Printable View
Por 15 is one of the best products out there for rust conversion. It also sticks to the metal great! The UV thing won't be a problem once the body is on. Nice to hear you can spray the stuff. I've painted most of my frame and differential with it. I also have a disc brake caliper paint kit from them that I haven't used yet, except for the cleaner which will strip grease easily also an excellent product. Your frame came out looking great!
The frame looks great.
The last frame I did was by hand. I'll know better next time. Nice tip.
Thanks all! It's been a busy month; my youngest son is graduating high school and daughter is moving into a rental house we had vacant so just about every night and weekend has been full. After this weekend we'll be done with both so my wife and I are looking forward to some free time. I'm hoping to really kick some butt on this car over the summer and make a lot of progress. I'd like to be down to just chrome and interior by the end of the year. That may be pushing it, but you have set goals and give it your best shot. Has anyone ever done the window conversion where you eliminate the vent windows and make it all one solid piece of glass? I'd like to find a good resource with some pictures on how to do that.
I've done it, not a real big deal. First consideration is that there is room for a door glass that big and that it has room to clear the hinge mechanism inside the door. Sometimes it requires going to smaller door latches, too, like the Bear Claw. If you're going to running power windows and the doors are flat glass, it gets even a bit easier.
As for getting the car to that stage by the end of the year, seems realistic to me if you keep going at your recent pace.....
It sure is nice to see some open space in the garage again. I started putting the shocks on, running brake lines, and going through several boxes of parts to see what I'm going to need. I had all the boxes from the 47 I took apart plus several from this car that had already been mostly apart when I got it. I spent a while tonight cleaning up different body mount brackets and painting them. Also ordered a body mount kit, power window kit, and a kit to eliminate the vent windows. Should be test fitting the body to the frame on Memorial Day.
I'm right there with you Roger. More space is needed in my garage too!
I definitely want A/C in this but I wanted to save a few $$ and find something other than an aftermarket unit. I went scouring the boneyard today and found this; a rear air unit from a full size conversion van. It has an evaporator with the expansion valve, a heating coil, a three speed fan, and two air outlets. I think it'll work; seems to fit under the dash pretty well. I just need to find or make a grill for the front.
Happy Memorial Day, everyone! I hope you all got to spend time with your loved ones and working on your projects which is what I've been doing all weekend. I did some more brake line plumbing and mounted the proportioning valve and worked on the brake pedal assembly. I didn't want the GM pedal pad so I cut it off and welded on a bracket to mount the 48 pad.
Next thing was to work on the doors. I decided to go with bear claw latches and found a step by step how to on Rod & Custom's website with some good pictures.
I pretty much duplicated exactly how they did this in the article.
Once I clean up the welds it should look pretty good. The door closes nice and solid. Is anyone else having problems getting their pictures to post in the right order? Mine are getting all mixed up.
Here's the test fit on the body; I had to do a little firewall surgery now that the motor is relocated. Not too bad, though. i should just be able to build a small recessed section and it'll be good to go.
Any distributor clearance issues?
No, that's one nice thing about the LS engines; no distributor.;)
Cool missed the type of engine, but still didn't know that! Car is coming along great.
Thanks! Today I worked on the firewall and floor; I had to do something as the firewall angled out and back in and was hitting the engine. I decided to slice it where it angled out, drill out the spot welds that held the sides, and try to make it flat.
Once I got both sides done, I moved inside to work on the floor and tunnel. I sliced up the removable tunnel section and used it to make a tunnel.
Once I get the location right on the brake pedal and the steering column, it'll come back off the frame to finish weld the firewall.
No reason that won't work, Falcon! Good job of taking what you have and turning it into what you want!!!!
I like how you folded the firewall back.
Its coming together nicely.
Kind of like making a custom 3d jigsaw puzzle out of sheet metal!
Yeah, exactly like a jigsaw puzzle! My old Clarke Mig is getting a workout. I cant complain; I paid $329.00 for it five years ago at the local farm supply store and it keeps plugging away.
Here's what I'm going to use for a steering column; it came from a 66 Chevy 2 ton truck. First order of business was to shorten it by 18" down to 32".
The angle for the shaft u-joints looks pretty good but it looks like some header work is going to be in order.
Back off the frame and on the cart; I got the firewall welded up, now just need to make it pretty
Nice work.
Yep, your making excellent progress.
Thanks! Having someone helping with the bodywork made a huge difference. It would take me another 5 years to do what he's doing. It's worth every penny to see it moving along. I finished welding up the tunnel and floorboards today, plus did a trial fit on the Chevy truck brake pedal. After I did some trimming on the bracket it looks like it'll work out fine. Body work on the shell is done as soon as we smooth out the welds on the firewall; should be some primer in the near future. The plan is to primer the shell, paint the firewall and wheel wells, and then mount it permanently to the frame to start on the doors, deck lid, fenders, etc.
Always fun when they go back on the frame for the last time....Not like your done or anything, but you can see the end from there!!!! Car is looking good Falcon, bit of time on the firewall now and it'll be ready!!
Thanks, Dave. Yeah, still a long way to go for sure. Time wise and $$ wise both. At least for now I can sit in it and make Vroom Vroom noises.:D
Just got back yesterday from a weeks vacation at Lake of the Ozarks. Very relaxing, just a week of fishing and reading. No email, internet, TV, or work; I feel like a new man. I spent today on the car before I have to go back to work tomorrow. Just did a couple small things but it took most of the day. I built a drop and a floor mount for the steering column along with figuring out the mount for the master cylinder and finished modifying the brake pedal bracket.
A few more......
Last few. Good to be home; I'm ready to see some primer on this baby. Hopefully not too much longer.
Keep the progress coming bud.Very cool.
Thanks, Gary. After 4+ years of working on this, we're finally ready to shoot some primer on it. I'm cleaning up half the garage to hang plastic and we're going to shoot it over the holiday weekend. I went and bought all the paint, primer, etc to do the whole car today. Going with a 95 Porsche color; Grand Prix White. Also got my Lokar shifter mounted so I can measure where to cut the whole in the floor.
Ready for the weekend
Falcon some great work here just like I have seen you do in the past .
first time in primer is always a good day!!!!
Thanks guys, I'm so ready to see some color on this thing even if it is primer gray. We were taping the body last night and talking about what life was like when this car was coming off the assembly line. WWII had only been over a short time, rock n roll hadn't been invented, if you were gay it meant you were happy and a pair of boobs referred to a couple of dumb guys. Times sure have changed.....
Looking good,falcon..yup,even primer can look good when you get to that stage..Lookin forward to seeing the finished article,,,as you will be.:D
Yup, even primer can look good after you've been seeing it bare for so long. The finished product? That seems a long way off but it will get there.