Late last night, Scully finished the doors and the body and chassis were painted ready for the workers today and the upholsterers had finished the roof lining.
SO once the days work list was sorted, it was back into. Now the body is painted, there’s a lot to be done. First thing was to sort out and install the new wiring harness. Supplied by Autowire (USA), the harness was layed out and the job of installing began. The harness included everything from the ignition switch, light fittings through to the engine compartment.
A new stereo is included in the build, but some may have had a few too many last night and almost got carried away with the cutting of the speaker holes (we not game to tell Blacky he almost had a convertible)
Two other jobs were going on inside the body at the same time as the wiring. The new headlining was fitted and sound deadening installed. New seat mounts were fabricated to ensure the Range Rover seats stayed in one place.
IN the chassis department, two teams started fitting the HQ front suspension and rear 4 link. The diff was installed and the brake and fuel lines fitted. New rubber bushes, ball joints etc were fitted, front calipers are courtesy of a WB and the rotors, while the rears from EF Fairlane.
Anyone who has done or been a part of a ground up build, will know too well that there are headaches along the way, but this weekend with so many people involved, ideas can be bounced around and solutions found for any problem.
The guys fitting the 4 link rear had an easy job, until, after reassembling the diff and refitting it in place, it came time for the calipers to be fitted. Missing locating pins meant a scramble for the Quokka and set or used rear calipers were found and the guy selling couldn’t come round with the parts quick enough to check out the build and help out with the missing locating pins. The suspension fitted, the wheels could finally be fitted.
The latest in High Tech rear shocks have been fitted to the 57. Guaranteed never to wear out or fail under any conditions.
Fuel and rear brake lines were next. Will the 4 link fitted, a way of routing the lines was nutted out and the decision was made to pass the fuel line though the front 4 link mount. The line would be encased in thick reinforced rubber hose to protect from wear. The brake line was passed neatly underneath the 4 link mount.
OUTSIDE the prep work was continuing on the remaining panels that required painting. Bonnet, Boot and all the engine bay panels were repaired, primered and colour applied.
IN the shed next door, the upholsterers were continuing with the fabrication and covering of the new door trims, and seats.
WITH the chassis finished, it was time for the engine and trans to go in. This was one area problems were expected. Fitting the Big block into a HQ is not a problem usually, nor is fitting one to a 57 chev, but fitting one to a 57 with a HQ front end, then this is another matter. They wanted the engine to be fitted in the same location as the original position on the old 57 chassis. This is where the problems start. Using the HQ front end meant the original HQ engine mounting position couldn’t be used, this would place the engine too far forward (approx 4 inches). So new engine mounts were fabricated and welded into the new location at the back of the front cross member. No big drama for the guys. But doing this then meant the cross member had to be notched, strengthened and re plated to take the large mechanical fuel pump. Easy fix, the next drama were the extractors, these would not fit now as moving the engine backwards now fouls the pipes on lower control are mounts and no one makes pipes that fit BB Chevs fitted to HQ front ends grafted to 57 chevs with the engine located in the original position. Rather than modify the control arm mounts, certain individual primary pipes were cut on each side allowing the engine to fit in the new location. The cut primary pipes will be re-routed to meet the collectors a bit later.
All these mods couldn’t be planned or marked till the engine was lowered for the dummy fit, so the engine lowered, pipes and cross member marked, engine lifted out of the way and cutting began.
With the engine and trans now fitted in their new location, the trans could be positioned correctly and the cross member could be welded into place. The tail shaft installed and it was a perfect fit.
Ben then proceeded to make new flange plates to match the extractors and the exhaust pipes were started.
SO after a day of dramas, set backs and hurdles and a shit load of laughs, the day ended on a high. First thing Monday morning, the chassis will be rolled under the body and the rest of the installation will continue.
The original plan was to be able to drive the car out of the workshop Monday evening 75-80 complete. Well it will be driven out of the workshop, the extractors will be fixed during the week when the guys can get the needed mandrel bends, and there will be the little things that still need to be done before rego, but the club members and friends have shown that even when there’s a major problem with a build, even on a Sunday, with the right crowd around, a solution can alwasy be found without any agro if people are prepared to pitch in.
Tomorrow night I will put up the final day’s wrap up with pics and all the photos from the weekend will be uploaded to the Biante12.com website later in the week.