Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

Tweet

Don,did they make two different cowls in 29, early and late or something?The reason I ask is that my 29 cowl and doors are entirely different. Hank

Hey Don,
Sorry I didn't answer sooner. Haven't been here for a couple of days... Anyway, the Daytona car show & swap meet is March 23, 24, & 25. I'll be there on the 24th looking for a nose and turtle deck for my roadster...

Jim

Thanks Jim. I keep forgetting to mention it to Dan and Don to see if they can go. I am going to make a note and do that tomorrow. Hope you score your parts. I've never been to this one, I guess by your comments there is a swap meet and all? Just what I need, the temptation to buy more stuff.


I didn't get a whole lot done today on mine, I had to revert back to the Model A spring. The T spring dropped the rear an inch and a half lower, and I want a slight rake to the car. Got that swapped out, then tackled some of the little brackets I need to make to wrap up the frame welding.

One of the brackets that I made tonight were the ones to hold the fuel tank. I am going to use a 10 gallon moon style tank that I bought from Speedway. I actually bought this one for my '39, then I gave it to Dan for his, but he ended up using a fuel cell, so I got it back. It is a little shop worn now, so if I decide to go with the original aluminum finish I will order a new one from Speedway, and still use this one on the Dodge. But if I decide to paint it body color, I can sand and prep it and it will be fine. Just haven't decided yet.

I made two brackets out of 3/8 x 2 inch strap, bent the one end to raise it up slightly on the crossmember, and cut them so that they will fit between my rear Model A crossmember and the frame tube crossmember. I figure each one will only have to hold half of the 10 gallons of fuel, so these should be more than sufficient. Tomorrow I will weld them in place, drill the holes for the circular mounts that come with the tank, and be done with that part of it. I also have to make a mount for my water seperating fuel filter that goes before my electric pump, and one for the electric pump itself.

Getting down to the short strokes on the frame, and I am saving the fiberglassing for the weekend, because our industrial park is empty on the weekends and I can take the body outside to do the sanding on the interior, in preparation for the actual glassing.

Here are some shots of the fuel tank brackets I made tonight, and the tank in it's mocked up position.


Don

As I mentioned earlier, I would like to do some fiberglassing this weekend ,when I can take the body outside to keep some of the grinding mess down in the shop. But first I have finish up the driveshaft hoops before the floor is in. Then I can remove the entire hoop structure as one big assembly, glass in the floor and interior wooding, then weld the hoops permanently to the frame, and finally cut out the floor to fit over the hoops.

The reason I want to keep the plywood floor in one piece until all the wood is in there is because it will stay straighter than if I cut it now. Once the backrest and side pieces are glassed in, there will be enough strength there so it should not lose it's shape until I glass the trans and driveshaft tunnel permanently in place.

I was also able to shrink the width and height of the driveshaft hoops. I had originally allowed way more room than I actually needed for the driveshaft to move up and down, and sideways (due to rear axle shifting on turns) I got that down considerably so that I will now have enough hip room . You will notice the very rear hoop is wider and taller than the other two, that is because I needed more room there for the rear axle yoke to spin and go up and down. That portion is behind my seat slightly, and will be pretty much hidden in the backrest. I plan to flare out the driveshaft tunnel there and also in front of the very front hoop, so that it will blend into the transmission tunnel.

Ken Thurm got me thinking when we were discussion the Odyssey Battery we are both using (hey Bob, I called it the right name this time ) He mentioned it should be about 3 feet from the starter for best performance. I was originally planning on mounting it on the drivers side, but that run would have been further than if I put it on the passenger side. I still am about 4 feet, but closer than the other way. So, I built a battery box and mounting bracket to put it right on the rear round crossmember. When I weld in the driveshaft hoops I will tie it into that structure for strength.

I made the box that holds the battery unboltable so that if Odyssey ever discontinues this particular battery I won't be left hanging with a welded in box. As you can see in the one picture, the angle iron box I made mounts straight up and down, rather that having the battery sit on top of it, as is usually done. I will slide the battery into this "shelf" and hold it in place with two metal straps that bolt across the back side. It only weighs like 15 lbs, so there should be no problem with it sitting there in this fashion.

Now I just have to clean up the steel for welding, and I plan on going back tonight after dinner and doing some of that. These small chores are a bear to get out of the way, but until I do, I can't go on to the body mounting.

