Projects Austin Somerset Gasser Build (DragNasty)

We were not planning on doing anything to the Austin today. We were just looking at the flip front end and thinking about the next step. It is already hinged but every time we have it up, we have the nose sitting on a couple of milk crates or what ever we can find. We are going tear something up!

It would be easy to fabricate some kind of strap but what happens if the wind blows and it slams back shut (that is crazy trouble for the doors)! Here was my answer.

I had a brand new pair of lift shocks that didn't work out on another project so we dug them out. When extended, they were 17" long and when fully compressed 11". The fun part would be finding an area of the nose that only moved 6" from close to open tilt. After looking at the area, I hoped to simply put the frame side bracket on the shock mount. Dad held the front end about where we wanted it when open and I measured from the shock mount to an area where we could mount the other end...17". Then we closed it and crossed our fingers. I took the closed measurement and holy cow, it was 11.5"...that never happens around here! I guess we are going to do some work after all!

So after looking at the areas we needed four "L" shaped brackets to mount the ball studs for the shock ends. To build the brackets I took some 1.5" wide bar stock. We marked the "L" bend area and scored it with the plasma cutter.


Then we put it in the vice and carefully put the 90 degree bend in it...


Then we welded the crap out of it....


Finally we ground the weld profile and drilled the hole to mount the ball stud for the shock ends. Now we have to do it three more times.


After fabricating the others, we tacked the mounts in place on both sides, screwed on the ball studs and popped the shocks on...


Then we released the hood to see if it stayed open on its own...


It works like a charm. The shocks actually assist in the lift which was a nice bonus and then when fully extended hold the front end in place until we want it to close!

 

Oh the Fed-X man was good to me today! Can't wait to get home and try it on!

 

Okay...thoughts?

 

Definitely looks better than the bogus "hat".

Roo

 

nice build

 

LOL! ...a little scoop humor!

 

You know this little last minute audible with the blower has a price tag that just keeps climbing. There is no question it was the right call for the car. But like everything else on this project it is like knocking down dominoes. I decided to order a special blower harmonic balancer from ATI (Super Damper). You already know about the whole cooling fan debacle and new Flex-A-Light pusher on the way.

And this afternoon we got down to the business of choosing pistons. Now I talked to several blower guys and the good folks at both JEGS and SUMMIT Racing. Here is what we decided. Since our new "Huffer" is currently geared for about 7 pounds of boost, we don't need blower pistons per say. They do need to be forged and of course we do have to address the compression situation but a good set of Sealed Power flat tops would be just find for this application. If we ever decided to turn the boost up to say 12 pounds or more...then blower pistons are a must. (I don't see that happening).

However a good set of Sealed Power was just about $200 cheaper than a great set from JE. So I opted to drop an extra $25 per cylinder and do it right. It sounds a lot better when you say it like that...

Now all that is left to do is pull the brand new set of 11.5 to 1 pistons out and swap in the new flat tops that if everyone has done the math right will be around 8.5 to 1.

 

Good choices on the scoop and pistons.

 

Has your engine been balanced, or are you planning to balance it when you have the engine apart for the piston change.

 

Yes, it was pro built by Greg McKinney from Eagle Machine in Buffalo, MO. In fact, it was completely ready to button up and scheduled to make 850 plus until the blower audible last month. According to JE their pistons kits are precision balanced but I will check and adjust if needed when we swap them out.

 

Good call.

 

If you are needing a good laugh, you have come to the right place. I have one for you. After we got the blower bolted on with the right scoop, the old girl looked so cool we couldn't resist hitting another car show. It was only about 5 miles from home so we loaded the Austin up early and shot down there. When I say "shot" that might be an over statement. Dad drove the Model "A" Pickup...which outside of the Kelsey Hayes, headers and dual 97s is an absolutely bone stock Ford...just like Henry built it. Suffice to say we clipped along at a scalding 40 mph!

But we had a blast. People seemed drawn to the little Gasser Project all day long. All of them with the same goofy smile and head shakes that I give her nearly every day!


I was planning to just show it as exhibition only (no judging) but when we went to get registered, I noticed they had a special class for "One of Kind!" So what the heck, its an extra $5 and a very good cause. ...and if ever there was a one of kind, you are looking at it!


Dad entered the truck in the Antique Class 1900 to 1934 and we had a blast. In the end, we both both got second place. Dad lost to a killer untouched '29 Model "A" Coupe survivor and I lost to this POS, boat trailer fender wearing, garden bench seat wielding, "trike for the people" ...salute to American Troops built with a German Drivetrain and a Japanese Motorcycle!


