Manky's Pop.

[VALLEYSBOY]

Thats really taking shape Andy boy

[Manky Monkey]

'Ello mate. Welcome back. 

[Manky Monkey]

Another seriously hot day delivering the mail today. After 4 hours sorting the mail at the depot & another 4 traipsing round the streets with it, I really didn't have the energy to do much today.
Started making a mounting plate for the gearchange from offcuts of 3mm steel. I was a bit concerned that if we positioned it where the rod that connects it to the gearbox dictates, it would be a bit of a stretch to use. So I've brought it back a few inches & will use 4 conveniently placed bolts on the back of the box to mount it from. I'll have a new, slightly longer connecting rod made up. All this is, is a platform to mount the selector to. It'll be covered by the gearbox tunnel when we get as far as adding the floors. We wrapped the shiny red gear knob in masking tape to avoid scratching it as much as poss.

[Manky Monkey]

Thanks to Mr PantherShaun, I now have an under dashboard mounting handbrake lever. I've got a selection of levers but not enough room on the floor for any of them, so Shaun sent me an original Pop one, which pulls out from under the dash. It's basically a tube with a series of notches down it's length & a rod that pulls against a spring. The cable hooks into the bottom of the rod so is pulled as the rod moves up the tube.
Many thanks for that Shaun. I owe you one. 

[Manky Monkey]

After much discussion yesterday, we've decided on a design for the brake pedal, using a cut down original Pop one courtesy of Shaun. Having decided on it's length, (5 inches), I welded in a pivot cunningly recycled from a motorcycle front wheel spindle spacer.

[Manky Monkey]

On advice from Loony's Dad, (a qualified engineering type), I then plated either side with some offcuts of 4mm box. Next job is to PM Doc to machine up some bronze bushes for the pivot. The lever will pivot inside a length of box section welded to the chassis.

[TwistedPatience]

Lucky I've got some bronze left then init.

[Manky Monkey]

Hiya Doc 
I'll email you the dimensions then. Thanks mate.

[panthershaun]

Thanks to Mr PantherShaun,

No problem mate  more high quality items supplied by In-the-shed Speed Shop 

[poprodder]

recycling at its best, who needs the scrappage scheme.

[Manky Monkey]

Took the gearchange mount back out again today, sliced the corner off it & welded a fill-in piece back in. Just gives us a bit more leg room that's all. Squirted a little grey paint on it to keep the surface rust at bay & bolted it back in. Then took the extended selector rod to my mate Reg to have a new one machined up in stainless.
I also made a start on a pedal box to hold the brake pedal, fashioned from an off-cut of chassis box section.

[Manky Monkey]

Chopped up part of the linkage from the original Pop pedals today & re-worked it into a drop arm & clevis for the brake pedal. Ideally the pedal should be 5 inches long & the drop arm 1 inch to give a 5 to 1 ratio. Ours is 5 inches & 2 inches, so 2 1/2 to 1. Haven't got the room to make things any longer. We're planning on fitting a remote servo under the pick-up bed though so hopefully shouldn't be a major problem. Next job is to remove a dual circuit master cylinder from one of Loony's old scrap VWs, mount it on the chassis & hook it up to the pedal.

[Manky Monkey]

Just checked our postbox outside the cottage & there was a package from Pop Browns in Essex. A pair of "Bullseye" pedal rubbers & mounting pads. At 3 inch diameter. they look huge, but as Taz says, they're smaller than the width of my shoe, so if they won't fit in the footwell of the truck, neither will my feet.

[Manky Monkey]

Taz & my day off today. Had a call from Darren the mudguard guy to say my Pop guards were ready. So it was off to Oxford for the afternoon.
Very pleased with them. Hand made in aluminium to fit my tall skinny cross-plies. Radiused ends, wired edges, curved profile, & a raised bead down the centre. Nice.

[poprodder]

i like them a lot.