Sunday - Part 1
First job of the day was making a pair of cardboard templates for the metal floor pans...
As before, I used the "hole" from the middle to work out where they would fit.
I started on the driver's side, where I wanted the hole as far forward/inside as possible...
But when I went to check the distance to the rear frame work, I came up short...
( With the hole in this position, the back of the floor would be in mid air. )
The edges of the steel floors are not as deep as the original fibre glass ones...
Not quite the start to the day I was hoping for.
After several attempts at repositioning the "hole" it was clear I had a problem.
If the floor edges reached the frame, then the seat would never work.
At this point, I think I had a real break through in my approach.
Mister Towed often suggests I just do it and so I made my choice.
I know where I need the seat, so I will add an extra bracket to the frame work.
This will support the rear of the floor & I will fibre glass over the gap.
That was it, no more indecision, make a choice and move on.
Unfortunately, my optimism was sorely tested when I switched to the passenger side.
As I test fitted the cardboard template, it was clear that the back would reach the frame???
After a bit of head scratching & a long session with the tape measure the answer was clear.
The passenger side frame work is not square & there is a 4 cm difference on one side.
This is the front frame rail on the driver's side (Spitfire bulk head still in place)...
And this is the passenger side and the gap to the bulk head is clear...
Decision made, cut this floor to fit the frame as it is & hope the seat will work.
But there was no point in finishing the template now as I was about to modify the frame.
So instead the body work came off & I unbolted the rear frame work.
With the frame put to one side, I packed everything away & relocated to the rear garden.
I had to get my wife's help to move the frame through the house to the patio.
I then took it to the back of the garden myself (no danger of hitting anything on the way).
Then it was the moment of truth, my first "real" welding job...
This was the cross brace on the passenger side that I was replacing.
( To allow the hand brake panel from the rear arches to sit better on the frame. )
I simply removed it with my angle grinder...
Then it was time to clamp the piece I had prepared earlier into place...
And this is the finished job after I have given the welds a bit of a clean up...
I did the "hit it with a big hammer" test and it is going no where.
Sad though it may seem, at this point, this was going through my head...
[Voice Over Man]
Paul has welded some box section to his frame and now he is feeling EPIC! [/MoneySupermarket]
Next up was the driver's side, before...
During...
After...
At this point my daughters were desperate for me to put up the "Circus Tent" for them to play in.
Well it was a lovely day & I have turned the Summerhouse into a car parts warehouse.
So together we finally worked out the limited instructions and got the thing up...
I don't think my wife had imagined it was going to be as big as it is.
So I'm not sure it will be allowed on the front drive unless it is for a very short time.
( We will be packing it back up tomorrow as the rain is expected on Tuesday. )
That's it for Part 1, I'll be back with Part 2 in a minute.
Cheers, Paul.
