Thread: Lethal Weapon, Project A-Bucket

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Gee Charlie! I am flabagasted and humbled that you would remember the Essex build and me----
I have't done a thing to it since last fall. Tooooo cold last winter, and then spring and life catches up with me, and then summer which so far we've gotten Florida temps! No fun for this old body. I sit in my basement den and enjoy the relative cool. And my oldest Grandson (21) has an '81 Camaro in the garage/greenhouse at the moment (and for the last two months) so there isn't room for me to do much with the Essex. It's tucked over on the side, just waiting for me to get a restart. I sit and talk to it at times, relieves the stress (the Essex AND me). haaahaaa. Thanks for remembering!

Originally Posted by oldrodder43

Gee Charlie! I am flabagasted and humbled that you would remember the Essex build and me----
I have't done a thing to it since last fall. Tooooo cold last winter, and then spring and life catches up with me, and then summer which so far we've gotten Florida temps! No fun for this old body. I sit in my basement den and enjoy the relative cool. And my oldest Grandson (21) has an '81 Camaro in the garage/greenhouse at the moment (and for the last two months) so there isn't room for me to do much with the Essex. It's tucked over on the side, just waiting for me to get a restart. I sit and talk to it at times, relieves the stress (the Essex AND me). haaahaaa. Thanks for remembering!

Well it's not everyday I see someone doing an Essex, ok you are the first one I have seen with an Essex so it just kinda stuck in my head. Lord knows not alot of useful info stays stuck there long anymore. I know what you mean about the heat. It's been 100 or more almost every afternoon in my garage. If I can start early it's not too bad I work until it gets to 98 or 100. But thats with two squirrel cage fans running and I have taken to carrying a small towel I soak in water to wipe my face neck and hair, then it keeps me kinda cool as the fans blow on me. Hard to weld though as the fans blow the shielding gas. And the fans blow the dust, and well you get the idea. Last two days it was too hot by the time I got finished with work so inside with my a/c and fan next to my chair. Although I did discover that the fan on the ceiling pushes over 105 deg air when it's 98 in the garage, so it made for a nice bake booth after the painting...........

Originally Posted by Jack F

dlotraf,

I feel the same as you. When I see the work the pros (and semi pros) on this board turn out I am embarrassed to post my progress; the Lord only knows why I do. However, the more I work at it the better I get, and seeing the work of others, yes, yours too, encourages me to strive to get even better. Don't give up on the machining part, I got my machine tools after 60 and love using the increased capabilities of my shop. Keep up the good work.

Jack.

Yeah I forget, or may not know that some of the guys may do this for a living and have much more experience than the rest of us. And I have some pics that I thought, I don't want anyone to see the way that turned out....... You know that might be an idea though. The main reason I'm building this one was to build something. I do not have room for what I have so no more big projects for me unless I sell something. So maybe when I am finished with this one, maybe I'll look into finding a lathe or something and learn some new skills. I could always make some of those neat bits that I don't have on all three of my trucks but would like to have. That might keep me busy for a couple more years............. I have a customer that lives a couple blocks away, that has some old machine shop stuff set up in his garage, maybe he might want to teach a little to my dumb ass..........

Not much progress. Today will tie the 1925 record of 69 days 100 deg +. Aparently Austin is centered over Hell............. But I have managed a few little bits. Made a throttle cable out of some saved pieces from bicycles of all things. Painted the steering wheel. My Grandson seamed very concerned that I put it in the oven to bake it. He is a hoot, 2 1/2 and loves his wheels..... On another note, nothing is made like it used to be, and in some cases I am glad. I put the windshield frame on and was looking back from standing in front of the car and it's crooked. F#$$$%%%%. Aparently I failed to measure Henry's cowl posts. Pass side is about 1/2" taller than
Drivers side. Posts were in tact good cond, no rot on bottom, and if one was replaced it was a long time ago and was rivited back in place. I do not know how I missed that one. And due to the way I construced the body it's gonna be tuff to fix. Anyone want to buy some scrap metal.....................

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Hey,that looks kool..Got that 50s look,which is probably what you were aiming for..Like your checkered firewall,too..Just about time for a test drive..

Looks cool, nice colours. I would lose the headrests though.

Originally Posted by roadster32

Looks cool, nice colours. I would lose the headrests though.

Thanks. I have to rebuild the back of the seat when I get to that part. I'll make it thinner and more round than square. And yes No headrests.............

