Thread: I couldn't build it for $3 K either!

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Nice work! And that is a nice unobtrusive place to put the 3rd brake light.

I agree with you; I would rather not have to have them, but I want people behind me to notice if I'm stopping. My coupe has a 3rd brakelight in the rear window. I don't know where I'll put one on the roadster, but it will have one somewhere...

Nice how those marine items fit our builds, huh Mike? When I worked in the business I would dig around on the shelves and find lots of stuff that would cross over to a hot rod...........and the parts are corrosion resistant too.

I really like your bed cover. and that is a perfect place for the 3rd brake light. Tradition is one thing but safety is another thing. You are being smart. If we truly want to drive our cars we have to make some concessions. I have no problems using modern stuff like alternators and electric fans on otherwise old timey looking cars. I want to use my car and not have problems.

With some of the inattentive drivers today gabbing away on their cell phones you need all the help you can get.

Don

Thanks guys.

About the marine stuff working good on hot rods. I think the old Stewart Warner instrument panels and streamlined windshield frames like the Duval were carryovers too.

Mike

I knew early on I would want a third brake light and I had resigned myself to putting something in the back window or mounted on the trunk. But when I was looking at some pictures of a stock 37 LaSalle I noticed the sergeant bars on the back and that gave me an idea. It reminded me of the taillights on a 40 ford. So thanks to ebay I was able to find a good cheap 40 ford tailight and I will eventually fench it or modify it somehow to fit where the original stainless steel trim went.
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37 Caddy

Great idea! Should look nice frenched in.

Mike

That IS a good idea. Living here in Florida, with lots of little old lady drivers who can't see over the steering wheel, and lots of teen agers using cell phones, I should have put a 3rd light on too.

Don

Another one of those small projects is the lower radiator hose. The rad sits pretty close to the engine. So close in fact, that the fan bolts directly to the water pump with no spacer. The radiator is a Speedway item(from Ron Davis) for their 4 1/2" chopped 32 shell and the lower connection is angled out slightly toward the frame for some reason. Must be something specific to their 32 Low Boy kit. All this meant that the lower hose was going to have some strange tight bends. I decided to make one up out of steel tubing.

The tubing is just a 1 3/4" "J" bend. I turned a couple of oversize ends to keep the hose from slipping off under pressure.

I saw this happen on a video of a dyno run and it looked pretty hairy since hot water and steam went everywhere. I would hate to have that happen going down the road or worse yet, while I was standing over it.

It's a pretty tight fit, but came out OK.