They are working out pretty good. It's still very loud, as I realized when I tried to talk to dad during the ride, but very manageable. I'm gonna pull them out and experiment with a double stacked baffle that I made out of two of these baffles. we'll see how it sounds
Wrapping with fiberglass seems To help the header baffles a bunch as well. Basically makes it a hidden glass pack i figure
I did work on the turtledeck this weekend, but I got too distracted driving it! went out to my friend Josh's place to pick up a part and bs for a little bit. he caught these picture as I was leaving. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM and a slightly edited one. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM On the way home I passed some old friends from Iowa, and pulled over to say hi, they got these photos of me. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM Ran great but it looks like ill have to drop the pan and seal the front again. shes a little leaky once she gets warmed up. I took the wife out on a date last night, so I didn't get far, but I at least got it torn apart. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM Then I got a wild hair and decided I'd take it to work today. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM it was COLD. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 27, 2023 at 8:54 AM This afternoon is supposed to be nice.
Gonna kick It up a whole notch or two with the deck on. Might be able to bring home two loafs of bread with the added capacity!
well I did some troubleshooting last night, I topped off the trans fluid, (which is dextron ATF in these T5 trans btw.) and that took care of the noisy trans I had. Mike came over and one of the first things he noted was that my passenger header was wet. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 28, 2023 at 8:37 AM so we pulled all the plugs and it appears that the #4 cylinder is the culprit. I'm gonna pull the valve cover off tonight and see if a valve seal is screwed up or leaking, but I have a feeling it is the one cylinder that had a little pitting in it. most of it came out with a ball hone, but it still had a little bit. we'll see if it comes out of it. On the same note, I checked all the spark plugs, and they all looked about the same, nice light brownish color (except for #4) until I got to #5 and #7 on the driver side, which were a shade or two darker, is there a reason these might be richer than the rest? we checked timing and it was dead on where it was set. just wondered if anyone had experience running this intake, or had any ideas. my daughter Bettie thought she needed to lay her claim to this car... Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 28, 2023 at 8:37 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 28, 2023 at 8:37 AM and later in the evening I went for a spin through town. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 28, 2023 at 8:37 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 28, 2023 at 8:37 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 28, 2023 at 8:37 AM some local kids found me and thought this loud bright hot rod was the coolest thing they'd ever seen. oh, and since it was 2 degrees warmer than yesterday, I drove it to work again. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 28, 2023 at 8:37 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 28, 2023 at 8:37 AM Yes, that's frost on the roof, and yes, it snowed last night. Just having too much fun.
Is it wet with oil or wet with water? any of the plugs oily? Sounds like no. is it enough to drip or just find in the collector? not uncommon to have 5&7 plug wires swapped might check that? stoked your getting daily miles in, sure shakes them down a hell of a lot faster
Well it finally happened, Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 29, 2023 at 9:22 AM I ran out of gas. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 29, 2023 at 9:22 AM looks cool though right? after dad rescued me from my fumes of despair, I went home and started on the turtledeck. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 29, 2023 at 9:22 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 29, 2023 at 9:22 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 29, 2023 at 9:22 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 29, 2023 at 9:22 AM This thing is a pile of junk. but I'm slowly bringing it around Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 29, 2023 at 9:22 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 29, 2023 at 9:22 AM I widened it an inch and inset the decklid into the turtledeck. it will be like the rest of the car, rough, but looks good going down the highway.
Man I could almost see chrome “belly burners” coming up out of your little filler panel behind the bucket and back between the turtle deck and back tire with the top of the pipe about even with the top of the tire. Cars so small some bell flower pipes would about do it. if you end up absolutely having to run some pipes down the road. in the mean time I’m paging @porknbeaner to the trouble shooting phone. The fix might be keep a rag in the car and wipe it when you park it
Joey ( @BigJoeArt ) The 5&7 cylinder typically run fatter than the other cylinders on an SBC. If your collector is semi burnt fuel wet it is probably not an issue or at least not a big issue. Some guys run a hotter plug on those cylinders. If your plugs are not gas fouling then it is just a matter of it being an issue to you, the engine will probably never notice. If you have a cylinder with some minor pitting it is going to use a little oil on that cylinder. I would sure take a look at the valve seals but it may just be the pitting in the cylinder. Maybe check your compression. If that cylinder is way down you may want to address the issue. If it it close, run it and address it when it really becomes an issue. Note: on the hotter plugs I would not go more than one up on the heat range. Hope this helps.
thanks! that answered some questions. another buddy also suggested the hotter plugs in 5/7. I may run a hotter one in #4 too to see if i can burn some of the oil out? my plan is to try and nurse it along for this year, then tear into it this winter.
got a little bit more done last night, Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 30, 2023 at 7:57 AM Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 30, 2023 at 7:57 AM reconfigured the front corners a bit, and braced it a bunch more. Just A Big Model T by BigJoeArt posted Mar 30, 2023 at 7:57 AM hopefully the piece I started beating on will come around and work for the back panel, and if it does, i'll be onto the taillights soon.
Looks like it grew that way! Are you going to weld it to the tub or is it just tacked for the moment?
