You might want to gusset up the control arm brackets on the frame.
You are making great progress!
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You might want to gusset up the control arm brackets on the frame.
You are making great progress!
my ( first build) 27 chevy is chopped 6" and channeled 4"
i am 5.9 140 lbs.
and it is TIGHT in that cab.
i am having to put the gas pedal on the firewall above the tranny hump.
14" steering wheel.
thinnest/smallest seats i could find.
i dont think my fiance is going to be able to drive it. (big boobs)
in hindsight i would have made the rear of the cab longer.
but on the good side.
at 49 years old i aint gonna grow any more.
when i started trying out seats i realized just how tiny that damn truck is.
if i was any bigger.
i'd have to sell it.
my next build will be built around a normal sized human.
live and learn.
When I started to mock up my 28 RPU cab I stretched it for more room. But that firewall is narrow. Even making the trans tunnel to fit tight to the trans, TH350, and no more that 3/4" clearance, I still had to do the same with the gas pedal. I could have done it more to the left, but I wanted to be able to actually brake with my right foot. Mainly so someone else could drive it without killing them selves. My 48 you have to brake with your left foot, OK for me as I drove stock cars for years, but there is no place to put your left foot away from the brake pedal unless you pull it back toward you. Someone else driving it may have a big mess in a panic stop where their instinct is to jam brakes with their right foot...............
CONFESSION TIME
my buddy J.P. of the HENCHMEN C.C. has done all the work (so far) on this build.
he has been building/racing cars for almost 50 years.
i met him a few years ago and we hit it off.
one day i told him he had some of the coolest cars i had ever seen.
he says
we should build you one.
he charged me $15 an hour to handbuild me a car.
you see fellas
i am a parts replacer.
i sure as hell aint no fabricator/mechanic/hotrod genius.
the reason he did it so cheaply is simple.
he just loves to build rods.
but he couldnt afford to build another one for himself.
monday he is delivering my car to me
and has already started on a 39 chevy p/u for himself....
What a great friend!
Get us some pictures of it on the road.
Hows that going to run with the engine in backwards :eek:
Looks like a fun ride
Hee, hee! He's talking about that distributor being on the "wrong" end of the engine for a Chevy...:LOL::LOL:
Just kidding I'd guess its time someone put a Ford in a Chevy. **)**):LOL::LOL:
Just in time for it to snow!!!
Have fun!
I've got a friend (big Ford guy!) who has said for a long time if he ever wins the lottery he's going to buy a classic Corvette and drop in the baddest 427 Ford engine he can build and just sit back and listen to the screams from the bowtie guys about him "ruining" his car :LOL::LOL::LOL:
I have a neighbor who has a '46 Chevy pickup with a 460 Ford engine and there's a girl south of town who has a '33 Chevy sedan with a Ford 300 six in it...:3dSMILE:
i do have to take the steering wheel off to get into it.
i never in my wildest dreams thought i'd say this.
thank god i am short and scrawny!
3 coats of body filler on the roof and sanded the cab (i am keepin the bullet holes)
wiped her down with acetone and gloss black bombed it.
tomorrow the bed.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...exhaust048.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...exhaust049.jpg
Dumb question is there glass in your car??? sure is clean
no glass yet
Looks better with one color!
it is cold these days and my garage isn't insulated.
so i made a tent (tarp walls and ceiling )around the car and put an electric oil filled heater in there.
i decided to go with the mechanical lever brake light switch.
it will be here today and i will fab up something to make it work.
i think i have everything i need to finish up the wiring.
Ingenuity and perseverance will overcome something silly like a bit of cold weather!!!! Press on, Billy!!!!!!
driving around, i noticed it scares dogs
i dunno it's effect on babies an lil old ladies yet...
I had my 48 and had stopped at Hobby Lobby. When I was getting back in the truck there was a little old lady, (80 to 90) with her daughter. I started it up, had glass packs in headers, and was still really loud. She was looking at me, grinning and made a motion with her hand, it either meant rev it up some more or burn them slicks. I still don't know but it tickled me. And I have had other elderly ladies make comments , take pics at stop light and make approving gestures. My grandson however wasn't too fond of the noise, at least when he was 1. He's 2 1/2 now and he seams to like it, but when it gets really noisy I think it still scares him if he's too close............................:D
Well if you think about it those little old ladies that are now 80 were in there late 20 or early 30 in the way back in the 50s & 60 when all this stuff was real popular. Now how old dose that make YOU feel :LOL::LOL::LOL:
Or, maybe they're not smiling at you because of the truck!?!?!?! Maybe it's just YOU! :eek::eek::LOL::D
this wiring job is a breeze you guys.
1 no fenders ,running boards or anything else to get in the way
2 i have aready used this brand harness and turn signal switch when i wired the willys
3 i have a garage to do it in!
Good for you Billy.. Something has to go easy once in a while right??
it is so freakin cold around here.
that i decided to install a HEATERCRAFT 28000 BTU heater in this rod.
i have one in the willys and have been comfy at -30f.
i figured out a long time ago
i could have a solid gold rolls royce
but if i am freezin my butt off
i will hate driving it.
new carpet
i pulled the seats and shifter tower so i could cover the entire floor.
a bit of a PITA but i think it was worth it.
it looks lots better in person.
i am really happy with those boat seats so far.
i was worried they would aggravate my arthritic back.
but they don't.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...adlight007.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...adlight006.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...adlight008.jpg
it looks like i may have a couple of the ROADRUNNERS C.C. stopping by tomorrow.
to check out the weasel AKA 27 chevy rpu
(i still dunno what i am callin that car.)
bills lament?
love weasel?
... guided muscle?
the flivver?
dawn wants me to have what j.p. wrote on it long ago painted on it somewhere.
too long
low
loud
and fast!
driving the 27 around yesterday after work.
truckers give you the thumbs up.
regular cars flash their lights and honk horns.
and i stopped behind a schoolbus.
the kids freaked out.
you guys had me worried about the bumpsteer issue.
i have installed a stabilizer.
and now that it is legal to drive i have been blasting around on the bumpy laplata hwy.
i went over some rr tracks at around 60mph
and i didnt have any real problems
it stayed pointed where i wanted it to go.
after every drive i look at welds and bolts etc.
but i am probably just being a worrywart.
That's Great............... Sounds like you're having fun, thats what it's all about. As for bump steer it looked like it would give you problems. But if the axle and drag link move in the same arc, or really close, thats all that counts. And if your front spring is stiff, the less axle travel over bumps the less bump steer you would have even if not perfect. Looks like your guy knew what he was designing even if it looked questionable. Hope everything works as planed. It's alot more fun when you can drive the snot outa it and not have to redo somthing.......... Have a blast...........:D
Worrywart?? Nah, there's nothing wrong with being careful and vigilant with a cusom built vehicle, especially the first few hundred miles during "shakedown". If bumpsteer hasn't been a factor yet, it is probably a non-issue. As Dave intimated, the less the front end travels (up & down) the less a factor bumpsteer will be.:3dSMILE:
I still am skeptical of that Pittman arm. Any welding I do on steering components ALWAYS gets gusseted or reinforced somehow. Also, your builder cut and welded it at the splined end which is where it suffers the most stress. If it ever breaks, it will probably do it without any visible forewarning. Maybe I'm the worrywart, but I had a steering shaft snap at a weld in one of my stock cars years ago. It was the ultimate "Oh $#!t" experience:eek:; the concrete wall was not very forgiving at 70mph.:( I would hate to have that occurrence on the street...
Having said all that, though, driving a lightweight fenderless vehicle is about the most fun you can have on the road, right?:D:D