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Yep Bob, I've thought the same thing !! :LOL:
Here is the YouTube on Don's T getting running for the first time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cITbECTLJh4
Then we got a second video.........Don bent down to look under his car and his forehead touched the hot header. :eek: I explained to him that the car Gods extract so much blood from you when you build a car, and this was his offering. :LOL: :LOL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwA5rI5kUGk
Don
Let's try this for a direct shot;
OUCH!! :eek: :CRY: :o
Bad thing's usually happen when the camera is rolling.
Yep, Neosporin and bandaids to the rescue again. :LOL: The funny part is that Dan singed his hair on the other header just minutes before, doing the same undercar check. Don thought it was funny, so when his head got burned Dan lost it.
It's just a little burn and will heal, but I had to make him an icepack to hold on it for a while. We told him we were going to tape the icebag on his head with 3M green tape. :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: A few celebration beers were involved with that whole situation.........can't mix beer and hot exhaust headers.
Don
You darn guys are having too much fun----
Hey Don. I am a relative newbie, just got started last fall (Nov '06). Got my 17 yr old Grandson working on it with me! And like everybody before me, I badly underestimated everything! Costs, Work, Time, Effort, Costs, Time, Tools, Costs---------etc. etc. But I just knew that I could do it faster, cheaper, easier than the others! So, we were going to have this thing ready for cruise-ins for this summer '07-------------HAH. Reality hit HARD. Here it is near November a year later and --------------- well, I'm sure you all know where we're at. Underfunded, underexperienced, underknowledgeable, and on and on. But, one thing I have learned is patience to work with my Grandson and that quality time with him is invaluable! I don't care if it is never finished as long as we continue to share the time and the experiences. But one thing you can never pass on Don, and others, is the unique ability to turn a DEAL. I have never, NEVER got a bargain, never a freeby, never a deal! I always take a beating. Seems my life story is BUY HIGH, SELL LOW. I am so glad to see this thread, how a REAL person can build something Po' Folk could imitate. To say nothing of the education of how to shop (cheaply). Many thanks. Perley
Hey Don
I did a quick search for speedway on the net, but was unable to come up with an address that sold gas tanks. Is that a local chain in Florida or an online parts place? Thanks, Steve.
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/ Try this address.-It fooled me the first time too.
That's the ticket, Thanks, Brian.
Don,
I know you have told us this before but what is your rear end?
Thanks,
Z
It's probably about 36 or 37 inches. Isn't that getting rather personal?..:HMMM: Oh, wait,.. You meant what KIND of rear end is in his roadster.:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Sorry. I've been around teenagers all day and sometimes the smarta$$ attitude is contagious...:o
J,
What are you using in yours?
z
An 86 Chev S10 two wheel drive pickup rearend is a perfect fit for the rear of a model A Ford pickup---Thats what I'm running in the Wild Canary---and its 53 5/8" face to face of wheel mounting surfaces.
My side is so sore from laughing about the burned head, I dropped my pen under the desk, came up to quick hit the back of my head. I still was laughing
Bradc
Brad, did you get a video of you hitting your head??:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: Those are very big on YouTube and Americas Funniest Home Videos.:D :D For some reason Dan couldn't take it when he saw the skin burned into the header...........it just cracked him up.
Like Brian, I am also using an S10/GMC Jimmy rear end. Mine is a '95 out of a two wheel drive Jimmy. Like Brian said, they are a nice width, just maybe a tad on the narrow side, but reverse rims take care of that. The one under my Kids T is an 8 inch Ford out of a '77 Ford Granada, maybe a couple of inches wider.
Admittedly, the S10 rears aren't as strong as something like a 9 inch Ford, but they used the same setup in Camaros with V8's, so for someone like me, who isn't going to abuse it alot, it is perfect.
Damn don, i miss out on the forum for a couple of days, and you guys are almost done. I cant wait to see them in daytona!They are looking awsome!
Any particular reason S10's besides width?
