Nice install on the windows and switches Thanks for the pictures
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Nice install on the windows and switches Thanks for the pictures
Thanks guys!
Started to move the gear shift lever to the center of the console opening today.
Attachment 55156
The old lever is made up of an outer hollow tube attached by rubber to an inner solid steel post. Using my small grinder with a cut off wheel, I cut off the upper portion of the tube just above the rubber, split the lower portion and rubber down to the post and peeled each section off with a screwdriver.
Attachment 55155
Scraped most of the remaining rubber off with a utility knife...
Attachment 55157
and ground the post clean with the grinder and a 3M flappy pad.
Attachment 55159
Back in the car, I'll do some eyeballing to get the right angle before welding an adapter plate to the post.
Attachment 55158
After hours of trial and error, the gear shift lever is in it's final position. A small metal plate is welded to the shortened shift post. The gear shift lever (from a Datsun 510) is bolted to the plate. The lever has flat sides from the bottom threads to just below the bend. If it starts to spin in the bolt hole, I'll add some flat stock on top of the plate to keep it straight.
Attachment 55183
It looks pretty simple, but it took forever to get the plate angled just right. Too much twist one direction and the lever was hitting the console in 1st,3rd and 5th gears. Too much in the other direction and I'm knocking my drink out of the cup holder in 2nd, 4th and reverse.
Top looks stout, is the bolt up through the bottom of the plate and screwed into the stick? If that is how it is mounted, without removing the stick from the plate, weld the bolt to the plate as it sits. Drill a hole through the stick and bolt in the flat area. Tap the hole and use an allen as a pin to keep the stick set. I suggest the allen but a roll pin would also work. The allen allows you to remove the stick if needed. That car is moving right along has some nice lines, contours.
Thanks Pepi...excellent suggestion!! A simple and elegant solution. I never would have thought of it.
Your welcome, glad I was able to lend a hand not that you need it, doing pretty darn good on your own over there I'd say.
Well, the VR went off to the muffler shop today... she should be purrin' by Wednesday!
Anxious to see this one going, been following this build and really have enjoyed it!!!!
Wes that's great. Will it be driveable on return, or do you still have other stuff, before street legal?
Not sure about 'street legal'. With a front end alignment and seat belts, it will be drivable. All lights are working properly. Speedo and tach need to be connected/calibrated. And seats need a lot of attention. After alignment and seat belts are in, I think I'll be ready for DMV.
Great way to persevere to the end on this. That car has such a cool body style, you'll be turning eyes.
Here's the exhaust. Pretty simple. Unbolt at the collectors and one more at each muffler, and the whole thing drops straight out. And everything tucks nicely in the center tunnel with no ground clearance issues.
Attachment 55408
Attachment 55409
The pipes extending through the valance are just wedged into the muffler outlets, so I can play with some tips.:D
Attachment 55407
But now that engine noise is low, the fuel pump noise is very loud. I'll need to deal with that at some point.:(
I decided on an inexpensive stereo for the time being. Basically all I need is a radio for a ball game and a way to play my ipod music. I chose an inexpensive Boss unit with a pop-out ipod dock... no CD/DVD player. Once it arrived, I immediately saw that in the stock mounting configuration, my ipod would hit the plastic heater surround. I modified both the console and the surround to move the stereo forward.
Attachment 55435
It will even take an iPhone now.
That should work, nice little mod that few will even notice!
Man you got all the options happening, the undercarriage looks nice and sanitary. Fuel pump noise it is surprising how loud they can be. Could always go side pipes to cover the sound..... :LOL:LOL I just had to say that.
I tell everyone they need side pipes on their cars, it is just fun to say....
Keep us posted Wes, your so close. Nice mods once again. We live close enough to each other that I'd love to see this one done in person!
Steve, I'll drive it over... that is if DMV ever allows it on the road.:rolleyes::LOL:
I actually considered side pipes, but I can't stand the smell of burnt hair and calf flesh.:o:oQuote:
Originally Posted by pepi
Cool. I know what you mean about burnt hair and calf flesh. Jumped on the harley to move it into the garage after running it a few minutes(while wearing shorts, since I wasn't going but 5 feet to garage) and got a nasty burn to remind me why I do wear protective gear. Ugh what a smell! :)
Heck, that's how Harley's mark their territory!!!!!!:LOL::LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by stovens
I thought that was the oil leaks?Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
Exciting news today.
