the Kuda Trailer...

Here's how I get the kuda project from place to place. Works great, even hooked up the rear lights.

Radiator frame / front rail support

Fabricating a 50x50mm 3mm wall RHS support for the front chassis rails / radiator support.

Rolled sections of 3mm steel.

Subframe Connectors

I decided to go with 50x75mm RHS bar through the floor for the subframe connectors.  This shot shows where the floor is cut to allow the bar to slide into the rear chassis rails.

The rear frame rail opened up, cleaned out, holes drilled for plug welds, and rust proofed.

Plasma cut 3mm plate for the torsion bar crossmember mount. This design reinforces the torsion bar anchor as well.

The bar needs to be narrowed to fit into the rear chassis rails...

...as well as have an angle added as E Body rear rails aren't parallel with the chassis.

The joins were beveled, welded right through, then ground smooth.

The finished connector, rustproofed and ready to go in.

All welded up.

Quick concept image of the Beck Kustoms Kuda.

Some more of the rust repairs.

Not bad...  Nothing a light skim of filler can't make perfect.

Cut the old rusty trunk floor out...

One of the patches.

All welded up!

Just starting the stitch welding of the seams. Lots of work getting rid of all the old sealer and crap, in order to get a good weld. I plan to stitch the whole body together, as part of the reinforcing work I'm doing to the car. Nearly everything short of a roll cage!

colours of the cuda...

Here's a close up shot where I've sanded the body back to show the various paint jobs the car has had over its life. On the left is bare steel, and to the right you can see the different layers of paint. First is red primer, then its factory shade of FY1 Lemon Twist yellow. Then over the years it got painted (with grey primer in between each) black, then white, then purple, and then the black that I added soon after I bought the car...  A rainbow of history!

Workspace

360º view of the big studio at Weta Workshop where I am fortunate enough to have a little space for working on the kuda. I've blurred out any Top Secret stuff, so you can stop searching for hobbits! There's probably a bunch of ninjas in the shot though...