Rusty Bowtie
General Category => General Discussion - Intros => Topic started by: trbomax on September 30, 2013, 01:41:38 PM
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We winched it out of the building and onto the trailer on friday.
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Loaded up. We drove back sunday afternoon and stuffed the car and trailer in the shop.We will get it unloade in a day or so but before I can begin any work on it I have one wall of the shop that must be insulated and finished.
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That's a great looking ride....I'm looking forward to seeing it come together.
Moose
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That's a pretty car! What's the game plan?
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I did some serious evaluation today and its not as nice as it seemed to be when in the barn in toledo. The paint cant be saved so as to present the car in a manner that I am used to.So there will be a complete dissasembly,body and chassis. There are some things I will change on the body before a refinish. The change from sbc to bbc will require moveing the rad shell fwd about 6", and a different way of mounting the front of the motor. I may just cut the whole frot clip off and start building off of the "X" junction forward. I need to get a 53-54 chev front suspension complete because I want to eliminate the lever shocks on the upper control arm,and match the 5 bolt wheel pattern on the 58 rear. I had planned to set the front suspension crossmember into the frame as opposed to under the frame (as it is now). This will allow me to remove the stock front crossmember and mount the rad shell on the suspension crossmember. Since I originally built the frame with an AC stick welder in '62, I suspect I will want to re-do a lot of the welding, even if only from a cosmetic standpoint. Since I now have the options of tig or mig , I may reweld the whole thing. All the chassis components and frame will be blasted prior to any work,then again prior to paint. This time It will have an interior (the glass car never did but the steel car had several different ones). I am seriously considering finishing out the top and not covering it with vynal,but instead a texture finish like is used on jeep tops. It has a texture finish on it now,but it was only a temporary measure and never intended to be permanent. The driveline will remain as it was,t-10 into a drop-out 58 chevy limited slip with coils and the 3 link rear that I did in '62. I know the driveline will be a grenade with the bbc so I will have to restrain myself while driveing. The motor will be built from my collection of parts that I accumulated while raceing blown bbc drag boats in the late '60's and '70's. I may not go the blower route and use a tunnel ram,I have a couple of those too,dont know yet. The pic is from last night when I backed it into the shop.
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Have you considered a Mustang 2 style front suspension? They have all kinds of height and width options.
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Sounds like you have a bunch of good ideas. Gonna be an interesting build for sure.
Moose
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Have you considered a Mustang 2 style front suspension? They have all kinds of height and width options.
Not really.I wont put ford parts on a chevy anyway. Useing what I did in '62 makes it personally period correct for me. I want to keep it like it was or could have been then. I know the bbc is a stretch,but then the 396 came out in 65,so its not too bad.My first choice would be a 425/409, but I would have to start buying parts and working with a motor that I am not familiar with.If I was 10 yrs younger and did not have the health issues I have now,thats what I would do.
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Cool looking ride. I'm looking forward to the progress and seeing how you fit the big block in there.
Tom
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That's a great looking car and with history with you makes it even cooler. I know I had to move the original firewall back 4 inches in my 28 sedan and 6 inches in my 27 sedan just so I could run the original hood and put a small block in them. Are you gonna run everything on it? fenders hood and so on.
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All the bodywork will be the same except for the paint. I guess I'll just start blocking the whole thing out and go from there.. When I had the sbc in it it fit fine w/o cutting or moveing anything. I am going to do a lot of frame modding ahead of the cowl so as to lower the front by 6" or so. The "gasser" stance was good in 62 but not what I want now. I never ran a hood except the top when it was a steel car,and then only in winter. Running a hood now that it wont be a daily driver doesnt matter,it wont see bad weather or snow. Keeping this in mind,my plan is to completly remove the stock front crossmember since its only function is to mount the rad and shell anyway. I am going to move the rad/shell fwd to get the 6 - 8 inches I will need for the blower drive and cam driven pump. I dont think the width will have to be changed since both sb and bb use the same side mounts and my plan is to use 66 corvette manifolds which are probably better flowing than block hugger headers anyway.. I'm pretty sure the steering box will have to be relocated,but the lowering 6" will necessitate that anyway. Everything from the rear of the block back will be the same as it was with the sbc.
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That is one nice looking ride. Can not wait to see the build.
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I had some extra time today so I got all the tie down straps off of it and looked at the electrical situation. When I built it it got electric door latches from a 300sl mercedies (same one the seats came from) .I built old school power window regulators ,actuallythey werent old school in 62 but they are now. They have a gear motor and a large gear below the glass. The deck lid was hydraulic,I used a convertible top pump (remember those?) and one cylinder. Everything ran off of horn relays to keep the wire sizes down.So I hooked up my 200a batt charger to the starter end of the main batt cable and started throwing switches. Amazeingly,the widows work just fine. Not so much on the door latches though.The relays growl but nothing happens,I suspect there are ground issues.I had to throw the deck lid switch a few times,but then it ran and works fine!The lights work,heater blower runs, and the interior lights work! All in all, a pretty good day. I need to take one rear tire/wheel in town and get a new tube put in,then I will have all 4 holding air and can roll it off the trailer. Some pics tomorrow.
