Projects My GN Cycle Car tribute build

Think I figured out the design for the gusset plates for the crossmembers and for the front crossmember to accommodate the engine mount tower. Might even add a “reverse” C-channel piece under the tower for additional strength. My Chinese plasma cutter no longer works, so will check it out tomorrow to see if I can figure out why. Also picked up this auto-body hydraulic ram kit and mini cylinder to act as a backstop when doing the hot riveting. Lathe will come in handy to make a die for the rivet head.

 

Got the gusset plates cut out with my Skill saw and Demon blade. Will still need to sand/grind them down to size. Almost got the trans support crossmember bolted in place. Still lots of holes to drill. I just figured out I will have 124 holes/rivets in total. Seems a bit crazy, but there are qty 10 holes for each L brkt x 6 brkts; qty 5 holes for each triangular gusset x 8 gussets (rear & trans crossmembers), and qty 6 holes for each rectangular gusset x 4 gussets (front crossmember).

 

Got more nuts/bolts/washers and longer 3/8” drill bit. Started on rear crossmember and noticed this. Houston we have a problem. Lol!

 

Already three years,the time go so fast.Wish you and your family all the best.

 

Thanks. It’s been a roller coaster of a ride for sure.The IH Traveler project really side railed this project

 

Picked up the trans mount for the T5 trans yesterday. Will make the drill jig today for the front gussets and hopefully get all 4 bolted in place.

 

Redneck improvised mobile boring machine. Lol! Seems to be working!

 

Decided to do all the gussets on one side of the frame and then will flip it to do other side. Made the jig for the triangular shaped gusset and got two installed will try to finish off the other two tonight which will leave just the other side of the frame to finish. Tedious and time consuming getting them to size with grinder and disc sander, and then locating them with the jig, drilling, bolting, drilling, bolting, etc. Also, got to make sure everything is level and square (crossmembers to chassis).

 

Just three more gussets to install. The torsional rigidity of this thing is really bad. I can lift one corner probably about 6” without the other 3 corners coming up off their supports. Welding things up will help, but I suspect not enough. Will have to really keep this fact in mind going forward. The design of the bodywork will be key in increasing the rigidity.

 

All gussets are now bolted in place. A total of 96 holes so far. Will work next on the plates for the engine mounts. Never gave it much thought, but just assumed the engine would be sitting at 0 degrees unlike the 5 degrees recommended for the 5.3 Vortec I transplanted in my IH frame. Seems though that this is standard for flatheads of the era, but will doublecheck. Got some ideas also to stiffen the frame, but need to look into it a bit more.

 

One more bolt in each gusset would add to the torsional rigidity.

In the above photo I would add the bolt on the crossmember between the existing bolt and the end of the crossmember so you would have a row of three bolts along the rail then a row of 3 bolts across the crossmember, extending onto the rail.

Additionally hot set rivets will hold it all together better than bolts.

 

The frame will be hot riveted together. Bolts are just for construction/mock-up. Plan was to have more holes/rivets, but due to interference with each other I had to cut down on the number significantly (I had already cut all the gusset plates at that point) One thing I never considered was the type of steel when I had the channels made. Someone asked me on another forum what type of steel were they. I had no idea, so I revisited the vendor’s site, and they don’t even say. I think it is some low quality steel, but will verify. In any event, I can see the rails actually twisting along their length when I lift one corner. Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting this for a frame so narrow. I will be welding things all together along with using the hot rivets, so that will help a bit. As I mentioned I have a couple of ideas that will certainly stiffen it up significantly, but I first want to finish off the motor support mounts so I can stuff the engine and transmission onto the frame to get a better idea of how things look going forward.

 

Your frame looks similar to my Fraser Nash frame which l used for the Curtiss OX5 engine.(I can lift one corner probably about 6” without the other 3 corners coming up off their supports.)
For me it was helpful to read the following instructions.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/pep-up-that-old-bus-jpg.3301300/
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/23-jpg.3301296/
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/21-jpg.3301293/https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/24-jpg.3301297/https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/22-jpg.3301294/https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/20-jpg.3301292/

 

Thanks for info @Rolfzoller. I haven’t trad through everything in depth, but I only see a small portion speaking of the chassis design. My frame rails measure 3.5” x 1.5” which is similar to what is recommended although the article mentions a 2” width of the channel and a 1/8” thickness vs my 0.1196”. My feeling is that the steel is of inferior quality and I still haven’t had a chance to verify the type/grade with the supplier as I’ve been busy dealing with repairs on our daily drivers. Regardless, it is what it is now, and I just need to figure out how to increase the torsional rigidity.

 

Cut out the engine mount plates a couple days ago from an old 1/4” plate I had lying around. Both my Demon metal blades are pooched, so had to use the grinder. Didn’t take as long as I thought it would, but the metal dust is just crazy. Will work on cleaning them up today and maybe tacking them together tomorrow.

