Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’
Springs have sprung and there’s some serious progress
With the first colour on the shell
(PC May 2017), the project gathered pace. There’s nothing more disheartening than constant body prep, and I’m very aware that the shell is only the start of it. I’ve still got lots to do on panels, however seeing the shell resplendent in colour has really motivated me to put the hours in.
Having let the first coat of cellulose sink back into any scratches and imperfections, I sanded back any deep scratches with a 500 grit DA pad before reaching for the bucket and wet-flatting the entire surface back to a uniformly flat, dull finish. Using a block to do this allows high and low spots to stand out and be dealt with accordingly. Following this, it was time to apply another six coats of HMG’S finest and stand back to admire the result. Putting enough depth of paint on was particularly important as Mikey Coman from Leeds college was to flat and polish the painted shell at the PC Restoration and Classic Car Show at the NEC.
Rolling shell
In order to get it to the show, it needed to be rolling. There was no way that I was going to allow all my hard work to be chipped or scratched if it needed lifting on and off a trailer and into the halls. The whole ethos of this car is that it will be a soft and comfortable cruiser. As such I had discounted the idea of polyurethane suspension bushes. In my mind, they are hard and harsh suitable only for fast road cars like my saloon and track cars. The quality of modern rubber bushes was a concern, though, so I spoke to Polybush. It turns out that they do a range of hardness. I therefore ordered some soft and squidgy ‘Comfort’ poly bushes that should give as soft a ride as rubber, but outlast them significantly.
With the bushes in hand, new springs, and the axle partially rebuilt and ready to be fitted (PC March 17), fitting the rear rolling gear was a task of just an hour. It really goes to show how simply something can go together when everything is prepared in advance – perhaps there was more than simple procrastination to my mid-bodywork fettling. The front was to take some more time.
The torsion bars removed were not those to be re-used. Instead, a couple of years ago, when I began the project, I sourced a pair of Morris Marina 19mm diameter torsion bars. The theory here is that these will produce a stiffer spring rate (which is balanced at the back by seven-leaf Traveller springs) and less roll without looking out of place. Chris Ryder, a friend of mine, had access to a machine shop at the time and had turned the required adaptors for me to fit them. The Marina has bolt adjusters at the rear for fine-tuning the ride height. But for now I simply got it close, as it is all liable to change once the engine is in.
Finally I had a rolling shell. Onto this, I ran copper nickel brake lines from Automec, which promise to be far superior quality to standard copper lines. They’re heavier, don’t work-harden, are easier to work with and don’t corrode.
Showtime
At the show, while I was otherwise engaged on the live stage, Mikey and Steve from Leeds College set to work in the Restoration Theatre flatting and polishing the car while John from Dynamat laid 21st century soundproofing throughout. This should give the car a far more pleasant driving experience with drumming of the floor and whines from the transmission kept to a minimum. As with the rest of the modifications on this car, it will be invisible once the car is complete and the interior and carpets fitted, however will make a phenomenal difference to the way it drives.
matt.tomkins@practicalclassics.co.uk