my 1932 datsun replica build

Thanks.  That helps.  

I like to play at cars, but I really don't have the skill set most folks around here do

JoeyM said:

I've given up on trying to DIY it, and we are taking  the car to get help

 

 

No shame in that.  We have all been there.

JoeyM said:

I have the nuts.....and the door is not working.  We'll try again later :(

That's why we love this build.

wheels777 said:

JoeyM said:

I have the nuts.....and the door is not working.  We'll try again later :(

That's why we love this build.

Thank you.  While I lack fabrication  talent, I have a wealth of  stubbornness.

wheels777 said:

JoeyM said:

I've given up on trying to DIY it, and we are taking  the car to get help

No shame in that.  We have all been there.

Yiou folks build amazing cars, so it means a lot to hear you say that. 

We're going to pick the car up and haul it home on Sunday

Bringing my baby home. 

I even got to take my nephew for a ride

JoeyM said:

Thanks.  That helps.  

I like to play at cars, but I really don't have the skill set most folks around here do

Also remember, for all of us that have more skill, or less, VERY FEW have driven a car built in our residential garage from imagination and scrap! 
Your ability to keep plugging away, and learning as you go, is truly inspirational. At least for me! 
 

I took the car out for a drive today...the first one of any considerable length since bringing the car back home

In reply to JoeyM :

That sounds really good!

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to JoeyM :

That sounds really good!

Thank you.  I like the way the straight pipe, sounds, but am worried that a it will annoy the local constables.  I've thought about putting a muffler insert into the exhaust.  Something like this 

 or this

Make it easy on yourself, just run down to the hardware and pick up a lawn mower muffler. Slide it into the pipe, drill a small hole, and hold if fast with a set-screw and call it done. We did this with the Vega and it sounded great, like a British sports car. If you want it to be quieter, just slide two of them in to the pipe . . . 

Maybe?

MuSTANK said:

Make it easy on yourself, just run down to the hardware and pick up a lawn mower muffler. 

I like this idea.  Which style of muffler did you use, the tube style or the tuna can style

We used the tube style, cut the threads off of the end to lessen the restriction somewhat, and just slid it right on in. I would imagine that the tuna can style that you found would work terrific for a big bore boom tube or possibly a VW dune buggy with one of those up-right single exhaust extractors. Probably make a decent spark arrester as well . . .

Luck—

Drove the '32 replica to the in-law's house today.....figured a rat rod constructed out of scrap was a good addition to an HOA 

In April of 2021, I built a battery restraint that went over the cover of the battery box, holding it in place.

JoeyM said:

 

Immediately afterwards, I put in new seats that would accommodate a five point harness....and discovered that the top portion of the battery restraint needed to be modified so it would not rub on the back of the new seats.  

This is the new top for the battery restraint which passes over the battery and *UNDER* the battery box top.  You will see that the upper corner nearest the seat back is now covered by the plastic of the top, thus protecting the seat.

The last part of welding on that top piece of the restraint was a pain in the butt. I had wanted to test fit the pieces in place, clamp them together, and remove them from the car to take them over to the welder.  (I couldn't tack them together in place for fear of sparking on the new seat.) I eventually realize there was no easy way to do it, and pulled the seat (*)  out so I could tack them together.  Here's the final piece, with two coats of rattle can paint, in the final location.

__

(*) - I hate removing the seats in this car.  It always takes some cajoling to get them back in where they should be

Earlier in the year, I moved the door mechanism on the passenger's side forward to create more clearance at the door jamb .  On 10/30 I said:

JoeyM said:

 

I still have a lot of work to do to tie the box holding the door latch into the the door frame.  It works, though.

Today, I tried to tie that in better to the door frame.

A little JB WELD to smooth things out a bit and DONE !

In reply to MuSTANK :

Yup, exactly what I did.  I also put lock washers and nylon-insert locking nuts (yes, belt AND suspenders) on the mounting bolts for the latch mechanism.  It now works better than it has in years.

I should have used thicker  metal.  That piece was a bit of a medical equipment stand, chosen for the conveniently bent right angle.   Bad choice; it was thin and burned through too easily.  (I should have ripped a small length of square tubing and used the corner.)  Burning through was followed by lots of filling holes, hence the lumps seen above picture that needed grinding down

Today was sunny.  That's a nice change from the string of cold and/or rainy weekends we've been having, and it was time to get the car out for a little driving.  I even washed the exhaust soot off the door so she would look pretty for photos.

Trying to  fix the "trafficator' turn signals so the can be held on by bolts instead clecos

03Panther said:

JoeyM said:

Thanks.  That helps.  

I like to play at cars, but I really don't have the skill set most folks around here do

Also remember, for all of us that have more skill, or less, VERY FEW have driven a car built in our residential garage from imagination and scrap! 
Your ability to keep plugging away, and learning as you go, is truly inspirational. At least for me! 
 

What he said ^^^^^^^

For some reason it just makes me happy to see this build keep going and going and going. I know there have been some rough patches and yet it keeps moving in the right direction one way and one day after the other. 

Good to see it is being enjoyed.

Pete

So here's the problem: the flange on the rivnut means the "trafficator" (semaphore) can't fit flush against the windshield frame anymore.

Possible solution:  expand the hole beyond the flange, then fill the hole with a washer

NOHOME said:

For some reason it just makes me happy to see this build keep going and going and going. I know there have been some rough patches and yet it keeps moving in the right direction

Thanks.  I really appreciate it.

The new job has a LONG commute that makes it hard to find garage time. There are also times I get stuck and need to time think  of  a solution.  Those trafficator housings were mounted with clecos back around April/May of 2020.  It took a while to figure out how to mount them with bolts, and longer to get up the nerve to try it.

Early in this build, I would cut a tube open, weld a nut on the inside of the tube wall, and seal the tube back up. ,(Obviously, I didn't know about the existence of rivnuts back then.)

The reason that I wanted to use rivnuts in the trafficator housing is that the windshield is already installed and I'm afraid that doing a lot of welding on the windshield frame might either crack the glass or set the adhesive on fire. The ability to put a threaded insert into the tube without having to do major surgery on it is lovely. The problem with rivnuts, is it the flange sticks out and messes up any flush mountings that you had created.

Wheels777 warned me about this, so I knew the problem existed.  What I wanted was to find a way create a recessed area in my bracket that was big enough to clear the rivnut flange.  I don't have access to a mill or a lathe so this wouldn't be something I could do with countersinking or removing material from the trafficator bracket.  I do have drills and drill press, though, so the solution I came up with was to drill a hole all the way through the bracket and then weld a washer flush to the outside surface.

That leaves a recessed area on the inside surface.