I can get new synthetic leather seat covers with a custom VR logo from these guys Welcome to the Interior-innovations! for a great price.
Just gotta decide on colors. Some photoshop magic using a couple of their sample colors. I like the high back Z seats with the two tone european style...
Attachment 55758
The covers look great, Wes! You didn't ask, but as I look at the six photoshop shots hands down I like the black on black best, and the dark grey on black (upper right) second best. The other color combo's distract the eye too much for my taste. Whichever you pick, it's going to look fantastic!
I like the black/black too or the gray/black (middle upper right). Two tone can let you play with carpet and side panel/dash color more, but classic black is always elegant.
Yeah What "THEY" said - - - - loooooookin' gooooooood, Wes !
There's actual progress to report on several fronts.
1. I simplified the mods to the center console and heater facia. The way I originally moved the stereo forward, to accommodate its iPod dock, covered up the emergency flasher switch, eliminated space for other switches (most likely for the seat warmers) and gave the whole console a bulky look. Tacky!!!
Attachment 56333 As for the heater facia, I filled in the seat belt warning light and the corresponding empty box on the opposite side of the map light, and smoothed out all the textured surfaces in preparation for the hydro-printing process. Still a lot of sanding to be done.
2. I stripped the seats to their skeletons, disposing of the ripped vinyl upholstery and broken-down smelly foam underneath. Disassembly was not an easy task! I had to heat at least two bolts on each seat to break them loose. Where ever there was adhesive, there was rust. And where ever there were moving parts, I found thick gummy grease. What a mess. The nooks, crannies and springs got sandblasted... the seat-back shells got hit with the grinder... the bolts and reclining mechanism pieces went into the vibratory cleaner for a couple days... then, after a coat of rust treatment, everything got a couple coats of black paint and reassembled. Attachment 56331
They look good and operate perfectly. New foams, butt warmers and custom seat covers (still haven't decided on the color combo) to be ordered next week... barring unforeseen circumstances.:rolleyes:
3. Picked up my fiberglass door panels with speaker pods today.Attachment 56334
Nice, quality pieces. So, as soon as I got home, I went to work on the drivers side panel. The metal top piece was a mess. Just like the seats, there was rust everywhere there was glue. No problem for my trusty grinder and a flappy disk. More rust treatment and some primer later...
Attachment 56332
...and behold a solid, like new base for a custom interior.
Attachment 56330
4. And lastly, I've begun the process of title/registration with Ca. DMV. I figured I'd get the ball rolling and have everything in order when the new year rolls around so I can get one of the 500 Certificates of Sequence issued each year for special built vehicles. If you don't know, a Certificate of Sequence (COS) allows the vehicle owner the choice to title a "special built vehicle" as the year of the engine or the year that the body most represents. Thus exempting it from the current years smog requirement. I know from other owners of replica cars, that DMV usually runs out of COS's in the first few days of the year.
I made an appointment, gathered all my receipts and required forms and marched into DMV feeling pretty good. That feeling didn't last long. The poor guy who helped me had never done this procedure before. He spent a lot of time referring to a DMV procedure manual and consulting a supervisor. Eventually he informed me that there was good news... and bad news. The good news is that there are still COS's available for 2012. It seems that there have been changes in the law concerning the way custom shops go about registering their creations now. They no longer need COS's, leaving them for home builders like me. The bad news is that I've lost bills of sale for a couple of the major components used in my project. Since I can't prove ownership of these parts, I'll need to get a motor vehicle bond in order to title the car. The word that flashed into my head was "EXPENSIVE"!!!! :CRY::CRY: I left DMV pretty depressed.
A few hours later I began researching bonds on the internet. As it turns out, a motor vehicle title bond is easy to get and not expensive at all, at least not for the fair market value of my car. And it actually simplifies the title process by substituting for all those receipts.
With the mystery that is the titling/registering procedure fairly clear now, I'm feeling a lot better. I don't have to rush toward a deadline of January.
