Pictures working now Bill. Can't believe with organizing 50 teenage seniors on a 3000 mile trip/hotels/fuel stops etc... that you didn't have time to work on the model "eh". You must be slacking. Awesome trip and so much fun!!
Arriving in Victoria, via ferry, is a big deal! Reuniting with many of our Canadian brethren was like old home week, many loud and affectionate proclamations. One of our clan tipped us to the Chateau Victoria, 2 blocks from the marina and host hotel. Very European and 1st class for this bunch and,.... at about half the cost of the nearby preferred lodgings. On Friday when many attending NWDD visited The Bushard Gardens, the bulk of our group opted to cruise "up island" to another of our group's farm and dairy operation for a BBQ, Beer and BS session. It was a bit "dreary" but that did not dampen the enthusiasm. Pics courtesy of Terry Friesen. Saturday, July 16, was the NWDD Poker Run. The staging was a visual orgasm for Hot Rod folk. The start was 3 cars across and bumper to bumper reputed to be 1/2 mile long. From the Poker Run staging, several from our grouped decided break for breakfast at an Airport Cafe in North Saanich and visit the BC Air Museum.
The red and white model in the last picture is the martin mars water bomber, a beautiful sounding plane. We had a forest fire on the mountain behind our farm in the 90's and the two of them, the Hawaii Mars and the Philippines Mars, flew circles around the farm for a couple of days. I got hardly any work done those days as I had to stop and watch every time they flew by. Awesome sound!!
Sunday,....the big shoooo! Early lineup at the hotel for group assault on the NWDD. CanAm Curmudgeons managed to park together, including non Deuces LA Roadsters scored a prime spot in front of the Parliament Building ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ '28 RPU ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? I'll spare y'all from more pics of the NWDD inventory. Wonderful stuff for sure but you've probably seen enough of that. Next installment will be our Curmudgeon "Up Island Boogie" which took our group about 165 miles (265 km) North on the island to Campbell River. We had another week of Beer, Bullshit and Burnin Fossil Fuel ahead, planned.
Driving North about 100 miles from Victoria, we stopped at Good Fellas Hot Rod Garage in Parksville. And then continued on to our overnight in Campbell River, the farthest North that this guy and his Roadster had ever been. (pics from Terry Freisen) Tuesday we headed for the Mt. Washington Ski area for lunch before making a downhill blast to the ferry to Powell River on the mainland. There we met up with more of the local "afflicted" for beers and BS. Powell River Mercury(s)
Figger it's about time to wrap-up this story so this will be the last installment of the NWDD boogie. From Powell River, the group motored South and the first ferry ride of the day before lunch at the Marine Pub in Sechelt. And finally, the last ferry ride into North Vancouver with Abbotsford as the day's destination. On our last day in Canada, our friend Terry Friesen introduced us to a retired Chicken Farmer who has turned his extensive property into a museum of memorabilia and Willys! And finally, back in The States and a quick stop at B1's garage, where he stores his and friends' cars, treated us to lunch with "Blue Grass" and we made our final goodbyes. ......and done!!!!! 3360 miles
I figger it's time to get this wreck of a project back into action. The spark is beginning to smolder again after lying dormant for the last couple months,....ya know, life, procrastination ! Recalling that I took a recess while modifying chunks of frame cut out for C notches to mount bump stops, I recently finished that job and the installation. That done,...rear tires are resolved, gonna be 7.00x16s, and coilover dimensions determined. Next is pull the frame forward and begin mounting of the engine and trans and figger'n out firewall modifications,...hopefully minimal .
Seems like reigniting the flame for this project is taking forever!!!!!! Slid the frame forward as planned but soon discovered it was way too low to work on. This old back was talking to me right off the bat,.... put me on the couch right away to conger how to get the frame up to a more comfortable working height. Soooo,....after some head scratchin and computer time "Googling" stuff I came up with these travel trailer "leveling jacks". They adjust from 11" to 17" and supposedly can support 6000 lbs. I sure wouldn't trust'em for 6000 lbs. but figger 150 lbs. per corner a reasonable load and,... they are of a scale and height that works for my needs and, and,....check the cost for four! Of course I also now gotta figger how to elevate and secure the body an additional 12"
Got the body "elevated" another 12 inches and the frame another 18 inches. All secure and stable. Now I'm ready to do some serious fabricating.
