Hot Rods The Belly Button Bucket Build Thread

Very cool

 

Hey Tim, anything new or is it getting ready for winter/holidays around your place?

 

I started typing out a massive response and realized you probably don’t want to know all that crap. I need to get further along on the progress before making an update- been really busy with a whirlwind of stuff lately. Long story short, T will be getting some changes, 32 will be getting the cast-offs from the T, and in order to do some of this, I need a better equipped workshop. Drill press rebuild was the start, should have a small update later this week with the next item, and strongly considering a garage journal thread for the rest. Been really busy behind the scenes. General shop layout with no description to leave it up for interpretation lol

 

Yeah sometimes taking a break from the car to better sort and equip the shop really is the right move. Looking forward to any garage journal links or updates

 

We're baited with waiting breath! No, wait! Reverse those words...

 

Tim, It's Fun and Inspirational to watch someone update a build daily as you did, but the fact is not many people do because there simply is not enough time to build ,live , execute daily responsibility, etc., etc....

I'm truly inspired by you're getting out in the garage whenever possible and then sharing it with the rest of us!

 

He had a break from work and had pre planned on concentrating on the belly button. It was an amazing streak, but hardly something most people could duplicate, let alone keep going.
Just glad he's still at it, even if the updates aren't daily and he has other things that are ahead in the pecking order. To make sure he can continue to build this seriously unique and bitchin' T, sometimes you need to take a step back and work on the support. The cloth shelter must give way to a solid roof.

 

Ahhh the chaos... Just looking at that picture reminds me how far I've come, and how far I need to go. I'm pretty certain the tent is coming back for a pop-up woodshop (there's a joke in there). I have a lot of cabinets to make, and I am NOT a cabinet maker. I've gone back and forth with the city about adding a carport, adding onto the garage, adding a 2nd story above the garage, pretty much every idea I could think of got shot down. Once all the remodel stuff is done, I won't need quite the space that I need right now, so I guess the tent will have to do.

 

Small update- I’ve tried 4 different sets of headers on the T, each with something I didn’t like. I’ve more or less concluded I’ll be making my own set, and even went as far as buying bends, collectors, flanges, etc. BUT, in order to do that, I kinda sorta need a bandsaw. I’ve needed one for a long time actually- the death wheel and jigsaw have their place but I’ve reached some limits I feel. Soooo…. A year ago yesterday I bought a bandsaw off Marketplace, finally setting aside the time to go through it this past weekend. I’ll be powering it with a 3/4hp DC motor and a speed controller so I can cut metal. I didn’t take a ton of pictures but here’s a before and after.

 

That's a cute little bugger Tim, nicely detailed like your drill press, both will come in handy and not take up a lot of room.

 

That’s pretty slick! Band saws get spendy pretty fast. Good snag

 

Careful
Now I have band saw envy! Mine is a portable that attaches to a steel table and that is held to my work bench with wood working clamps! Oh well, it gets the job done.

 

Tim, I had to go back quite a ways to get that picture. I had hoped it made you realize the progress since, so GOOD!
The hose clamp trick and the 3d print thing SFM did could help, but a simple attachment for a laser pointer would also aid in good straight cuts. The trick is to go slow and steady, and have blades stacked deep. The more you have in reserve, the longer the one in the machine lasts.

 

Not a lot of progress to report- to condense what I’ve been scheming up lately. I ended up with a total of 3 (4 if you count the one in the daily) 880 roller cam Vortec head small blocks, all in excellent condition. As such, I have accumulated a plethora of possibilities for engine builds. After a lot of back and forth mental anguish, I’ve decided to leave the daily stock and look for something else later down the road to replace it, likely a square body pickup. None of that matters to you guys, just letting you know I’ve been sorting through the intakes, carbs, heads, headers, measuring the blocks, planning, scheming, spending, etc.

I’ve also kept my parts collecting under wraps as I tend to change my mind a lot after I mock things up, and it takes forever to find this stuff in general, but without further ado, a teaser of what’s to come for the Belly Button:

 

Sheesh that’s shiny! Two piece cross ram? I can dig it!

 

I've wanted one for a LONG time. After watching the Engine Masters episode where they tested one a year or so back, I started looking again and managed to find this one shortly thereafter. I already had the carbs from a tunnel ram idea that wasn't meant to be, so this was a logical decision lol.