I was thinking of getting a V6 ranger and using as much as I could, My plans keep changing but what I can afford:( and what I would like :D to do are two very different places.:CRY: :CRY: :CRY:
What about the ranger rear?:confused:
Z
Z,
The rear ends in my coupe and roadster are both mid-'70's Ford Maverick (8-inch). Both have the very common 2.79 gears. As I understand it, Ford used this same rear in early V-8 Mustangs, Fairlanes, Comets, Mavericks, and Granadas.:HMMM: :confused:
Thanks John, looking forward to finally meeting you and the other guys at Turkey Run. Don registered our cars yesterday (I was holding up until I was pretty sure we would have cars to take there) We finally decided on where we are going to stay, so tomorrow I'll make those reservations.
Z, a couple of reasons for using the S10 rears........width, easy to clean up (only simple spring perches to cut off and grind smooth), cheap, and plentiful. Various gear ratios are available too. My T has 3:00 gears, and my Dodge Truck with the same rear end, has 3:42's.. I am not familiar with the Ranger rear axles, but if the width is close to what you need, sure, why not?
JRobinson is right, those 8 inchers came in lots of cars. We just found out the one in Don's T came from a straight 6 cylinder car because it had 2 inch wide brakes vs 1.5 in some of them. He bought brake kits and had to return them because the shoes and wheel cylinders were different. Finally found the correct ones.
Tonight Dan and I went to the shop and worked on getting Don's fan mounted on the radiator. Don had a gig, so he hasn't seen what we did yet. We had several options. Walker Radiator and Total Performance do not offer a shroud for the 6 inch chopped '32 radiator, they use 4 simple brackets to mount them. We bought a set of those, but didn't like the flimsiness of them, so Dan and I bent up a shroud out of 18 gauge steel (which I will paint black tomorrow). It mounts the 16 inch SPAL fan perfectly, and will cool the engine better than just having the fan bracketed to the radiator. No air can sneak around the sides of this thing.
We bent it up on the brake, then Dan formed it to the exact shape we needed and cut a hole in the center for the fan to mount over. Finally, we welded studs onto the shroud to mount the fan, and we drilled holes in the sides to bolt the whole thing to the radiator and shell. It came out really nice, but took us about 5 hours to do. :eek: (We could never make a living at this stuff :) )
Here are some pictures of how it came out. It looks close to the water pump pulley in the pictures, but it really clears just fine.
Don
Don,
Did you think about relief flaps in the shroud to relieve the pressure at higher speeds? Most of the electric fans have them, but I doesn't look like you have enough room.
We actually talked about that last night and decided not to. There is so little area that is not cut out by the fact that we are running a big fan compared to core surface area that there is very little restriction. As you mentioned too, there is not much of a place to put them.
I think (and hope) this car is going to run cool anyway. We let it sit and idle for more than a half hour the other night with no fan at all, and you could still put your hand on the hoses and block. He went the smart route and bought a really nice Walker radiator that I'm pretty impressed with. Time (and summer in Florida) will tell for sure, but I think the electric fan and shroud we built should be enough.
One thing I have to figure out is where to mount the top support rods that keep the radiator from pushing rearward. There is no room to get them to the firewall as the engine is in the way. I was going to mount them to the top of the engine, but that cam is so lumpy the engine shakes a lot and would vibrate the radiator to death in short order. I am going to look at it today to see if some rods can be run to the frame or something and still look nice.
This engine has the coolest idle of any car I've heard. The entire car actually sits there and shakes, and we haven't even been able to put it in drive yet. :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: Funny part is, he wants Dan to install a stereo even though I told him he will never be able to hear it over the engine and wind.:D
Don
If you look closely at the pic below, just behind the head light, you'll see what Grabowski did.Quote:
Originally Posted by Itoldyouso
Another alternative would be to tie into your headlight stanchions if they're in a place that will work. A small, unobtrusive bracket, perhaps doubling as a tube to hide the wiring.
