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That's some great progress Jay!!!! The length of the lines from the tee to the calipers can be different, no problem. The fluid supply is constant and the pressure will be applied equally to each caliper.....Quote:
Originally Posted by 37 Caddy
Sometimes progress can only be measured by the amount of gunk you sweep up off the floor at the end of the day!!!!!!
Thanks for the quick response. I just spent about 20 minutes just walking around the "car" and staring. I am trying to figure out how to run the front brake lines. I have nothing to go on. I haven't been able to find pictures of the front brake line routing for the 71 Camaro and the brake hose tabs have long been removed. I think they mounted on the top of the frame perpendicular to the upper control arm. However, if you remember the earlier picture of the steering support you can see I don't have much room to work with once I get the brake hose to the frame.
Is there such thing as a 90 degree brake fitting with 3/8-24 on both ends?
Shouldn't be hard to find...I would suggest a steel fitting though, and not a brass one.Quote:
Originally Posted by 37 Caddy
As for the brake hose tabs, just put them where they will work the best... Make sure the do not get pinched by or rub against any of the suspension components, not just a ride height but check to make sure the brake hose is in a safe place throughout the entire range of travel.... The clip can be mounted either above or below the frame, whichever is best for routing....and if that doesn't work, there are a number of companies making brake hose connectors that go through the frame rail....
hi sending a picture of the brake setup i used both on my 34 lasalle and the 35 lasalle i used the original brake pedal and mounted the duel cylinder and the booster behind the original break pedal you can see the booster rod leading to the original pedal, joe
When I bought this car I saw two major hurdles in front of me 1) making the steering work, and 2) mounting the brake pedal and master cylinder. The steering I feared because the previous owner had blocked the route for the steering with a bracket for the body panels. The brakes I feared because the car came with no original brake parts and the frames X-member made using off the shelf parts tricky.
Well, today I can say I have cleared both these hurdles and I am re-energized by the accomplishment. The steering I finished some time ago, but today I fabricated a brake pedal assembly and now having a working brake pedal. Although I will probably have to have a new pedal arm cut by waterjet once I put the body back on.
The first picture is the 37 Chevy brake assembly I bought on Ebay over a year ago assuming that it would bolt right in to my 37 Gm/ Cadillac. No such luck. The second pic is the frame before fabricating the pedal assembly. and the third pic is success. I plan on having a professional welder finish up the welding on this setup.
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Pick a winner. I am trying to figure out how to mount the front brake lines. I have mocked it up differently on both sides of the car. Which is better? Why?
The pics show the mounting tabs and the tight clearances I am working with on both sides. I know the tire shouldn't touch the frame, but that is an issue I will have to address later.
As always, I appreciate your help and brutal criticism.
Option 1:
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Option 2:
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hi looks like it will work out fine, hang in there, joe
I thought for sure that I would get a hundred responses when I asked for everyone's opinion on my brake tab options.
I am leaning toward option #2. It would seem to give me better clearance, less opportunity to kink a cable, and I could run the brake lines up and over rather than trying to weave them around a bunch of obstacles on the underside.
I am still seeking opinions, especially if I have missed any key factors relating to running brake lines. This is my first ever attempt.
usually the brake lines hug the chassis , most important keep the lines away from manifolds , exhaust pipes notherwords heat , away from swing arms so they wont get crushed , must be careful when the front wheels turn the flexi lines wont hit or rub must be careful that nothing kinks the lines, thats about it,take your time ,
I'd also run adel clamps every so often to the hard lines stationary.
Thanks. I have been very sensitive to the heat concerns. In fact that is why I will likely only run a single exhaust. I have far too much going on under the driver's seat to also try to shove an exhaust pipe under there as well.
I will also install the line clamps. I have been waiting till I get the lines run the way I want.
in one of your pics is the inside of your tires touching the frame when you turn them all the way???? the brake lines look good where they are A+
Quote:
Originally Posted by 37 Caddy
Hey Caddy, just wanted to say I'm lovin this car. It's going to be very cool!
Also, from looking at the pics of your frame, if you re-route the brake lines from both ends of the car along the center x-member, instead of the outside frame rail, and attach them to the inboard ports of the master cylinder, that should give you much more clearance to run an exhaust pipe on the driver's side of the car too. Of course, I'm assuming that your master cylinder has ports or both sides. It looks like it in the pics. Just a thought.....
Yes, the current set of tires does touch the frame at full stop. That is just one of the many outstanding issues I will have to address before this car is done. I am beginning to come to grips with the fact that I will probably need to get different tires and rims. These are 16x8 and pretty tall. The original Camaro rims were likely 15x7 and not quite so tall. I will cross this bridge when I get there.
