Coupe into Speedster Conversion

[Jack Staggs]

Don't forget to switch the heater/shifter locations.

[Tony G]

Geeee Amigo,
I am really impressed at your craftmanship! Keep up the good work. I still haven't jumped into doing my battery floor and floor because I have been too busy with other stuff. Hopefully soon I will visit you and get some pointers.
Tony

[John Pierce]

The ubiquitous perimeter angle pieces save the day again!

[JTR70]

Absolutely Jack, its on the list of about a half-dozen other things that need to be addressed. We are going backwards a bit by changing its position but we want all the details to be right.

Hey Tony, Thanks! I really need to speak with you about several things concerning the drivetrain on my coupe. I'll give a call for sure.

You called it John, is there anything that stuff can't fix on a rusted chassis?

6/20/14

First new section cut to final height, clamped and about ready for a tack weld.

Since the original lower flanges of that tunnel are completely gone I had to reference the one in my coupe. It was a bit tricky to finally establish the correct overall height for the rusty one. The measurements would vary ever so slightly across this run so I took the best average measurement and went with that.

New section tacked on here and of course all the original lap joints will be replicated.

Very straight forward from here now that the replacement flange height has been established with this new piece. All I need to do now is keep the rest of the sections level and square with this one. This part looked like pure junk to me yesterday but an amazing transformation happened the second this new section was glued on; feeling much more hopeful about it now. More tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[John Pierce]

Looks good. I've got the same issue with mine: no original reference line. What measurement did you end up going with?

[Phil Planck]

Justin
You should apply to Guiness for the "worlds longest butt weld". Like you, I would have been checking out available repro tunnels first after seeing what that looked like.

Phil

[DG58INNM]

"You called it John, is there anything that stuff can't fix on a rusted chassis?"

Nope, it should read "Is there anything that Justin can't fix".

I continue to be amazed!

Happy welding!
DG

[JTR70]

Thanks John! I ended up adding in 2 1/4 inches to regain the correct height. I could give you the correct overall height of an A-version tunnel but I would highly recommend asking Phil, Tom or David to measure their cars as B/C tunnels are different from an A tunnel. They might be the same height but I would want to be sure.

Phil, the new repro-tunnels I have seen tend to be a bit pricey; about in the 900.00 range so I had to try and save this one. You have me sort of curious as to how many feet I have butt-welded to repair all of the lower flanges. I'll have to rough measure once this stage is over.

Thanks a lot David, but I don't do anything that you guys can't do.

6/21/14
Tunnel repair continued

Getting ready to tack in the final run of the right side forward flange.

Piece tacked and the tunnel in for its first test fit.

So far so good...

This left side forward section requires a bit more shaping work due to the gas pedal and foot recess for the driver. oh yea, got the main left side flange repair section tacked on too.

A quick look at my coupes original shows how it was done. (I would be sunk without this car for reference) Notice that the mounting flange is considerably wider along this recessed area; More support I assume. I'll go ahead and replicate this detail as well.

Tomorrows chore. Thanks for looking! Justin

[JTR70]

6/22/14
Left forward flange repair.

Trickiest part of this flange repair so I wanted to get it completely finished this afternoon.

Forward mount flange tapers wide as it did originally.

In for yet another test fit.

so nice to have this section all welded up an finished.

Finishing out the remaining flange repair sections tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[Phil Planck]

Nice progress and work Justin. Did not realize repops cost so much for the tunnel. Will be nice to have one more piece fixed soon.

Phil

[JTR70]

Thanks Phil, you know as well as anyone how nice it is to begin getting repairs over to the done column.

6/24/14
Rearward flange repair section.
Turns out I have a bit more shaping repair to do other than that last forward section I just finished.

The triangulated bent tips at the end are another detail I'd have to copy. Thankfully I have this original out of my coupster project floating around loose.

Cardboard template in for a final fit before moving onto metal.

In metal. For this section I went with 20 gauge as the original is closer to this thickness and its a lot easier to shape. You'll notice the bend for the mount flange is much less sharp than the forward sections.

Test fitment before final trimming.

New section trimmed and am now establishing the cut line on the tunnel.

Welding almost complete but in for a mock up. I cut the bottom flange a bit short but will correct it before its over. Moving on to make the right side tomorrow. Thanks for looking! Justin

[Phil Planck]

Justin
Your are really getting good at cranking out those repair sections. After spending 6 hours yesterday pulling Foamcar's transaxle I was thinking to myself what I could have done in 6 hours working on the sheet metal. Always thought I liked the mechanical stuff better, but pulling that dirty greasy trans was no fun.
Phil

[JTR70]

Thanks Phil! I think the mechanical work will provide a good beak in the monotony over this long stretch of steel repair you've been doing. Once you get tired of grease under your fingernails you'll probably welcome a little welding and so on.

6/26/14
Finishing up tunnel flange replacement.

Last of the flange sections completed and just about ready to tack weld here.

Fully welded and finished section

In for another test fit.

Went ahead and finished up the welding on the other side too this afternoon. Just have finish up that long weld run on both sides next.

Up next will be to fabricate new tunnel conduits for the clutch, heater and Parking brake cables.

As you can see these are shot as well.

When I slid the cables out these worms of grease exposed breaches everywhere. Thanks for looking! Justin

[Phil Planck]

Great progress on the tunnel. Since it will never be seen, has anyone ever used pvc for the conduits?
Phil

[roy mawbey]

Now thats a thought Phil, Justin, its items like that rusting through you just don't think about till you find them. Its the time too in sorting it. Nice work!

Roy