Worked on the rear panel last night, and started to figure out where taillights go, so I had to take it outside. I dug out the original center panel and used it as a roll pan. I think I can dress it up enough to make it work, as the worst part will be facing the ground. Then I went and hacked up the extremely rough deck I got from @Austin kays to use the corners as roll pan corners. inspector came out to check the work. barely passed. Went back in the shop and installed the taillights, then spent the rest of the night trying to manufacture ways of removing the turtledeck, squaring it up, and making it less of a floppy piece of lasagna. it looks mostly the same, but I added small angle to the insides of the trunk opening, so give a place for a seal for the decklid, and also to build more structure. it might not fall apart if I remove it now. speaking of falling apart, I had a shop casualty last night. as I was using the BFH trying to bend a piece of steel with no heat like a barbarian, I beat the vice right off the base. but to be honest, the swivel base was my least favorite feature on the vice, so it will just get bolted straight to the bench next time. 17 days till I leave for Texas.
Man you could almost get away with a little white nerf bar or even a push bar/T. really like the belly/roll pan on back out of mirrored materials. Gonna be a good one! many plans for a trunk floor? With the springs how you've set them up and the deck up high you’ve got more room in there than I’d have suspected.
Yupp. it will have a good amount of room, basically the entire inside of the roll pan area. We'll see if I get the floor done before LSRU, but it should be really useful once I build it.
Could slap in a piece of 1/4 plywood with some 1/4-20 bolts for the trip. That’s a great spot for a jug of water and a tool roll etc
Another whirlwind weekend, drove all over southeast Nebraska on Saturday and loaded the back of the truck up with parts. Picked up the wheels that will eventually go on the T, A vintage set of chrome reversed wheels (15x6) And one of the deals of the day, a $10 pair of 40 ford wheels for the front of the roadster. (16x4) I left my house at 7:00 am and got home at 8:30 pm. I then worked on wiring the T until about 3 am sunday morning, trying to get the turn signals and brake lights wired, and the turtledeck secured. Fun Fact: if you buy the 41-48 chevy tailights from speedway, they come painted black.... INSIDE THE BULB HOUSING. so you have to fire the sandblaster up at midnight to blast the inside of your brand new tailights. and then make sure to drop one of your brand new glass lenses, and shatter it on the floor, so you can waste more time epoxying it back together. (new taillight on the way.) We had set up sunday to go have lunch with freinds at their place about an hour away. After church on sunday, I dug right into the shop, trying to determine why my LF turn signal didn't work, and after a calamity of errors, I found a wire that had a break in it. I took off down a two lane blacktop and had a blast cruising down in the sun. I never got out of 4th gear, and it was happy sitting at 60-65 While there, we went on a little 8 mile ride so my buddy could experience a Roadster. After I left our friends place, I stopped at a old station outside of town. And the drive home was almost uneventful. Almost. About a mile down the road from where I took those photos, the headlight trim ring on the passenger side came loose and the sealed beam headlight (the one light that I didn't have wired up) flipped up and exploded against the cowl. And the big diesel truck that was behind me wasted no time in destroying the headlight ring once it hit the ground. so I drove home looking a little disheveled, but it ran great. maybe I'll get the turtledeck painted this week.
I know they are brighter white but I’ve never bothered. Glad you’re getting some miles in. Seems so far so good! Sans headlight…. need to find a good 45 mile stretch and see how it does just cruising before you head to Texas. I think the car should make it fine. Let’s see how you fair though lol
I mean, I drove to Oklahoma in my tamale wagon, so my standards of comfort are low. I have a short list of items to modify/finish for the trip, including a heelstop that I had planned to install on my footrest once I figured out where it needed to be, and a piece of foam over the center tunnel. It wasn't the paint in the bucket I was worried about, it was painted IN the socket! so it would never ground the bulb. Also as a side note, I talked to speedway and they are sending me a headlight ring and a taillight lens, free of charge. I also told them about the taillight socket being painted, as I figured it might save the next guy the hassle. Great customer service as usual, but terrible hold music.
Well I've had a couple nights off trying to catch up on everything else that I've been putting off to build this thing, But yesterday my replacement ring and taillight showed up, so I had to install them. This is the taillight I broke Saturday night, that I had epoxied back together. And I dug around in my VW headlight stash until I found a bulb that nearly matched the driver side bulb. Now I just have a few more wiring things to dial in, and I think my wife is gonna work on the seat covers in the next day or two.
If you do not already have material for the seats I used these guys. https://www.bigduckcanvas.com/ I did the interior of my 29 A Model truck. It is an amateur job but the cost was less than getting someone to do it and I ended up with a new sewing machine.
Took a little drive out to Mike's place last night. We heated and bent the early dodge shock mounts to line up with the rearend. Then I drilled a hole after figuring out where the shock wanted to be. It will get a sleeve welded in for the bolt to go through, But I didn't have a tube in stock with the right inside diameter. And this is the shock that I mocked it up with, the old shock off my dads truck. They have a 9.5" compressed length, and about a 11.5" mounted length. any guesses as to what they are? I think they are early Dodge or Chrysler? I tried to look up the numbers but didn't find anything. E767 POJ12F2D
No idea but I’m Curious how the curves feel now with rear shocks. Over head shot of the headers is a good one. That purple paint is perfect for golden hour photos
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