The RPU is looking perfect - proportions are fantastic. I love the gas cap oil fill on the engine too....very neat.
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The RPU is looking perfect - proportions are fantastic. I love the gas cap oil fill on the engine too....very neat.
Thanks guys.
Yeah Steve, I wish they made some covers like this for the 429/260 too. There isn't much out there that is old timey for those motors.
Bob, Dan has NO idea what kind of power this thing is going to make. Don had that tripower set up on a milder 455 in a '65 Olds convertible, and it moved that big old tank pretty well. Don surprised quite a few cars with it. Dan keeps asking if we put a radical enough cam in it because he wants it to idle like Dons T. With flattop pistons I told him we were on the edge anyway, don't want any parts kissing each other in there.
Believe it or not Signshop, that is the stock Olds oil fill cap. Dan is going to chop the tube to set it lower, but leave it otherwise stock. It is kind of different looking though.
Don
Looking good Don, tell Dan for me that if he want only $200.00 for it like you wanted for the T ( I still have Hillary Dollars ) ....... LOL
I like the collect of vise grips hanging on the wall.
BradC
Damn, it just keep getting better, that is a beauty Don. All the right stuff! We are truely in the company of greatness! I am absolutely jealous of your great toys! Awesome!
Thanks guys. Brad, I think there are times when he might have taken that $200 offer. :) But things seem on the upswing right now. Funny thing about the vicegrips, we can tell when a project is coming to an end, more vicegrips are on the wall than holding the car together. :D
I don't know Brick, I see some of the stuff others on here do and I feel the same way. Did you happen to see that '40 Willys the 19 year old kid built? He posted pictures of it on the HAMB, MAN, what a talented guy he is. The entire body is made from aluminum......from scratch!! I wouldn't know even where to begin. :o
Tonight we got the main crossmember built for the subframe. Not major progress, but now we just have to start filling in the gaps with smaller pieces of metal, then the floor can be made up. Dan forgot to order his Genie shifter so we can figure out how much room we need to leave for the shift arm and linkage, so we will have to do some other stuff until that arrives next week. No shortage of things to do though, so we'll find something to keep us busy.
Don
Hmmm... 455 Olds engines are torque-monsters. I forsee those skinny rear tires going up in smoke frequently.:rolleyes: Don, you better put some locking lugnuts on your roadster or your slicks are apt to disappear...:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Funny you should mention that Jim, Dan ordered his center section for the rear this week. He got a 4:00 posi setup, and is talking about needing some slicks if he runs the nostalgia drags in Bradenton in November. Good thing he is running 16 inch wheels or he might borrow mine. :LOL: :LOL:
We got a little more done on his subframe the past few nights. He built a hoop for the rear out of some 5 inch pipe that we split and added 5 inches to so that it has an oblong shape. We also put a flange on the back of it so that it will bolt to the rear section of the body, tying it all together. The sheet metal of the driveshaft tunnel will go over this hoop and one in the front, then become larger to go over the transmission. These hoops will never be seen when skinned, but it still took us 2 nights to build the one.
We also got the front crossmember of the subframe done, and had to drop down the center section to clear the driveshaft. Here are some pictures of how that all came out.
Don
Wheels? No problem... Do the two cars have the same bolt pattern on the rear end?:confused: :LOL: :LOL:
Man you guys do nice work. That hoop looks like a factory-made piece...:cool:
Don that is really fantastic looking work. I can tell that you have a great eye for detail.
Jim, no, luckily he has 5 X 5.5 and I have 4.75. :D :D
Thanks Barb, but actually it is my Son Dan who has the eye. I would have been done with this thing sooner maybe, but he is the one who takes the extra time to make every part much better than I would or could. :)
BTW, our evening was a little disrupted last night, we had to run Scooter (my fat cat) to the emergency Vet. She somehow hurt the underside of her belly and was bleeding pretty badly. I think it is because she is so fat her belly drags the ground. Not sure what she did, but they gave her an antibiotic shot and gave us some oral medicine we have to give her every 12 hours. The bleeding has stopped and she seems like nothing has happened, but I am really afraid for her.........she's either 14 or 15 years old, so that is working against her.
So, for now she is going to be contained to the shop office until she heals. Darned pets become like your Family.
Don
Don, Dan, the car is coming along and needless too say it looks good as you two are really into building nice cars.
I hate to hear about Scooter hope she does ok and get back to what she does best. She will get the best of care.
