My Next Project: 1965 Sunbeam Alpine
- Thread starter UNSTUCK
- Start date
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Here's a few more pictures of the way I did the notch for the front tires to clear the frame.
With that done it was time to make it roll!! With it out in the driveway I was able to find the floor again and get things cleaned up.
Next up is putting the engine back in and getting a final measurement for a radiator. I know the one I want, I just have a few options for fans so I need to see how much room I have. I hear the Spal fans are super loud and I worry that might be an issue for the owner. Yes, they are great fans, but is there something that will work good and be quieter? I hear smaller fans are quieter, but I don't have room for two fans, I think.
Also, I need a custom wood dash made. Any of you wood workers want to make me a nice dash out of 3/4" (?) mahogany or like wood? I need it stained to match the steering wheel. I don't know if that's hard to do or not. I have a bit of a template and we can modify it as needed.
With that done it was time to make it roll!! With it out in the driveway I was able to find the floor again and get things cleaned up.
Next up is putting the engine back in and getting a final measurement for a radiator. I know the one I want, I just have a few options for fans so I need to see how much room I have. I hear the Spal fans are super loud and I worry that might be an issue for the owner. Yes, they are great fans, but is there something that will work good and be quieter? I hear smaller fans are quieter, but I don't have room for two fans, I think.
Also, I need a custom wood dash made. Any of you wood workers want to make me a nice dash out of 3/4" (?) mahogany or like wood? I need it stained to match the steering wheel. I don't know if that's hard to do or not. I have a bit of a template and we can modify it as needed.
rholbrook
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Kaysville, Ut
I like the stance. I should be perfect with the engine in it. I just noticed a Sunbeam sitting in Layton. Funny how you start to notice things when you are aware of it.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Got a bit more work done this week. I didn't get a lot of pictures of the steering going in but you'll get the idea. I modified the original column mount to accept the larger tube of the new column. Once that was done and bolt in place it was clearly not strong enough. I added some support tubes to the bracket that helped a lot, then I built a second bracket similar to the first one to bolt on to the rear of the column. It fills much better now, like maybe it wont get ripped out if the driver gets scared ( not that that will ever happen in this tame car ).
Next I moved on to the A/C condenser. I had to cut out the bottom of the grill opening to get it to fit, which I wasn't to happy about, but I'll go back and add a tube under it to protect it and the radiator (which will hang lower) which will add that rigidity back into the front end.
The big one this week was the brake pedal. I scratched my head for a while before deciding on a plan. Then I did a bunch of cutting, filling and mounting. Everything fits perfect. My only question: Are the upper bolt holes intended to be used as a mounting point, the way I have them? Wilwoods instructions says nothing about them. They are (4) 1/4" bolts VS the bottom mount which uses (4) 3/8" bolt holes. Big difference. I can add a tab to use the two bolt holes on the driver side if I need to. But using the two on the pass side will be harder. You guys that have used these pedals in your rigs, what did you do?
This week will be spent getting the transmission in and mounted, and finishing up the steering from the column to the rack. Next week it will go in for all the sheet metal work. I see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel!
Next I moved on to the A/C condenser. I had to cut out the bottom of the grill opening to get it to fit, which I wasn't to happy about, but I'll go back and add a tube under it to protect it and the radiator (which will hang lower) which will add that rigidity back into the front end.
The big one this week was the brake pedal. I scratched my head for a while before deciding on a plan. Then I did a bunch of cutting, filling and mounting. Everything fits perfect. My only question: Are the upper bolt holes intended to be used as a mounting point, the way I have them? Wilwoods instructions says nothing about them. They are (4) 1/4" bolts VS the bottom mount which uses (4) 3/8" bolt holes. Big difference. I can add a tab to use the two bolt holes on the driver side if I need to. But using the two on the pass side will be harder. You guys that have used these pedals in your rigs, what did you do?
This week will be spent getting the transmission in and mounted, and finishing up the steering from the column to the rack. Next week it will go in for all the sheet metal work. I see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel!
- Location
- West Jordan
Very awesome.
On the brake pedal mounting - I've never used that pedal so I have no actual experience, but when it comes to brakes you can't be safe enough. I'd add any extra bracing that you can, because the last thing you want is for that pedal assembly to fall out when you need it most.
On the brake pedal mounting - I've never used that pedal so I have no actual experience, but when it comes to brakes you can't be safe enough. I'd add any extra bracing that you can, because the last thing you want is for that pedal assembly to fall out when you need it most.
