Projects building a low budget bellybutton 40 ford coupe

Hey bigcheese that's a nice simple one.
What I'll do some evening is photoshop some in to get a surreal idea,
that will keep some of the guesswork out of it.

I've been getting good at picking out stuff I don't need for the next 3 projects,
and trading it (craigslist/ebay/hamb classifieds) for stuff I do!
So my budget is like the ocean tide.

TP

 

Nice job Zibo

 

looked at all the pics--sent you info--shifter should work with the short arm reversed and at the top--gave you a phone number and doing another column now-6th column done with stock shifter and 525 box
Tim

 

Hey BOBO thanks for checking in!

Hey Tim I'm almost at the point to figure out this shifter.
I'll be getting a hold of you when I get to it!

Got a good chunk of time in over the weekend,
so here's a quick update.

Okay so I had gotten a different alternator than I had expected,
but I think it was a good mistake.
The newer style alternator has a constant field or something like that,
which is better for the HIPO electronic ignition.
This uses the newer solid state voltage regulator,
instead of the black box that I already had.

I've got a chit ton of these old regulators,
and I decided to do another fakey hiding spot.
Yeah now I'll have 2 regulators to the untrained eye.

I had even painted the thing black,
to see if I could just bolt it on there.
It just didn't seem to fit right.
I'd rather face the fake-haters!

After gutting the old regulator,
the new one is held in by 3 set screws.
It's easy to replace other than trimming the mounting ears.
There goes my warranty!


With the alternator on the passenger side,
the regulator could be mounted in that opposite bare spot,
and not look to out of place,
other than there being no need to have 2 voltage regulators!

That wire is not house wire!
It is actually this 14 gauge marine wire scrap from a boat project.
It's good stuff just white.
If it bothers me I can put some shrink wrap near the frame to hide it.



From there I went to finish the mods on the lincoln headers.
This is some dang ugly work here I admit it.

The positives are 1 - the gasketless exhaust connection is bulletproof,
and I've kept the flange/flared pipe to start the exhaust with,
2 - it fits
3- free!

The mods have that sheetmetal crude but effective look to them,
but the original headers were so ugly I couldn't see why to make them look any better.

I even painted them off-white to show them off.

With the repaired part hidden down there,
you can see why it wasn't worth the time to make them too pretty,
other than anyone that will see these pictures!

I used the BBQ white paint
1-cause I had it and was too lazy to drive to the store.
and 2 - it's really good at showing any leaks,
an old boat trick.

If the color doesn't grow on me,
than I can always paint them before they're "permanently" installed.

TP

 

BTW the 'smooth' column drop bolt is a factory twist off security bolt. When its installed to the correct torque the hex head twists off on purpose. It prevents a thief from removing the drop.

 

Zibo,
I love that green shift knob! Any chance you know where it came from?
My interior is gonna be red, I'd like to find a red one like your green one.

 

Good work. I like the leak detection info. You could hide some more stuff in an old Sun Tach sender. That green knob is cool.

 

Good work Zibo---give me a call when you start on the column issues--think I can save you some time and grief

 

Good thing I took this picture then!
Wasn't sure if it was only me that would appreciate it!



This came with the project,
but wasn't installed,
as there was a floor shifter 39 box.

It was always a little loose on the painted shifter,
and the chrome one is a little thicker.
I had to drill out the chrome base part a bit,
then I torched the end of the shifter,
and push/melted it into place.

TP

Oh yeah six-ball.
The diesels that go in the boat jobs come in the typical detroit green, caterpillar yellow etc.
And they look really nice as they cost 50's of thousands of dollars.
They'll get painted with an LP white paint,
over everything - hoses/clamps, bolt heads, wires, fittings, filters and block etc.
only taping off the spec plates or badges.
They look downright nasty and usually full of drips.
However it makes it easy to see leaks, water, oil and exhaust,
and the engineers tend to wipe them down much more often as well.
Also makes it easier to know if there is any repair work later on.

 

Some real creative solutions Travis, keep it up holmes.

