[ghost28]

Tom you are moving right along. I do like the wheel choice and the dash layout idea.

[TFoch]

Got a little work done on the tail lights. Bought some new bulb sockets, and the covers for the license plate bulb.  Media blasted the housings and painted them.  I used semi gloss black on the outside and chrome on the inside.

[TFoch]

I had the original drivers side tail light arm with the license plate bracket.  I bought the passenger side tail light arm from member Coley.  He did a great job reproducing them and if you need one I highly recommend buying one from him.  I painted them and mounted the housings.  I have a set of original lens bezels that still need to be rechromed but I like the way they turned out.

[themoose]

Tom....They look great. I see you painted the inside silver. If you want the brightest possible light believe it or not white is the best reflector on the inside of the light. I changed mine and couldn't believe. Here's a comparison that Digger Dave did on Hamb.

Moose

Did an experiment with the same tail light socket painted various colors inside.
 
 I set the repo tail light assembly on a temporary bracket with a very sensitive light meter set about three feet away from the tail light. (assembled with lens in place) With all of the shop lights OFF, I took measurements after changing the inside bucket colors.
 First measurement was with the original BLACK that the new assembly came with.
 Then repainted it SILVER. Then spray can CHROME. And finally BRIGHT WHITE.
 
 BLACK was the base line.
 SILVER resulted in a 20 % improvement
 CHROME resulted in a 20 % improvement.
 WHITE resulted in a 60 % improvement.
 
 WHITE from my experience is THE BEST!

[TFoch]

Thanks Moose I didn't know that.  I can easily repaint them.  I'm going to try the 2357 bulbs too.

[ghost28]

 I love to see them when the lighting goes on.

[cocobolo]

Tom...I just spent some VERY high quality time going through your thread from the beginning.  It's very seldom that I'm speechless...but WOW!

I love that rotisserie idea you used...looks like I will be needing a couple of engine stands!

Many thanks for all your posting efforts, there are just a ton of ideas in here that I hope to use.  Thank you! 

[TFoch]

Tom...I just spent some VERY high quality time going through your thread from the beginning.  It's very seldom that I'm speechless...but WOW!

I love that rotisserie idea you used...looks like I will be needing a couple of engine stands!

Many thanks for all your posting efforts, there are just a ton of ideas in here that I hope to use.  Thank you! 

Cocobolo,
Thanks, it's been a long process but finally coming together.  I appreciate the kind words.
Tom

[logride]

Looking good!

White paint for the housings is a great tip. Thanks for sharing it!

[TFoch]

I started this build a few years before joining this forum so I wanted to add a few things to the thread that were completed before.  So here goes, I'll start with the exhaust.  I decided to go with 2 1/4" steel.  I picked Hooker Turbo style mufflers.  We machined some flanges the same size as header flanges so I could use 3 bolt header gaskets for all my connections.  I positioned the mufflers in the chassis where I wanted them.  Then I stared with "J" tubes and straight lengths.  The "J" tubes I used had 4" and 6" radii.

[TFoch]

I started on the drivers side from the header collector and worked my way back to the muffler.  I added a little bend as the pipe went horizontal so I could get my oil filter out without a problem.  The key to cutting the "J" tubes correctly and get a good fit is to cut from the center of the radius at what angle you need.  I used CAD to make the templates I needed for a good cut.  I've seen guys that drew their template for different angles on a piece of plywood so they could mark their tubing.  Here's some pics of how the first part came out.

[TFoch]

Here's some pics of the passenger side.

[TFoch]

I worked my way back to the mufflers going through the cross members to keep the exhaust up high enough so when you see the car from the side you shouldn't it.  I made some mounting brackets with isolators to mount the mufflers at the flanges.  I used my digital level to keep everything level.

[TFoch]

Here's a closeup of the rear muffler bracket.  Then I cut the tubing to go over the rear axle.  I would duct tape things first to try the fit.  Then tack weld it and double check it again before finish weld.

[TFoch]

Here's some final pics.  I painted it with silver ceramic header paint.