Steering looks great, Mike! Wow, that took some serious thinking to make it work.
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Steering looks great, Mike! Wow, that took some serious thinking to make it work.
"......that took some serious thinking to make it work....."
You never really know on something like this until you have the parts in hand to see if will actually fit. It wasn’t so much thinking as it was a lot of “well damn that won’t work” :LOL:
Pat’s suggestion about using a 3/4” wood dowel to replicate the shafts for mockup was a life saver. I could actually put sections together and check for binding and fit (there was a fair amount of sawdust floating around by the time I was done).
We kind of discussed the shifter a couple of weeks ago, so this week I decided to go ahead and see if I could get it in. I’m going for kind of a 50-60s feel and looking around at the different shifters out there, I only came up with 2 that I liked; an original push button pod from a 50-60s Mopar and the cheapie flat handled automatic floor shifter that’s been around forever.
The only reason the push button lost out was that I would end up losing the Park feature of the transmission. So this is the shifter I ended up using.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...hiftHandle.jpg
As I only have a bare 518 case the first thing I had to do was dig up a valve body so I would have the manual shift shaft and spring loaded detents. After doing some research I found out that either a 727 or 904 valve body physically bolts into the 518 case and I had a junk 6 cyl 904 out in the back shed so I was in business.
I spent a day figuring out that a straight mechanical linkage would just not clear the transmission and transmission tunnel. Rather than give and go back to a column shift I decided to convert the shifter to cable.
The first part was fairly easy. I cut off the L shaped foot at the bottom of the shifter and drilled and installed a pin for the cable to connect to. I built a base to raise the shifter up which actually serves 2 purposes…..raises the handle up to a more comfortable height and keeps all the mechanism above the floor. I used 1/2" tubing to raise the boot up a little and give a place to attach the cable to.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...ustom/Base.jpg
I probably over complicated the transmission end of the shifter. I could have just run a long cable all the way to the transmission bracket and re-drilled the lever for the right ratio. When I ran the long cable I didn’t like the way it looked with two 180 degree bends and a loop at the front that may have caused some problems when the exhaust is run.
I decided to use a bellcrank bolted to the transmission. It allows the use of a short cable that tucks nicely on the frame rail and only one 180 degree bend. The other end is mechanical linkage to shift lever.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...bellcrank2.jpg
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...bellcrank1.jpg
I’m happy with the looks and it shifts smooth and firm. Manual shifting with it will not be a problem.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...hifterdone.jpg
The only thing remaining is to go into the base with a die grinder and cut some additional detents. The steps will prevent the shifter from accidentally being down shifted without pushing the handle down, and will also act as a positive reverse lockout which is required for racing and just a good safety feature anyway.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...Newdetents.jpg
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Great looking truck. Love the Hemi!
I got tired of looking at the big hole in the passenger fender, so I decided to see if I could get that patched up. I’ve never done a patch this large on exterior sheetmetal before so I was a little apprehensive about how many times it would take to get it right and how it would turn out.
A while back a friend gave me a beat up 33(?) Chevy fender to use as patch material. When I first looked at it next to the Dodge I didn’t think the shape would be close enough to do any good, but I dragged it out again and took a closer look…..I came to the conclusion that with a bit of tweaking it might just work out.
I rough cut the patch and with a little bit of tweaking I got it to fit pretty well. I had left a little bit of a lip when I cut the tire well out so I bent a couple of them up to support the bottom while I tacked it.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...m/33fender.jpg
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...stom/patch.jpg
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...ustom/tabs.jpg
By the time I quite tonight I had it welded in and the welds pretty well ground down (still a bit to do tomorrow). I’m pretty pleased about how it has come out so far.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...om/welded3.jpg
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...om/welded2.jpg
I figure I’ll skim it with filler tomorrow and throw a little bit of primer on it and call it good until I get ready to do or have the rest of the body work done.
looks good never know it was your first time.
Thats a sweet pu Mike....
From our perspective the patch on the fender looks really well done.....Kudo's to ya....well done
Boy that Hemi sure does occupy some space up there, doesn't it? :eek: Looks great though and you did a good job of solving all the clearance issues.
Don
Looking good, Mike! It looks like it coming together pretty quick; are you shooting to have it road ready for spring?
Big improvement.
Looks good Mike, great work.... Never did see a spare tire well that I liked!!!!
Just finished reading this thread. What a great project. Taking a cool old truck and turning it into something really special. Love all the pics. Feels like an old '50s movie serial. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode.
Inspiring work!!! :)
Awesome stuff,Mike..Its coming along nicely..Will be a good cruiser..Love those old Mopar trucks..Its a pity we didnt get a few more down here..What we did get,are long gone..
“…..Never did see a spare tire well that I liked……”
Dave I always thought they were a neat feature …..on a restored truck or resto mod. If I had gone the semi-sleeper and left the hood sides on it might have stayed ( re-working the hood sides to close on the HEMI would have been interesting LOL). For me it just doesn’t work on this truck. I’m not throwing stones at this guys 38 but once I saw this picture I realized had badly it didn’t work.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...om/38dodge.jpg
“…….It looks like it coming together pretty quick; are you shooting to have it road ready for spring?.....”
