neil's intro - Page 2

nshaddox · June 11th, 2007, 06:12 AM

pictures from yesterday:

my new door:

nshaddox · June 11th, 2007, 06:34 PM

more stuff buttoned up today:

driver rear window curve worked out:

worked on quarter window and c pillar on passenger side:

rolled it outside to get some good shots:

nshaddox · June 12th, 2007, 06:38 PM

yesterdays work:

todays work:

looks pretty good i guess. the passenger side is a little bit higher than the drivers side so i have to fix that, but it shouldn't be that bad. might unweld the doors tomorrow, but i have to see how far i get. oh yeah, the quarter windows will be more tapered at the back, i might do that first.

nshaddox · June 13th, 2007, 05:21 PM

got some more work done on the roof. i still have to taper the a and b pillars so that they join and can be fully welded, and i have to do two patches to fill the remaining gaps up on top, and i have to do two patches to join the body lines by the rear window. Then i get to tackle the doors. so i have a fair amount of work in front of me. not to mention all the finishing work that needs to be done. most of its just tacked together for now. oh yeah, all the stuff on the interior is more or less untouched. and i still haven't done the quarter windows completely. a lot of stuff. i might rest tomorrow. pick up some more cutting disks and stuff.

say, what do you guys use to grind down welds out of curiousity? i rarely like the way grinding discs do the job. anyone have any tricks?

on to the pictures.

nshaddox · June 16th, 2007, 10:52 AM

took a break on i guess it was thursday. ended up helping a friend drop the engine and transmission from his second corvair. It only took eight and a half hours this time; an improvement! then yesterday i worked on finishing up some of the welds on the roof. I decided to finish up the stuff i had already started before fabbing any more of the stuff that needs to be fabbed, so it will probably be a couple of days before anything new and exciting happens. oh ya, flap discs rock for flattening welds. waaaay better than grinding discs.

back to the real world for now.

nshaddox · June 18th, 2007, 03:27 PM

i have pictures:

looks bad at first:

but then:

i will probably beat on it some more later, but we'll see.
i also did this:

and today i did these:

thats all for today.

nshaddox · June 19th, 2007, 12:48 PM

today i did this

(there used to be holes there in case you didn't notice.)

nshaddox · June 20th, 2007, 05:44 PM

worked on the inside of the car by the rear window

also got my stuff back from powder coating.

nshaddox · June 21st, 2007, 10:10 AM

man my car looks cool!

still a tiny amount of work to be done inside at the corner of the rear window, and i still have to finish up the welds inside, and reshape the quarters, and the pillars, and the door tops . . .
A lot of work goes into these. at least mine is awesome enough to justify it.

nshaddox · June 22nd, 2007, 03:46 PM

took a break from the top and started on the bench seat mods

first step: relocate handbrake. for this i first spent a few nights dreaming about how to do it. then i got an idea i thought would work all right, so i started cutting, trial fitting and tacking it in.
new angle:

it wont have full travel due to interference with the seat, but hopefully i can minimize that so as to maximize handbrake travel. things that were important to do would have to be not cutting through the accelerator cable guide (which i did) or any other tunnel innards. also make sure that the bends in the ebrake cable tubes dont restrict the motion/installation of the cables or interfere with the shifter coupler thing in any of its various positions.

step two is construction of the seat bottom frame.

tacked in stock seat bottom on both sides

joining them at front and back

for that last part, i made sure it cleared the handbrake, and that it was as straight as i could get it.

added some more stuff:

ended up with this:

step 3 was the seat back frame:
construction was pretty simple. cut stock front seat back in half, place on seat bottom frame, fill gap using rear seat back.

finished product

figuring out the springs will be the real trick.

nshaddox · June 25th, 2007, 04:23 PM

did a whole bunch of errands the last couple of days, but also some work on the car. i replaced the passenger side door with one that wasn't all dented up. only 3 of 8 bolts had to be drilled out, so it wasn't as much of a chore as i thought it was gonna be. then today i ran over to an upholstery place and bought 36ft. of zig zag spring and did this:

still needs work, but its a start i guess. it was not fun to make. i gotta tie all the springs together with twine or something before i can really try sitting on it.

nshaddox · June 26th, 2007, 03:56 PM

did the passenger side door top today, mostly done anyways. i joined up the pillars on that side while i was at it. i need to do the interior side of the pillars still though. i am gonna do more on the door later, cuz i wanna run vent windows. i think that'll be trick. i might have to go back and redo part of this door actually since i am not exactly satisfied with the door gap at the top of the b pillar. probably gonna wait till after the drivers side is done before i make up my mind on that one.

pics

nshaddox · June 27th, 2007, 05:46 PM

no more holes in the tunnel

also started on the drivers door, but still much to do for tomorrow.

nshaddox · June 29th, 2007, 06:10 AM

pictures from yesterdays work.

overall shots

nshaddox · July 6th, 2007, 05:31 AM

took a bit of a break as my family went on vacation. it was not as relaxing as working on the car is, and it kinda drained my momentum. but i did some more stuff yesterday. worked on the bench seat and did some welding by the rear window. i also took out the bracing that i had put in before cutting the roof off. today i am supposed to help my friend move around some corvairs, but if that doesn't pan out i will reshape the quarter windows.

nshaddox · July 7th, 2007, 04:52 PM

pictures of the new quarter window shape:

some detail shots of the bench seat:

i will not be doing any patch work except to finish up what is already started on the interior and other places i have overlooked. so i wont be posting new pics for a bit. but i will be working.

nshaddox · July 18th, 2007, 11:43 AM

interior is welded above b pillar area now.

i also finished up both a pillars completely, but no need for pictures.

i also found a place to get tubes for front beam making

i also found a place that will cut all the flat glass for me. will make templates later.

then i went to california with my family for a while.

but today i got back to work.

