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New Guy with a sprite... Sorta

Been dealing with a lower abdomen issue so haven't gotten nearly what I wanted to get done finished... pulled the rear-end out, going to rebuild the brakes and look everything over before cleaning it up nicely. The rear shocks were horrible... pushed in and out with no effort. They will get replaced, hopefully with some double adjustable QA1s, if I can figure out what I did with them from another project. Also, car sitting on 4 x 4s on top of wheel dollies so I can roll it around. Don't worry. First thing tomorrow I'm going to build a rotisserie so I can rotate it and treat the underside with the attention it deserves. More to follow, I apologize for the slow progress

phot upload
 
For the most part 'slow progress' is the subtheme of this forum. :rolleyes: Seriously pay attention to your health first and don't overdo it! (don't ask me why that would be bad)
 
Precursor for what's to come...


Using only stuff I have laying around, except for the upgraded harbor freight wheels so it will all roll easier. More to follow... probably better to just post up the finished product
 
Precursor for what's to come...


probably better to just post up the finished product
please no - great to see works in progress - partly to inspire the rest of us, but in your case especially because your problem solving and solutions is completely different to the rest of us. I for one am fascinated!
 
Well... pretty long day here but I got a lot done, and despite my best efforts, I didn't injure my self in the process. Got the other part of my Franken rotisserie welded up and started jacking the car way up and supporting it with tires. All went well until I realized that the arms were too narrow on the rotisserie carts and left the car very prone to tipping, which it almost did. Scratch that...
New way I have it set up now is very stable and rolls around easy. Makes the car very easy to work on. I'll get around to modifying the rotisserie stuff later so I can roll it on its side and get the bottom easier on a later date.



Also started cutting rivets and welding the holes up. Want to really clean everything up nice. Got a lot done on cleaning up the new steering setup but I plan on getting a ton more done tomorrow on that front.

 
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Also got the latch assembly that I want to use to latch the thomas denner bonnet up by the windshield area. I'll glass it into the bonnet and fab a setup to hold the other side at some point soon.

Also going to redo all the brake lines and route/hide them better so it cleans everything up nicely. Made for a good excuse to buy another tool...
 
Just realized it had the wrong image posted of the setup holding the car up. The image up there is when I was jacking it up and decided against the front rotisserie setup till I modify it.

 
please no - great to see works in progress - partly to inspire the rest of us, but in your case especially because your problem solving and solutions is completely different to the rest of us. I for one am fascinated!
Yeah, just realized my post probably sounded abrasive... I meant it for the rotisserie I was stabbing together and the final product did not disappoint... dangerous. Fixed for now thoughšŸ˜€
 
Progress today was decent. It's a marathon not a sprint, right?! I wanted to get some more fab work done so I cut the mount holding the steering rack and moved it closer to the engine by several inches in order to fit the radiator I had sitting around for the Triumph GT6 project. I still need to finish welding and barcing but it's pretty good now and the steering arms are straighter which can't hurt I don't think.


The cap will get cut off and welded shut and I'm building a new expansion tank soon. Fitment is tight but ample and the radiator should be enough.
Here is a shot of the front set on and the lights set in, keep.in mind they are just held by a piece of electrical tape and no buckets or chrome rings are there but you get the idea. Car will be red btw.

Last pics are me working on dropping the master cylinder and pedal setup down via tube spacers. Not finished but getting closer to being able.to finish that fab work as well.
 
Yeah, just realized my post probably sounded abrasive... I meant it for the rotisserie I was stabbing together and the final product did not disappoint... dangerous. Fixed for now thoughšŸ˜€
Looking great, and, didn't sound abrasive from this end.

Can I suggest that even if it doesn't appear like you need a rotisserie at this moment that you consider attaching the two 'racks' together - don't ask me why that might be important. :rolleyes:
 
Yeah, I'm gathering steel from the parents farm, going to stretch and build them right. It's deceptive how it sits now, the metal bench in the front is big and keeps everything stable. It looks a lot more janky in the pics than it really is.
 
Got drug to church today... whole time I'm sitting there I'm thinking, "Man, all the stuff I could be doing to the little car right now." I'm pretty sure God wants me to finish the little car as well. Food was good though and my daughter had a blast looking for Easter eggs!!!
 
Got drug to church today... whole time I'm sitting there I'm thinking, "Man, all the stuff I could be doing to the little car right now." I'm pretty sure God wants me to finish the little car as well. Food was good though and my daughter had a blast looking for Easter eggs!!!
Church'll do ya good. :D
 
First time I've been in longer than I can remember... made the old lady happy so brownie points to work on the car or buy car parts... gotta get those where I can these days!!!
 
First time I've been in longer than I can remember... made the old lady happy so brownie points to work on the car or buy car parts... gotta get those where I can these days!!!
Indeed, brownie points with SWMBO good thing! Brownie points with God - also a good thing. šŸ˜‚
 
A couple of pieces 3 x 12 ' electrical conduit can work as outriggers to keep the engine stands aligned. Through bolt the conduit with a coupler unless you can find conduit longer than 12' . Put the ends in a vise to flatten and fasten to the outboard ends of the Rotisserie.
 
Yeah, I thought about out riggers but I ended up swapping to how it is now for simplicity. I'm going to head over to my parents house at some point soon and get my trailer and also rummage through the steel pile to get the steel I need to extend everything out... I hate buying steel if I don't have to.
 
Yeah, I thought about out riggers but I ended up swapping to how it is now for simplicity. I'm going to head over to my parents house at some point soon and get my trailer and also rummage through the steel pile to get the steel I need to extend everything out... I hate buying steel if I don't have to.
2X4 will work also - my whole rotisserie was 2X4s
 
So decent day today, got some free time and got a few things roughed in on the car. First thing was narrowing the radiator basket at the bottom so that it fits the radiator tighter. Radiator IA about as tight as it can be to the steering rack after I moved everything around. It all fits though, after a lot of fabrication.



Next was working on lowering the master cylinder setup so that it would fit under the front end... square tubing cut and notched did the trick. It's all just roughed in now so excuse the mess, still have a ton to do but you get the idea...



More to follow soon... I'm beginning to hash out a plan for fixing the front end to the car.
 
My Sprite rotisserie. One sheet of plywood and 30 minutes.
RotisserieBack.jpg
RotisserieBack.jpg
RotisserieBack.jpg
RotisserieBack.jpg
 
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