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A couple of reasons. First, there wasn't room between the back of the cab and the cover to build a good hinge system that would allow it to swing up and clear. He would have had to build a hinge that moved it rearward first, then up to clear the back of the cab.
Secondly, when he flips it open at shows, the entire car will be opened up so anyone looking at it can get a clear view of the cockpit and all the airbag components in the bed. He is going to have no floor in the bed, so all the workings will be right there to see. If he hinged it the other way, a viewer would have to walk around back to see under the cover. This way they can stand right by the cab door and see the entire car.
Also, it just makes it a little different, like those '57 Ford hoods that opened up backwards.
Don
:LOL: I thought those 57 hoods opened that way so they could work on the distributor with the hood in the way. LIKE CHEVY:LOL: :LOL:
Spent 3 hrs out in the shop this AM and got my windshield in. Closer evey day.:3dSMILE:
So where's he going to put that "most important of all" item....the beer? :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Itoldyouso
(Just loooove your thread!)
johnboy
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboy
Thanks johnboy. I thought I taught him better than that, after all a man has to have his priorities.
This morning we shipped off this huge crate to the louver shop. The FedEx guy was not real happy with me. We had "mirror" and "glass" written all over the crate, so I hope it makes it without getting damaged. We worked until 1 AM this morning building the box to hold it, and padded it with mattress pads, so hopefully it will make the trip there and back without damage.
Thanks again for the nice words................much appreciated.
Don
When my windshield came last week it had more foam and bubble wrap than I have ever seen in one box. I first thought they forgot the glass.
They have this new trick (at least new to me). After they put something in a box they spray in this foam that hardens to like foam rubber all around it. We just got a windshield in at work for a boat, and it had that stuff in the box. Took me a half hour to get all of it off of the windshield, but it did protect it.
Don
Thats the way my radiator came. Great idea
After looking at your sons bed cover again I think I am going to make my truck a dump truck. The ease of maintenance and the car shows makes it worth the time. The other thing is I thought I would have to cut a hole in my bed for gas access. This way I can put everything under the floor. Then when I need to get to my battery, gas tank, fuel pump, moon shine no wait thats my other truck!
If your puting your battery under the bed I'd make sure I could get to it with out lifting the bed should the bat go dead.
Good thought, I will use a mechanical latch.Quote:
Originally Posted by cffisher
Not really much to report progresswise, I kind of have gone into a holding pattern until after Turkey Rod Run. I want to see what goodies I find in the swap meet, and they may influence the future direction of the T. (Just might find that $ 100.00 GMC 6:71 blower with 6 deuces on top. I could happen.:D :D :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ) Plus, seeing all those great hot rods always gets me excited to get my own running, so I will probably dig in with renewed vigor when I get back.
What I have done is work on getting my 350 engine torn down to go to the machine shop. As I mentioned, this engine came out of a '99 boat we repowered, and one of our Techs came to me and said "take his old engine home, there is nothing wrong with it." The guy simply wanted a fresh engine because of the age of this one.
When I tore the engine down, I had to agree with him. The thing is really clean inside, and I am only going to have the machine shop boil it out, hone the cylinders, put in brass freeze plugs, and new cam bearings. I am going to have him polish the crank and deburr it, and the pistons are so nice I am just going to rering them and use them over, after a good cleaning. If the machinist tells me it needs a clean up bore, I will buy new pistons, but I don't think that will be necessary. The cam is beautiful, as are the roller lifters, and the profile will probably be fine for this mild engine. What looks like scoring on the crank in the pictures is actually just normal scuffing, and will polish out fine.
I also scored a brand new set of 305 Vortec heads, and am going to use these instead of the 350 ones, because they need freshened up, and the 305's will bump up the compression a little, even though they may not breathe as well. I am not looking for all out performance any way, just a good dependable motor.
Here are some pictures of the engine block after I tore it down.
Don
Oh, I got a few of the parts I ordered, and one of them is the new Odyssey battery. This thing is super small, and I am kind of leary about whether it will start the engine or not, but the guy at the factory has one in his street rod and swears it works fine. It measures only 3 inches wide X 7 X 7, so I can tuck it anywhere. I have very little room behind the body, so this will solve a problem for me. I am actually thinking of ordering one more, and running dual batteries, like on a boat. I can put one on one side, and the other on the other side, and they will fit.
My Son tells me halogen headlights suck up a lot of power, and he is not sure this battery will handle the load. I took the word of the guy at the factory, so I hope he is right.We'll see..............