 

Engine mount plates are finished. Just need to clean up the larger holes. Almost impossible to keep things centred. Initial impressions are the Lennox hole saws are inferior to the Milwaukee ones I have. They keep getting stuck even though I use lots of cutting fluid. Next is a wooden jig to help hold all the pcs in position, then I will tack them together.

 

Tacked together first engine mount. Making the wooden jig took a lot longer than expected as the plates didn’t align per drawing.

 

Out of welding gas. Lol! Just enough to tack them into position. Will now attach the T5 to the flathead and drop the mess onto the frame. Stay tuned. Haha!

 

Got the engine mounted to the frame but couldn’t attach the trans. Forgot that the input shaft was too long and the diameter for the pilot hole on the crank is too large as well.

 

You are picking up momentum!

Thanks for sharing - great project.

 

Going to try to finally install the crank pulley. today. Will reinstall intake, generator and V-belt. Will also disassemble the T5 to remove the input shaft. Need to go back through the thread to jog my memory on what exactly the fix was for the input shaft. Will also install the exh pipes and collector. I’m super excited to keep working on it, but will soon need to start working on my off-road rig.

 

Lost power Wednesday morning in the middle of tearing down the front end of the engine. Still have no power and they have no idea when it will be back on. We had a massive freezing ice storm and lots of fallen branches and trees.

 

Was able to get back to the engine the other day. Taping and painting the block. Want to get 4-5 good coats before more diassembly and reassembly. Trying to figure out what is still missing and where the parts are. That’s if I have them or lost them. Lol! Had an issue with the “new” used pulley and new washer for the crank nut. Washer doesn’t fit the pulley bore. Posted here on Ford Barn.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=325470

 

Got the crank pulley, timing gear cover, and water pumps installed. Used the gaskets that came with the pumps as they aligned much better than the ones supplied with the Felpro engine gasket kit. They were also thicker and seemed made from a better quality material. Issue was one was ripped at the top, but I used some masking tape and gasket sealant to mend it back together. Used gasket sealant along with the gaskets on all surfaces. Kept the mating surfaces paint free. Used stainless steel bolt and washer in the location that was inside the pump. Also used thread sealant on that bolt. Added the cam extension button because of using the helmet distributor. Wasn’t sure if I should cut the white Teflon impregnated rope seal supplied in the Felpro engine gasket kit which I installed in the timing gear cover. Seems Felpro says not to cut it for the rear crankshaft seal location. They also say not to soak it in oil either prior to installation. Lots of seemingly conflicting info out there on these rope seals. Also used a bit of engine assy lube on the timing gears, rope seal and spiral groove section of the crank pulley.
Thinking I might add a timing indicator pin somehow to the timing cover.
Next steps are reinstalling the dist assy and plug wires and after that prepping the oil pan for final installation. Need to check out a crack that appeared near the large clean out and add the dipstick tub mount.

 

Well, not quite back to square one, but the oil pan needs some attention. Light corrosion on the inside including some kind of white powder that formed on the brazed areas. Also some corrosion on the outside around the clean out area where I added some solder. Need to address the crack in that area as well. Think I’m just going to use some high-temp JB Weld on that crack and to smooth out the transition areas of the solder as well as where I had some body filler around the starter cup area. Damn, I thought I was done with this thing. It sure has been a headache fixing it.

 

Ordered the flywheel pilot bearing (National 203S) off of Amazon.ca. Was a lot less expensive on RockAuto, but with shipping was about the same price.

 

After a lot of cursing, got the oil pan “tweaked” such that it should be good to go. This is after one more top coat. Will get another two on before installing. Despite the snow, it is nice and warm out. Yesterday we broke a 78 yr old record for warmest temp - 84F.

 

Final coat applied to oil pan. The original oil sump I rebuilt last year with parts from a spare is now installed with safety wire for the mounting bolt. No gasket or sealant used. Next is the teardown of the Mustang T5 trans. Never tore down a trans before.

 

Had a hell of time getting the main shaft free from the main case. Rear bearing race didn’t just “pop” out like I saw in some vids. Had to use some large pliers to free it. After I got it out, some of gears shifted and it was impossible to get the main shaft out. I could see after looking at a pic from a MotorTrend article, the last large gear in the cluster needed to be more forward, but I couldn’t see what was preventing it from moving forward. After much head scratching, cursing, and wiggling, it just dropped “down” (forward) position. Once removed I still couldn’t understand WTH was going on. Then I saw this slight gap that is used to clear the pin sticking out from the main shaft. Sure wish folks would mention this little detail.




Reverse idler gear is pooched.

 

Reverse seems to be the problem with these. I had one from near new in the 90's and it never liked going into reverse. I have one in my '47 that is rebuilt and I always go to 5th first then reverse, if not you will get a clunk..