Dream car into reality, 32 Victoria in glass.

Wow, that is just mean looking. Personally I like the bumpers and would want them for the same reason you mentioned. I've got 500 in damage on my ot daily driver's plastic bumper because a coworker used it to stop in the winter time at work with her battering ram bumper guards.

 

Thanks Mr48chev! Working hard to try and end up with a drivable, gangster look that performs reliably all year long!

$500 sounds fairly cheap for a bumper repair on most cars. My minor scuffle a couple years back with my SUV was $2200. [emoji16]

 

Got my Vintage air system in, along with the backlit billet control panel, billet bulk head ***embly and hose kit. Found a chrome compressor on EBay and won it for $104 free shipping.
After work today I started fabricating brackets to mount the A/C unit under the dash...it's crunch time!

 

Fabricated my mounts and sprayed them with self etching primer. Box is in. Went to locate and mount the bulkhead plate and fittings and found out the plate isn't machined correctly. The tubes don't fit into the fittings to seat the o-rings. The 6AN fitting is .010 too small and the three 10AN fittings are .035 too small. So tomorrow the fittings get the drill press treatment with a .562 drill bit and the proper .370 for the 6AN as well.

Tuff to find quality parts when I have such a tight budget. The problem is causing a HUGE amount of wasted time. I keep winning, but it feels like MMA every day I work on it and try to make cheap parts work by reengineering them.

 

uploading some new pics of today's progress. As well as a few to show how I braced by door hinge area for a couple guys who asked.

 

Wiring is moving along nicely. Ignition switch is going to be a sore spot I think. I wanted to keep the dash clean and not use a dash mounted switch, but the steering column switch will need a cover made for it.

 

The cuts in the angle iron are how I bent it, since the proper bending tools were not available. Not the purtiest, but it's strong as it needs to be, plus some.

 

Ok, wiring is going really well. My attempts to wire it cleanly and with a 70's vibe are going well. Ignition switch, turn signal switch, coil, starter small leads, alternator, dash panel instruments and indicators all completed. I'm going to add an 8 gauge red lead from the alternator to the starter lug. I don't think the 10 gauge that came n the painless wiring harness has the cushion I need with the modern conveniences I'm adding to the car.
Once I have everything connected and shaped where I want, I'll partially remove it for wrapping, looming, etc. where desired and reinstallation permanently.

Driveshaft is ordered now as well. 31.5 inch center to center of Ujoints. Should have the wiring about done when it arrives. Then onto the shifter and seat install.

Gonna be a whole running car soon! The only thing I didn't do myself is block machining and frame rail welding(using a jig), so I can't wait for all this work to pay off with a drive!

 

On a side note, I test fit my header panel, thinking about wiper options and where to locate switches, stereo, etc. but it's about 2" narrower than the windshield area. Gonna need to be customized....doesn't everything?

 

At least you are still moving forward now. SHHHH the gremlins will hear you and jump out again.

 

I like the bumpers. Looking good. I would suggest bringing the rear bumper closer to the body.

 

Thanks. It looks really far in the pics, but it's only about 5.5" from the end of the frame rail covers.
I am going to clean them a little when it's ready to hit the road, but I like their patina. Adds to the mystery steel vs gl*** look.

 

Driveshaft arrived, painted and installed. After realizing the rear seal in the trans had already dry rotted a little and replacing it.
Full day's work on it tomorrow!

 

heater hoses and fittings going in, more wiring completed.

 

Defrost ducts and a few other tidbits going in.

 

A little meguires metal polish on the bumpers to see how they'll look.

 

Super build. Love vickies. One nit..in your first ch***is pics it appears there
is not enough front shock travel. Looks close to driving!

 

Thanks DenK. The shock travel is close to centered at ride height. About 4" up and 2.5" down from memory. I think what you saw was with the spring loose and the I beam leaning to one side a bit, making it look like only an inch was left on that side.

Appreciate you posting! Many just lurk. lol

 

Making up the AC and Heater hoses, all the inside hoses completed and the outside heater hoses, just the outside AC hoses left.
Waiting on the Alan Grove bracket to mount my 508, also need a condenser.

Does anyone have a good source for an AC condenser that fits on a 32 radiator?

 

Walker. But, their radiator that is intended for condenser use, the core is moved towards the engine to make room for the condenser up front. Does your current radiator have provision for one?

 

No, it's the champion cheapie. It fits well, but no provisions. I have a walker for the car, but it damaged in the process of moving everything a couple times. 6 punctured tubes.
I'll fab something for brackets if I can find a condenser the right dimensions. 21x16?

 

Mine is 22x11.

 

A/C compressor Bracket arrived, Alan Grove brand. Super nice welds. Test fit and tweaking Monday night after work.

 

Last night and tonight I worked on fabricating the compressor bracket to fit it with my serpentine pulley system. Which required refabbing it to move the compressor forward 1". This cleared my fuel lines and lined everything up nicely.
I also had to eliminate the old school oil fill tube and go to a valve cover breather style fill cap. Makes me a little sad...well, until next June when it's 93 again and the air is blowing nicely at a comfy 68 degrees headed to Old Town.

A little finish work and some paint and in it goes this weekend. I'll take pics then.

 

Ok, test fitted, painted and ready to install. Quite a bit of work, moved the compressor out 1.0", the adjuster the same, also needed an idler pulley that added to the tension adjustment and enabled the use of a standard rotation water pump with a serpentine belt.

Should outlast a V-Belt set up 5:1, no squeeling or periodic readjusting needed.

On to condenser (hopefully find one at Turkey Rod run) and cooling fan install, then complete wiring.

 

Riding in style soon.

 

Compressor and belt are in and everything looks good.

Now for the cooling fan so I can finalize the wiring harness and get it loomed and taped up.

 

If jealousy had a smell, I would stink of it. Great job so on the car! This is one of my favorite builds to follow.

 

Started on my AC dash accessory panel also. Attempted some different finishes, but I think I'll paint it pearl black like the main dash is. The top 3.5" is covered by the dash extension panel.

 

Progress today. More dash panel work, shifter is in, cooling fan is mounted.