Thread: Everybody that is currently building a car...

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Originally Posted by Don Shillady

The color has a code for a paint mixer which I could get if necessary but really it was just a color I picked out of a chart of about 200 possibilities. The Haskins Body Shop called it "Haskins Merlot"

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Very slick choice, indeed.

Little steering column mock-up tonight. The Mark Williams quick release hub came today.

Truck is looking great Falcon, everything really came together well. Is it as fun to drive as it looks?

Maybe I shouldn't admit this but I went to a big box store today and bought a couple pipe couplings for column mounts. I turned the inside to size. That required shaving the top half of the threads out. I'll call the threads that are left "Knurling" :lol: :lol: Turned the outside down and left a lip on each side of the clamp to hold it in place. cut it in half so it's got the ''clevite bearing'' thing goin' on. Fits like a glove.

Originally Posted by brickman

Truck is looking great Falcon, everything really came together well. Is it as fun to drive as it looks?

Just call me Jed Clampit; kind of sounds and rides like an old farm tractor but a blast nonetheless!
Great idea on that column mount, Pro! What's the clamp from?

The clamp is just a hose clamp from Big "R" Little heavier duty than the worm gear type and won't work loose like the worm gear ones do sometimes.

Well the weather is good and the garage is warm so I am in a "Git 'er done" mood until about June 1 when I have to get ready to teach an intense nine week summer course to earn some funds for a top and unholstery in the roadster. I always liked this picture which I copied from the CarNut site BEFORE they locked their pictures. Note the running boards. If anyone knows the owner of this neat roadster I would like to know to maybe compare notes. If my roadster gets to 85% of this apparently real steel original I would be very happy!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I rolled my ankle three or four times getting in and out of the roadster while trying not to step on the running board. The last time was close to a sprained ankle so I just had to git 'er done and was inspired by the previous picture. Besides I was able to get some aluminum diamond plate for about the same price as a step plate and I needed to reinforce the "bouncy" 'glass running boards. I bolted the diamond plate on top of the 'glass running board and added a 2" wide strip of 1/4" aluminum along the under edge of the 'glass for added strength. It is a bit gaudy and against the general "dechromed" school of rodding taste but the previous picture looks pretty good with bright running boards so here is what I have now. Now I can step up into the cockpit without worrying if the 'glass running boards will crack. I used stainless carriage bolts with nice rounded heads and they are essentially invisible in the picture. This will be a "ten foot car" that looks good from ten feet away! The reflection "speckles" are an unexpected and perhaps undesireable effect.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Pro,
You just never stop with amazing me on how you think outside the box!

Pretty cool, Tom. Wish my dad were still around, he had many stories about his first car when he was 16. A 27 Model T that his grandfather traded a mule for to give him on his birthday. He said he had each fender painted a different color and two squirrel tails hanging from the headlight bar. Always sounded kind of bizzare to me but I guess that was the style in 1938. Can someone photoshop that?

Don,

I was looking at that same Grant aluminum wheel in the Speedway catalog just before I logged on. Does it use the same installation kit as their street wheels?

As for milling aluminum, there was an article in one of the magazines a few years ago about using carbide bits in a regular router table. They made a dash insert and it looked fairly easy. One thing I remember is that they said aluminum has a grain and you get a real smooth cut going with the grain but not so smooth going against it. They said you could feel the difference when feeding the aluminum into the bit so you could tell which way you should go with the cut.

