Projects Late 60's Vintage Modified

Thing about these old cars, you never run out of things to do with them.
Drive them, work on them, drive them, repeat. Guess that is 1/2 the fun, but keeping up with a car on the street is a lot easier the keeping up with a race car on the track.

Here is a couple pictures of my street driven race car, but mine is fake, has not turned a lap on a track. Gene

 

Your photobucket is being a turd, and this is just too good to not repost....AWESOME!!!



....and remember the seemingly never ending tinkering is just part of its true racecar heart.....

 

Hahaha, you are definately right there! Always some little project to be working on.. I managed to get the old seal out last night, and it looks like the seal is readily available... Not sure when I'll get mine from NAPA though.

That's a nice looking car you've got too! Even if it isn't a "true" race car, it's pretty cool in my book..

Hopefully the pictures are still coming through- Guess I reached my Photobucket bandwidth limit.. Oh well..

But thanks for re-posting the picture! Actually only the second plate registered in my name... And the other is a trailer, so that doesn't really count..

 

Forgot to thank you for the picture... Definately an awsome car..

I think that big block would smoke my flatty

 

Shawn, check to make sure the ''diff'' is properly vented , just a thought,,,

 

Just checking in again for the updates. The Richie Evans unit is about as clean as it comes. Very nice! I certainly loved the restorations of all battle tested and scarred war horses. Hmmm...I guess I just love em' all! Shaun, if and when you can, would it be possible to get a youtube clip of your car in action? Love to hear the flatties!!!

 

I ended up getting the old oil seal out that next night and got a new one last Friday... Made in the USA too, don't see that much anymore You bring up a good point though.. I really don't remember where these rear ends are vented..

Nothing too much for updates, tried making a hood last weekend but that didn't work out for the moment... When I cut it out, I forgot that no one around can easily bend the stainless steel sheets I have (they're hardened or something). There is one place with a hydraulic brake that can do it, but they probably don't want to sit there and bend small increments at a time to make it round...

I'll see if anyone I know can take decent videos and post them... Unlike most 20 year olds, I don't really know sh*t about electronics




I have had my coupe out to two cruise nights so far though! Going back roads it's about 40-50 miles round trip, so it's a decent ride in the old girl..

So far everything seems to be holding together pretty well, and handles pretty decent for what it is- But it's no Cadillac, that's for sure

Have had some problems with overheating though... The first cruise night I had no problems, went 40-50mph the whole way, several starts and stops and it ran 170-180 degree the whole time- never hit 190 on the gauge I know that.

Then Saturday I was running it around and at a stop light it got pretty warm- at least 200. I was kinda nervous, but after driving it a ways it went back down to the normal 180 or so. Stopped and visited with a local junkyard owner (who used to race), and by the time I got back home steam was coming out of the expansion tank

So I cooled it off, and filled it up with water. I ran it another 20 miles that night, going between 40-55 mph the whole time. Came back, checked it, hadn't lost a drop of water. Yesterday I drove it another 20 miles, came back, checked it hadn't lost a drop of water.

Tonight before I left, I checked it- still full. About 3 or 4 miles up the road (going about 50) it started to puke out water. I pulled over, checked it and thought "Well, I'll go a little further... If it it does it again, I'll just go home". Made it to the cruise night fine- I pulled over 4 or 5 times, shut the motor off, and saw no steam and the temperature didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

So about 5 or 6 miles after leaving the cruise-in, it started to puke out water and steam again- uh-oh... Fortunately we own a cabin nearby, so I stopped, let it cool down, and filled the radiator again. It was still another 20 miles home, and I drove it normally- going 40-55 mph the whole way home. Checked it when I got back to the shop- hadn't lost a drop!

Sorry for the long winded post (as usual) but it's got me confused... I beleive it has 180 thermostats, new water pumps, and a 7PSI radiator cap (it's a later model Chevy radiator, not an old Ford one). Should I go to 160 or 170 t-stats, and a 10 or 12 PSI cap?

 

Shaun,
Build yourself a fan shroud and your heating problems will go away.


Andy

 

Shaun, listen to Andy. Also, when making a shroud, make sure only half the fan blades are inside. Too deep, and it won't work right, too far out, and it won't work right. By the way... Great Job saving the old girl.

