I don’t have much time left this year to work on Princess since I will be heading out to spend the holidays with the kids and working on other projects. My last big step this year is going to be the torque boxes. I already installed the back plate, so this is just sealing that up, and getting the front plate installed.

The torque boxes I am using are the Dynacorn 2 piece (plus a third if you count the gusset). These seem pretty well built and fit pretty nicely in general. In order to get started, I had to move the body cart post supporting the front of the car back so it was behind the torque box location. From there, I test fit the passenger side first. It fit OK, but had a few tight spots which needed some tuning from the body hammer.

Once I was pretty happy with how it was setting, I painted the inside over the seam sealing I did yesterday. I used Steel-It which has some weld thru additives, so I can protect the inside while also weld on the cover. That stuff comes out fast and thick.

While it was drying, I spent some time drilling holes. The face holes were a bit tricky as I had to measure without much of a reference point from the top. You can see I went slightly too low on the last hole, but it will make contact and get sealed up regardless. In order to snug the frame rail side, I used a piece of scrap metal to support the C clamp since the lip was so small. With that there, I was able to snug it against the rail pretty well. It only took a few whacks with the hammer to get it fitting snug and flat. Additionally, for the top lip, I used a sheet metal screw on the left side with long clamps on the right. That got a good seal for welding, and its just another hole to fill on the firewall passenger floor.

Sitting on the floor welding is not the most comfortable, but with steel this thick, it was an easy job. I don’t have any pictures, but I have some plug welds along the floor support and a few seam welds around the box underneath as well. That was welding over head, which I am not fond of doing. For that same reason, I am leaving the gussets for after I get it on the rotisserie and I can weld them in with it on its side, while I stand up.

Face welds ground and all the bare metal covered with primer. I may still go back with the pneumatic belt sander wand and get those top welds just to make it look pretty, but it’s not required. The splash guard is going to cover this before it’s done anyhow.

The driver side upper/inner torque box plate was sitting too low, below the floor support. This made the outer plate not sit flush against the floor support or the inner rocker. I tried to open the flange up then re-bend it, but it is about 1/8″ steel, so it didn’t cooperate. I ended up cutting it off and welding it back on where I wanted it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the angle perfect, with the outer side slightly low, but it all went in pretty good.

I also cut a 13/16″ hole in the back and front of the driver torque box. This is where the fuel line will go through to keep it out of the transmission tunnel. With the convertible specific changes to the tunnel, I think all convertible fuel lines go through here. Normally this is a late 67 and later change. My early coupe didn’t have the holes. I prefer this approach, so I drilled and sanded the holes before I put it all together.

I think I ran out of gas on my last seam weld there. It looks terrible. The top flange is also slightly longer than the one its attached to, so it looks like there is a gap, but its just a sandwich. I will probably fill it with seam sealer since it’s going to be exposed to whatever the tires pick up and throw at it.

Things are in place, and ready for some focus on the engine bay. Since I am heading out for December to see the kids and spend Christmas with them, this is all I am going to be able to get done before the new year. By then, maybe I will have the last 2 aprons and I can start putting it all together. From there, I can’t avoid the quarter panels and more and will have to address them.