Projects Austin Somerset Gasser Build (DragNasty)

Really? I had not thought about that scenario. Do you have a recommendation or preference between mid mount or rear mount on the trans?

 

I would put the mid plate in (it puts the torque of the motor into the frame where the block is strongest) and then put a factory style rubber mount on the trans and let it sit on a flat plate but not bolt it down. People forget that in the standard configuration the motor/trans package usually mounts from the sides of the block and the rear of the transmission so it "floats" between those points. If the transmission is strong enough to do that surely it can hang off the bellhousing without a rear mount.

Roo

 

Okay after some good advice from fellow HAMBers and checking out a few other chassis building forums, we set out this morning to lock down the transmission mounting points etc. We wanted to do a mid mount system but we are very limited on space (as always with the AUSTIN) on the driver's side to clear the pedals and steering rod. So after studying the situation for a bit we decided the mid mount would have to come from the bottom to clear everything. First we needed to sure up the frame in the area of the mounts. So we made this plate.

The plate fits on top just before the "X" member ends up front. We wanted to span that area to cover both frame pieces so we made some cool cuts that let us tap it in place with plenty of welding surfaces for strength.

The driver's side fit like a glove so we simply duplicated the system for the other side...HOWEVER we just sat them in place while we started fabricating the up arm of the driver's side mount. The plan is get all the pieces cut, fitted and screwed together on both sides before any welding. The transmission is exactly where it needs to be (driveshaft angle wise) and we do not want it to move.

After several poster board cutting edits we finally had a pattern that followed the lower contour of the heavy duty scatter shield. It hit three bolts and also snugged itself up under the side flange of the bell housing.

We took the plasma cutter and whipped out the arm. Then we clamped it place and marked it for the holes. However after looking at it we decided why not duplicate the arm and put one on both sides of the bell housing lip. So we traced and cut a second identical arm.

See below the two arms bolted in place to the bell housing with exact amount of space between the arms and the mounting plate for a base plate.

We cut the base plate out of the same material and gave it a rough recess that will allow it to slide deeper on the arms for a stronger weld point. We put it place and marked it for the holes and them pre-drilled them.

We put it back in place and then marked the bolt holes through it onto the mounting plate, then pre-drilled them. We duplicated the process onto the "X" member frame rail and then drilled them as well. Now we have everything in place and bolted together. All we have to do is tack it and then pull apart and weld solid.

Everything is now welded and ready to bolt back together. This system will be a strong mid mount but remove the two bolts in the plate and the mount will leave with the transmission. It will all be put together with grade 8 bolts. We duplicated the process on the other side (which because the shape of the bell housing for the starter) was completely different but exact same process. Up next we installed a Neoprene Rear mount so the tail shaft has some movement opportunity if it needs it.

 

Keep up the good work mate. Can't wait to see it done!

 

Thank you.

 

So I decided to take a few days off work and spend some quality time with the Austin. We had blown it all apart, did some finish welding on the frame and then set about painting all the pieces to go back on for what we hope is the last time.

The front end was painted, lubed, and reassembled including the calipers.


The backside received the same treatment. We toyed around with several different color ideas but ended up spraying the ladder bars red. They looked so good that we decided to spread it around a bit more out back including the springs on the coil overs and center section.

The red was sort of an accident. I had bought some really nice Duplicolor ceramic red for the scatter shield bell housing and it went on so nice and looked so good it sort of grew on me. Besides, now the rear will match the red Q/A1 Shocks up front.

 

We also swapped out the cam (finally) getting the new roller in there. Then we taped it all off to paint. AND NO...it is not going to be red! Black is the plan. We had a little extra work masking it off since we trashed the original oil pan and valve covers (dumb). But on the brighter side of things, check out Dad's idea for covering the exhaust ports...cheap manifold gaskets with the holes taped up (smart).

 

So after we painted the engine block and heads, it was time to start assembling it for real. We pulled the heads and removed the standard head gaskets that had just been laying there through construction. I called JEGS to see what kind of head gaskets they recommended for my application.

Cometic was the answer (MLS) multi layer stainless steel coated with Viton. For you blower guys you know how much they cost, the rest of you (like me) better sit down. JEGS said they were $112.00. That was more than I expected but just another expense for running a blower I guess. Then they added one small word that really knocked me over....EACH!

 

By the way, I made a new friend Thursday as well. So where do you get a set of high dollar Cometic gaskets when the mail order guys say they are back ordered. I called my local performance shop but they were in the same boat as me (not something he keeps in stock). However he said he might know someone that had a set. Sure enough, Motor Machine Shop on Commercial Street in Springfield, MO did have a pair. They even stayed around after closing so I could get my hands on them and the heads installed that night. We talked about the HAMB and the HAMB Drags. If you are in the Springfield area and need machine work they have been doing it for 4o years! Thanks guys.

 

So we popped the new gaskets on and dropped the heads in place. We are using ARP head bolts and they say 70 ft/lbs of torque for both long and short bolts in three equal pulls on the recomended GM sequence.

