Projects Modified Lakester Build (THUNDERCASKET)

Thanks for the update. Glad you are still at it, I was starting to worry.
Funny how some old threads have shown back up lately.

 

I wish I had a source for new ones to give you, but I scored these on Epay years ago IIRC. They're probably 40 years old or more, IDK. I remember when I saw them, the loud ape in the back of my skull started hooting and beating its chest so I bought them immediately.

 

Yeah man, still on it, just not posting much here. I have been A LITTLE better with my Instagram updates but not by much. I've got more updates to make on this car, the Basurati, and yes, even my AAV8, but I am swamped with year end work AND the rush to the finish line on this car.

I had a head cold last week and that slowed me down enough that I missed the START date I was hoping for to get the engine to fire. I still need to lubricate the engine, connect the clutch arm, and wire the generator / ignition system.

I have put the rear end up on stands JIC, LOL, but I could/should drop it again because I just got the last piece I need (speedo gear for the driveshaft) from Prewar And More over the weekend along with a nice EAB oil filter (that still needs to be plumbed).



Here also is yet another new roadblock with plumbing I'm mad at. I wish my aluminum welding chops were up to the task but if I can't do it with hoses I may end up cutting and soldering a solution.



I also mounted the "temporary" fuel tank (the little red one that I love needs A LOT of work)



THis thing had some BAD pitting in a few spots and a terrible repair to the bottom with brazing, solder, copper sheet, an old nail, and some epoxy. I am not even done cutting and grinding the fail out of this tank. I have never managed to ID it to even search for a direct replacement, I love the tank, but I do not want to hold up the whole car just to have the perfect tank so CHINESIUM TANK IT IS!

 

Some old tractors were built to run on kerosine but had to be started and warmed up on gasoline. They had a large kerosine tank and a smaller gas tank. That looks like a gas tank from one of them. We had '20s -'30s Case, Oliver, & Farmall. Either the Case Or Oliver was set up this way. You may have to do and old tractor search. Maybe even early '40s during the war when gas was rationed. gas?kerosinr farm tractors

 

How about a silicone hose bend or 2 to get around the generator? Speedway for instance has them in different sizes and even some with 2 different sizes to adapt from o e size to another.

Just a thought...

 

Find one of the brackets that mounts the generator off of the head bolts. Or better yet make one.
It is really looking good. This would all be so easy if there weren't so many moving parts that have to work together. Like building a big model or show car.

 

THANKS FOR THE LEAD! I will chase this path down.

EDIT: This "Oliver Tank-fuel K904577" is SO CLOSE that I think it's an Oliver tank of some kind now:

I think I am past that point potentially but we shall see. Do the head mount brackets drop the generator lower?

I have some bends, I just need to get back out there and try them. Really, I wish I had a local radiator shop like the old timers all talk about. I don't think those are nearly as common now. I don't expect the multiple bends to really work long term but we shall see. I do need to get a bottle for my TIG but I don't want to try to weld thin aluminum for my first project in years so I'll probably end up soldering tubes to get tighter turns on the driver side. The lower is an issue as well because of the steering box.

I wish I had set the engine back another inch and the body back 1-1/8" more because everything would be easier.

Yes that means I have firewall clearance issues. The fuel pump that I wasn't thinking about when I made the recess on the firewall needs 1/8" more clearance because of course it does. It would also have made getting the body on and off of the frame A LOT easier but here we are.

 

Glad the tractor tank idea shed some light.
There may be a generator idea here. Ford flathead generator mounting site:www.jalopyjournal.com

 

Just a quick update here. I have gotten the engine to turn over, got a cheap solenoid stuck in the process, and fired a few cylinders on starting fluid. I'm hooking up a nurse tank and running fuel today; wish me luck!

 

Very cool.
Good luck!

 

Still trying to get things tuned right but she starts damn near first turn every time & runs pretty good. I've got good oil pressure too! I just finished getting my clutch pedal put together & sat in the drivers seat running for the first time ever & went through the gears (on jack stands, i have no brakes because lol) & I'm all jazzed up. It's only on one carb, not quite tuned/ timed, the headers aren't welded up or even fully bolted on, but it sounds AMAZING from the drivers seat.

I've got more of a photodump here of my testing/break-in setup & fume extractor that I made out of a window fan & 25' of dryer vent. I've since removed the paper on that since it isn't needed to pull from the hoses and helps pull the fumes that are escaping from the leaky exhaust that I was too excited to weld up fully (it's on the list!).


I got this far along and realized I didn't have a coil bracket so I had to order one... oops


Had to re-locate my clutch arm bracket too but now I can engage the clutch!

 

Exciting! Looks good. Exhaust leaks don't help with fine tuning.

 

Congrats! I'm jealous!

 

Congrats Pat! Im happy for your progress!

 

SO, I am at a super awkward point where I am realizing that some of the little things I don't adequately understand how to do are holding me up, namely LINKAGES. I'm not quite sure what to get & how to assemble the Throttle, Choke, & Parking Brake cables/linkages.

Can anyone link me to any good tech threads for any of these or, EVEN BETTER, show me what you used & how you did yours you did yours?

I also don't know how to properly shorten cables and crimp new ends (or even shop for the supplies to do so).

 

If this is all cables most throttle set ups have a set screw on the fitting on the carb side. Thread it threw, tighten the screw use some side cutters to snip the extra

a choke cable is in general a wire, bend it into an L poke it threw the hole in the linkage and push it into a J with some needle nose. Snip extra

Both of these generally have a little clamp on or near the carb to hold the sheath in place

parking break depends on what parts you have.

if your needing to crimp an end on anything it’s as easy as going fishing. Thread it through smash it with a vice.

