Projects My roadster pickup project.

Thanks guys. Steve, I am like you, I miss threads all the time because they zip to page 5 so fast. I keep looking for your thread and occasionally catch up with it. Yep, it is a little further along than when you were there last year. Now that we don't have to concentrate on finishing Dan's rpu I can steal him away to do my welding for me.

Falcongeorge, you are right about those clamps. No matter how many you have it seems you use them all sometimes. I would love to meet the guy who invented Vice Grips, he sure has made my life a lot easier.

JackdaRabbit, no, the top wishbone is solid and the only twist allowed is by the urethane bushings in the three ends. I know that it seems like it should swivel, but Suicide Doors has sold a bunch of these and they work pretty well somehow. Besides, I don't plan trips of over a 1/4 mile at a time. (Ok, that is a lie )

Don

 

Don i have the email notification turned on (its in your options) once you have posted on a thread you get an email telling you there are updates to the thread, very useful.

 

Thanks, Steve, I'll have to check out how to do that so I get the notifications. I'm just SO good with computers.

What I have been doing is trying to knock out a little bit more on my project every night. It's just too hot during the day to go to the shop, but after 6 or 7 it is bearable. Tonight I worked on getting the hole cut in the firewall for the steering column to pass through and also a hole cut in the trans hump for the shifter to come through.

I don't think I have ever hit the exact spot in my life when I cut the hole in the firewall for the column. I am usually a little off, no matter how careful I am about measuring, but for some reason tonight I hit it right dead on. I made up a template first out of 1 1/2 inch PVC tubing that is the same diameter as my column, and measured and remeasured before I cut the hole. Maybe I am getting better or just luckier. Here is a picture of the firewall with the hole I cut, and the column that I will be using.



I also needed to cut the hole for the American Shifter to come through the new trans hump section I just made the other night. Again, for some reason, I hit it right on and only had to clearance it a little on one side so the shift arm could move fore and aft, and on the other side I put a notch for the neutral safety switch clearance. Here is a picture of that hole and the shifter in place.







Now we can start welding the firewall and trans hump to the subframe. I can pull the body off for that part. Next week I will pick up another sheet of 18 gauge so that I can build the floors and start bending up the bed.

Don

 

nice work Don!

 

Thank you , Lamb. It isn't major progress, but it is progress. I can't wait until the whole interior tinwork is done so I can start building the bed.

Don

 

Don - you're a couple of steps ahead of my build so it's nice to watch how you're getting things done with your sub frame and tunnel etc.

Keep at it.

-Owen-

 

Lamb, it didn't dawn on me who you were until you mentioned your rpu build. That is the Trayless one with the Buick engine. I have been following it and I love the frame you did for it and the overall look. Gonna be one cool little ride when you are done, and you have made major progress in a short amount of time.

Don

 

Thanks Don, means a lot. Already coming up with ideas on how I'd do it differently next time but pretty happy with things.

Are you running swing type pedals?

I'm going to try to squeeze a F1 set in mine, different kettle of fish being a right hand drive down under though.

 

Owen, I am going to use one of those 90 degree sideways setups that puts the master cylinder under the dash, made by Kugel Komponents. My Son Dan used one in his rpu and it really cleans thing up on the firewall. Here is the one he used when we were fitting it to his car.



Don

 

Ah that's a very neat looking setup Don, looks like it'll do the job very well in your build. I love all the drilled parts.

I guess the 30/31 body is better in that regards as you can take the tank cover off compared to the 28/29. I'm not very good with bodywork so I'm trying for as minimal mods as possible.

-Owen-

 

Yeah, the 29 cowl is just slightly narrower too than the 30-31 cowl. Mine is a 29, but a Murray fordor originally, so my cowl top does not come off either, I am going to have to work through the dash opening to build the mounts for my brake setup.

And I know what you mean about bodywork, it is my least favorite part of the build and something I am not good at.

Don

 

What are you old timers like Don

Neat work, as for the heat I will never forget trying to show Dan how to tig weld in your workshop with sweat running into my eyes I don't think i've ever been in a hotter workshop, maximum respect for getting anything done mate.

 

Hi Owen, do you have a link to your build ??? sounds interesting.
Those 90 degree setups Don mentioned are pretty neat, They are also pretty easy to make if you want, the quadrant can be found on VW Golfs which i think are called Rabbits in the US

 

Don how will you fill the cylinder ???

 

Hey langy, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=652826

sorry for the hi-jack Don.

PS really like your steering box scallop.

 

Don the truck is looking great. One think you might think about is making a larger removable panel with the shifter hole in the center of it. The way you have it now you would have to remove the body to service the shifter.This is just the mechanic in me coming out . I always figure I'm gonna have to work on it later and want it to be as easy as possible

 

Steve, we still chuckle about how fast you took off that day you and Dan were tigging ! Gets a little warm down here in the Summer, doesn't it ? You will notice in some of my pictures that I have cleaned the steel to shiny then the next day it is all rusty. That is a combination of the humidity down here and me sweating like a pig while working on it.

