Hot Rods The "Whatever" project

So over on the garage journal, I responded to a thread, and promised a picture of my clugged up compressor system.

This picture! For some reason, it won’t work over there. Granted I’m computer illiterate, but I have figured out how to do these things over here. What gives? Well, now I know that it works here, I’ll try again over there in a little while.

Meanwhile back at the oasis, I got a pair of new shocks from Jeg’s yesterday! Really look good. And should work for the rear suspension on the Whatever Project. 18 point adjustable from soft to firm, both bounce and rebound adjust with 1 nob. The coil springs are on back order, but that’s okay as I don’t need them for setup. They are twin tube non-pressurized, so they can be put in a set position and stay there, not like the gas charged Konis, which are a pain to work with…

 

Lookin good Pal.

 

You can post it a couple different ways over on the garage journal when it's being picky (happens to me too). One, take a snip (screenshot) of the pic here.... OR... Two, Right Click on image here, "Copy image address", go to GarageJournal thread, make new post, click on the Insert Image icon, select By URL, then paste your URL (image address). :

 

Thanks Tim. I got it and you’ll have a good laugh about it. I had cropped the picture to make it a smaller file size. Evidently the new tablet does it differently than the old one, so the original was still there (???). I just restored the original version and it loaded just fine! Go figure…. Like I’ve said before, I am computer illiterate, and this proves it

 

It might have saved the edited picture as a different type of file. Take a close look at the suffix. .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .img, .png, there are lots of them, and it may have a default that isn't compatible. This can usually be selected when saving in the drop down menu.

 

Nah! It was just me… me and computers just don’t get along. I became an engineer right at the end of the slide rule era and the start of the pc era. After 10 years as an industrial mechanic. Computers were still main frames and terminals, and Fortran. I did

 

See what I told you! Couldn’t even get it to finish up one thought…

I didn’t get my first pc until 5 years in as a research scientist. By then I had learned how to delegate computer work to other people. Oh well…

 

New to me parts.

The insides are good, should clean up with a minimal cut, probably just 0.03 or so. No broken fins. Now I’ve got four of the 90 fin, and two of the 45 fin drums. Now I’ve got to figure out how to get these to fit 40 Ford spindles, and one set needs to be modified to fit the rear hubs on the quick change. Since the front brakes are exposed to good airflow, I think I’ll use the 45 fin drums on the front. The back brakes will be more shrouded to airflow, so I’m thinking that the 90 fin drums will work better back there, as there’s more surface area to reject the heat.

Another thing today is a new tig welder! But I’m saving that for the garage journal. Should be up and running in a day or two. More details later

 

Dave,
Just be sure to support the hubs around the studs as you remove them. I have a pair of 90 fin drums that are deformed on the face because someone just pressed on the studs without doing that. They may be RUINED!
otherwise they are PERFECT!

 

Thanks for the advice. You’re right, it would be a real FU if I were to ruin one of the drums before I even get them on the car. My plan is to get the hubs out and do whatever machining is required to fit them to the grand national type hubs. Which reminds me that I need to get a couple of those spider backing plates for the rear.

I think I can adapt the front drums to the spindles just like the disc brake rotors, just need to get to NAPA and go through the parts books to get a set of bearings that are compatible. Then machine if necessary a spacer to fit. The really good thing about using the Buick drums is the bolt pattern is already 5x5, which matches what those gn hubs and the rotors I have on the front.

So note to self: make a mandrel to support the drums before pressing out the studs.

 

Going wide 5?

 

No, 5x5 stock car. Or more appropriately, big GM. The quick change has old style GN speedway hubs, heavy billet hubs. And aluminum hats with 1.25 inch wide rotors. Which are just as heavy as those Buick drums. You wouldn’t by chance have a pair of spider backing plates that you’d be willing to part with, would you? I’m sure I can machine a ring to bolt them to the tubes. PM me if you do.

 

Thanks to DonT, I have an air filter that with a new base to fit the 3 2 barrels, will work fine for the whatever project.


Now to make a new insert for the 3 carburetors, and get a filter. And decide what to do about the finish. It’s cast aluminum, so polished, bead blasted, engine turned, definitely NOT painted. Opinions?

Did some practice welds with the new Square Wave machine. Even with my shaky hands, I got acceptable results from the first bead. Nothing thin yet, but first more consistent practice. I’m sure I’ll be procuring some new tungstens, in the smaller sizes that collets were supplied for. The adjustability is all new to me, so next practice I’m going to try fiddling around with the parameters available for dc welding.

 

Got some real progress done today! Finally was able to get to the Sunnen bushing grinder and hone the kingpin bores on the V8-60 axle to fit F100 kingpins. To recap, 48-52 F1 spindles are almost exactly the same as 46-48 passenger car spindles, with the exception of the axle pin, which has a larger inner bearing and seal. And F100 kingpins are just larger in diameter than the other ones. 0.859 vs. 0.815. Length is the same as 46-48 passenger car kingpins and 48-52 F1 kingpins. And the lock pin notches are all the same location. I’ll be plaigerizing Robert’s lock pins next. Here’s pictures from today.


First picture has the 2 sizes of kingpins, F100 is closer to the spindle for reference. The second picture is the nearly 100 year old Sunnen bushing grinder that still gets the job done. The other 3 pictures show the pins fitted!

Now some of you might remember that I had a big garage reshuffle and cleanup. Most things are easier to find. Guess what? I have misplaced one of the 4 F100 kingpin bushings. And if I had all 4 I would have pressed them into the F1 spindles and honed them to size. But no! Instead I spent over an hour looking for it! To no avail! Hopefully I can get just a set of the bushings.

 

Just a little note. Found the missing bushing! It was in the most obvious place, on a kingpin stuck into a spindle! DOH (hand slapping forehead). Only took moving stuff around, looking in boxes, opening storage bins, pulling stuff out of every drawer. Yup, that garage cleanup really helped…

 

I have a question for anyone who might be able to steer me towards a new body part. Does anyone know if someone makes a T-bucket pickup bed the same length or slightly longer than the turtle deck? The turtle deck is 33 inches long. I’d like a pickup bed at least that long for the whatever. I could use some extra space for stuff…

Anyway, if anyone has any information about a manufacturer that has a longer bed, let me know. Thanks. I’m going to post this as a separate thread as well

 

Dave, posted in the other thread. Hopefully in the future if someone searches, that pops up.
I did see an ad for one before I got mine that had a long bed. I'll let you be the judge.

 

Only thing I don’t like about this is the windshield and the stays for it. It’s otherwise nice looking considering that the rolling stock is easily replaced

 

https://hotrodfiberglass.com/product/t-bucket-pickup-bed-30-inch-length/

 

This one's 36"...

https://www.shop.spiritcars.com/model-t-pick-up-fiberglass-bed-36-inch.html

 

Thanks for the links guys! Now I’ve got some options…

 

Still haven’t measured the back of the T to see if either one of those pickup bed options would work for the planned roll bar. It’s on the list. I have decided to go with a Turbo 350, and got one on order during the Labor Day sales. And now for the rest of the story…

It seems that you drag racers have already figured out how to space the torque converter for use with an engine plate. 1/4-inch is easy! It was recommended to wait until the engine is ready and the cam is selected to get the torque converter so it will match up with the engine’s power range.