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Sounds like you have power everything....Not bad a luxury car with a big block...What could be better!
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Sounds like you have power everything....Not bad a luxury car with a big block...What could be better!
It had power steering but not power brakes.
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Wow you had all the bells and whistles for back in the 60's. Cool that most of it still works. Must have been built right the first time.
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Finally got out of the joint yesterday,after a week of incarceration.Kidneys failed (again),potasiun went crazy (9.5), and the bladder infection from hell.Kindey function was down to 32%,now its back at 65% which is normal for me.
Went down to the shop today and got the insulation unloaded from the trailer,so I can see the car again! Put the retubed tires on the rear and while it was up I checked the rear axel drop out.Turns out it is a 5.59,either a locker or posi.I dont have a chart to read the casting #'s but here they are if anyone else does.As I recall the whole thing was new when I put it in about 63 or 64,and the clean black paint and lack of any scratches or external rust tends to support that idea. My plan now is to just re-gear it to 3.73 or 3.90.If its still raining tomorrow I will get the front tires changed and get it off the trailer,that is if someone show up to help.
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Glad to hear you're out of the "Big House" and doing better.
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Like Tom said it's good to hear that your feeling better and back at it .....Now get to work! :-*
Moose
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Finally got out of the joint yesterday,after a week of incarceration.Kidneys failed (again),potasiun went crazy (9.5), and the bladder infection from hell.Kindey function was down to 32%,now its back at 65% which is normal for me.
Went down to the shop today and got the insulation unloaded from the trailer,so I can see the car again! Put the retubed tires on the rear and while it was up I checked the rear axel drop out.Turns out it is a 5.59,either a locker or posi.I dont have a chart to read the casting #'s but here they are if anyone else does.As I recall the whole thing was new when I put it in about 63 or 64,and the clean black paint and lack of any scratches or external rust tends to support that idea. My plan now is to just re-gear it to 3.73 or 3.90.If its still raining tomorrow I will get the front tires changed and get it off the trailer,that is if someone show up to help.
Got to researching these numbers and what I have is a57 -64 posi case that was built on may 5 1960. Due to the condition of it,I suspect I bought it new as a service part. I say this because of the deep ratio too.That time period I was getting into 1/8 mile so that would make sence.
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Got to researching these numbers and what I have is a57 -64 posi case that was built on may 5 1960. Due to the condition of it,I suspect I bought it new as a service part. I say this because of the deep ratio too.That time period I was getting into 1/8 mile so that would make sence.
5.59 would definitely be for 1/8 mi or pulling stumps. I had 4.88s in my 70 Nova on the street and that would rev real quick. 3.73 or 3.90's would work great for you. Will you have to swap out the guts for the different gears?
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suposedly not since I'm going with a 3.73 -3.90 gear set,numericaly lower would require a ring gear spacer. I figure I can sell the 5.59 set for what a 3.73 will cost.
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It has made it to the roller stage.Wheels and tires that actually hold air! It's in its "spot" untill I can find time to start on it. I still have to insulate and (sorta" finish the 2 remaining inside walls. It took 2 days to get this far on the front corner so I figure at that rate I should have the remaining 64' long wall done by june.
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Cool to see that car coming back to life after all these years!
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trbomax
Well at least the Chevy has a nice place to hibernate until your ready to get going 8)
Moose
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I got tired of working on the shop and decided to do something to the car. I washed the whole thing down rather vigorusly with a car brush and a strong solution of Tide.50 yrs of grundge made it hard to evaluate the finish. As I suspected,the body looks very good.no chips or scratches, and very little overspray. Only 3 - 4 gel coat blisters in the whole body,and they are so amall that no one will see them anyway. So,Ive decided that the paint on the body will be saved! Now the fenders and aprons are a bit different.Lots of overspray and some peeling on the fronts,as well as impact stars and larger gelcoat blisters. There is no saveing the finish on them,but thats ok because I will have to do some heavy recontureing on the inside edges after the frame clip because the clip is almost 8" wider than the 28 frame. Pretty much the same story with the aprons. the rears are not as bad but still a lot of stone bruiseing,so they must be redone. I know there is no way I can match the 65 pontiac color so Ive been thinking and trying to visualize a 2 tone with the fenders and aprons being black.