Good thoughts Bob. Those little brackets on Norms car don't look bad at all. Watching the engine shake last night convinced me that it would wreck the radiator in short order if I attached the brackets there.
I will probably do something just like you've pictured. BTW, thanks for the shot of his T........it's one of my all time favorites and brings back a lot of memories.
Don
Yeah, me too. I suspect that pic is actually of the Von Franco copy, but he worked hard to duplicate the original in every detail of it's early '60's version from the TV days.Quote:
Originally Posted by Itoldyouso
It's a bit off the subject, but what engine did Grabowski use in the "Kookie" T? Was that Olds or Cad?:confused:
It was a Cad. Legend has it he took it out of the family sedan, a '53 or 4.;)
Here is another shot of the Von Franco
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/featu.../photo_01.html
Steve.
I had the pleasure of talking a little with Norm at Daytona a few years back. He's a really very nice, funny guy. I'm sure he has heard this many times, but I had to tell him how his T was probably the spark for millions of guys like me and got us into hot rodding. I remember like it was yesterday being glued to the TV screen every Friday night hoping they would use "Kookies car" in that weeks episode of 77 Sunset strip.
The next day in school it was all we gearheads could talk about........"did you see Kookies T on TV last night?????????" :D :D :D :D
Don
I loved that show wish they would come out on dvd. Now that your entered in the Turkey Run you better not waste the time watching old show's...LOL
when is it going get interior.
Brad
I think it has to do with the Ranger axle tubes not being equal so when veiwed from the back the center section is offset considerably.Quote:
Originally Posted by oddcarout
Ron
Interior may have to wait Brad. Time, plus I don't want to rush the upholstery guy, he already has Dons to do when it comes out of the paint shop. I also need to save up some money for it. I will put something in there, maybe Mexican blankets. :D :D
We worked on getting some of the little things done tonight on Don's T. He will be playing now through Saturday, so I can work on mine on those days. One of the things we needed to do was align every aspect of the suspension and make sure all four wheels were straight. Someone on here posted a neat system that the circle track guys use, and I used some ideas from that to do our alignment tonight.
I taped a perfectly square box shape on the garage floor, with another straight line going right down the center of the box. We triangulated it to make sure it was perfectly square, then positioned the car exactly in the center of it by careful measuring. We used a plumb bob on a string and first set the rear axle straight, and tightened down the radius rods for the final time.
The front end was a little tougher because we had to set caster, alignment, and toe in. We found the caster was at 10 degrees, which is too much, so we adjusted the radius rods and got it to 6 degrees. We then squared up the axle with the plumb bob, and when we measured from the rear axle to the kingpin we got exactly 97 inches on each side, so the two axles are now square to each other and to the frame. We also set the toe in at 1/16 as a starting point, and will go up or down once we drive the car.
Also got his transmission cooler mounted and swapped out the electric fuel pump. The brand new Holley pump was leaking a few drops internally, so we put one from Dans '29 on it, and Don will return the leaker to Summit for exchange.
Not a lot of progress, but the alignment took us a long time to do. Here is a picture of the car on the taped off grid after we aligned it.
Don
Don,
I have bought my last Holley fuel pump. The latest one - brand new also - caused nothing but problems. I switched to Edelbrock. It's much quieter, and doesn't quit on me (thermal overload) like the Holley did.
By the way, I never really had a yen for a T-bucket, but Don's blue one has me thinking. Very nice work on everything.
Don with as many cars you got, you might want to paint the box on the floor now that you got that one square. Will make the next one easier you won't have to resquare the box. The blue still looks sharp can't wait to see the body on it.
Brad
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldrodder43
Hey Perley, sorry I missed your post. Larry M was nice enough to call my attention to it........thanks Larry. First off, welcome to the forum. I try to answer any posts, but somehow missed yours (I've been getting home 2ish in the AM, so I'm a little foggy then :confused: )
You sound like the rest of us, especially in the underfunded part. Surprising what this little hobby can cost us, huh? Once again yesterday I stopped at the hardware store for some fasteners for Don's T and got a little bag of various bolts, nuts, etc, and it came to $ 70.00. :eek: It seems like I have made that same trip 20 or 30 times so far in the two builds.
