Thanks for the compliments guys, and yeah my skills have improved a ton, there's nothing like learning by doing. The good thing is this is my pile so if I mess it up, and believe me I have, it's not that big of a deal. I have to stop myself from redoing things that I have done earlier because I have learned a better way to do it. Maybe that's why this is taking so long? I guess another reason is the unknown. I'm always thinking about how I'm going to do something and I have a hard time focussing on the area I'm working on. The truth is though that I have come a long way with this car, even when everyone said it was a bad idea or "you're crazy" and all that stuff. Sometimes when you know what you want you need to just tune everyone negative out, the worst that can happen is you learn something. Anyway, back to the car. There hasn't been much going on with it lately since I have jumped back on a customer car, but some small progress has been made. My dad and I went to the swap meet in Allentown PA and I scored a set of Snap On tools, that I later found were from the mid 20's, and a Delco generator for $20. I have since sold the tools to gain some funds for the project, can't beat that. I also bought a cool little clamp on turn signal with a cancelling wheel for $3, can't beat that either. People were eager to sell and it was only the first day, signs of the economy I guess. Pics bellow. Crappy picture, but there's the generator. I cleaned it up and hooked a voltage meeter to it and spun it with an air gun, it made power so I guess it's good. I have the alternator and brackets that came with the 2.3, but they look like crap to me. I got tired of looking at the gaping hole for the shifter so I filled it in and cleaned it up a little. I kept having the 2" sanding disks fly off the threads, there's nothing like throwing money away. Then I got carried away and made a trim ring out of aluminum and fitted my shifter boot I made two years ago. Still needs some trimming, but it gives it a nice finished look. I also spent some time and ground the welds down on the cowl patch. It turned out nice. I also found out why my tie rod is flexing. I found a thread that stated to use 7/8 OD .152 wall thickness tubing so I measured mine. It came out to 13/16 OD and right about .100 wall thickness. Looks like I'll be making a new tie rod and drag link. I might call this project the do over. Thanks for looking.
Looking good man! If you'd like to try and salvage your tie rod, try using a strip of 1/8" thick plate along the bottom of the middle tube that runs the distance of that tube. It could be maybe a 3/8" wide piece that you weld to the bottom that runs the length of the middle tube. I'll see if I can draw something up real quick to give you an example. It would help to stiffen the tube greatly!
With the red portion being the plate I'm talking about. It would help stiffen where you are having the flexing issues without having to rebuild the tie rod over again. You can add this strip on top or bottom, where ever you have the most clearance for it. What do you think Alf?
I actually thought about adding a strip of steel to the rod, but the more I think about it, it's really just a band aid. At least now I know why the tube is flexing. I was looking closely at the "A" front axle and suspension and I started wondering how much it could actually travel before the shackles bottom out on the perches. There is about five inches between the spring and the actual axle, but if it moves that far the frame will be hitting the ground. I think it will only actually travel about half of that. The more I look at the tie rod, I think I can drop the steering arms one more inch and run a straight rod. That will be easy to make, cleaner looking, and a much better design. The way it is set up now makes me worry about wheel wobble at speed.
just fyi, you dont need to do the "tack, tack, tack, tack" type of welding to make the welds look good. infact you wont get the best penetration with a mig that way. if you want a bead with a mig you 'wip it forward, and back'.
I saw a car at a show in Folsom,Louisiana that was made of wood. It was a beautiful job with different woods laminated to show their colors. Seems to me it was a jeep styled vehicle. The guy that owned it said it was still 4wd but I wouldnt take something like that into the muck we have around here . I bet its so heavy it would sink to the roof in no time!!!
Can you elaborate a little more on this? I usually tack around until I get about a quarter to half inch spacing and then weld the gap in one pass. It seems to work well for me. I also don't make the patch fit super tight.
If you do like you say you might have nice welds but you will warp the shit out of everything. You can get good penetration by tacking
in the words of Theodore Roosevelt “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
awsome im running one also just wondering what kinda carb is that on there im looking for one for mine .
It's a Rochester 2GC off of a 307 Chevy. Just a nice simple little two barrel. I saw one for sale in the classifieds a few days ago. They can be had pretty cheap because most people ditch them for a four barrel.
Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm mad for attempting this crazy build, good thing I was stupid when I started it.
Alf looks killer! I have thought about building a home built rpu for years but the wife says one at a time. Well keep at looks great.
very interesting build! just wondering, what happened to the nissan engine? I thought it was kinda cool... I have a 5.6L Infiniti/Nissan V8 from a wrecked QX45 I want to use in something.. complicated but pretty cool, pulled a big SUV around great... 320hp almost 400ft lbs... anyways.. cool build! keep up the good work, looks like your skills have really picked up since the start.
I don't get it. We all build a custom or a hot rod to show our own style, and way of doing things. It seems to be OK to do things our own way. As long as we do it exactly like everyone else.I admire this man for building his car HIS way. More power to him.
Its never stupid to try something. The only way you learn is by trying things beyond your skill and pushing forward. It really shows that you learned a lot in a short time and the car is coming along great. Like I said before I really liked the look and stance of you roadster from the beginning,so keep up the great job your doing.
The Jalopy Journal