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
This assembly has two different sets of 4 bolt holes. If you look close at my last picture you can see one of the bolt heads above the mounting plate that I welded in. These 4 holes are threaded for 1/4 inch bolts. If you look below the bellows you can see the very thick mounting plate that is part of the pedal assembly. It has a 3/8 through hole on each corner. I'm guessing that would be the ideal place to mount the assembly, but was wondering if the way I have it mounted is a second option from Wilwood or if those bolt holes are actually intended to used for something else and not to be used for mounting the assembly.
It would be pretty easy to add an other bracket to bolt to the two holes on the driver side, but as you can see from that last picture, adding something for the two holes on the passenger side would be more difficult.
It would be pretty easy to add an other bracket to bolt to the two holes on the driver side, but as you can see from that last picture, adding something for the two holes on the passenger side would be more difficult.
- Location
- West Jordan
Do this.
- Location
- The Village of Kay
Looking good!
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
First off, thanks guys for all the support and kind words. It really helps keep the motivation up! This is easily the most intense project I have taken on and most of the time I feel like I'm jumping in blind. This car look AWESOME in my head, but it's never easy getting these images out of my head and into the car. Your ideas and encouragement help a lot!
I got a lot done last night. I'm hoping to drop this off at sheet metal on Monday. I have a few more things that need to be done by then. The main two are the steering shaft and the transmission installed. We will have front inner fenders made so the steering shaft needed to be in so Mark can work the fender around it. Then he will be making a transmission tunnel. We need it to be super tight to the transmission to leave room for foot wells and the evaporator core that will be right above it.
The transmission pan is pretty large and required lots of cutting. This transmission will require being pulled from the top or coming out with the engine. I did that so I would not have to cut out the entire cross member under it. I cut just enough to allow the pan to clear. I will clean up and box in the frame with thicker steel to try to gain back the lost integrity. I hope to have the transmission at least sitting in there tonight. I'm not sure yet on the rear mount.
Here's a shot of how the steering shaft is set. I still need to weld the joints to the shaft and will do that after it comes back from sheet metal, to make it easier to build the fenders. I also need to grind the joint next to the rod end support just a little then I will have smooth steering operation.
I bit the bullet yesterday and ordered another set of headers for a test fit. It's been very hard getting good measurements from the different manufacturers on how wide they really are. I want block huggers that dump straight down. I think if I can make these fit it will really help keep the driver/passenger's feet cooler. If I can't make them fit, then I will keep the ones I have and use the new ones on my jeep (yeah, like I'll ever build that). I still need to build the down bars on the roll bar. Once this is done it should be ready for sheet metal.
I got a lot done last night. I'm hoping to drop this off at sheet metal on Monday. I have a few more things that need to be done by then. The main two are the steering shaft and the transmission installed. We will have front inner fenders made so the steering shaft needed to be in so Mark can work the fender around it. Then he will be making a transmission tunnel. We need it to be super tight to the transmission to leave room for foot wells and the evaporator core that will be right above it.
The transmission pan is pretty large and required lots of cutting. This transmission will require being pulled from the top or coming out with the engine. I did that so I would not have to cut out the entire cross member under it. I cut just enough to allow the pan to clear. I will clean up and box in the frame with thicker steel to try to gain back the lost integrity. I hope to have the transmission at least sitting in there tonight. I'm not sure yet on the rear mount.
Here's a shot of how the steering shaft is set. I still need to weld the joints to the shaft and will do that after it comes back from sheet metal, to make it easier to build the fenders. I also need to grind the joint next to the rod end support just a little then I will have smooth steering operation.
I bit the bullet yesterday and ordered another set of headers for a test fit. It's been very hard getting good measurements from the different manufacturers on how wide they really are. I want block huggers that dump straight down. I think if I can make these fit it will really help keep the driver/passenger's feet cooler. If I can't make them fit, then I will keep the ones I have and use the new ones on my jeep (yeah, like I'll ever build that). I still need to build the down bars on the roll bar. Once this is done it should be ready for sheet metal.
- Location
- West Jordan
That steering shaft setup looks like it was interesting to figure out!
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
It's been a crazy week or so for me. I was stuck waiting for some parts to show up so I couldn't do too much. But I got lucky and had a small side, side project come in. I built a rotisserie for a guy building a corvette. So that kept me busy last week.
