End result looks great in my opinion. I left a indication of previous ownership above the back window in a certain 1954 Oldsmobile that I hear about often.
My F100 has 'tracks of previous owner', also. Actually, truck was purchased new by then Ford employee at the San Jose plant in 1955. He gave the truck to his nephew in 1965 when he bought a new one. Nephew installed a SBC and uncle had a cow. I'm the third owner, 1972! Nephew welded up holes in running boards behind cab where the exhaust chrome 'stacks' went thru! Truck was 'dated'...
Things are coming together pretty much according to plan. I'm in a mode of bolting things together. Measured and calculated for shims for the T/O bearing and bolted up the trans for the last time,...I hope! Hammered in the VIN number, originally the engine number, that I have on the title. The engine set into place without drama. I was relieved to see that clearances for the distributor and the the block-off plate on the corner of the passenger side head worked out. There are 12 bolts holding the body down. It took forever to get those aligned but done now and hopefully those for "the last time" also. Probably my last posting until after the Holidays. Lost 5th gear on the Roadster, shit!!! Hope it doesn't require removal of the trans,....fingers crossed. Need to attend to that before the GNRS and of course there's Holiday commitments with my very tolerant family. Merry Christmas and best wishes to my many and very special auto infected friends!!!!!!
Wow! You're just sailing along. As always, excellent work! You're kinda putting us younger guys to shame. Sorry to hear about the roadster. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.
Southern California,,,,,,,hammer in a vin number,,,,??? Really ? (Or anywhere for that manner .) I believe I would edit that text and pic . Tommy
Well boys and girls, I'm still alive, just struggling with motivation or,...lack of!!!! Since the first of the year, I've been staring at the area between the heads and frame rails trying to convince myself there is enough space for 180 degree headers. Yeah, yeah,...I know, "why would I want to do 180 degree headers?" Answer, because I can. I think I can! It's the journey, right? And if successful, how cool will that be,...a Baby Hemi with a blower and 180 degree headers in a Model A? So today I got started. It'll be tight. Decided to mock-up the crossover beneath the pan, using scrap and hot glue to rough-in the four primaries, two from each bank,...in order to visualize how this box of snakes might work. Purchased two diff. bend radii from Summit. So far, so good! Still lotsa figger'n . I guess it's time to commit to steel!
Wow, 180 degree headers on model a mini hemi. You must like to make a lot of work for yourself. Be following closely to see results. Great build
Valve covers are sorta rare, made to accommodate adjustable rocker arms on some industrial engines. The mock start up doesn't generate any heat, so I'm good!
Yeah, I’ll have to dimple my covers. I had my valve train modified. The adjustment nuts look to be just a bit too high for the cover to seat. Funny, didn’t know the Dodge mothers ever had solid lifters. Always thought the industrial motors were either 331s or 392s.
Did you say you made that pan? From the looks of the pan it looks like half the pan was cut and the sump turned around.
No 392s. There were Doge Hemi & Polys, 331 & 354, There's codes for DeSoto, don't know if any were actually made.
Not pretty but it sure is ugly. I'm a bit self conscious about that pan. It came to me years ago when I got a bunch of Dodge stuff. I've committed to using parts I have as opposed to spending more money.
Been looking for one but it looks like Ill have to modify a center sump. Looks like that was done on your pan.
I feel like I need to apologize for the slow progress. I apologize,...I guess. No good excuses except that I'm intimidated by the goal I set and no one else to blame Redid the diagram in an attempt to visualize where to add length to the primaries on one side to match the length of the primaries that cross over beneath the oil pan. Turned the mockup into reality. Friend Mike TIG brazed the primary stubs to the flanges. Soooo,.... now the fun begins!
I love following this build. I don’t see any baby hemis being run these days. I think it’s the perfect engine. A blower on one is even better. is that manifold an OFFY 4 barrel? Here’s my 241 ready for pickup
I see it's been 10 days since my last post. Man,...what was I thinking! Worked a coupla hours almost every day. and have been close to throwing in the towel many times. I've given up on trying to achieve equal length on the primaries. They'll be close but the calculations are beyond my patience, so ....relying on "seat of the pants" and/or intuition. The blue tape is a bit distracting however, it facilitates the mockup and I worry about tacking sections together and then not being able to access those areas for the final welding. I think I've got it. Next is figuring out the 2 into 1 merges while still clearing the starter and oil lines. Then I'll tack enough of the joints together to make the assembly rigid enough to unbolt from the heads in order to can confirm that the headers are removable,....w/o pulling the engine
Wow! Your pipes look like one of those magician rope tricks, where you pull both ends and the knot magically disappears .
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