Introducing my Fuel Coupe-styled Tudor

Bump since I can never find this when I am looking for it….

 

I scored an NOS, made-in-the-USA Stewart Warner speedo to use instead of the restored '56 Studebaker/SW speedo I'd previously gotten.



A daughter's wedding & son's college bills devoured this month's budget. To keep up momentum, I set aside the $hopping list and attacked my low/no-cost task list:

1) @ol55 , a fellow Cl***ic Chevy Club buddy, donated a pair of "old-chrome-but-I'm-painting-'em-black-anyway" exhaust tips. Thanks, Larry!


Hi-temp exhaust paint:





2) I'd already hammer/dolly'd and shrink-disc'd the sheetmetal as straight as possible. So I scuffed the epoxy primer and spread a thin (~1/8") coat of "Rage Gold" filler on all the remaining ripples & low spots. #80 on a longboard will remove most of it.

After that, I'm not sure. Maybe go back & skim-coat the entire body? Or maybe continue to #180 & #240 then straight to hi-build polyester primer?

Yes, the body is that straight (I think).

 

IMHO, skim all of it, don’t go finer than 180 before primer. once your start sanding, you’ll find more spots to fill.

 

This is one of my favorite builds on here. Keep up the great work.

 

Cool to find this post...

 

"Anything that falls to the ground when you let it go from your hand is way too heavy to be on my race car."
-"Sneaky Pete" Robinson

The battery box is 0.75"x 0.75" angle, sized for an Odyssey 680.


It fits under the rear p***enger floorboard. Frame tabs are 1.5" x 1.5" angle.


I also made an easily-removable under-dash electrical panel.

There's room for an MSD box, coil, and fuse panel, with extra space for relays, USB ports & future growth.


It's just 20 ga steel...


...and bolts to what's left of the stock gas tank.


Insulation will fit in the 1" gap between it and the stock firewall.

 

This is such a bad*** car/build.

 

NHRA requires a locking dipstick & securely fastened fill tube on all automatic cars running 10.99 (6.99 1/8 mile) seconds and quicker.

I'm nowhere near that quick, but thought adapting one might be wise.


"Hack hack!"


I ground off the gold iridite coating wherever I'd be welding; then fine-tune my MIG settings by practicing on the tube s****s.
The spring steel dipstick got trimmed & new high & low level notches added.


The tab bolts to a convenient transmission case lug.


Snug fit but functional; and simple.


Finally, I've laid under this car with a tape measure & cardboard cutouts for hours, wondering where to squeeze in all the components.

The last puzzle piece was a 24" "tube & fin" trans fluid cooler, attached to the driver's side frame rail, well away from the exhaust.

Brackets allow lots of air flow all around.




5' long hoses might also give a bit of cooling capacity.


-6 AN fittings. Go Navy! Beat Army! Ha ha!

 

Nice clean install, shouldn’t have any problems with the cooler with AN lines. Good job !

 

Gary, it looks very sanitary.

 

Gary, what do you do in your “Free” time?!

 

I like it, all of it. Funny ,I did nearly the same thing on my coupe. Hey , great minds think alike. LOL.

 

Man you’re getting close. Been following your work for a long time now and the end is in sight. Congratulations on seeing it through. This will be a stellar ride.

 

I like the cardboard mock ups. Use the **** out of old Summit boxes.

 

Thanks for sending me this link Gary. Not sure why I was not following, but I am now!

 

Foot-shaped Moon, Cragar & Cal Custom gas pedals were common on mid '60's drag cars.


A skinny rectangular Moon pedal would've fit the narrow footwell, but I carved up my cherished swapmeet piece instead.


The top piece screws into aftermarket linkage.


Despite measuring a zillion times, my firewall mounting holes weren't quite right so I welded them up and redrilled 'em. I also added fender washers on the engine side of the firewall to prevent wobbling.


The bottom "heel cup" bolts to the floor where my foot naturally falls. The bracket flexes a bit so no hinge is required.


Finally, the leftover middle piece underwent "gender re***ignment surgery" to become a brake pedal.


A 1/2-20 bolt threads into the P&J brake arm.


Everything fits comfortably & functions beautifully.


Even wearing Bean boots (it's 40* F in the garage).


Thanks to @Dino 64 for being my sanity check.

 

Oh man I really like that!

 

Like it alot Gary. I had to slightly modify my vintage moon pedal as well. Had to cut a small amount of the toe area off, to clear the fire wall at full throttle.

 

Glad to help

 

Hey Gary, the little pieces of the moon pedal might make a nice key chain.

 

Somebody has to keep an eye on him or he’ll drill holes in everything

 

That is slick!

 

I'm gonna steal this idea for my car! I've got a couple of these pedals, and my two cars need them done this way!

 

lol "gender re***ignment surgery"

 

I'd poke my eye out!

Thanks, fellas.

 

Gary - Less is more! That pedal, like the rest of your build is off the charts.

 

You’re doing a great job, glad to be part of it

 

I attacked Virginia DMV's ***le/registration paperwork.

No photos but here's a video: