Projects 41 plymouth coupe 392 hemi build thread

I keep fogetting you live in a summer deprived areaUs Texans get sunburned....windburned and generally baked most of the year...of course now I live next fo the woodburner as it did not get above 17 degrees F today in omaha

 

Thank you speed v8 and 73RR!

 

I like your thought about the combination of the light tan seat with the black carpet. The more your seat is light in color, the more attractive it will be with the black, believe me. I can't wait to see it!!

 

I too do think that a light tan colour will look good, while at the same time making for a light interior in the already relatively small space.

 

Finally had some time to work on the car again, so I finished off the corner piece of the door. Then welded most of it in place until it started raining......I do all my welding outside, as inside the garage there's too much of a chance that sparks will hit my car or my wife's. So I'm going to work on the steering linkage this afternoon instead.

 

So you're making all those pieces with your hammer and dolley set??? Very impressive.

 

Thanks Hivolt5.0. I do it all with a basic hammer and dolly set. Basically I first bend the steel slightly, then comes the dolly and with a piece like above, I make two and weld them together. In order to get the rounded area on the top, I make relief cuts, dolly, weld and grind until the shape is correct. A time consuming process but worth it in the end.

 

Just spent the last couple of hours making the steering linkage work. Considering I've placed an extra coupling in there, I need to figure out where I'm going to place the rod end bearing in order to stabilize it all. Luckily I don't have any clearance issues but it is a close fit. Going work out this rod end bearing mount tomorrow.

 

Thanks farmer. I don't have all the nice metal working tools so it's nice to learn how others make the panels without the nice metal working tools too.

David

 

Hey farmer12

I saw your project in our local magazine KR8.

its nice that you let the rest of holland see what you are building.

keep on going

 

The editor of this magazine sent me an email a couple of weeks ago regarding the build of my car. I said it was a nice gesture and asked him what the plans are.......he did email me back, but I didn't have time to respond. I suppose considering everyone here on the Hamb can read about my build, so it's public, just weird he started printing without any further discussion with me.......

 

how did he get the pictures? from the H.A.M.B. ?

 

Apperently he took the pics and words from the Hamb. I haven't seen the article yet.......

 

Guy i know told me that there is a pic of my shoebox on one facebook page.
I dont use facebook and i never gave a permission to use that pic,which i think is robbed via hamb.I know they mean good and no one is taking credit of my work or anything like that,but i think its just impolite to use my pics without asking from me.
This is a really small thing,but that makes me feel that i've been robbed...
Well,sorry about the rant and good job again

 

nice work. Looks like that is going to be fun figuring out where to place that support bearing. good luck.

 

damn Eric, that column looks like you are clearing that engine by millimeters. It's looking great though. I wish I had the money to buy that nice stuff.

Also, very cool that you made it into a local magazine! very cool. Is it written in Dutch? Anyway to post it on here?

 

Eric very nice build! The ideal location for your trunion will be as tight against the middle u-joint on the long shaft coming from the rack. You might gain a little more room for it by lenghtening the long shaft just an inch, yes it will increase the angle on the upper joint slightly, can't tell if you are close to max now but might be worth a look.

Keep after it, looking forward to seeing it at the run, Bill

 

I understand what you're saying. However, when I go to car shows sometimes I come home and dump my pictures into flikr or my facebook to share the event with friends. I'm not trying to rob or offend anyone. It's more of "look at all these cool cars I saw today".

 

Thanks plmczy. Well after a bit of thought, the only location was on the frame, between the suspension cross member and the header. I'll post the pics soon.

 

Thanks Bill. I've spent quite a bit of time trying to make the set up work. By lengthening the long shaft, the angle on the middle joint becomes critical, so that was not an option. There is limited room for the middle joint screws in order to clear the header, so I may take a few millimeters off them. I've just completed the rod bearing mount and will post the progress in a minute.

 

It's time to show the progress on the rod end bearing. I've decided to mount it on a steel plate, rather than just in the frame. Cut a piece of 5mm steel and drilled 4 holes. Then cut the bearing to size, drilled a massive hole in the middle and welded it from below. I left one big nut on there which will act as a show piece and perhaps stabilizing the thing as a whole. The bearing is welded on an angle, (still perpendicular to the steel plate though), so I can follow the line of the chassis. (see last pic). I clamped it in place and works perfect! I marked the edge of the plate so I can drill and tap the 4 holes once the engine is out again.

 

Spent the rest of the afternoon with the Dremel to clean up the welds of the bottom of the door. Painted it with primer. All that's left to do is bend the bottom lip back, spot weld, grind and primer. Then that part of the door is done!

 

..And add drainage holes, right? Looking great!

 

My only concern,and someone correct me if I'm wrong, is would the heat from the header ruin the bearing? Nice work on the door.

 

Good question, but I don't think thats going to be an issue.
Eric when I saw the first pictures you posted the other day I was thinking of that link in there, glad you put it in, having two knuckles that close together.
You'll have to pardon me if that sounded wierd, it must be the rum

 

Thats a pretty slick solution on that bearing mount Eric, looks good too!

 

Thank you for your concern plmczy. Even though the rod end bearing is fairly close to the header, I don't think it will be a concern as the shaft moves through there freely. If problems do arise in the future, I could make a heat shield between the bearing and the header. I think I'll leave it as it is for the time being.

 

Eric to get the best feel and to make the steering smooth the bearing needs to be as far away from center on the long shaft as you can get it, as close to the middle u-joint as possible. The closer to center on that shaft you are with the bearing the heavier the load will be on shaft and the center u-joint as it rolls. If it has the slightest "wobble" it will give you a "tight then loose then tight then loose" feeling in the steering wheel as you turn with a load (car on the ground). One other option might be to shorten the long shaft and put the bearing on the other side of the center u-joint. That center joint don't care which side of it the bearing is on, just as long as it is firmly positioned.

 

Thank you Ford blue blood for your advise. I did try a shorter shaft but I could not clear the top and inside of the chassis. I figure that if I do encounter problems with the steering as you described above, I'll have to fit another rod end bearing between the column joint and the middle u-joint.

 

From what I can see, you will be fine with that rod end bearing position. Looking good Eric! Awesome work once again.