Good progress, Wes, we were beginning to wonder what happened to you and the project!!!! Had to do that bond deal a number of years back for a non-titled drag car I sold to a buddy out in Riverside, Ca. who wanted to title it and run it on the street. Wasn't that bad of a deal. Sure seemed to make the titling project go smooth for him! The console and panel came out nice, what are you planning for upholstery on the seats?
Thanks Dave. I'm still undecided on the seats. I'm leaning toward this blk/tan combo. Gives the japanese seats a european flavor.
Attachment 56340
I'm hoping it would compliment an exterior color like this Cobra.
Attachment 56338
What do you think?
Good looking covers, for sure! If they have really good color selection, might be nice to have some of the exterior color in the seats. The guy I used to use for upholstery is retired now, but he always liked to at least match the thread color to the outside color, or one of the outside colors as the case may be! To me, the seat you have pictured looks great, think they'd be even better if the thread was the lighter color instead of white.... For me, the 3 colors make the seat look a bit too "busy"......
Just like so many other things that can be personalized when you build a car, just go with what you like!!!! The little details really make a car!
I can get the stitching in any color. If I don't go with matching the tan, I'll go with black thread.
I think in the long run you'll be happier with black on black, with black thread. It's a rich, subdued look that compliments any color. That said, colors are a personal choice, and you're the only person it needs to please.
Black on black certainly goes with just about any color combo, and has been in sports cars from the beginning of time, but as Dave said, it's your build, and these custom details make it true to you, and you alone. I imagine after all this work, this is a lifetime keeper and not a resaler, so personal taste will work. If for some reason you do want to sell in the future, then more normal is usually easier to sell quickly.But you know all of this anyway! When did you decide on the copper/gold brown color for the body. It seemed the last choices you put up were leaning toward green, red or black?
The copper/burnt orange has been a favorite of mine since the beginning. I just can't get it to render very well with my image manipulation program. It's very hard to convert the flat grey primer to anything shiny.
About three computers ago I had a microsoft program that made it easy to play with imaging. Since then I'm outta luck, not sure what to use or how now! I like the color, just have a hard time visulizing it on the Ferrari! I grew up with Italian import cars, that my dad would buy used in Italy, and ship over here to sell. He had a vast assortment of ones you'd never see over here on any regular basis. Lancias, Alpha Romeos, Maserati, and Ferrari. My favorites were the Ferrari Boxer, Lancia Zagato, and Citreon Maseratti. He used to drive a Lancia Beta Scorpion for most of my teenage life. All of those cars for the most part were that beautiful red Italian cars are so popular for, except the Citreon, and the Beta Scorpion they were either grey or a metalic blue. A few of the Alphas seemed to be something close to british racing green. Never saw a brown one, which make this a unique color to me, but I like it on the cobra in the photo above! I think the reds probably aren't good because they make you want to floor it every time you step into the car! :)
I just caught up on your thread. It looks like everything has been going well. I felt your pain on getting the shift lever to clear everything around it in all gears. I bent one up myself because my shifter comes out so far back. I wasn't sure anything I could buy would work.
On the seats I'm with the others...all black looks best. For it to be two tone I think it needs to be bigger sections of one color instead of the alternating rolls. It's nice to have the option of quality made to order covers. I have 4th gen camaro seats in my car and figure I can do the same thing.
I just saw this thread.. hot rod or not.. it's cool. And I admire any type of ride that someone puts an effort into making their own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 35fordcoupe
Hey Guys, thanks for stoppin' in! I appreciate all the input and support.Quote:
Originally Posted by herbet99
Got the drivers side door panel mounted with the speaker and hand pull. Just need a killer design to go on it now.
Attachment 56361
Amazingly, the power window still works.:D
Nice skins! What will you do, paint or put fabric over them?
Definitely fabric... something to compliment the seats.
Attachment 56562New seat foams arrived yesterday. Still two weeks before the new skins and butt warmers get here. In the meantime, I'll be looking for the clear acetate material to cut new protective pieces that go between the skins and seat mechanisms.
Wow new foam looks great. Have never found the same for the stock 48 ford truck bench seat!
