Projects Mish-Mash Nash -'52 Rambler Wagon

I think I'd be fine with pop rivets in this area, so I may end up going that route. Not sure there will be enough meat to attached the 90* flange to the extension panels, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there...and thank you.

 

I got the left rear quarter panel end finished up after a few mounting-then-dismounting sessions. I'm pleased with how the panels are fitting together, so the valance panel is next.

Left rear corner, with the left valance panel flange held in place with a bolt:







The right side needs more work so the panels fit together better, or at least with less stress. The right quarter was creased down low at some point in the past, just above the lower bulge, resulting in the front half of the quarter being pushed inward an inch or so. Wedging an old wood baseball bat in between the tire and quarter panel at various points helps release some of that stress, so I'm on the right path, and just need to work the quarter back to where it should be. I noticed the fit at the rear edge of the quarter, especially around the tail light panel, was much improved when the quarter was flexed out a bit, so I just need to keep working it and checking as I go.

Right rear corner, with the right valance panel flange not in place. There's a slight taper toward the bottom, where the frame rail and inner wheel well meet, so the valance flange needs to be trimmed, and will slide in at the top and butt up against the frame rail at the bottom. I can still use the bolt for alignment, so while not ideal, not the worst thing, either:





I may use the bulk of one of the blue donor panels I picked up a few days ago, instead of trying to save some of the original valance panel and add on multiple patches. The shape is close already, there's plenty of material, and no rust present. This should be a good challenge for me.

 

I've seen way too many people working sheetmetal through those, bead rollers, english wheels and hammer forms while trying to support the sheet in mid air. Sometimes it's necessary, but it seems like a table or at least a sawhorse/A frame at the same working height would make it much easier.

 

That's a good idea, especially for longer pieces. A height adjustable stand with a small top might be a handy thing to have nearby.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to carry an engine block downstairs and clean it in the double basin sink. I used Citri-Strip for the first time, and came away impressed. It did a great job on softening all the grease and oil, smells great, and is easy on bare skin. The block is now mostly clean, with some stubborn spots way down in the nooks and crannies yet to be dealt with, but I didn't find any hidden damage nor cracks, so I'm happy.

 

@In_The_Pink

Hello,

What a cool project station wagon. Unique and looks to be a great hot rod in the future.

A small station wagon was what we wanted for beach activities. If my brother had bought any small station wagon during his burn recovery state, it would have set the stage for some unusual change overs, with what we had left of our first 671 SBC Willys Coupe build.

Naturally, the 671 SBC motor would have gone into the small station wagon, to make it one of a kind street cruiser. Perhaps not a daily driver, but a weekly driver. We thought the 671 motor would have been a terrific motor to keep and install in an future build we had planned on doing. But we knew it was a competition motor and not a daily driver build. Then by the time we decided to use the motor again for another project, we decided to sell it to let someone else enjoy the benefits of a powerful motor for drag racing.

Jnaki

The longboards would have to be attached to racks on top to make it work. But, out of sight departures on our surfing road trips would have us put our longboards inside from windshield to rear door or angled from the bottom front floor board to the rear door glass.

But, for strictly highway miles and cruising, a reliable SBC motor with dual carbs would have been the choice. Low level chassis components and A/C would be the mode of the day. If we felt positive about that Rambler Wagon build, perhaps a custom car building opportunity would come knocking on the backyard garage speed shop door to make it into a small business. YRMV

Note:
My brother had plenty of ideas while being in the local hospital bed, staring out to the ocean. He thought he wanted to stay in drag racing with another build, like a modified roadster or a street roadster for a dual purpose hot rod. But, he remembered his beginning surfing days and other thoughts popped into his creative mind during this recovery time.

We talked about which direction and within a year of recovery times and short road trips, he surprised all of us and bought a desert racing motorcycle to ride in the empty oil field lots near our house to get back to some action. Then, he had his sights set on those longer desert racing courses. He convinced our worried mom that being outdoors and riding in the desert was far safer than drag racing. With that bit of information, our mom was happy the "drag racing" phase was leaving our backyard garage set up area. YRMV

 

I saw these Studebaker Hawk(?) parts on fb marketplace, saved the listing, then saw they were marked down to $25/per, so that moved them into, "Duh, go buy them!" territory for me. I may be able to use sections of the trunklid for the rear valance on my car, but the door was a throw in at this point. Maybe someone else can use it eventually.

I'm digging the early '60s green color:

 

wow-now you could do a 4 door conversion-now that would be a switch!

 

Back at it tonight, working on the rear valance panel again. I needed something solid to ensure the panel would retain its curvature, so I tack welded a piece of 3/16" round steel rod to the backside along the entire width, just under the top lip/weatherstrip channel. Most of the channel is rusted away and what little remains will be removed, so now I'll have something solid to weld to and build upon. I have a bit of fine tuning yet to do on the right flange, but I should be able to get the main panel welded to the two side flanges soon, then I can use Clecos for repeated on/off fitting.