Don
PS: My new radiator is being built right now, and should have it in a week or so. Starting to look like this thing might run before I get too old to get in it.:D :D :D
how many CA is that battery? you may want to go with a mini starter with gear reduction, uses smaller motor and draws less. V8 will draw about 220- 250 Amps on cranking, you should have double that at least, because you need to be able hold half the rating for 15 second , and remain at 9.6v at least ( load testing ) , otherwise your motor will not start ( needs 9.6v to fire ignition )
It's 680 cranking amps, and you are right about the gear reduction starter. I think that is what I am going to go with.
Don
Matt: Here are the rest of the specs on this battery.
Don
PC 680MJT Specs:
* 680 cranking amps for 5 seconds
* 595 cranking amps for 10 seconds
* 525 cranking amps for 20 seconds
* Short circuit current over 1800A
* 17 amp hours
* 25 minute reserve capacity with 25amp load
* With metal jacket and automotive terminals
* Length 7.27"
* Width 3.12"
* Height 7.42"
* Weight 15.4 lb
Odyssey design:
* 2 year full warranty
* Rugged Drycell sealed design
* Military grade
* Vibration resistant
* 60% more starting power
* Deep discharge reserve power
* 2 year storage life
* 8-12 year design life
* Can be mounted flat or upright
Thnx for the pic of the battery,I like ,I like!!15 lbs instead of 10 tons .That will put me closer to dropin a 100lbs,because for every 100 lbs ,its like 10 more hp performance wise!!:LOL: That is one of the batteries that can be mounted side ways and upside down ??
Yep, any position. I'm actually thinking of mounting one or two under the seats. They would fit there pretty well.
Don
IT'S BA-AAAAAAAAAAAAACK !!!! :D :D :D
I mentioned earlier that my Son and I built a crate last Sunday, and on Monday we FedExed it to a hot rod shop in Orlando to have a bunch of louvers punched in it. Today, FedEx brought the crate back, and we could not be happier with the results. They did a fantastic job of punching 204 louvers in the panel, and got it done in one day.
The owner, Kenny, told me he sweated the whole 8 hours he was punching them, and everyone in the shop knows to leave him alone when he is punching louvers, because he is scared to mess up. He didn't, and his workmanship is top notch.
Now Dan is going to have his inside door panels and some other stuff done, and I am thinking about some stuff on my T and '39 Dodge.
I think the louvers break up the flatness of this panel nicely, and will also vent any air trapped in there, going down the road.
If anyone wants Kenny's name and phone number, PM me. He is one guy I would definitely recommend. Dan tipped him $ 40.00 and he wouldn't take it, and says we have a $ 40.00 credit toward our next louver job. Really a nice, honest businessman.
Don
Very nice looking louver job. Darn, I wish I lived a little closer to you. I'd come over and yak at you in the garage. I really like what you are doing. I like what you're building, and I like your attitude.---Brian
Wow, coming from you Brian, those are certainly compliments. Dan and I were just discussing you today at lunch, and the fantastic job you have done with your A. It is spectacular and hard to believe it wasn't born a RP. He and I both agreed it is one amazing piece of work. I've seen a lot of cobbled up attempts to make a truck out of a sedan, but yours turned out A number one.
Hey, who knows, we may all get to meet each other some day and have some of that great Canadian beer. :D :D :D :D I'd like that too.
Don
Hey Don---If mommy and I get sick of wading thru snow up to our Patoozies this winter, maybe we'll come down to Florida for a week or so in February---If we do, I'll get your address before we come down, and be sure to stop in for a visit. I'm the boss (in my one man company) and can take a holiday whenever I want to, and she works for the federal government, so has more damn holidays than she can take every year.----watch out----
There is a steak dinner waiting for you both. Hope you aren't Vegetarians.:D
I would enjoy that visit.
Don
Man those louvers look AWESOME! Where is this guy located at? The truck looks amazing as well! I want a new job, can you and your son PLEASE hire me? lol :D
Oh Brian, if you guys meet up then wait for me! I will drive down and buy you guys lunch or dinner.... BUT! BUT but but! Only as long as I can have a RPU ride! :D
there are hot rod shops in Orlando?!? Everything is in Orlando...I don't know why I haven't moved down there yet! :3dSMILE:
very nice btw!
Orlando??? Is that where Mickey lives????
Itoldyouso,
They came out nice, you picked the right shop!
Thanks guys. I asked Kenny (the louver guy) if it was ok to post his phone number, and he said it was. His name is Kenny Danner @ 407-484-2765. Ours cost $ 2.00 per louver, but if he has to remove any structure to get at them or grind the surface clean it is a little more. We were getting prices of $ 3. to $ 5. per louver, so he was a bargain. Like I said, a super nice guy too.
