Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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FMX---A word from someone who's "been there". I bought a 27 roadster fiberglass shell---no floors, uncut doors, no firewall, no cut out trunk area. I bought it brand new, out of the mold, for $3500 cash, from a no-name glass body manufacturer. Now, this post is not about trashing the body. It was a very good repop of a 27 T roadster, and when it comes as a one peice shell, there are certainly no issues with "fit" of doors or anything else. I worked for a year on that puppy---glassed in the 3/4" marine plywood floors and firewall (marine plywood is made with waterproof glue, so there is less chance of it "seperating" if the bottom gets wet a lot) I made all the internal bracing from laminated 3/4" plywood, glassed into place, and I framed and cut and hinged and latched both doors. I had a lot of fun in that year, and I learned/improved a lot of really neat skills working with glass.---So why am I rambling on like this???? Well, at the end of the game, I had a really nice 27T roadster---BUT---for very little more money, and the same amount of work, I could have built a hi-boy 32 roadster which would have had a ton more room and been worth twice as much when I went to sell it. I could have bought a one peice 32 roadster shell for $5000 when I bought the 27 body. The car ultimately ended up costing about $20,000 by the time I was finished. When I went to sell it, 5 years later, it took a long time to sell, at only about half what i had invested. It wasn't the quality of the work, it was just that 27's are only about half as appealing to the "hot-rod market" as 32 roadsters. What am I trying to say here???---just that when going into a projext, don't let "cheapness" dictate the body style you build. The $1500 you save up front will come back and bite you on the butt when you ever decide to sell that project and move on.

Brian I will take that into consideration for sure then and you are correct. You have much more experience first hand in this than me so I will listen to you. That is a reason I am just going to wait and see what happens. I will wait, sell one of my projects (maybe two), save up some money, buy some tools that I have been wanting and then if I come across anything around here for sale that is REAL then I will buy it. Heck I wouldn't mind owning a roadster and a pickup both if I found them! Hahaha

From where at in NC did you get your tranny from? I just remembered about you saying you didn't have room for a clutch pedal and so now I only have an engine I can use and no tranny. I would need to get a C4 I guess. lol Oh well, not like I am getting one any time soon or something haha.

Jackson Racing Transmissions, Hendersonville, NC. Here is what you do. Find their ad for some transmission on Ebay,(they run several ads all the time), then go to view sellers other items. It will give you whatever units they are selling at that time. They always have a starting bid and a buy it now. I watch until I see a transmission I want is getting near the end of the auction with no bids, and I put in the starting bid. Sometimes they have no reserve on them and you can win it for the starting bid. My first one I bought from them was a built C6 that is good for 700 HP. It had a buy it now of $ 1350.00, but no one bid and I got it for $ 450.00. Aamco won't even change your tranny fluid for that kind of money.


Don

you could use a ball bearing and load it with a spring and load the spring with a set screw if you want more presure is would be on the stick part of the shifter.you would mark out out trans detants on a half moon plate mark detants were they hit and drill and debur with a smaller hole then the size of the ball the half moon plate would be welded to the base

Pat, that is precisely what I came up with too. I went around work looking for a stray ball bearing today, and we keep tossing old stuff out, so I am going to the hardware store to see if they have one. Our Service Manager tells me they carry different ones (I can't imagine why a hardware store would carry them) but if not, I will just tear something apart that has some bearings in it and get one of those. I like your idea about loading it with a set screw to increase/decrease pressure. I will make up a tube to hold the bearing, spring, and set screw, and weld it to the bottom of the shift handle, so it rubs on the larger of the two brackets. Some little depressions drilled into the bracket for the ball bearing to rest in, and I should be good to go.

Thanks for the tip.

Don

yes a tube would work good i was going to post that

yes a tube would work good i was going to post that . or drill out some round stock and tap for the set screw or a block of steel would not have to be round and drill it on the set screw side for a small cotter key to keep it from dumping out if it backs out

Wow Denny, one of these would be perfect. Wonder how I can score just one of these? Do you think they sell retail and have no minimum, or is there another source that might be retail?

Would save me alot of figuring, and is all in one piece. Great idea. Thanks,


Don

enco ball plungers or short spring plungers #3/8 #505-4372 or standard spring plungers 3/8 #505-4256 or 240-0615

Yep, we have one called BOB DEAN SUPPLY. I'll phone them up tomorrow. I have to run by there anyway to pick up two small rod ends for the shift linkage, so maybe they carry these too.

Great suggestion, kind of an all in one part.

Don

yes this is the way to go less work. did buy some of the bullets nose pins for a job

the standard spring plungers is the one i would look for. you can move the load on the spring with a set screw

Don
If your hardware store dosen't have them thers a place in Chicago that does and you can order them over the phone
# 1-630-833-0300
McMaster-Carr Supply Co.
They sell them seperatly and under $3.00 each

Charlie, Denny, and Pat. You guys just saved me a whole lot of fabricating. Thank you. I called the McMaster Co, because everybody I called locally thought I was from Mars, and she knew right away what I wanted, I will have it Tuesday. I upgraded to the brass one for longevity,so it was $ 9.60, but still a bargain. They have no minimum either.

I owe you guys a beer.

Don