Work on the side

Since Dad needed a little help prepping his ’27 Rally ABC for the California Mille, which we’ll be running this April, I spent a bit of time away from the Mustang to lend a hand.

When Dad purchased the car, our friend and vintage race enthusiast Ed recommended we replace a rear suspension bracket that had been poorly welded together. Over the weekend, we (read I) removed the part from the car while Dad schmoozed with his buds who stopped by the Candy Store. Access was a little tricky: the bracket was held in place by U-bolts which rested over the Bugatti rear axle, but a number of other parts got in the way, and the nuts needed to be loosened with a breaker bar. Thankfully, both the right and left side brackets are symmetrical, so I only needed to remove one to take its dimensions.

…and the finished product.

Why yes, that IS me leaving greasy handprints all over a pre-war French racecar!

The original part…

Once removed, I recorded its measurements with a micrometer and set to work replicating the part in AutoCAD (thank god for free student software). It had been a while since I drafted anything on the computer, but I dug up a handout on layer properties from my Engineering Technology class last year and was running again in no time. Dad will send the finished plans to a machine shop to have the part milled from steel. It should technically be made of cast metal, but a milled part with filleted edges will be structurally durable and look authentic enough.

Back to the Mustang now. I’ll be meeting with someone at a highly-recommended body shop to get a quote on a paint job today. Three months left till the deadline—time for the cram!

One Comment

  1. Ping from Dad:

    Keep up the good work, Jack (so I have more time for Schmoozing)! B^)