As promised, we spent this week sanding the
frame down all silky smooth. Despite leaving the chassis in various shades of mottled green and gray,
it still looks better than it did right after we painted it. That's because it's smooth. Also, we
eliminated all the drips and runs, which it turns out were all over the place, not just places you
could see. Our goal this weekend, besides ending up with a shiny green chassis, is to replicate only
a small percentage of those drips and runs in the final coat.
No metal left unsanded
Sanding the chassis was at least as big a chore as we'd imagined, but we won't bore you with the
details, because a) there really weren't any details, and b) it would be boring. So our report will
be a little bit short this week and we hope you'll understand. Overall, sanding the frame took about 20
hours, and we managed to get every nook and cranny on the frame at least scuffed up, so we expect
the new coat of Rustoleum to adhere really well and look great. At least until we start installing
parts and scratch it all up.
Would be easier to see without protective baggie
Naturally we're not just sitting around idly while the chassis waits for paint. Well, some of the
time we are, but at least we managed to install a brand new rear view mirror onto the scuttle. The
mirror we decided on is a classic reproduction of the dash-mount style popular with many British cars of the early
1960s, and abandoned shortly after that because they were too small and too low to be able to
see anything behind you. In the Locost, of course, the mirror will sit even lower, but it'll look
cool and that should make up for its lack of usefulness.
We should also be cutting up and installing the dashboard about now, however our repeated attempts
to purchase the requisite aluminum have not to date resulted in any measureable success. Our latest
order, placed sometime last month, seems to have been lost by our long-time but soon-to-be former
metal supplier. Luckily we have very few bits of metal left to buy, mainly the aluminum body panels,
but I think we'll be getting those from another outfit. Our old metal supplier served us well in the
early stages of our build, but in recent days their service has fallen off dramatically. Maybe it's
the sequester.
Will all have to fit in the chassis somehow
In any case we're anxious to start putting the car together, and we won't be deterred by
the lack of a dashboard. In addition to our classic M.G. mirror, we also bought some brand new
pre-cut, pre-flared brake lines. They look good, but might be a little tricky to install. They
came in round loops, and they actually need to be in straight lines with a few bends here and there.
We ordered a $10.99 brake pipe bender from Speedway Motors to help with the bends, but nobody seems
to make a tool for straightening out loops. So, one more challenge to face.
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