Getting Into Finite Detail

Filed under: Articles,Classic News |
The inner workings of a restoration project are often complex but therein lies some of the beauty. Understanding how things are put together, how they work and what they look like throughout the build is fascinating. The latest update on the Ford Model Y restoration project over at Cherished Vehicle Insurance does that. The restorer Mike Hill has been meticulously working on the project and he has provided a detailed update about filling the void between chassis and truck and the steering box. This first picture demonstrates the size of the gap that needed filling. He started welding 2mm sheet steel to fill the gap. It looked a little bit messy when it was all initially in place but he needed to get on with another small job before returning to it. The other job in question was to make another part of the chassis, which required another template. Mike tends to use quite a lot of templates, advocating the use of cardboard to plan and measure things out before cutting them, in this instance, in sheet steel. Whilst it isn’t the neatest of ways to do it, it proves to be pretty accurate. With that little job complete it was time to flush the welding job earlier to give it a neater finish and a better looking one, just in case anyone inspected under there! The next step for him was to work on the steering drag link. This is an important part that connects the steering box to the front end, so it was worthwhile him doing it properly. The result was terrific. The drag link is typically made up of two ball joints and a two way adjuster. It has a left and right hand threat to allow adjustment in the length of the rod. In terms of its dimensions, this one is made from a mild steel tubing 3mm thick, 26mm outside diameter and 23mm inside diameter. Luckily, the tie rod ends are just the right fit for this project so they can be tapped in and plug-welded through the holes in the pipe. He plug-welded the holes and around the ends, finishing it off nice and flush. This is time consuming but worth it in the end and the result was certainly a lot easier on the eye than when it was sat on the garage floor. Next step was to add it to the car. It fitted perfectly and more importantly it worked perfectly well too. This really insightful update is more detailed than we have been accustomed to from Mike when writing for the Cherished Vehicle Insurance blog. Mike is busy on the project again after a hiatus earlier in the year so we will be keeping our eyes on the Cherished Vehicle Insurance Facebook page for more updates.