The stomach reminds me of our oldest cat. About 11 years ago she must of went after a chip monk or squirrel and ended up about 70 or 80 feet up in a tree. Babe was afraid to try to get down so she had a small branch she was trying to sit on to rest but it was not good enough for her to get comfortable. After my wife called the fire department and they wouldn’t come out I finally decided the only way I could get her down was to cut the tree, I thought if I cut it so far it would maybe come down slow enough for her to ride it down. I’m sure When she heard the chain saw she thought I was crazy but When the tree stared coming down she held on until about 12 feet from the ground then she jumped. Her stomach hit a branch and she had an injury we had to keep antibiotic on it along with warm compresses. Babe was pissed at me for along time.:mad: She couldn’t understand I did it for her. People said I was crazy for wasting a hard wood tree but I didn’t think so.
I hope I haven’t told you this story before but if I did, like Gilda, Radner would say ‘Never Mind”
Richard
Pets! They have us wrapped around their paws! Teva is my problem this week. My wife is out of town on a work conference, and I work today and tomorrow. So I had to hire a dog sitter, to hang out and keep her out of trouble. If she feels neglected, she gets into stuff, like my wifes knitting, clothes, shoes and such. Since Monique's out of town, she has switched to my stuff. Nothing big, just wants attention. When I scold her she cowers something terrible, which makes me believe she was neglected alot in her previous home, and beaten for anything thing she may have done. We kennel both her and Pretzel if we are going out for a few hours, but I work 10 hours tonight, so thats too long to be stuck in a dog crate!
Pretzel used to do the same when we got him from the animal shelter, but he's gotten to be a perfect little guy over the last year. I hope the same will happen with her
She is tuff on toy too! I bought them a stuffed dog toy that claimed to be made tuffer than anyother toy on the market. 15 minutes after she and Pretzel had it, half the stuffing was on the floor!:eek:
Don, the RPU is coming along great! I hope Scooter has a speedy recovery!:)
Thanks guys for the nice thoughts about Scooter. Today she is pretty lethargic but that might be from the antibiotic we are giving her every 12 hours. I sure hope I don't lose her, she's been with me for about 15 years now. Oh well, what will be will be.
It's about 5 AM and Dan and I just got in from a 15 hour day working on his car. We are really seeing some light at the end of the tunnel finally. Our focus right now is on the subframe of the body, and we probably only have a day or two left until we can start putting in the sheet metal on the tunnel and floor.
It's hard to explain all that we did (especially since a shower and bed are calling me :D ) but essentially, we got the driveshaft hoops done that will support the sheet metal, and also finished up the passenger side bracing for the floor to attach to. Well, almost finished, we still have one more brace to put from the front door jam over to the transmission hump, but that will be a piece of cake.
Dan and I are really excited because it is starting to look like an interior finally. It is super strong and when the sheet metal is tied to it there should be no flex at all.
Here are some pictures of what we got done today.
Picture 1 is the rear hoop we built that ties the rear crossmember to the body. It welds and bolts in so we can remove the back portion of the body if we ever need to.
Picture 2 is after it was welded in and we started to build the side channels of the driveshaft tunnel.
Picture 3 is after the tunnel framework was done being welded into place.
Picture 4 is another view of the tunnel framework.
Picture 5 is the front portion of the subframe that goes along side the transmission. It ties the driveshaft tunnel to the firewall.
Don
Don
Here are some more pictures.
Don
Picture 1 is the front of the subframe before we installed anything.
Picture 2 is the front after we got the channels for the floorboards installed.
Wow Don,looks great. When I get to my 29,I'll have lots of good ideas to choose from. Hank
15 hours! You guys are seriously dedicated. I can't think the last time I pulled an all nighter!:eek: But wow what progress. It's like seeing how to build a car from scratch! Nice welds!:D
P.S. Don I don't think the antibiotics should make scooter lathargic. Is Scooter eating or drinking? Sometimes if they get dehydrated, or lose thier appatite they can get that way! Also it sounds like she lost some blood initially, so maybe she is just tired from anemia. Hope she gets well soon. It would really throw me for a loop if something happened to Pretzel or Teva.
Thanks Hank, thanks Steve.
The bad part Steve is that we were at the shop Friday night too until about 4 AM. :eek: But I love being there from about 8 PM on when it rains and the temp drops to about 80 in the shop. Even with 6 fans running it is still hot, and the noise from the fans drives us nuts. All these hours are paying off though, we are really starting to see progress.
