Projects Not Another 41 Pickup Project!! (Update: 12/06)

HEY!!! This is a family-oriented site! Take that to the bar with all of your pervy friends! (there, you've been properly scolded in Mother-In-Law sort of way). Carry on...

 

Nice work! Looking at your last photo… maybe the angle of your photo but how much shock travel do those front shocks have now that your engine is in? I have those same brackets and same concern once I put my flathead in. You’re on a roll with solutions so thought I’d ask.

 

@64Pony. Good eye, but thankfully it’s the shot angle. There is probably twice that, 3” or so.
The shock bottom is mounted a little higher as it has a stud through the axle rather than the bracket that comes off the bottom of the wishbone pin. Had to use that space for the sway bar mount.
Plus your flathead is lighter than the plus size Desoto.
I did a loaded jounce test with my 200+ and got about an inch of travel. Once I get it on the road and the spring settles, I might have to add a couple of spacer leafs to the spring. It’s low enough now. MORE opportunities!

 

Not much going on.
Got in my Newport wiper kit. $$$!
Rounded up some scrap and cut down an old Chevy adjuster arm with the same radius as the alternator, and this sorta fell into place. Bottom bolt mounts through an existing HH front cover hole and into the block. Too easy, and the pulleys line up! Still have to fab up a little bracket to go over to the arm.
The Hot Heads bracket for the GM alternator let it hit the front crossmember. I may mount it topside like @Bandit Billy did, but this is easy enough for now. And I like the looks of the Mopar unit. Totally rebuilt and 60A output.

 

Dermatologist appt. today, so not much happening in the cave.
Did manage to carve out this little bracket for the adjuster when I got home. Attaches to two stock bolt holes.
Still needs a little spray bomb action.
Another item gets checked off.

 

Got a little time in the cave today.
Got the brackets sanded down, a new spacer tube made, all sprayed with some "As Cast" Duplicolor and mounted for the last time, hopefully.
With that done, mounted the fan and the radiator, again hopefully for the last time.
Empty pulley will run the AC.
Almost looks like it's supposed to!

 

Looking good! Looks like something I wouldn't mind working on (that is a huge compliment! BTW!)

 

Thanks, but it needs to come up a few rungs on the ladder to get to your level! Opportunities abound!

 

Got involved in re-arranging my shop, and unloading the trailer of all the stuff that I brought home out of storage back in Dec. Got the gas pumps and 32 rails off loaded and ran out of room!
So an executive decision was made to sort, consolidate and re-organize in an effort to get rid of the clutter. First thing was to drag out this Trinco blast cabinet that was a throw away at work. Came with an abrasive separator and dust collector. It was 48x48, and I had narrowed it to 30x48 years ago and never finished it. DUH! Needed it a 100 times!
Got it finish welded, lights working, and new rubber seals and latches ordered from Trinco.


Did get a little time on the pile of parts pickup. Made up the NiCopp fuel line from the pressure reg. to the carb, then remembered the pressure gauge. No fitting available so I took the 90* elbow I had and drilled and tapped it for
1/8 NPT, and VOILA!
In the perfect place, visible from above yet out of the way. Now just a short piece of rubber line to connect the two and provide some flex between the frame and engine.
Decided on the flat top Mallory, so that’s up next.

 

More opportunities!! When will it end?
As I was finalizing engine bay stuff, I bolted on the driver side inner fender. Couldn't get the valve cover off!
The O'Brien’s are taller than the stock tin ones.

Engine wasn't exactly centered, so I got it bumped over to the right as far as the mounts would allow, and it gives just enough room (above).
After a few select words, I compared the left to the right inner panel. The left has a big ass inset square where apparently the stock 40 horns attach. The right side has plenty of room, even moved over! Go figure.
Guess Henry wasn't concerned about dropping in a "plus size" Desoto.


So I can leave it as is, with the engine offset 1" to the right, or cut out and flip the bulge over or just replace it with a smooth patch. Gimme a break! More time consuming chit.

​

 

Decided NOT to leave it as is, it would bug the chit out of me. Set down and studied the bump out and adjoining ribs for a while and came up with a plan.
After all, it was a repro piece already cut on.
Drilled out the four spot welds from the reinforcement pad and cut it diagonally, corner to corner, with a thin cutoff disc.
Pried the four thick sections out leaving the original base metal stamping.
Cut the X further, just past the radiused edges of the bump out, and this will let me dolly the four pie shaped quarters down flat with the cuts giving some space for the stretched metal to go. Decided that the bump out was just too deep for me to shrink flat without having the cuts.
Pics to follow to make it more clear.
There’s a solution to every problem, some easy, some not so. So back at it.



Hard to tell from here, but that picked up the much needed room (1/2”)
Now to fine tune it, weld up the gaps, and finish it out.
Stay tooned.

 

Done. With plenty of room. Put a little bumper in the hole for a little extra instead of welding it up.


