MattMobile Shell is Now Mounted

The really big news for this blog post, and perhaps for the build in a long time, is that the shell is now mounted to the chassis! It is now sitting in place without the support of wooden blocks or the lift. It's just... there. Right where it needs to be. A grand total of 10 separate support arms were built and welded into place. Once I got cooking on this process, it came together fairly quickly, but it was still a heck of a lot of work.

This picture shows the drivers side of the body, and please note how there are no wooden blocks under it. Once I removed all of the blocks that were PREVIOUSLY holding it in place, the body fell into position nicely. Previously, load bearing sections of the body would flare out as the weight of the shell sagged on them. now that all of the weight is being supported by strategically mounted points, the body falls much more handsomely.

Here's the view on the passenger side.

And here, if you look closely, you can see the final mounting points I built inside the shell.

In related welding news, here's a picture of yet another complicated jig I set up in order to weld together some seams on the rear roll bar.

Lastly, another todo item that has been lurking on my list for a while has been completed. I finally ordered replacement sets of lug nuts for all of my wheels. A bit of an embarrassing story, but when I purchased my rims from centerline, I got the wrong lug nuts. They had the wrong thread pattern on them, but it was only SLIGHTLY wrong, which means they fit. But I have since figured out the right thread size I need, and ordered replacements.

Oh, in other news, Bo The Welder stopped by to take a look at my work, and did NOT immediately denounce all of my welding and insist that I do it all over again. Though my welds are certainly not up to his level of perfection, it appears as if they are in no danger of falling apart.

During BTW's visit, we also strategized on how to make the hood stay in place once the seam line is cut. He came up with a great idea that uses VW style hood latches and catches. I have since ordered four sets online, and will begin work on that part of the build as soon as is possible.