Projects Giant speedster project

How about this for starters?

http://steampunkworkshop.com/gaz2.shtml

or this,

http://www.pcbdesign007.com/pages/columns.cgi?clmid=17&artid=47861&_pf_=1

go down to figure 4.

 

Jerry,
The dash looks really oversize to me. SEE PHOTO: This is the backboard of mine before gauges, steering wheel bracket and veneer was added. (Crappy grab handle in this picture was not used and just stuck there to get an idea for positioning one. Seems to me you could trim the dash shorter right along the hole of steering shaft and just make a nice BRASS bracket to support it. Just my 2 cents
Jimmy

 

What? You don't like my monstrously huge gargantuan dash? Preposterous!

Actually it will shrink of its own accord. The doors take up a lot of the sides. The pad takes up 2 inches of the top. There will be cutouts on either side of the bottom. Plus, if you flip back through some of the old pictures you'll see the old firetruck dash is cast into the cowl and to hide that the wooden dash has to come fairly low. I only had time today to tinker with the shifter and handbrake. I need to buy a French curve or something to draw some graceful lines for the cutouts on the bottom of the dash. I polished the handbrake handle and button then moved on to the shifter button. The shifter has a reverse lockout which, because I reversed the shift pattern when I reworked the linkage, will now be inoperative. A least until I have time to address it. The paint will have to dry on the e-brake rod before I can install it. I'm cruising ebay looking for compasses, altimeters, oil temp gauges, inclinometers, pyrometers, gyrometers and knife switches.

Jerry

 

The compass should only be the needle with the markings painted on the floor and the unit removable

add a couple caged Edison bulbs and a hammer encased in glass for emergency's
add some sterling silver platters- plates or sugar bowl for a cup holder


preposterous? ... that would be the state of this vehicle prior to your involvement

 

Mockup

Choose your dash--or make up a new one. The steering wheel will really be about two feet away from the dash and 10 inches higher than the hole, but you get the picture. Imagine the white paper is brass. I was having a flashback to the sixties in the fourth picture. Hey, Alex earned his brown and black belt last night. Black belt is next. I'll need a new body guard to keep away the adoring crowds once the speedster is finished.

Jerry

 

I vote for picture #2.

 

This is the picture i was looking for. http://www.flickr.com/photos/happilyretired/7510523542/

Jerry

 

Now that's a dash!

 

Jerry,
I like what I see going on with the dash.

Again here comes my 2cents: The grab handle this time. Before you fit it, sort of tape it on and do 'light' trial grabs and reaches to determine the best placing. mounting it perfectly straight & symmetrical may look better but when the kiddies or wife is actually trying to come on board, it's good to have it placed where it works the best. In my case, I had to angle it. Couldn't find one that didn't look like a door handle to me so I ended up wrapping mine in waxed cotton cord like the racing steering wheels were done. Just a thought.

My God! I love that Pierce dash! Those two cubby boxes doors could make for some good access for getting at wiring and other things needing fiddling under the dash in the future. Hmmmmm?
Jimmy

 

cleat instead of the handle (it seems too modern)

if you add a dash light make sure it will illuminate the sundial

a drawer or locking compartment seems right and can contain some actual wiring or cigars,,,, or an opening map tube, spyglass case along the bottom of the dash

that fancy dash you showed a couple posts back had the cast fancy surround ,,, you can find something along those lines to gather the group...like a huge silver plate serving platter cut in half ..cut edge under the cowl edge

do not sass the "kid" UNLESS YOU GET IT ON VIDEO

 

I'm dying to see what this thing looks like outside, in one piece, with all of it's body panels in place!

 

That Pierce dash is beautiful, cluttered enough to look truly vintage and enough assorted oddities to work well aesthetically.

 

I envisioned something like this...with gimbals...mounted horizontally instead of vertically as it is here:

 

Having faithfully followed this thread for years, I too want to see the GIANT SPEEDSTER!
How about a shot of this beast as "complete" as it is! My favorite car on the HAMB!

 

Hey Jerry, here's a few more ideas for the compass.

 

I spotted this same compass on ebay! Great minds....

 

Thanks for the support! My shop is so small you can't get a picture of anything. But I'm working toward a start up real soon and when I pull it out there'll be lots of pictures--probably a video too.

Jerry

 

I like!!

