Projects Giant speedster project

Very ingenious! Is that a piece of railroad track? BTW, your workbench will need a little more clutter to catch up with mine.

Jerry
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Jerry,

Yes that is RR track. It is about 3" high & probably had its origins around a saw mill or kiln drying operation. Anything flat & strong would do the job.

There is a problem with a bench 4' deep in that it can gather more clutter easily. The odd engine & transmission seem to speed up the process.

Jack

 

There's The Difference Engine on the shelf barely an arm's length away as I type ...


This thing looks like the engine of the French entry in the 1958 Grand Prix of Gibraltar, as described by the late Peter Ustinov

 

Forgot my camera

Dementia? My shop is too far away from my house to have gone back to get it. I cut some slots in the aprons to accommodate the forward body mounts. I also pondered how I will get to the nuts that hold on the cowl as they are under the aprons now. I'll have to get ingenious. A trap door? Weld the nuts to the frame? Trap the nuts in little cages? I played with the gas pedal and realized I'll have to put a little English on the clutch and brake pedals via the blue wrench. While searching the shop for an old gas pedal I had, I found two neat headlight forks. A little torch work and I had them bent to fit my monstrous headlights. Camera tomorrow.

Jerry

 

Gas pedal and other things

Been hard to find time to work on the old Seagrave but I managed to get in a couple of hours today. I made up some nut things and welded them to the chassis. These will allow me to bolt down the cowl with the splash aprons in place. I worked on the gas pedal by bending some 3/8 rod into an S. I added a pivot in the middle and attached it to a mount. I should have taken more pictures but time was precious and I didn't want to stop. Now I need a fancy brass button to screw onto the end and a nice plate to tidy up the hole. Later! Got to get this beast on the road!

Jerry
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Gas Pedal

Last November I sold a 1914 Buick on ebay so I could pay my property taxes. The buyer was in Australia and finally, today, when it was raining cats and dogs, the transport arrived to pick it up. So that took until 11:00 and then I had to fix a tenant's leaky roof, then bring another tenant a table for their grand opening. Anyway, I snuck away to the shop for about an hour. I worked feverishly on a pad for my gas pedal. Made it out of a nice chunk of brass. Filed an interesting crosshatch on it, then ground it into a pleasant circle. All I had left to do was braze on a nut to screw it to the shaft. Well, I was day dreaming or something and got the damned thing too hot. Plop. The whole side melted away. I cussed. Tomorrow, I'm hiding in the shop with the door locked. Don't try to call me. Oh yeah, the guy standing next to the Buick asked me where his regiment got off too. I shrugged and he dissolved into a vapor.

Jerry
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Is this where your Buick is going off to live? If so, it looks like it should have a fun time!

http://feralsportscarclub.net/

I say run the gas pedal the way it came out. If anyone asks, just remind them that it used to be a FIRE engine!

 

It's going to New South Wales. Where's that?

Jerry
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The Ferals appear to be based out of "Victoria, 60 miles or so from Melbourne" which looks to be in New South Wales. Probably a bit of a coincidence but I'll be curious to see if it might show up on their site at some time in the future.

Your Buick looks a bit upscale for this bunch though!

 

Gas Pedal

I got in a pretty good day. Worked on the gas pedal again. I cut a new disc but this time I brazed on the attachment nut before I began the cross hatching. I cut the grooves with a little saw blade attached to the die grinder then finished up with a triangular file. It's not perfect but looks okay. The linkage was next. A 1/4" rod from the hardware store bent here and there and drilled for a cotter pin became the major part of the connection. For ease of dis-assembly I threaded the end and screwed on a brass rod I had laying around. The thing was a little floppy so I added a guide and a spring holder. The last piece was an adjustable barrel connection at the carburetor. Amazingly, it works well. The pedal is tight near the brake pedal but it's manageable. Who knows? I might bend the brake and clutch pedal slightly. Everything is a compromise.

Jerry
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I found the macro function on my camera. Maybe now my closeups won't be so blurry. Here's some more pictures.

Jerry
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Even though I live on the other side of the ditch, I am sure those in Victoria would not like anyone to think they were part of NSW. NSW is the lower right hand part of Oz with Sydney being the largest city - Victoria is next to it - westwards. Australia has its inter-state rivalries just like in the US.

Like everyone else I am enjoying following this build.

