A little while ago, I joined the Saskatchewan British Car Club (SBCC). I thought the club was based in Saskatoon, which is over 3 hours drive, but it turns out there is also a Regina chapter, which is much closer to where I live. A couple of the club members got in touch with me and lo and behold, one of them owns a Bugeye project! Doug (the Bugeye owner), invited me up to his home last night. His project is stripped to the bare metal tub, just waiting for him to finish his GT6 first. I got an awful lot out of last night's meeting. Aside from meeting a couple of new friends (one of whom owns a REALLY NICE E-Type!), we talked about the sheet metal work I need to do on my car. This included both the floors and the rear shroud (the area behind the seats that was cut away. See picture) Of course, we had talked about this on the phone prior to me going up, so I came prepared. His Bug was sitting there just wanting attention, so I attacked it with a measuring tape, card stock (to cut templates), and a contour gauge. I measured out the shroud as well as the dimensions and cross section of the support beam beneath it (which was also cut on my car). Then I took his brand new, uninstalled floor pans and traced them into cardboard templates as well. The plan is to buy some sheet metal -- I'm guessing 20 gauge, though I'd be happier with a bit thicker, such as 18 ga -- and fabricate the body parts that I need. Since I'm supposed to be a body-man, I SHOULD be able to do this, LOL! During the course of the evening, we were discussing this plan, it came up that Doug has an english wheel. He lent it to me! First time I've met the man, and he's lending me tools! I LOVE this part of the country! And this club! So I'm going to have some fun making (hopefully) symmetrical body parts! While I was there, we also discussed rotisseries. Doug has one, but he needs it for his GT6 at the moment. But he did have the brackets to mount his Bugeye on the chicken-spinner, which he also lent to me, which will save me a ton of measuring and fabricating. Doug's rotisserie is made of wood, mostly 2x6, and I got all the measurements I'm going to need to build one once my body is down to the tub. (I mean my car body! My own body already has plenty of "tub"! Just ask my wife!) So yeah, really excited right now! Of note... I didn't take any pics at Doug's, aside from my wife in Bob's beautiful Jag. Sorry. Pics below are some of the templates I made. Dumb, I know. I got caught up with talking cars. Video on Youtube here: (just showing the gauge of the sheetmetal) https://youtu.be/A8cCGV-2g74
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This past weekend, I finally got around to separating the gearbox from the engine and am about to mount the engine on a stand, except that I need to get two bolts to properly mount it. I have removed the clutch and flywheel. I cannot believe how little oil there is around the rear crankshaft seal. I expected a big leak, but it's virtually dry! (see pics) I'd like some opinions on whether or not this clutch is reusable, as the car only has 37000 miles on it (according to my brother. Less if I go by the odometer, which has not -- to my knowledge-- been altered), and there seems lots of meat left. I just don't know about it because of its age. Another big surprise for me is how light the gearbox is. I can pick it up and fling it about like nothing. I swear, the flywheel is heavier! Once the engine is mounted, I'll strip the carbs and bits off of it. I'll probably do all the gaskets (except maybe the head gasket... we'll see how the compression test goes. I won't tear it any further apart than I have to.) Also next up, removing the suspension from the body and send the shocks for rebuild. UPDATE--- I can't seem to get a proper compression reading without having a starter motor attached. I tried an electric drill on the harmonic balancer, but the compression with the tester in (plugs out) is too high to allow the drill to turn properly. I guess that's a good sign. Still need to tear it all apart, though. Rough summer for me, just like for many other people. Other priorities will supplant work on the car for a while. OK, now that I updated everyone on the past many months, and my ordeal with trying to get parts, I should also note that I have received several parts ordered from other sources. In this case, from members of the AHEXP Austin Healey Experience forum. I'm very happy with these bits.... I have gotten a new accelerator pedal, water pump, master brake cylinder, and cockpit trim pieces. Also a new horn button and side mirror. Some of these bits were damaged in shipping, (through NO FAULT of the gentleman who sold them to me... I want to stress that these items were well-packed). Even still, when I mentioned this to the seller, he replaced all the damaged items, plus threw in some tail light covers for my troubles! I thank him immensely! I also have received a wiring harness and side curtains from another seller on a forum. These also arrived complete and as advertised. Delay... First off, there has been a delay in the development of my project. I’ve been laid off from work now since mid-March. I have been planning to hit the Austin hard during this time, but some family issues have come up. Much of my time has been spent visiting my mother when she got very very ill, and then she moved to a care home, so we have been emptying her apartment and moving her stuff. But that is done now, and I’m back to having some time for the car. Not as much time as I'd like, and I need to be able to drop everything and run on short notice, but time, nonetheless. I have decided to spend that time working on my parts database. Database... I mentioned in a previous post (Starting the Ground Work) that I was programming a database for tracking the parts on the Austin. It is now complete. I can enter in the OE part number (from the Austin Healey parts manual that I have), and sort it by category, which diagram it appears in, number, etc. Then I can select the part and see which vendors sell that part, what their part number is, and how much it costs. I can also see which parts I need to order, which ones I have received, and which ones can be reused and/or rebuilt from the original car. Once I select parts to order, I can track them to avoid doubling up orders, and I can view the parts themselves and also the orders of multiple parts. I can then see what I’ve spent and budget what I need to spend. I’m throwing some screen shots up with this post. I should note that these are just sample shots, and the part image and diagrams don't necessarily line up. I just used random images for the test parts on the database. Those are cleared up now and the real parts are being entered. I’ve also started tearing the car down and doing an inventory (and entering the parts into the database.) More on this in my next post... |
AuthorMy name is Ash. Archives
September 2021
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