I bet your Grandson is having a blast doing this with you, and you are right about the time spent together being invaluable. He will learn lessons from this that will be with him the rest of his life. (and a few choice words when he hits his thumb with a hammer :LOL: )
Throw some pictures in here of your project, we'd love to see them. I think it is an Essex if I remember correctly?
Jack, I too am falling out of love with Holley pumps. They are all I have used for years, but I think there may be better ones now available. This one leaked right out of the box.
Brad, I may do that and paint the box on the floor. It sure worked better than the method I used to use, triangulating the frame . I feel we got a very accurate alignment doing it this way. I am going to wheel my T over it and recheck the alignment too. BTW, supposedly Don's body is going to be done tomorrow, but even if it isn't done til next week they still are on target timewise. We are pretty anxious too.
Don
Yesterday and today I got to work on my T for a change, Don is working. I got a whole lot of little things done. Mounted the Lokar dipstick to the firewall, found a place on the front of my engine to mount my coil, painted the entire interior with another coat of truck bed liner, and started wiring the car.
I originally was planning on everything going under the dash, and even made a wiring harness a while back and stored it away for this day. However, I started to realize why everybody puts the wiring components under the seat on these little '23 T's..............there is no room under the dash to get even your hand in there when it is time to install the wires. It actually took me over 2 hours to get 3 simple gauges installed because I had to work with a trouble light and mirror and think backwards.
Finally got the three gauges and my ignition switch installed and wired after laying upside down and every other way. I decided to at least put the ignition switch in the dash as I hate fumbling for the keyhole in the dark if you put it under the seat. I built an aluminum switch panel to hold 5 lighted switches under the seat though. I had them there on my '27 and got used to what switch was what by feel.
I also got my fuse box and other components mounted. Dan stopped by and is hellbent on me having turn signals, so he is going to give me his Ron Francis turn signal setup to install. I was going to be happy with hand signals, but he thought otherwise. :LOL: :LOL:
Might get to drive it around the block by Sunday PM, depending on how much time Don has to work on his. We will spend time on his if he can break a gig he had scheduled for Sunday.
Here are some pictures of my wiring that I got done so far, and the bed liner paint job.
Don
Don,
Great job. After seeing what you are doing maybe I should just follow suit.
Could you tell us what the switches are for, and relays you used. What fuse block are you using.
Also where are you going to put your spedo and are you going to have a tach.
PS the bedliner is a great idea. puting it on my list.
Z
Thanks Z. No, I was going to mount an old Dixco tach I have on top of the dash, but the windshield is in the way. Then I thought I would mount it under the dash, but that looked to '60's to me, so I am going to go with the bare minimum look, just oil pressure, water temp, and volt meter. No speedo either, I figure I will just go slower than traffic and I'll be ok. :D I like the bare bones look of just the three gauges in the dash.Quote:
Originally Posted by oddcarout
As for what switches and fuse box I used.........being that I came out of the marine industry, they are all boat stuff, even the wiring. Glastron used to use these neat toggle switches that the tip lights up on when on, and I scored a few of those, as well as a compact ATO type fuse box. The relays are auto parts $ 10 relays, and I have one for the electric fan, one for the electric fuel pump, one for high beams and one for low beams.
I really like that Duplicolor roll on bed liner, it goes on easily with a brush and when dry is very smooth and super tough. I had to sand it back off of one area a while ago to do some glassing and I thought it would never come off. I have about 3 coats inside now and 1 under the floor, so it should be pretty waterproof.
Don
Don,
To the right of your switches I spy what appears to be an aircraft style circuit breaker, what's its function?
Don they have a Mustang Mini tach where the clock goes . You could hide this right out front i'm sure . Here is the link clock is center between speedo and guage cluster.
http://www.retrogauge.com/index.html