 

Had one of those intakes with the single 4 barrel lid back in the 70s for the dirt cars. Not great off the corners, but the top end rpms were really good! We couldn't run dual 4 barrels. The original Edelbrock Tarantula and Torquer manifolds were better off the corners, but gave up 3/4 of the way down the chutes. Look at Lebanon Valley Speedway on Google maps and you can see why...

 

Tim, I've said it before, but you seem to keep at it until you are happy. I like the new parts, but I'm not getting attached, 'cause you might just swap out again!
If I were to dream of SBC inlets that were limited to carbs, I think it would be these (vertical only!)
https://jiminglese.com/weber-8-stack-v8-systems

 

Oooh I agree! Fantabulous setup! A GMC 6-71 and 2 4s would be a little bit much, but as they say, if some is good, more is better, and too much is just enough!

 

To my eye, Tim is balancing on the knife edge of mid sixties. No late 60s huge tires out back, short WB like the early altered cars. While there were guys running 6-71s, he loves that tight tuck and a v belt-drive 4-71 with a single carb would be just unique enough and period correct to get my nod. But we aren't building his car, Dave!
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vbelt-blower-drive.1229938/

 

Correct- going for a mid-late 60s build, with a few outliers blended in. I imagine at some point my thread will get moved to the off topic section, and that’s ok. I started this build thinking I wanted something late 50s, and that engine is STILL at the machine shop and I no longer care. I’m over it at this point. The dual quad intake and WCFBs and early Vette valve covers etc all got sold/traded off. That drove wheel/tire changes, gauges changes, headers changes, etc. It’s infinitely easier and cheaper to go get a late model small block out of a pickup and be ready to go, so that’s what I’m going to work with.

As stated a couple posts back, the 32 has gotten a lot of the cast-off parts from the bucket, but even at that, watching the Goodguys hot rod of the year contenders compete at the drag strip a couple years ago on YouTube really changed my opinion on wheels, tires, and brakes.

I’ll leave it at that- don’t want to start anything, just working towards a mid-late 60s bucket that is capable of being daily driven, including sitting in traffic for a couple hours at a time - so I can’t go hog wild, but I still wanna be in with the cool kids crowd. Same goes for the ‘32, loosely targeting a 1964ish look with a couple safety related differences, and a little more tame sibling of the bucket.

 

If the cool kids don't want to hang with you, they aren't cool in my book!

 

Oh boy! Nice intake/carbs man!

You won't regret the vortech roller SBC, that's what is in my roadster and I have stock hydraulic roller lifters. It's pretty bulletproof bottom end for the HP range your looking at.

 

That's what the T currently has as well (the tri power engine). A coworker thought he blew up the engine in his pickup and ordered a GM crate to replace it, and I eventually talked him into letting me take the old one off his hands. It was basically brand new inside at 15x,xxx miles. They are a sweet engine for sure. If I had more space I'd have 3 or 4 more to try different things with lol. This is a great read btw:

https://www.hotrod.com/news/0611em-vortec-small-block/

 

don't forget to cut off that ungainly fuel pump boss while you have them apart...

 

I have plans for that little flat surface LOL.

 

Pretty nasty lil build. I've spent most of my life kind of skimming thru the SBC builds or skipping completely. I also haven't felt the need to wring even more power out of the current one which is my first SBC ever, since the rest isn't fully ready to unleash it. But that shows what's easily achievable if everything is selected with care. The torque is often ignored for that peak HP number, but 400 at 2800 RPM shows this would have killer response during 'normal' driving.
Most of us want the wild looking intake and exhaust, the Alex Van Halen idle and a scream at higher revs, but being able to fire it off after half a turn hot or cold and ability to tap the throttle at any RPM and get instant response is more rewarding from the seat.

EDIT: AVH
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbanpC_K62M

 

Tim, if mine hasn't been moved, then surely yours is safe. Although a 283 with 3 deuces might be the saving grace!

 

I believe the main reason for that torque curve is the cam selection, specifically the 108 LSA. Vizard is a huge proponent in cam selection starting with LSA, often criticizing the mainstream using too wide lobe centerlines for optimum torque on the street. I get what he's saying, but I also get why wider LSAs are used in modern builds, especially EFI and emissions controlled stuff. Anyway, fun thing to scheme about and dream up the next build.

 

Tim, if you keep this up there is a chance I'll finish my car before you.
Yeh, right!!!