Chassis Delivered for Straightening

The chassis is now safely delivered to the body shop awaiting straightening next week. The trailer worked well and I found I could manauver through traffic with no problem, however the trip was not without peril!! I cam around a bend on a major 3 lane expressway and came upon a single bed mattress sitting in the middle of my lane...there was nowhere to go as there were vehicles on both sides so I ended up running over the mattress..I thought I had cleared it but unfortunately it stuck under the trailer and I dragged it for about a kilometer before a young women opened her window and screamed out that I needed to check my trailer. The mattress was firmly imbedded into the frame so I had to get the jack from the truck and jack up the trailer on the side of the road while cars zoomed by. A bit of a harrowing experience on a number of fronts...I did provide a public service by removing the bed from the road but at the same time there was inconvenience and danger thrown in.

When I got to the body shop I was warmly greeting and assisted in unloading the chassis..I was assured there was plenty of in-house experience with this type of work and that in their determination the frame was not that bent...they had the spec sheet in hand and all was well... Interestingly they said if I had been 10 minutes earlier they could have put the chassis on the machine right away...hummmm...the universe works in strange ways...

I now have unlimited access to the body-on Friday morning I purchased some 120 and 220 grit sandpaer...hopefully today I am going to begin sanding the primer in prep for paint....

time spent on Friday 4 hours-including travel

$$$ spent....$26....hold down straps and sandpaper

Chassis Loaded on Trailer

Last night I extracted the chassis from my garage. I had built a wooden frame to support the body while I worked on painting the chassis side of the body. Unfortunately I built it around the chassis so I had to modify it slightly to move one of the support legs further out so it would clear the rear end tires...plus I had to remove the rear wheels and use my jack as a trolley to move the chassis under the support beams of the body stand...not a big deal but it took time...after the frame was removed I swept up and remove some old worn out carpet for disposal...time: 2 hours...

This morning I hooked up the trailer and backed it into the driveway and loaded the chassis on my myself!! I was impressed with myself that I could do it single handed...the ramps were a bit too steep so I had to jack up the back of the chassis and again use the jack as a trolley to move the rear wheel onto the ramp. I think I might have scared the bottom of the frame a bit when it hit the trailer ramp the first time-hard to know...not a big deal...time 1 hour....

Now off to buy some hold down straps....plus I have to take some pictures before I head down the highway...

Preparing to Move the Chassis

Yesterday evening I picked up a trailer from a colleague to move my chassis to the body shop for a frame alignment. An important next step in the project. Fortunately I found a detailed drawing on the Internet with the chassis dimensions that I will pass on to the technician. I am keeping my fingers crossed the frame is just "slightly" tweaked and straightening will not be a major undertaking time wise and $$$$ wise....

In the last few weeks I have started to daydream about getting back to the restoration which is a good sign. I am at a critical point in the project (Kijjiji ads galore show cars for sale in similar states-owners having given up) and I want to make sure I press on and get through the hurdle of the having stopped the project due to the twisted frame..months have passed...hard to believe....

There are some critical tasks I need to complete before winter arrives-painting the underbody and engine bay and finishing off some bodywork...

I also need to repair or replace my shop vac-the motor is hatched.....

Sandpaper/Wood/Ford Ranger Spark Plugs

I have actually bought some material for the Triumph....sandpaper for sanding down the primer on the bottom of the car and on the engine compartment plus the 2 X 6 and 8 board that is needed to modify my body stand to allow the chassis to be moved out of the garage. Small steps but Triumph focused which is a positive thing...total cost around $6

Yesterday I attempted to install 6 new spark plugs in my 2004 Ranger...4 out of the 6 got installed-the other two proved to be too challenging for me to handle yesterday...it seems the 2004 Ford Ranger has a clearance problem on the passenger side plugs on trucks equipped with the 4.0 litre engine and Air Conditioning. References on the Internet proved this is a bear of a job for even the most seasoned mechanic.I decided to walk away from the task, purchase myself a swivel head ratchet and 1" extension and try again another day (or maybe take the truck to a mechanic). Fortunately the plugs only need to be replaced every 100,000 kms so odds are once I complete the job it is unlikely I will have to do it again..

I have noticed a change in my self confidence level since the breaking of the retaining bolt for the brake caliper on my 1979 Ford Camper van (see earlier blog) when things get challenging...there is a bit of an intimidation factor playing out for sure...