Quite a few details are to be done...
 

 

The spring break was a long one, but some progress has been made. About 42 holes of differing sizes have been welded shut in the fire wall and then all of the body has been stripped and primered. Having the whole body painted in the same color makes it look like something really has happened! (June 2007)

We now have floor. The front most piece of plywood has still to have the hole for the shifter planned and cut out before it is permanently mounted to the body. The brake pedal and the brand new Volvo 140 accelerator pedal is mounted to the fire wall. On the outside the fire wall is now painted in glossy PPG midnight black, though it can't be seen in this photo. (July 2007)

A swan neck shifter is a must have, and one was made out of an older Ford Transit stick. Some heating and bending resulted in the difference seen in this pic.

The swan neck shifter with an eight ball knob. How cool is that? I got that old used eight ball as a birth day present from my wife about fifteen years ago, and drilled it out and glued to a long nut that fits the stick. The stick seen here mounted to an Opel automatic shifter, which in turn is mounted to the tranny.

This is a Saab 99 tank and it looks a lot like an Essex one. It was cleaned up and squirted black. New straps were made from 1/8" x 1" flat stock. (August 2007)

The race fuel tank seen earlier in this project is now painted and outfitted with a filler neck and cap. Same kind of straps used here. The novel thing about this tank is that it houses the battery, the filler neck lid is a dummy and that the fuel line is actually the + lead...

The stubby (about 37") drive shaft seen here, is made of a Volvo front yoke and a Dodge shaft. A bushing had to be made to get the two mated. As you see, almost half of the Dodge shaft had to be cut off. (September 2007)

September 16. The Engine was started for the first time! Note the ignition coil taped to the master brake cylinder and other necessities mounted in an unproffessional way. See in this clip the Essex engine fired up: essex.mov

As the drive shaft was fitted under the Essex, a small miscalculation became obvious: The X-member had to be notched to make room for full rear axle suspension travel. Here's (top of pic) the angular "C-notch" in its unpainted glory. The axle is now painted and mounted, and will have enough room even in a bottomed out-full acceleration situation (axle on rubber snubbers and pinion "torqued" upwards). Also seen in this pic is the Borg-Warner T-35 transmission with Volvo drive flange.

Go on to part eleven