Henry/Jack, Thanks for the picture of the wiring!
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
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Henry/Jack, Thanks for the picture of the wiring!
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
If you don't channel the car, and don't put in a big-block so that the firewall is pushed way back, it shouldn't be a problem. If the car isn't channelled, the floor is pretty flat. You'd have to be careful about the chop, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by 53fatfndr
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rifle
Thanks for the feedback. No big block, just a 302. I would probably have to stay away from the chop or put a moon roof in and stick my head out the top... :3dSMILE:
Keep us posted on your progress, it looks great :)
Jack car is coming along . Just wonder with all the yard equipment i see how you been finding the time to work on it . Grass season is here for sure , garden and list goes on . .
Been done..............:DQuote:
Originally Posted by 53fatfndr
Finished the wiring. Everything works . . . first try.
Shocking!!!
:3dSMILE:
Hey! This guy is goood!Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rifle
Jack,
Some more of Brent's problems with email posting updates again. I had lost the updates
The car looks great - and the wiring.....glad to hear that all went well.
I do feel your pain with a Gibbon body - probably something like mine with the Brookville. You just get tired of fixing their "quality" problems:whacked: .
Are you going to have it ready for the Richmond NSRA show this year?
I've been trying to just finish prime and block. It will warm up for a day or so then back to the overnight 30's and 40's then to mid 50's for a high. Today, it will only be about 53 with rain - not a paint day. And I'm ready. Monday ---- maybe:D
Dave,
I'm going to give it a try. My interior won't be done, but I'm going to put this sucker on the ground and drive it around the block - probably next weekend. No windshield, no rear window . . . I guess i'll call it a pseudo-roadster.
I need to wait to July to license it to take advantage of the new VA replica title.
The breezes blowing thru your hair......Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rifle
I'll be looking forward to seeing a picture of it on the street. I might even make Richmond next year as we do have a daughter there.
I'm waiting for a new law in NY so I wont have to lie to register my car, but our wimp mixed party legislature will probably shelve it again.
A few small glitches - two seeping fuel leaks at the carb, a problem with the electric choke, and the trans pan leaks at the drain plug. Oh, and it's apparently manditory to drop the distributor in one tooth off - even with everything marked. It ran with one tooth off, but I obviously couldn't get enough advance. I moved it over one tooth, and it started instantly. Idles at about 750 - 800, and drops to about 600 in gear. It's pretty lopey. The cam is the full roll GM "Hot Cam" (218/228 @ 0.050, .525/.525, 112 LSA) with 1.6 Roller rockers.
Next weekend, it goes on the ground.
Kewl, now that you're all done straightening out Kyle's mess, you can come do some blocking on the Merc's!!!! I bet by now you are highly experienced at block sanding fiberglass!!!!!!!!!!!!:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: Sorry Jack, somebody had to say it......
Kewl, now that you're all done straightening out Kyle's mess, Oh, would that it were so. I still have the interior moldings . . .
If I never see another sanding block, it will be too soon.
Does this mean I shouldn't be expecting you for dinner on Monday?????Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rifle
Well, I fixed my "too low" problem. I pulled the too-weak, too-short shocks that Gibbon supplied and replaced them with some polished Aldans with chrome springs. They brought the front end up so that I now have 4-3/4" under the pan instead of 2-1/2". I lost some of the rake that I really liked, but I had to be able to drive the car without scraping the trans pan on every piece of pea gravel in the road.
I made a guess, and used 300# springs on the front shocks. I bolted them on, crossed my fingers, and dropped the weight on the axle. At rest, I have 1.5" of rebound and 2.7" of compression. Just about where it should be.
By dropping the drag link to the bottom of the Pittman arm, I kept that level with the tie rod. I do have a slight down angle on the Panhard rod, but I ran the numbers, and on an extreme bounce, I have less than 0.2" side-to-side movement. I'll lower the Panhard frame bracket if it becomes a problem.
I'd like to get a small bit of the rake back, but unfortunately, there's no more adjustment left to bring the front end down. The adjusters are all the way out. I expect I will get some settlement when I drive it a bit. I thought this might happen, but the next shorter shock was too short.
For those of you who missed the other thread with photos, here's the car outside just before I made the first drive around the block. This was before I raised the front.