I love those colors, and the checkered firewall gives it a nice 50ish touch. Great build. I also like that you extended the frame horns out over the axle. To me it gives a feeling of confidence that the front end won't play bulldozer IF the spring breaks. I also did that on my essex. perley

Originally Posted by oldrodder43

I love those colors, and the checkered firewall gives it a nice 50ish touch. Great build. I also like that you extended the frame horns out over the axle. To me it gives a feeling of confidence that the front end won't play bulldozer IF the spring breaks. I also did that on my essex. perley

Yeah, I don't really like the frame horns over the axle, thought maybe I'd bob them, but I'm also more paranoid the older I get............ I kinda copied the color scheme from a 32 roadster die cast I've got called Deuce's Wild. I am not a big fan of red cars but I think the cream makes it work for me.

It has been over a month so a little update is in order. Mostly just some small things, but still progress none the less. Today will be day number 87 of 100 deg + temps, so it has been hard to accomplish much. But the weather has started to break some so maybe we won't make it to 90 days.

Got the generator taken apart, cleaned up and painted. Picked this up used but looks like it was rebuilt not too long ago. Bearings, bushings, and brushes show almost no wear. Date code is supposed to date it in 1957, an EXCELLENT year. I ordered a gen bracket, and still ended up slicing it and shortening it. I probably should have just made it myself and saved the money.

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I picked up a combo fuel pressure regulator and filter. It's an Italian made unit, I saw this somewhere and with the glass bowl and design it had that early hot rod look. I think they have made this for a number of years and were on some of the Italian Hot Rods. I even found one that had a port for a pressure gauge and I think it looks right at home on the firewall.

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I made a switch panel for the ignition switch and so forth. I also made an insert out of a piece of a stainless steel dishwasher front I had saved. Sanded it and polished it. I will have to make another one this one had two very small dings that I did not see until I started polishing it. Might try one engine turned and see how that looks. I made the panel from a piece of 16 ga. sheet and then welded some 1/8 x 1 strap around it, and finished it off with a piece of 3/16 rod to give it a bead around the edge. This also worked good to hold the stainless in snug to the face. I also discovered that the dash is kinda flimsy at the bottom. Just pulling and pushing the light switch worked the panel back and forth. So I added a couple of braces from the bottom rail, where the panel attached to the dash, to the front hoop. Just took a piece of heavy round curtain rod about 1/2 OD. , smashed the ends flat, rounded em, and bolted it to the dash rail and welded some tabs to the hoop for the other end. There is no flex in that panel now.

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I eluded to the fact I made the throttle cable from bicycle parts so I thought I'd show that. The cable and the cable ends at the firewall and carb bracket are just the adjusters off some brake parts. I fashioned a U shaped piece out of some strap to attach to the throttle shaft. I did use a piece of auto outer cable, leftover from the 48, it was heavier than the bike stuff. Seams to work good. I think I'll make a wire retainer for the end near the rear carb linkage just to make sure it can't get behind the linkage stops and hold the throttle open.

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I started the mounts for the aux brake and turn lites, just to see how they were going to look. It may not show in the pics but they are those bee hive clearance lights you used to see at every auto parts store..........30 years ago...... I had to hunt to find some on ebay that were not led snap in units. These were actually NOS. And yesterday I knocked out the rear bumper. Still needs some cleanup before I paint it. I got some stainless tail light brackets. I believe these were for maybe 34 to 36 or there about trucks. But they worked good for me. I didn't care for the A style brackets. I had to do just a little grinding so they would clear the twin bulb tail lamps. They are Chinese, but I was impressed. Glass lenses, and cloth covered wiring. Not sure about the license plate bracket. I don't like it out there. I might live with it though. Reminds me of a danged boat tailer. I might use that bracket and hang it below the aux brake lights. I could drill a 1" hole in the bottom of that 2 x 4 box and mount a flush mount license plate light. I have a couple on my 48 and they are rectangular and only protrude about 1/2". I'll have to think on that one though. Maybe with a license plate frame it will look better.

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I also made the headlight mounts. I cut the ends off the steering arms that I removed from the 47 spindles. The round end for the tie rods, with a short piece of arm. I welded them to the outsides of the f1 shock mounts and filled with weld and ground till they are kinda molded to the shock towers. The lights are stainless King Bee style lights. Probably imported........... well certainly imported. I did find some re pop King Bee headlight tags to put on them. I'm not gonna fool anybody, not trying, just thought it would be a neat touch. I want to make some sort of headlight bar. I think it needs it to look right, and also to tie the shock towers together. I want to make sure that the headlights don't bounce and maybe a v8 emblem in the center might look good too. I think I will just weld some 1/4" or 3/8" tabs on the insides and make a bolt in bar and use some stainless bolts with some cap nuts.

