[TFoch]

Nice work on the roof, looks great!  Judging by where the running boards are the car should sit just right!

[chopper526]

That roof turned out real nice, good job.

[Essex_29]

Thank you for the positive opinions regarding the height of the apron, 62131 and
TFoch. It's almost impossible to really get a good feel for what it looks like in a pic,
but I think it looks okay, and as planned it's fairly low in the front and the rake is
"noticeable" at 3 degrees.
You too chopper526, the roof looks good right now, but it's too early to see how
it really turns out. Still have the adhesive thing to do... Both exciting and a bit nerve wrecking.

While I would have gotten the adhesive last monday, I cheaped out and started
looking for other possibilities than 3M's glue. I decided that I need two packs of the
glue, and it's pretty expensive, so I thought I'd go with some cheaper stuff. I couldn't
get hold of any locally, so now waiting for the 3M adhesive I ordered  anyway a few days ago (deliveries
on mondays only with free freight), I continued with the aprons. I've been planning those,
some, and got to work, making mounts for them.
I started by cutting and drilling eight mounts from ¹/₈" thick
sheetmetal. I'm going to mount the aprons to the side of the frame, instead of
sandwiching them bethween the frame and the body as per original.



I bought two 2 meter long sticks of 1-³/₁₆" angle iron, cut them to
length and drilled four holes in each. Then bolted  the new parts together.



Finally I welded the mounts to the top of the frame (outlined in red).



The new aprons will be drilled and then sandwiched between the mounts and the
angle irons. Then the ⁵/₁₆UNC nuts will be w elded to the
mounts, as there will be no way to get to those once the floor is welded in.
Well, short of lifting the body off the frame, that is.

Luck struck again, as I will be able to use the aprons I made for the Essex in 2007!
I made them before deciding to go fenderless. I did not expect them to be long enough,
because I felt that the Essex was smaller.



The aprons are plenty long enough, and I'm very happy to be able to use them, as they've been
using space for half an eternity, and they were a chore to make.
I made a hammerform from a wooden plank, 8" x 2", and shaped it by hand with saws and
planes and whatnot. Then hammered the sheetmetal to submission. Even 19 gauge sheet metal takes
some persuation to bend when it's as long as the aprons

[chopper526]

Nice work on that apron, I would have thought you bought it. I think you made a wise choice going with the 3M adhesive, it might cost a little more but could be the best choice in the long run.

[62131]

the apron you made looks factory, I'm sure its better than the original

[sammons]

Nice fit on the top insert, hope she bonds down good for you.

Those side aprons look great, nice work. Glad they will be long enough to trim down for you.

[Essex_29]

Thank you once again for the positives, Chopper526, 62131 and sammons

The roof insert was bonded and adhered to the body last night.



Looks mostly the same as before, but it feels much better now, just
knowing it's done.

Glue gun used looks like this:



The gun was quite a "handful" so a good thing there were two of us. One person
would have had under arms like Popeye today. Dang, it had to be squeezed hard!
Anyway, there it is, things looking like it all worked out good.
I had to bump up the heat in the garage to about 70, which now, with the situation 
here with 325% increase in electric power prises... Oh well, I'll turn it back down when
I'm satisfied that it's thoroughly set. Setting time is supposed to be around
4 hours, but I'll go for 24 hours to be sure. Normally in wintertime I have a
bit below 50 degres in the garage, which suits me well, but isn't ideal for 2 K
adhesives, paints and epoxies to cure.

Annoying as it is, I worked a bit "too much" in 2007 on the driver's side apron, so
I have to widen the top surface about two inches at the back. Luckily this will be
under the body, so a simple to weld lap joint will do. The lap joint was rolled in a bead roller.



Also this week I received the new tires I ordered on sunday. I always felt a bit
disappointed at the size of those Cooper Cobra 275/60-15s, so I odered
a pair of 285/70-15s. They're significantly higher, the size is perfect.
 I don't really like that modern thread pattern, but these tires cost less than a third
of  pair of BFGs.



I'm sure these will look suitably big on the 11" wide slot mags I have in store for them.

[TFoch]

Looking great!  Glad the adhesive worked for you and you got your workout for the day!

[62131]

Looks like your adhesive went on well, the insert looks good, I like the tread pattern on the tires they willl not hold pepples very well

[Essex_29]

Thanks TFoch, It workded out good, but I was a bit anxious
as it took waay long to get the glue out, and I was afraid of it going
off too soon.
No 62131, stones big enough to stick in those tire threads will
be thrown off immediately.

The roof looks good still, and the adhesive is completely cured.

I got the new tires mounted on the slot mags a couple hours ago,
and I'm really stoked. I like how it looks now better than before.
It looks more compact.



You might notice the stands under the frame. It's still all bolted to
the floor, so the frame and body are rigidly mounted to a fixed
height. I just lifted the axles some to accomodate the bigger wheels.
By the way, those 9" wide front and 11" wide rear mags are off of a DeTomaso Pantera, that a friend of mine
modernized with big inch rims.
The way I roll is on 15" wheels.

[TFoch]

That looks Killer!  I like the 15" wheels too!  Keep working at it!

[62131]

I run 15's on my 32, but 16's or 17" on the rear would have probably worked better as I had to run a really tall tire to get the look I wanted with fenders

[Rattiac]

Those wheels/tires are sweet.   

[chopper526]

You are moving along pretty quickly, and it's looking great. Big fan of those wheels.

[sammons]

Essex your sedan is looking great, nice work! Nerve racking worrying about a large area like that starting to set off before your ready. Kinda like bonding a complete front clip on an old Vette😁 Those bonding glues are hard to dispense. I developed those "Popeye" fore arms from holding a paint gun 5 days a werk for decades, and really got sore sqeezing the old windshield urethane.

Those aluminum slot wheels were always my go to, Craigars were ok but the chrome never stayed on the centers. I put Cooper Cobras on my coupe, 295/50-15 rear and 235/60-15 front. Just wish the letters were smaller. I always thought the tread pattern had a bit of a dirt track tread, which i like for mine.