The weather in my neck of the woods was nearly perfect for house painting, so the weekend was dedicated to the homestead. My wife was out of town, so I am sort of proud that I stayed that course.
I had two walls of primed hardiplank left to paint before winter, and they are now done.
Tonight, after a cleaning up the paint brushes and throwing together a life sustaining meal for the kids, I rewarded myself with a little shop time.
the red door is ancient, and needs a major restoration, so it is removed and in my shop for tlc and the opening is boarded up for the short term.
At the shop, I gave thought to what folks have advised, and decided to take it. 16 gauge steel bent to a 90 for the roof mounts.
I didn't get very far, but I did make a couple.
I also picked up a scratch and dent cart at Tractor Supply that they were actually using as a labeling station.
I made a gas bottle stand for it and my small welder fits nicely underneath. I'm going to brace the bottle shelf a bit more and fab a cage over the top, but it's nice to have all the welding stuff in one spot, on wheels. The top flips up and I plan to attach a slightly heavier steel plate to that, but make sure it doesn't get too heavy or unstable.
The bracket looks much better (and glad to see that one's for the middle). Also might want to use larger outside diameter plastic washers on the outside of the body to spread the load over a wider area than just the bolt head as seen in previous pics. I'd go with something about the OD of the rubber part.
NOT A TA said:The bracket looks much better (and glad to see that one's for the middle). Also might want to use larger outside diameter plastic washers on the outside of the body to spread the load over a wider area than just the bolt head as seen in previous pics. I'd go with something about the OD of the rubber part.
That's the plan, thanks! I will be putting a vinyl wrap on the car so almost all of these body fasteners will be removed and black plastic washers installed. My early outside picture had a neoprene washer, but it was too small and I did not like how it compressed out. I need to put another shopping list together for McMaster Carr and those will be on it.
Winter is setting in this week, which means a few shop hours are in the cards. It seems like the wheels of progress are grinding down a bit, but I am getting a clearer mental picture of a few items.
It's been a little while. Life has gotten pretty busy over the past couple of months, so shop time has been limited. In my work world, this is "launch season" for guitars so it has been consuming....and fun.
But, last weekend I did get a few hours to play (between installing new radiator, expansion tank, hoses and belt on my W211 daily).
Here's what we got....
Due to popular demand, I wanted a door hinge that would allow me to access "stuff" on the passenger side and also remove the door completely...easily. I also want to be able to lift the body straight up and off, so I came up with this out of some square tubing. This, along with a latch at the back and a couple of cotter pins on the front pins should do the trick. I will add some additional cross bracing before traveling at high speeds.
Before I will call this done, I plan to flip the bolts so the heads are down, then weld them to the bottom of the bracket, so the door will easily slide down on the pins, then secure tham with cotter pins or similar.
Next, I received my vinyl wrap. I decided to start with the passenger door, since that hinge is done and also because I was sort of eager to see how it would work with the exhaust cutout.
I started by final trimming the openings, fairing in the indents for the door pulls and filling any small defects on the surface.
I have a friend who owns a sign company and does wraps. He advised using AVERY products, so I picked out a satin ice blue. No major hurdles, although I'm pretty sure this will get easier as I go along, like most things in life.
I like the color a lot. 
Mounted, it looks good with the side exhaust i think. I still need to trim the pipes back.
Not sure what happened to the color on this one. But from another angle.
I'm headed to the ROLEX to see some racing and reconnect with some friends this weekend, so this is going to be it for a week or so. In a week or two, I should be getting my 9LivesRacing big wang so I will be able to trim and wrap the trunk area. Baby steps......
Great pick on the color.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:Great pick on the color.
Agreed.
I love this thread! And the color makes it that much better
In reply to jh36 :
Does the color shift based on angle, or is that just an artifact of the camera/lighting?
AxeHealey said:pres589 (djronnebaum) said:Great pick on the color.
Agreed.
Thank you both! I am glad you like it...I really like ice blue metallic (being an old Healey fan) and the satin version of this color is a good meld of vintage and modern i think.
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
The color shift is from lighting and my phone. The color doesn't flip with the angle. I think the most accurate representation is the image with me applying the vinyl to the door. My son took that with a superior device!
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) :
Thank you, and thanks for following my adventure. After I get back from Daytona, i hope to create quicker content by dedicating more hours per week in the shop!
In reply to jh36 :
Oh that's a really great color then!
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
I hope you get a chance to see it up close and personally. The plan is to be at NASA Champs at Daytona in the fall, and it will absolutely be at the UTCC/Hyperfest as well. It's funny how something as simple as a door hinge and a splash of color can get me enthused! I am excited about getting this thing finished!
I'm just here to say that I really hope I get to see this thing at some NASA MA events!!!
I've been sold for years on the idea of a RoadRace stock car rebodied as a muscle car with license plates, just haven't come across the right donor at the right time yet.
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