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I tried to get a shot of the headlight mount but couldn't get a clear pic. You can also see that I repainted the front end. I painted what would be chrome, if I was rich, silver. It is actually Metallic Silver, as per Duplicolor. Now maybe it's just me, but isn't metallic silver redundant. I have never seen silver paint that was not metallic. I'm not sure if it looks cheesy or not. I used to think so. Like who are your trying to kid, it don't look like chrome. But that being said I have seen it on a couple of rods and thought it looked OK. I still has to be clear coated though. Red would have been too much red, and the black just wasn't doing it for me. But by Spring it might be purple...........

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Well I guess that about covers it. Maybe a few other small bits, Brake pedal pad, exhaust manifolds actually bolted on, with gaskets and all......... And a heel pad for the accelerator. Threw in a couple of new pics outside so I could get the overview as it were.

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"Another Engineering Opportunity" accepted. Used low tech approach and fixed bent axle tube. No way to put it in a press, at least my press, so I came up with a backyard fix. I measured axle tube and eyeballed it awhile. Once I figured the correct place I cut the axle tube, opposite the bend. I cut it about 2/3 the way thru with a cutoff wheel. I removed axle, supported tube on my big jack stand, took my dead blow hammer and went to work. Approx 6 to 8 blows closed up the gap and checking with a straight edge and square the axle flange now is square with the center housing. Beveled the cut and welded it back up. Good as New! I should have suspected something as there were slight groves where the U bolts held it in. I attributed that to loose bolts and the axle housing rotating back and forth slightly. Now in retrospect it may have been due to a collision. Oh well problem solved...........

Got a few more little bits finished. I couldn't find a fuel log that I particularly liked and cheapness kicked in, so I just built my own. I think it cost me $4.00. That doesn't include brass fittings, which I would still have to buy with any other log. I just used an eight inch x 1/2 inch pipe nipple. Drilled and tapped for the brass fittings. Then capped with std pipe caps. I used steel epoxy for thread sealer. And then ground caps smooth and painted. It's not my best work, but it will do till I find, or make something I really like. Or maybe it will stay forever.......

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I also couldn't find any plug wire looms, except those thin flimsy ones, so I just made my own.

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I finally got around to making a new grill insert for the 48, so I could rob the 32 for the 28............... It didn't fit quite right around the corners, so I massaged it some more and it's better. Then when I started fitting the 32 insert in the rpu I realized why. The 32 is what I used for a pattern and it fits like crap. Of course these are fiberglass shells. I ground a little and got a much better fit, and I will just fill the slight gap, less than 1/8" with filler.

Here's the new insert for the 48.

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And here's the cut down 32 installed. I cut some scraps from the bottom of the insert and used them across the bottom of the 32 grill. I still have to get some stainless wire and tack them in, they are just sitting there now. In the center the spring perch will have a cover that will be v'd to fit up flush against the grill bars.

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And you can also see I made a headlight bar?.... to tie the shock towers together. And made some brackets to mount the (UGLY) turn signals. I've got to find some bullets or maybe use A fog lights. Those have to go.............

I guess it's time for an update. I tried this a couple of times and the site wouldn't cooperate, hopefully it will this time.

First what you can't see. I scored a TH350 form a kid at the parts store for $50. It had a shift kit in it, and had recently been rebuilt, but he confessed he had been drag racing his truck and the 1-2 shift was a little sluggish. I pulled it apart and found the intermediate pack had been slipping. A new set of friction disks, some steels I already had, and a Kevlar band and it's better than new.

Also finished modifying the shifter. This was a Hurst slap shifter, but cable operated. Or I should say was supposed to operate. It was always hard to shift despite relocating the cable several times. The shifter was originally in my 66. I got tired of messing with it, threw the cable in the trash and modified it for std linkage. It worked OK, but the pattern in 1st and 2nd didn't quite match the shifter. So when I decided to use it in the RPU I took it apart and re-engineered it so it worked perfectly. Of course when I put it in the truck it required a re-work of the floor around trans tunnel to clear the floor. One step forward............two back and so on. I scored a Hurst handle and installed it. The original was one of those straight 8 to 10 inch jobs.