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

Never have understood the logic behind painting an engine black when you want to see leaks, but everyone seems to be on board with black.

 

This thread got me to thinking about a donor car for one of my projects. I ended up buying a very low miles 75 Comet 4dr with a V8 auto. Man the smog 302 is a slug but it runs very smooth.

 

Hey Mike-
I'm from the "how to keep your volkswagen alive" john muir school of mechanics,
and one of the tips was that a flat black engine radiates the most heat,
so the engine runs cooler.
A shiny and/or white/lighter engine keeps the heat in.
So it really is a toss up on which is more important.
I tend to want to hide the leaks with the black paint!

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/711843.html

http://www.schoolphysics.co.uk/age1...of heat energy/text/Heat_radiation/index.html

I am going to blame the gold paint on the 40's first flathead for the reason it cracked,
not cause we were chasing overdriven hot rods!

That have a C4 transmission?
There's some good deals on the unsmoggable cars,
perfect donors.

TP

 

Another good reason for not wearing white underware. Do diesels leak more because of their internal pressures and fuel or does it just seam that way because the fuel doesn't evaporate? I remember those knobs on cards in parts houses and gas stations. They came in green, red, blue, black,?. I think I remember it.

 

Awesome build!!! Just spent about 30 minutes skimming the entire thing! You do great work!!

 

Hey Six Ball I think they leak more because they are more or less in constant use.
Boat engines aren't gauged by mileage it's time/hours.
They will sit at Idle for hours on end even at the dock,
at least one will as the hydraulics/electrical are run off them.
Also depends if they're cooled by salt water or fresh/coolant,
as there is a corrosion element with salt.

Another thing is these aren't babied.
The owner/engineer/mechanic usually is doing either emergency repair,
or a deadline repair as the boat has a job ASAP.
As well a repair will usually be the cheapest to get it done right the off-season,
which is typically ends up being a couple years later!
I am surprised at some of the hackwork that goes on!
The newer engines are like hondas where they have much better tolerances.

I'd like to find a stash of these knobs!

Hey thanks Cobra,
this has been good practice as this is basically a budget garage build.
It's been alot of fun though and that's the best part.

TP

 

These aren't exactly the same.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plastic-Vintage-NOS-automobile-gear-shift-knob-/321021347009?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4abe5d04c1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plastic-Vintage-NOS-automobile-gear-shift-knob-/321021349120?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4abe5d0d00

 

I think the headers look good. Use thicker paint next time to hide bumps


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

Great ideas! Where did you find the aluminum steering column drop?

 

Yep it's a C4. The narrow width 8" rear end, interior and frt disc brakes are worth what I paid for the car. Low miles engine and trans for free more or less.

 

Zibo, Looking forward to your '40 running with a new heart between the rails. Will be looking forward to seeing the Caddy powered Kustom also becoming a runner !

Dave

By the way, I don't believe that your '40 Coupe will be like any of the belly-button '40s. Yours is built truly by your skill and knowledge. Keep on a buildin' ! ! !

 

the 40 look great keep it up. that t is killer!!!!!

 

Awesome build Zibo. Also on a side note your tech article on how to build a bellhousing is first post I ever read and what caused me to join the HAMB.

 

Man....I haven't checked on you in a while but I see you are keeping the pace! This build is friggin' sweet!! It's really coming together! LOVE IT.

 

Once again, great thread!

 

Just read entire thread today on lunch. Great read thanks for taking time to post I have learned a few tricks just reading.

 

Hey guys thanks for continuing to check in!
There's been slow progress but I haven't totally stalled out on this project!
The time change has really helped me out.
Here's some of the little stuff I've been doing...

I haven't had much grinding time,
so the first thing to do was notch out the motor mount.
There was a short filter on there before which fit,
but the easier to find long filter didn't quite fit.

Not too pretty but now there is some space.

Next I got out the old soldering kit.
I've scrapped a bunch of this marine grade wire,
it's 14 gauge with an oil/gas resistant cover.
I ran out of all the black multi-wire!

