Another build thread? Yep, my track-style T

[Itoldyouso]

Wow, that's a really good score on the engine and transmission. A little cleanup and paint and you should be able to drop it in.

Bet you are off today because of the hurricane.......that's one more day to work on our rods!!

Don

[J. Robinson]

Yeah. Just waiting for the rain. We're supposed to get some wind and 6 to 8 inches of rain starting around lunchtime. Are you through the worst of it already?

[Itoldyouso]

I guess it is pretty much over for us, I slept through it. It seems to be over Immokolee right now, and heading on a NE track that seems like it will have it exiting Florida somewhere on the East Coast around Daytona or thereabouts.

I'm looking out the window and all I see is lots of rain and some wind, but not nearly what I would call high winds. In a little while we are going to head over to the shop so we can do some work on Dans car. Gotta try to find somewhere open with oxygen for my torches, ran out the other night, and we want to bend his steering arms down to clear his radius rods. So far no one has answered their phone, so I guess everyone took a hurricane day off.

Now I just have to find lots of recipes for all this Spam I bought.

Don

Well, just called Northern Tool and they are open, so I guess I'll head up there and get my oxygen tank exchanged.

[stovens]

Don good to hear you guys are O.K. and spared the Hurricane outfall. I just heard about the weather you guys are having out there on my way home early this morning, from work! I thought hurricane weather usually started in Sept. and Oct. Seems a little early for them. Anyway, glad all is well with you guys!

[J. Robinson]

Stovens - The "official" hurricane season runs from June 1st to Nov 30th. The most active part is usually August and September, so we are right in the middle of the busiest time. Four years ago we had "Charlie", "Frances", "Ivan" , and "Jeanne" all hit Florida within a 3-week period , beginning in mid-August...

Don - Spam makes a pretty decent sandwich if you slice it, fry it, and put it on a bun with a slice of Swiss cheese. You can also dice it up and use it as ham seasoning for soup beans...

The outer bands of rain and wind are starting to hit here now. Doesn't look like it will be too rough unless we get tornadoes...

[stovens]

J.
Good to know. It's been a long time since I worked in the Keys. It seemed the worst ones hit when I wasn't there, so I figured it was more of a Fall thing, though I do remember several tropical depressions with 60 mph winds! Good score on the engine and transmission. Hope you fare well through this one!

[NVRRDUNN]

jim...its been a while since you and i yakked here...but thanks for the jokes emailed to my house..my god, that road-star looks reeeeealllly good. Hell, you build 2 cars in the time it takes me to finish one...my coupe will be on my #1 to-do list come september...pretty buzy spring and summer for me...but i am really itching to be driving it next june...and so's Mama...good score on that 2nd motor!!! Keep yerself dry, guy. My daughter and her family just moved to Gainesville (hubby a naval officer)...not sure they're ready for the abrupt change in the weather...expecting a call this weekend...what color ya gonna paint that hairblower?

[J. Robinson]

That stupid storm has parked itself just south of Melbourne (50 miles south of here) and is gaining strength! The weather guys are astounded; it's extremely rare for a tropical storm intensify while it's over land... Hotroddaddy, they say it's coming your way when it leaves here.

Stovens - So far just a lot of rain. Not really storming yet, just constant steady downpour... I love the Keys, especially Key West. My wife and I go there for a few days every couple of years to unwind.

Hi Steve! - I'd like to see that coupe of yours on the road, too... You realize, after your daughter & family spend a couple of winters down here, they won't want to leave. Hey, maybe you & the wife should plan on coming to your daughter's place for Thanksgiving. Then you can come on down to Daytona for the Turkey Run and meet a bunch of us in person.

The frame, engine, and running gear will be dark red metallic. The body will be an off-white with a dark metallic red scallop on the nose/hood. The numbers and lettering will be gold leaf (I hope) with black outline. The car will be lightly patina'd so it doesn't look like a fresh build.

[J. Robinson]

The biggest thing on my punch list before disassembly was the K-member/driveshaft loop. I didn't build this piece when I had the body off because I was afraid that I might mis-measure something and it would end up interfering with the floor or driveshaft tunnel. The alternative, of course, was to get under the car and build the assembly in place. I put this off as long as I could (I hate working on my back and welding overhead), but the time has come...

I began by setting the roadster up on jackstands. I put a stand at each corner and then used shims (pieces of old paint paddles) to level the frame front and rear. The K-member assembly is going to be welded in solidly, so I don't want any twist in the frame while fabricating/installing this assembly.

Fabrication began by forming and welding an oblong loop of 1/4" x 1 1/2" flat steel. The radius of the loop was determined by the contour of the driveshaft tunnel underneath. Next, I measured the distance between the frame rails (23 1/4" inside), subtracted the outside width of the loop (5 1/4"). I divided the remainder (18") in half (9") and cut two pieces of 1" tubing to that length. The purpose is so that the total length of these pieces, when assembled, will fit between the frame rails with the loop surrounding the drive shaft.

