Old Fords never die

While this car will be used on the road, it will also be used for drag racing. Therefore, the interior needs to be practical and have all the necessary functions and safety equipment. I hope to enter into MSA/FIA events so need to take into consideration the regulations laid out in the Blue Book.

TRS 3 point harness will do the necessary for holding me in.

A pair of Monaco S seats have been installed on runners to enable fine adjustments.

The photos below will show how the gearbox tunnel came together. A card board template was made before transferring the design to metal. There will be an access panel cut out of the offside section to enable easier access to the speedo cabling, kick-down and oil cooling hoses. The access panel has yet to be carried out.

There is a requirement to have a rear firewall so some of the holes around the rear shelf had to be filled in. The photos will show on the nearside metal cutouts being welded in place, skim of filler to make it smooth and a quick coat of primer to protect the metalwork. The offside caused a few more problems. I was unable to get all the spot welds off the underside so had to cut out s section of the rear shelf. The front of the cutout was removed and welded back in place. The new metal sheet was cut to fill in the hole and welded up. The other side holes will need welding in place and filling in like the offside.

The next series of photos are the fabrication of the rear tubs. Oh! what fun they were! After plenty of measuring the inside panel was cut and a lip formed by cutting two 3/4" ply panels and clamping the metal sheet in between.  Th lip was then hammered around the edge of the ply. The tub was made in two parts. The inner side was a fixed width while the outer one had to be tailored to suit the body panels. This took ages and was glad when it was finished. Tiger seal was applied to all seams and a couple of coats of POR-15 applied for protection.

The photos below show some of the floor panelling. The prop tunnel was folded and swag lines put in for some extra strength. The boot panel was cut out using a plasma cutter (thanks Noel) and fuel cell placed to ensure all was well before the bending and welding begins. The wedge piece was created for the fuel outlet pipes and a lessons learned about sheet metal warping. This was me getting carried away welding up the wedge without taking into consideration of the heat being generated. The next stage was to make the two end boot pieces to weld to the rear wing. A 3mm thick plate tacked in place for the seat belt mount. The back end of the floor section upright was fabricated and handbrake cable backing plate welded in place. The floors had swage lines put in for some extra strength. Front firewall was bent into shape by using some wood and clamps and the offside footwell fabricated prior to being welded in place. All the seams were treated to Tiger Seal sealant and painted with a couple of coats of POR-15 for protection.