I'm hoping that there are no cross impulses since they are bound together.
I've got this cool steel braided multi-wire that I used on the RPU,
so if it works I may change it to that stuff later on.

There is still a wire needed to the regulator and to the coil hot,
but the dash is a little rats nest so that will be cleaned up first.

The newer starter has an attached solenoid,
but online the old solenoid is still suggested to use.

Basically the temporary fat hot went to the permanent hot,
and a 12 or 14 gauge jumper wire now goes from temporary hot to the starter solenoid.
Whether or not this is the correct way,
the main thing is it works,
and it was a relief that the engine finally spun,
and didn't keep spinning when I let go of the button!

An electric fan was used with the flathead in front of the radiator.
The AOD also needed a tranny cooler,
so some bracketry was made to mount everything.
I didn't want to have it all attached to the radiator,
as it's not easy to remove.
Here's an even more detailed version of making this!
http://perichbrothers.blogspot.com/2013/03/mountains-and-mole-hills.html


I found a cooler with threaded inserts instead of hoses.
Hopefully this will limit any leaks.

The long lengths should absorb any movement.
The lincoln didn't have any rubber so it should be fine.

All the scrap radiator hoses were gathered up,
and some copper reducers to make them fit.
I've had luck doing this which is dangerous cause I end up repeating it.

I'll put some hose clamps on there a little later.
Also got the fuel line hooked up.
I'll zip tie the wiring once I know everything works.

My current project is modifying the original TV cable.
Some of the excess metal was trimmed off,
and the transmission part fits perfectly as it was on there originally.

I've got to put at least a little time to see if this will work.
I like the adjustability of this style better than the Lokar style,
and hey I warned you this was a low budget build!

The length is perfect for the carburetor.
I need to make a bracket from those 2 gold bolts to the liner,
than probably tig a washer to the throttle linkage for that bushing.
Yeah I know this needs to be right!
There's enough adjustability in that plastic box my thumb is on,
so I've just got to not rush through this one.

Thanks for bearing with all this minutia.
It's been fun crossing stuff off the list.
The non-op registration is up in May,
so I've got some time to get it running and driving.

More soon!

TP

 

Great built!!! I missed this thread totally, this forum sure have a lot of things going on. I Almost here every day, but I totally missed this.

 

Hey BigJake that is really cool to know!
There are some really great builds on here,
hopefully you can weed them out.
Others like mine help you learn what not to do!

Hey Nitro that came with the basket case.
The guy had collected a bunch of stock stuff and left whatever hot rod stuff was on it.
This could never really be used as it was too tight.
It's hard to see but I made 1/4" spacers to make it fit right.

****************************************************************

Okay I finally completed a small but huge issue with this thing.
These wheels were pieced together and have really been the pink elephant.
The rims were 6.5/7" wide and definitely not what was pictured in the ebay ad.
It's been tough to look at them and not think 70's street rod.
Hard to not notice the flush fit of the fender and tire.

It has taken forever to find a simple pair of 50's ford 15" rims,
but thanks to ebay and the big 3 swap meet I found the 2 left in america.
I even got some studebaker rims in desperation.
The fat 205/65R15 tires will be replaced with the skinnier 195/65R15's.
Typical low budget craigslist deals!

Of course the center hole was too small to fit over the disc rotor.
A little grinding - no problem.

No I didn't spray over unprepped paint.
A couple minutes was spent wirewheeling and sanding.
Not too much though.
That Sherwin-Williams Controls Rust paint is the best rattlecan.

I even scoured the drips off the next day to blend the coat a bit better.
It's some strong paint even with only 14 hours drying time.

With the tires mounted I couldn't wait to try them on.
So much better.

I even cleaned up all the junk to roll it outside for the first time in 2 months.

The hubcaps finished it off.

It's still high and it should settle a little bit.
If not I'm still happy with the moonshiner stance.

Now I can finally show a front quarter view!
There will be a bumper on there once I hammer out those smashed up fenders!

TP

 

awesome man you gave me some great ideas for my 40 coupe built im gonna build my motor mounts today using your method on the drivers side