Projects LA HOT RODS Get's A 37 Pontiac

Holy crap it’s norb I thought you give it up when you sold the chevelle I need to see this 56

 

Like Salty said "slow but sure"

 

Been a long time Norb, we should drink some beer again.

 

Norb that’s a good looking ride hope to see it running soon same with James coupe and now back to the show lol

 

Today was a road trip to pick up a rear end for the car.
Dana 60 with Strange spool and 35 spline axles with 5.13 gears. This thing is a beast.
I do need to get the axles drilled for 5x5 wheel bolt pattern.

 

you really going to need that kind of beef?...and weight?

 

I like "work good and last long time".
I'm sure I wont have any problem building enough power to put it to the test.
I have a 9 inch rear end that I could have built for it but I'm not a real fan of the 9 inch.
Pluss the price point I bought this one for I couldn't build the 9 inch.
This is going to be a track car not a street or show car.

 

The truck motor will handle it, giddy up giddy up 409

 

Now that's funny Norb
These were used under a lot of trucks. But the car rear ends had smaller axle tubes.

 

That's the kind of Dana 60 I originally wanted for my '29 AA truck, but availability at an affordable price just wasn't happening at the time I was looking for a rear end back in the late '70s. I settled for a Rockwell 140 with 5.14:1 ratio, which is kinda steep even with an AOD. Now I know the only other ratio available for that differential is a 4.86, and that really doesn't offer much of an improvement. At 75 mph, the engine will still be singing a pretty high soprano note, don't ya think?

 

Wouldn't that AA truck have pretty tall tires on it?

 

James, the tires on the former 1960 F-350 tow truck I pulled the rear end and wheels off of are 17.5 by 8.00, or about 30.5" in diameter. I've done the math several times and am finding 75 mph spinning the engine at mid- to upper 2000s rpm, closing in on 3000 even through the AOD. Even the 4.86:1 option doesn't get it down to the low 2000s at 75 mph. Now 2600+ rpm isn't screaming, but I think it's a bit higher than what I want to be running on I-70 for a two-hour trip to visit my son who lives just up the road from you in Columbia. Hey, but it's a '29AA, so I'm doubtful I really want to be sitting in that cab for that long, especially with the engine eating up four inches into the cab. It's tight in there - maybe not knee-caps up my nostrils tight but still not a comfort ride for long-distance interstate tours. I wasn't thinking of comfort when I started this project 50 years ago but age has a way of changing one's perspective.

 

Take highway 50 in much nicer than it used to be. You would drive right pass my house going up 63.
Would this truck be safe at that MPH or even comfortable at that point? Seems like wind would be tough.

 

Yup, Model AA cabs are pretty much brick walls aerodynamically. I have my doubts the ride will be bearable with those cantilever rear springs (160 pounds per stack). No rear shocks. I worked for MoDOT 16 years so that drive from Lee's Summit to Jefferson City has gotten better these last 20 years. Seems like I had to drive that stretch a couple of times a year and it was always slow going on the head-to-head section around Sedalia, especially that two-lane narrow underpass at the railroad. That's fixed now, isn't it?

 

It's still there but it is still in town and one doesn't need to be driving fast though that part. It brings back the nostalgia to a road tip on the old two lain.

 

I went back to look at post #215 and the thickness of those axles. My Rockwell 140 looks to be about the same. Stout! I mean, if you're going to build something truck tough, those 35-spline axles should be the ingredient. Those are floating hubs, right?

 

No not floating. Just a regular flanged axle.

 

never knew a 60 that wasn't a floater-learn something new every....

 

They put 60s in Hemi cars. They have smaller axle tube than the truck floater stuff does.

 

thanks!-those must be the proverbial hens tooth!

 

Being the blue sky garage is closed. I have been digging into the mess of a basement shop so I can do inside projects. One thing that has always been an eyesore on this car was the left front fender that needless to say I walk pass countless times figured it was time for a change. The car came with a pair of extra front fenders. My buddy sand blasted one for me and has been setting around for some time since I had been doing some repairs on it. This evening I had made my way to the replacement fender and went at the task of mounting it on the car and tossing the bad one out.

 

I love small accomplishments like this. It moves a project along while making more room in the shop.

 

This car will be blown apart many time. These fenders are massive and getting this on the car opens up another work bench.

 

Still digging deeper. I haven't been this close to the front of this car for awhile.

 

Moving forward despite the cold winter months. It's a pre-war Pontiac. What's not to like?

 

Let the fun begin.

 

Plan to profile the frame rails something like this.

I may need to get some shorter springs as these are placing the front of the spring into the fender. Still more mocking up a figuring to do.

 

Waiting on some parts and rounding up parts that will be very important.

 

The new dropped pitman arm and shorter springs showed up today. I think the fit will be much better and not have a chance of the front spring mount sticking out the front on the fender. Now I need to work on a template to make repeatable cuts in the frame rails to get the profile I'm after.