Great story and a pretty talented family. Maybe I can get my wife to sew me up an interior on her Grandma's old Singer! I' ll be watching, Carp
Couple more comments. Field stone buildings: love 'em! Doing some a fieldstone facade on my new attached garage as we speak. Dialing in a driveshaft in-car is actually one of the best ways to do a shaft. I've shortened numerous d-shafts this way (shortening the rear portion) and when done they don't vibrate. Even done them without the use of a lathe. Careful circumcision with a hacksaw next to the factory weld and then removing the required length of driveshaft tubing (hacksaw circumcision best, pipe cutter not so good). Phase the cleaned up yoke with the front yoke, dial it in, tack weld in four places, dial again, weld up alternating opposite sides. Ground clamp on driveshaft tubing. I've encountered "professional machine shop" altered driveshafts with a severe amount of runnout! Again, nice workmanship.
Thanks for all the comments! For the charging system I really wanted to use a generator (or generator style alternator) but those things are huge! The engine bay on this thing is really narrow and my front engine mount prevents mounting it low. I did not want it mounted above the valve covers and visually get in the way of the air cleaner. I needed to mount it in front of the head but there is not a whole lot of room here either. I need an alternator and fan in this small space. I settled on an alternator for a '61 Mopar A-body. This is the shortest charging system I could find and still fit within the era that Dad was driving this car (I think he drove it full time until about '62).
Early Mopar alternators ( I think) are what alternators should look like. And those open spaces between the cooling fins can display the copper colored stator windings. Fins polish up with a little bit of work. They just seem to scream out the word "dynamo". Good choice!
This is a great project. I love the car having so much history with your family. Your ideas and workmanship are first rate. This will be sweet when you're cruising down the road.
Thanks again for following along! I wasn't quite sure how this would be received. It is after all just a coupe with a late model V8 and 6-speed but I'm building it my way. Added bonus that you all appreciate it too! Master cylinder. Dad had an early 1939+ Ford master mounted on the firewall. The T56 trans uses a hydraulic clutch so I went with a 1960 C10 pickup master. These have 2 bores, one for brakes and another for clutch. Oddly the bores are on the wrong sides (clutch bore is on passenger side and brake is on the drivers side) opposite of pedal locations. Easy though to just pop out the pistons and swap them over to the "correct" sides. I also cut a radius in the firewall to clear the air cleaner and give a bit of room for the distributor.
Agreed. I'm running the same steering that Dad used and there is not much room to work with. I think he said it's a '39(?) ford box. I hate seeing those block hugger tube headers on every street rod. I love the Fenton manifolds but the exhaust ports will not match and I am not sure if they will clear the steering/frame. I would like to try a set but it is a big $$$ investment just to see if I can make them work. I got a really good deal on the Sanderson manifolds. Somebody bought them 10+ years ago and never installed them. They have D-shaped exhaust ports that match the zz4 motor and are designed to fit it into a tri-5. They tuck in real nice against the block and clear the steering. That aluminized ceramic coating is awful ! I am hoping I can paint or patina them and they will blend in better. In the long run I may custom build a set of headers.
I can't say anything, because you are far and away ahead of me ... and you are awesome (!!) ... but I always liked the Belond style of headers. They are more swept radius/fish mouthed connections then concerned ideal primary & collector lengths getting in the way. Today's "its supposed to be this long" shit, doesn't fit well in close confines. Maybe a fun project when you have one of those bored "what else ?" days.
I'm not a SBC guy, but have you tried ram horn exhaust manifolds? And if the exhaust ports are a slightly different shape you could probably grind them with a carbide grinding bit to fit. Just a thought. Here's some on a off topic '33-'34 http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Search?query=chevy+exhaust+manifolds+rams+horn
Loving this build! You are fortunate to have a Dad that was into a super cool rod back in the day and saved it for you! You're doing a really nice job! Keep up the good work and keep us posted!
OK, we will circle back to the exhaust manifolds later. With the motor in, body on, firewall "adjusted" and wheels/tires on I did what we all do. Mock up the hood/radiator/grill/etc and then stood back and enjoyed the view! These moments are almost as exciting as the first drive!
In that pic there was no wiring, seats, steering column, gas tank... Next I needed a dash. Dad had a '33 dash with crudely welded insert with some bondo. The gauge holes where cut out with a oxy-acet torch. It can be saved but I had a stock dash laying around so I decide to just recreate what he had. Growing up we had this box in the garage full of SW gauges. I still have them and grabbed a temp, oil pressure, fuel, amp. Simple layout, nothing fancy. The way he had it !
I did not have an old speedo plus the t56 trans has an electronic sensor. I opted to buy a brand new SW speedo compatible with the trans. Matches real well. Here is a pic after it all came together.
The Jalopy Journal