See I told you I could make you laugh!

 

....AND while we were at the show I had a very funny idea for the finishing touches. I have always planned on putting a Union Jack on the roof when the car is complete. A bunch of folks were hanging under our tent during the show talking car stuff. I mentioned the Flag on the roof and everyone thought that was cool. Then someone said you need "God Save the Queen" on the rear. Then another guy says "God Save the Trailer Queen" is more like it! That was so damn funny I had to photoshop it!


Of course the car will be black but you get the idea!

 

That is too funny

 

God Save The Trailer Queen!

 

A few more shots from the car show. Enjoy them as we are just about to blow this thing apart and start doing it for real now. It maybe a while before she is standing on her own again!






Pause a bit for the torrential downpour...gasp!


Then back to the show...nothing a little ScotchBrite pad won't fix...LOL...




A great day!

 

A LITTLE BLOWER EDUCATION and SOME DUMB LUCK! This weekend at the car show an engine builder friend stopped by to check out the Austin. We started talking about the new "Huffer" etc. and then I mentioned I was about to order a set of JE Pistons for it and he asked "Why?" Of course I gave the standard answer about getting the compression down to 8 or so to one. Then he added, I thought you were running E85? I am, I confirmed.

Then he asked what was the compression ratio and I said I was thinking 11.5 to 1. He said running E85 I could go as high as 12.5 to one and still be alright. This shocked me. Today I called the good folks at JEGS and got a killer tech guy that was a blower specialist. He confirmed my friend was correct. He said he would rather see 10.5 to 1 but my set up would definitely be fine for anything under 10 pounds of boost. But there was another problem (remember I like to play with dominoes) ...the cam shaft.

If I wanted to drive it hard (and I do) I would need at least 110 degrees of lobe separation. I had ordered as big a cam as possible for a flat tappet motor..."A THUMPER." The expert at JEGS said that will be a problem as most of the Thumpers are around 106 degrees. So I called my engine builder to find out exactly what he put in the 454.

Here comes the dumb luck! He says when I ordered this motor he was really worried about the whole upper end Flat Tappet motor and to keep me from tearing things up on a regular basis he cheated a bit. He went with 10.5 to 1 forged pistons. Then as we talked about in an earlier post, I decided to change the valve train and cam to roller. I still have the new roller cam in the box so I went out to see what it was...110 degrees!!! My engine builder confirmed over a year ago, before I decided on the fuel or huffer, I built a nearly perfect E85 Blower motor!

 

see, you did it right without even knowing good karma!

 

I would rather be lucky than good any day! Well most days...

 

Well after showing the Austin off in its Frankenstein State at a couple of local car shows, we decided Monday it was time to get back at it. We blew the whole car apart yesterday to get serious about the finish build.


When I say serious, I mean it! LOL. Nose off, Body off, Engine out, check out the new surface rust on the my clean chassis. Rust thanks to the flash rain storm at the last car show (price of vanity I suppose). This is actually the first time we have seen the rolling chassis on it own. If you remember, we slid it back under the body way early when we were installing the front suspension and it has been there ever since.

We have several issues that have surfaced since this little number was slid under the body a year ago. The first is the spring shackles. If you look at them in the above photo, the are just about perfect but remember all the weight is off right now. After everything was installed and it was sitting on its own, they were basically all the way back and nearly touching the frame. We marked the chassis before blowing it apart so we can preposition them.


Also it is hard to see but there is a tire clearance issue just in front of the tires. The corner of the chassis in that area only gives about .5" clearance. If the slicks grow a bit that would get ugly fast. That area was planed for some additional strengthening anyway so not such a bad thing.


Chassis striped and flipped and starting all the final welding and grinding etc.

 

Well we finished strengthening the chassis in several places especially where the quarter elliptic leaf springs mount. We also moved the front spring shackle mounts back an inch as planned and made changes to allow for more tire clearance in the rear. All of that is coming up in as soon as I get the photos organized.

But in the mean time, some exciting news today. I checked the last four parts off a list that a year and a half ago was more than two pages long! Yesterday I finally received the windscreen and rear glass rubber from Kent Auto Trim across the pond (check). I also received the starter, alternator and alternator mounting bracket system from JEGS. (check, check, check)

I thought long and hard about the starter. I splurged for an MSD on the Model "A" build and I really liked it. So when I found the Pro Mag which gave an extra 25% cranking speed for blown alcohol engines I decided to take the plunge again.


