I would very much like to have brought home a supercharged, 427-engined '62 Chevy II coupe that I saw in the carpark of the Route 66 Diner on Central Avenue, Albuquerque . . .
But today, despite appearances, it didn't rain, so I took advantage of the lull. I massaged the rear shock crossmember a little more, then massaged the slot I cut in the body shell, then marked up the centreline of the rear shock top mounts on the body and crossmember, and then, all of a sudden, the part I was modifying to fit looked like it wanted to fit. So a couple of self-tapping screws and a row of tack welds later, here it is, temporarily installed:
This way I could make the bodywork fit the rear shock crossmember. More work from the passenger compartment with a hammer, and then I laid in a row of "bridge-welds" (complete with hedgehogs, which I'll grind off when time comes to install the shock crossmember for good).
The wire-frame of the rear seat squab doesn't hit the modified bodywork, so that's a bonus. And I think I'll fold up a channel to retain the bottom of the rear-seat-to-boot divider and tack-weld it in place while I'm at it.
Still to do: the returns at the right and left side of the crossmember. I'll make them conform to the body's profile and then fill in the gaps with 1.6 sheet. And then the donor piece might even look like it was part of the car originally.
Rob