I built a temporary fixture from scrap lumber to help me get these pieces welded together straight and even. I had determined from my measurements that the loop needed to rise 3" above the top of the crossmember. I had actually added 1/4" to my inside frame width measurement so this piece would be 1/4" too long when assembled/welded. This allowed me to grind a slight "fishmouth" on each end to help with fitting and welding to the frame. I removed the driveshaft, fit the new crossmember in place, squared it with a tape measure and tack-welded it in place.

Next, I made the bottom crossmember piece from more 1" tubing. This piece was cut to length (+1/4"), bent slightly to fit directly under the driveshaft loop, fishmouthed to fit, and tack-welded in place.

Finally, I made two diagonal braces from 3/4" tubing to fit from the top crossmember tube, next to the loop, to the upper frame rail about 16" forward.

The final picture shows the whole assembly tacked in place under the car. When this is all welded solidly in place, the frame rails will be restrained from twisting and from "diamonding".

[J. Robinson]

Narrowing down the punch list items, I decided to finish the battery mount. A couple of installments back I built the "box" to hold the Oddessey battery. I had, at one point, vacillated between mounting it under the car next to the right frame rail or mounting it inside the car on the firewall where it would be easier to service. I finally settled on the inside firewall location.

The first step was to weld a couple of "ears" on the battery box. I made these from some scrap 1 1/4" angle, drilled a 3/8" hole in each one, and welded them to the sides of the box.

Next, I cut a piece of birch faced 3/4" plywood to fit the inside of the firewall. This piece is odd shaped because of the steel reinforcement on the driver's side. I then cut a second piece of the plywood to fit the back of the battery box and tapered it on the belt-sander at school. I glued this second piece to the first so that it is positioned right over the transmission tunnel. The reason I used such thick material is because I needed to space the top of the battery (and the terminal posts) back away from the steel hoop that is immediately behind the firewall.

Once the wood was shaped and glued together, I drilled the 3/8" bolt holes, countersunk the backside, and installed a couple of 3/8" T-nuts. Now the battery box can bolt in place without bolts passing through the firewall. The wood reinforcement assembly will be bonded permanently to the inside of the firewall with polyester body filler.

[Itoldyouso]

I see you are getting one of those little Odyssey batteries too. I'm seeing more and more of them, and love mine. Car sits for long periods and cranks like gangbusters every time.

Man Jim, your list of stuff to do is getting shorter every day! You're making really good progress. I like the scallop/ color combination thing you have picked. Scallops and track cars seem to go hand in hand.

Who knows, we might see you driving this thing in November..........or for sure next March at Billetproof.

Don

[J. Robinson]

Don - I had never heard of the Oddessey battery until I saw yours. It sure is a problem solver in this case. If I had to use a full-size car battery, I would have to cut a hole in the floor under the passenger seat and drop the battery down beside the frame... It would actually hang down below the bottom of the frame and would be visible from outside the car!

November is looming closer and I keep encountering interruptions (work related) that make that goal look more and more hopeless... Even if I get the thing together and running, I've still got to deal with the registration process... UGH!

The good news is that Ron Ennis (up in Indiana) has finished punching the louvers in my hood sides and they are on their way back to me. Our mutual friend and "go between", Jerry Bristow, tells me they look really good. Each panel has two rows of 26 louvers, for a total of 52 in each panel. I can hardly wait to see them...

[Itoldyouso]

Yep, Turkey Run is only a little over 70 days away. We are having the same problem as you...........work is getting in the way of working on our cars. Dan is taking on another property to manage, and I went back to work, so the only time we have now is weekends. It's the age old problem.......you either have the money to work on your projects, but no time.......or, you have all the time in the world and no money. This earning a living thing sure cuts into the fun stuff, doesn't it.

BTW, that driveline hoop setup looks very good too.

Don

[J. Robinson]

I had planned to start taking the roadster apart Saturday, but got sidetracked and didn't get any work done all weekend. Well, divine providence must have been taking care of me... I received my hood sides today and they are beautifully done. I guess I just needed to see them on the car before I take it apart. All I can say is WOW! What a nice touch they add to the frontend of this car. Here are a couple of pics...

[J. Robinson]

After installing the hood sides I took a few minutes to bond the reinforcement/ battery box mount to the friewall inside.

I started by putting a piece of masking tape over each of the countersunk holes so they wouldn't get body filler in the threaded T-nuts. Next, I mixed up enough body filler to coat the back of the reinforcement piece about 1/8" thick (no pic of this - ya have to work fast with body filler). Then I put the reinforcement in place, pressed it firmly against the inside of the firewall, and braced it there with a piece of 1 x 4 lumber wedged between it and the seat back. After about 20 munutes the body filler was solid enough to remove the brace. Later, when I have the aluminum firewall off, I will put some countersunk screws through the fiberglass into the wood.