Remaining bits of the back include the fuel tank cover (vertical plywood piece, attached to small blocks and top rail) and the floor in front of that (again, plywood). The rear cross-piece here needs some additional machining (holes, relieve the angled edge some more), and there are a couple of small blocks behind the door post to hold the seat back and attach the sill trim to which need to be made.
Page 9 of 51
I took two weeks to ride the Triumph down to Utah to see Bryce Canyon and environs, including Hell’s Canyon on the way back home, so progress on the Morgan, such as it is at the best of times, has been slow. But as you can see, I’m moving towards the front.
Slowly making some progress on the rear part of the body. I have the “bustle” mostly done, though of course there are minor errors here and there, and the joinery is not what I hoped. That’s what epoxy is for, right? Right?
A bit more is “done” on the rear body frame, though, as usual, I have made each of the sticks about 200 times…
By the end of this weekend I might be back to where I thought I was two or three weeks ago, before I discovered how much the wheel arches were off. But first, a look at how much this car is fighting to stay derelict! (Or maybe I’m just projecting…)
If practice makes perfect, I’ll eventually be fairly good at making Morgan rear wheel arches. I opted to make a new set after a series of cumulative errors made my previous attempts not really usable. I always tell people my only real skill when it comes to restorations is the willingness to do things over again if I think whatever I did isn’t up to scratch…even if I grumble about it. (And I do!)
I have temporarily bolted together a few bits…and I only have a few bits so far because it takes me forever to produce each one!
We know two things:
- The old chassis definitely has the sills attached to the chassis in a different location than they would be on this chassis
- A rude and crude check with the bonnet, etc., show that this chassis can proceed without needing much adjustment, as far as I can tell.
I think it’s best put this way: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
On a positive note, the arch looks fairly decent and might even be usable, not a given when I’m making stuff. On a down note, I put a lot of work into the sill boards and I suspect they’re so much scrap (or will be cut into smaller pieces).
My life has passed, and continues forthwith, with a constant low-level nag between my ears that I’ve forgotten something. Sad thing is, the nag is always right. And I usually don’t catch what I should have done until it’s far too late.
