Rogillio

July 20, 2015

I took the cover off the second of my DB coupes and it it was dry. It has been sitting for 5 or 6 years so I don't know if was completely dry. I put about 3/4 of a qt in. I looked at my other coupe and it was well lubed but I could not see a 'level'. I put what was left in the qt in there. I decided 1 qt was not enough for 2 cars so I ordered a gallon of 600W from Amazon for $52.

I've been looking in the books and it says "maximum of 5 pints" so 2.5 qts. It says do not fill higher than the reverse gear idler something-or-nother. No idea what that might be? Can someone tell me how to guage the level?

July 19, 2015

I realized the scale on one is 0-20 and the other is 0-12 so much more deflection in the smaller scale....but they both work. PM me your address and I will mail the ammeter.,

July 16, 2015

When did they start using laminated safety glass, i.e. with plastic sandwiched in the middle? That is plain glass.

I don't know. I took the frame into a glass shop yesterday and they will be cutting laminated glass for it.

July 15, 2015

Well I may have spoken too soon. The car I am working on had an extra ammeter in the trunk. I think I know why. I didn't know if either worked so I did a little test. I used a charger as my source and a battery as my load. I put a DMM in series to verify I had current flow. I saw a little deflection on one meter but done on the other one. It was a very crude, off the cuff test....I can do better. I will see if I can find a better load and source.

July 15, 2015

I have a spare amp gauge. I will try to rememeber to take a picture of it to night. You can have it fore free but not a penny less. Just pay shipping.

So shipping I will hand carry it....so just buy me one RT first class ticke to Australia and I will bring it down! :-)

Just kidding.

I will post a pictutre and if you think it will work, you can PM me your address and I will mail it to you. I will pay the shipping down if you will mail me back something Australian! Preferably something uniquely Australian and alcoholic in nature. :-) Your call....nothing big or expensive.

July 15, 2015

I would let the glass shop use there own setting tape. They will know the best fit.
I don't like to bring my own bread to the restaurant.

I was wondering about that! I haven't taken it in yet as I was gonna wait till I got the tape from Myers.

July 15, 2015

It probably doesn't matter if 1/4" is used. All I'm stating is what is referenced in the parts book. The glass you're measuring could have been changed in the last 90 years.

Good point! Based on other 'evidence' this car has crashed before. The front bumpers are not original...one of the brackets that hold the front bumper is bent....the road that connects the two headlight holders is missing...and one of the rivets that hold the left fender strut to the fender are broken. So entirely possible the windshield has been replaced.

July 15, 2015

Yep, 0.1"/2=0.05" or 3.2/64".

Yes, that is what I concluded.

Glass Setting Tape available from Meyers:

1/32in. thick = 0.0312 x 2 = 0.0625

3/64in. thick = 0.0469 x 2 = 0.094

1/16in. thick = 0.0628 x 2 = 0.125

5/64in. thick = 0.078 x 2 = 0.156

I have 0.1" total gap after the glass is installed. I decided to get the 3/64ths tape.....it's gonna be tight but I guess that is good. The tape should compress a little bit.

July 15, 2015

Bill. Best I can measure, it looks like .25.

July 14, 2015

1/8" glass sounds a bit thin? I would have thought it was nearer 1/4".

Good catch. My bad. Yes, .250 glass

The frame 0.350". Meyers has 4 different sizes of glass seating tape. Best I could figure I need the thickest. 5/64".

Here is my math:

0.350 slot on frame - 0.25" glass = 0.1"

5/64 = 0.078 x 2 = .156

Yike! Tape is too thick. Darn!

Thanks! Great catch. Better call Meyers...

July 14, 2015

So probably not worth the effort. I can paint them in place.

July 13, 2015

I believe that they may chip from road rocks being picked up. The original baked enamel fenders may have been more durable.

I was under the impression that PC was much harder/more durable than paint but I'm not familiar with baked enamel. I will research.

Thanks

July 13, 2015

I have been very impressed with the powder coating I've had done on me wheel rims, gas tank, etc. The shop that does the powder coating is very reasonable. I don't have a quote but I think he would be competitive with a professional painter.

Can you think of any downside to having the 4 fenders powder coated?