I called the Vet back yesterday and he said perhaps the infection coming out of her body is making her act this way, plus the oral antibiotic upsets their stomach. She wouldn't eat some chicken, and she always loved it, but she did eat some of the canned Salmon I gave her. She also seems to be drinking as her dish is going down somewhat. It's so sad to see a pet sick and they can't tell you what is going on. :(
Dan has some stuff coming this week that we need to move ahead, like his underdash pedal/master cylinder setup, Gennie shifter, 9 inch center section, and steering arm. With a long weekend coming up over the 4th we should be able to get lots more done.
Don
Dan really has an eye for detail the RPU is coming along great. Has he decided on a windshield style. Watch doing those 15 hour alnighters they will make an old man of you quickly.
BradC
Thanks Brad, and you are right.........I learned a long time ago not to go drinking with guys in their 30's or to try to stay up as long as they do. :D I usually take a little nap while Dan is doing something not requiring 4 hands, and that takes the edge off a little. But I still pay for it the next day.
I remember when I was in my early 20's, I would come in at 5 or 6 am after a night of partying, take a shower and then go straight to work. That night I would grab a couple hours sleep and hit the clubs and do it all over again. Today I would not live through the first day. :o :)
Oh, on the windshield question. He is going to use '32 stanctions on the '31 posts, and chop a '31 windshield frame 3 inches and have it chromed. That is the plan as of now, anyway.
Don
Dan and I have been putting in some 15-16 hour days, and have been making some really good progress. We got the drivers side of the floor subframe done, and can now start skinning it with 18 gauge sheet metal. Before we do that though, we decided to mount his underdash master cylinder and pedal assembly.
He decided to go with a setup from Kugel Komponents that mounts the master cylinder at a 90 degree angle to the pedal. It's a very nice piece, but requires some modifications to make it fit his body due to the deep channel. We were going to build an underdash cowl roll bar like my '23 has, but after some discussion we decided it wasn't needed. What we did do was build a large 3/16 inch thick steel plate that first bolts to the inside of the firewall, and it has some tabs on it that the Kugel piece bolts onto. We still have to build some support brackets that will tie into the dash rail, and add a few side brackets to give it a little more strength. But even now it is pretty sturdy........once the transmission tunnel is welded into the firewall that should beef it up too.
He also got his Gennie shifter and we installed it so we could determine how big the transmission tunnel would have to be to clear it. We were able to mock up a steering column and steering wheel to make sure he had enough foot room, and after some bending of the pedal it worked out fine.
Tomorrow we are going to get his bomber seats mounted to the subframe and do some work on the floor and tunnel. Here are some pictures of what we got done today and yesterday.
Don
Looks great guys, are you going to add a combo cowl vent/m/c access door? I've been trying to come up with a nice clean looking way to hinge the whole cowl top on my 29. It's either that or make the dash panel hinged at the bottom for easy access. [ Not a new idea,a lot of old trucks were made that way,and yes I am trying to be sneaky and get you to do the engineering for me] Keep up with the great work, Hank
Look's like you even have room for a power booster. Coming together fast with you guy's working so many hours.
BradC
You guys do some excellent work! Keep the pics coming.
Don,
It's looking really good to me. Here are a couple shots how I did mine. Not that you guys need any suggestions, if nothing else you can look at it as how not to do it :LOL:
There is a 1" X .120 wall square tubing under my dash then it angles off at about 45 degrees to a up right that the door hinges are mounted to. This body comes that way and is very sturdy. Then I came off of that to the pedal assembly on both sides. On the right side of the pedal assembly I used that gusset to mount the proportionating valve.
It's just one way of doing it. I hope this will help you and Dan to come up with a even better way.
Ken
Thanks Hank. We talked about adding a cowl vent because Dan likes the looks of them, and it would give access to the master cylinder, but I am doing my best to talk him out of it. First of all, it would require him to cut the tank top and weld in the vent assembly, and with the time it would add to the build it would create one more problem time-wise. The tank top is perfect now, and welding it in would create some warpage that would take some body work to correct. The second reason is that you really almost never have to get back into a master cylinder to add any fluid once it is bled unless you have a leak somewhere. I never added one drop of Dot 5 to my '27 in all the years I had it. Dan also bought their Corvette M/C and the thing is huge. The capacity should be such that he would never have the need to add any or check it. I figure we can fill and bleed the system with the cowl top off, like in the pictures, and probably never have to look at it ever again.
