Rebuilding LemonWedge.

[fullmetaljacket]

Same here just as DVW. Scratched built the trans tunnel out of found metal out of a metal shop in the Navy Yard. bent it over some barrels and hammered it into shape to clear the engine and trans setback.
LW might have an opportunity to really get some good weight distribution not only with weight loss itself, but moving the drivetrain rearward.
I moved my mill back almost 4" inches. Short driveshaft now.

 

[LemonWedge]

I ran gaskets on the plate on my previous car. After a while they would leak. This car has used Ultra Grey with no gaskets for 13 years, zero leaks. No mid plate in mine. Same trans case and tail housing (1965) since the day it was built . Snout bars outside the engine compartment have two good points. More clearance in the engine compartment, you can tie into the shock towers.. Mine actually are in and out. It was a lot of work as the foward portion of the inner fenders had to be removed and fabbed. Came up with a trick to weld the snout bars to the front hoop. Hole saw the A piller with a 4" hole. Weld the bars, weld the cutout back into the hole. The dash bar is under the dash. Looks better, supports the column and you knees have more room. I have to say every time I see Mikes car I wish I could get to that level. Mines functional, his is like it was done By Dave Kindig

You guys both have some serious skills. I wholeheartedly agree that Mikes work is like jewelry. Your work and your car take a back seat to none however Doug. The workmanship evident in both of your cars is inspiring. We are lucky to have both of you here to share ideas and experience.

I’ll be mocking up the snout bars real soon. I’m leaning toward running them in the engine compartment above the inner fender “shelf” then down to the frame as tight to the sheetmetal as possible. The other option is outside, in the fenderwell. Can a bar be run down to the outer face of the frame and stay clear of the tires full articulation here? (Perhaps this is why you passed to the inside here, Doug?).

Along thes lines…. I got a text today from my body guy. He ran across a great opportunity on a mandrel tubing bender and pulled the trigger. Perfect timing for my project! He’s excited that we’ll be able to tackle this project together.

 

[LemonWedge]

The trans tunnel. Cut th.e hole leaving the throttle pedal mount and the stock tunnel are from the torsion bar cross member rearward. It's roughly overall a 2" larger radius than the stock tunnel. Didn't have a large enough piece of metal. Just welded two pieces together that were laying around and metal finished them. Took the oversized piece of sheet metal and bowed it over the grandkids pedal car. stuffed it up in the hole with a 2.x4 and a jck. Started tack welding from the top down moving the jack as it was welded. Once it was all tacked the excess was trimmed. Welded it solid on the interior side, then on the underside. Then metal finished.
Doug

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This looks like time well spent. Fighting with the blanket…. Room to move it all rearward. Just more room in general in a real tight spot on these cars…. Maybe best of all, my rookie fabricating skills would be fully concealed. I’m going to give this some serious thought.
Define “metal finished” in detail please, Doug.

 

[Gunner1]

I really enjoyed following your build. It’s sad to see something so awesome wounded. I’m gonna follow this time to.