Projects rebuilding after the crash

I don't sleep in it, but I wear it quite a bit. It's just right for the cool AZ mountain winters.

 

Love this build thread and loved seeing the car being thrashed at the meltdown last year. You've made amazing progress in a short time considering the innovative and crazy shit uv got going on. Also being a longtime mopar guy it's a good read and good to hear some of the names uv got on the rebuild team. As far as finish im sure u could give 2 shits about my(or anyone elses) opinion but i think losing the taillights for something more subtle(small teardrop, 39 ford, 35 pontiac, ect) would be a good look. I also love the pic with the rear mocked up with the blackwall tires and it looks so bitchen compared to the whitewalls. Love the green color and im sure whatever u decide the car will be killer. Hope to see it wheels up at the meltdown this year. Also if u have tracked down any pics for my thread on the jayhawker could you post some up when u get some free time. Thanks. Jose

 

Something about that looks bad ass. Like this fuel coupe means business.

 

I do have pics but they are all from the time chett was driving it. if you want I can post a few. frank spittle is on the hamb. he would be a good guy to contact. he put on the super stock reunions. the jay hawker was at Norwalk and Richmond. he should have some pics. he used the car on the cover of a program I believe. my 64 ply. is also in the pic. race car artist joel naprestek is another guy to contact. he might have old photos. he is a great resource for all things a/fx and ss. the tail lights look better at night they look like rockets. thanks for your interest in the build.

 

Cripes
Those rear Americans are some of the rarest race wheels ever made, and one of my favorites.
Makes me want to head to the bakery every time I see them.
That chassis (and car) will be the cream of the class.

 

What do you think about the new wheels? Just kidding i couldnt resist when i saw them come into the shop.

 

In the wheel pick the new axle can be seen. Wow this axle is light. I could have a sword fight with it. The air valve got welded. Now its off to the polisher. John got most of one shock mount done. He had a family emergencey to deal with. There is one more support that needs to be welded in place. I got the body out of there again to be dropped off friday at the body shop. Busy busy

 

Looks Great as usual, except for the Wheel LOL. Gary

 

Actually, that Wheel Picture made me throw up in my mouth a little bit...

 

Is that a tire on that wheel, or a rubber band.

 

Hi Racerx.Looks like you guys have been busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

I have been holding off dealing with the grille. These old mopar parts are so rare that any decisions made need to realy be thought out. I cant call speedway and get another if i mess up. I have said before i want to keep as many of the unique features this chrysler came with if possible. A fiberglass model T grille wont work for me. The lower section of the grille is junk. The insert is beyond saving. So i made the hard decision to cut the bottom off for several reasons. I want a grille on the car. i don't want to cut up a good original. i want a grille that looks right for this build. The fuel coupes back in the day used cut down shells. The uncut grille i think would look out of place as it is very tall and would look miss proportioned. Im not putting the radiator up front its going in the trunk. Im thinking with the insert out and a moon tank taking its place it should look good. with the moon tank up front it should get plenty of air to cool the recirculating nitro when I'm street driving on gas. as the fuel goes around in a loop it will generate heat

 

Yea! Do the cut down and MOON tank, perfect fuel coupe look! I am looking forward to details of the rad. in the trunk deal.

 

when i was at the pri show i made a point to talk to the guys at meisner water pumps. i was able to go over my needs with the owner of the company. a while back bob at hot heads sent me detailed photos of his 32 that runs the radiator in the trunk. i was able show them the photos and go over the details. the radiator will be mounted on a slight angle to make it fit. it will be attached to the roll cage. the motor plates will be tapped for fittings at the stock location where the water pump used to be. lines will be run back to the radiator in a y-fasion. the other line will come from the head with the thermostat. it already ran a cross over head to head. the pump is strong enough to move the water safely. its a serious pump. the trunk floor will have a air scoop to let air in the trunk from below the car. my trunk lid was already louvered so today i was cutting out the inner panel to make it functional. a large electric fan does the rest. bob has been using a similar set up successfully for years. i think a added bonus of the cut down grille will make the engine look bigger. it should have the correct look when its done. i hope. i think there will be a lot of guys scratching their heads over the dual ignition, dual fuel system and no radiator up front. i thought about getting a flex fuel emblem off a new car and putting it some where as a joke.

 

Sounds like a plan, especially the flexFuel emblem Rad in trunk might be a pain to get the air out in the system but it will work.

 

Those grilles are beautiful. You are giving incredible thought to this...definitely a go fast safely and keeping a vintage look hotrod has its challenges and you are meeting them in style. So much to know and do. Thanks for sharing the journey again.

 

The trunk is mostly done. The inner skin i put on years ago is gone. Originally i think it had wood bows with the sheet metal nailed to it. That old wood was rotted away. I had made angle iron bows using a stretching machine. The orange strips are all that remains of the skin. I welded it to the angle iron bows to help give the trunk mounts some support. i put all of those louvers in with the help of dennis rolane. the r from r and b chassis in kenosha wi. they were a very early chassis shop that became very famous. due to dennis advanced diabetes he couldn't run the louver press. so on a christmas eve i went down to the shop and under his direction i punched the louvers. It sure is light now. It will go to the paint shop this week

 

I sure don't envy the poor bodyman that has to sand with all those lovers on there.