Jerry

 

Nature abhors a vacuum

Not me though--without it we wouldn't have car engines. The speedster intake manifold cried out to have something right in the middle of it. It used to have this funky heat riser tube. Back in the day engine designers thought gas would be better atomized if it was heated. We know the opposite is true. (We're so smart) Anyway, I thought it'd be the perfect place for a big ol' vacuum gauge. Something to watch while the engine ran. I had to drill a hole to get into the actual intake part of the manifold. Check out my nifty chip vacuum. Bernoulli's principle! Hey, there's another thing we need to have car engines. You wouldn't think it took all day to make a plate, polish it up and the gauge then mount the thing, but it did. Go figure. By the way, I got a beef... What happened to 7/16 bolts? You can't find them at the parts house or hardware store. No one carries them. Why? I spent a few minutes mocking up the dash in situ. Compass right below the volt gauge/light switch plate? Don't forget about the big surprise on the coil box. It'll be ready any day now. Have a great Labor Day!

Jerry

 

Tractor Supply has 7/16" bolts by the #.
Get dash inspiration from this guy
Have a great weekend, looking forward to your next post.

 

Stopped by the shop on the way to somewhere and couldn't resist working for 45 minutes. Here's the result.

Jerry

 

Steampunk money

Well, I tried to make a little speedster money on ebay but I barely broke even--plus I lost two days of speedster work. Don the Morgan guy had this giant old industrial twin rheostat that the steam punk crowd swoons over. I bought it for $40 and thought it might sell for $100. At least that's what other rheostats had brought. 88 viewers, 11 watchers, one guy bid $50 and I had to crate it! Made $10 for that. Wow! But you can't win if you don't bet.

Got in more odds and ends. The lower Ebrake slide bolts. The brake light switch--courtesy of a 1990 240 Volvo. Hey, it's got two nifty brass adjusting nuts on it! And here's another beef. I know big time restorers probably mix up top quality paint with hardener every time the have a few bolts to paint but I just whip out the old spray can and give them a blast. So here's the problem. I've been using Rustoleum but it takes forever to dry and there's big problem with the nozzles and even the cans themselves clogging up. A few days ago I switched to Krylon which brags 10 minutes dry time. Problem: the color is very thin and takes many, many coats. What's ya'lls favorite rattle can brands? Help me out here.

Jerry

 

I swear by Plasti-Coat's Engine Enamel....most of my T is paitned with it.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

duplicolor

 

Something changed with Rustoleum's spray can quality. You can buy three cans from the same batch and one if your lucky works without a problem. Clogging, nozzle insert popping out, awful spray patterns. It's a shame because the paint still works but you can't count on getting it out of the can to do its job! If you Google the problem you will see other forums are flooded with complaints. I think after 92 years of being a household American brand name the 'Big Rusto' has run its course and deserves its new moniker, 'Crapoleum'.
DRYING: I use an old oven to bake my rattle can (or brushed on) parts. I can get the oven down to 145 F by cracking the door a half inch. I leave the parts to bake for about 30-45 minutes then I turn off the heat, close the door tight and let them sit in there for an hour or until I need them. It's worked for me for years. Never had the clear coat or colors haze on me doing this, it's nice and hard and it's dry-real dry when your done.
Jimmy

 

Been using a lot of Duplicolor Engine paint on the T. Flows nice and dries good in all temperatures (when it's below 65f it takes longer).

CBB

 

There was a young man from La Paz
Whose balls were made out of brass
When in stormy weather
His balls crashed together
And sparks shot out of his ass

Excuse my profanity but I love that limerick. I love brass too. Except when I have to tap it. I still haven't learned that trick too well. Today I made a dash--all day. The gauges were all an oddball diameter so I dug through my oddball tool drawer and found an adjustable diameter hole cutter. I think it was made for wood or plastic but since it had no bit on it what difference did that make. I welded an old lathe bit on the end then proceeded to make circles on the slowest speed of my drill press which is about 60 RPM. It worked pretty good for the first hole and 90% of the second before snapping in half. I got out the hole saw and a die grinder. The result looked good. I think I'll make a brass plate for the light switches instead of that funky steel one. BTW--know any good limericks?

Jerry

 

That type hole cutter does more and more work as the trench/bevel increases. Next time do 1/3 from the back and finish from the front.

There once was a robot named Clank
Who was afflicted with rust of the crank
His love partner said
You're better off dead
Clank's crank was so rank that it stank

 

Of course the issue with any sort of hole cutter is the cleaning up afterwards, bits of brass are not welcome in your carpet etc. Which brings up this old classic:

There was a young man from Racine
Who invented a screwing machine
Both concave and convex
It could fit either sex
But boy what a bastard to clean

 

There once was a man from Van Nuys
Whose balls were different size
One was so small
Twas like no ball at all
But the other won many a prize