Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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"......Can't figure out why she is my EX- Wife?????...."

Yeah I've got a couple of those. One came home to a pair of manifolds in the stove and an intake in the dish washer..... Well how else was I going to cure the paint or clean the intake??????? She ws not amused

on the subject of cheap hotrods, I was searching on Ebay and found a neat way to go cheap and still look good, use a '47-54 Chevy/ GMC cab, chop it, smooth the cowl and use it like an early 30's hotrod, looks good actully. I saw an auction for custom frames for that purpose, and a cab mounted, looked good.

Yeah I've got a couple of those. One came home to a pair of manifolds in the stove and an intake in the dish washer..... Well how else was I going to cure the paint or clean the intake??????? She ws not amused


And I think I read how to do that in "Hints from Heloise"

Don

PROGRESS REPORT # 2

Went over to the shop today and began working on the front spring perch for the $ 3K Bucket. The frame I got on Ebay isn't a Total Perfomance, as advertised, but I am still OK with it. The side rails are fine, and are actually 2 X 3 heavy wall tubing instead of the more common 1.5 X 3 thin 1/8 inch stuff. This is 3/16" so it is a little heavier.

Problem is the front and rear perches are ugly, and I want the car to sit super low, so I have to modify the front by reworking the existing perch, and I am going to Z the rear portion of the frame to drop it about 12 inches there.

To get the front low, I decided to mount the front end suicide style, with the cross spring mounted to early Ford wishbones, so that the axle, a 4 inch dropped SuperBell I beam will stick out in front of the frame by about 10 inches or so. And, to get the front even lower, I am going to mount the spring to the top of the perch, rather than the more common method of putting it under the perch. I think it will also give it somewhat of an early Lakes car look.

The first picture shows the perch as I got the frame. I decided it was way too long, so I shortened it by about 2 inches. I wanted a neat cut, so I put a cut off blade in my circular saw, and cut the snout off. The area with blue tape on it.

Once that was done, I reshaped the sides of the perch to give it a little better profile, and cut the bottom of the perch out for access to the nuts I am going to put on the new perch bolts. To reinforce the top of the perch, I made as 1/4 thick steel plate and slipped it into the underside of the top plate, and will weld this to the sides of the perch for additional strength.

I then made a new top plate to hold the spring down to the perch, and am going to add some little gussets to it, with holes drilled in them for looks. I will use grade 8 bolts on everything on the suspension.

Tomorrow I am going to order the correct length front spring from Speedway (31 inches eye to eye) and when that comes I will fab up some mounts and gussets for the lower part of the wishbone, which will also act as a mount for the spring and both front shocks.

So far I am still at $ 900.00, because I spent no money today. Just used some pieces of scrap steel from the bin.

I'll post more when the spring shows up, probably later this week.

Don

And finally, this is how it ended up. We are also going to reweld and reinforce every existing weld on the frame. I just don't like the way they did it.

Here is an update on the coupe I mentioned.

All this, new Walker Radiator, SS headlight bar, new saddle tanks, a new set of B-ville fenders(complete kit), sitting on a TCI perimeter frame.

$4k

Good shopping !!! Love coupes, but they are starting to go through the ceiling. Nice stance, too.


Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

Nice stance, too.

Did we really pull off the look of a roller that well?

Its all sitting on jackstands.....haha

Thanks.

I gotta buy some of them low jackstands, mine sit way too high when I have them mocked up to look like they really run.

Don

SORT OF AN UPDATE:


Spent a little money this week on the project. Ordered a front spring , rear spring perches, and rear spring mounts from Speedway, about $ 145.00 with 3 day shipping. Also ordered front perches from Total Performance because theirs have a smooth top, and won't need to be modified to work. About $ 60.oo with shipping. Then I won an oil pressure gauge and ammeter on Ebay for $ 4.50 plus $ 7.00 in shipping. Should have the spring and stuff by the weekend, so I can get the front up on wheels, maybe.

So now the total is up to about $ 1125.00. I would have built the perches and shock mounts to save some money, but sometimes it is easier and cheaper to just order ready made stuff, and faster too.

I'll post more pix after the weekend. I plan to drill about 14 one inch holes in the I beam, and try to get the spindles and backing plates on.

My Kid is trying to convince me to scrap the frame and build a new one, but I think it will be fine. All that we need to do is reweld all the existing welds, because they are a little marginal. Even if I have to crank up the old arc welder to get really deep penetration. The back is going to get cut off and Z'd real deep, so all that will be left of the old is the front cross tube and spring perch.

He just likes to build frames. Me, I want to get done sometime in this lifetime.



Don

I love the suicide front end, just make sure the axle isn't lower than the rim when the tire is flat. They have a name for that but I don't remember what it is, regardless of what it's called, it wouldn't be a fun ride during a blow out.

Scrub line. And I don't think it will get that low. But that is a good point.

Don

Ok- quick update on the 50 delivery,
I found a donor frame today at the junkyard- it's a 70 El Camino, and the whole rolling chassis only cost me 150 bucks ! I will have to cut it down a little, and box it in, check the bearings, the bushings, ball joints, tie-rod ends, ect,- but I'm getting excited now.
I pulled up the floor mats on the delivery to get the seat out and found Aluminum sheets zip screwed down on both sides pans...haven't gotten to the back yet to inspect it, but so far I am thinking all I'll need is one sheet of steel, and about 50 lbs. of wire...lol.
Total cost of build to date : 650.00

Will post some pic.'s as soon as I remember to buy the damn batteries for the camara

Will post some pic.'s as soon as I remember to buy the damn batteries for the camara


Yeah, I just robbed every flashlight in the house to keep my camera going. Finally broke down and bought some.

Sounds like your project is going to take a major leap forward with the new chassis. That's really great. Plus, you get modern running gear and brakes and all, and can go to any auto store and fix it. Smart move hambiskit.

Don

PROJECT $3 k TAKES A SLIGHT DETOUR:



For those among us who have young children, let me give you a snapshot ahead into your future. At some point in time, YOU will become the CHILD, and your KIDS will become the PARENT. I'm not talking about when you are in Sunny Hills Old Age Home, and are drooling all over yourself, I'm talking about it happening a lot sooner than that.

What prompts this observation is that my Son has been telling me that he doesn't trust the frame under my low-buck project. The tubing is heavy enough, but he doesn't like the welds. Ok, I told him we would reweld them all. Then he tells me he thinks the front tube crossmember is made of water pipe, not DOM tubing, and he goes on to measure the outside diameter, and confirms it probably is, because it measures differently than tubing would. SO MUCH FOR MY LITTLE EBAY BARGAIN !!!!

So at this point I have to admit he is probably right, and the icing on his arguement is that this car is going to be a gift to my other Son, and we don't want him riding around in an unsafe car. Arguement closed.

Today I ordered 24 feet of new 2 X 3 3/16 wall rec tubing ( $ 86.00) and called Total Performance back and ordered a proper tube front crossmember ($ 25.00), so that we can build a good, new frame for the car. He is good at it, and will whip it out in a couple of days, and will do it on our frame jig, so it will be straight.

This will set the build back a week or so, but it will give us the advantages of having the right kickup built in right from the start, without the need to modify anything. Bright side, the spring and other stuff I ordered from Speedway showed up today,(those folks are really ok to deal with) so I can keep moving ahead on the front end suspension. Saturday, I am going to the wrecking yard to start measuring for an 8 inch or 9 inch rear.

I will take pictures as we start building the frame, to help anyone who may not have ever done it and who is curious.


I'm not sure when the Kids get smarter than us, but beleive me, it happens.





Don