Monday, May 11, 2020

Ford P68: Engine and rear suspension

I have given up and decided to use the 4X desk magnifier, because it's just impossible to build these kits properly otherwise. Pride be damned, the eyes just aren't up to it anymore.

The engine has gone together nicely but is a very tight squeeze between the two rocker box extensions associated with the monocoque. Shortly after this car was designed, the concept of the stressed engine block became common, which freed up a lot of space for things like exhaust manifolds, which in the P68 follow a tortuous path around cylinder heads and driveshafts.



(The lost wire mesh cap over one of the intake stacks is visible, where I tried to make one out of a sheet of mesh I had lying around, but obviously other approaches will be needed.)



Next were the discs, each made up of six photoetched sheets and a cast hub.



The work is worth it but sadly the discs won't be that visible once complete. 



Finally the bulkhead, with oil cooler and tank on the left side and battery on the right. Both involved piping and wiring. The braided piping supplied in the kit in particular was too big and inflexible. I decided to keep the piping but fixed the inflexibility issue by bending 1 mm brass rod to fit, then sliding the pipe over it.



Discs tended to be inboard of the hubs in a lot of the sports cars from that period.



The battery terminals consist of a terminal and a hexagonal bit of photo-etched sheet meant to reproduce a nut. I also discovered my #11 blade is mangled and needs to be replaced.



A bit of touch-up paint is needed on the battery, but other than that and the lost mesh intake cover, the rear is complete. So it's moving along, slowly but surely. Next: Front suspension.

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