I've got the dash ripped out so I can attach it without putting screws through the windshield channel like Gibbon suggested, so It won't be outside until a week from Friday or so. Then another trip around the block, and finish up the VIN/Title/Registration documentation.
That car looks awesome! I love the lines of the '34:)
looks killer henry................ hard to believe it's a gibbon. you got any fingerprints left.:D
The car looks terrific.:toocool: :toocool: but I have to agree the previous rake was a bit radical for road use. What would probably be desirable would be half the distance you lost, which would still have yielded a nice rake but with a little more clearance than the original.
I went from a steep rake to a little less steep rake by changing wheel and tire sizes. One of these days I would like to convert the from suspension from standard springs to either coil over or shockwaves. In either case I will have to re-visit the front end geometry issue, and that I am not looking forward to.
Since we are not all that far away I will be looking forward to seeing that beauty on the road in the mid-atlantic region one day soon. :3dSMILE:
Shine,Quote:
Originally Posted by shine
Funny you should bring that up. When I was just about finished with the painting, I had to go the pass office at NAVSTA Norfolk to get my electronic ID updated. Part of the verification is with an electronic fingerprint scan. They could not pick up a print from my right index finger. They just managed to pick up one from the left - after about a half-dozen tries.
I had to torque the electric choke open, but other than that, it ran just great. With the 3.73 gear and the 700/R4, a little throttle goes a long way.
I need to do some thinking about the brakes. They're not as solid as I would like. They're 4-wheel disk, with GM up front and Ford Explorer disks on the back. The master cylinder is a Corvette 4-wheel disk type - the same as I used on my model A. I bench bled the MC, and bled the wheel cylinders several times, but I still don't like the feel. Unfortunately, there's no room to add a power booster.
The new front shocks put the front up higher than I liked, but it rides very nicely. I drove a mile or so around the neighborhood, and didn't notice anything unusual other than the noise. A fiberglass car with no carpet, upholstery or sound deadening is like random noise with the amp turned up to 10. After that trip, I ordered sound deadening today. :toocool:
I prepped all the documentation for titling and registration, and am just waiting for 01 JUL to take advantage of the new VA replicar law. The windshield is next. Once that and the wiper are installed, I'm street legal. :)
Though the car is not as low in the front as it was originally, the stance looks really nice. :)
Thanks . . . and the added bonus is that I can drive it in and out of my driveway without carrying along a pair of planks.
like the yellow looks good man
A week ago, I left the car at the glass shop to have the windshield installed. I decided it was more than I wanted to mess with. So I dropped the car off, along with the windshield that Gibbon supplied.
What I found out:
- The windshield didn't fit. They had to cut a new one.
- The rubber molding was the wrong size, and wouldn't fit on the glass.
- The urethane was solid, the wrong type and unusable
- The butyl dam was the wrong size.
Final result:
- The entire windshield kit ($295.00) gets tossed on the junk pile. Oh, and this wasn't the glass guy blowing smoke. I've seen his work, and I pretty well expected that the stuff I had was junk.
New photos coming up this weekend. I should pick up the car this Friday.
Jack,Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rifle
You really have suffered with this car - and it looks really fantastic. I salute your patience !!!!:) :D
This is one of the most beautiful cars that I have seen on this site yet. I hope that one day I can get to the point where I can build a car also. Thanks for the great pictures.
Dave,
It's either patience or homicide . . .
jygirl,
Thanks, and hang in there. You can do it. All it takes is that quality called perserverence. We were all at that "wish" point one time in our lives.
One thing you DON'T want to do is trade ages and experience with me . . . at least the age part. :LOL:
Heck, if you wanted the windshield that actually fit the car, Kyle would have charged you a lot more!!!!! Sorry Jack, had to put this in there!!!!:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rifle
[QUOTE=Henry Rifle]Dave,
It's either patience or homicide . . .
jygirl,
Thanks, and hang in there. You can do it. All it takes is that quality called perserverence. We were all at that "wish" point one time in our lives.
One thing you DON'T want to do is trade ages and experience with me . . . at least the age part. :LOL:[/QUOTE
lol i am not as young as i hope i sound.
Your car looks great Jack. The ride height is now much more reasonable, especially in the pan area.
