It took some real thinking to get aroung this, but completing a dual exhaust system that flows into the lake pipes. I spent a few weeks measuring and cutting pipe to make this work. I have a trick on the mandrel bends, I take a zip tie and slide it to where I need to cut the angle out of the pipe. Trace it and cut along the line. When I am ready to tack weld the pieces I have made I tape the together and leave a few gaps big enough to lay a couple of nice tacks. In this situation, except for where the pipes cross over for each side, both sides were identical. I built one side, brought it to the beck and clamped it down. I bolted the flange to it, measure so that it was equidistant from the other set of pipes. I then cut the opposite bends to match. This way I could make them exactly the same. You can see in the top picturethat the pies when bolted up end up in the identical spots.
This picture shows the T5 transmission installed and the new crossmember welded in place and painted. My friend Brett came over and helped me torque the clutch, install the release bearing and set up the clutch. Some of those jobs that are pretty tough or impossible to do on your own. I also scrubbed down the floor pan and undercoated it in black.
A few months back I went to an antique store, I had the idea in my head that I wanted to use an antique doorknob as a shifter for the T5. I ended up finding a black porcelain door knob. I ground out the square hole large enough to fit over the shifter arm threads. Because this hole was square there was not enough material to thread it. It is also made from cast steel so I machined down a nut that was the proper thread for the shifter handle. I took my time welding it one tack at a time, grinding it just a little to remove contaminants, then waiting for it to cool to prevent the cast steel from cracking.
In the end I was pretty pleasd with the final product. It looks great in the car an definitely fits with the style of it.
The picture on the left shows the plate I ade to seal the trunk floor where the shock tower inside the trunck penetrates through the floor. I cut 4 round pieces 3 inches in diameter. I then cut a square hole in them and 2 of the platesgot run through the bead roller to make a flange to over lap the other piece.
The picture on the right shows the plate I made to seal where the upper 4 link bars come into the cabin area. I made the frame and hammered it into shape to match the floor profile and screwed it down. I then went underneath the car and shoved a piece of paper from underneath, taped it in place and traced it. This was then cut out and transferred to metal, cut out of metal and hammered over a piece of pipe to match the diameter of the hole in the floor. When it was hammered to the profile needed it was tacked, unscrewed from the floor and welded on the bench. The best part is, it still fits with lots of clearance for the seat.
The above picture shows how I clamped the fenderskirt rubber in place while I glued it. The procedure was simple, there is a lip that rolls over the edge, but the edge needs to be glued and held in place. These little clamps are only 90 cents each.
While I was waiting for the glue to dry, I painted my fuel tank. I had tried doing a Gene winfield pearl fade on it at one time that was an experement using canadian tire pearl and candy paint which was laquer based. When I cleared it the colours had all bled into eachother making a neon green tank that wasnt so awesome.
The Sweetline is starting to come together. The list is starting to get smaller and smaller. Brake lines, rebuilding the rear diff and painting it and installing the new brakes, finishing the fuel pump, installing the rear bumper and installing the windows and the last of the trim
