Passenger side chassis

Small amount of work done on the weekend. I added another section of floor support and a place to mount / bolt the body and subframe to. I also added a small cross plate on the pedal box to give added strength to the pedal mounts.

Now its a waiting game on the engineer.

Brake linkage part 2

So I we and purchased a 12mm female ball joint for the pedal end of the brake linage and a 12mm threaded rod. This is so that I can mock up and test fit the brake to make sure everything lines up since i tack the pedal box in and every in going to be good.

The 12mm ball joint bolted to the pedal.

Test linkage made up and fitted for a test, I got good travel on the brake leaver and there was a nice straight push on the brake booster.

Side view showing the straight line of the linkage from the pedal to the booster.

All mocked up and including the master cylinder.

I actually did about three test fits to get the angles right and to make sure I got it straight as I possibly could. I am very happy with the pedal feel and how much strong the whole setup is compared to what is use to be like. Once the pedal box is properly welded in it will be very strong.

From doing the work I did tonight I think I am going to need some extra mounts for the center of the bolted on pedals. Also there is some play in the pivot point of the pedal that I will need to fix.

Final chassis work ... I hope

Today was getting everything ready to take to the engineer to do the finishing welding on the body mounts, pedal box and the new front cross member come radiator mount.

So I welded the top side of the mounts, this is as far as my welding skills go, I tried the vertical and the bottom (upside down) welds and soon gave up as I was making a complete hash of it.

Here's one of my welds, once I had done all the weld I ground them back to make sure I didn't have any high spots where the body will sit.

The new mounting for the radiator. I got rid of the bolt on ugly mount that I had created earlier. This has a much clearer line and give extra strength due to adding another cross member. The mount is set so the steering box to will fit in on the left.

I did some larger tack welds to hold the cross member in, Ill get the engineer to weld the rest.

The next step was to tack weld in the pedal box that I had created. I clamped it in to make sure that I was level with the chassis and the new mounts.

So tack welded that in, I had to use fairly large beads so that is wouldn't move. All done.

Double checking that everything is level for when I put the body on.

Well there's the beast already to get the final welding done. I just now have to figure out how to get it there, and hopefully not have to spend to much money to get all the certified welding done.

Brake linkage

So now that I have the mount complete for the brake booster I can work in the linkage from the booster to the pedal. I checked with the certifier, I can have any welds so I need to use hex joining nuts. The first big job was to get the thread on the end of the brake booster arm. So I cut the end off, and I had to file a little off the rod as it was 14mm and I was using 12mm connectors and rod.

Once I had filed it down, it took a long time. But finally got it down to the diameter that was required I started to tread it. Now this was very time consuming since it was nearly impossiable to get in the vice and also have enough room to cut the thread. I had to do a 1/4 turn and then reposition in the vice, repeat process ....

But I finally got there nas had the end threaded to take the hex joining bolt.

Next I threaded the connecting rod, this was a trial fit to get an idea of the length needed, and since the pedal box isnt welded in yet I cant get exact measurements.

The lock nut and hex bolt on the Booster

It all together ready for a trial fit, another job done.

Crazy diesel Ratrod

Coolest Drift Car

brake booster mount part 2

So some more time in the car, and time to finish off the brake booster mount. I decided that I wanted to bolt it on so that If I need to alter or change anything during the certification process it would be easier to do.

the first job was to clean up the underneath of the transmission cross beam. It had the mounting for the rack and pinion steering. I was a complete bastard to get the grinder with the cutting wheel in to cut the mount free. But after lots of swearing and hot sparks in the face and down the shirt I finally got it to the point where a knockromita (hammer) and the use of a large crescent I was able to get it free. It was the same trying to get the grinder in to clean up where I cut it free. But finally got it cleaned up enough to allow the fitting of the new mount.

So to add strength to the mount since I was bolting it on I double layered the 3.5mm angle on the top, First I welding in the bottom plate and then cut the next piece to fit and then welded that in. (Plate in the picture just to get the right height for welding in the first plate)

Top plate all welded in and clamped in place for a test fit.

Its now much closer to the transmission cross member and its about 30mm higher than the old one. So good gains all around.

Next job was to drill the holes to bolt the mount in place. This resulted in a couple of broken drill bits, but did get it sorted. Once two out of the three bolts were done up the mount was very strong and there was no flex at all.

The booster held in place again to double check the clearances, All good.

The brake booster now in it s new home.

My mess all over the front driveway.

Started to weld up the new front crossmember. Didn't get to finished it as had to pack up as we had to go out.

Another job done, I am happy with how my welding skills have come back, and the welds are getting better and better. So Im confident enough now to do the body mounts, and everything else that I don't need to have an engineer to do for certification.

Brake booster mount

So after the good progress on the pedal box, the next task was to move the brake booster and master cylinder. First was to remove the booster.

Next using the trusting cut of blade in the grinder i removed the old mount.

Mount now removed, time to start working on the location of the new mount.

Unfortunately I discovered that the the booster bakerlight piston was broken. This meant that I had to hunt out a new one or replacement. Now almost everyplace i called had nothing that would fit. So I went out to All Car parts and got another booster that fitted my master cylinder.

So here is the new booster and the master cylinder all mated up.

The start of the mount for the new booster, I planned it out to also give the booster some protection that is required for certification, So the bottom plate extends out underneath the booster and would be the first thing to hit the ground not the booster.

First mock mount.

You can see how the bottom plate protects the booster.

Finished mount, now I need to work out the mounting to the chassis, I was going to weld it in, but think I will bolt it, just incase I need to alter it later on, or if I find extra cash I can use a prettier after market system.

Pedal Box

So on a very frosty cold morning I started work on the pedal box. I had some idea on how I wanted to do it, But it was going to be a design / build as you go type of thing.

First I needed to get set up and it was cold.... a very hard frost.

First part was the main length of angle iron that ran from the transmission mount up close to the bell housing. Required cuts marked out.

Clamped up ready to weld.

This is the space that the pedal box will be going in. The pedal housings use to be just bolted to the plywood floor and they weren't very secure at all. So this new one will be supa dupa strong.

Welds done. Some dont look to flash but have good penetration.

Mock up fit with one of the pedal housings to make sure that I have it correct, time to move on to the other side.

Since there is no real support for the left hand corner I decided to double up the angle on the front plate to give it added strength. So that when you use the clutch it wont be able to twist down.

Another test fit and to make sure the clearances are all good for top and bottom near the bell housing.

The double front and one of the pedal housings mounted.

This old support for the rack and pinion steering needed to be cut out so I can get the other side done to mount the other pedal.

The magic cutting blade and the old mount is gone.

Another trail fit, this time with the other side mount all welded in and the other pedal housing mounted. The clamps and the box section hold in place and also level with the chassis rail.

The last task was to mount the the cross member at the rear, This has two functions, one added strength and a extra mounting point for the hydraulic clutch reservoir.

The old clutch mount cut and welded into its new home.

That completes 90% of the pedal box. It took way longer than I though it would. That is over 5 hours of thinking, cutting, welding grinding, redoing errors. But I am very happy with the out come.