GASSER MUST HAVES and cant haves?

Thanks Don. I'm gonna do my best to build a car that real gasser folks such as yourself will enjoy. It won't be period perfect, but hopefully will be reflective of the period between 67-69.

 

That's very kind of you to say Scott. Thank you! I'm doing my best and trying to get better as it goes along. Pretty sure I'm going to purchase a TIG unit soon so that I properly build my headers, cage and ladder bars. May also use it on the rear wheel openings after their radiused.
Warm weather is on the way..I'm about to really work my ass off.

 

BD

When you get your TIG unless you are a very very good welder, just tack the important stuff and pay a pro to do the welding on your cage and bars

And maybe you can pay him for some lessons to get you up to speed as to what to look for in your welds

Make sure a pro welds your cage as the ' Arse ' you save just might be your own

You guys are making a lot more power than we did and going a lot faster, so a better & safer cage is a must!!

Just my 2 cents worth, G Don

 

You know Don I appreciate that. I completely agree that the cage needs to be done right. I have done alot of mig but zero tig. I have a ways to go before I get to the cage, but I'll be totally honest with myself and if my welding isn't up to par I will absolutely let someone else do it.


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BD

Google Andy Welkers Tank and look at his build log as this one of the best fabed cars for a home built I have seen

What is slick is he used 90 degree brackets and hose clamps to hold the whole car together with no tack welds

Then once he sat in the car with all the gear on and knew it was all Ok for everything to fit, then they welded it up

Very crafty stuff indeed, plus check out all his brackets as they are the right shape and very nicely deburred

You can learn a lot by looking at this car

In 63' I took a nite class for welding at the local collage, then 6 yrs in the Air guard in the weld shop

You just cant beat proper teaching when it comes to welding

G Don

 

Can't wait too see the paint scheme on the bus when finished! --- Steve ---

 

I will be sure to check that out Don. Sounds pretty cool!

I haven't had any formal training, but have logged a bunch of hours in the shop learning things the hard way. I actually learned to mig on 18 gauge by replacing nearly ALL the sheet metal in my 27 T. Warped the cowl and then learned a bit of hammer and dolly work as a result. Took a full week to get it back in shape. Not the recommended learning method I guess but it worked. Took 3 years to build that car which was my first effort.

I'm lucky because there is an abundance of information available these days to anyone who is serious about wanting to learn something be it welding, fly fishing or indian smoke signals. I also I have a good friend who is a top level pro builder that mentors me. Anytime I have a question he helps out and he isn't afraid to let me know when I'm out of my league. I'm no pro ,but I pick up things fast because I put in the time and effort to learn. Working hard on the 56 and learning plenty as I go. It's going to come out good buddy and then it's on!

 

BD

The LSR racer guys are really info building safe cages as they have a greater chance of getting upside down running on the slick salt & dirt

You could check out some of the build threads in Land Racing. Com forum under build diaries

One of the things is how to weld a cage with a roof on your car, some of them cut off the roof and put it back on later after the cage welding

G Don

 

Okay to run coliovers in the rear of my willys, and not get to much slack
Or just have some leaf springs made since I have not found the correct length for my 35.

 

I used a single leaf from a 67 camaro on mine junk yard for about $150.I had a sponsor that would have given me the coil overs but I liked the look of the leafs under there better.

 

make some quarter eliptics ---easier to do than to spell...

 

That's what I'm gonna do.

 

Speedway and some of the other vendors have them in kit form,with a bolt for setting ride height.
I've never had a set in the shop in front of me,so I can't say exactly how heavy duty they are,but they're worth a look.

Scott


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Saxxon lives on planet Whymihere!

 

Hows the Mustang prep for the MD's coming?

 

Much like the car: SLOW.

I just got home from the NWT the other day,but tomorrow I am taking my springs to London (45min away) to be re-arched,and picking up my Msd tach adaptor,tomorrow afternoon I will probably get started with some other stuff I need to clean up and/or fix/replace on the car.
Just hoping my little $200 motor holds up through testing long enough to make a few passes at the Meltdown!

Scott


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How do these handle on a semi driven street car. Mine is also a Willys panel 35, my panel proably will not see much racing time. How do they handle on quater eleptics?

 

I don't think the handling will differ much from leaves to quarter elliptical to coils,the important part is getting spring rates in the ballpark for your vehicle weight.
My Dad always seems to be under sprung on the cars he builds,because he wants them to ride nice and soft,but he goes too far and they wallow and dive.I always seem to go overboard,and they ride rougher than most people prefer.
Take a recommendation from the manufacturer on vehicle weight,and you should be close,then you may be able to add or remove a leaf if needed to soften/firm up the action of the spring once the car is together.Cause guessing the weight of the completed car when it's a bare shell sitting in the garage is kind of a crap shoot sometimes.

Scott


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The ladder bar rear setup is a bigger question as it relates to street handling, than what suspends it. Really doesn't matter as much if it's 1/4 eliptics, or coilovers, except as it concerns "tradition".
Ladder bar suspensions don't allow much movement difference on a car's suspension, so going over uneven ground, (like in and out of driveways at angles) will force the axle to fight the ladder bar mounting points. The way a ladder bar mounts solid it wants to keep the axle level, so uneven surfaces tend to lighten one rear tire, or opposing front tires. They're made for flat drag strips where you rarely have much uneven surfaces.

 

If I was building a car mainly for street, I'd use leaf springs and some sort of slapper or Cal-Trac style traction bar. I've seen quite a few cars with the leaf springs moved in for wide tires, including Tri 5 Chevys, pickups, Novas.........

 

It's not a bad thing to run soft springs-i've alwas heard to use the softest spring rate that will hold up the car, then use the shocks to control that movement- tell yer old man to switch to some adjustable shocks and it'll ride great without the seasickness.

 

Out here in So-Cal in the 50's and early 60's Appleton Spots were the hot deal for the custom car troops

And for the street racer dudes it was ' Traction Masters ' you could use regular leaf springs with a pair of TM's on the rear for that very cool look

That was the deal to have on your hot to go streeter, as it showed your car was meant for serious business

You wont have to worry about going up driveways etc as that is what they were designed for

Have fun , G Don

 

traction masters only controlled wheelhop which was a big help but they did not "plant" the tires like the caltracs and other modern stuff---they did have the look...

 

They work on pretty much the same principal as the Cal Tracs,lifting the car from a point right near the front spring eye as the axle attempts to rotate.

The major difference is the Traction Masters attach to a point on the frame,and the Cal Tracs actually attach to the spring eye,and have a pivoting cross-bolt that prevents the spring leaves from wrapping up and eating torque.

In short,the Cal Tracs are absolutely incredible,but I run the Traction Masters on my O/T 66 Ford because they are period correct.

Scott


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Qtr. elliptical springs & traction bars work great on my '31, but it sees very little street time.

 

Man,the underside of that rig is as nicely put together as the top side is!
Thanks for posting that up!

Scott


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traction masters don't allow rotation of the housing which is what plants the tires---caltracs use the spring as a lever to plant the tires pretty much the way ladder bars work---with traction masters if you loosen your u bolts slightly at the track you will see quite an improvement as this will allow lift to occur ...

 

that all looks familiar, somehow!

 

Some folks made leaf springs work. I guess it could be a staged shot, but he did ok.

 

Larry,
Check out John Calvert at Calvert racing.
His leaf spring cars will stand on the bumper.

Scott


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