Thread: Project "Left Overs" is back alive !

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I didn't feel like going to bed early tonight, so I went to the shop and knocked out the crossmember that goes under the transmission tailshaft. It doesn't have to be anything special, as the two engine mounts are going to take the bulk of the load, all it needs to do is give some extra support for the transmission itself.

The first thing I had to do was cut some 3x 5 pieces of plate 1/4 inch thick, that will be welded to the insides of the frame rails. The sole purpose of these plates will be to add to the thickness of the frame in that area so I can tap threads there for my removable crossmember. The frame is 3/16 and with the 1/4 inch plates welded on it will give me 7/16 of thickness, which should be more than enough for three 3/8 bolts per side to go through.

Then I cut a piece of 1 and 3/4 inch DOM round tubing for the crossmember, and some triangular plates for each end. These will weld on and in turn bolt to the frame. I also cut a 1/4 inch thick piece of steel to act as the mount under the rubber transmission mount. That plate will weld to the round crossmember, and we will add some gussets to it before we are done.

Not a huge project, but still a little more progress. I'll get Dan over to the shop one night this week to weld it all up for me and then we can move on to the rear suspension. I was hoping to have it as a complete roller by the end of August, but since it is the 24th already, that will probably not happen. I'm really in no rush, so that is ok. I could have welded this one up myself, but Dan does it so much better that I might as well let him do it.

Here are some pictures I took tonight of the stuff I made.

Don

I'll bet no zingers about engine/tranny support now

That really looks great

Looks great, Don!

Looking great pops! What are you doing up so late last night?? Geez ! Don Jr.

Thanks, guys. Don, well, I was just coming in from the nightclub and.........................

Ok, the truth is, there was nothing on TV worth watching and that little nap I took in the afternoon killed my sleep, so I decided to do something productive. Plus it is so much cooler after midnight that I got a lot more done than I would during the day.

Don

So which one of these cars will I see at Turkey Run this year.

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 ???