 

Aarrghh! Time for a map


No Australian would describe Victoria (a state with the capital Melbourne) as being "west" of New South Wales (a state, with the capital Sydney). It's definitely south

And, to give some sense of scale:

Absolutely! This is the first thread I've ever subscribed to on H.A.M.B. Looking forward to seeing the beast in motion soon Jerry.

Dominic
(in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, north of NSW)

 

Jerry,

To revisit accessories for a minute, you may need this to go with the fellow in uniform! It could be interchangeable with the almost necessary running board mounted spot light.

Jack

( Yes it works!!)

 

I love it! Or maybe a harpoon gun. I've been looking on ebay for two identical period spot lights to use as cowl lights. S&M spots look about right.

Battery box

Everyone wanted an outside box for the battery but in the interest of expediency I decided to put the battery under the front floorboards. The car will still have outside boxes but the battery won't be in one. I got one of those diesel truck batteries, they're about the right size and amperage. Since I didn't have any 1/8 plate I cut the pieces out of some 2X6 tubing I had lying around. The box had to fit between the frame and the drive shaft. I forgot my camera so there's no pictures of the actual construction. But I just cut the pieces out on the band saw then welded them up. I had to come back to town later so I snapped some pictures. The box will bolt in. After I finish the box and a little wiring I'll only have the fuel line to finish--plus a few things I've probably forgotten.

Jerry
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Since it's a boat tail... maybe a cannonade?

 

Arrrg! The pirate guy be likin' this idea!!!

 

... somehow, I knew you would

 

Push the button Max!


You knew that was coming.
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Ooops! Looks like I sort of stepped in it, didn't I?

The map I Googled up didn't clearly show Victoria as a seperate state. And the Feral's site made it sound like Victoria was another city about 60 miles from Melbourne. My apologies to the Victorians. My geography is obviously lacking, so you're going to have to sort out that west/south discrepancy among yourselves.

I understand about inter-state rivalries. Sometimes I feel that Ohio is a little too close for comfort.

 

Battery Box

I tidied up the welds on the battery box then welded two mounting screws for the solenoid, drilled holes in the frame and bolted it up. I made up some wires and gave the starting system a test. All I lack now it the fuel line and reassembly. This is beginning to get exciting! A drive this coming week?

Jerry
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Part of the beauty of this thing is the "weight is not a problem" factor. After all of the efforts on our HA/GR build to keep the car light, there is a large appeal to the simplicity of being able to just build strong, "like a Russian tractor".

 

oh you chitty chitty bang bang we love you..

just watched this with my grankids twice over the week end .. the race car stuff in the beginning is quite good have you seen it lately?

on dvd is great for stopping and really looking things over ..

carry on

 

how will the battry be held down in the box?


is there clearance where your positive cable goes to the 'noid'

possible chafe thru spot where it goes over the box edge?

and your "noid" is in a debri slinging line off the drive shaft protect it accordingly

 

Chitty Chitty... My daughter loves that movie. The beginning is the best part for sure. We took the kids to see the stage play. The storyline was a little different.

Chafing? Ha, I laugh at chafing! There'll be a few adjustments, that's for sure too.

Fuel line

Hooking up the fuel line took a little longer than I thought because I wanted a shut off valve in the cockpit. That meant mounts and brackets and cutting holes. I'll replace the Chinese handle with something more appropriate. I also put the body back on but I'll have to take it off tomorrow because I forgot to make access in the wood body support for the battery and also the master cylinder. We're getting there!

Jerry
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Hey Jerry, been gone on vacation for over a week and just checking in on progress, Have you ever used blind riv nuts? perfect for those pesky hidden holes

 

Jerry, Having fun watching your project, you might say I'm in the same boat...
When I find time I'll have to start my own thread.

 

I have used those riv nuts but they're usually for light duty sheet metal work aren't they. The ones that were giving me trouble were the body mounting nuts. I think I'm going to make some access plates.

Jerry
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You're making great progress! Is the engine in yet?

Jerry
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Misc.

I did a lot of little but important things today like cut out the access for the battery and master cylinder and gas valve. I also went to my buddy Kent's muffler shop and he bent me up a gas filler neck. After installing the filler neck I poured in some gas and made sure the fuel pump worked. I used a piece of sign board to make a floor board. Sign board is real useful for anything that requires plywood. It's covered on both sides with some sort of paper that is waterproof and takes paint well. The plywood itself is waterproof and very high quality. Lastly, I put the rear wheels back on and lowered the car onto the floor. What's next?

Jerry
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