Thread: Project "Left Overs" is back alive !

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Brad, this year I swear we are going to finally meet. It will be the same car you sat on the tire of last year. I think it was Bill from Lauderdale who said "I went by your car and there was some guy waiting for you there." But I didn't see him until later that night.

We'll figure something out so we hook up this time.

Don

Hopefully you will see these three 100_0260 (1024x768).jpg

Might I suggest that you set a time and place to meet. That way, if you all show up you will definitely connect... Maybe meet at the registration tent at 2:00PM. The registration tent is always pretty centrally located and by 2:00 everybody has had time to check out the cars and the swap meet and are probably ready for a break. That's just a suggestion; you all can agree on your own time and place.

Don, are you guys going to the party outside turn 4 this year?

Don, are you guys going to the party outside turn 4 this year?


I think so, Jim, just to get to see you, Bill, and any others we haven't seen for a while. We usually then head over to BelAire Plaza and A!A. Where are you going to be?

Don

Well, I can be just about anywhere you like. It's less than 40 miles to Daytona from home, so I just zip up there. I usually drive my truck to the Speedway and go in as a spectator in case I see something at the swap meet that needs hauling home (not much room in the coupe). Then I come back later in the evening with my coupe for the festivities. Last year I just went to Bel Aire Plaza Saturday afternoon on my Harley...

Last year it took 3 hours to find Don' ride which I sat there for an hour then took 2 more hours to find Don jr ride. So hopefully after 4 years I do get to meet you guy's..........LOL

Here's hoping. Maybe we can put a tracking device on each other .

Don

Today's project was to complete the transmission crossmember that I made the other night. Although all the important parts were cut out there was still a lot of work to do before we could weld it up.

The first thing Dan and I did was to make new plates to weld inside the rails, one on each side, so that I could tap threads into it and the frame to hold the bolts that secure the crossmember in place. I had cut some the other night, but Dan wanted them to be slightly wider so the threads would sit well inside the pieces.

Next I tapped three 3/8 holes per side to hold the triangular crossmember end pieces in place, and then we welded the center tube to those brackets. Finally, we welded the piece that goes under the transmission mount, and built some gussets to strengthen it.

It seems like this would be a quick job, but it took us all day, because we had to pull the engine and transmission back out so we could flip the frame around for welding, and Dan can't just weld brackets on, he has to make them as perfect as he can. I kept telling him that only roadkill would ever see this crossmember, but he pretends he doesn't hear me.

Here are some pictures of the final product. Now we can move on to adding a 2.5 inch crossmember at the bottom of the rear kickup, and another just like it at the top of the kickup. After that we can start on the rear suspension setup.

Don

Looking good Don, i like them valve covers, where are they from ???

Thanks, Steve. The valve covers are stock Olds Starfire covers from 64. The Starfire was Olds "sporty" car and there were some other chrome pieces on the engine, like the air cleaner. When I saw them on Ebay some years ago I thought they would be a little different than finned ones, although I like those a lot too.

Don

Hey you better hide those rocker covers away before Steve kidnaps they back to jolly good old England Chaps. I am very impressed with your workmanship Don and you can be rightly proud of Dan's fussy welding jobs.The only thing different from Steve is he would of used stainless bolts eh mate.

It looks good Don, I'm really looking forward to you getting this one on the road. That motor should make it a lot of fun.

Thanks Guys. No, Steve would have made the whole car out or stainless, not just the bolts ! You know, Whip, you have me wondering now. With all that looting going on over in London maybe I better hide those covers.

Today we're going to take a break from this one and start scrubbing up Dan's block. The ring filer comes Monday, so next week we can start on doing the gapping. Now I can start repaying some of Dan's welding labor by helping him get his back together.

Don

Nice progress. I think you just need to keep an eye on the the old keg, you know those Brits love their Beer!

I only have two crossmembers to get out of the way, then I can start hanging the rear end in the frame. I wanted one to be at the bottom of the kickup and one at the top of the kickup, to give some support there.

We had some 2 and 1/4 round tubing in the shop, so that is what I made them out of, but first I had to drill 4 2 &1/4 inch holes in the frame rails to slip the tubes into. I used a holesaw and my big 1/2 inch drill, and that was almost my undoing. The holesaw grabbed while cutting one hole and ripped the drill out of my hands. I thought I had broken or sprained my wrists, but they are ok, just sore. For the rest of the holes I screwed a piece of 3/4 inch pipe into the drill motor to use for leverage, and that helped a lot. Bet I feel it tomorrow though.

All I have to do now is throw the tubes into the blast cabinet to get the mill scale off, and then grind some clean metal around the holes so we can weld them in place. Here are a couple of pictures of the crossmembers slipped into their holes.

Don