Tom

Tom, Thanks for your interest in my car. I can't tell from your list if you really have a '39 Ford but for me that is a wonderful time machine since many of my high school friends had cars in the '39-'48 Ford era and I once tried to piece together a '40 convert body and a '40 Standard Tudor which would have been a phantom model with a grill like the '39 Deluxe but I did not have funds to finish it. Anyway, yes, I used the Grant adapter No. 3196 which is pretty common. The wheel has six small holes near the center. You need three holes for the horn mechanism and I wanted to make the wheel come out with the "Y" at the top to see the speedometer so I used the three smaller holes. It was necessary to use a rat tail file to oval the holes inward about 1/32" but hardly anything on my car has not felt the touch of the rat tail file anyway. The horn wire then comes up through one of the larger holes at ten o'clock. Since I had the wheel powder coated, Grant sent me an adhesive disk with aluminum foil on one side to provide an electrical contact. The aluminum wheel could be painted, powder coated or anodized. I liked the aluminum color so if it gets scratched it will not show as much as if I had it coated maroon. Note that the wheel is only 13" in diameter which will lead to "quick steering" but with the tight '29 cockpit and my slight body paunch, the smaller wheel makes it easier to enter/exit. I have since installed the ignition, light and wiper switches around a 2 3/8" TPI speedometer that I squeezed into the '32 style dash in front of the "Y" in the wheel so I only have to glance down to see the speed instead of over to the center of the dash. I put a tach in the speedometer hole and I will post a picture of the dash soon. By the way I have a '76 Corvette block which came with the cheap no-design rocker covers and I have plain chrome covers on there now but I would like to put the aluminum "Corvette" covers on there but I do not see oil input holes on the old aluminum covers. Does your Vette have the aluminum covers and do they have an oil hole on either side? I have purchased an end mill bit for my little drill press but have not tried it yet. The spiral bit is rated for cast iron and alloy steel so aluminum should be like cheese for that bit and the only question is whether the side force on the drill chuck is too much.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

One thing I found with the spiral bits is they break a little easier given side pressure than a straight bit of the same size. They both work, you just have to be more careful with the spiral bit.

Thanks ProZ, I will watch that. The bit is only 3/16" diameter but I may order another at 1/4" diameter. I am replying today to Tom-39Deluxe again. I forgot to mention that the V8 horn cap is not included in the Grant kit, it was $11 separately but if you look at the Grant site you will find a number of different designs for the horn button. I am attaching a new picture of my dash mockup now with the speedometer in the "Y" of the steering wheel. You can see the light switch to the left of the wheel which is easy to reach. The wiper switch is hidden behind the wheel to the right of the light switch. The unusual red thing on the dash is a plastic key holder that I added to the ignition key to prevent other keys on the ring from scratching the dash and to widen the grip on the small key since the spring-loaded starter switch has a pretty strong spring and I wanted the added leverage of a wider key. No doubt this is much simpler and much less beautiful than the custom instrument panel ProZ28 has produced but it is functional and now I will have to start the wiring. The camera is at an angle but when sitting in the driver position you can see the speedometer through the wheel and the all important gas gauge just to the right of the wheel in the quad cluster. The tach is to the right but will probably only be used for fun to see what the engine is doing. The black thing on the right is an AM/FM/PM3 unit with a removeable faceplate placed where my wife could mess with the station selection if I can ever coax her into a short trip in the roadster!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

Thanks ProZ, I will watch that. The bit is only 3/16" diameter but I may order another at 1/4" diameter. I am replying today to Tom-39Deluxe again. I forgot to mention that the V8 horn cap is not included in the Grant kit, it was $11 separately but if you look at the Grant site you will find a number of different designs for the horn button. I am attaching a new picture of my dash mockup now with the speedometer in the "Y" of the steering wheel. You can see the light switch to the left of the wheel which is easy to reach. The wiper switch is hidden behind the wheel to the right of the light switch. The unusual red thing on the dash is a plastic key holder that I added to the ignition key to prevent other keys on the ring from scratching the dash and to widen the grip on the small key since the spring-loaded starter switch has a pretty strong spring and I wanted the added leverage of a wider key. No doubt this is much simpler and much less beautiful than the custom instrument panel ProZ28 has produced but it is functional and now I will have to start the wiring. The camera is at an angle but when sitting in the driver position you can see the speedometer through the wheel and the all important gas gauge just to the right of the wheel in the quad cluster. The tach is to the right but will probably only be used for fun to see what the engine is doing. The black thing on the right is an AM/FM/PM3 unit with a removeable faceplate placed where my wife could mess with the station selection if I can ever coax her into a short trip in the roadster!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I think the dash looks great Don. Nice & clean looking. Just right for the roadster.


I got the steering mocked up & started welding in mounting tabs & brackets, making due with the stuff I have until the back ordered parts get here.