor panel, so this weekend I decided to finally "recess" it
The combination of the panel overlap caused the 90 deg elbow to stick out too much for my OCD, so I reamed out the hole for the overlapped panel so that the bulkhead fitting recessed by just that amount. Here's the picture of the result recessed rear brake 90 bulkhead detail1.jpg I tested to see if a flare-nut wrench would still work on the flared-end, and it did...
The problem that I just created was a weaker joint of the bulkhead fitting against the footbox floor panel, so I decided to bolster the strength by adding "backing" plates.
Here's a picture of a 14ga steel "plate" or shim, along with a pair of Al panel shims (just because), used on the cabin-side of this panel joint recessed rear brake 90 bulkhead detail2.jpg I plan to powder-coat at least the steel part soon...
I think this arrangement will work just fine and I plan to use a simple 3/8" nut/bolt to squeeze that part of the panel joint during the silicone curing phase. Then I'll simply unbolt and install the bulkhead fitting for real
Your thread is amazing. You clearly have a lot of skill and I admire your vision in terms of access panels and so forth. Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate your craftsmanship.
Fresh from being inspired by the cool people and Cobras at the London show this past weekend, I got to finishing my Remote Hydraulic Reservoir Bracket! I'm pretty sure it will fit with the body and hood on, but if not, I can recreate something similar later...
Here's my design: remote reservoir bracket1.jpg It sandwiches the existing tube and provides flex support about 2 1/2" down from the tube. I'm not sure it's necessary, but I think it'll be strong for it's purpose. I flipped the "support" side so that the "backing" side has more room to route the rubber hoses to the existing hole in the driver's footbox bulkhead panel. I countersunk the holes so that only the thickness of the support panel extends into the engine bay from the 3/4" top tube. I plan to fasten a bent piece of thin Stainless sheet to the bottom of the backing plate to act as a heat shield
Here's a couple of pictures after drilling for the three reservoir clamps: remote reservoir bracket with reservoirs1.jpgremote reservoir bracket with reservoirs2.jpg I have enough room to fasten the clamps to my "support" side, and I have some margin to lower the reservoirs about 3/8" more if I need to. I managed to level all of them and have a tidy appearance
Lastly, I cut/sanded holes for the rubber hoses to go thru the footbox bulkhead panel by making a grommet out of a floorpan body plug. The overall hole diameter is 1.5". Next, I'll have to enlarge the existing hole in the Al panel (which appears to be only about 1" diameter from FFR). The bulkhead hole is much larger anyway, so I just need to make a round/smooth hole. Here's a test-fit picture: hydraulic reservoir tube grommet.jpg
Happy Building!
Craig C
I like all the custom bespoke touches you're doing. You might want to rivet the front panel of your DS footbox in before installing the brake reservoir bracket as it will get in the way of your rivet gun. It'll also interfere w/ trying to get the top riveted to the front panel as well.
Yeah, I'm still in "mockup" stage at this point, and have been making mental notes of my assembly order. Truth be told, I'm also procrastinating about "final" assembly of my panels because I think about something new that I'll need to add before I get to the riveting. Actually the drilling out of rivets isn't too bad, it's the hope that the panels can be separated from the silicone without too much "avoidable" damage
Your thread is amazing. You clearly have a lot of skill and I admire your vision in terms of access panels and so forth. Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate your craftsmanship.
Tucking the rear brake flex line behind the Accelerator Pedal bracket
Hey Y'All,
Hope you had a nice Independence Day I visited Family and it was a good time!
Due to the short week, I didn't get much done but was able to drill out a pass-thru hole for my rear brake flex line by tucking it behind the Accelerator Pedal bracket. This will keep it out of the way (as others have done). I added a rubber grommet to finish the mock-up. Here's a picture (looking down from the top of the Driver's side footbox): rerar brakeline grommet inside driver's side footbox.jpg
I decided to make a simple heat shield out of "mirror polished" Stainless sheet I got from McMaster-Carr. It comes polished on one side only...although I suppose if you were so inclined, you could put effort into polishing the other side
I figured the shiny finish would have the best chance to reflect the radiated heat from the Driver's side Headers...
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Originally Posted by cc2Arider