Here are some pictures of what I got done today. Obviously, I have to trim off the excess part of the hoops that extends below the frame. I am also going to cut off the heads of the bolts that are holding on the battery box and flush weld them in so the battery can sit flat.

Don

PS: I also know the real driveshaft will be fatter than the PVC mockup, but allowed enough room for that one too.

Today I spent about 10 hours finishing up the darned driveshaft hoop assembly. In my wildest dreams I would never have thought something so simple could take so much time. What caused that amount of time was getting the parts ground and prepped for welding, and then welding it all up.

The 2 peices of 1 x 1 tubing that run fore and aft were obviously hollow, and I didn't want water getting inside, so I capped them with some pieces of small steel. Then I was able to finalize the position they will lay in on the two round crossmembers, and insert the three hoops. Once those were welded up I made four tabs that will be mounts for the center of the plywood floorboard.

All in all, there are fourteen bolts that will hold the body to the frame. My '27 only has 6 as do most T buckets and the like, but since I have to cut the floor in half after it is glassed, I didn't want any possibility of it sagging or being loose. By bolting it down in that many places it should never move or create any stress on the fiberglass body.

Here are some pictures of what I got done today. Now that this hurdle is done I can do the fiberglassing this weekend like I hoped.

Picture one shows the hollow tube I wanted to cap

Picture two is the cap in place and clamped for welding

Picture three is the welded and ground cap

Picture four are the two tubes with the hoops welded on

Picture five are the four tabs I made to mount the inside of the floorboard to the hoops

After all that was welded up, here is the finished assembly mocked up in place. I won't weld it to the frame until the interior is totally glassed up so I can safely cut out the center of the floor to fit over this assembly.


Now it's time for a shower and some late night dinner.

Don

Don---Here's a tip---If you shower in hot water, it opens the pores in your skin up, and the glass particles can get deep into your pores, and not wash off. The obvious solution to that is to shower in cold water immediately after finishing your fiberglass work. Now, thats really good advice, but your a better man than me if you can bear to shower in ice cold water. I always found that full coveralls and disposeable rubber gloves did it for me.---and a good 'blow-off" with the airhose just before I took off the coveralls.---Brian

Try duct tape. Take a roll and pull off enough to wrap back onto the roll so the sticky side is on the outside. Roll it on your skin, the adhesive will pull most of the fibers. This may be hazardous to you hairy guys and gals.

Good ol fiberglass ...you aint living till you have done the backstroke in fiberglass particles.
I know very little about fiberglass and I may have not done the right things ,....but the last time I did some glass,I used a paint brush to make sure I had a couple of thick coats of resin on top of the glass to keep the fibre burried deep down under the sanding/ grinding surface.It seemed to help with the itchy /scratchy deal...but it just may have been myself telling myself that it helped to keep a good mental attitude going

I may be a little bit twisted, but the fact is, I have always enjoyed working with fiberglass. the itch factor never really bothered me all that much, and I was always impressed at the results that you can achieve with it. And its one of those things where the more you work with it, the more you realize the potential of the stuff. I scored a whole box full of latex rubber medical gloves, and they certainly cut down on the mess you have to contend with when "wash-up" time comes. I like the smell of the resin. As long as you can get your peices outside for the initial "clean-up" grinding, then it doesn't even make that big a mess inside your garage.

I guess it's time to dredge up my old tip on removing glass "slivers" since we have a bunch of CRS afflicted folks around here. Wipe down any "infected" area with wadded up panty hose, the fine mesh snags the little buggars quick and easy.

How you acquire the panty hose is your business. In Don's case I'm sure it would be harmless.

Bob---Its a lot more fun if someone is wearing the pantyhose as you do the wiping----

Originally Posted by brianrupnow

Bob---Its a lot more fun if someone is wearing the pantyhose as you do the wiping----

You forgotten what Don's girlfriend looks like?

What would be real fun is use them to remove the fiber glass then return them to where you got them,and sit back and laugh. I know theres a mean strek in me somwhere. In Don's girl friends case I dout shed notice

Originally Posted by brianrupnow

Bob---Its a lot more fun if someone is wearing the pantyhose as you do the wiping----

Ya mean there's another way to do it!!!!???????