 

This is the first one my friend Richard Beggs built in a mini .It looks like Star Trek when he really gets on it!

 

I got the right flange squared away, and it fits much better with the surrounding panels now:




I also welded the top few inches of the valance to the left and right flanges, too, so now I can repeatedly remove and install it as one piece again:



The top flange/channel, or what little remained of it, was cut off and ground away, and thankfully the remaining metal on the top edge is still in great condition:



I don't think I have a U-channel piece 5/8" tall and 44" wide on hand, so two L-shaped pieces, bent into shape, then welded together should work just as well here. I really should already have the proper sized rubber weatherstripping picked out for this area, but... I don't.

 

Just wanted to post a Thank You to @pprather for the initial heads up on this 215-specific Trans-Dapt. @ssaza25 and I worked out a deal, and the bellhousing arrived today-- to say I'm pleased would be a huge understatement. I'm glad it worked out for both of us, and the bell fits my 215 Olds block very well, so that's one significant piece of the puzzle solved. Now I can bolt the block, bell, and trans together, place them on the engine bay, and see where the firewall needs to be cut for clearance.

 

Test fit time, with the 215, T-D bellhousing, and T5 (all empty) bolted together.



Firewall clearance/interference is about the same as with the 300/BOP bell, as expected. The existing trans/driveshaft tunnel is shallow and narrow, so it likely all needs to be replaced so I can fit a decent diameter driveshaft in there.

The trans hump area is probably fine as is for the T5, as it's fairly low-profile around the top cover. However, there is no bellhousing recess in the firewall, and moving the engine forward is not an option, so I need to create some space.



It looks as though there's plenty of room for clutch linkage and such on the left side, at least:

 

As usual I showed up late to the party.
I Like this Build!

 

Party?!! I guess I need to buy more snacks and beer now.

I ordered a set of Westar brand engine mounts after seeing they were back in stock at RockAuto (they seemed to be OOP everywhere I looked), but at $10 each with a generic image, my expectations were tempered. Well, they arrived today and I am impressed with how nicely they are over-molded, with little to no flash anywhere.









Yeah, engine mounts are not very sexy, I get it, but it's nice to see the attention to quality and detail on an out-of-sight part such as this.

I also picked up some Rover 3.9L steel shim head gaskets based upon the recommendation of a V8 Buick forum member, and they should work great between the 215 Olds block and '64 Buick 300 heads and help get the compression up a little, too:








I also lucked out a bit and was able to swap the cast iron Olds 215 starter nose cone for the aluminum nose cone on the reman AC Delco starter I bought for the Buick 300. I had to re-use the internal linkage arm/lever which matched the 215 nose cone, but the motor itself and solenoid are the same for both, just clocked differently. I should have painted the old nose cone before reassembly, but I still need to remove a bit of material from it, as it doesn't quite seat all the way inside the bellhousing.

 

Been a bit stalled out lately, trying to find a (mostly) separate IFS that will work and is reasonably obtainable, while still being old school... not many options, to be honest. Corvair is looking like the "best" option, as it has a bolt-in style crossmember and the control arms mount to it, too.

My current stock setup is IFS, but is mounted very narrowly thanks to the envelope body and enclosed fenders, leaving a very narrow track width which isn't usable as is. I have read all about the pros and cons of using the Corvair IFS, so I think I have a good feel for its shortcomings, as well as how it can be improved. I'm not locked into it yet, but it does seem to be the best option considering my limitations mentioned above.

 

Something I considered a lot back when I was pondering a street rod suspension was the high cost of the setups offered. Someone mentioned that I should look at circle track stuff. It was well engineered, and because of the 'rubbin' is racing' idea, stuff had to be cheap for replacement, where rod stuff was a one-time purchase.
Look at what is on that side of the aftermarket, unless you have to do the JY purchase route.
It may not be era correct, but some might look like 50s race stuff.
One source quickly found...
https://www.circletracksupply.com/front-suspension/

 

I had a Model A rod that was completed before the first MII was sold. It had the 65-69 Corvair crossmember and suspension.
I put over 140k miles on that rod.
When I needed rebuild parts, I used Clarke's Corvair in Shelbourne, Mass.
Originally it was front steer with a Pinto rack. Later, I swapped the bolt on steering arms, side to side, to make it rear steer, with an Omni rack from TCI. I then bought the quick steer (slightly shorter) steering arms to quicken steering and somewhat lessen the turning radius.
I hope that gives you some additional ideas.

 

Thanks, @RodStRace and @pprather. I am focused on a Corvair IFS for now, so I'll try to be patient and keep my eyes peeled. I've been reading up on the bumpsteer/poor Ackerman angle and excessive turning radius issues (the latter of which was mentioned numerous times in the multiple Corvair IFS topics here on the H. A. M. B), and how they can be corrected and/or minimized, so I feel the Corvair IFS is the option I need to be pursuing now.

Clark's Corvairs is still going strong, so it's good to have a Corvair specialist as an option for parts.