I love the age of technology. We just opened the above diagram on my smart phone and sat it in the valley area for reference and torqued away. Remember since the head bolts run through the water jackets you should use a good thread sealer on them. Also ARP supplies the kit with a special lubricant for the heads and washers. This makes sure you are getting all the torque to the head.

 

Three coats of Duplicolor Satin Black ceramic engine paint and we are ready to start assembling it for good. ATI Super Dampner went on with a little help from an O'Reilly Auto Parts harmonic balancer installation kit from their free rental tool program. Then we were off to the races. A Melling high performance oil pump went on and we wrapped up the bottom end for good. Finally we popped the PRW high volume water pump back in place (with gaskets this time) LOL!

And...while the engine paint was drying we got the wheels and tires back on so the Chassis is rolling again!

 

So back to the top end of the motor. After the heads were torqued down it was time to think about the valve train. All the pieces are here, roller lifters and rockers but the big question is push rods. To make sure we are getting maximum horse power (meaning the valves are both opening and closing fully etc.) we will have to measure the pushrod length. To do that you need a very special tool.

This is an adjustable pushrod tool. It will adjust from just over 8.75" long down to around 7.5". The original 454 push rods were 9.25" Exhaust and 8.28" Intake. It is obvious we will need shorter rods with roller system as just by eye alone, the lifters appears to be about .5" taller and of course the rocker arms are much thicker. So to start with we took some high quality break in oil...

Filled a plastic container that was deep enough to submerge a set of the hydraulic roller lifters...

Then we put them in and pumped them up by hand. This is important as it would effect push rod length if we measured and they were not pumped up. We dropped them in place followed by the adjustable push rod tool. My thought was for the exhaust to give 8.5" a try just to see if it was in the neighborhood.

Before installing the rocker, we took a black Sharpie and colored the button. This will allow us to turn the motor over by hand and then remove the rocker and see exactly where it contacted the button. For maximum efficiency, we are aiming for line right down the middle. If it is off center in either direction, the push rod is either too short or too long accordingly.

We installed the rocker (basically zero lash) and turned the motor by hand a couple times.

Just a quick note, make sure if you are using a roller rocker arm it is installed correctly. The center piece that takes the rocker stud is free rotating and has two sides, a curved side and a flat one. The flat one has to be pointed up...

So we made the first turn at 8.5" and it was just a bit above center. We made a couple of turns on the adjustable push rod and tried it again. We hit it dead center on the second try...
We removed the push rod tool and crudely measured it with a tape. It was around 8 and 9/16 maybe just a bit longer. I figured it to be around 8.6" ish. I checked online with JEGS on the size of their 454 pushrod kits for Retro-Fit Hydraulic Roller Cam and the exhaust was 8.68" Bingo...we are good to go! We did double check the intake side as well and "OUR" measurements were nearly dead on with JEGS again. So we have push rods on the way.

 

While we waited on the push rod kit to arrive, we cleaned up the Doug Nash 5 speed. We took a wire brush to the case but painted the magnesium tail shaft. We also installed the McCloed bolt on hydraulic throw out bearing.

 

Funny little fact sheet sent to me by a fellow HAMBer...
1. Original Car was just under 50 horse power - nearly half of one cylinder on DragNasty
2. Top Speed on Original was 70 mph
3. Zero to 60 on Original was around 28 seconds
4. Quarter Mile Time on Original was 24 seconds (if I did my math correctly that means if you kept your foot in the old Somerset, you hit 60 miles and hour about 350 to 400 feet PAST the finish line!) God only knows how much further for the full top speed.
"GO MAN GO!" lol

 

The push rods came in so we are finally ready to wrap up the top end. They are one-piece Comp Cam Magnum 3/8" push rods made of C1020 high-carbon, .080 in. wall Chromoly steel and are heat-treated for use with guide plate. Now that is a mouth full of high tech descriptive words from Summit Racing; but the few that mean the most to me are 3/8 and guide plate. Do you really have to ask? ...knowing how I love to play with dominoes?! My heads have 5/16 guide plates. So they will have to wait, a new set of 3/8" Guides are on the way.

While I was stomping around throwing wrenches and muttering to myself I decided to install the lower two groove drive pulley that came with the lower blower drive kit. I dug it out and it was a really nice billet aluminum piece. As you can see it was about to be matched with a very nice chrome steel water pump pulley (above) - (left over from pre-Huffer audible). Nothing wrong with it but aesthetically speaking not a good look. So I upgraded this week:

Guide plates will be here Friday so hopefully we can wrap up the engine this weekend and maybe even get all the McCloed stuff and Doug Nash bolted on!

 

Now we are talking...ready to wrap up the top end thanks to Comp Cams and the FedX man!

 

Here's an update for you! Check out my Avatar text. That's right baby, ALLIANCE MEMBER!