When I first started seeing you work on it I was very surprised to hear about your displeasure with Gibbon. All most of us know is what we see advertised in magazines, and I always thought Gibbon was a very high quality body. It is good that forums like this exist so guys like you who know first hand can give the straight scoop.
In any event, you turned out a really nice rod in spite of your problems along the way. :)
Don
Don,
The guy doing the glass was surprised too. He's an old time rodder. After I dropped of my car, he took me to a locked room in his shop. It had the classic black/white checkerboard tile floor, and two cars were sitting in there. One was a Cadillac XLR. The other was a very nice full-fendered '34 coupe with a Wescott body and real steel fenders & running boards.
He and his buddy knew of Gibbon's stuff from way back, and didn't really believe me until they started to fit the windshield. This afternoon, he told me that he believes me now.
I'm still waiting for DMV to come by and inspect my car, however, I had to move it outside to do a little bit of painting in the garage. I was tempted to put a little power to it, but my neighbors are a teeny bit conservative.
I have another Gibbon part to throw away. The Vega box on the "new" chassis was apparently used and worn out. Way too much slack in the steering. I have a new one in the garage.
Here's a short video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Z2wRVfths
It's alive..........ALIVE!!!!
:3dSMILE:
Great looking car Jack, like the video all of it, but it was to short. Hope you get to take longer trips next time LOL
Brad
I was contemplating leaving the hood totally off. The hood sides fit so badly, I threw them away. To attach the sides, Gibbon had totally FUBARed the support bars. Holes were drilled by hand, and were clean through when they should have been blind tapped. Whomever drilled the holes had one leg shorter than the other. All the holes were at an angle. On top of that, the aluminum bar stock looked like something taken off the rack at Home Depot.
Rather than throw away $380 in hinge hardware, I decided to try to save it. I filled all the unneeded holes with JB Weld. Then I painted the supports body color. I polished the latching mechanism and the stainless operating rods and pins. I think it will work out OK.
The last problem with the hood relates to the accuracy (HA!) of the body mold. The Soffseal hood lacing I got with the weatherstripping kit is way too thin to keep the rear of the hood flush with the body. The standard rope-style stuff is close, although I don't like the looks of it. If you're asking why I didn't do something about it until now, welcome to the club. I'm asking myself - except I wasn't going to try to build up the cowl. I've had enough grief with this body without going to that extreme. I think a thin shim laminated under the hood will do the trick. We'll see.
The second picture is the suicide door safety latch I decided to install. The bearclaw latches are great, but I just didn't need an airbrake on this car. They came from Carolina Customs, and work really well. They would have been much easier to install on a steel car, but luckily, the glass in the doors wasn't a foot thick.
The last picture shows what happens when you knock one of the aforesaid saftey latches off the kitchen counter onto a bare foot.
I'm still waiting for the DMV inspector . . . 42 Days and counting. I left a phone message for him last Wednesday, but he never called back. The governator assured me that I wouldn't have to sit for months waiting, but he's not many dates short of being a fibber. The good news is that they cashed my checks, and he apparently has the VIN and title in hand. He just needs to verify on-site.
Oh, and nevermind the headers. They're getting a ceramic coat this winter.
Looks like that piece is about a "foot" long. :LOL: :LOL:
Coupe looks great, and seems to move pretty spritely too. For all the misgivings you had about the body issues, it sure did come out nice.
Don
I FINALLY have a VIN! A DMV enforcement officer came by my house at 0515 this morning with a VIN plate. The time was his idea, not mine, but I'm up then anyhow, and was so glad to make progress that I would have done it at 0200.
The law says he has to attach it to the car. It's not fun to watch someone drill holes in your car, then drive rivets in witih a hammer - especially when he doesn't use a center punch or take care to hold the drill perpendicular to the door jamb. They use expanding rivets, so he had to bang the *#&$% out of them to get them to seat in a rather thick layer of fiberglass. It seemed to work out, though.
Unfortunately, the ENFORCEMENT OFFICER doesn't know the law. He told me it would be titled as a 2007. The law clearly says:We'll see.Quote:
The model year of vehicles constructed or assembled by multiple manufacturers or assemblers shall be the model year of which the vehicle is a replica.
Now that it's legal you can give it to me.
Brad