Very very simple stuff

 

What pedal are you using? A real simple set up is the cable style used by most manufacturers during the mid 70's to late '90's these usually have a 3 bolt mount for the firewall and a hole for the cable, the throttle end will have a ball mount and a bracket for the intake manifold, throttle spring is built in and cable is sheathed...try late mid '90's GM pickup or Ford used it in Mavericks granadas etc....shouldn't have to shorten anything
for mechanical I have a stash of linkage pieces of various lengths and bends.... I set up the '57 using mostly 6 cyl linkages reversed and little pieces of plastic tube that had same ID as linkages to not run metal on metal at swivel points

 

IF I could find the correct ferrules, caps, fittings, etc. it would be simple but it's all seemingly unobtanium for a retail customer. The closest things I could find were for bicycles or for decking (wire rope stuff) as far as the Parking Brake Cable went. I did end up finding a nice new front parking brake cable from Bob Drake for a 39 Ford that's 37" long and has an anchor tab in the middle which should work just right for what I need to do.

I have one of those Offy style cast aluminum pedals but nothing that came in the "universal" throttle cable kit was much of any use for connecting it. The Mr. Gasket cable kit Speedway sells them with does not look great to me either since I do not see how the blade end would pass through the hole in the bracket without modification or constantly getting hung.

I robbed the Lokar Spoon pedal from the Basurati and hooked it up best I could just for the sake of making it function, and made a janky link to run a second carb.

The second carb WOKE THE ENGINE RIGHT UP OMG.

Really a lot of the problem I have is with parts availability here. This stuff isn't as easy to source as it must have once been. I am looking to build a rod actuated throttle and choke setup at this point since I can actually find that stuff and I think I can make it all work without a munch of Metric Mystery Hardware thrown into the mix.

Here is a link to the first time running 2 carbs with just base settings and my cobbled together linkages.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3vyQ6tvApX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&img_index=4

 

I need to catch up on updates but, spoiler, I DROVE THE THUNDERCASKET TODAY!*

(*to the end of the driveway)

 

Awesome!

 

On this throttle cable, I'd like it a lot more if the bracket was extended up inline or bent at an angle so it was a straight pull. It won't fray immediately, but just when you are comfortable it will.

 

That is the main reason I don't like cables. They work when they shouldn't until they don't.

 

Thanks all!

YES, I hate the current throttle setup; it's barely functional and I want to replace it with rod linkage and put my cast Offy style pedal back in. Presently, I'm running the spoon out of the other car and a $17 Amazon cable that I cut up just to get going.

I am picking up the rebuild 81 from Prewar & More this week, so I will be going back at ALL the linkages soon.

The mechanical fuel pumps are still not pumping fuel to the carbs right so the electric pump has to be running. I may have a wiring issue with how it is set up now; the second $10 pump started coming in and out almost immediately yesterday. I have a Carter P4070 in hand that's going to be installed soon also. I will either just run it or I will wire it to the Start pole and use it for priming, we shall see.

 

Not knocking you at all. I have a crappy cable setup in my '53. It broke at Hot August Nights a few years ago. It was late and no way to fix it. I drove home over the mountains through Virginia City using the hand throttle that was sticking. It is a longer and funnier story. Some day I'll make it right but for now I carry a spare cable. The main problem is the cheap aluminum pedal.

 

WHOO-HOOO!!!
GREAT NEWS!

 

OK, rewinding to catch up to how I got here. So, the RADIATOR has always been way too close and I did not find any simple options to correct that, so, I just had to make it work. I've probably got more money in hoses I've either cut up, ruined, or didn't use than I do in gauges for this car at this point. It was AN ENORMOUS PAIN getting all 4 hoses to work. I ended up cutting the lower driver side outlet & brazing (HF alumaweld) a Jegs elbow in there to clear the steering box (which is in a great place but in the way because the radiator is too close).



The generator was interfering with the front carbs fuel inlet (this is why it is capped off with the two new 97s sitting to the back). I had to get an Edelbrock pas side bracket & have it cut to fit my Offy triple. This ended up working with a 58" belt AND I was able to get the fan working with a stock length belt while still clearing everything.

I had to swap in a new MC because the old (working) one would NOT give up its old pushrod. That let me crawl around on the floor chasing leaks so we could bleed the system. I ended up having to swap back to the earlier flex hose I had in there because I could not get the new one to tighten right in the bracket I made. Oh, yeah, I made a bracket to hold the hose and especially the Parking Brake cable because I could not find the bracket for a 39/40.





I did not like how the cable was just hanging out and crossing the rear rods unprotected, so I bought a cheap cable, cut it apart, and used it to guide the cable from the drum to the inside of the rods. I shortened the cable up and now it feels just right (and holds the car).

 

This is the kind of thing I'm worried about with my roadster. I've been putting it together in my head for years. It all fits well in there. The pieces I've tried to assemble ? Not so much.

 

ASSEMBLE THEM ANYWAY!

I had a memory pop up from all the way in the beginning of this journey when I just had a body and a pile of parts with that Ford 300 L6 mocked up (I sold that engine to a guy building an early 60's Econoline, BTW). I realized (again) that I should have just pushed ahead and built THAT car, even if it was kinda shitty, then moved on to building THIS car, as I would have SOMETHING DRIVING along with all the lessons learned from the completed build process instead of bringing the project 3/4 of the way 3 or 4 times and then struggling to absorb new skillsets (like wiring) in the last few months of thrashing on it ten years later.

 

You have come a long way from back then. Just think of all the fun you have had.

 

AND THE SCARS I HAVE TO PROVE IT