Wednesday 24 January 2018

Trial assembly of superstructure


The superstructure is now assembled and suspended ready to trial fit onto the lower chassis.
There was a certain amount of filing needed to enable the bolts to align with their holes.  The plywood sides fit nicely and add some rigidity.  
The next job after the final trial fitting will be to dismantle it partly and do some painting.


Trial assembly completed, front view.
Rear view - the inside looks empty now!
shows how the battery box is too far to the left - I shall need to touch up some paint where the box jammed against existing paintwork. I have sorted out the positioning by using some longer bolts and spacing washers to attach the pedal mounting to the box. (The packet of new bolts can be seen in the box, next to the sealant to be used for keeping out dirt and wet)
The rear left spring mounting was welded to the chassis with not quite enough clearance for the nut.  After filing a little bit, the nut fitted snugly, as shown.  Now I can start to dismantle and paint.  I must remember to use WaxOyl on parts that the paintbrush won't reach, and to use some silicone sealant wherever there seems to be a risk of dirt and moisture getting in.  The chassis side members will need a piece of cord, so that wires can be fed through at a later stage.


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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous28 January 2018 at 01:10

    Alan, I'm glad in a way that you had the same problems with the battery box as I had - I was beginning to wonder if I had done something wrong! I solved the problem by making up a spacer from a strip of steel and drilling three holes to align with the battery box in it's new aligned position! Never mind eh? By the way, have you made the ply panels easily removable? The fixing supplied by STW do not allow for this and I felt it was very important for them to be easily removed for access in order to cure the inevitable steam/water leaks! I just used 20xM6 bolts, threaded into the chassis and finished off with a stainless washer and acorn nut. Looks nice!
    Greg

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    Replies
    1. Alan D20 February 2018 at 14:50

      I shall try out your ideas of using M6 bolts as studs. Most of the bolt holes are drilled to 5mm diameter, which by luck is the size of the tapping drill for M6x1.0 threads. The fittings on the chassis are 6mm dia, which won't take the tap - I think I shall try some epoxy resin to keep the M6 bolts in place. If the sides are going to be removed frequently, I wonder about using M6 wing nuts.

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    2. Anonymous21 February 2018 at 03:07

      Alan, Thats exactly what I did! I used that "epoxy metal" stuff- that did the trick, but used dome nuts on the outside as after the initial trials I don't expect to keep taking the panels on and off very much. Also, dome nuts look better!
      Greg

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  2. Alan D28 January 2018 at 11:54

    Greg, I am glad my blog is being read! You have come up with a more elegant solution than mine. At the moment, I have not deviated from the STW method of attaching the ply panels, but agree that easy removal is desirable. Your method seems to be simple and effective; I had wondered about using toggle (over centre) latches, but that will need to fit round other fittings which are not yet in place and might not work anyway.
    I don't suppose you will be going to STW 10 year celebration? They will be about one hour's drive away for me, so I could get there without much trouble.
    Keep finding nice solutions!
    Alan

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  3. Lee h.17 February 2018 at 23:50

    Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn't show up. Grrrr... well I'm not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say fantastic post! Eincher.me

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    Replies
    1. Alan D20 February 2018 at 14:45

      Lee, thank you for thinking of my blog. Better luck with the next comment; I hate to let IT get the better of me.

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  4. Anonymous20 February 2018 at 09:14

    Hi Alan, How are you progressing? Well I hope! Are you ready for kit 11 yet (water tanks and fuel)? I certainly am, it is now 2 months ago since we received anything from STW! Whatever happened to the "one kit a month" promise that we were lead to believe before embarking on this project?!!
    Greg

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  5. Anonymous25 February 2018 at 03:57

    Hi Alan, You are very quiet! Maybe sometime soon we will be receiving the tanks - at least no painting to be done as they are Stainless! Hooray!!
    Rgds
    Greg

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