Scott D's next Money Pit...

[ozstang65]

At work on the Soarer floorpan, trimming it back to fit in-between the Escort rails.

This is the main torque box joining the chassis rails to the sill rails. Looks like it will match up reasonably well, just need to add some strengthening to the base of the front door pillar to pick up on the top of it.





Fashioned up a bending tool out of an old pair of nutfockers.



and put it to work on the edge of the floorpan. Once the Escort shell is in place I'll fold these out a bit and be able to weld them to the bottom of the sills.

[ozstang65]

So, nothing really to report about the car this weekend 'cause i didn't actually get around to doing any work on it. I went out on Saturday morning and bought some zincanneal sheets of varying thickness. Having done that I realised that I really needed somewhere to store them and a decent sized workbench for them too so I spent the weekend making this.



It's on wheels so I can move it around and wind-down feet to level it when required.





Takes a full 1200x2400 sheet, one end is extendable with clearance for cutting.



long weekend coming up, hope to get a bit more on the car done then, although the yard is in serious need of some tidying up as its been kinda neglected recently...

[ozstang65]

Got a few hours in on the project thisafternoon. Still trimming off the bits to get the two halves joined. The wheel arches are lined up, still have about 140mm to drop.

[gen mk 1rs2000]

CUT IT DOWN THE MIDDLE & ADD 300MM !!

[ozstang65]

I just need it to look fat Steve, not actually be fat

[wayovermyhead]

A real man would cut it down the middle........and be finished by now!!

[jpayne]

A real man would tell me what condition the escorts front bulkhead wheel wells ( the rounded curvy bits) are in and if he has any use for them beyond letting me buy them...
Nice bench

JP

[ozstang65]

Nah, sorry. Keeping all the offcuts in case I need some for the van. More trimming done today, getting closer to being joined.

Removed the temporary RHS bracing and trimmed back the bracing behind the rear seat.



The level of the boot floor just happens to be the same on the Escort and the Soarer. I cut out the spare wheel well, hopefully I can trim the Escort floor and stitch it back in





Getting closer:



Shouldn't be too hard to get this area tidied up.



Looking much better now. Remember that the wheels on it now are way too big, about 50mm bigger in diameter than what I will eventually be running. Only have them on now to make sure to get the body sitting in the right place.







Yard day tomorrow.

[ozstang65]

Phase 1 complete, the 2 cars are now together although I haven't got any welds on it yet. It probably won't get much attention for a while now as there's some other jobs to get done that I've been neglecting recently.















Hoping to get some 15x10's for it as the 16's are way too big and not easy to get tyres for.

[jpayne]

Good work, looks almost right. was the soarer at standard height when you acquired it or already lowered...is there scope to drop it.

JP

[ozstang65]

I probably would have liked to get it a bit lower. The Soarer crossmember is sitting on blocks 150mm above the concrete, any lower and the lower control & steering arms start to ramp upwards. I'll be putting adjustable coil-overs all round so there'll be some scope for adjustment anyway.

[wayovermyhead]

Any update on this Scott?? Don't say it's beaten you!

[ozstang65]

No, it's just another project that's waiting its turn in line. Weather's good at the moment so I'm getting some work done outside and another car project has jumped the queue. Need to buy a few more tools to do the cage as that will be the first thing that gets done.

[ozstang65]

So there really hasn't been any more work done on this car recently, like any flat stationary surface in a shed it has become a bit of a shelf but that can be easily fixed.

I'm hoping to get some work done on it over the holidays so I've recently bought a tube bender and notcher kit from Speedwerx. All the components appear to be absolutely top quality and extremely heavy duty. I should get some tube in the next couple of weeks and start giving it a workout.

All the parts after 'unboxing'

IMG_2810.jpg (75.14 KiB) Viewed 18269 times

It became quickly apparent that the bender would be EXTREMELY heavy once completed so I knocked up a trolley for it so I could move it around a bit easier.

IMG_2823.jpg (68.59 KiB) Viewed 18269 times

And a little bit later it was all together.

IMG_2829.jpg (64.04 KiB) Viewed 18269 times

I had considered making a unit like this, but after seeing all the bits involved in this I think it was worth purchasing it.

[gen mk 1rs2000]

hey scott sell all the machinery in the shed & buy a realy nice escort with the proceeds & a bit of tyre & fuel money as a bonus ???