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edsnova posted:

I don't know if I'm better than you, Gordon, but I'm def. better than me a year ago.

My buddy-who-welds-all-day-for-a-living's due in the shop in the next few weeks to use the lift and I'm going to show him my seat belt anchors first. I'll let you all know if he laughs and redoes them. IMG_0962

 

That's why the "grinder" was invented!

E-brake is in with cables and tested. It pulls 'em. Will need a little fettling still but it's basically ready for grease and final install.IMG_0981

Throttle cable comes in a few days. Also battery cable. I'm going to try and tighten up all my fluid lines and test my flares and stuff ahead of that. 

From there we're into wiring and final body prep and paint.

Still awaiting delivery of the upholstery material, however. 

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As much as I would love to own a Spyder AND Bridget, this car was bought to build and sell. It's a beta test for a Merklin-like side business I conceived when I still had a regular job (and when Alan was about to be "retired" and we know how that turned out).

It's also a beta test for a lot of my own personal theories about how true-to-Wendler a Beck-design Spyder replica can be made to look and feel (by a guy who doesn't actually know what he's doing). 

Turns out, these two beta tests are in conflict, as Alan warned me they'd be.

If I were smart, and had followed Alan's advice, I'd have done a simple, clean build, finished by mid November or early December, titled, registered and sorted it, and have it listed already at a decent price that would net me a decent profit for my hours. But no. 

I wanted to make a special car.

And so here we are. You can call me "Special Ed."

At this point I think (pending upholstery) it will be done in late spring and listed after that, after peak season, at a somewhat-higher price than would have been possible without all the detail work and rivets. And at that point we'll probably see how right Alan was.

Meantime, though, I'm enjoying myself quite well. 

Today I finished off the E-brakes, then took them apart. Then I finished (again) the clutch line, tightened-up the fittings, filled the MC, bled and tested. And it works.

Which means my flaring skills might just be OK after all. (Just like my flux-core welding skills).

Checked the shifter and managed to get all 4 gears and reverse, so after I drill just a couple more mounting holes to keep it all solid (and fiddle a bit with the reverse lock-out), that's coming out as well for prep and paint.

In non-Spyder news, I also arranged today an editing gig for Friday—$250 for six hours—and applied for (yet another) tech writing job. 

Rest of today will be on little stuff. Like, the front brake hoses need a wider groove at the inside fitting in order to work with the stock retaining clips. It's either that or grind off the powder coat off the frame under there, and I ain't doing that anywhere I don't need to.

Little stuff like that eats up a lot of hours. I mean, I could skip it, probably, and get away with that. But nah.

And that's why I'm serious when I say "dented tubes...hopefully not a deal breaker." I've made a lot of little mistakes on this car. Just like any builder on any car. And after a while on a build you can lose sight of whether a given glitch is a super important, glaring blunder that will make people point and laugh,* or is something that literally no one will ever notice.

My usual motto, "good enough for who it's for," is not applicable. Which is why I want everyone here to mix in a little vicious honesty with your applause.

Thank you.

 

*Some may recall a surly dude who bragged all over the site about his Speedster build and engine building prowess, who shimmed his windshield in with I-can't-even-remember-what, and then showed-off his handiwork to all of us. 

 

Special Ed wrote " And after a while on a build you can lose sight of whether a given glitch is a super important, glaring blunder that will make people point and laugh,* or is something that literally no one will ever notice."

That must have been the philosophy of "Horst" and "Gunter" at the Porsche factory when building the Pre-A 356s.  Especially how the front fenders aren't exactly mirror images (neither are the doors) and how the hood handle is 1/4" off-center on a large percentage of the cars.  Maybe Horst and Gunter had eyes like Marty Feldman...

Marty Feldman

* You're 'special', Ed, because when you do something you do it as if someone cared. "Texas George"?  He didn't have a clue about anything like that.

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Last edited by Gordon Nichols

Little stuff today: Tapped another hole in the floor to make the e-brake handle stay put, re-routed the shifter cables a bit to make room for the engine, dry-fit the accelerator cable, made brackets and stuff for the brake and clutch lines and mounted the Accusump. I also made a plate to mount the seat heater switches behind the shifter. 

It's all starting to look pretty tidy and reasonable on the firewall and on the floor of the tub. I still have to make a few tabs for the wiring harness and the fuel line, plus some reservoir mounts in the frunk, but this is all fun stuff. 

IMG_1019

The bad news: The lift is leaking at the main seal. Dang. 

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I have one.  I'll try to find photos.  Mine is a CMC rollbar that was already painted and installed so and I used the window channel used in a car door to let the glass ride in it going up and down.  It is notched and flexible enough to bend around the top corners of the roll bar/glass and gives it a finished look.  Used the same stuff on the bottom and simply drilled and tapped the rollbar for screws to hold everything together.   Got it at a glass place that does auto glass.  Works great.

calmotion posted:

@Theron I had them installed and love it. Nice addition. Next would be the wind breaker behind the seats 👍. I think James Dean won’t like that either not a good match with the hair style 😎

I have them too. I don't give a whit what Dean would have thought. Unlike some Spyder guys, I dislike the association.

Ed, keep on trucking.

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