 

Fan shroud is on the "to-do" list (actually got it about 1/2 done), but tonight I decided to check on the thermostats.... Turns out the old ones were stuck half way open. Must have too little restriction to matter when I was going slower, but under sustained high RPM it must have restricted the flow enough to overheat..

Of course I managed to break off a bolt in the head when working on the necks

Tried getting it out with a drill, etc. but no such luck...

FORTUNATELY, I've got a set of NOS 8BA heads (there were on a motor I got, but it was never run- not even any surface rust in the water jackets). The 8BA heads might give a bump in compression ratio over my truck 8RT heads too...

 

Is your system pressurized? If not the top of the radiator tank acts as a expansion area. You need to leave some room for the coolant to gain volume as it get hotter. If you keep filling it up to the top, it will puke out what it doesn't want or need. What mix are you running in you coolant. Remember coolant will raise the boiling point of the mix so if you are at 190 you have about 30 degrees before its actually boiling over. The other thing to do is check your temp gauge with an other thermometer to see if your gauge is close to right.

 

All good advice above ,Shaun , I'm sure you will sort it out. Back in the day an acquaintance put a 401 Buick in his Studebaker. He used a new 20 gallon garbage can ,cut down for a radiator/fan shroud =bright shiny galvanized ,looked like chrome ,,,,,,

 

Just a small update for today....

So after breaking off a bolt in the head the other day, I got out my 8BA heads to switch them over. Also took the time to dress em up a little... Saw someone else here on the forum do this...

Ground off all of the markings and writing on the head, smoothed out all the casting marks and lines, and then painted it aluminum/silver colored... Kinda looks like the old Canadian "Cheater" heads- I thought it changed the look a little...

Ran it today about 10 miles without thermostats, had no trouble at all staying cool, and ran about 150-160 most of the way (crept up to 170 after I shut it off).... Might have to try it and see..

And call me crazy, but I think these heads really did make a difference in the motor... Seems like the car enjoys going up hills MUCH more, with the truck hills it was pretty sluggish, and almost had to downshift on a moderate hill.... Also seems the exhausrt has a different tone? Maybe that's just my imagination...

By the way.. Anyone like my tires? Think they'll be wide enough?


Hope the flatty will turn them

 

Shaun,
This is my last dirt car to restore. I have been racing it but have decided to make it street legal.


Andy

 

Shaun, your prolly enjoying the updating with the heads to a higher compression ratio that agrees with modern fuel . Keep enjoying and update your avatar pic with the tires, carbs, heads and numbers.

 

Wow, sharp looking coupe! Looks like our cars have alot in common!

Would love to know more about yours, or see some more pictures of it...

Planning on running wide tires in the back?

 

Shaun,
This is at Crawford County Speedway Van Buren Arkansas. I am the promoter for Ozark Vintage Stock Car Racing Association. We race pre 1948 coupes and sedans [no cut down bodies ] with flathead V8's and 6 cyl engines. I am 71 years old and have been racing for 53 years. I think it is time to hang up the old helmet so this last car I have restored I am thinking it would be fun to drive down to the coffee shop in the mornings and see what kind of response I get. In the last 12 years I have restored 9 of these old cars to race. They are not completely original, in order to race them we have to have modern safety equipment. Modern racing seat, completely enclosed floor and firewalls, fuel cell ect. I am not getting out of racing, just out of driving.
I am going to run wide tires in back, just got to find some that are DOT legal. The only things added to what you see will be lights and windshield. By the way, if you want to put wide five hubs and drums on the rear end you have, I have 2 original cast iron hubs that will fit. All they would cost you is the shipping. I will stop this before it becomes a book. Good luck to you with your project.


Andy

 

Hi Andy, sounds like a good plan... I can say for certain that you'll get quite a few comments and looks with it- most people I drive by are waving, giving the thumbs up, or just staring at it!

Mickey Thompson and Hoosier both make DOT approved tires that have treads real similar to dirt tires and come in several sizes.. Pricey though, that's for sure. Not sure if I'll run the wide tires on my car or not...

When you say cast iron hubs for the rear, what part are you talking about? I know there were some wide 5 drums made to take full floater axles, but I thought they could go right on?

Oh and don't worry bout writing too much- I always love to read about other people's race car projects

 

Still fighting to keep this flatty cool... I'm beginning to think it's in the radiator though.

