Another build thread? Yep, my track-style T

[34_40]

That's so cool! Thanks for the reply Jim..

[J. Robinson]

Well, in order to keep this thing running I need to have the cooling system working and to do that I need to have the alternator mounted so I can put a belt on... Is that a run-on sentence? Anyway, to accomplish this I had to make a couple of changes and fabricate some bracketry. First, I had to swap the '87 water pump for an '86. The '87 S-10 used a serprntine belt and the water pump runs backwards to the engine. The '86 and earlier S-10 used a v-belt system and the water pump runs the same direction as the engine. I couldn't find a 1986 or older S-10 in any of the local salvage yards, but I did manage to score the crank pulley off a 1985 Pontiac Fiero. The water pump pulley is one I found in my spare parts pile; I don't know what it came from, but it's probably from a small-block Chevy as I have parts from a few of them in the shed.

Near the bottom of the block on the driver's side, there is a protrusion with two threaded holes. There's plenty of open space on this side of the engine, too, so this is where I decided to mount the alternator (the opposite side has the bottom radiator hose and water pump inlet in the way).

[J. Robinson]

I used a piece of heavy duty (1/4" wall thickness) 1 1/2" angle iron cut and drilled to fit the boss at the bottom of the block. The length of this piece was carefully measured to place the alternator so that the pulleys all line up. I made two tabs from 1 1/4" x 3/16" flat stock. I found a spacer that was the same length as the bolt boss on the alternator and used that to hold the tabs at the proper distance apart for welding. I also welded a 3/8"-16 nut on the rear tab.

After welding, I dressed the welds to remove any slag, shot the finished bracket with a coat of Krylon primer, and painted it with "As-cast Aluminum Silver". The top adjuster arm is another Chevy part that I cut, reshaped, and welded to attach to another available threaded hole on the front of the engine.

Of course, the stupid pictures never load in order on this crappy progam, so I hope you can figure out what you're seeing...

[Dave Severson]

Clean and simple, ought to work great Jim!!!!

[34_40]

You make it look easy Jim! Nice.

[stovens]

Looks good to me too!

[ScooterCO]

Sooo glad you are back on this!
Really looking forward to you driving this cool build.

[J. Robinson]

OK, the last thing I did was build the alternator mount. With that in place I was able to put a belt on it to run the water pump. Problem was, I hadn't been able to plumb the radiator hoses yet because (1) the radiator is inside the nose and the cap is inaccessable, so (2) the car needs a remote filler. As with everything else on this engine choice, there is no commercially available solution, so I had to fabricate something...

The solution became apparent while I was roaming my local salvage yard (the place where I get most of my parts). I found a nifty little bolt-on filler assembly on a Nissan 300-Z. All I needed to do was fabricate a means to utilize it. On the right front corner of the engine there was a factory loop for hoisting the engine. Most of us usually take these off and trash 'em to clean up the looks of our engines, but I'm glad I hadn't done so yet. I used the hoist loop to make the bracket for my auxilary fill tank. The tank itself I made from a 4 inch piece of 2" x 3" x 14 gauge tubing. I drilled the holes to mount the filler assembly, welded 1/4-20 nuts inside, and capped the ends with pieces of 1/16 x 2 flat stock.

[J. Robinson]

After building the tank, I cut the (hoist loop) bracket to fit and welded it in place. This actually took a few trial fits to get everything in place where I could still connect the hoses and also close the hood without interference. Once the tank was mounted, I made a trip to the local parts store to find a useable upper hose. I needed an "S" shape to snake the hose around and give it enough length that it could flex when the engine moves under acceleration. I've been in the local Advance Auto Parts enough that they now let me search out my own hoses. After about 45 minutes of picking through their inventory, I found what looked like a good candidate. I could now determine where I needed the hose connections. I cut some 1 inch black iron pipe to fit the appropriate angles, hole-sawed the openings in the tank, and welded the pipe/hose connections in place. All that was left was to paint the tank, bolt it on for the final time, and connect the hoses. I ran out of time today, but tomorrow I'll fill the system and put "fire in the hole" again.

Of course this dumb ass program uploaded the pictures out of order again:mad:, but you all can figure it out from the text...

[34_40]

Neat solution! Can't wait 'til your drivin' it!

[rspears]

Yep, that's a neat little tank! You're lucky to have a salvage yard that allows you to roam around looking at stuff. The only ones around here who do that are a couple of "pick'n pull" lots. All the bigger places have front counters and sell parts by year & model, just like the box stores...

A tip on the pictures - once you upload them hit the "Preview Post" button to see how they're arranged (they'll likely be backwards/out of order). Then it's pretty easy to highlight & drag or cut & paste them into the right places, and even add text between frames if that helps. Thanks for taking time to post them!!

[J. Robinson]

A tip on the pictures - once you upload them hit the "Preview Post" button to see how they're arranged (they'll likely be backwards/out of order). Then it's pretty easy to highlight & drag or cut & paste them into the right places, and even add text between frames if that helps. Thanks for taking time to post them!!

Thanks, Roger. I didn't know you could do that. I'll try it. I'm almost computer illiterate; it's a miracle I can resize the pictures!

[stovens]

Nice solution Jim. Looks cool too! Nice to see this one getting closer to the road!

[deckofficer]

Jim,

I've been enjoying watching the birth of another Track-T Roadster. I too have a soft spot for the pioneers who raced the T back in the 30's.

[J. Robinson]

Wow, Bob, that's a nice looking T. Can we see some more pictures? What's under the louvered hood?