LocostUSA.com

thanks.

SO anyway, where was I. Oh yeah.

I knew I'd made life harder for myself by choosing to create the differential case mounting structure as a weldment, but intuitively it seemed stringer than the usual simple .5 thick plate often used to mount jag rears in hot rods and the like. I want this thing solidly in there, bolted top and bottom. And thus over the evenings of sept 9th thru the 14th, ...

...crush tubes were finished and test fit...



Test fit with the short cross tubes...



... and then tacked into the 5 degree longitudinal mounts.

.

After which, on 9/19 I made the front and rear mounting cross tubes, fully welded the crush tubes into the 5 degree longitudinals, bolted those to the differential housing, rechecked rear axle alignment, and tacked everything into place.



Front View...



Then, I couldn't put it off anymore, and so welded the whole business into place from the top, and unbolted the axle so I could get at the bottom welds.



In the interest of full disclosure, I found that, when I put the rear end back in, the differential case mounting bolt positions had moved around enough (from heat stress) that is was very difficult to get all four bolts back in, and so I'm going to ream the crush tubes out to .525 (right now they're tight, .506), to give me a bit more tolerance to work with.

but, moving on, September 23rd, I began adding the structure for the shock mounts.



And as of this very morning, 10/04, there are some shock mount tubes in place, waiting for the bracing tubes to be added and tacked, before I weld that whole business in there.

From the front...



...tube detail...



Left and right sides from the top.



Hopefully, I'll have the shock mounts in by Sunday afternoon, and the back end of the Jag Special will be on it's wheels.

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Outstanding! I need to start getting pictures of my new chassis up on my thread.

_________________
Who knew so much time involved in building a car is spent simply staring at the pile of parts you've accumulated?

I tried doing some real-time posting from the G'raj last night, but the -British-car-level-unreliable- database here wasn't having any so...

The top shock mounts tubes are some 14 gage 1.25 sq tube, and last nighjt they got some beefing up.

Upper tube added, driver's side...



...vertical bracing goes in, in line with the lower shock mounts on the Jag LCA.



Same for the passenger side, with locating bracing.

Top tube...



...and by then it was quite dark out, so I created another movable stand lamp with an old drawing board lamp and broken microphone stand.



And, for fun, a view of my non-OSHA-approved shop where all this magic is happening. Everything fits, but, just.



That was that. Most likely won't see any more activity until Monday after work.

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Ohhh yeahhh... OSHA... Bunch of bureaucrats that have never seen a drill rig, but think they can tell me how to run mine. Love those guys...

Got plenty of room in there, Bro! Good lookin' shop! Mine looks all too similar... Great minds following the same path, obviously!


JDK

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

...and the Jag Special is now a 50% roller.

But, to get there...

After all that welding, the Axle mount holes had moved around enough that I couldn't get the bolts threaded into the drivers side. So I reamed them out first to .525, then to .531...



FAIL. This caused my no end of consternation, and I went round and round fer several days debating whether to cut the whole business out and do it over, when I thought, "well, the passenger side holes are good, and the drivers side holes fit before I welded in the cross tubes, so maybe those are the problem" Two quick passes with the recip saw, and...

FIXED,


Then, two quick passes with the MIG gun...



Even more fixed.

Problem solved, I continued with the differential mount bracing...



...completed the triangulation.



...and remarked, "that ain't goin' noplace."

Shock mounts!

Made from 2 x 3 .120 wall tube...



Cut and marked for drilling...



Drilled for the .438-24 bolts...



Sectioned and split for attachment to the chassis...



Fixtured in place with one of the stock XJ6 coil-overs.



Driver's side DONE.



About an half-hour later, and with my transmission jack under the front, it rolls. My son Cody shifting with the hammer handle.



Significant milestone achieved.

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

...and just, 'cuz.





Oh my, that tire is close





OMFG this thing is gonna be so bitchen

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

I suggest steel fenders on the back

_________________
Who knew so much time involved in building a car is spent simply staring at the pile of parts you've accumulated?

Yup... Or leather jacket and arm restraints...

Well it is going to have a fender there, not quite sure what, yet.

Anyway, onto the front suspension.

I made some LCA mounting brackets out of the 2x3x.120 wall tube. Cody had cut the blanks initially, but it turned out that - with the new urethane bushings installed - the brackets were about .06-.08 too narrow, so I marked the bosses on the LCAs...



...and then fired up the angle grinder/flapdisc, and ground that much material away.



Three bosses later, it all fit rather perfectly.



Then, marking and pilot drilling the LCA bracket bolt holes...



...next evening, finishing things up...



...Followed by the inevitable mockup.



The LCAs need to be angled back 15.5 degrees, to match the original Jaguar geometry so I hit upon the idea of pinning the fwd brackets at the correct width - 13.5 from the scribed chassis CL, which I'd added way back when it was just tubes on the floor, and 2.25 back from the fwd chassis tube datum...

...et voila ici.



It worked, as you've heard me say ad nauseum, MINT.



I needed a refe3rnce to measure angularity from and so made a small fixture to mount one of my laser projectors on the centerline of the tube I call the Chassis Origin Datum (the very first tube that got laid in and welded)...



... aligned the laser beam with the scribed CL on the front tube, and then laid a length of 3 in masking tape aligned with the scribe marks, and laser.



Driving a 3 foot length of .5 steel rod thru the drivers side LCA pivots provided a convenient angularity reference, with the straightedge aligned and clamped to the edge of the masking tape...



...and thus, the required 15.5 degrees was easy to find.



Gotta do a rinse, repeat for the passenger side, and then do a bunch of measuring to make sure everything is square and straight with the centerline and the four hub centers, but, things are looking pretty good so far.

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Great. Now I have to add precision masking tape to my Locost build requirements.

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-Keith

Hi Rob - that's a very nifty-looking angle measuring device you have there - never seen anything like it, in the neck of my woods... Any chance of a name so I can search for it in SEAsia, please...?

As long as it's within your accepted tolerances, and meets TLAR requirements

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Mang, will do, I'm planning on some Jag time tonight after guitar lessons. I'll take a couple detail pics of that angle measuring tool and post them.

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Mang, here it is ...

_________________
The B-3 build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=13941 unfortunately, all the pictures were lost in the massive server crash

The beginnings of the Jag Special,
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19012
Again, all pictures were lost.

Many thanks - I'll hawk the photo around - see if anyone recognises it...
I had to do the same thing when seeking heim joints - took two months before anyone admitted they knew what it was... but would have to order them...
Cheers - MangPong.