i haven't seen this for ages, all caught up now, looking great, love the dash and moon wheel combo. Its been chilly here lately, spending all day feeling cold puts me off going in the garage at night thats between 1-4 degrees, , but seeing you working in the snow, think I might have to change that..
New custom exhaust has become stupid expensive, I made my own on the last car I put together and I'll probably have to do that every time from now on. One tip I learned just in the nick of time was to make sure on the right side, your idler arm clears your new pipes in both directions with the suspension loaded. It's an easy thing to overlook the first time out. Mine has a dimple in the pipe there now because it would just barely touch in a full lock to lock turn. I'll be more careful next time.
Nice to see the progress. Agree that exhaust work is either too expensive or they don't do it how you want. So end up doing the exhaust work myself also. Although I stick with low budget aluminized tubing.
I'm trying to keep a steady pace. I was slacking for a bit. It was actually a pretty "warm" day with wet snow. That outside table has a nice thick top that's great for hammering flanges over on. I hate the cold but want the car done. My buddy who was supposed to drop by that day skipped out to float in a hot tub instead. I'll check for suspension range of motion! Thanks for the tip. My youngest would announce "DO IT SELF" every time we tried to help him with something when he was around two. I kinda realized that was already my motto. I figure that I care about my junk more than anyone else and if I screw it up, I only have myself to blame.
My box of bends came. I drew this up on break. It came out well. I’m about $350 into this exhaust so far. I’m not set up to weld stainless at home, so I have to figure that out.
You can tack the stainless with your MIG and regular steel wire, to ensure proper positioning and fit. Then remove and take it to your work to TIG (if that's an option) or somewhere else that can weld the stainless. You can get stainless MIG wire as well, but the welds will not be as nice appearance; as a home welding solution. You may need an extra joint or two to make it removable.
I picked up some stainless wire that I'll put in my MIG to tack things up. I'll use my existing 75/25 gas for the tack welds and hope it doesn't make too big of a mess. One of the welders at work is willing to help me button it all up. He's offered to teach me to TIG before, so this might be the time. One of the things we manufacture is stainless handrails. Those guys lay down perfect rows of dimes all day every day. At least whatever I do will be under the car....
If the chrome steelies don't pan out, you could always go with original wheel covers like I did on my '60.
Have you tried the junkyards for stainless mufflers? The ones here usually have a pile of em. Might find some extra bends there too.
June, no problem. That’s an interesting idea! I still need to check out that yard in Ronan you were telling me about.
Get the cheap chrome brake booster/mc/bracket/proportioning valve kit. It’ll solve all of your problems. I can’t even tighten it down…. Looks like I’m ordering an offset bracket. I better mock up my wiper motor for clearance too. At least all the shiny will add 10 extra brake horsepower. I’m trying to get myself together to TIG the exhaust but family holiday stuff is keeping me pretty busy.
I got the common offset bracket that moves the booster up. I can now tighten the booster down and get the valve cover on and off. It’s still pretty tight and hopefully the engine can’t shift in it’s mounts enough to touch when I rev it. Chrome kit brackets vs black offset. Test fit I’ve had this TIG machine around for a while but I’ve been a little intimidated. TIG has been on a pedestal for me, like it’s the process real badass fab guys use and such. It also just physically big, so I’ve had it buried beside the coupe where I couldn’t get to it. Anyway, I dug it out, built an extension cord, reworked its cart, and chased down an argon bottle. I’m running it off a 20 amp breaker, so I’m not sure I can turn it all the way up, but I’m up and running. I played with it a while tonight. I’m not welding well, but there’s an inch or two that’s almost good enough-ish for exhaust under the car. I’m amped to keep practicing. I picked up 4 14x7 reverse Appliance Steel Spokes an hour and a half away in Kalispell. Two look good, one has a flat spot, and one has the inner lip chewed up from running flat or something. They should clean up cosmetically if I can make them round again. I’m now up to 9 of these and still not a full match set that’s actually round, the same width, and the same offset. *** If these wheels are not HAMB approved, I’ll happily pull the pics down. They’re a Cragar copy, but they’re also a little later, so I recognize the ice might be thin. Mods, please let me know. *** Anyone know where to get 14x7 chrome hoops/rims/barrels or whatever you wanna call them? It might be fun to reuse my centers, both on these annd those 5” Chromies. Anyone have great rim straightening tips? I watched some clips of a 3 roller setup that makes it look easy, but finding one locally might be a trick. Next up, more TIG practice and setting up all the brake pedal linkage.
