Canuck 289 scratch build

[old willy]

Hello all!

I just wanted to keep adding quick updates as I said I would.

I was hoping to be further on but being summer it is also the season when my beautiful wife wants me to get some other projects done( me too), the never ending house renno continues although getting materials is a still bit of a challenge, we were hoping to do some stone veneer on the lower part of the house to compliment the other changes we have made but the delivery date estimate on the veneer went from 4 to 8 weeks to 8 to 12 weeks after we ordered, kind of crappy but everything just seems to be behind these days, myself included……

I did get to laying out my suspension arm brackets out of some .188 flat stock, cut them out and cleaned up ready to use. I them switched my attention to the tubular element of the arms. I am using 1 inch .120 wall DOM tube and want to “ fishmouth” it nicely together.



Once upon a time I did have a hole saw type tube notcher I built in another life, but I did not bring it along for this one, always figuring I would make another when the time came.
Well I have a better tool collection now and came up with a different way hoping this would work for the 1 inch and later when I get into the .750 tube for the inner structure.

I have become aware of these magic things called annular cutters, I also have a mini mill......... so I ordered a 1 inch annular cutter with a ¾ inch Weldon shank. I then found a ¾ mill holder ( cheaper) for my little mill. My old 1941 Logan lathe has the same taper as my mill so I just knocked it into the headstock and trimmed it off until the Weldon shank flats lined up with the locking screw. Then into the mill with the cutter.




I tried my small mill vice but it just could not do it so out came the full size vice on the mini mill, yes it looks a bit crazy but after a couple of tests I figured out where the speed should be and how much I can cut at once, then it went fairly well.
I am sure the thinner wall .750 tube will be much easier to cut but the 1 inch is doable and the resulting joint is perfect.




I am making a jig out of the old base plate from my 105 bender, sure glad I did not send it for recycling yet. I just want something that will hold the bracket centers parallel to each other that I can quickly modify to make the next pair of arms.
And that is the reality of this project as I am only making 4 pairs of arms here, there is no need to get carried away with production tooling, I can hold things and tack them and check the fit one at a time, I just want things to be even in the end.




So that is it, I am getting ready to start welding the rear lower arms together. Don’t mind the bit of surface rust, things have gotten crazy humid in the last month and I am trying to keep it out of the garage.
I will clean up the weld areas ( always) and when I am happy with the end product the arms will be grit blasted and painted with Por15 as will the whole chassis before final assembly.

Hope I can update again soon, be well my friends!

[PDUB]

Keep up the nice work!

[1795]

Coming along nicely. Way to think outside he box and adapt what you have to meet your needs. Keep the updates coming.

Jim

[old willy]

Hey all,
Just a quick update so you don’t start thinking I am dead or something.
I have had a bit of a set back or just too many other things happening in my life to get anything done on the chassis for a few weeks but hopefully that will change soon. It is amazing to me how other people’s decisions and issues can just derail anything you were planning on doing.

The last time I actually got to work on the chassis was the middle or so of August, right before my in-laws came for a visit, right as my sister and her husband decided they needed to sell their house quickly, I finally got the trim to finish the front of the house (covid delays) and then my beautiful bride wanted to finish building the new chicken coop.
This one is much more elaborate (read heavy) than the last one and, oh ya, could it also be mobile…..mmmmmm, sure, I guess. It is amazing how all your time disappears….. Such is life….

As for the chassis, I did get all the rear arms tacked up for a trail fit, and I got the bracket pieces cut for the frame rails. It is very nice to see them in place and next step will be to attach the frame mounts and the lower arms, then mock up the upper arm mount enough to move the suspension through its travel range and “real world” check the camber change.
It’s been a long time since I fabbed something like this so part of my brain still doesn’t completely trust what my calculations and scale layout tells me.

So hopefully I can be back to chassis work in the next week, I would really like to see this frame sitting on the floor, on its wheels, at some point soon, if for no other reason than some inspiration to keep me focused.

So till then here are a couple of pictures of the rear arms








And the traveling gear for a chicken coop, I really do like to over complicate things, don't I........

[1795]

[quote=old willy;1497257]Hey all,
Just a quick update so you don’t start thinking I am dead or something.

Damn, it might be too late for me to cancel the flowers I just ordered for your service.

Looking pretty nice Willy. Life always gets in the way, it's just the way that it is. Your job is to allow it to only allow it to make small diversions that allow you to keep getting back on the path.

I hope that your shop is heated, that cold Canadian chill will be upon you soon.

Jim

[old willy]

[quote=1795;1497258]

Originally Posted by old willy

Hey all,
Just a quick update so you don’t start thinking I am dead or something.

Damn, it might be too late for me to cancel the flowers I just ordered for your service.

Looking pretty nice Willy. Life always gets in the way, it's just the way that it is. Your job is to allow it to only allow it to make small diversions that allow you to keep getting back on the path.

I hope that your shop is heated, that cold Canadian chill will be upon you soon.

Jim

Ha, ha, Ha, Thanks Jim,

I thought the flowers were a nice touch

Still trying to get back to it , but yes the garage is heated, when we built it about 10 years ago that was one of my big needs, living up here in the north and all.
I went with the heated slab option, the best hangers I worked in back in the day had heated floors, way nicer on the feet and legs at the end of the day.
It is also fairly efficient, I don't keep it tee shirt weather in there in the winter but if you come in from outside you would think "it's pretty warm in here" but if you take off your coat and stand still for awhile you would find it,s not really "room temperature" but if you are moving and working it's great. And other than sand blasting and painting stuff I can get a lot done in the winter. I hope that holds true for this year.

[old willy]

Hey all,

Just a quick question if anybody knows.
The 289 cars have a cast lower cooling elbow that comes off the rad and passes through the suspension tower on it's way to the water pump. It also appears there is a temp sensor or switch installed in a brass cover on top held on by 3 bolts.

The big question is where did they source this from? Is it from some other British or American car, or is it unique to the slabside cars?

Kind of like those y shaped exhaust manifolds. Just want to know what I should be keeping my eyes open for.

Thanks!