Hot Rods Modified Murray - Are we there yet??!

Alright, alright... I give! I have an update! I have a TOOOON of pictures to share. Probably my LAST for awhile, actually. I think my camera bit the dust. Bummer...

So... Let's begin!

Here's the last thread, just so you know where we're at:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=349243&highlight=modified+murray

An absolute TON has happened since my last posting, yet still a TON to do (I think I always say that... JEESH!)

Here's what I've been working on since the last post...
- made brackets for the fuel tank
- progress on the "new" Hemi
- linkage for the Hemi
- grille shell stuff
- rear cross member cover
- seat risers
- breaking lots of tools
- Mark Kawakami (Joyride Art Company) did an unexpected photoshoot
- welding here and there
- door patch panels
- steering blister
- visor panel work
- garnish molding work
- rear quarter window regulator work
- uuuuu.... I'm sure there's more. I'll just start posting pictures and you can follow


Lots to post, so let me get through it before you say anything... Not saying that you WILL say anything, just in case... you know...

Let's start here... I rolled the car outside to take a look at it. One thing is for sure, cars look WAAAAY different when you put them outside. This gave me a chance to nick pick everything. Plus, it hadn't seen the light of day in about 8-months, maybe longer.






So now that I could see everything wrong (LONG list) I could get a fresh start...

Steering blister. Stille working on the details and finishing touches, including the clearances for up and down movement of the drag link as the suspension travels, but I had to start somewhere. Cleco'd in place for now, but will be screwed in place later.





Oh yeah.... pretty much finished with the patch panels on this side also.



Something else that needed some attention was the door gap on the driver side... The gap was too big, so I added some material to close it up. Needs more work, but it's a step in the right direction. I actually have to open up the lower parts of the gap so they match the upper gap.

All these finishing touches are killing me! Takes FOREVER!







Also did some fix-it work on the chop seams, starting with the back and working around towards the front of the car...





Also got the lower rear filler panel in so I could start the rear cross member cover inside.



After cleaning things up...




Lots more! Hold on...

 

Okay, so next I started working on the floors. Didn't get very far, but did get the rear cross member cover made and welded in place. Still need to smooth everything out.





Next I moved on to filling the slots in the visor panel. They were there to tack the top cover and visor trim in place. No need for them now and I really need to make that part water tight. Like everything else, it's needs finishing, but will unfortunately need some filler anyway because the visor panel is pretty pitted. Nothing a skim coat wouldn't take care of. That's reality...



Something else that's been buggin me is the grille shell needs a crank hole so it looks like the original. Thanks to my buddy Jimmy (this******), I had an original to use as a template...





Transfer it over



For some reason I don't have a better picture, but here's the result...



Next I moved to the rear quarter windows. They are ready for garnish moldings and the window regulator panels need modifications because of the new support structure inside the B-pillars.





Just lover this garnish treatment!! It will absolutely be retained...



This will kind of give you an idea where the handle is relative to the seat position. Not too bad of a twist to rais and lower the window.

 

No criticism, but an observation...the back tires cover the belt line around the back corner of the body, it gives the illusion that the body is lower in back than the front. Love the build, I've been watching you slave away...you are making great progress!

 

Okay... so... I decided not to build a tank from scratch. I whimped out and bought a tank from Mike (side_valve) at the Hot Rod Company. Here's why I caved...

1) I'm straight up running out of time and the amount of time to build one from scratch the way I wanted it to look would have taken considerable time
2) The way I wanted it to look was basically the same as the tanks that THRC was selling; shape, size, volume, everything.
3) Cost was less after all things considered
4) Couldn't afford to risk a leak. The set-back would have been too time consuming.

Soooo.... Here's what I got... along with some other goodies for the fuel system... Thanks Mike!



Getting this tank lit me up to get creative and start building support brackets!! Couldn't wait to get started!!

So here's how I got started...





Holding the light in place ('32 stands with Model A lights)



Time to transfer it to 7-ga steel



Next I made a wood guide for the plasma cutter to follow



The result was a little slaggy, but the cleaned up alright



After some time cleaning up and standing in front of the drill press, they are starting to look like something...



They got a lot of find tuning and fitting to the tank before going any further...

...which is coming up next, so hold on!

 

Looks good Scott. Never mind the coments from people that have never seen it in person.

.

 

Yeah, I know. It drives me NUTS! It makes it look like it has a droopy ****! GAH! It's actually perfectly level, but there is an optical illusion. I'm going to raise the rear up about 3/4 of an inch. Just jacking it up and looking at it makes a WORLD of difference!

Thanks for the compliments!

More coming!!

 

Looking good buddy. The devil is in the details , as you know, and you are doing one hell of a job.

 

On to the brackets...

First mock-up!



Some flat bar was added to distribute the weight of the tank over a larger surface and also add regidity to the brackets.