As for the brake lines, I did consider running them on the inside along the X-member but that posed a lot more headaches than I felt it was worth. (Passing lines in and out of the frame, etc) While I am worried about heating up the brake lines, I am more worried about boiling the fluid in the master cylinder itself. I may be worrying too much. I have a few friends who can't imagine a hot rod without dual exhaust, but for the "family hot rod" I am okay with having just a single pipe.
By the way, I am hoping to order a muffler and a box full of bends tomorrow.
My box full of exhaust bends showed up on Friday and once I finished the yard work and put the baby to bed (wife left on a business trip tonight) I found time to get to work on the Caddy's exhaust. All in all it is going pretty smoothly. I will certainly take the tacked together system to the muffler shop to make the welds prettier.
Here are some pictures of how far I have gotten and some pictures of tomorrow night's challenge.
My headers have 2 1/4 inch collectors and I am going to use a 3 inch muffler. I am going to make this work by flattening one end of the 3 inch exhaust pipe until it matches the diameter of the 2 1/4 inch pipe and then I am going to siamese the two pipes coming off the header from either side of the engine. Hopefully the pics help explain. Has anybody ever tried this?
Any advice is always appreciated.
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I like option 2 on the brakes, Caddy. The exhaust should work out fine, same way I like to build mine, just hate them gimpy looking exhaust bender bends!!!!
I am proud to share some success with my CHR friends. I have never done any exhaust work before, but I am very pleased with the result. I was even able to blend the 2 into 1 like I had described earlier. I still need to have the welds prettied up by a muffler shop, but all in all I am very happy with how it turned out. And I had enough foresight to leave room to access my oil filter and the starter. Take a look.
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Looks great, Caddy..... Ya just never know wht you can do til you try it!~!!!!!! Keep going on the car, going to be a nice one!
Nice exhaust work. This gives me hope that I can do the same. I have 2 different sets of mufflers and at least 3 designs I've been thinking about. I have bought a couple of those pre bent mandrals to get started. They are the way to go for smooth results. I have been thinking of crossing over and dumping out the side using that large oval Spin Tech tubing but that stuff is really expen$ive.
Tom
There is no guarantee they won't leak, but the brake lines are in on the LaSalle. They seem to have turned out well and I thank everyone for their help. I have not messed around with the disks or the drums. I plan on having a shop I trust go through those when the car is closer to hitting the road.
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I was so happy to see the brake lines against the freshly painted frame that I forgot to mention that I also finished painting the frame. This is a rattle can paint job, but it should make it look presentable for the time being. Down the road once I have gotten the car put together the way I like and put some miles on it, I will blow it all apart and have the frame done right. It has far to many random holes drilled in it and it could be much prettier. Nevermind that it is still full of dirt in some places. I also threw in a shot of the engine while it waited to go back in its home.
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I couldn't resist sharing this picture with you all. This little guy is a big reason we are building this car. We enjoy going to car shows together, but they are not as much fun if you haven't brought a ride to show.
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In that corner is a bucket that has all the fasteners from the Suburban I stripped for the engine. They are dirty, but it has accelerated the lessons about washing your hands before you eat or touch Mama.
By the way, the fuel tank and pump show up this week. There is some more fabrication in my near future.
Caddy its looking good . The steering is there a chance of placing in some stops to keep tires from hitting . Also if this is done will it still have a decent turning radius with them . If not you may have to get a lower profile but maybe keep the 16's . When i installed the rack i think they still suggested stops .
Looks like your helper is really getting into the project!!!! Sure does make it a lot more fun when you have such good help!!!!!!
bluestang:
I can't figure out where I would put the stops. Any advice would be appreciated. Although, I have pretty much come to the realization that I need smaller tires. Not only do they rub the frame, but they hit the fenders all to often as well. I will likely end up with 15x7s or 16x6s. The current rims are 16x8s.
They could be placed on the lower control arm . This way when spindle comes around it will contact them . May be able to find some for you app or mod something to work for you .
I have been messing around with the car lately, but nothing worth reporting on. I am still waiting for my gas tank. Apparently the shipping is free for a reason. The truth is even if I had gotten it, I would just be staring at it waiting to find time to fabricate mounts.
My goal this week is to clean up the firewall. It looks like swiss cheese and I can't imagine what half of these holes were for. I started by pulling the body out of the backyard and sanding off the primer. I will be using a mig welder so with the metal exposed I have no problem getting a good ground. Here are some pictures.
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I will post more pictures as I start filling holes. Wish me luck
Well the firewall is all buttoned up. I filled 45 holes. About 20 small holes, 20 quarter size holes, and five large holes. It is not perfect but I am pleased with how it turned out. With a little sanding and a light coat of filler it could be great. The best compliment I got was from my wife who didn't believe it was our car when she saw the completed picture below. Thank goodness old metal is thick otherwise I could have never patched the firewall with my inexpensive flux core welder.
