. That said, I'm also wanting of that cobra scattershield, lots of trick details in there...
I'm sneaking in a self serving question... before I cobble something else together...
The american racing plastic hub centers you have look identical to those i have for the 14" libre. I find myself missing a (1) metal cup and (1) of the bolts used to attach the cup to that plastic center. In your wheel quest, you happen to come across any extras? If no, I'll go back to AKH with the question...
Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see it in the flesh...
Derek
Thanks Derek. There is a ton of knowledge sunk and gained in this car. Couldn't have done it without lots of mistakes and the help of many people. Have a great friend who is a machinist that was always eager to help. If I ever needed a spacer, flywheel drilled, custom bolt etc he was there to help....often last minute on a Friday afternoon. Leaned on Tom Hall for several different pieces including marrying the motor to the tranny and for doing the brakes, clutch, and pedals. Could have possibly struggled through it but wanted it done right
Those pedals were not easy to figure out....for me at least. Tom seems to love that type of challenge so it was right up his alley.
For me it's all about the details and getting things the way I want them. That makes the build process slow. I'm working on redoing the oil gauge that sits on top of the motor. It's ok where it is but I want it in a different location so it looks better and is easier to see. I've had to buy all kinds of adapters, tee fittings etc because I want it a certain way. Every little detail requires a trip to the auto store, Summit or some kind of research to find the right solution.
The alternator bracket took months to get right. I bought five different brackets trying to find one that worked. Many of these had to be machined and customized before trial fit. One was a lower mount but the frame rail was too close. Another mounted up top on the driver side but would have required a 59" belt and that wouldn't work anyway because the thermostat housing was in the way. Another mounted on the passenger side but would have required pulley swaps and a few odd spacers. Finally had to make my own out of aluminum and polished it to look just right.
The rear wheels were another tough detail. The Maserati/Jag rear end needed to be narrowed down to less than 49" inches and I needed a wheel that would fit the wheel well. Through research I found the American Racing 200S wheels that are 7" wide are 8" outside to outside width. I learned they also made a 6 3/4" wheel that was only 7.5" wide. So a 1/4" narrower wheel that is actually 1/2" narrower. Of course these wheels have a peanut shank lug nut hole that needed to be drilled for "normal" lug nuts. This required another trip to my machinist friend Mark. It's these little details that take the time but make it all worth the effort in the end.
Those wheel caps you mention were another detail. In several years of looking I have only found those wheel caps come up for sale one time. There are plenty of snap-on caps that look the same but I wanted a cap that wouldn't fall off, get stolen, or rattle....and was original to the wheel. I managed to find a set and they're on the car now.
Nothing wrong with self serving questions here. I may just have one extra cap and cup from my wheel treasure hunt....and boy was it a hunt. For what it's worth this car started with the wheels. Went through magnesium wheels etc.....bought some from AKH too and that didn't work. I had my wheels decided on and purchased and then the build began. Needed them first so we knew how much to narrow the front and rear ends. Talked to a lot of guys that couldn't find a wheel to fit after narrowing a rear end. The guy I got my wheels from was a whole other story. He has everything. Need a wheel for a 1951 Indy Roadster or a Mickey Thompson Cross-Ram intake???? He had everything! Tractor trailers full of stuff. 427/435 HP Corvette motors, 409's, any kind of wheel for a hot rod. Was a lot of eye candy.
Anyway you're welcome to come down and help me dig through boxes to find that wheel cup. I had a set of those Libre wheels on my Tiger but they used round caps. Give me a measurement on the cap you have so we can make sure they are the same diameter.