I have been looking at different trans tunnel/hump options which would provide more height, but don't want a generic race care type hump, so I found someone selling '67-'72 C/K truck humps and took one off his hands this afternoon. It expect it will need some trimming, narrowing, and reshaping, but I'm happy with how it fits at the starting point:









Some space for the bell housing still needs to be created, but I have an idea or two in mind for that. I would really like to get the main front crossmember locked in first, as that will mostly dictate engine height, the need for a different oil pan, oil pump mount clearance and more.

 

Been a bit too cold to be working in the garage lately, so I picked up these GM A/F/X-body dropped spindles today, and happened upon two $2 dollies at the ReStore. Not a bad day.

Hopefully next weekend I can pick up the Corvair front suspension and make some progress.

 

This '56(?) Studebaker gauge cluster arrived today, so figuring it might work well to house some aftermarket gauges, I did a quick 'n' dirty test fit:



The hole for the factory clock might end up hosting the tachometer, as I'd like to preserve the Uniscope gauge opening for a speedo. We'll see...

I'm planning on using a houndstooth pattern for the interior fabric, likey black and white, so this gauge panel should work, despite being a slightly different pattern:

 

That'll look like it grew there.
Marcus...

 

Looks great, I'd hafta try to keep those gauges if it were mine. It is not!

 

That gauge panel is a beauty. Kinda want to find one now even if I don't have a project for it!

 

Cool build! Thanks for sharing.

 

A very foggy and drizzly ten hour road trip today to pick up this '65 Corvair front suspension and crossmember in Golden, IL. It will need a full refresh, which I prefer, but I can use it as is for fitting purposes first. The stock Nash steering and front suspension have been a major hindrance to progress, so hopefully I can get it all removed soon and start mocking things up with the Corvair setup.






Being able to mock this up in close-to-final position will be a huge help for determining ride height and engine placement. I'm sure there'll be a surprise or two awaiting me once I get deeper into the front frame rails, too, but I don't expect anything major. I will find out soon enough.

 

After removing everything from the front crossmember, I brought the spindle/hub/drum assemblies inside and got both brake drums to rotate freely. One was partially frozen, while the other slid off easily with the hub, so all in all, not too bad considering the assembly was resting on some 2x4s on on dirt floor... could have been much rustier.







I can't recall ever seeing a grooved hub nut and wishbone shaped retaining clip like this before, either. Kinda neat, but lose that clip and you are S. O. L., so I can understand why a common cotter pin might be a better choice:



Bare crossmember, ready for test fitting:



I could see this area well with the lower A-arm mounting bracket in place, but there is quite an upslope where the Corvair crossmember will mount-- nine degrees give or take:



You can also see where years of a leaky battery and lack of any drain holes was not kind to the metal, but it could have been much worse. I will need to add some drainage holes and/or a cricket or two to ensure it doesn't happen again.

 

That clip is wild!
I did a quick search for front wheel bearing nut retaining clip and found nothing
This forum mentions a fork on the left side and that the speedo cable goes through, like VW bugs.
https://www.corvairforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9669

 

That wheel nut and clip was used on the left side spindle, which also had some kind of speedo drive.
https://ssl.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog.cgi?show_page=152

 

Thanks. I saw mention of a front wheel speedometer drive on the Corvair forums, but hadn't seen any of of it/them, nor was I able to put two and two together on my own.

Upon digging into the upper and lower control arms, it appears all four ball joints were replaced with Moog units at some point. They are all still tight with intact stud threads, and the UBJ boots are in great shape, too. I will need to find some boots for the LBJs.

 

No turning back now.

I started cutting out the inner fender wells so I could see how bad the rust situation was between the inner and outer fender wells, and it was a bit worse than I hoped, but close to what I expected:





The rust looks worse in the camera shot above than in person, but the tops of the framerails have heavy pitting from never being coated with anything:



They are still structurally solid, but the multi layer construction provided some areas for moisture and crud to collect on over the years, and the lack of paint nor undercoating didn't help, either.

The last 12" or so of the frame rails, from the firewall forward are in much better shape, so I was able to clean them to clean (well, mostly clean on the left side) bare metal:





There is also some pre-existing damage on both forward ends of the frame. On the right side, rust, a crushed section, and wallowed out bumper bolt holes, and on the left, a forklift puncture and dent:





Combine the above with the fact that I have a six-foot long piece of thick wall 2"x3" steel tube, and you can probably guess where this is headed. Fortunately the existing frame rails are both straight and parallel, so I will only need to bend the new rails in one direction to come close to matching the existing contour. I will need to add some bracing back in once I figure out the new inner wheelwells, but the '60 fenders will hide the existing top bracing, so I will still have solid support from firewall to the front ends of the frame rails:





I also need to create new mounting points for the '60 fenders, as they mount much further inward than the '52 fenders, so that was another reason I didn't mind ditching the existing inner and outer fender wells.

I set two 16x8 wheels and tires I had on hand in their rough position, 56.5" apart from WMS-to-WMS, and clearance looks good: