Technical What are you working on?

lmao....I bring way too much stuff with me, although I am cutting down. Having a small car helps you leave stuff at home you don't need.

 

getting the turbo mounts together

 

My family mocks me for the amount I bring, trying to keep it to a minimum on these trips.

 

update on the 394 Olds header flanges.
yesterday I picked up some 3/8" steel plate and made a few test cuts.
just as I expected the little 45 amp plasma cutter was not up to the task.
it could cut and with relatively easy to remove dross but the cuts are far from square. I may be able to correct some of that and drill the bolt holes.. we shall see.
or now I have a file I could use a send cut send type outfit to cut them out for me?

 

Went on a date night with the wife yesterday and took the ‘55 Catalina. Put about 60 miles on it. Going around a couple corners I had a clunk that sure sounded like one of the front sway bar links had broken. Nope.
Investigated a little further and found a bushing MIA. Ah! That will do it. I don’t know how that didn’t make noise sooner, as it looks like it’s been missing for awhile.
Ordering new ones in the morning.

 

Getting ready to install the 303,mocked up the muncie to check input shaft to pilot bushing clearance now l have to check runout then install clutch,pressure plate and aline the hydraulic though out bearing.

 

Or, send me the file and I can cut you a set along with the Caddy mounts I owe you...

 

Thursday night I took the truck for a little shakedown cruise, I was happy to see that the new radiator dropped the operating temperature about 10 degrees. When I parked on the driveway it soon became apparent that there was a slow but steady coolant drip coming from the water pump weep hole. I spent a few hours replacing the water pump and managed to avoid damaging any fins on the new radiator in the process.

 

Shiny gear box, I approve!

 

Little paint touch up and mounting up the new, uncut, bunper

 

**** got totally real today .......making my pants fit tight

 

Replaced my king pins and the bushings were junk on the pivot points so wrapped them with greased oakum for now…also noticed the brakes shoes were on backwards and one wheel cylinder siezed..4 new ones on the way…

 

swapping out seat belts in my 51 Chevy , hopefully when they show up...

 

Did a tune-up on the 59 and got to try out my "new" (to me at least) tool. Also tossed it on my truck just for giggles and discovered that the "ready to run" distributor I had installed was rocking about 38° of dwell cant trust anything out of the box anymore these days....

 

Digging in my friends distributor last week, we found his mechanical advance sticking about 1/2 way advanced. Blew it apart yesterday and found someone had put a heavy grease on the weights themselves, and everything had turned to glue over time. Tore everything down cleaned, greased and oiled appropriately (I think) and all smooth now.

 

Cleaning up. This is all the sheet metal I've replaced so far on the '55 hardtop. Floors, rockers, doors, fenders, hood, trunk, tail pan. Roof skin replacement soon. Getting somewhere, I think.

 

Years ago a friend of the family bought an early 60’s Ford pickup. He had just picked it up. He was young and kinda new to the hobby, so asked me to give it a good looking at.
I found 3 of the 4 corners had the primary and secondary shoes wrong. I put it together correctly (with many other simple mistakes I found) and when he came to pick it up, the first time he hit the brakes he pretty much locked them up because he had to jam the pedal down so hard previously.

 

Few things taken care of on the shaker. Getting ready for the meltdown drags this coming weekend.

 

I didn’t realize how nice having a glovebox is till I bought my ‘55 Catalina, and it was missing.
I had to order new sway bar mounts for it after I found one missing last week, so ordered a glovebox while I was at it.
So hot out here, I just stayed in the air conditioned shop, and will go driving tomorrow.

 

@67drake - Its the little things that make a difference! Gotta have a place to put stuff, for sure. The hinge looks very similar to a Chevy part. It's missing a screw and someone might have put the wrong ones in the other holes. They should probably be Phillips head washer style. Good looking dashboards in the Pontiacs.

 

Looking good!
Dan

 

Thank you sir

 

Working on getting an old transmission into a new life. Not my car.

 

I don’t think the shifter hole on that Tri-Five is big enough.

 

Nice!

 

Remember it well, my 57 had a Fenton shifted three speed when I got it in 1970, swapped in a B/W T-10 with a new Hurst "C" shifter, a little tin work and a Hurst Super Boot fixed it up.
My high school pal had a 57 Two-Ten four door wagon with a 283/270 hp and a T-10, it had seen some drag race time and had gone through a number of owners, it actually had a flattened coffee can to fill the gaps.

 

They're all done that way! Sheesh! I'd fall over if I saw one not hacked in with a chisel.
Survey - I plan to hang my Muncie the same way as Mr. Jim's picture. No transmission cross member, stock bell and brand new factory front & rear mounts. OK or not?
Don't be bashful with opinions, please. Ya hoodlums.

 

Been getting the tool box loaded with tools and all the extras we hope not to need for the trip to the Meltdown Drags.

 

Working patching up Fred Flintstone floor in my Tiger . It really is pretty sound , just looks terrible

 

How deep does that temperature probe go in? I tried using that location for my dash temperature gauge and got crazy high readings as the probe was not submerged and only catching steam.