Looking good Bill. Nice way to get stuff to working height. I'm finding it harder to work off the floor as well but thinking that the roof of the shop is too low for a hoist.
Muscled the engine into place. Close but will have to finesse the location both front to back and vertically. Mounting was determined by the rear trans mount which was located via SBC specs. Fan relation to the radiator is perfect 'tho I may scoot the package to the rear 1/2" in order to snug the head up tight to the Model A firewall. And BTW, looks like the firewall can remain stock except for the "tunnel" to clear the bell housing. The trans mount is gonna take some work. My reference/goal has been to have the frame ride about 1" lower than my Roadster, requiring that the engine be raised for adequate ground clearance. The front is easy as the motor mounts are TBD. The rear mount, as received, is way too low and,.... raising the rear will require modification of the "K" member's connecter just above the transmission's tail shaft. I'm also considering redo of the dropout. The alignment of the bolt holes in this orientation is critical. It took a cabinet clamp to pull the holes into alignment just to remove or insert the bolts. Can't imagine doing that if/when the trans needs to be pulled after the car is completed.
Welllll,.....like my friend 40ply, I feel compelled to post something, however minimal, to assure those who are interested that this project is still alive. I've spent an inordinate amount of time figgerin and measurein and drawin and modelin, and converting big pieces into little pieces,....and then into scrap! I think I've finally got it,.....i.e. clearance to raise the transmission a good 2.5". This is the second iteration of the hoop. It was redone to get more clearance than what the first attempt yielded. It's doubled up because the tubing is only 1" OD vs 1.25" of the remainder of the "X" member. And 'tho it may be overkill, I'm more comfortable as its' a smaller diameter, the curves are less rigid than a straight member, and it's a welded shape. I think it looks pretty cool also! The offending straight tube that limits the trans adjustment will be removed next. If all my numbers work out,....the body moves forward, relative to the frame 17", and with a 3/4" relief nibbled into its' flange, the sub-rail, scene at the right, will arrive within about 1/4" of the new hoop.
I could, but I'm now thinking, stressing about whether this cool hoop will seriously compromise foot room. With three pedals in a Model A it's tight to begin with. Given that, I'm pretty much committed to suspended pedals and cowl steering at this point. Also, that yields more room under the car for exhaust plumbing and more room under the heads for headers.
Got the engine settled in and located to provide adequate road clearance. Don't recall if I mentioned,... the motor mount plate is similar to that for early SBCs. These engines didn't have ears on the side of the block for engine mounting brackets therefore, this approach bolts to the front of the block. It's a Speedway part for $100.00 as I recall. Customized some Flathead Ford brackets so's I could use Ford type biscuits. With everything welded up, I've still got header clearance. Next project is figgerin how to transfer the outline of the bellhousing to the firewall.
Interesting look with the recessed boxing plate on the motor mount. My automatic approach would have been to surface or flush mount the plate...going to mark that down in the "remembery banks".
Moving along,....made a template to define clearance for the bell housing that I could transfer to the cutout in the firewall. Turns out, the firewall in that area is depressed and asymmetric which required metal work beyond my pay grade. Decided to trim back to the reinforcing ribs and patch in a flat panel. Looks like my face about now No goin back now! MDF for a hammer form for the tunnel flange worked pretty well even 'tho the sheet metal was 16ga. Screwed it together with drywall screws the only issue being several of the heads snapped off when running them down and I had to dig them out to remove the new part. The tombstone shape indicates a recess needed for distributor clearance. I'd like it to look like it is stamped into the surface. I have no idea how I'm gonna pull that off!
The Jalopy Journal