 

So we nearly stayed home from a car show today to work on the Austin but decided to blow it off and go to the show. Good thing too! After we got back and the sun went down I decided to go out to the shop and put the top end of the engine together. I installed the new 3/8" Guide plates and torqued them down. Lubed up the roller lifters and dropped them into place and then opened the brand new box of push rods from Comp Cams....

There they are...13 long ones and 3 short ones. Does Comp Cams know something I don't know about GEN IV 454s?!! Like I said...good thing we went to the car show this morning!

 

Whoops!

 

Awesome build this thing is gonna rip.

 

Thank you.

 

It was a pretty rough weekend for Gasser progress. You already know about the push rods but I also tried to pick up the headers from the ceramic coating place. From day one, when I see this thing in my brain, it has had white headers. I could have just painted them but I opted for White Ceramic coat. BAD IDEA!

I was told white ceramic is the worst of all the coatings. It is very thin, almost like water. It is very hard to do and after seeing the finished product I would have to agree. They looked like a 2nd grader tried to shoot them with a cheap can of Wal-Mart spray paint. There were runs all over them, it was very translucent in some places and heavy coverage in others. Simply not going to work!

They said they try to talk anyone that wants white out of it. They did try with me as well, but no one said they would look like total crap. They said it was a thinner application, they said it was hard to do, they said they would turn a bit yellow with hot but then back to white, they said the owner hated white... They tried very hard that day to convince me not to do it but they forgot to tell me the most compelling reason THEY WILL LOOK LIKE CRAP! There is a huge difference from my side of the counter between the owner doesn't like to do and they will look like crap!

They offered to re-do them in chrome ceramic so for now I guess that will have to do. Honestly though, I will probably get them back home and spray them white myself!

 

So here is the final on the headers. I thought all morning about it and I am sorry, but they have to be white. I checked on several other forums including asking the HAMBers as well and came to the conclusion if I have them coated, I will probably have to have them bead blasted to get through the top glaze. SO. I called the coaters and found they had just blasted the white off and all they had to do was a quick sanding and then they were ready to start putting the chrome ceramic on. I had them stop right there. I am going to have them picked up in the morning and then I will do the sanding and shoot them with some white VHT header paint... They will still be ceramic coated on the inside.

 

Really tough week on the Austin build (as you have read). I did get a new FULL set of push rods back from Comp Cams. I got my headers back from Performance Coatings in Joplin. The have had the nasty attempt at white ceramic blasted off and ready for me to paint. I am going to barely give them a passing grade on customer service. They are going to take half off the ceramic coating job but only after I called and inquired about it. I would have preferred a call on their part with out the push from me to do the right thing.

As far as the product the only thing I can comment on is the failed attempt at white ceramic coating and its letter grade was way down about halfway through the alphabet. I am going to sand them down a bit tonight and shoot the white VHT.


I also picked up a set of plugs. I have been studying what plug to use for a while and talking with lots of blower guys etc. I narrowed it down to NGK or Autolite. The blower guys said to start around two levels down from normal on the heat rating (With NGK the colder the plug the higher the last number). We are going to start right here and see how she runs. I can go one step colder if needed but from everything I have learned over the past month or so about blower motors, I think these will be just about right.

 

You ever start something and wonder why in the world you didn't wait for a better time. I was so excited to get the headers white that after I got them back from the "coaters" we sat down and started sanding (light sanding my ass).


Anyway by the time we got them prepped for paint it was getting pretty dark. By the time I shot the first light coat on both it was dark. I went in and grabbed a halogen work light and brought it outside but the bulb was burned out. Same for the other two lights hanging on the wall. But the process was started, three coats, two light followed by a heavy one all about 10 minutes apart or with an 1 hour. So I basically painted them in the dark (just the light from the garage shinning out on them. Not bad. I may have to hit a couple of runs. Maybe scuff them a bit and do a real final coat in the light of day. But they are white and that is what I wanted!

 

Like a kid on Christmas morning gluing his brand new model kit together under the Christmas tree lights.

 

You hit it right on the head my friend. But you have no idea...LOL! Here is what the Austin looks like this morning:


A COUPLE of crazy kids took the wheels and tires off and left if sitting on jack stands. We were taking Dad's very "traditional rod" to the inaugural Ozark's Hot Rod Reunion which also had a Show and Shine on Saturday. It was a great vintage event (there is a picture heavy thread on the HAMB - http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/ozarks-hot-rod-reunion-pics.981360/). Anyway, we were getting his car ready and decided since it was a drag race and since the show and shine guys got a couple of fun passes, the Rod needed something:


After a VERY short conversation about whether or not the they would fit, the Austin chassis was on stands again and Dad's Rod was wearing her shoes! We had a blast! Dad is still smiling and I am worried I may not get my slicks back, LOL!

 

"Took the header plugs off, eh? ...Expectin' some action?"

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10206263417643237

 

LOL he hazzed those big meats pretty easily. Great day having fun with your pops.