Alt Bantam

You may try spray glue. Test it first!

 

Spray some of this on the inside corner of the angle aluminum :

 

Tap plastics inc. carries it. Ebay & maybe Amazon. it costs about $19.00 per can. i use it all the time; it works great.

 

DonnyRay. Thanks for your suggestion, but I was able to take care of the angle problem by using pre-folded mat I bought at Home Depot. Also, fiberglass won’t stick to wax paper. The angle iron would have been my next choice but lined with wax paper as it’s cheaper.

 

I used wax paper many years ago. It's difficult to remove after the resin has set up. It also wrinkles up from the heat generated by the resin. Duct tape also wrinkles up from the generated heat. That's why i use the spray on release or the wax on release.

 

It's been nearly a month since my last update. A lot of crap kept out of the workshop is the reason. But I started on the body again yesterday. Mounted the back plywood piece from the floor to the blocks glued and glassed underneath the body Monday. I was planning to glass the bottom of the plywood to the floor in the interior side but I didn't have any brushes to apply the resin. Bought brushes this morning and placed two layers of mat this afternoon. I will flip the body over and glass the top of the plywood to the underneath of the body tomorrow as well as the outside of the plywood to the floor. I will take some photos to post if I remember to bring my phone with me... Once the glass is set, I still need to add a side panel on either side of the rear interior to cover the gap between the interior and the rear wheel wells. Then I can set the body on the frame, temporarily mounting it. Afterwards, I will start on the extended firewall. The doors will be last, once the body is all secured as one piece. I can't start the engine rebuild until the firewall is in place, so that is on hold for now.

 

Be sure you have enough room between the radiator and engine before you place the body.

 

While I haven't installed the radiator yet, I have placed it and the shell between the frame rails to make sure there's room. I did that before welding the engine and transmission mounts in place. Btw, the engine set back is based on the 1967 NHRA rules for Alter Class, which is 25% of the wheelbase to the first sparkplug. The wheelbase on the car is 103". Max setback would be 25.75" at the first sparkplug. The engine is currently set at 25". There is 17+" from the front of the engine to the Ford straight axle. I'm going to use an electric fan behind the radiator for cooling and not a fan bolted to the water pump. Due to the angle of the engine, the radiator placement for an engine driven fan would above the front cowling on the body...

 

Started glassing the back interior panel today. I did not want to mix up too much resin so I made a smaller batch. Afterward I realized the container was the last I had in the shop. So I got about half of what I wanted to get done finished. Below are a few photos. The weather is turning colder for the week ahead. Not sure when I will be able to finish this step.

 

I use 1 gal. milk jugs. I cut the top around the handle. When glass dries you flex it and old glass comes out and use it again.

 

When it comes to closing up the area between the floor/seatback and the wheel wells, can you make a molded piece, similar to an inner fender liner in a car/truck? Might look better than flat pieces of plywood. Just sayin . . .

 

Spanky, the original bantams were pretty basic underneath. Below are two poor photos which show what I mean. Nothing special, simple panels which acted as the wheel wells. I am glassing the plywood back and sides mostly for strength. I plan to coat the underneath with a rhino liner like produce. It will both add an extra water proof seal and blacken any visible understructure. Old Round Fart, we don't have gallon size milk or water containers. 16 oz bottles are a bit too small. I bought a stack of paint mixing cups with measurements on the side. Unfortunately, the weather has not cooperated here. I had one day last week where I could work. Warm weather is on the way so I hope to get time to finish the fiberglass work. I need to set the body on the frame to finish the cowl extension. Will post more photos when I have some.

 

I bought some of the solar activated resin. Haven’t used it yet but I’ll report experience.

 

A small space heater can help. I used one to "pre-heat" the surfaces I was glassing when doing the floor in my 'bucket, then kept it on to hasten the curing process. I also stored the resin and hardener on top of the water heater overnight the day before.

(A friend keeps all his paint/bondo/etc. in a cabinet with a 60-watt bulb inside.)

 

I set the body on the frame and rolled it out of my workshop to sweep the floor... And to see how everything looked up to now. I'm happy. I still need to finish the sides inside the body. Also the new extended cowling, which will add 6 needed inches of interior space. I placed a racing seat inside and played around with seat height. Flat on the floor and I felt like I was inside a child's peddle car. At 4" I felt like I was in a gocart. At 7", the top of my legs are about even with the top of the door. But it felt comfortable... I will build mounts to raise the seats up 4" to 7". From the side image, you can see the space behind the rear plywood panel. That area will be for the gas tank.

 

New photos. Experimenting with the extended cowling. I outlined the front of the body on the same material as the floor, but it's 1/4" smaller. I cut it out. The marked the inside along the firewall flange and cut it. I plan to epoxy and screw the wood to the flange. The current firewall shown is the part cut from the inside of the plywood. It's just for show. I will cut out a better shaped firewall. I plan to use 2" angle iron to support the base of the firewall. I will weld some 1" tubing to the angle iron to create a frame to support the upper firewall, battery and steering column. It may support a pedal assembly also, though I am thinking underfloor pedals for more interior room.

 

That is how I extended the cowel on my long car to fill distance to the motor. Made for a lot of legroom. I think it was 11”.

 

I like what you're doing with your cowl extension.

 

Me, too! Tricky part will be maintaining the "reveal" from the current body forward to the firewall. Or will you just smooth it out?

 

Like the original Model T, the original Bantam has is a lip between the firewall and the cowling for the hood panels to sit upon making the transition flush. Bantam fiberglass bodies don't have that lip, though some t bucket bodies do. I am recreating that slight drop. There is is currently a 1/4" space between the top of the cowling and the wood support piece which will be mounted onto the current firewall flange. I plan to use a flexible plywood used by home aircraft builders to form the cowling and sides. I will glass over the plywood for extra strength. The extended firewall will be connected to the support several places along the sides and top, like a wooden buck. The plywood will be glued and tacked along the outer surface. I plan to use poster board to create a templet first and use it to cut out the bendable plywood. The plywood comes in 1/8" or 1/16" thickness. Whether I use one thicker or two thinner pieces, the lip between the extension and the current cowling will be an 1/8". There won't be a hood so it's all to make the fiberglass body appear as original as possible.