Falcon I’m at one of those stages that every builder likes……where you knock out the things in a few days or weeks that make a visual change you actually see and feel like you accomplished something. Of course when those are done you’re down to the jobs where you work and work on the detail items and when you look at it at the end of the day it doesn’t look like you did anything.
I’m not really on a schedule for this one but after all these years I really would like to drive rather than push it around LOL. The builds I’ve done over the last several years have all gone into mockup then been torn back down for the engine rebuild and paint and body then re-assembled before they got put on the road. I’m really thinking on this one I might actually get it running and driving for a bit before I tear it down for paint. The only major thing I’m missing to do that is a working 518 transmission.
I got a call from a friend last week who had started to build a 67 Fairlane a few years ago. He had a stroke a couple of years ago and while he’s getting around pretty well now he really doesn’t have too much use of his left hand. He asked me if I would be interested in finishing the Ford for him and I took on the job.
The car will be towed out this week and the Dodge put on the back burner for a couple of months. As I’ll need the shop space the poor old Dodge got pulled to the back shed today.
I moved it with the garden tractor and as it is it’s easier with someone steering my grandson volunteered for that job LOL. It’s the first time he’s helped me with something like this and it took a booster seat to get him high enough. For his first time “driving something real” he did very well (and it took about 2 hours to get the grin off his face).
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...stom/cade1.jpg
Now that is priceless
What a great picture and an unforgettable experience for your grandson!!!!!! Way to go, Mike!
Great job on the fender, Mike, and the picture with your helper driving is one for the build album, too. He'll remember steering the old truck for the rest of his life, especially if he ends up driving it in a few years....
That's great, Mike. A few years from now he may be driving it for real! Post some shots on that Ford, too.
That is a nice truck Mike , Tire wells are for old folks .
Thanks Bobby, I'm anxious to tow it back in the shop (and so is the grandson LOL).
Hopefully the Fairlane that’s in there now will be done around the end of Jan and I can back on the Dodge.
Well, not much of an update, but the 37 made it back into the shop yesterday. The next couple of projects are going to be hanging the Dana 60 and figuring out Power Steering brackets.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...tom/dana60.jpg
For a while I'd played with the idea of a 4 link, but think I'll play with some different leaf springs and hangers and build a set of Cal-Tracks instead.
I had had not really given too much thought to the PS pump until a few weeks ago, I figured I'd just do what everybody else has done and build some brackets and hang a Saginaw pump on the Hemi then try to dial in the pressure. Then it hit me that as I'm going to have to fab brackets anyway, I might as well try to use the correct pump. We'll see how that goes, the Ford pump is quite a bit thicker than the Saginaw.
Well with the Fairlane getting close this should be coming back soon Mike ?
Actually it came back into the shop a month or so ago and I've dug out a pair of different rear leaf springs I think might work better than the stockers. That unfortunatly is about as far as I have gotten.
Between changing over the 77 Mustang for the wife and getting a load of stuff ready for the swap meet there hasn't been a whole lot of time left over time.
Cool! Glad to see you back on this, Mike. This is one of my favorite projects on here. Do you still have the white Dodge shop truck you built?
I am too Falcon, at least with it in the shop it's great motivation to actually work on it (although as mentioned time to do anything is kind of tight).
Funny you should mention the old white Dodge. I pulled it out of the back shed the beginning of the week and did a bit of work on it. I really haven’t done too much with it since I got the El Camino done and when/if the market comes back up a bit I may sell it. It is a neat truck though, and I am considering using it for my vacation back to Illinois in Aug. Anyway since you asked I went ahead an updated that thread with what I did today,
http://www.clubhotrod.com/shop-talk/...roject-13.html
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Looooking Gooood! I'd like to see a close-up of how you handled the firewall and front floorboards...
I don't know if I could get any better pictures than are already on pages 3-6 already. You can see much on the engine side because of the engine, and that still needs a lot of work which I can't do until the engine is back out.
I really want to get back to work on it, but it seems like right now every time I turn around there is another project that has a bit higher priority :rolleyes:
I've got a pretty good motivator (9 year old grandson) who asks about once a week when are we going back to work on it.
Hello. Any updates to the Dodge p/u build? Driving it yet?
Not much forward movement on it for the last couple of months. I've been kind of waiting for it to cool off a bit before I tackle the rear end swap.
Well again not much of an update, but the truck is not completely forgotten. I'm still looking for a builder transmission and might finally have a lead on one.
Every 6 months or so I run the engine a bit......long enough to bring it up to operating temp and circulate the oil. Yesterday was the day and a shot a short video enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKxDIiVoeDg
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The ol' Hemi sounds fantastic, and talk about a quick, easy start!! That's a classic, and the six carb setup is just plain killer!
Heck, no time limit on getting projects done Mike!!!! If there was, I'm sure I'd be in violation of the time limit on all my projects!!!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:
Cool! Glad to see the 37 isnt forgotten. The motor sounds and looks great; wish it was mine!
Looks great! I like your engine cart on #103.
Awesome.. Would love a hemi for the roadster,,but I guess the old Y block will have to do the job,,with a little help from Timmy.. ;)