Brad: I had the same thought about a booster, but with the Ford Expedition brakes on the rear and Wilson Welding '39 Lincolns up front I don't think he will need it. I've never had the need to add power brakes to any car, generally they are so light and the brakes upgraded that manual ones work fine. Hey Brad, did you fly out to Ken Thurns house for his 4th of July BBQ?? I told him you have been known to fly to faraway places for a cup of coffee. :LOL: :LOL:
Thanks RC57. Yep, you know me and my camera.........I add one little part and I'm snapping away.:D
Thanks Ken: I showed Dan your pictures when you posted them before. That is a great, strong way to brace it...........that won't be moving at all. As I mentioned, his original plan was to build a removable underdash roll bar like my T has, and hang everything off of it, and tie it into the dash and firewall. But after sitting in the car he realized even a small 1.25 roll bar would encroach on his already limited footroom. The more we talked about it the more we realized lots of guys simply bolt these Kugel type setups right to the firewall and call it good, so if we did that and then tied it into the dash support he is going to fab up, and also into the sides it should be plenty strong.
The main thing we need to damp out would be firewall flex when you push on the brake pedal, so with that large flat plate spreading the load, and a couple of braces to the dash, it should be way strong enough. Is your's a Kugel setup, or someone elses? It looks very nice.
BTW Ken, while I have some downtime at the shop when Dan is doing some one-man kind of jobs, I have been working on my Dodge. I have the Moon tank mount all figured out and am going to cut off the existing spring perch and redesign it to incorporate the forward two bolts of the brackets. That tank looks terrific up there........can't thank you enough. :) How did your BBQ go? Did you get much car building help from your buddies?
Don
Don,
When I was first doing my Brookville body, I noticed that the rear part trunk area seemed to be loose. The first thing I did was to pull all of their bolting and either replace with gr5's or at a minimum, a good gr5 lock washer. That stiffened it up some. Then I tied everything together with some 1" round and square stock. Needless to say, there isn't any flop. I also tied the cowl sides together with some 1/2 square tubing and most of the cowl floppiness is now gone. Then with the doubled flooring with 1/2 square tubing reinforcement and tabs for the seat, you can even lift the body with the doors open and it wont bend.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...yreinforce.jpg
Don,
I used a Kugel also, I really like everything about it. I'm glad you will use the tank.
I didn't get anything done on the 4th:eek: I invited these guys over to take advantage of there free labor and we start goofing around telling each other lies, then watching Nascar, and I buy way to much beer, then cook to much food, then we watched the fireworks up and down the coast, then their wives drag them home, what a bunch :LOL: :LOL:
The headers have to go in at the same time the motor does, so it's a two man operation. My one friend is retired so he said he would come back Monday and help me. We had a lot more fun than working on a old car.
Glad to see you are working on your truck.
Ken
That's the right way to brace these things Dave, sure looks good. You can see how it would stiffen everything up tied in the way you did it.
Ken, sounds like your 4th was the way it should be.......good friends and a lot of relaxation. Too bad I'm not on the left coast, I'd be more than happy to help you get that engine back in. I think you said it was your throwout bearing that went.........did you ever determine what caused it to fail?
Don
Don nice work you guys are doing. I love it when you post fabricated stuff. It gives me lots of ideas for problem areas on the truck. And Dan makes beautiful welds! I'm going to have to take a class just to make mine function, let alone look smart! That 90 brake set up is very cool! I am tossing around ideas of fabricating a door plate to cover the hole in the floor pan that gives me access to the master cylinder, but will keep the rain and dirt out.
That Hobart MIG welder you recommended, has already paid for itself on patch work alone! I can't imagine doing a build without one now!
Keep the photos coming!
Ken, I spent yesterday, sprucing up the place for our little dinner party, and unfortunately over did it in the wine department, which I'm paying for today!:CRY: But I'm still going to get to the shop and do some body work, headache or not!:whacked:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Thurm
Attached Images
Thanks Don, I would sure welcome your help.
My throw out bearing failed because I didn't put any lock tight on one of the pins in my clutch fork. I don't know if you remember, in my truck build I showed how we make my own clutch fork, well one of the pins unscrewed because I didn't lock tight it. I use these forks in everything I builds because of there compactness.
I copied the photo from my truck build but I don't know if that works here. If not I'll try and find a photo of it.
Ken
Didn't work, if you want to see what I use it is under my tread, Clutch linkage.
No Don, Ken didn't say anything about BBQ or I would have made time to stop in for burger or at least a hot dog. I like the brake setup was going to use it on my 31' roadster with remote fill. Now the shop is almost done, I can start the rebuild and tell the story of this cars life.