Mocked up to check things out. Had to do a lot of fine tuning after this point as well!



Then I added mounting provisions to the back of the brackets. Each bracket will get 4 bolts that will p*** through the body and connect to the interior support structure.



Test fit with clamps



After everything looked good I welded everything up and rounded off some corners...



That will support the ends pretty well. However some cross supports were added to suport the middle of the tank when it's full.



And here's the tank sitting in place... exciting moment seeing that tank sitting up there all by itself! I just had to clamp the lights in place and set the gas cap up there as well. Fills out that void pretty well, I think.







Seems like it changed the whole profile of the car!



Next I'll tell you about the seats!

 

details are there to make a great car even better. dig the whole tank set up.

 

I got tired of propping the seats up on 2x4's and whatever else I had laying around. Time to make some risers!

Originally I wanted to make them adjustable, but decided against it. Thought it was overkill and something that ultimately wouldn't get used enough to make it worth it. So, the seats will be stationary but will tilt forward so I can store do***ents under the seat.



Support frames



Mark out the position



I found that the setting the seats at 15-degrees (seat bottom relative to the floor) was most comfortable with the way the foot controls are as well as with this floor arrangement.



Started the support structure using some 3/4" tubing and a conduit bender





Weld in place



Next I needed something for a pivot point so I carved out some 1" angle steel to make some pivots (to be drilled later)





Tighten up the gaps and weld in place



Triangulate for strength





Finish up the welds



VUA LA! Seat risers



I'll make the pivots later. They will have removable pins so the seats can be pulled out on the fly without tools and will also incorporate a rear latch to keep the **** end down.

Starting to look like the inside of a car now! The foam is temporary. I just put it in there to get my **** closer to the actual height it's supposed to be at so I could check leg position.








Next, let's talk about Hemis...

 

looking good, as per usual!

JEFF

 

Been working on the Hemi alot! Been hiding the pictures from you guys though. So here goes!

The Hemi is almost together! Pistons and rotating ***embly are in...





STUDS!



Had to do some deck surgery to line up the water ports on the later heads with the early Chrysler block...





I reinforced my stand (just to be sure) and dropped the heads and rockers in place, but I still need to go through the rockers before I ****on them down and torque them in place.





I decided to change the timing change to a double roller type.





And that's how she sits until I get the rest of the parts I need, get the starter rebuilt, and finish up the rockers.

I also started the linkage on the mock-up motor. Going to go with a straight linkage for now. I will regulate it accordingly to help keep the CFM's under control. I'm at risk of over-carbing this engine, so I need to do some clever stuff to keep thing right.



I'll use military style bellcrank bearings for the cross link shaft and make my own support bracket. Still lots more to do to the carbs as well. Need to get some jets and will probably block the powervalves off, just to get it setup. Then maybe I'll open them up later. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Next I'll show you the photoshoot pics that Mark Kawakami took....

 

So a buddy of mine, Mark Kawakami, of Joyrides Art Company (http://www.joyridesartco.blogspot.com/), mentioned that he was looking for something new to shoot so he asked if he could come by and take some pictures. I figured he was going to shoot the car, but he was looking to shoot me working. I generally don't like to be on the other end of the lens, but this was kind of cool. Anyway here's the pictures he took. When you get a chance, go check out his website and check out his other pictures as well as more pictures from his shoot at the shop. Awesome photographer and a super cool guy!!

Enjoy...

 

Scooter.......one word.............Killer!~!

 

great progress mate...love that welding hair net....screw the fashion police

Cheers, and keep cranking,

Drewfus

 

Great job. Gary

 

I love this car!

 

Scooter, tremendous work as always!

I was looking at the window crank- was wondering if you could flip-flop the mechanism (I'm guessing side to side) so that the crank is using the front set of holes and making you stretch a bit less?

 

Thanks everyone!

Chicks dig polka dot hats! After getting a hot spark in my ear, it's my favorite hat!

You are correct sir! I tried it both ways, and this seemed to be the best bet. I can reverse it later, if I need to.

 

Looking good!!!! Scooter.


Rex

 

very cooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

 

looking good scooter, Im really enjoying seeing it come together, keep up the good work

 

Great build

 

Sweet. You know how sweet? Well, I'll show you. And she needs a name

 

WoW!!! Great work!

 

Waaaay cooool scooter...ya know I'm jealous...


.

 

Finally the teasing has stopped!! Great work the car is looking killer. I agree that the tank seems to have changed the profile of the car. Doesn't look so much like the back end is low.

 

Awesome Scooter!! It's really coming together nicely and I can't wait to see a coat of the shiny stuff on there sooner or later!

 

Great progress! I really like the fuel tank mounts - very creative...



Malcolm

 

Scooter
Great work and thanks for the updates. You've really had some setbacks with the engine issues but are working thru it all. Mounting the tank does change the visual profile and it looks awesome.
cheers
ricki