Thread: Project "Left Overs" is back alive !

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Gotta love the tri-power Olds.

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

Steve, since I have gotten older and retired my sleep patterns have changed a lot. I seem to sleep in 3 hour shifts now and it drives me nuts. Last night I got to bed around 3 and was back up at 6. I plan on going back to work somewhere in the late fall, so hopefully I will start sleeping regular hours like before.



You are also right about it being cooler at night here, so I sometimes go to the shop and work late, but now the mosquitos are so bad they eat me alive.................can't win. Fall can't come too early for me.

Don

Bats eat mosquitoes..................LOL-I am just saying

Yeah Don maybe one of those big suckers you posted could help out!
I'm pretty sure they don't eat kitties!

Hehe, yeah, one of those big suckers could clean up our entire mosquito problem in a few nights. Bet they taste just like chicken too.

Steve, I have been thinking along the lines of a mirror finish ss firewall too. Not sure how to cut it though, that stuff must be tough. Any insight, Steve in UK? You and Ken are the SS go to guys.

BTW, see the headers on the car? I bought those on Ebay probably 10 years ago because I knew some day I would rebuild the Olds engine I have (I've been dragging this motor around for at least 25 years). They were homebuilt by someone who did them old school, with Ford torque tubes as the megaphones. They are a little on the crude side, but cool in so many ways that I am going to use them. I figure some VHT paint and I will be good to go. Whoever built them took the time to machine aluminum caps for the ends with ribs in them, but I probably will be just running baffles and no exhaust, however the jury is still out on that one.

Luckily, Oldsmobile used two different bolt patterns on the exhaust flanges on the 394's and my engine just happened to have the same on as the headers. I also had a 59 or 60 394 and the bolt pattern was different on that engine.

Don

Don I had the mirror finish stainless on the firewall of my 38...If I remember right I got it from an aircraft supplier. It's thin and easy to cut. I trimed the outer edges with a black plastic that slipped over the edge about 3/8". Don't remember where I got that but think JCWhitney.com
I think it is used to go around motor cycle windshields. hope this helps

An electric shear will cut light guage stainless but will curl the edge slightly.
The trim Charlie mentioned would hide that.

If you wanted to keep the sheet flat w/o trim you could plasma cut but it would require finish grinding the edge and then buffing out any discoloration. If the sheet is thin it may warp very slightly form the heat if the cutting is done too slowly.

I like to cut shapes on our corner notcher as it leaves the sheet nice and flat w/o edge curling.

Thanks for the tips on the ss firewall. I wonder how a fine bladed jigsaw would work, if you cut from the backside ?

I got a little more done tonight. Don was at the shop and helped me drag the 8 inch rear out of his storage building. We bolted the slicks on and slid it under the car for a trial fit. Much better !! The S10 was too narrow but the 8 incher is just right, espeically with the reversed offset wheels I have the slicks mounted on. Now it looks proportional. Thanks for the gift of the 8 inch rear, Kurt.

I also got my front spindles and steering arms installed and as I thought, the steering arms allow the tie rod to pass right under the wishbones with plenty of clearance. We also measured the length of the tie rod I need and luckily it is a standard 48 inch one that Speedway carries in stock. Tomorrow I will place an order for that, plus the 1/4 inch spacers I need to shim the wishbones to the axle, and a few other parts.

I also got the rear height dialed in where it will sit. With this progress I am looking pretty good regarding my goal to have a roller by the end of August.

Here are a few pictures from tonight.

Don

Those slicks look mighty fine, I even like the blue stuff on the white walls! That 8 incher seems a perfect fit too.

Easiest way to cut it is to use a 1mm thin cutting wheel in an angle grinder Don, get it pretty close and then finish with a flap wheel, by far the easiest way i've found.
I presume you use the thin cutting wheels and flapwheels over there ???

Heres what i mean

stain less steel can be very hard on saw teeth any time i have used it i get ready to kill my band saw blade teeth it will wipe a set out then i will have a dead spot .so i use thin cut of wheels like Sait s work the best for me

Yep, we have those same wheels over here. Great idea.

Pat, I bet they do hurt the blades. Every once in a while we cut up some trim tabs we have for various ss brackets and they take a toll on them too.

What about that mylar stuff like Total Performance and others used for firewalls. It was shiny like ss, but easier to cut.

Don

my band saw blades can last over two years on mild steel i have 36 wheels with a 36 throat so i hate like hell to buy new blades $$.its about one job of ss to a blade . job like headders so many cuts but still about 1/4 of the life cutting this stuff over mild steel

Mylar may worp with heat probably not a good idea

Yeah, that's probably true. Oh well, I have a while before I get to that stage. I also have the stock model a top part of the firewall in good shape, I might just build a new lower part and paint the firewall the same white as the engine. That is the color I am going to paint the suspension and running gear. I've got a whole gallon of Imron that I bought to spray the motor and transmission, so I might as well use it up.

Don

I kown a guy that is so fussy about his cars he paints the inside of the ashtrays with Imron. I hate to even sit in those cars when there done.