Making vent windows for the chop:
1) it was necessary to modify the door so that the window divider had a place to mount up top and so that the vent window seal would be held in place.

i used a sharpie to help me visualize.

2) completing the vent window frame is actually easy. i ended up kind of flipping and swapping tops to get the curve right. i used a bit of copper inside the channel to hold it together for welding. the steel won't stick to the copper. also, befor welding i used the grinder to take the chrome off the frame at the joint. once you are past the layer of copper, its all good.

3) time to shorten the divider. i took off 5.25 inches. you have to move the bottom mount up the same length you take off. once again, i ground off the chrome before spotwelding back together. picture is midway through the process.

finally:

overall:

i have to do the top hinges still, but i salvaged a pair from some junk frames. they will need modification.

have to finish the passenger side now.

nshaddox · July 18th, 2007, 03:05 PM

finished the passenger side

hinges tomorrow? glass templates? get a job? i will see what i can do.

nshaddox · July 19th, 2007, 07:16 PM

tops of vent window frames are done now. step by step modification of the hinges:

the top part of the hinge is bent to the new angle, then the old hole is welded up, the weld is ground down, a new hole is drilled for the rivet, then i shortened it by about .2 inch (did this by sight, so not sure exactly.) bottom piece is bent and reshaped. then they are combined and welded to the frame. the center of the rivet should line up exactly with the rod sticking out of the vent window frame.

should work all right, but the hinge is not fixed to the door top as of now.

i also cleaned up most of the welds on the drivers side. and i filled the drivers side c pillar on the interior. and i lined up some work for tomorrow.

nshaddox · July 21st, 2007, 04:58 PM

i have decided to show yins a few helpful tools

for corner welding (made from a nearly used up tip and nozzle)

metal working (not pictured is the bench vice, which is near essential)

i used most of that stuff today and made these

starting from this

and i ended up like so

so the c pillars are totally done.
all that is left on the roof now is a bit in the center of the rear window frame inside and joining up the b pillars inside. then it will be time for glass i guess.

nshaddox · July 23rd, 2007, 03:54 PM

finished off the roof finally!
b pillars

overall

anyone near me have a drivers front fender and a pair of headlights? i could really use them. they dont have to be perfect, just useable. i also need a gas tank.

nshaddox · July 30th, 2007, 03:42 PM

made templates for the windows yesterday and dropped them off at a glass shop this morning. also found a few of the pieces i need to get the car back together. did a few misc. repairs. the drivers door latches now. still looking for a beater front drivers side fender pre 66 and a pair of headlights. oh i also ordered a bunch of stuff like window rubber and brake parts today.

let you know when i do something exciting.

nshaddox · August 20th, 2007, 05:14 PM

well, its been a while, but i have done some stuff and am going to try to get my car drivable by the end of the week. if you have got to bet on it, bet on something coming up and me not finishing, but i am keeping my fingers crossed. to do list:

finish rewiring car (i already made my self a new wiring harness, but i still have some accessories to wire. like tail lights.)

do the brakes. (master cylinder is already installed, pedal assembly rebuilt, but i need to install all hard and soft lines and redo brake internals.)

install gas tank (i already pulled the birds nest out and had it cleaned up at a radiator shop, also i declogged the gas line in the tunnel, so fuel deliver should not keep me back like last time.)

transmission prep (new throw out bearing arm and stuff, mounts, axle boots)

install engine (one from my stash. should run after i rebuild carb, which i started to do today.)

install as much glass as possible. i think its done enough to drive after that. i am hoping to get it all done in 4 or five days. we will see what happens.

nshaddox · August 24th, 2007, 04:46 PM

well, stuff is going ok, just the usual everything breaking at the last minute type of stuff going on.

i figured out that my gas tank won't fit, which was a severe blow to morale. i have about two days to figure out a solution. so, does anyone near houston have a 56-60 gas tank that isn't all rusty inside that they want to sell? that would be cool. otherwise i might run down to the lawnmower repair shop and get the largest tank they have. or get an aluminum one as a last resort.

other fun stuff:
some idiot who previously owned my engine really fucked up. the fuel pump gaskets were installed wrong--the small hole gasket on the bottom of the bakelite stand. i think this is why the stand was fractured and the lower part was jammed into the opening inside the case. i used a lag bolt to get big chunks out, and i think i got all the really big pieces, but i am sure there are still some small pieces in. also, the area on the case where the forward mounting stud for the fuel pump goes is missing a large chunk, so the stud is only held in about 180 degrees around its circumference. so i really don't know how long it will hold. i am kind of curious to see how long this engine will last if i can even get it to crank.

oh yeah, the seat i made for this beast is way too tall, i will have to figure out a new design, but i don't have time to mess with it now, so if i get it running in the next few days, the roof may develop a small, head-shaped bubble. (or my head will become roof shaped.)

otherwise things are going mostly as planned.

nshaddox · August 25th, 2007, 06:13 PM

well, i got a bunch of stuff done today, and only one major problem to add to the list of major problems keeping me from reaching my goals. my alternator is an externally regulated model for which i have no regulator. but i did get the engine installed and did some wiring stuff. goals for tomorrow are to get the

gotta go. pictures later.