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Due to some issues beyond and within my control, Patrick has been reduced to the sum of his source parts again. Would try to offer a better explanation but it's most easily explained as "that's life ".

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

Bummer. But that's just a temporary setback; you can use the break to make more detailed plans and scavenger more parts!

There may be a project lurking in these parts yet. I spent a couple of weeks cleaning up salvaged chassis tubing and rethinking my original plans, dropping the phaeton tub idea for the most part and making sure I get things square and level and KEEP them that way all the way through. I cut up the previous chassis because it got well over an inch out of square when I was trying to correct a different issue. I've also been simplifying the XK6 engine as much as practical. Where it stands now, I could return to a stock "engine centered over the front wheels" configuration with little effort, as I have fabricated a set of engine frame mounts to suit almost any configuration or engine set back distance. The factory ones were cut down so much fitting them into the old chassis that I no longer felt they provided proper support. I will also add an "X" brace to whatever chassis I build. Anyway; Patrick is on life support at this moment.

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

Getting a good set of angles developed for bending/welding the chassis rails. Trying to make them work out for a pair of 12 foot rails as that's the longest I can manage to carry in my pickup safely. This is something I eyeballed far too much on the previous build and it came back to bite me in the arse. Another mistake I made early on in the previous build was to weld in the front subframe too early. That made getting the best wheelbase possible, IMPOSSIBLE. Another change I'm working in is the ability to fairly easily CHANGE the engine and trans for something else should I need/want to at a later date. Either with a bolt-in engine cross member and trans mount or easily cut out versions. My first design had too "Jaguar-specific" engine mounting points welded in.

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

12 foot rails gave me just enough metal to make the drop over the rear cage about 3" long; a base for additional framing to hold fuel tank and spare tire. I have 100" wheelbase; short 8" of the stock XJ6 SWB length. Better yet; I have straight flat rail from the cage to the back edge of the front wheels. Working up design for the radius arm mount now, and working out the best engine/trans position in the frame. Pity that the stock Jag radiator no longer fits.

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

Well; learned a valuable lesson. don't put a pound of welding wire into one crossmember and not expect it to walk all over the place...... good thing I got some steel to spare. Using up a lot of cutting wheels taking stuff back apart, though.... If I'd had it tacked and THEN bolted up for final welding, it might have stayed somewhat straight, but it came out more twisted than Dee Snider....

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

Got the new engine cross member built, tomorrow, the new transmission cross member. Too dark when I got done for decent pictures.

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

I promised pics

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

I could still cut the engine mounts free and set the engine back in the stock location if I wanted to put this chassis under something conventional but would probably have to lengthen it by 12-16" for most vehicles. Or just set aside the Jag six and use something plebian.

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

fabricated radius arm mount cones and added them this weekend. Would have had this DONE Saturday but had to address the mounting of the cage. Four hours of fighting drill bits, bad approach angles, etc etc ad nauseum. Pretty sure my power drill is about ready to give up the ghost. Radius arm mounts need a bit of cleanup to look purty. Florence and Micheal have pumped enough humidity into the air that everything flash rusts overnight....

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

Man how things devolve. The 4.2 seized up tighter than Dick's hat band and refused to budge. BUGGER. So... now I have two sets of 175CD Strombergs, a Pertronix equipped distributor, and a nearly new starter motor for a 4.2 doing nothing. AND I have to deal with moving the chassis or it's component parts 350 miles....

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