Lincoln square wave is a really nice TIG machine, I used a bigger version of that when I worked at a fab shop and I always liked it. I really like those A/P steel spokes too, I have a full set on my '64 Impala. They have a bit different look than a Cragar and no unilug. Seems like those used to be everywhere and dirt cheap, but now they're super rare. I hope you can make a whole set, I think they'd look great.
I like the Square Wave so far, but I don’t really have anything to compare it to. I’m a noob, so the simple interface and limited controls keep it simple for me. I’ve just gotta keep my tungsten out of my puddle and away from my filler!
I’ve been practicing TIG. At this point I’m mostly OK tacking, but I’m still messy laying beads, especially will filler rod. I got a used 3m Speedglass helmet (complete with Juggalo stickers) to replace the Hazard Fraught $40 helmet I’ve been using. My eyes are already thanking me. I’m trying to practice as much as I can stand. Anyway, this is version 2 of my driver’s side down pipe all tacked together. Hopefully I’ll be able to weld it up soon…. I feel like I'm moving slow on this, but one of the goals is to learn a new skill. More practice!
Any pics of the ‘64? I had a set on a OT rusty orange ‘72 Skylark in HS. They were 15s with gold centers and T/As. If I run a set on this El Camino, I’ll run a skinny white wall.
Only this shitty one, with an E-type bonnet sitting on the roof. The '64 isn't finished yet, I definitely want it to sit a bit lower. I do like the wheels, though.
I’ve been slacking with my posting, but I’ve been busy. I’m on my third bottle of argon and can functionally TIG. I wouldn’t say it’s pretty yet, but I’ve got grinders. Pics in no particular order. Most of this is now finish welded, but I don’t have pics right now. I bought this Edelbrock 1405 off marketplace for $25. The throttle shafts were sloppy, it was sludged up, the jets had been mauled by sloppy screwdriver handling, the floats were crushed, and linkage was missing. I managed to break a screw in one of the shafts so I drilled it out. I reamed the body and bushed the shafts. Gunk Jets. Reassembled, installed. It’s a $170 carb now. I put a fender on to check the inner fender / exhaust clearance. This thing is wide. I’m trying to plumb and wire this motor. I want to hear it speak. I need to come up with a firewall connector. I’m also wrapping my head around heater hoses and bypasses for vortec heads. I’ve got a 70’s/80’s truck water pump without the side heater hose connector. It does have a top port that’s plugged. I *think* the truck setup had the return to the radiator instead of the pump. The internet seems to think I should use the top port for a bypass to the intake manifold because of the heads but then I don’t get a heater hose return unless I splice into a radiator hose or something. My current plan: 5/8 hose from the top of the manifold to the heater core. 3/4 hose from the core to the water pump top port. No bypass. I’ll drill a couple 1/8” holes in the thermostat. If that won’t work, I’ll need a different water pump or a radiator with a return on it.
Can you post a picture of the reamer you have and how you got it to cut from the shaft side. I've been trying to figure that out with the ones I have.
I watched a few YouTube vids and copied those guys. It felt like tool abuse, but you grab the cutter end with your drill and run it backwards. It felt wrong, but it worked well. I just used a kit off amazon for my shaft size. I should note that the only vids I could find were for quadrajets and holleys. I couldn’t find anyone doing Edelbrocks. It turns out there’s a huge countersink on one side and I had to kinda wing it and run the reamer in normally to reach. It worked but was nerve racking.
Might be, I’ll know when I try to start it! Thanks! In all seriousness, I’m trying very hard to start this damn thing in June. Gotta finally finish some part of it! It may not have a rear axle, but I want it to make some noise. A wrecking yard about two hours away in Helena is crushing out in like two weeks. This weekend is the cut rate price cash out before the crusher comes. I got two partial front clips and a lousy 348 valve cover for $50. It was a good morning. Someone needs to save this. It’s super cool but it can’t come live at my house…
Damn. Another FN boneyard going gone. This is a rough world we live in. Glad to see you saved some sheetmetal tho. Your welds look great considering, and I really like the look of the 58 dog dish cap on chrome reverse with the skinny white wall. Get some of that on all four corners. Man that looks good.
The Jalopy Journal
