Cooper barn find

[absmiami]

The section of the frame that sites the leaf spring gets two tabs that site the sway bar on top of the spring - liquid glued

[absmiami]

And a shock absorber -

made from 16th alu tube with a

nickel plunger 

[absmiami]

Now back to the rear suspension - which I had begun to work on over two years ago - somewhere on page 3 ...

 

[absmiami]

Have to start by correcting an error that I made two years ago

plugging a bolt hole in one of the rear uprights -

and then drilling a new hole - the new hole hopefully not crooked...      the new hole does the trick - as the plastic tube Guide now passes through the upright parallel to the trailing suspension arm ... the susp arms are white metal - from the herb seeks kit ... as per the front susp ...

[absmiami]

Some more mock up shots to check alignment of the uprights

[absmiami]

the transaxle squeezes into the frame the half shafts will run thru the frame and the transaxle. The tube is used at this stage as a guide

[absmiami]

As the frame members converge- there is barely enough room for the chain drive and rear brake -

which hugs the right side of the transaxle .  The mark 9 Cooper was one of the first race cars to rely on a single central mounted brake disc.  Made from 16th aluminum- cut, filed and sanded

and if you look carefully -

there is a brake caliper made

from  some bits of evergreen plastic bar 

[absmiami]

Working on the fire bottle that sits in front of the seat 

the restored car has an Amerex extinguisher

the bottle is for sale -

with everything else - on eBay   so I printed the image and ran some decal paper thru my printer and brushed some Tamiya clear over the image. -  it’s low res but it will look good on the bottle

the handle is some nickel silver bar - folded over and bent to shape 

[absmiami]

Working on the fire bottle that sits in front of the seat 

the restored car has an Amerex extinguisher

the bottle is for sale -

with everything else - on eBay   so I printed the image and ran some decal paper thru my printer and brushed some Tamiya clear over the image. -  it’s low res but it will look good on the bottle

the handle is some nickel silver bar - folded over and bent to shape 

[absmiami]

The bottle is from a white metal stash from the deepest recesses of my accessory drawer.  Thought I would never use it. It was almos the exact size - within .020 In diameter 

[absmiami]

Craft hobby 

craft beer 

[Gramps46]

I have mixed feelings about this thread because it lets the envy demon out but then I am so impressed with what you are accomplishing that I keep coming back.  Forget a body, it would cover up all the good stuff.

[absmiami]

Thanks gramps. But have no fear. The front and rear panels will both hinge  the only stuff that will be hidden will be the pedals under the fuel tank  

but I do plan to make a couple of panels off/chassis only cars  how about a vanwall?  And maybe a lotus 18?

the fuel pump is mechanical and is driven off of the back of the transaxle.  Yes - the fuel line leaves the tank, passes the engine, goes all the way back to the pump,

and then Returns to the carb.  Made from .093 evergreen tube,  sm dia alu tube, and some discs punched from .010 and

.015 evergreen strip.  The oil tank that I made way back on page 2(?) from renshape will sit right behind the pump

[absmiami]

2 things   The susp arms wh metal castings retain the sink marks fr the merit injection moldings  .  So I punched out a couple of .010 filler discs and glued them into the recesses 

thing 2. The susp arms have shock mounts welded onto the forward members.  So I made the mounts from two pieces of evergreen square bar - filed, drilled for bolt holes, sanded, then glued to the arms ...

[absmiami]

Time to make the rear shocks ...

made from a short length of alu tube -  16th - with plastic plugs at either end - drilled for .019 nickel rod for the shock mount eyes and the plunger ...

[absmiami]

No worry. The plunger length will be adjusted during assembly - the eyes are made as per the eyes for the shift linkage ... the shocks will be finished in black ... has anyone tried the oil based sharpies yet ??

[Gary Davis]

Man Andrew.....I just went thru this whole thread and You blew my socks off with all your GREAT fab work!! I have a few of these Merit kits and you've really inspired me to do one for sure. But...as usual...the 40 builds on the build list are in front of it. I'm really into your build now...that's for sure. Looking forward to your next post...

[absmiami]

Sir Stirling Moss has passed away he raced this car in some vintage events years ago - Rest In Peace   Thinking again about starting a build of his Rob Walker Lotus 18  -  and/or his privateer Cooper .....

Thanks Reverand Davis ....  which merits do you have ?  Do you have both maseratis ?

Now to the rear leaf spring. Same assembly and material as the front - but it is slightly shorter ...

[absmiami]

Rear leaf spring. 3 strips of nickel bar soldered together ...

now it’s time to pin the fr suspension back together to see how the mark 9 sits ....

[absmiami]

Every so often the modeling gods smile upon us ...

when I made the frame and glued on the susp arm brackets I was not too sure that the model would have the correct stance. But two years later the wheels are on and the stance is just right ...

sitting on the scale plans -

the wheelbase is about one scale inch too long and the front wheels are a little too wide - but the fronts are supposed to be wider than

the backs -  and the main thing is that the stance is  right.... still need to make the rear sway bar ...

[absmiami]

[Pico]

exceptional work!

 

[Gramps46]

59 minutes ago, Pico said:

exceptional work!

 

I agree with Pico!

[absmiami]

So Gramps46

did you know that there was a bar in Wynwood in Miami named after you ??

www.gramps.com

one of my favorites …  I miss it ….

……….

[Eric Macleod]

I just read through this thread.  I kept thinking to myself,  "my god this is amazing." Your skills are breathtaking.