Projects 1957 Hillman Husky 392 hemi build thread

Here is how the radiator is coming along. Most of the car's original radiator mount panels were used. They just had to be modified a little. This is the real radiator in the pictures. It's covered in cardboard to protect the fins. We need to add a couple of the original strap type supports back in and then it's on to the next piece of the project.

In this first shot you can see the original panels in place. The top piece seals against the hood and forces air through the radiator.

 

In this shot you can see the upper radiator mount a little better. Still debating whether or not to put in a rubber insulator. I have some so I probably will.

Here is a view from the back. Radiator sits 3/4" from the fan.

The filler neck is on the backside and has a notch cut out of the core support panel to make room for it. It's a little hard to see but we added a steel reinforcing piece on the top. It closely matches the original sheetmetal work.

 

The radiator sits on a flat steel cross beam. 2 bolts locate it in place at the bottom and then there are also the two on the top to the core support. If you look carefully you can see the sheet metal that was added so there was no gap between the core support and radiator. Needs a little final tuning then I can pull the radiator and paint it.



I may plug this heater/fresh air vent hose opening to maximize the amount of air going through the radiator. There is about half an inch of room on the side of the radiator before it hits the fender well so the radiator is a nice snug fit.

 

Its been a long time with out an up date on the car....to busy driving it ?????????????????????

 

Unbelievable. 50 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag. That thing is going to be killer. Yet another example of the home grown talent here. Never ceases to amaze me.....this place. Go get 'em killer.

 

Any updates?

 

It's been a while but we've made some significant progress. The brakes and clutch are all plumbed and almost done. Only thing that isn't done is brake fluid and I won't do that yet since it has to come apart to do some sheet metal finish work paint the engine compartment. Here are a couple shots of the rear calipers hooked up

 

Here are some shots of the plumbing.


Where these lines cross the frame we have since added a steel plate to cover and protect them.....just in case.




The bolts on the tab were temporary and have since been replaced by welding in the tabs. Note the residual valve since the master cylinder is lower than the calipers.

 

Here are some shots of the clutch master. The car originally had a mechanical clutch. All of this was mocked up on a "dummy" frame that I had cut out of another junk Husky which was detailed on a previous post.






We built a little cover for where the lines go in to the tranny. I didn't want a loose line coming out where the bleed line goes. Now bleeding the clutch can be a 1 handed operation.

 

This is the brake master and the mechanical brake light switch.

 

Can't seem to add the photo of the High Power Master brake assist so it's in the next post.

It tucked away neatly by were one of the seat wells is. It's on it's own platform and has rubber insulators to quite things down.

 

So we're getting closer. These are a few of the to do items. Most of these requite the engine to come out.

finish metal work and final trimming of firewall and transmission tunnel
fine tune the steering. Will need to change a few things since a u-joint is too close to exhaust manifold
wiring harness
paint engine compartment and hood to match car also paint IFS pieces
fabricate an alternator bracket
figure out and install exhaust
figure out and install a fuel system...only have a tank and pump installed as of now. Carb or EFI?????
install shocks and springs (this will be one of the last steps as the car needs to be assembled and weighed)
find better seats and install

There are probably several more I'm missing but these are what I can think of now. Once these are done it all goes back together and then I can worry about the cosmetic finishing of the inside...and firing it up for the first time. I don't want to wait too long.

 

Good to see you're back plugging away at it. I've been enjoying this thread

 

Yup, what he said^^^^^^^. Its that "Soooo close" time.

 

Looking good. That hemi will put a big smile on your face when you fire it up.

 

I agree. Seeing it written down makes it look like it's really close. Redoing the steering will probably be the toughest of the to do list. It already works I just want it to be a little bit better.

 

Made some more progress. Took out the motor and tranny so the tunnel and firewall could get final metal work. The initial work was roughed in just to make sure it would all fit. Some of the cuts on the fender wells needed to be cleaned up. You can see some of the rough edges in this picture.

 

I took all the control arms and steering out so they could get paint. Going to go with black. A friend helped with all the finish work in the engine compartment.

 

Here it is getting some paint. We wet down the driveway and the paint came out great.....even with a little wind blowing. The pictures show the primer which was actually pretty close to the final car color.

 

After the blue dried I painted the cross member black. You can see how the fender wells are cleaned up. My buddy Dave put a flange on that edge using a hammer and a dolly. It came out great. Thanks Dave!




















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Really enjoying this thread, sure like the engine compartment, good job, good eye for detail, I like that.

 

Thanks. I've been bad about updating so needed to start up again.

 

Here is the motor going back in. Had SWMBO helping make sure the engine didn't damage any of the fresh paint. My 6 year old manned the camera. Took some good shots.

 

Great pics, such a cool build.

 

Doing a little patching on the floors too.

 

Happy to see you back at it.

 

Somewhere down the line...i lost count on how many Husky's you got...
Whatever it takes.

Very Cool Build!!
Subscribed!

 

I'm down to three now. two are runners and one is the Halloween car.

 

Beautiful work. We did similar to a '59 sedan, put a Corvette 283 w/ 4 speed in it. It was so tight it didn't have a passenger seat, it had drivers seat and rear bench seat, the motor was right there inside the car. The 4bbls were on either side of the windshield. This was in '67?, '66? and very crude compared to what you're doing.
I'll never ever forget that car.

 

Just went true the whole treat and this is epic! I loved every piece of the way!

Liked the Volvo a lot. But that can't come as an surprise. But the 302 is cool, but the Hemi is awesome!!!

Did you save the Volvo parts? How much did he put in it motor, trans and rear? Do you have any pictures of the mods to fit the Volvo in it? That could be cool with a Volvo set up running B20. Third oversize pistons, b21Turbo pistons, makes it 2.2 liter, a small supercharger and a OD trans. That could be a cool set up, just to make a different one.
It's the only way you can top those two you already has.

That is so cool!