Today we wheeled Dans rod into the sunshine for the first time since it was a fordor. Took a few shots. He is getting close to having it on the road. Gonna look for some bomber seats and stuff at Daytona this week, then he can build the floor and tunnel.
Don
I like the second pic with the back folded up like that !!! too cool lookin.:3dSMILE:
The kid has done an excellent job Don!!! Give him a couple attaboys from me. Looking real good.
Thanks guys. And if he stops making changes to it, he might even drive it before he's my age. :3dSMILE: :3dSMILE:
I think he is finally tired of working on it, plus, he is chomping at the bit to get started on the '30 tudor he has sitting in our loft. He SAYS that one will go together pretty quick, because he is simply going to put it on a Deuce frame, and do it traditional. But I don't think he can leave anything alone, and will probably re-engineer the whole thing. We'll see.
Don
Yeah Don, your son has done a GREAT job. If only I had the funds to do something like that.... :( heh
Thats the way I have always done it One pcs. at a time. Sometimes I find out I have bought 2 of somthing cause I buy things far in advance of when I need them. If I had to go buy the things I needed for my projects all at once I could not afford them.
The most fun way to build a car is one piece at a time, and saving up and buying a goodie is like treating yourself to a Christmas present. It took me 6 years to build my '27, and a big part of it was the money. I had family responsibilities, and they come first. When I could save up a few bucks to get that next part, it was terrific. I also passed up a lot of items and waited, and sometimes the same part would come along later, and cheaper.
Dan's car has some money in it, I can't deny that, but he also has hundreds of hours of labor in it, making brackets, building the frame, modifying the body, etc. I can't tell you how many nights I would leave the shop at midnight, and he would stay "just for a few more minutes", and then he would roll in at 5 AM. He never could have afforded to do this one if he had to pay someone else to do it, and I really mean it when I say the work he has done is way beyond anything I could ever do myself. He is self-taught, and now teaches me better ways to do things.
When I see young guys starting to enjoy this hobby, it really makes me feel good, because as my Mother used to say when I was working on my cars, "at least I know where he is at night." I know these younger rodders are spending their time doing productive things, in a time when so many of their peers are not. If they are saving up for car parts, they sure as h*** aren't going to waste their hard earned money on drugs.
(The soapbox is put away) :3dSMILE: :3dSMILE: :3dSMILE: :3dSMILE:
Don
Denny, if I had a 34 Chevy pickemup then I'd be building that puppy one piece at a time every day. You know I love your 34. :D
Yes your right Don, a lot of my buddies (used to be buddies) are out partying/doing drugs and barely working and sleeping all day. All I think about is hot rodding and music (playing drums, recording, guitar, and bass guitar) and all my money goes towards both of those. Sure there are time's I dont even want to look at my vehicles and work on them, mostly because I work on old cars all day every week and comming home to do it again is a bit of a pain and I'd rather relax.
I can tell that you and your son have a LOT of work put into your hot rods though Don. If only I had someone to help me out all the time like my dad or a buddy up the street then I'd get things done a whole lot quicker and have an extra hand around to help lift things, etc. Take's me forever to do just ONE little thing. Taking me 7 months or so to just put this 351W into my 66 F100! But about 5 months of that time was it just sitting there because I lost interest and a lot was me having to take my time on things and go out for the whole weekend and not even finish ONE thing. Hard to line an engine up and all to the tranny and the bolts not fall into the motor mounts and you trying to hold it in place and lower the hoiste.
Ok, who's next? :lol
FMX, you are absolutely right about sometimes getting into that funk where you don't even want to look at the car. I have sort of hit that spot now. There are things I could do at night, but our deadline for Daytona passed, so no big hurry now. After Turkey Run I'll be all turned on again, after seeing all those other guys driving their rods.
You are also correct about how tough it is to do some things alone. There are times when you just need a second pair of hands to hold something, or lower the engine lift for you. It usually happens when no one is around.
One thing though, time is on your side. You are young, and have a lot of rod building days ahead of you. I'm racing the clock, because the day will come when I will be just too old to climb into one of these contraptions. Then, I'll sell them all, and buy myself one of those Lexus' that park themselves. NOT !!!!!! :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
Don
Wheeew!!!! You scared me there for a second with the whole "Lexus" deal...
If you ever see me driving a Lexus, call the Home and tell them I've escaped.:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Don
I don't remember seeing a picture of you Don, but obviously you haven't grown your blue hair yet, because from what i've seen down there ALL the blue hairs drive a Lexus!:LOL: :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Itoldyouso