1927 Sunbeam 20.9 restoration (4)
August 2007
This is a round up of the progress made in 2009.
In September 2008 I had to disassemble the chassis to make way for a circa 1910 Furnival Express Platen printing press. This needed to be manhandled to the rear of the garage. In November of 2008 I reassembled the chassis, not knowing for sure whether there would be enough room for car and press. Luckily I had 4 inches to spare in the length of the garage. The following three pictures show what it looked like.
The bonnet I had recently purchased is resting on a temporary support.
2009 has generally been all about sorting out the bonnet, and building a bulkhead. This has been a painstaking process due to my problems with measurement! Any given dimension on my car is not quite what it should be on the coachbuilders' plan (usually by a few millemetres). Additionally I could not be certain of other measurements if not on the plan. It would be fruitless to measure another similar car in most instances as the measurement would be specific to that car, not mine. Finally, all components I am trying to fit together are either mis-shapen, worn, off of another car, or otherwise not exactly correct for my car. However, some consensus has been reached amongst the various components, and they are now juxtaposed in the relevant place without any massive gaps or overlaps. Here are various pictures of the bonnet, the new home-built plywood bulkhead and toolbox as at the end of 2009:
One of the bonnet sides after much elbow grease had been expended. Paint remover was also found to be useful.
Things start to come together. I found that the dashboard support bracket I bought this year had a hole which lined up with the
steering column support bracket. I wonder? Yes, the hole was drilled there in 1927 for that very reason!
The dashboard support bracket also forms the sides of the toolbox. This is accessed from under the bonnet, and helps to stiffen
the structure up beautifully. The steering column is now rock-solid.
In the last days of 2009, I was also extremely lucky to come across the following parts, which were still outstanding in my kit of parts:
- starting handle support
- oil gauge
- shock absorbers for the rear axle
- a pair of matching radiator trunnions
- steering column control levers for the advance/retard and hand throttle
- accelerator pedal
The spares bought in late 2009.
To be continued!
Last updated 3 January 2010.
