I finally got around to mounting the nose hinges that Bob and I created. The foot of each hinge is bolted to a splitter support link which connects to the nose frame. The nose frame is robust (120-wall 1” OD 4130) and I have used it as a jacking point and noticed no deflection, so the front of the splitter is absolutely rock stable.
Nose hinges, splitter support rods and tow hook
To achieve clean esthetics, I used a clevis with a pressed pin to retain the rod end that connects to the hinge’s foot. This results in no bolt head or nyloc. On the other end I used a teardrop-shaped stainless-steel clevis to capture the tab on the nose frame. The tab is just tack welded for now… and, yes, I should have primed the nose frame to keep the surface rust down, but that will be addressed when I have it Cerakoted.
Diver’s-side nose hinge with rod end retained via a clevis with pressed pin
The fiberglass where the hinge mounts on the driver’s side OK, but it was paper thin on the passenger's side. Allan reinforced both sides by creating fillets in the joints with microfiber filler mixed with epoxy and then applying 10 layers of 10-ounce cloth. Care was taken to ensure that the load on the small areas where the hinges mount were as distributed as possible. Anyone installing a hinge like this should carefully reinforce this area.
The 10" tall wheel cribs from Race Ramps put the car at a perfect height for working on it. The car is too low to comfortably do body work on the floor and if you use a lift or jack stands the suspension is unloaded which, according to Allan, slightly changes gaps etc. So, he does all gaps and most body work on the wheel cribs. The Race Ramp ones are very light, so they are easy to toss on top of a cabinet when not in use.
The next steps are:
Install the air springs. This will require some thought and effort because I significantly cut back the vertical fiberglass pieces that are bonded to the underside of the nose to clear the nose frame. This is where the air springs attach.
Fabricate and install the rear splitter support links. This will require some thought to clear the intercoolers and the front wheel well liner.