Technical What are you working on?

Don't sell yourself short, right now it looks a lot better than Brenda's Ranch Wagon, but we finally found the right guy to help get it back in shape. HRP

 

What spindles are using to run the chevy hubs?



View attachment 6521350 View attachment 6521351

So be careful out there guys.[/QUOTE]

 

the '53ish Chevy spindles were fairly common on the aftermarket axles
may still be.
I liked them for their no honing required bushings

 

Yes Chevy spindles

 

Just dropped off Clarence's drive shaft to have the balance checked; and rebalanced if necessary. He has developed a vibration from about 60 to about 70 mph. Might be drive shaft or perhaps something else.

If drive shaft isn't the problem I'll move on to other suspects.

It started years ago but was almost negligible. It is getting more noticeable. All wheels and tires are different from when I first noticed it.

Pinion seal is leaking so I'm going to rebuild the punkin this winter. Including new ring/pinion gears, seals, bushings/bearings, etc. I doubt that the vibration is coming from there but it's getting done for other reasons anyway.

When I get the drive shaft back and test drive it I'll let you know if that eliminated the vibration.

 

Was back under there checking things out and discovered that the pinion bearing is shot; it's got wobble in it.
So out comes the 3rd member, hopefully before bedtime tonight. Driveshaft might or might not be out of balance. If it is then it probably caused the pinion failure. If not the bearing just failed.

Since the axles will have to be pulled I'll install new seals on them as a precautionary measure. Maybe bearings too.

 

I started peeling the onion in my shop today. After removing and sorting through a 6'x16' area of stuff I could almost see a back wall. Removing 2 4'x8' plywood panels I found a pair of 3-speed overdrive transmissions, a very nice '54 Ford drivers fender, '54 Plymouth station wagon upper tailgate with glass a pair of late '30's rear fenders and a couple early 50's grilles plus 8 old mag wheels. None of it has seen the light of day in ay least 15 years.. It was like Christmas.

 

I blew the drivetrain out of the T-bird last night. Final paint and assembly of all the drivetrain bits starts tonight.

 

Made a start on my poor man's cowl induction.

 

Took the Dirt Cheap Darts driveshaft to the driveline shop, the donor cars driveshaft was 2 inches too short. They will build a new shaft and balance with new u joints and slip yoke. I thought about building a drive shaft myself but by the time I got the parts, made a jig etc etc it would probably be a week or two longer to finish and I would’ve still had it professionally balanced. Prices have gone up! $480.00 used to be 200 - 300. I should be ready to have car driving by the time I get the shaft back.
Dan

 

Went to town and got the drive shaft and axle seals this afternoon. Drove the Model A to the Model A club meeting. I'm the current club president and it took me all afternoon to complete all the paperwork I had to do before I went to the meeting. Therefore, I didn't get anything done on Clarence today, but I've got all day tomorrow. I should be driving it tomorrow afternoon. Earlier if I roll out of bed at the same time most of you do. I doubt I'll be awake before 9-10ish though which means I'll probably start working on Clarence around noonish.

All I have to do is install the seals, reinstall the axles & brakes, reinstall the drive shaft, fill the 3rd member with 90wt, let that thing down off of the cribbing I've got underneath it, and take it for a test drive. I figure 2/3 hours for me. Probably 30 minutes for most of you.

 

Sanding my firewall in preparation for paint. Sanding a firewall sucks, lol.

 

Clarence is all ready for a test drive. I would have done that this afternoon but it started raining like a cow p*****g on a flat rock. Tomorrow is my other car club's annual picnic so we'll drive Clarence to that. I'm really glad to get it down off of the cribbing it's been on for a while.

 

We are working on the '33-34 frame. Weld prep, it took three passes with the TIG to build up enough material. The rear part is finished Bonneville style with a 6" kickup to get frame and weight down.

 

Got wifeys ‘62 T-Bird running, and the disc brakes off a ‘66 on the drivers side, hopefully get the other side done tomorrow

 

WOWzers cool with a capital K and C
Dan

 

Test drove Clarence today with new rear end parts, seals, etc. Went to a car club picnic.

Drove about 100 miles and it ran perfectly.

Tomorrow I plan to drive it to church. Thursday it goes to New Haven (between Hermann and Washington) for a car-guy lunch. That's about 100 miles each way. Following Thursday to southeast Kentucky for a small car-guy gathering.

For those of you who read my thread about spark plug wire routing let me tell you they sure are ugly where they are now BUT I haven't burned another wire since I fixed that fiasco.

Since May of 2024 I've put about 13K miles on it and finally it seems to have all the bugs worked out. Well, except for the left turn signal on the front that I discovered today needs a new bulb. I think even I can handle that issue.

I don't foresee any issues arising on the Kentucky trip except that I need to leave early enough in the morning to get there before dark. The last 50 miles or so are on narrow mountain twisties with drop offs on one side and bluffs on the other side and I've never been there before. Google maps tells me it's about 10 hours of actual driving time but when you add in gas stops, a meal or two, and a time zone change I might have to leave by 4-5 am to get there when I want to. It is what it is. Those of you who know me know that the last time I saw 4 am was because I hadn't been to bed yet. My bed time is normally 12-3 but usually between 1 and 2.

 

Put the disc brakes on the right side of Wifeys T-Bird

 

Finally found the front end grinding sound when rolling slow..... after 2 months.....

trim rings

At least the car has new wheel bearings and rotors

 

Have FUN. Hope you do a road trip thread.

Ben

 

Worked on this in my spare time for @Royalshifter complete custom exhaust bent up...

 

Nice
Dan

 

Need to unload after the weekend at Tristate raceway. Had a blast with the 348 409 racers after the 7 year absent.

 

Nice !

 

Excellent
Dan

 

Two things… first, helped my brother add footings for a 2-post-lift (necessary, but not fun). Second, (here comes the fun part) I bought a ‘51 F1 project that will likely keep me busy in the shop for 2-3 years. Giddyup.

John

 

Looks like an art project. Real nice.

John

 

Thanks, There is hours and hours of work there and thought process to get it right...

 

Fixing old Ford work. The lead seam on my shoebox coupe was bad.