Not much else done, but the radiator is back in. Again! And some left over line clips tapped and installed.
Did get the last of the mods done on the blast cabinet, now to rearrange stuff and hook it all up.

 

Those valve covers are cool! Cool don't come easy. Carry on

 

Thank you, Sir. They’re O’Brien Truckers. Thick, heavy and have a gasket to fit stock plug tubes. They’re needing some love around the mounting holes, though. Still rough. Another opportunity.
Carrying on.

 

Stalled out for a while. Front porch steps project morphed into three days of hell.
Been working on the blast cabinet, also. Parts came in, save a couple air line fittings. Almost done.
As far as the pile-o-parts pickup, had to pull radiator out and elongate some holes. Once I hooked up the side braces, it wasn't parallel to the fan blades! Back in AGAIN!
Made a little plywood carrier for the third member, using the gasket for a pattern, and got it stripped bare with an assortment of wire brushes and air grinder. Ready for epoxy primer and shiney black.

 

Got some shiney on the center section and good backing plates. Next to get it all buttoned up and the rear will be done.

 

Sweeet!

 

Thanks!
The only eyes that will see it are those of the wayward possum or squirrel as it passes overhead.

Friday and Saturday’s storms took,down a tree, so I have a hot date with Miss Stihl tomorrow.
She always wears me out, so no more car fun for a couple days. Stay tooned!

 

Appreciation for shiny bits is what separates man from animals from animals.
Plus people may not look under your vehicle but that is no excuse for not properly detailing it. It's like wearing clean underwear, if someone does look you are prepared for their inspection.

 

^^^ That's just SICK Billy!!!! I might look under your car, but I sure a hell ain't looking at your tidy-whiteys (or passionate pinkies, whatever you wear)! Sick... just SICK!!!
I'm trying to get back to regular programming, but this has just derailed me. Is it too early for a drink?
(for the un-initiated, this is capital LOL!)

 

Mom's always tell us to wear clean underwear in case we are involved in an accident but from what I hear if the accident is serious the undies are generally soiled, still a good practice.

As is detailing, painting, chroming, your undercarriage. A good practice and while maintaining the aforementioned shiny surfaces after you get caught in the rain, you may just catch things going amiss before they become an issue. Rusty, dirty undercars rarely get an inspection. Detailing saves lives.

 

Got the new backing plates all shiney, and loaded with all new shoes and hardware.
Not so fast there......
They're 10" all right, but for large bearing rear, I guess! Bolt pattern is wrong; too big.
WTF!
I'm pissed. Yet another toe stubber.
And after reading all the threads on 9" rearends on here, I still fubared it.
The original correct ones on the rear were too pitted to use imo, so I wasted time and money on these and still got it wrong.
"Trust but verify" from now on.
Time to pull the door down, turn off the lights and say f**k it.

 

"He just loves building cars"..this is what comes to mind when these inevitable setbacks come in to play..grrr.
Some days not so much.

 

I chromed a pair of backing plates only to find out that didn't fit. My swap meet booths always have cool chrome stuff.

 

I started stripping the pretty, new powder coat off the pitted originals today. They sure didn’t look bad on the rear end before they were blasted. Of course, neither did the axle housing, but it is.
Too bad I didn’t get to see them between blaster and coater.
Oh well.
Strip them, sand them, primer and paint, and bingo. I’m back to square one in a couple of days.
Yippee.

 

Another toe stubber today.
Headed out this morning in the 40 coupe to our club’s rod run in Kingsport. Pulled a long hill and the temp started going up. Stabilized, dropped back to 195 and I motored on. A mile or so later, another hill and it pegged the gauge. Turned around and headed home when Old Faithful let go. Pulled over and found this mess.
Got hot enough on #5&6 to cook the paint, and blew the hose. Can’t imagine what that piston looks like. Ditto the head and block.
Came home on a rollback.
Put some more plugs in that bank, filled the radiator, and it cranked and ran well enough to pull in the shop.
Blow by out the breather, water and oil mixed, and blowing out the left tail pipe.
It’s done.
Before:

After:

That occasional over heating problem is over, and wasn’t a bad radiator cap as I figured (and hoped). It’s SBC time.
May be a slight delay in getting back on the pile-o-parts pickup.

 

What several hours of work nets you.
Before: pitted and beautifully powder coated original backing plate.



After: stripped, smoothed and artfully rattle canned with Rustoleum's best. At least it all fits now.
Good enough. One more to do.

 

Did look at the mess under the 40's hood, but didn't feel like messing with it yet.
Assembled the refinished backing plate and installed the center section in the pile-o-parts pickup.
Progress in spite of obstacles! Carry on!

 

Nice work on the backing plates, that's going to look very sano under the back end

 

Nothing to report, with any spare time spent on the engine test stand for the 283 transplant in the coupe.
Now it’s off to Montana with family for the grandson’s wedding.
See you in a couple of weeks with more hot rod adventures hopefully more positive!
Over and out.