As for how I will fill the master cylinder, it will be through the old gas cap opening. That is how we do Dan's, but he has a cowl vent instead of a gas cap. It is a little tricky initially, but you figure you only do it so infrequently that it isn't really a problem.

Glenn, Dan was after me to make a larger removable top over the shifter too, but since I am not going to carpet the hump or tunnel (going to use the same tinted rocker guard that Dan used in his rpu) I want the surface to be as clean as possible. I figure once the shifter is adjusted initially there is really never a need to go back and touch it again, and I can still make minor adjustments by going in from the bottom.

But your point is well taken. I am, however, going to make the body as easy to remove as possible with quick disconnects on the wiring, etc so I can get the body off fairly easy in case anything major needs done. I am going to put an access door on the passenger side of the hump so I can check fluid level and top off though.

Don

 

hey Don, will you be swapping out the gas cap setup for a cowl vent? or will you run a remote style filler so just the cap lines up with the gas cap?

 

No, I am still going to leave the gas cap. It looks like the lid of the mc will be almost directly under it so all I will have to do is take off the gas cap, then reach under the dash and remove the mc lid, then put a skinny funnel down into the mc to top it off.

It is a little cumbersome to do that, but the remote reservours they sell have to be mounted higher than the mc, and in a model a that is almost impossible to do. But you almost never have to add any brake fluid anyway, unless you have a leak, so if you do it once every few years that would be a lot. I don't think I added a drop of fluid to my 27 in the 23 years I have owned it, once it was initially bled and filled.

Don

 

sounds good to me Don, if you have to regularly top up brake fluid it generally means something is wrong.

doesn't sound too cumbersome, if we wanted things to be simple we wouldn't build hot rods.

-Owen-

 

Got some more work done on the driveshaft tunnel today. Dan bought me a 4 x 10 foot sheet of 18 gauge for Father's Day, which was very much appreciated. He didn't do a very good job of wrapping it, but it is the thought that counts.

The first thing I did was bend up a piece of 2 inch x 3/16 strap to make the rear hoop to shape the driveshaft tunnel, and we welded it in place. I made it the same exact shape as the front hoop, so the tunnel could end up just very simple and smooth.

Then I bent up a piece of the 18 gauge in the shape of the tunnel I wanted and clamped it down. Finally, I cut another piece of 18 gauge to make a cover for the hole in the back body panel that was left over from the previous tunnel, which was larger than this one. Clecos are holding it in place now but we are about ready to start welding all of the pieces together into one solid piece. The final thing to do will be to make up two floor pieces to go on the drivers side and passengers side.

Not major progress, but it is starting to shape up pretty well.

Don

 

This is fantastic. I hope my kids do this sort of stuff for me when they are older. I have too many socks already.

Pete

 

I was pretty happy about it too, Pete. The women in our lives have never quite understood why my Son's and I get so excited at Christmas or on Birhtdays as when we open a gift and find some tool or car goodie inside. My Ex has finally figured it out and gets me stuff like gift cards to Advance Auto now...........it only took her 40 years to figure that one out.

But now, through Dan's gift I have enough 18 gauge to finish my interior and bend up my bed. But I could use some socks, mine have a lot of holes in them.

Don

 

Don, its coming along very nicely. Thank you for sharing the great pictures of your build.

 

Thanks, SSS. It isn't as cool as some of the really fine tin work I have seen guys on here do, but it is functional and pretty straightforward. The other night I rolled some beads in the new firewall sections I had made and was thinking about some of the really complicated bead rolled designs I have seen on the HAMB, like flames and logos, and wondered how the hell those guys did them. I have trouble bead rolling a straight line !

There are some people on this forum who do work that is way beyond amazing.

Don

 

Hey Don stop the soft soaping, you done a nice job there, great stuff.

I'm looking forward to a ride in this one.

 

Thanks, Steve. But when I look at some of the stuff guys like you crank out, it makes me realize there is a whole 'nuther level of talent out there in the hot rod world. Unfortunately, I share a shop with two of them and it keeps me humble.

Don

 

Hey Don,

Looking kick ass ... I would have thunk you'd be using the flattie on this one.

Nice work so far.

Paul

 

Paul, I still have it and have started to tear it down to freshen it up. It was really clean inside and is a Ford reman engine. I have one more little project rattling around in my head and I will probably use it for that. I just had the Olds engine sitting all built aready, so it was a natural for this one.

How is the 46 that donated the flathead coming ?

Don

Here is the one I am saving the flathead for. I have loved this car since I was a kid and someday want to clone it.

 

Looking forward to see what you come up with for the bed.