July 13, 2015

I got the windshield frame back from powder coating.

Next stop at the glass shop. The glass is 1/8". The frame 0.350". Meyers has 4 different sizes of glass seating tape. Best I could figure I need the thickest. 5/64".

Here is my math:

0.350 slot on frame - 0.125" glass = 0.225"

Tape on 2 sides so divide by 2 = 0.112

5/64 = 0.078

Marigin : 0.034" or 34 thousands

Should be snug. Hope it's not too tight. Thoughts?

I had to drill out the old screws that hold the frame together to get. I re tapped the holes out to 10-24 screws.

I was gonna take the frame in to the glass shop today but decided to wait till the tape comes in so they can account for the tape thickness. 0.078 x 2 = 0.156 so glass needs to be at least 0.156 narrower than the frame openings side to side and top to bottom.

July 13, 2015

I decided to glue a 2nd layer of wood with the grain parallel to the pedal slots (adds about 3/8 more thickness but there is room for it under there).

That's a good choice too. Plywood would probably be best as it doesn't have a grain direction. And like you said, no shortage of real estate under the floor there. My solution is overkill.....using a sledgehammer to crack a peanut. :-)

When I redid the floor in my first '26 DB Coupe I had that board almost done. I just needed to route a rabbit along the botton edge. When I hit it with the router one of the 'fingers' broke right off! I did like you and glued it back and backed it with some more wood with grain going the opposite direction. This time I wanted to try something different. The board was too slick for the fiberglas to stick to it. Then I just paniced and put those metal strips. In hindsite, the plywood backing would probably be sufficient.

July 13, 2015

Nice catch. That was my failed attempt to beef up the wood around the pedal cut outs. The grain runs horizontal there and those prices tend to break off. I tried fiberglass but it did not stick to the wood. I ended up using 3 metal strips on the backside.

July 12, 2015

Replacing the wood with cherry. All the lumber is from timber from my property that I have had milled into lumber.

July 7, 2015

Looks great!

Thanks. It has its flaws and I am my own worst critic. I know all the flaws.

I might redo the rood on my other '26 someday. I learned so much doing this one I feel I could do a better job next time. I know now where all the land mines are now.....but more importantly I learned a lot of technique.

e.g. I soaked the ribs for several hours in my swimming pool....and then I bent them on my bench and dried with a heat gun....but when I took out of the form it lost 1/2 of its bow deflection. I found that I could ankor one side and the bow the board and cut the other end to fit the bowed piece. Not sure that is clear...if you want more discription, IM me.

July 7, 2015

I am almost finished with the roof. It was a lot bigger job than I thought it was gonna be. I put about 30 hrs in it. A labor of love. It it looked any better someone else would have had to do it. IOW, I did the best I could. It is not perfect but that just reminds me I did it myself. I could have paid a professional to do it but where is the fun in that?! If I wanted a perfect car, I would have bought one. :-)

I have to clean up the trim (the people I bought the vinyal and padding and trim from shorted me the tacks so I used a couple of staples to hold in place temorarily. I also need to trim the vinyl a little closer after I finish the trim. I used right at 900 staples. 750 of that was on the chicken wire. I found that every staple I used it pulled the wire just a little bit tighter so I stapled all the rails and ribs. It was tight as a drum.

Next up is the wood floor and wood back dash....think I will stick with the cherry.

June 30, 2015

Thank you for your service and your sacrifice to all who have served !The republic is free thanks to you. We are eternally grateful

Thank you! I served from1980 to 1991

June 29, 2015

Nice find. I don't need one but always nice to see any DB parts that might be available.

June 27, 2015

About 8 hrs so far after the blanks were glued up. So about 11 hrs so far. It's getting tight. Will work on the ribs and continue to fine tune the frame. It's curved side-to-side and front to back.

I am an experienced woodworker and this is a nice challenge.

June 27, 2015

A few more picturs. This is a lot more technical than I thought. Turns out the compound cuts if made were not really necessary. The side pieces are bowed but the the bottom is shimmed to make the bottom flat. I cut the bow in the sides.....bot top and bottom. Now I have to cut the shim to bring it back to flat. I should not have cut the bottom bow. Oh well, next one I will know better.

Still a lot more work tunning the boards to fit.