Introducing my Fuel Coupe-styled Tudor

“or maybe Scott Sullivan's @cheezwiz '55 influence”

That was an impactful car for many! Great job on the tubing!

 

Wonderful stuff, Gary! How long before fire-up?

 

Beautiful work.

 

Love it Gary. Really nice.

 

Looks like "Squid ink" spaghetti LOL. Just had to add that it really looks good.

 

Air scoop is killer, any chance you wanna make another?

 

How is that 45degree tank filler better? I have the same tank going in my sedan, very similar to yours, and am going to need an angled filler like that I think.

 

A couple of months. Gotta get the trans rebuilt, and a radiator for Father's Day.

Ha Ha Ha!

Sorry but the mold halves were also torn up when I removed the scoop. PM sent.

It has a smaller neck which allows a smaller, more flexible hose. That, in turn, allows slightly more wiggle room (misalignment ) than the bigger, stiffer hose.

Thanks, everybody, for your compliments. It's really gratifying to hear from peers while "social distancing".

 

Thank you Gary, it's great to get to see the work. One of my all time favorite builds on theHAMB.

 

Wow, how'd I miss this thread. Subscribed, I don't feel so bad taking so long with my 46 Olds, it seems that we've been running parallel over the same time period. Practice makes perfect. Like yours, a lot closer now to completion

 

Great fab work, Gary! Also you'll be glad that tank has a sending unit in it. Stressing out over fuel level will end for me this year. Getting a 20 gallon cell with a sender so the gauge actually works.

 

Good looking ride. I have a similar Tudor I stored away when I started playing at Bonneville

 

@19Eddy30 hooked me up with a buddy who rebuilt my 700R4.

He added automatic internal 4th gear lockup, a 'Vette servo, a 13 vane pump and correct mechanical speedo gears.

The combo should work well with a 2400 RPM stall torque converter.


I sprayed on some "Metallic Flat Antique Nickel" Rustoleum just to test the look.

Contrast between gloss, matte and polish/chrome looks more mechanical and interesting than just a sea of chrome & gloss.

Gotta hide that MSD cap & Fram filter, though.


Next, I fabbed an NHRA-spec driveshaft loop from @Dino 64 's 1/4" thick schedule 40 pipe & 12" x 12" box.

Had to bevel the edges a bit and crank the welder "up to 11" for good penetration.


It's integrated into the frame's center x-member, uses grade-8 fasteners, and surrounds a 3" steel driveshaft.


Mounting the engine/trans high in the ch***is reinforces the Fuel Coupe theme...
but REALLY complicated real-world street car packaging.
(Never mind having to re-measure driveline angles a million times)

I cycled the rear suspension to check clearance, then cut and reinforced the body cross-braces.


The driveshaft tunnel has 16 ga flanges & 18 ga arches, same as the trans tunnel.


It's a REALLY tight fit between the seats.
Reinforced lap belt mounts will follow later.




A little background: This car's Ed Roth proportions have simmered in my head since Kindergarten in 1967-68.

My big brother and I moved in with our Grandparents and three testosterone-filled teenage uncles, while Mom returned to college to finish her teaching degree.

We lived 15 miles from Thompson Raceway and already loved Adam West's Batmobile as well as Matchbox & the cool new Hot Wheels cars.


Now we were surrounded by monster T-shirts, Testors model glue & paint fumes, shade-tree chain-hoist engine swaps & STP stickers on everything.

Check out my brother's iron-on Rat Fink shirt:


My impressionable six-year-old brain absorbed every bit of it; I've been hooked on '60's hot rods & drag racing ever since.

 

Nice job Gary, really coming together !

 

Wow. The air cleaner looks great.

 

Looks great, Gary. Keep up the good work.


I agree with mounting the motor up high in the ch***is for the right look. I’m going to do the same in my Tudor. I think the extra work is well worth it.

I grew up about 15 miles from Thompson myself and I’m not much farther away now.




Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I love it .... still
Great job Gary.

 

Bad to the bone !

 

Born & raised in Geneva, OH. GHS cl*** of '80!

Thanks much, guys.

 

The angle chop and bigs & littles give this car a noticable wedge shape.

After discussing it with Dave Lane at the last Rodder's Journal Revival then researching Brizio's cars, and a LOT of eyeball engineering, I reinforced the profile by slightly lowering the grille shell.

Speedway's 4.5" chopped '32 "Lo-Boy" aluminum radiator arrived in a brown UPS truck.
1/4" gap between the radiator's bottom tank & leaf spring U-bolts.


5/16" radiator support rods zig-zag around the air filter.
CAUTION: Bending solid 5/16" steel with a tubing bender might break the tool. Or so I've heard.


Stock carriage bolts/brackets are reused at the firewall and 5/16"-24 threads are cut into the radiator ends.


With the radiator secure, I trimmed 1.5" off the shell's bottom sides...


.... so it nestles down between the pinched frame rails and hugs the radiator top.


The shell's countersunk mounting holes no longer aligned with the radiator's mounting holes...


...so I moved 'em.


Then made some spacers...


...and bolted everything together.


No room in the garage for a profile pic. This will have to do.

 

How did you make the spacers? Some Nice improvements on an already nice project

 

Cool build...I like everything about it! A lot of nice tidy workmanship.

 

Thanks for asking. Each spacer is made from two washers and a short piece of tubing, arranged like a dumbbell.

To hold them together for MIG welding, I threaded them on a 1/4"-20 bolt, then squeezed them together with another washer & nut.

Be VERY CAREFUL if any of your components are zinc plated. Welding that stuff is dangerous. I ground everything down to clean bare steel before welding.

I dressed the welds with a dremmel.

Make sense?

 

Wow making your own spacers, top notch! Thanks for the how to on that, I'm not sure I'll have the patience to do it but I'll definitely consider it when need arises.

 

It’s the little things that count and at this point I’ve lost count! This will be a fun ride to check out in person.

 

Overheating is a recurring HAMB topic, so I preemptively made a fibergl*** fan shroud.

It began with two 1" wide by 0.5" thick MDF frames; one the size of the radiator core and one surrounding (and touching) the fan blades, with MDF spacer blocks glued between 'em.


An old T-shirt got stretched and stapled around the frames:


I smothered everything in resin and added a layer of resin-impregnated mat on the inside. Then I trimmed 0.5" off both frames' inner edges; giving max core exposure and 0.5" fan clearance.


Countersunk brackets attach to the rad/grille shell bolts.


I sanded then sealed everything with a thin coat of resin.


More sanding & primer. I think Ed Roth would approve.
https://www.ratfink.com/ed-roth-cars.php


30 minutes of HAMB searching & 20 more at www.rockauto.com produced tailor-fit hoses.

Gates #20242 slid onto the bottom perfectly.


Gates #20380 needed a trim.



So far so good.

 

Great tech, Gary. I might add that the aluminum flex tubing used on a lot of cars (specifically '76-'84 Corvettes) to duct warm air from the exhaust manifold to the air cleaner works great for approximating hose shapes and it involves a lot less tape and cutting....I'm just lazy.

 

fwiw; the one I use has a NAPA part # 819-1127 and is labelled a "pre-heater hose". It has a pic on the box of going from the exhaust manifold to the air cleaner; just like Don said. It's 1 1/2" diameter so is a really close approximation for most radiator hoses. It's compressed to minimum length (about 8") for packaging but says it's 18" long. I've never stretched it out all the way to verify though.

 

Way to go ! Looks great Gary !!