BradC
O.K. next time I'm going to send out invitations :LOL:
Don,
It sounds like you aren't going to do this but this is the way I did mine. I bought a replacement cowl vent from Brookville made the cut out then used my step roller to put a 1" flange around the patch panel. Rosette weld the flange in then weld it up no warppage. That is my radiator cap on the left, clutch and brake reservoirs on the right, then the dry sump tank fill will go in the middle.
Ken
Steve, so you've been getting a lot of use out of the new welder? Good. Those Hobarts are really very good units.
Brad, I hear they have some great BBQ in California.......Ken doesn't know how close he came to having you there for a little visit. :LOL:
Ken, Dan is pushing for the cowl vent and I am trying to change his mind. No question it would be a great addition and a way to access the master cylinder, but this car build has been going on for 4 years now, it is time for him to just "git R done." :) The fun of fabricating stuff has worn a little thin for he and I right now, it is time to get this thing on the road, even if it is in primer. If he forgoes the vent it will be just one more job we don't have to do.
Today he and I were both pretty wiped out from the past two long nights, so we tackled something easy........we put in two more subframe crossmembers and got his bomber seats mounted. Even that turned into another 12 hour day, but we can now sit in the car and finalize the placement of steering and other stuff. Here is a couple of pictures of what we got done today. Also, we have a new stray cat hanging around the shop. We fed him the past 3 nights and he is starting to be less afraid of people........but he is still wary. At least he will be fed regularly now, I laid in some supplies to feed him.
Don
Listen to Dan.........................Quote:
Originally Posted by Itoldyouso
In fact, he can borrow a design theme from Mopar................TWO cowl vents!! Not only does it give access for the master cylinder, but it gives dual zone air conditioning!! (hey, just tryin' ta help here buddy)
Bob,
Steve Moel already does that, I was thinking, 3 small cowl vents. That way one on each side for the fresh air, and one in the middle for an access panel. If they put in a hand made swoopy duval windshield frame they could follow the radius of the frame. Just trying to help, ya don't want a cookie cutter rpu do ya!!:D :LOL: :LOL:
Your Friend,
Ken
Don wrote:Things are looking up at your house already. A stray, huh? We have about 7 strays at the barn along with 8 kittens. So far, we've caught 5 kittens (not included in the 8) and converted them to pets and have placed them in homes for adoption. :D I would be happy to send you a six pack of kittens.:LOL: We've got a black tortie, a grey tortie, a grey tabbie, 2 red tabbies, a black, a grey/white and a black/white still unplaced in new homes. Take your pick!:LOL: :LOL:Quote:
Also, we have a new stray cat hanging around the shop. We fed him the past 3 nights and he is starting to be less afraid of people........but he is still wary. At least he will be fed regularly now, I laid in some supplies to feed him.
Don
That little stray is very fortunate to have found you! Scooter is smiling down on your generosity!
Bob and Ken, I know you guys are right about the cowl vent, but he can always remove the cowl top and do it at a later time. We only have 135 days until Daytona, so we have to keep moving and as simple as possible. But knowing Dan, I bet it gets a vent. :D :D
Bob, do you get to claim all those dependents at the end of the year? :LOL: Nice that you take care of them like that.
Steve, you don't know how close to the truth your comment about Scooter is. I don't want to keep bringing up her passing, but I have to tell this story:
The other night I put out some food for the "new visitor" and went into the shop because it is too afraid to come around while I'm out there. After a while I hear the cat dish getting knocked off of the utility trailer where I put it so I look out. There is the biggest Possum I have ever seen standing on the trailer.
What is weird about that is the fact my Ex Girlfriend always tried to convince me Scooter was a cross between a cat and a Possum. She would say "look at her, she is fat, has short legs, and a skinny tail." She was sure Scooter was part Possum, and I couldn't convince her that genetically cats can't breed with Possums. I went out to chase the Possum away, and it just stood there looking at me, no fear at all. Finally, it walked off.
When I went back into the shop I told Dan what was out there, and he said "Dad, when have we EVER seen a Possum here in all the years we have been here?" Then he reminded me of what my Ex said about Scooter. Dan isn't one to believe in supernatural stuff, but even he was a little freaked by it.
Maybe Scooter paid us one last visit in a form that we would understand. Goofy, I know, but it left us with the strangest feelings. :eek:
Don
Not to say you may of had to much to drink or maybe not enough sleep............LOL
If it was Scooter coming back she would walked into the shop and stole your chair. Yes Don, Ken doesn't know I like to travel at the spur of the moment, like going to Maine for lobster or Chicago for Pizza ( I have even been know to go to Florida for a car show ), But it must run in the family my sisters are going to Oregon for wine.
Bradc