I returned to the front of the car after Thanksgiving to make the inner lip for the grill to bolt to, make and install the horn pockets, make the horn mounting tabs, weld the frame extensions and jack points and build the airbox for the oil cooler. All done.
The spare tire rack, modified cross-brace and custom shift linkage are essentially done. I still plan to collar the bent tube where it meets the frame rails, and I’ll probably scratch-coat it with 400 grit before shooting the whole rear frame black again just before final (re)assembly. But it’s mainly done.
Projeckt Spare Tire Mount is close to completion now after a couple day’s drilling.
Operation Spare Tire continues.
Made progress today.
This weekend I set the transaxle back in the car to see about making a proper Spyderesque spare tire mount. The first order of business was digging out the shifter that came with the kit and fitting that up.
Spent the past few weeks finishing up the jack points, drilling rivets out of the floor, detailing the horns, smoothing the underside of the “frunk” hood, collecting gauges and making arrangements for the transaxle modifications.
Fourth of July: eight hours welding, fitting, cutting, welding, fitting.
Almost there. Continue reading
Got back into the Spyder this weekend, after several week’s hiatus (vacation, sorting the garage, working the Pagoda Hill Climb in Reading, PA, etc.). Decided to work on the frame extensions to hold the front jack points, since I got the jack points in the mail from Carey Hines.
Last night I found a couple of 2 1/2-inch tubes from an old treadmill, which I thought might work to nest inside my frame rails to extend them for working front jack points. Today I set about getting the axles and bearings out of them. Spent two hours.
This old treadmill was built right. The bearings are beefy and they’re carried by some kind of super-tough plastic that’s pressed in. I was able to drive the steel axles out easily with a five pound sledge and a drift, but the bearings and their carriers would not budge with any kind of persuasion I could muster.
I tried drilling around the bearing and broke two bits in the plastic!
Finally I hit on using a hole saw. Luckily I had one the right size to fit over the bearing and still fit in the tube.
Along Came A Spyder 