Barry Wolk Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 You'll be able to do a wheel alignment.:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steve283 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 small question,will you take much apart to paint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) You are right Barry, a wheel alignment is possible/was necessary. To steve283: all the parts will be taken away for final paint as different colors or surface treatment will be applied to the parts. Rubber or plated parts don't need paint, therefore they must be discarded temporary during the paint process.Some screws you see now are not the definitive ones; the correct ones will be used during the final assembly. Edited February 6, 2012 by Roger Zimmermann comment added (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I got my package from Roger today. I could not be more pleased. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 People are full of good ideas! As far as I know, the rear body of the Mark II retractable was not identical to the one of the standard cars. There are some pictures or drawings available, would be that sufficient to create such a model? I already gave up the idea to do a Mark II convertible (wich are existing, hello Barry!) as I prefer to stick with the regular production model.True, the rear section of a retractable is completely different than a standard car which also includes an extended and narrower rear frame section. We don't know exactly what the chassis of the retractable looks like either unless someone can convince George Barris to let someone get under the 1966 Batmobile #1 which was made from the Lincoln Futura show car that had one of the retractable prototype chassis under it. It is basically a production Mk II chassis outline but there are some structural differences.Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 I got my package from Roger today. I could not be more pleased.What, a yellow tire?For those who may not understant what I sent to Barry: it's the master tire, made in solid brass with a white wall and a spare wheel cover.The master tire was the part I had to fabricate to do the rubber tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steve283 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Quite a treasure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kozaka Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 sweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Since a week, I'm with the shock absorbers. What? a week for such simple parts? Well, they may be easy to do: a cylinder, a rod and that is! Not with me: they have to be more or less functional. When I did the Toronado, I had the intension to have valving and so on. Obviously, this was not practical; my tooling equipment was not adapted for parts that small. It could be done as an exercise; I had to look also the ratio between labor and usage. I opted for a compromise with a piston and some liquid. The main problem was the seal at the rod, it was never tight. I found a compromise with a BP product I got for another application: Hyvis.As my shock absorbers are done on an empirical method, it's each time an adventure for itself; mostly I do not notice the changes I did on my drawings. The rear shocks for the Avanti were good, unfortunately, after a while, the thinnest Hyvis got out. When I did the front ones, I probably took in account the problem I had with the rear ones and I used the thick Hyvis. Result: the shock absorbers are too hard! I "repaired" the rear ones with a mix of thin and thick Hyvis with good results as they are still effective. As you can see on the picture, this is a real strange product, which is difficult to fill into a small tube!The first shock for the Mark II is done; the other one for the front is still at the "filling station" waiting for the air to come out. Then the end cap will be soft soldered, tomorrow or the day after as air bubbles are not quick to go out.The other picture is showing one finished front shock absorber and the various parts for the rear ones. Some are already soft soldered in place and other, like the rods/pistons are still missing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 There is nothing very exciting to report. I should continue with the exhaust system, but I have first to measure the angle of the pipes at the manifolds. I believe that the way I did the manifolds, the pipes would go down too "fast". This check will be done during spring time.This week, I began to study the cowl and floor of the car. I have some drawings and many pictures; I'm trying to put all the info's on a piece of paper. As you probably know, the cowl on this car is basically a large flat piece of sheet metal. Alas, the brass I have in various thicknesses has been extensively used and I don't have enough for large parts. I will get some at the end of next week. To kill the time, I'm doing the smaller parts I'm more or less sure of shape and dimensions. On the second picture, there are the inner rocker panels, 2 pieces to reinforce the cowl and 2 parts which are coming on the side of the cowl. All parts are unfinished. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Usually, cowls are flat and vertical. This is a good starting point to build-up the other elements. Not on the Mark II as the cowl in inclined towards the rear. I did few progresses as I had difficulties to decide with what to continue. I did a lot of planning in my head; maybe something will result from this smoking head!When I understood how the inner rocker panel was done at the front of the body, I could form it partially and solder it to the main inner panels. I continued with the side panels of the cowl and attached them with screws to the inner ends. Then I realized that this was would lead to nothing as loose parts are hard to measure. The idea came to attach the inner panels to a piece of flat sheet metal. This way, I can verify angles and dimensions. As the whole construction is still unstable, I will continue by attaching permanently the front part of the floor to the inner rocker panels.I took the decision to do the back of the floor with polyester. The tunnel has a complex form; I could certainly do a mock-up with wood and bang some brass on it, but the necessary work is a non-sense as the tunnel will hardly be seen from under. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steve283 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Sir,the picture alone is a work of art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Sir,the picture alone is a work of art.Thank you! Work of art? Abstractive, very abstractive art! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 My intention was to assemble something to both cowl's sides. The logical was to go with the lower front part of the floor. But stop! It's not so easy: first I have to do both channels (or supports) at the bolts # 1. And don't forget the recess for the brake pedal!Once all was soldered, I noticed that I should have soldered the floor to the sides and then the front supports to the assembly (that's the logical to perform the welding at the factory). Well, I will find a way to overcome this error...Now, there is at least one piece of the floor which can be screwed to the frame, even if it's only temporary.Now, I have to trim the sides of the lower floor to adapt it to the cowl's sides...You have probably noticed that there is for the moment no provision for the tunnel. It will be done later, when the upper part of the cowl will maintain the whole assembly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiliconS Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Thank you for the continued updates, Roger. I've just caught up with this thread after a long period when I didn't get notifications from the website, and so I've enjoyed seeing your work happen so quickly. I bet you wish this was how you were able to progress in real life! I wish you good luck as you work on the body panels. I'm very interested to see what techniques you use to form the panels so I hope you'll be able to show us if you have the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Welcome back Ben! Yes, sometimes, I wish that the construction is going faster, especially the last few days with that damn cowl. I spent hours to check and reckeck the dimensions according to the drawing I did. Some points were OK, some were not. At the end, I had to choose a compromise and could get further. The way I'm forming the panels you can see up to now is very simple: the small wise which appears from time to time on the pictures and a small hammer...Sometimes a pattern done with scrap brass when curves are involved. Of course, this primitive method cannot produce accurate parts. I will soon solder the cowl's side panels to the inner rocker panels with the hope that I will not be too far away from the ideal dimensions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 Some progress was done lately with the cowl and floor. The inner rocker panels are soldered with the cowl's sides and I added a strip of stainless steel on the inner rocker panel as the flexion between the cowl and the floor could be critical if the model (in fact the doors) is getting heavier as expected. I closed also the bottom of the floor at the cowl's side. The back of the floor will be polyester, as explained earlier.The last addition to that inner structure is both lower heater core cases. The first picture is showing how I fixed them for soldering in an attempt to have them in the same plan. The whole construction is not cleaned as more soldering will occur.The front of the floor is attached to the frame with 4 bolts. The inner ones will not be a problem, however, I will probably not be able to screw the outer ones from inside the body as they are very near from the cowl's sides. There is a chance that I can install the outside bolts through the apertures of the heater core. This concern was also one more reason to add the steel strip. Steel is way more resistant than brass, but much more difficult to work with, especially stainless steel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Lately, I did a lot of verifications about the dimensions. Some are acceptable, some are probably not. Oh! it does not go in inches, but 1 mm on that scale is not good. As long as I can correct errors, I'll do. In short: the "ears" you can see on the previous pictures (they represent one face of the door's pillars) in probably 1 mm (0.04") too much forward. This element will be hidden by the front fenders but I may have a clearance trouble with the hood's hinges. I hope somebody from the Mark II forum will help with a dimension I asked.I continued with the flat part of the cowl; most of the apertures are already done because it's easier to bore on a piece laying flat on the tool than later with the flexible shaft when the part will be soldered to the main structure.I could not resist to install temporarily the brake booster! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Well, it was like I was afraid: something was not correct with my dimensions. Fortunately, some people at the Mark II forum helped with, I hope, a correct diemension. The forward part of the door's post was too much forward; I had to remove it. The parts did not survive the removal process, I will have to do new ones. Fortunately, they are quickly done. I did most holes on the cowl before it was soldered to the structure. However, not all holes were done as I missed at first the holes for the fuse box. There is also an horizontal brace which is crewed on the structure; I had the drill it when I was more or less sure about it's position. Due to the "legs" (the inner rocker panels), the drilling was somewhat complicated: I had to improvise with a can as you can see on the first picture. It was not very stable, but I manged to perform the drilling without damage!The other pictures are showing the cowl almost ready. Missing are the tunnel aperture and the pivot for the emergency brake. The holes for the hood's hinges are not yet done; they will be drilled when the hinges are done.You will certainly notice the 6 captive nuts for the emergency brake lever... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Yesterday I soldered the last bits of brass at the cowl. This damn part is looking as it would be easy to reproduce; however, there are so many details that at the end it was more complicated as anticipated. By the way, this is, surface wise, the largest sheet metal part I ever did in brass.Unless I forgot something, the front end of the floor/cowl is complete. I did a very short tunnel to have some rigidity during handling. By testing the construction on the frame with the engine, I noticed that I did an error at the inner rocker panel under the side of the cowl: I would have difficulties to install the exhaust; this error will be corrected at a later date.Up to recently, I did not know why the rocker panel was partial under the doors and a filler was placed under the chrome lower moulding. The reason is simple: as the exhaust was installed on the frame before the body was dropped on it, the exhaust would have interfered with a full the rocker panel. At the rear of the car, the exhaust tubes are following the frame; this allows for a full rocker panel. I will have to do the same if I want to mate the body on the frame...Now, I will go back to the frame and do the brake shields as I got recently some good pictures. I hope to measure the floor sometimes during spring/summer to continue it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiliconS Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 According to the Wikipedia page for the Continental Mk II, the full-size version weighed a remarkable 2,300 kg. At 1:12 scale, your model should therefore weigh 191 kg. Do you plan to maintain this level of scale authenticity? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 According to the Wikipedia page for the Continental Mk II, the full-size version weighed a remarkable 2,300 kg. At 1:12 scale, your model should therefore weigh 191 kg. Do you plan to maintain this level of scale authenticity? No, I will not. However, you are doing an error: the weight is function of the volume: 12 x 12 x 12 = 1728.2300 divided by 1728 = 1.33 kg. The model will be between 2 and 3 kg... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) The replacement of my 5-years old computer was a severe "distraction" during last week. I have now Windows 7, but, frankly, Windows XP was easier to work with. It's like cars: the new model is shinier, but not necessarily better!Brake shields are in fact just a stamped steel disk on which the cylinder and shoes are attached. On my front brakes there will be no shoes, it makes the whole matter less complicated. However, the shield has to be formed by stamping, like the original ones!The first picture is showing how I'm milling the pattern. The final product will not be 100% like the original, but the overall appearance will be very similar.The second picture is showing the tools and a piece of brass .2 mm thick ready to be formed. This happens on my small wise, in several steps as I'm looking in between if the metal is not damaged, third picture. All went rather well; the fourth image is showing both shields which are identical. On the real car, there is a RH & a LH part; the stamping is the same; just the hole to adjust the shoes is at a different place. The last picture is showing the drum again installed on the suspension; it's definitively looking better with as without a shield.I have now to finish the details on the other shield; then I will go to the rear ones, first by milling another pattern. Edited March 27, 2012 by Roger Zimmermann corrected text (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Thanks to the brain storming I had with the front brake shields, the tooling for the rear ones was done more quickly.Unfortunately, no picture for the moment, I'm not at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotWheels Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Roger,Absolutely fabulous work as always!You may have already seen this, but I was just forwarded a short video of the fabrication of what is being called "the world's tiniest V12 engine"The world's tiniest V12 engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Thank you Tom!The work on that engine is fantastic, many people sent me that video the last few months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kozaka Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 as always i love it keep up the good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 Back home from a short vacation, I could continue with the rear brake shields. I wasn't sure if I would have success because the center of the shields is real deep. The first picture is showing the tools and a sheet of thin brass. I could keep the base of one of the front tool and add a different punch maintained with 2 screws (the tool I'm referring is on the left).Then came the moment to press the brass between the tools; the second picture is showing the result at mid-"travel".With more pressure from the wise a good shield was born! Before I did the second one, I put some oil on the brass to facilitate the pressing. It was not a wise decision as there is more tearing near the center hole as with the first part. This tearing is not detrimental to the part, it will not be seen.The third picture shows one completed shield and the second one which is almost ready. The hole for the centering shaft was bored at 5 mm into the brass sheet; when completed the hole was almost 7 mm in diameter.Some details must be added, for example the bulge for the brake cable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 It took a long time to have the brake shields ready as well as the emergency brake system. Since 2 weeks the kitchen was remodelled which add some distraction but mainly disagreements! The last work was done this morning; it will be good for another 35 years!Even if I could have a look at the Avanti model brake system, I had to improvise a little bit. Now, most of the hardware is ready with the exception of the brake cables which are too long. They will be trimmed and installed at the last moment. The cables have a diameter of .3 mm (.012") and the flexible casing is coming from a remote actuator from a camera!The last picture is showing also the cables with fittings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landman Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Roger, where do you get all those tiny little fasteners? When I'm done with my car I'm thinking of going back to models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Pat, it depends...For example, the U bolts are home made: the threads are done with a thread tool, then the rod is bent the have the U bolt.Most tiny screws and nuts are from a German company (www.modellbauschrauben.de); they are