BE 646

[dkp_cobra]

The old panels covering the A-column.



And the new version.



These panels are quite special. Not due to their form but these were the last (!!!) panels I had to replace  :) :) :) . Well, there are still some critical areas at the body but this will not be my task but something for a professional.

[dkp_cobra]

Last action for this year: I re-constructed the substructure of the side skirt. The old construction was two parted. A steel substructure and a aluminium cover.





The new substructure is one parted steel ...





... and has a lip to to mount (maybe gluing)  the body to the substructure.

[dkp_cobra]

"exploded" Aceca

[dkp_cobra]

New year, new tasks. Let's make a striptease.

[dkp_cobra]

The removed front body gives me the possibility to replace all the rotten tubes in the front section. First, making the replacement

then cutting the old parts

It's unbelievable. The car stands since 8 years in my dry garage and there is still water in the tubes.


And the final result



Since I changed my planes concerning the engine from V8 to I6 I need a different approach for the exhaust pipes. I need a second hole for the dual flow exhaust muffler.

Here you can see the last two critical tubes

They are rotten in the front section


It seems to be that in the past there was a desperate try to repair this section


On both sides


Now it is repaired without old screws inside

[dkp_cobra]

New brackets for the front brake lines:

Some years ago during the disassembling of the car I recognised a deformed tube on the right side of the differential dome.


I thought that some kind of accident damaged the tube and I repaired it that time. The repaired tube worked fine with the Jag E-Type differential I wanted to use. Now, with the Ford Zephyr 2.6 engine I will use the original ENV differential but it doesn't work. The right output flange hits exact this tube.

The problem was the upper bracket of the differential house. This had to be reallocated. I removed and installed the differential at least 5 to 10 times to find the right position. One gets the feeling that the car was build around the differential so it is not very funny to remove it.

Now, I have the necessary space between the tube and the output flange on both sides.

[dkp_cobra]

I would like to make the front inner fender removeable. It has the advantage that work at the engine or front axle would be easier. The disadvantage is that the inner fender cannot be riveted to the tubes.
My idea was to drill the old rivet holes in the tube to a bigger diameter (8 mm) and to insert a 8 mm tube into the frame tube, welding everything and voila I can fix the inner fender with a 4 mm screw without fearing that the frame tube will be dent.
But welding eighteen mini-tubes of 20 mm length into the frame tube is a work for the moron. Well, at the end I managed it.





Checking whether everything still fits.






Making the battery tray was much more fun:

[dkp_cobra]

Time to check whether the new exhaust system fits.

After dented one of the crossbar the muffer fits fine. When I stripped the car many years ago I thought this was an accident. Today I know that this is necessary and all Acecas have these.


I also have to check the clearance to the pedal box. Unfortunately, I don't have a working pedal box.

In the middle you can see my old original pedal box cutted from the main tube. On the right side you see my original pedals already modified in a way that the bent is vice versa to a right-hand-drive car. On the left side is a pedal box of a 289 cobra. It's not my pedal box (and not my car  :( ).
But the 289 pedal box wouldn't fit. Well, at least not the pedals with their bent.

My pedals have a stronger curve after modification and this fits perfectly.

The space below the foot box is quite little but it should by ok.



So, the next task will be the construction of a new pedal box.
As expected the Aceca tank of a AC/Bristol car does't work together with a Zephyr 2.6 engine. The tailpipes hit the tank.

Without tank everything is fine.


Time to cut the left side of the tank.

And closing the tank. Leak test pending  ???

[dkp_cobra]

Due to the current situation it is not so easy to get parts and services. Nevertheless, I got my steel sheets for the pedal box from laser cutting finally.



Welding all things together

The (nearly) final box




and provisional installing




Now, the box must be sand blasted and powder coated but this has to wait until times will be better.
At this place I would like to thank Hobo (https://www.acownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=837) for borrowing his pedal box.

The battery tray is also installed:



Beside the pedal box I worked on the heater system. These are all the original parts I got with the car:

no heater, only a Y-pipe and an air intake. I bought a new heater and two air intake from a MGA to get fresh air on both sides of the car. Unfortunately, the diameter is much bigger than the original diameter of the Y-pipe.


Time to build a new Y-pipe:

[dkp_cobra]

Finding the right position for the heater is easy as long as the engine is not in the car.

But with the engine in the right position is a game of millimeters.




The first try of a mounting bracket was quite clumsy ...


... but the dimensions were right. So the next try was a light-weight aluminium version.


I also had to fabricate all adapters to connect the hoses to the heater. Now, like the pedal box everything is waiting for sand blasting and powder coating.

[dkp_cobra]

The last welding work at the frame: brackets for the muffler



and flanges at the muffler




Mounting everything shows that there is not much space but it should be enough

[dkp_cobra]

During the last weeks I tried to build an exhaust header. 


A dragster style is quite simple:


Welding all together:




Outside the car it looks like a funny music instrument:

Looks better inside the car:

[dkp_cobra]

At the bottom of the A-column a wood block shapes this area

After removing both blocks they fell into pices. The left-hand-side devided into four and the right-hand-side into two plus one-hundred pices.

I glued them together as good as it was possible but only the left one could be used as a pattern

Since I am not a wood person I was thinking about a aluminium solution using a rip model







Looks a little bit strange but in place in the car it seems to work

[dkp_cobra]

I got parts back from powder coating. Mainly small things for the heater:

So I could convert the standard Smith repo heater:





But also the pedal box came back from powder coating:


It is unbelievable how long it takes to assemble it.

[dkp_cobra]

Please have a look at the first page of this thread at the first and third post. David (https://www.acownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=28224) made an index and a table-of-content. A really helful and extensive work. Thank you David.