So I finished the transmission mount. Well almost. I still need to finish boxing in frame X. If you go back a few posts you will see how the X looked before I started cutting into it to clear the transmission pan. I welded in a mounting surface for the trans mount to sit on. Then started boxing that area back in. I know it looks like a total hack job right now (and it is), but it was a bit of a pain cutting through all the different layers of sheet. It should clean up nicely once finished.
This picture also shows the new exhaust headers I went with. I had to raise the engine about a half inch or so, which meant longer motor mounts.
I think the extra work will be worth it as the exhaust will not be dumping out right at their feet.
We had a lot of trouble figuring out a seat that John liked, and one that would fit. We settled on this GST II seat from Corbeau. It will still have to be modified a bit to fit as it's still a bit to wide in the seat bottom outside diameter. The bottom also sits a bit high so I'll need to have about an inch removed from the cushion. They will then get upholstered to match the rest of the interior.
This picture shows a few things. How close the driveshaft will be to the seats. Also shows the finished roll bar. I added the two down bars this week to finish it up. They tie into the new frame section and also the upper shock mounts. It leaves just enough room to store the soft top in its hole. The top cover will be modified to fit around the tubes.
That's where I'm at now. Tuesday or Wednesday it will get dropped off at Lockharts for sheet metal. Mark will have it for a week or so working his magic. I think this one will really test him, but I'm confident he'll do fine. I'm super excited to see what it looks like at that point. I'll feel like we have really made progress then. There is still a ton of stuff to do after that to get it ready for paint, but the end is getting near! I started this project last August and hope to have it finished in August. We'll see what happens I guess.
So I finished the transmission mount. Well almost. I still need to finish boxing in frame X. If you go back a few posts you will see how the X looked before I started cutting into it to clear the transmission pan. I welded in a mounting surface for the trans mount to sit on. Then started boxing that area back in. I know it looks like a total hack job right now (and it is), but it was a bit of a pain cutting through all the different layers of sheet. It should clean up nicely once finished.
This picture also shows the new exhaust headers I went with. I had to raise the engine about a half inch or so, which meant longer motor mounts.
I think the extra work will be worth it as the exhaust will not be dumping out right at their feet.We had a lot of trouble figuring out a seat that John liked, and one that would fit. We settled on this GST II seat from Corbeau. It will still have to be modified a bit to fit as it's still a bit to wide in the seat bottom outside diameter. The bottom also sits a bit high so I'll need to have about an inch removed from the cushion. They will then get upholstered to match the rest of the interior.
This picture shows a few things. How close the driveshaft will be to the seats.
Also shows the finished roll bar. I added the two down bars this week to finish it up. They tie into the new frame section and also the upper shock mounts. It leaves just enough room to store the soft top in its hole. The top cover will be modified to fit around the tubes.That's where I'm at now. Tuesday or Wednesday it will get dropped off at Lockharts for sheet metal. Mark will have it for a week or so working his magic. I think this one will really test him, but I'm confident he'll do fine. I'm super excited to see what it looks like at that point. I'll feel like we have really made progress then. There is still a ton of stuff to do after that to get it ready for paint, but the end is getting near! I started this project last August and hope to have it finished in August. We'll see what happens I guess.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
EDIT: I'm an idiot, I now see which seat you went with.
Looking good!
Looking good!
Last edited:
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Yeah, that's a drive shaft you hope never lets go.
67Bronco5.0
New Member
Unstuck,
I am looking at grafting a c4 vette front ifs into a sunbeam. What WMS did you end up with yours? I am thinking about grafting in a set of the rabbit flares and widening my WMS to around 53-54"
Thanks
I am looking at grafting a c4 vette front ifs into a sunbeam. What WMS did you end up with yours? I am thinking about grafting in a set of the rabbit flares and widening my WMS to around 53-54"
Thanks
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
I kept the front at the stock width of 51". My customer didn't want to change the flare. I went with Chassisworks front end because it's the only one that I could find that could be that narrow. I'm very happy with it. The real problem is the rear axle width. I had to narrow it to like 48". So the rear is noticeably narrower than the front. We may try to space it out a half inch on each side though by doing a little inner fender lip trimming. I think there is room for that. If you flare the rear too, than you could make the rear match the front pretty easily, and maybe not have to tub it as well.
What's your plan for the car? Race only?
Welcome to the site, by the way. Hope you'll stick around.
What's your plan for the car? Race only?
Welcome to the site, by the way. Hope you'll stick around.