Upright Citizen

So, months have passed once more between posts. However, aside from the inevitable break over christians, for once it is not due to a lack of activity, merely inattentiveness on my part. Note to self, must try harder. Following the progress made on the rear of the car, I wanted to finish the bracketry at the front, particularly the bracket for the flexible brake pipes. The pipes themselves were another bargain, this time courtesy of a fellow Locostbuilder, and were brand new (supplied by Russ Bosst of Furore Cars originally). I had assembled the driver side upright, hub and caliper many months previously but had never got around to the passenger side. The components were supplied by a company called Ellistons, who have long since disappeared, and were fully reconditioned. The problem arose when I came to fit the caliber to the upright - it wouldn't! It was impossible to get the caliper mounts onto the lugs as the pad holders fouled on the disk.

At first, it seemed that the calipers themselves might be at fault as when I compared the two, they looked different. However, they were bagged, sealed with a QC label and I couldn't work out how they could be 'incorrect'. I had an offer of buying some other callipers, again from a fellow locostbuilder, but before parting with cash, I decided to check everything. I took some photos of the uprights and compared them to technical drawings from the web using 'onion skinning' - overlaying the photos. I then took 'accurate' measurements from my upright and my suspicions were confirmed. The spindle on the drivers side upright had an inclination of 0.3 degrees. The opposite one was 1.1 degree - not a lot but enough to make the caliper not fit.

I began the search for a replacement. Some of the prices were outrageous!! On the way, I spoke to Stuart Mills of MEV who, as well as suggesting I heat it whereupon it would relax back to shape, said that he had heard that Stock Car drivers bent some uprights to get better cornering. I also spoke to Anthony from Autotune, who said that he had had a batch where one side was bent also. Mystery solved!! Anyway, I eventually sourced a new upright via a cortina enthusiasts website. I was feeling rather forlorn as my 'bent' one was beautifully powder coated, and I was left with this:

However, nothing that a little elbow grease, straight to rust primer and metal paint wouldn't cure! (Photo to follow)