For the Alternator I went with 125 AMP single wire GM mini plus a cool lower mount bracket system.

Below...Do you see that roll bar tube stub sticking up right under the new alternator? Well that is (WAS) the mounting point for the roll cage that ended in the engine compartment. It was installed 8 months ago, long before the blower audible etc. We are going to have to move it forward (probably a good idea anyway) and re-fabricate both roll bar pieces.

 

Dueced Up, Remarkable transformation, of an ugly duckling, into a mean 60's machine. Thanks for sharing. So damn cool!!!
JT

 

Thank you. It has been fun...and about to get really fun!

 

I had a long talk with Carl from Powertrain Industries in Springfield, MO. If you need a custom drive shaft, he is the man. This is my 5th one from them and they always give me the shaft! Sorry couldn't resist. They are awesome! So here is the deal. Doug Nash 5 speed (with Chrysler Splines) to Ford 9" and only 34" to make the drop from the lofty Gasser style engine mounting. We have been planning this all along but Sunday we finally built the solid rear mount for the tranny so now it is set in stone (or steel).

As instructed we kept the down angle of the trans as close as possible to the up angle of the rearend. With the tranny officially 7" higher than the rearend, the same angle is crucial. When the welding sparks died down and the bolts were applied we were 10.1 degrees down on the trans and 10.7 degrees up on the rear. We could always adjust the rear a bit later if we want but I have to think .6 degrees is close enough for this shop...at least to get the measurements etc.

I dropped the measurements off at Powertrain Tuesday afternoon and they had the drive shaft complete the next day.


How about that nasty looking frame. Saturday afternoon I was in Lowes and they had Krylon Rubberized under coating on sale for $2.99 per can. I thought that might be just the ticket to finish off the frame since it was ready for paint. It was still wet to the touch Wednesday evening! So I started wiping it off. What a pain in the @%#&!

However, after sitting around the last few days watching paint dry (LITERALLY) we have decided to put a mid plate style mount on the bell housing.

 

Oh and the headers (see the photo from the last entry) just left for Performance Coatings Plus in Joplin. I am going with white ceramic coat. This is the second set they have done for me. They also do a great job at a really good price. I am looking forward to getting them back. I think white headers will be a cool finishing "Old School Gasser" touch for the engine compartment.

 

So back to the chassis strengthening. As I said before there were two concerns at the rear. One, clearance at the frame corner area for the tires and two, strengthening the spring mounting points. The photo below is of the chassis exactly the way we finished it last year before sliding it under the body.

So step one was (so as to keep the frame in square) take the plasma cutter and cut a hole on the inside of the original frame rails just in front of the heavy duty corner addition. We cut the hole just large enough do drive another rectangular steel piece inside.

Then we cut an identical piece of heavy duty rectangular steel, slid it in place and then welded the living daylights out of it any where it touched another piece of steel. The red line shows the area we plan to remove after it was all solid again to give us more tire space.

After we cut out the area out, we took .25" steel plate and boxed it in. This not only really cleaned up the area but gave it the strength it was missing from the original mock up
But this little custom cut baby is the "piece de resistance" as they say. It is .25" thick cap for the inside that not only ties the inside corner frame together but also attaches to the spring mount area.

Here it is clamped in place ready for welding. Also note the 1.5" square tubbing running from this corner all the way up to the center of the factory "X" member.
After it was welded in place that little plate really finished the chassis and rear suspension. Nothing back there is going anywhere!

After adding a couple of filler pieces (strictly for aesthetics) and doing a bit of finish grinding here is the new and improved chassis corner and rear suspension mount.

 

Wheels up soon LOL.

 

I don't see how it can keep from it!

 

After struggling now for the second time to get the body off the chassis Dad came up with this killer idea. He saw something similar for sale in a magazine: an add on to a lift, cost $625. We spent $75 at Lowes and erected this contraption. It will be very versatile as the cross members are moveable. The idea: lift a car, use the cross sections to secure the body in place, unbolt the body and lower the chassis down. Then if needed, raise the lift back up and get the body etc. Same in reverse when re-installing it.

 

If you are going to add a mid plate at the motor/bellhousing point you need to lose the bolted in trans mount and replace it with some sort of saddle mount that will let the transmission float when the frame flexes (which it will, even with the cage to stiffen it). A soft (OEM style) trans mount may let you get away with the bolted in scenario but mounting the engine and trans at three points is usually not a good idea. I recently had to rework a full tube frame Bantam altered that had torn the transmission mount tabs off the cross member due to three point (front plate, mid plate, trans) mounting.

Roo