The first 100 miles or so I had no problem- including the 50 mile round trip to the cruise night. Soon after though it started overheating... I'm guessing it probably stirred up all the crap inside the block and has been plugging up the cores. Runs fine under light driving, but when going over 50 it's just not letting enough water go through...

I put fresh 50/50 mix in it on Saturday, and it has already turned real brown, and I can see some junk sitting in the top tank of the radiator

Might try to flush it out, or try vinegar in it tomorrow... Probably going to need more work then that though

 

So.. Before you guys go apeshit on me after seeing these pictures, just hear me out first...





.... While the flathead looked good in pictures and at shows, driving down the road was another story... Aside from boiling water, it was getting pretty evident that just rings and bearings weren't going to cut it...

The past week or two it's been smoking... Now I don't mean just a little puff when I take off, or shift, but I mean to the point where if I let off the throttle going down a hill- I couldn't see anything behind me. Obviously it needed new valve guide seals at the least...

Now I'm sure the logical question is "Why not just put valve guide seals in??"... Well, it also had several lifters making noise as well. And seeing how hard these valves, guides, springs, etc usually come out, I would pretty much need a new set of valves and all the hardware to go with it... And then of course I'd probably need to get a set of adjustable lifters while I'm at it...

In addition the little flatty was suffering from low oil pressure, and burning oil pretty quick like... To the tune of a quart in 100 miles (not going to blame that all on the valves.. My hone job wasn't perfect, and possibly didn't clock the rings exactly right, not sure). So of course then I'd need to either buy a tool for the cam bearings or take it to a machine shop... And if I took it into a machine shop, then I might as well hot tank it, then magnaflux, then probably bore it, etc. etc. etc....

So instead of sinking another $1000+ into the motor, I dug out the '64 Chevy 283 I had sitting in the back of the shop. I had all the conversion parts from when I was going to do it earlier, so I'll basically have to spend about $100-$200 more on the swap...

Going to be doing it right though, so that it could easily be swapped back. Going with an original Hurst mount for the front, Wilcap adapter (so I can run the 3 bolt style starter), 55-57 style fuel pump, and I got a rebuilt Holley 500 2-barrel from my Dad that he wasn't using. I've got an adapter coming to run the Holley on the stock Rochester intake. I also planned it so that I can run the Holley backwards- that way I can still keep the throttle linkage on the passenger side...

Basically the only things I'll be changing around will be the fuel line, and the exhaust... Also have a bit of clearance issue with the motor mount and fuel pump (NOW is one of those times I wish I had BOLTED the mounts in... Instead of WELDING them in )

 

Ok help me out here, do you run the original style traverse leaf spring in back or paralellels? I am building a model A to run out here on the dirt tracks and have been leaning towards running parallels in the rear even though it's not traditional. The parallel springs are forgiving and predictable setup wise is what I have been told. Can you help me with what your experience has been?

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Alot of them out here run paralell leaf springs, can't say as though I've ever seen one with a transverse spring...

But then again I don't remember ever seeing someone use a Model A chassis either...

Hopefully Andy can better answer your question- but you might be better off sending him a message, don't know if he'll check back on this thread soon..

 

I am using a AA truck chassis and building my own x-member out of tubing. Not going to be traditional as much as I would like but budget and the fact the other cars I will be racing against are all later model v8 engines dictates me having to use modern stuff to compete. Sbc, muncie 3 speed, 9" rearends, model A coupe body, straight axle front, f100 front brakes, f100 steering box.... etc

I am just torn on whether to run parallel leafs or a traverse spring out back.

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Here's some pictures over the years of cars I have run and won in. An ol' buddy owns most of them.
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Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

I think for SBC you'd be better off with parallel springs for sure... Look at what Ford did- transverse springs started pretty early, and then ended up going with parallel springs when the engines in cars got more powerful- they must have thought the parallel leaf system was stronger...

 

In 63 corvette went to a cross spring in the rear. In 84 they went to cross spring in both front and rear and are still using them in 2013. I guess corvette thinks they will handle horse power. I have always liked Henry's idea. In reality both can be made to work quite well on a dirt car.The difference being, almost all of the old guys that know how to set up cross spring set ups are gone. A few like me still use them and still win with them. If you don't know all of the old tricks with cross springs in the rear or have an old grey beard racer for advice you are probably are better off with the parallel springs. The main thing is to have fun with these old cars. They are not making any more of them.


Andy

 

Well, shows how little I know

 

Go man go.