Sunbeam 2000 build

[belmateo]

Forgot to post the steel braided brake lines along with the Bilstein™ shocks and stiff sway bar with adjustable links that were installed before putting the car back on the ground.

 

[Aladin Sane]

Nice. I have a mix of braided steel and regular hard steel lines on mine. The originator of my project ran braided steel for the fronts. I have chosen not to redo that. Until I pressurize the system and find it all to be leaking.

 

[belmateo]

No leaks here and bled by the simple effective one person bleeder. Here are the rear tires that were mounted today. 26" diameter and 10" wide Yes, they are 255/45R17 and fit PERFECTLY!

 

[Aladin Sane]

Those make my Falkens look puny

 

[belmateo]

Yours are a little shy of stock (23.2" vs. 23.4) but wider (7..7" vs. 6.5)
I like Falcons™ however the deal that was found on these tires was just too good to pass up. 2 new tires and 2 used for $250

 

[Aladin Sane]

I settled on that size after inspecting every 14" combo I could find at the SUNI in KC.

 

[belmateo]

I am able to fit the rear tires by keeping the front of the tire at the same clearance and fill the back of the wheel opening more with the rest of the tire. As far as the wheel house, that will be widened when I build that back half of the car as I did with the first SUN2K. Right now, working on the front fenders fitment and grill opening as well as some ducting for the front brakes.

 

[belmateo]

Started mocking up the front edge of the hood sheet metal layout and grill area. Forgive the dust, they have been paving the street and making a horrible mess everyday! I made some tabs to support some steel rod to make a "skeleton" for the shape then attach the sheet metal to it. First order of business was to align the rubber seal at the front edge of the hood then tack weld the rod to the tabs, from there I can move forward. You can also see that the intercooler for the Supercharger was move back as it was sitting too far forward.

 

[Aladin Sane]

Look at you showing off the fact that you have four of the same clamps. In my assortment, I'm not sure I have two that are alike.

Looks like a good start.

 

[belmateo]

Making some progress on the sheet metal that will support the grill from the front edge of the hood forward. I did a combination of Mig and Tig welding. The Tig welder I am getting more use to using and the benefit is that you don't need to add a bunch of filler. I was even able to simply "melt" two pieces together if they were tight.

 

[belmateo]

Moved on to the drivers side front fender by adding a 3" strip of sheet metal to extend the inner wheel house for the wider tires. I need to know where the fenders will line up before the grill surround is attached.

 

[belmateo]

I was attempting to "Marry" the Sunbeam fender to the original one on the car, instead I will use almost all of the Sunbeam fender instead.

 

[belmateo]

Started working up the grill surround by mocking up some wire and square tubing to get the size and shape to fit the car.

 

[belmateo]

Here is a peak at the Driver's side front fender mounted. The tire wheel combo fills it nicely!

 

[belmateo]

Now that the passenger fender is located I can start working on the front sheet metal behind the bumper and around the grill.

 

[belmateo]

Been busy working on the front sheet metal for the grill and lower valance, not bad for forming metal by hand!

 

[belmateo]

I have been working on the sheet metal behind the bumper and was trying to fit the valance to the front, but there just isn't enough room. I will keep looking at it to see what can be done. I have seen Alpines with spoilers on the front and they just don't look right or good to me. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome.

 

[belmateo]

I need to keep the space open under the bumper as that is the cold air intake for the Radiator, A/C condenser and Power Steering cooler.

 

[belmateo]

Here is the last update so far as there will be a minor pause for surgery to relieve a bone spur. Be back shortly with more updates. I actually have the lower valance almost done and will try to take a picture today for posting. Looking into lower grill material for the opening.

 

[belmateo]

Slowly getting back to the build after surgery, stitches get removed tomorrow. I was able to get the new front turn signal lights made as well as the back up lights. Bought some trailer fenders to redo the inner front liners, easier than fabricating and more cost effective.