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Well, I haven't posted in a while although I have been doing some work on the Caddy. I have been on hold due to waiting on a fuel tank. It is a tanks brand universal tank but everywhere was out of stock and Tanks was waiting for some to come in. Well, long story short I finally got a tank 3 months after I ordered it BUT only because it has some minor damage. Actually, they told me it had a dent around the sending unit and that they were worried it wouldn't seal. I got it yesterday and I can't find any such dent and it looks as if it should seal just fine.
So I am getting down to fabricating some brackets to mount it and then plumb it and I have some questions. I am running an in tank fuel pump with a return, supply, and vent. There are two filler options: on top or on the side. I will install it on the side and cap the other hole. Tanks provided a plate. Some day I will install a sending unit. Now my questions: What is the barb on the side of the tank for? Is this another vent? Should I just cap it and use the vent on the fuel pump unit? There is also a threaded hole on the bottom front of the tank. What is it for? Should I just plug it?
I will try to send pictures lateron my progress. I may actually be close to putting the body back on.
I have successfully installed the fuel tank but I still need to figure out what to do with all these holes/openings. Specifically I am trying to figure out the hose barb and the threaded hole on the bottom front. The threaded hole is now behind the strap. (and under the masking tape)
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I sincerely appreciate any help you can offer.
A quick update:
The engine is in and the wiring harness is plugged in.
The exhaust is completed.
The brake lines and master cylinder are in.
The battery has been relocated. This required several re-engineerings but now the battery is under the trunk and yet still easily accessible. The battery is hung from the frame and the battery box covers it but does not support the weight of the battery.
The fuel supply and return lines are 95% complete. I am waiting to put the body back on before I make the final cuts on the fuel lines.
The gas tank is in, next I will plumb the fuel pump and cover the extra holes.
The undercarriage wiring harness is installed all the way back to the tail lights. I still need to wire the front end but I need to work on the radiator mounting and get the fenders back so I have something to secure the wiring to.
Once I seal up the gas tank and fuel pump I will be ready to get the body out of the back yard and back on the frame.
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Any ideas on how to wire the taillights? I am installing 41 Chevy taillights using the 92 Suburban wiring harness. As you can see in the picture the wiring harness has four wires: black (ground I assume), yellow, green, and brown. The 41 Chevy tailights only have two wires: red and black.
Wiring is not my strong point so expect a lot of questions. Thanks
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Nice clear pictures! You might run into some problems hooking up your taillights,as your suburban probably had seperate brake lights and turn signals. If so,it's going to take a little more work hooking things up,if not, you are good to go. As far as what you have pictured, hook the black taillight wire to the brown harness wire for parking lights,and the red to the green wire for turnsignals. Black on the harness is generally backup lights,the other wire in your photo looks to be white,and could be a ground. Hope this helps you, Hank
Looking good, 37. Nice job on the firewall.
Thanks for your help on the wiring. However, what looks like a white wire is actually yellow and I the black wire tracks back to a ground. I also stated that there was a red and black wire on the 41 taillight, it is actually a black and green.
The suburban did have separate bulbs for everything, if I remember correctly. Is there some kind of relay I need to make them work with the one bulb tailights? Can I just splice two of the wires together?
I have very little clue when it comes to wiring.
The easiest way out that I can think of is to buy a trailer light interface,plug it in your harness,and then run your wires from the interface to your taillights.Yellow should be turn for one side,and green the other. I can never remember which is which,so I always have to test with a light. The other choice would involve rerouting the wires from the brake light switch up through the column and sending the power out through the turn signal wiring,but this only works if your ts switch is wired to be used this way. If not you end up with power going out to the front lights also,not just the rear. Hope this helps, Hank
Wow! I hadn't realized how long it has been since I last posted. Family interfered. My wife and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl in to our family.
However, I have been able to carve out some time to work on the car lately. I will post some progress pics later. (I am currently in a battle of wits with a very sleep two-year old, the baby is sleeping...like a baby)
I will have to go back and check where I left off.
I am down to the details and will have a lot of questions coming up soon.
Congrats on the new family member! Let's see a shot of that young lady.
Here is a picture of our baby girl an d her big brother. He sure does love his sister. I hope to have both out in the garage soon.
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Now on to the progress report on the LaSalle. I hadn't been posting because I hadn't thought I had made any progress. My time in the garage has been extremely sporadic and in very short bursts.
The body is back on the frame with the help of some friends and since then I have been working primarily on the wiring and some time on interior panels. I have not had a chance to do much fabrication because of fears of waking the kids.
The wiring has been particularly challenging. I am adapting the 92 Suburban wiring harness and computer into the LaSalle. This involved cutting two very large holes and drilling a couple smaller ones in my nice clean firewall. However, I am making it work and have been successful in getting most of the wiring tucked away neatly. The main harness connection through the firewall and the fuse box are both complete. I am going to attempt to mount the computer on the passenger side tonight.
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ps I will amke the pictures a little smaller next time.
