Page Thirty-One - Some Bits

 

As I get ready to paint the undercarriage, I needed to tidy up a few bits.  Three Bits: A weird winker problem, some lining, and a few patch problems.

The Weird Winker Problem:  I covered headlight opening repairs on page twenty-nine, but I showed you the passenger side as the example.  When I moved to the driver’s side, I found a curious situation, a weird gap at the bottom of the headlight bucket – check out the pic.  “Sumthin tweren’t quite squar thar”, as they say 'round here.

The Problem - taint squar!

Apparently, the lower outside of the driver’s side headlight opening on the Organ Donor's front wing (OK that was too big a pile of nouns and prepositions, sorry) took a lick at some point, enough to push it in about ¼ inch.  Unfixed, Alphie would be a bit wall-eyed.  I didn’t notice it until I screwed down the headlight bucket to check the fit.  There was a weird gap.  It was too big to hammer and dolly.  It would need a creative solution.

Bucket-o-Bits

My first idea was to fabricate an arch cut to the exact length and depth of the gap.  But that would require some exact measuring – more than just slapping a ruler on it – and some tedious fabbing, hmmm.  I have found these last few years, that everything needs to be adjustable.  Measure to get it close, of course, but ultimately, everything faces the grinder for exact fitting.  Back to scrooting.

It hit me – just pile up layers of sheet metal until just a bit more than the right height, and grind down the slack, easy innit? Ya muppet!  Armed with a spot welder and a bucket of sheet metal scraps, I fell to stacking.  Hard to explain, check out the pics.

Yeah, it looks like half of Frankenstein's clutch disc - I call it a "spacer"

Vise Gripped to the corpse

I screwed down my makeshift brake shoe to Alphie’s left eye socket with some temporarily so that I could check the fit and level.  Throw the headlight bucket over it, and we’re close.

A solid round of MIGging, some grinder adjustments and some JB Weld to fill it the cracks… On to the next bit.

Smudgy pic, but all JB Welded-up and ready for sanding,
always so much sanding...

Some Lining:  I wanted to run the main brake and fuel lines before I paint the undercarriage because, I figured, I scratch everything up if I ran them after painting.  Also, there were a few hangers that either rusted off or fell victim during floorboard demolition.

First step was at the computer.  So where exactly, I mean precisely, do the brake and fuel lines run on Series IV Alpine?  Yeah, I didn’t take enough pictures when I went happily mad with cutting tools.  I search for factory diagrams, ain’t any.  I search parts catalogs and websites, nothing.  I search for diagrams drawn by fellow Sunbeam jobbers, nada.  I searched for pictures of Sunbeam engine bays, got something, undercarriages, got a bit more.  The pics showed where the bends are and where the hangers go, score!

I gathered the brake line T fittings and ordered a brake line set from Sunbeam Specialties (thanks again guys!).  The one in the engine bay has four lines running from it, a + fitting, I guess.  I’m using the nickel-copper stuff, it is MUCH easier to bend than steel, can hold the pressure, and best of all, it doesn’t rust! 

Main Brake Line - Me Like!

Check out my home-made tubing straightener.  Some sliding door wheels, two pieces of square stock and some nuts and bolt.  Cheap and easy, just like me!

And it works!

A Few Patch Problems:  I delayed finishing the kick panel areas of the floorboards, mostly because there were other fish to fry.  But pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er.

Nothing particularly impressive about this job, just needed to check it off the list.  

The one head scratcher was how to reproduce the ovals on the vertical post at the door edges.  The original was too rusty to save, and I thought this was going to be harder.

I ordered some dimpling dies to make the outer covering of the extensions of the X frame under Alphie.  (You can see one installed back on Page Thirteen (April 2020) although I didn’t cover making them in detail.  I added a pic to show you the dimple dies and what they do.)  Make a 1 ½ inch hole, dimple die it and cut it in half.  Bob’s Your Uncle – such a handy phrase.

Hole cutter and dimple die - make fabulaous holes

So I forgot to take a pic before I cut up the dimpled hole -
Sue me (please don't!)

Half a dimple in place

Welded up - but notice the piece I sized to fill up
the last hole against the firewall

Sorted and primed - not factory perfect, but no one will see it
outside of the blog, so...

There are no more holes in the floorboards.  I didn't worry with completely smoothing out the welds and making everything factory correct.  It will all be behind interior pieces or carpeting.  Fiddly bits, but important ones.