Brakes installed on all 4, brake lines run, bled, and most of the spewing brake fluid cleaned up before it ate the paint...........Dooohhh........... Fuel lines, and trans cooler lines run. Drive shaft shortened and installed. Carbs reworked. Two were supposed to be rebuilt...........supposed to be! I found one with viton accelerator pump, one with leather. Mismatched needle and seats. Used gaskets.......etc. Another problem, probably common to 94's is top gets bowed around front, side screws and doesn't seal around front corners of float bowl. Gentle massaging with a small ball peen hammer and filing corrected that problem. I scored some rebuild kits from Auto Zone. Surprisingly they stock them. $15.99 and look like nice complete kits. They come with the viton accelerator pumps, and also have a synthetic rubber pump in the kit as well. I had to make a couple of pump return spring, missing. So a trip to Tractor Supply, a spring assortment, and a little mod. and we have accelerator pump return spring in all carbs now. I think that covers what you can't see in the pics...........so on we go.

I didn't like the amount of pedal force it took to open the outboard carbs, so I found some aluminum the same thickness as the eelco throttle arm and made an extension so I would have more leverage, and less effort to open secondary carbs. It slips over the throttle shaft and is attached to the arm with one button head screw. Now the pedal feels really nice. I can even use a little stiffer return spring on the primary carb.

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I also ran all the fuel lines from filter to carbs. I used copper 3/8". Now before I hear the crud about using copper, copper work hardening and cracking, steel is better and so on. First this is refrigeration copper, not the thin Home Depot junk. Second this stuff is used where working pressures are 200 times the 2psi fuel line pressure. This stuff is subjected to more vibration, longer cycles, than a car engine will produce. Steel also work hardens......steel is cheaper that's why it is used. I used all flare fittings, I don't like compression fittings, they seam to like to seep, and the fittings were all re purposed, and free. I think I bought 1 or 2 flare nuts, I had some forged ones, but they don't match.

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And you may have noticed in that pic, the Fenton manifolds are gone....... After all the engineering to be able to use them, IE motor mounts, steering box placement, frame notch, and so on. I couldn't figure out how to run the exhaust and be able to remove the oil filter, and when I put the starter on, well the rear exhaust tube would run right next to the rear of the starter solenoid, about 3/8" away. Now I know how that will work when hot..........click.......click...........click.....ruuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmp........click.......click. You know the drill. So I sold em, almost got all my money back and bought some block huggers. Since they were almost 1/3 the price of the Fenton's I pony ed up for some stainless steel ones. I am sure they are Chinese but Ain't everything these days. They look nice. 7/16" thick header flanges, and the heaviest tubes I have ever seen on headers. I tried......and I say tried to dimple the tubes for a little extra clearance for header bolts, and well that stuff is tuff.......... I'm gonna run dump tubes, exiting under the cowl, in stainless, and the exhaust from the header to under the body in stainless and then plain steel from mufflers back.

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I used an 18" dual pass trans cooler, mounted to frame just behind the front cross member and under the radiator. I used steel lines from trans and just 2" of rubber hose to connect to the cooler. I did the same with fuel lines 3/8" inverted flare from elect pump to tank and to regulator/filter, with just the bare minim in rubber lines to connect to the regulator, and the pre filter that is in between the tank and the electric fuel pump.

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And here is a pic of the shifter handle.

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I'm running a mechanical fan, and it was really tight between the radiator hoses. So I made a pattern of the blade end, and trimmed each blade 3/4" and worked over a piece of 3" pipe to get the little flare back on the blade ends.

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I didn't like the look of the round pedal pad I had, so I made one out of some 3/8" thick aluminum and drilled and beveled some speed holes in the new one. You also can see I made the removable panels that finish the floors in the corners. I even found a washer hose that is perfect to cover the double u-joint and will give this a nice finished look.

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After much pondering.......... I tossed most of the bench seat that I had from a mini van. It just wasn't working. The way the back was made it was almost impossible to thin. So what I ended up doing was to strip the seat. Throw the back in the trash, and use only the bottom of the lower frame. Just the perimeter tubing and springs, and foam. I made some rails for the lower cushion to sit on, and be able to remove for access to under seat storage. And then just made a back from some 1/2" cabinet ply and covered in foam. The upholstery is just some old junk I had, just to get a visual and see how it sits. It's perfect. I do believe now I will extend the steering column about 2 1/2" though.

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