 

they complained the first time they had to do it. the pinstriper wasn't all that exited either. I don't see what the big deal is there are only 168 louvers in the lid. that's why I don't do body work.

 

Theres not alot to take pictures of tonight. But dont think there is not alot going on. The air valve was welded on. That created a mess with the pollished casting. That made a trip to see mike the pollisher neccesary. Mike did it monday while i waited. Now it looks like it was cast there. The axle is moving forward. The fixtures were made to support it. Its ready to go in the mill.The trailer hitches pieces are all fabbed. They just need to be welded. The rods are being sent back tomorro after being resized. The rear shock mounts are done. Im on my way over to andy boehls shop. He just bought out vern moats operation. He has fire bottles and a three way shut valve for me. Like i said not alot to look at but alot is going on. I ran across the pic of the car last night i thought it looked cool.We were pulling a all nighter getting ready for the march meet a few years back.

 

Fed ex dropped off the rods this morning. This gave me some thing to do. Time to put some parts together. I sent the rods back to grp for resizing. When the engine was taken apart the big and small ends were checked with a bore gauge. It was found that a few were .0015 out of round. This is a common reading after a years service. The bores get pinched smaller. Grp offers to its customers free resizing. The brass pin that holds the bearing from spinning needs to be removed first. They are drilled then tapped. A bolt is screwed in. When the bolt hits bottom it drives the pin out. The rod is honed back to size. New pins are pressed in. The small end is then honed. Now the rods are good for another season. The part next to the rod bolts to the cam. This drives the fuel pump and mag with a hex shaft. The aluminium spacer is unique to the early hemis. There is a bolt under the spud that holds it to the cam. late moel hemis and wedges don't use this. this part is available through hot heads. It will work perfect with the hot heads front cover. Theres nothing secret here just ordinary blown fuel parts. I thought i would include a few pics on the inner workings of the engine for those who have not seen this stuff before. This morning i also got the drive shafts front yoke changed over to the the lenco specific yoke. I will check the fit soon. most likely it will need to be cut down.

 

I saw your buddies 55 on the top cover of one of the magazines when I was in Books a Million yesterday

 

Thanks i will pass on the info to him. He has a great car worthy of some ink.

 

Jim has been very busy this week working on the front axle. At the start of this rebuild i decided to go with spindle mount wheels. This decision has created a big domino effect. First there was a lot to do so i could have front brakes. Spindles needed to be purchased that were made for the racing the car will see. I was unable to find a axle that is made for anglia spindles. I was fortunate to find a raw super bell forged aluminium axle. Now in true hot rod fashion we are making it all fit. Jim has been on the phone a few times with jerry at super bell. They went over all the dimentions. Jim made fixtures to hold the axle in the mill. The holes for the bat wings were machined first. Those holes were then used to help hold the axle for the king pin holes. A inclenometer ( im sure i butchered that spelling) was used that reads to the second for the right angle. The axle will flex some and that was figured into the final angle. The hole for the king pin is off center .080 for steering clearence. Once all the holes are drilled the axle will be flipped over for the machining on the botton. It took alot of time to make the fixtures and set up everything. Im ok with that because we only get one chance. Once again the harder road was taken but in the end i think it will be worth it. lightening holes will be added to make the axle stronger. when all the machining is done the axle will go visit mike the polisher. the axle needs to be mounted by either a four bar or hair pins. i chose pete and jakes chrome hair pins for that early fuel coupe look.

 

I really am learning a lot from this thread. A couple questions are how does adding lightening holes make the axel stronger? And are you giving up any performance on the track with the authentic front end over something more modern? I drive a solid axle truck daily, so I'm not an ifs only guy, I just don't know if a modern drag front end in a prostock style car would translate into lower ets or if it was negligible

 

It's interesting to see all of the tech involved in this build. And I like the look of hairpins.

 

good question. i figured i would get some interest in my axle selection. the super bell is a cold forged aluminum axle. its not cast. the material is the same used on the corvette and viper suspension components. the material is of the highest quality. the axles were subjected to testing and showed to have more strength than the stock iron axle. their testing also showed with one inch holes the axle could hold more load than the undrilled axle. i asked jim about this. jim has multiple engineering degrees. he agreed if done correctly the load is transferred from one drilled section to the other. he says that way the load is spread out evenly. about my front end selections. I'm trying to blend the traditional look of a old fuel coupe with some modern technology. the hair pins fit the old look to a T. if i wanted the ultimate modern front end i would have used a- arms and struts. doing the struts would have upset the balance of old and new parts. it would have looked horrible on a non fendered car. ford did use aluminum axles in their big trucks in the seventies with no problem. super bell has a section on their web site about the testing that was performed. its impressive reading. thanks for everyones interest.

 

That's pretty cool info! It's a trip to see old photos and know that this little hot rod turned into a rocket ship! Very neat and the photos of the front axle getting set are pretty cool as well, guys at oete and jakes are always helpful

 

Thank you. That's interesting about the holes aiding in load distribution. I am really happy that you aren't using a strut front on your car aesthetically.

My personal drag race driving experience is minimal and amateur. Though I love watching short wheelbase fuel cars getting down the track.
I am impressed with all of the effort and knowledge that you are putting in both with your rebuild and your explanations. I am curious how much effect the front suspension has to handling under hard acceleration as it seems to me that the rear end setup to equalize loading was much more critical to driver control.