I hate to call it a restoration since I have no plans on restoring it; the goal is to update it to be a safe vintage race car that can be (probably uncompetitively) ran in HP.
I gave the project a bit of an introduction here:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=14505&start=18The biggest issues plaguing the car are dirt and a general lack of love for over 30 years. It was store indoors but I'm guessing it was a barn based on some of the nuts and other stuff tucked away in the chassis. Fortunately I've been all over the car and everything is rust free so it seems to be a good starting point. Aside from a few screw holes that need to be plugged no rust repair is required.
Step 1 was getting everything in the garage and on stands so everything could be assessed:
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Step 2 was to get it disassembled. There has been ongoing progress at this since November and aside from removing the rear axle is finally complete. Racers in the 60s and 70s were really brave. The roll hoop is definitely not up to today's standards; when I was in the process or removing the two 1/4" plates that supported the hoop on the passenger side, I broke the weld between the two with my bare hands. I'd hate to imagine the result if it was actually required.
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Here is my proposed plan for the cage:
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I didn't feel like running the tape for the rear hoop supports - 2x2s and masking tape are way easier than trying to make something usable in Solidworks and I finally found something that blue painter's tape is good at!
BMC's solution of one hydraulic system for all four wheels is also pretty comical. To make it even more interesting is the lack of a hand brake; one hydraulic failure and you won't stop until you hit something. Needless to say adding a dual system is at the top of the list (plus it is required by the rules).
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I decided to lose the fender flares instead of trying to find a loophole to make them legal. Some groups have caveats for stuff raced "in the era" and others don't; either way you are limited to 1.5" over stock width for vintage so a 5.5" wide wheel with a street tire is going to look ridiculous with them.
I found that the front inner fender was trimmed a little - not a big deal to fix - but the front and rear fenders both had an excessive amount of sheet metal removed beneath the flares. Craigslist yielded another set of uncut front fenders (jackpot) and Graham came through with a solid chassis to donate its rear fenders (double jackpot). As a bonus the yellow Midget chassis also had good inner front fenders. For a brief time (well the time it took to pick up the chassis and drive home) I was contemplating swapping stuff from the Sprite chassis to the Midget chassis but the changes from 1962 to 1973 would have made stuff like the rear suspension unusable. Plus I have the logbook for the Sprite and not for the Midget.
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After a little more welding, the engine compartment should be ready for paint and the reassembly process can begin on that end of the car. The Midget chassis was painted with Rustoleum using a foam roller and I have to say it is a pretty darn nice finish even for a race car so in all likelihood I will be doing the same. Then the rear fender transplant can begin.