The cab area came pretty clean,but all the chrome is shot,more $ going down the toilet!I did notice that the odometer is showing 2700 miles,so thats what I put on it from 64 to 66 when it was put up.I know thats accurate because the gauges were all new when the car was built. There was one battery still in the trunk and it was frozen at some point and all the acid leaked onto the floor. Since its all plastic,no harm done! I cut all the batt cables and used split bolts to splice them together so that only one battery can be used for working purposes. All the cables and a lot of the wireing will get replaced,but luckily the bundle of 40 or so wires thet actuate all the relays (everything is controlled with relays,kinda ahead of the times then) are nice and flexible. I pulled the acess panel to the fuel tank out,had to ues a cutoff wheel on the screws,and decided it has to go.I never did like it under there and if I make up an aluminum tank to go in the rear like the original,I can use that space to relocate the heater,battery,and power relays that are now in the trunk, thus makeing it a useable space. So all the inner structure will be cut out and reconfigured.
I have a much better sense of direction now and a couple days off the wall insulation project was something I needed. So tomorrow its back to work on the shop!
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What a shop..what a car! To work on the shop or hotrod...either one is a pleasure I'm sure.
Ed
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Thanks! Up here in the winter thats all there is to do besides plowing the snow.
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Looks like your gaining on it. I really enjoy watching it come together...Keep those pictures coming!
Moose
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That's great that it held up so well since 66! Only 2700 miles, I'm sure you can't wait to put some more on it.
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I would really like to have it running by summer,but that wont happen. The frame clip,motor and front suspension change,electrical upgrades and partial refinishing will take me longer than that. I just dont get as much done in a day as I used to!All the work around the compound eats a lot of time up too.
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That car is so nice.
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That car is so nice.
Thank you,but ITS NOT TRADITIONAL<ITS PLASTIC!!
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That car is so nice.
Thank you,but ITS NOT TRADITIONAL<ITS PLASTIC!!
Still cool in my eyes!
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That car is so nice.
Thank you,but ITS NOT TRADITIONAL<ITS PLASTIC!!
I like plastic.... and it's yours!!
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I still havent done any real work on the car yet but I am figureing things out and getting more direction.Of course the independent front will go, along with the front 1/3 of the frame I built for it in '62. The front clip will be from the '56 1/2 ton frame that I bought from arizona. This frame and front suspension is sooo nice,no surface rust and all original paint,unbelieveable.
I wanted the front to have the same 5 x 4.75 wheels as the rear so My plan was to switch out the hubs/drums with 54 pass car units. Its only a 2400 # car so I didnt really see a need for discs. After priceing out the 54 hubs/drums/shoes/hardware/hoses/wheel cylinders and such,I found I was spending a lot more $ than I had planned. I started looking and found a disc brake/5x4.75 conversion for my 56 axle for $369 from performanceonline.com. This was about the same as I would spend for drums,so it was a no brainer. I called them today and was offered free shipping (from CA) that was worth $70,so there was no reason to wait untill spring(when I figured I'd need it) and I ordered it up along with braided ss lines and proportioning valves. So my pile of left over scrap will get bigger!
I had steel slot full chrome Astro wheels on it in '61. They are still on it now but are very rusty just like all the other chrome on the chassis.Ive thought about why this happened because it was pristine when I put it in storeage and the only thing I can come up with is that the floor in my pole barn does not have a vapor barrier under it and I poured it over what was the septic drainfield (at the time) for the old house that was there. We were putting in sanitary sewers anyway and dozed the old house to build a new one. So maybe the funky moisture comming up thru the concrete did it,I dont really know.Anyway,I briefly fantisized about getting them rechromed,mostly just to preserve as many original parts as I could,but then I didnt want 6 bolt front wheels and 5 bolt wheels anymore,so I started looking for some nos astros or even decent used ones to go with the rears so I would have a full set alike. This went nowhere and I couldnt get anyone to consider rechromeing them anyway. Then I found a guy on the HAMB who is makeing these wheels again.Apparently he has the dies and builds them to order in regard to both width and backset. The pics are absoultly beautiful and the price is reasonable at $265 ea.,so as soon as I get my disk brake parts and can figure what backset I need I'll get those comming.
So my parts pile is going to get bigger as is the scrap pile!I'll post up more on this thread as progress dictates it,maybe some pics of the disc brake setup when it gets here!
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That car is going to be awesome Trbomax...
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The disc brake /hub conversion came today.All of the parts are/were sealed in plastic bags and boxed.It all looks like good quality,but you can only tell just so much visually.One thing that was discerning to me is that there is no COO stamp on any of it. I'm stillbehind on my maintanence chores and haveing to push snow all day sunday and again today isnt helping.The way the weather is going I'll be plowing for the next 2 - 3 days. I'm going to dig the front axle out of the snow and bring it in to mock up the brakes and hubs. I need to do this so that I can provide John Phillips with the backset numbers for the front wheels.The 56 axle is about an inch widerat the kingpins than the independent thats in there now. I dont want the front end any wider than it has to be,so I will use a custom backset dim to help narrow it down.
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The axle is in and I will make a stand of sorts for it and fit up the disc brake parts this w/e.
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turbomax
Those parts look to be of pretty high quality but as you said time will tell. Not too many part are still made in this country and these days there's no guarantee that the ones that are still made here are of the best quality either.