available from .6 mm to 1 mm in brass with the proper head (and not the round head as usual for the screws); from 1.2 mm in diameter, they are mild steel. I have also some screws from the watch industry.If I'm right, you are also using the metric system in Canada except for old cars, of course, so the diameters I gave should not sound strange for you.What kind of model(s) you may begin when you are done with the scale 1:1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landman Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Nothing like you are doing. Just plastic kits thatI still have. Also I'd like to build a replica of a circa 1910 steam tug my grandfather worked on. Some time ago, several years in fact I was going to build a scale model of a jet engine. That's what I would have needed all those little bolts for. There would have been many bolted flanges on that project.I also feel that now I could probably modify existing model kits to give one that isn't produced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kozaka Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 such sweet work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Oh! Plastic kits. I still have some unassembled, like a very detailled '66 Buick Riviera.Indeed, if you intend to build a jet engine, you will need small screws. I will be happy to assist in case you have difficulties with that company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 As I'm not in a position to continue the floor, I'm doing the annoying small details like the transmission's levers and engine control levers.When I was ready with the transmission's levers, there was an interference between the air duct and the selector lever. What was wrong? Fortunately, a member of the Mark II forum had the answer in pictures: the flange which was in the way is not horizontal, but at about 45°, permitting the lever to move freely. This is on the first picture; the air duct is not yet corrected.Then I moved to the engine control levers located on the top of the intake manifold. These levers are operating the carb and the quick-down. Compared to Cadillac, this set-up is really complex. As my car is equiped with A/C, there is also the fast idle speed-up control; "easy" to reproduce as it's the same as on Cadillac and I have a spare.For the moment, there is no linkage to the carb or transmission; they will of course be added. I hope that the assembly can be operated by the accelerator pedal; however, the needed small springs are a concern as the wire I have is too large in diameter and would create a too stiff spring. Of course, I could buy some wire of the proper diameter... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 Yesterday, I could visit the man who has 4 Mark II (he bought one last year; ths car was in storage at his location).I noticed that the angle of the exhaust pipes at the collector in about 20° downwards; I will have to rework my exhaust collectors...This will add some distance between collector and the steering box.Whith all the dimensions I got yesterday, I'm now in a position to do the floor from front to rear. This will takes some months to do it. Stay tune! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) Thanks to what I saw yesterday, I could finish the rod going to the transmission. I did also a return spring (it's not nice, it will be replaced) which is not too strong for the construction. The first picture is "idling" mode and the second one "full throttle" with the corresponding levers moving. Edited May 2, 2012 by Roger Zimmermann (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzer3 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Mr. Zimmerman, I have been following your progress your skill and patience are remarkable. I was at a local salvage yard and happened across the remains of a Mark II. I hope it doesn't disturb you too much that such a rare and beautiful car could end up here. I was surprised to find that the brake pedal is still there. I could take more photos or measurements from this remains if it would help you.Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) Jay, thank you for the pictures! Well, fortunately there are donnor cars; this one seems to be a spare parts source. I appreciate your offer for dimensions and pictures, you are taking a huge risk with that offer! I have the impression that I have all the pictures needed until some detail is missing. Now, I'm beginning with the planing for the floor. I have the impression that I have all what I need (but it's never the case); dimensions are not so easy to take: yesterday, I tried to measure the front tunnel...with the carpet! It seems that on the car you pictured the carpet is gone and it would facilitate the task and be more precise. Back to your offer: could you measure the front tunnel from the firewall to the front seat? You will see that it's a difficult task because it get narower and lower towards the seat. Am best is to take width and high each 10" or each 15".Take care of yourself by doing that; probably you will never make such an offer in the future!If you decide to do that, I have another favor to ask: on the LH door's jamb, there is a small plate. The first line is the VIN; could you note it (although it could be difficult due to the condition of this plate)? The people at the Mark II forum are eager for each Mark II which is either on the road or at the end of it.Thank you! Edited May 2, 2012 by Roger Zimmermann Comment added (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landman Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Nothing like you are doing. Just plastic kits thatI still have. Also I'd like to build a replica of a circa 1910 steam tug my grandfather worked on. Some time ago, several years in fact I was going to build a scale model of a jet engine. That's what I would have needed all those little bolts for. There would have been many bolted flanges on that project.I also feel that now I could probably modify existing model kits to give one that isn't produced.Roger guess what? Today I was cleaning some cabinets in the garage and I came across a whole stash of Styrene & brass stock and the photos below. That's the Rolls Royce Spey I was planning to build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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