Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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Originally Posted by cffisher

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.

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. ) 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.

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!! 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 !!!!


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. 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.

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

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!