Low down Hillbilly

[OCD Garage]

I was hoping to have the rear suspension completed by now, but have run into some paint issues with the parts. It appears as if the primer is coming up through the base about an hour after I spray the clear coat. I'll likely have to sand blast everything back to bare metal and start again with fresh painting materials next week.

I've also been working on the front beam this weekend, finished welding the adjustable bump stops and created a couple of filler plates which will help tie everything together as well as reinforce the shock towers.

In the foreground are my home-brew through rods: 3/4" bolts welded into tubing with thrust washers/bearings, held in place by nylocs to reduce play and keep things rotating freely.

[OCD Garage]

This pile of parts has now been smoothed over with 60/120 grit discs in the angle grinder, washed in Platinum Dawn to get rid of the grit/grease, air dried and then wiped down with ISO in preparation for primer.

[OCD Garage]

...and now painted with black primer/base colours/satin clear. The front beam still needs a little cosmetic welding and prep before it gets painted/assembled. I'm on holiday next week and plan to have the chassis off the rotisserie and back on it's wheels soon.

[OCD Garage]

The front/rear suspensions have been assembled and the air ride system control plumbing is done. For the moment, I plan on using the shop compressor until the rest of the system is painted/wired/finished. It'll be nice to finally be able to wheel it around again.

[OCD Garage]

Another beautiful 17C spring day on BC's West Coast...
Hot off the rotisserie, still sporting the rear mount.
The seats will be colour matched to the rest of the interior metalwork, the air and fuel tanks will be matte cleared in dove blue, to key in with the body.

[OCD Garage]

I was already getting tired of playing with the manual valve set-up, chasing the leaks around and around, decided to switch to an electric manifold. Way better rise/fall times compared to the manual valves for the same air line sizes. The new switches also look less cheesy and light up when activated. A little more work to install, but should be less prone to failure.

[OCD Garage]

Now that the air system is leak free, the ignition is controlling the fuse block and the gauges are powered up, I decided to start connecting the braking system. I've included an adjustable brake bias valve as well as residual pressure valves to help me tune the system and be ready for future upgrades. To cover the sound deadener, I grabbed an anti-fatigue mat from Home Depot to make a pair of industrial floor mats inkeeping with the 'hole' theme.

[OCD Garage]

The brake lines are finished on the driver's side and I'm working my way around the car making new lines as I go. The mounts for the flex hoses were originally on the same side as my bag mounts, so a pair of bolt-on mounts were necessary for the back side of the arms.

Had to thread the new line between and around the shock, bump stop and air bag, there's a lot more movement of pieces due to the range of the air ride. It required a couple of re-bends and a few tweeks to get it right throughout the range. I added a rubber isolated clamp mid-way for added security.

[OCD Garage]

All the hard lines are finished, need to paint and install the calipers before I bleed the system. Hopefully everything will be leak free first try as every hard line had to be custom fit and flaired. Also, the rear hose mounts need to be painted before bleeding the system, so will be delayed until more parts are ready to be coated in metallic grey.

[Meco]

Great progress, and cool project. Been following along. I can’t wait to see the body on and painted!

[OCD Garage]

[OCD Garage]

Now that the brakes are done, it's time to finish the battery holder. The battery will have side posts only to make sure there are no shorts if I happen to drop a tool behind the seat. There's still more drilling, champhering and shaping to do on the base and construct the struts that will tie the top and base together, followed by paint.

[OCD Garage]

Finished the battery holder today, now the electrical can move towards permanent installations. I think it adds a little something to the build's race car/rat rod/retro-futuristic vibe. My immediate plan will be to install the trans plate and rear bumper, followed by trans/motor. The transaxle is fairly clean but will need a good scrub and some detailing/paint before I drop it in and connect the axles, etc.