1959 Peerless Restoration

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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Steve Simmons »

There used to be half of a car there! Show us the rest, you tease!
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

With great anticipation Jerry watched the body stay together as it left the home built chassis.
IMG-coming off buck.jpg
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Once I got it up high enough, we rolled the "new" chassis and drivetrain under the body. This is the last time I'll have easy access to the suspension and frame. As the body went down, I had to do a little trimming near the radiator mounting area, but for the most part the buck mimicked the actual frame. It sure was nice to use the lift in this manner. Up-down with the push of a button. Check out where we placed the rear lift supports and all the spacers. I don't think this is the approved Peerless jacking point.
IMG-going on chassis.jpg
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I spent most of Monday after the Memorial Day drive mounting the doors on the MGB adjustable hinges. There are a dozen additional structural panels that still need to be bonded to securely locate the body. I have to admit, it is starting to look like a car...
IMG-on chassis.jpg
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Dean
Last edited by HealeyBN7 on Wed May 28, 2014 7:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by nigel c »

:o BRILL I ANT! :bow:
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Martin Keller »

Very impressive Dean. Very impressive. :thumbs:
Sure wish I had the time and talent you have.
:bow:

:drive
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by nigel c »

Hi Dean,
How you getting on with fitting those MG door hinges? Like to see some pics :)
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by nigel c »

Hi Dean,
I've been looking at the tailgate hinges on my 2010 Volvo V70 estate. There very well built and I think they would convert to door hinges. I will try and take a few pics....and then try and upload them.....don't hold your breath guys, in fact it would be quicker if you all went down to the nearest dealer and looked for yourselves!
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

I have been chipping away at the hardest parts of the body restoration...fitting the doors, restoring the window winder supports and inner door framework.

First step was to assess the condition of the rusted parts. Unfortunately the top steel structure was too far gone (fatigued and cracked) to just patch and weld, so a new one was needed. The door pull is attached to the top of this long largely unsupported flat steel bar and it bends with every tug to close the door. Not the very best design or placement for the door pull.

The next bit of work involved welding a few tabs to the inner door frame to carry the winder and forward door latch mechanism.

All that seems to fit nicely so no major "body" adjustments will be needed to carry the window frame.

The replacement door was a bit concave, so it was strengthened with the installation of three fiberglass spars.

Both doors received new inner steel hardware. A new left hand window lift is waiting for me in the UK along with replacement handles.

I would say that the driver's side is ready for an application of epoxy sealer.

Just need to finish rough blocking the passenger side, hood, roof and rear before cracking open the paint.
Attachments
Original left side steel upper support with rubber window seal.
Original left side steel upper support with rubber window seal.
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Fabricating a new upper support with a small kink to allow for "flush" mounting of the door card.
Fabricating a new upper support with a small kink to allow for "flush" mounting of the door card.
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Old and new.
Old and new.
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Trial fit with winder installed.  Window glass fits nicely as well and the door doesn't sag with the extra weight.
Trial fit with winder installed. Window glass fits nicely as well and the door doesn't sag with the extra weight.
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Here is the business end of the MGB hinges.  A little torch work was needed to get everything into a better place so the adjustments had enough play for final alignment.  A little paint and a nice cover plate should fix up the aesthetics.  There is enough space behind the hinges to carry a battery... hmm.
Here is the business end of the MGB hinges. A little torch work was needed to get everything into a better place so the adjustments had enough play for final alignment. A little paint and a nice cover plate should fix up the aesthetics. There is enough space behind the hinges to carry a battery... hmm.
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Looks terrible and dusty, but it has never been straighter.  Amazing what a four foot sanding block will accomplish.
Looks terrible and dusty, but it has never been straighter. Amazing what a four foot sanding block will accomplish.
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That's almost an acceptable door gap.
That's almost an acceptable door gap.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Larry Kluss »

Great progress, Dean!
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by VWNate1 »

Looking very good indeed ! :thumbs: .

You are correct , those old long boards are wonderful :bow: .
-Nate
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by nigel c »

and using one is better than any gym membership!
Great work as always Dean, lovin those door hinges...very envious (yea you know the problems I've got!) :hammer:
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by nigel c »

just re-looking at those hinge brackets as they come into the door, will the bottom one not protrude into the seen cabin space of the door as all that area is exposed when finished?
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

nigel c wrote:just re-looking at those hinge brackets as they come into the door, will the bottom one not protrude into the seen cabin space of the door as all that area is exposed when finished?
I don't think it will, but I just started to fabricate aluminum covers for the sills and hinge closure areas. I am trying to get those fitted before I paint so I don't scratch up the finished areas too badly.

I'll post some pictures if I am able to make any meaningful progress. I was distracted yesterday as I made a trip down to the chrome shop to enlarge the hole in my wallet. They are still working on the main side windows. There were some unforeseen issues that they wanted me to eyeball in person. But don't worry, all is fine. The patient will live, it is just money and time.

While I was there I was about to pick up some of the finished parts... oh so shiny.

Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Martin Keller »

Hi Dean,
How did they do the eyeball vents edges. Did the chrome part come off.
Very nice I have to say.
Still need to drive over one of these weekends when your home and not to busy. :)
:drive
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

Martin Keller wrote:Hi Dean,
How did they do the eyeball vents edges. Did the chrome part come off.
Very nice I have to say.
Still need to drive over one of these weekends when your home and not to busy. :)
:drive
You are always welcome. You know that. I was able to pry off the vent edges. They sort of snap back on, but I may need to help them stay with a little locktite when it comes time for the final assembly.

Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

So this was a learning process...

The door sills in the Peerless are made from aluminum sheet. They are stamped with a very unique diamond pattern. Probably something available at the local 1950's hardware store or even left over WW2 supplies.

I hunted for the correct pattern with no success, so I decided to up scale my label-etch process to a grand scale.

Just in case you didn't see the early photos, or tried to put it out of your mind like I have, here is where I started. Trucker diamond plate is not appropriate. There is just so much wrong here - a frightening state of affairs!
1-2006_0413alpine0074.jpg
The first step was to find an original piece of material. Fortunately I had a bent up trunk trim piece available so I could copy the pattern. I photo below shows a test vinyl sticker next to the original part.
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Next I experimented with several vinyl products until I found a product that could take the heat of the acid bath without pealing off before the etch was complete. The best product was a commercial metallic reflective material for construction/city sign making.

Each small diamond square was then cut by hand and removed from the sheet.
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The sheets then received a layer of application tape and then applied to fresh aluminum panels, which were set in an acid bath. A little monitoring keep the temperatures below 120 degrees.
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Once the etching is complete, the vinyl can be removed.
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Revealing the full pattern...
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Which was bent...
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And shaped to size...
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I still have some more shaping and trimming to finish up the panels, but it feels good to get this far as I know I would have destroyed any paint job if I waited until the body work was finished.

Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Steve Simmons »

Amazing of course, but oh my gawd... you cut all those by hand??? This whole project is a step beyond. Worthy of a magazine article at the least.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

Oh I guess I forgot to show you this step...



...and the craigslist hunt for a commercial vinyl cutter and learning how to program the software...

...and Donna's help picking out all the inset diamonds (called weeding), and Malcolm's help laying out the sheets, and Smitty's help bending the plates with his 60" box brake.

...and the scary acid part when it runs up to 100 degrees.



Reproduction parts are not cheap, nor easy, but you know that.

I do think I figured out how to reproduce the Warwick dash/kick panel with the small cross hatch, which happens to be the same pattern as the early DB Aston's and Series 1 e-type. The reproduction panels are not correct. I'll disclose the process shortly, once I have a success!

Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Steve Simmons »

HealeyBN7 wrote:Each small diamond square was then cut by hand and removed from the sheet.
Yeah, that was a bit misleading. ;)
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Martin Keller »

Dean your amazing and you where able to get Donna to help remove all of those diamonds.
How many bottles of wine did it take to get them all removed?
:)

:drive
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by VWNate1 »

This is a terrific thread ! :thumbs: .
-Nate
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nigel c
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by nigel c »

I'm sure I said I have a vinyl cutter in my workshop and have just produced the artwork!?!?

When we met up in March I said I was thinking of tryin the bead blast rout....but time keeps slipping away...I guess I need to close my business down and go work for a US Company!
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

nigel c wrote:I'm sure I said I have a vinyl cutter in my workshop and have just produced the artwork!?!?

When we met up in March I said I was thinking of tryin the bead blast rout....but time keeps slipping away...I guess I need to close my business down and go work for a US Company!
As I see it, there were just too many pints and long nights involved.

My first shot at this was a couple years ago. I had the vinyl produced, tried a small square, then let it sit on the shelf for two years. When I went to give it a try the vinyl lifted and acid etched in all the wrong places. I guess the adhesive has a shelf life.

For me I have two challenges with the bead blast method. My cutter says it should not be used for cutting blast mask - it may work, but I didn't try it, and my blast cabinet (actually Austin's) is too small for the sills, and while the neighbors can't see the toxic acid fumes, they will notice the blast clouds.

I did forget that you had the artwork. Dang. It wasn't too hard to recreate, but that would have been helpful. I'll show you mine if you show me yours:)

Next challenge is the custom aluminum fuel tanks that no longer fit.

Dean
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Steve Simmons »

HealeyBN7 wrote:My cutter says it should not be used for cutting blast mask - it may work, but I didn't try it, and my blast cabinet (actually Austin's) is too small for the sills
They might fit in mine if you ever need to try it.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by Larry Kluss »

The panels turned out great, Dean! But what's with the tanks no longer fitting??

I had the same question about hand cutting it when I read your original post, knowing that you had the vinyl cutting machine.
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Re: 1959 Peerless Restoration

Post by HealeyBN7 »

Larry Kluss wrote:The panels turned out great, Dean! But what's with the tanks no longer fitting??
I don't have a good explanation for the poor fitment. Not sure if my measurements were off or if the welder built them incorrectly. It has been a long time (four years) and I haven't looked for the designs.

The bottom line is they did fit when there was no body:)

But, now that it is a rigid space, they don't sit far enough into the sill to prevent them from fouling the door and sill plate. The outer curve of the sill causes the tanks to not sit flush to the bottom of the space. This forces the tanks to sit to high and given that they are not flush to the bottom, I am guessing the lower outer tank edge could also cause stress cracks in the body work.

Short of starting over, the only alternative I could come up with was to remove the lower outer corner across the length of each tank and weld in a new strip of 11g aluminum.

I dropped them off today and I hope to get them tomorrow.

At least I can see that he welded in the baffles that we talked about.

ugh.

Dean
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