Projects I destroyed a nice old car, help me fix it

might be a little late in the conversation,
But I've found if I make a bunch of small welds, hammer weld, then blow with air to cool.
I used water for years, but started using air and not as messy..
I like it much better, might not be correct, but it works fer me..

 

GERM Has to be Back?!

 

Are you using a megasquirt or going more scratch built than that?

 

last two post:::????????

 

WTF?

 

Certainly what you are now into can be done. Don't get frustrated, this is a learning experience that will make your accomplishments better.
I am currently doing a similar conversion on a Malibu Wagon into a one of a kind 2 door style Nomad. I usually start my builds with a vision and a plan. This can include some drawing, building a toy model or searching for ideas and sometimes looking what others had done on similar type builds. Extra parts or even a donor car can be very helpful and make your conversion less frustrating.
I cut up an ElCamino body to get the longer doors, B-pillars and quarter sections I needed for my Wagon. I am fabricating a rear window frame out of some 38 Ford door tops that will complete my Nomad style 2 piece tailgate. I also re-designed my side windows into a Nomad style slider that will accept modified factory stainless trim.
Like my Avitar 56 Chevy ElCamino build, the plan was my vision of what I thought an ElCamino might look like if they made one in 1956. It is a great complement when someone tells me "it looks factory". The current plan for the Nomad Wagon conversion is going in a similar direction.
I like your vision. Keep at it, take your time, build it safe and do it the way you want it to look.

 

It sounds like you are getting a crash course in the need for project planning. Most engineering schools are pretty much useless in that. So here you encounter requirement numero uno, what is your top level goal. A 1/4 mile car, street cruiser, show car or autocrosser each have different requirements, and only some things will overlap. Next, you need to write down (if it isn't on paper, it doesn't exist) how you want to get to your goal. Drawings, parts lists, and schedule. If you are doing this professionally, there is more. (but that is MBA territory, you aren't there yet) All of these items can and should evolve as you move through the project. Notice that I did not say PROGRESS through the project. Usually they change when you are stuck or going backwards. Third, you want to try to stay focused, which means sticking to your plan. Having your buds in the shop is like trying to swim with a boat anchor. And my final word is to remember that you are not going to make the ultimate vehicle on your first effort. You need to keep your personal expectations within reason. When you have better tools, better skills, and better experience, it will all fall into place. So figure it out, ask good questions and make something.

 

Why not just buy a 2 door Rambler, they certainly aren't in demand and probably not all that expensive as opposed to buying all the necessary tools to convert yours. Look at all the extra parts you will have left over then as well to keep it running for a long time to come. You can even use the front fender you've already painted!

 

Keep on it and use this car to fine tune your skills. Finish it and make sure it's roadworthy. Then keep it and enjoy it, or sell it to fund your next project.

 

Look up Brootal member on this site and then check out his 67 American on his website.

 

Well, I've seen a lot worse, and I personally would never attempt anything like that. Finish the driver side before doing anything about the passenger side; like someone else already said, have the only 3 door Rambler out there. There's a 55 Chevrolet done that way that looks really nice. Besides, Rambler, AKA, AMC did some odd things toward the end. The Pacer had two different length doors for instance, and the Matador looked like something found in the alley of an abortion clinic. From your photos, it looks like you're OK to me; soldier on. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

I like twinsemi 's post,, If you don't have a map of what you want, you probably won't get there: just to many options.. Main thing is have fun !!! and develop yer skills. If yer friends don't understand (or don't see yer vision) lock the door. You must develop passion for your endeavor and "see" it done in yer head.. what the mind of man can conceive and believe, he can achieve.. Most of the hard work, is doing it first in yer Head, then go to the shop and Physically do it, If your just "screwing around" with it, Heck, part it out.. your call > the earth really doesn't care... neither does the Rambler..

 

Go with the Gasser theme. Finish up what you have...I think with two new front doors. Plexi rear windows; mud it up and primer it. I know, we all like to see perfect welds and hammer'd so no filler is needed -but I don't think you have the time or skills for that yet. Get some steelies with a bit wider meat in back. Next summer put a straight axle in it, and hop up the six or drop in a small v8 and race it. At that point you will at least have a car with a purpose!

 

I want more pictures

 

So I don't know where everyone got the idea that this only has 3 doors? I did some of the chopping on the passenger side already. Also, guys, this is a 64 american, not a 64 classic. That's like comparing a '32 A to a '32 T. Similar but not the same. Any ways, last night i worked by the light of the grinder sparks to cut out the garbage door structure and tacked in some new sheet on the drivers side. I have a new plan for fixing the messed up driver doors skin, but that will be a week or so from now. The quarter i'm actually happy with how it turned out, now i just gotta make sure i get the passenger side working right. Also i have the trial pieces of lexan for the driver side cut, and im happy with how it turned out. One last thing, ill keep the EFI project on the down low, but m including some teaser pictures of where that is headed.

Finish the fight!

 

O silly us,
some of us old men thought you indicated you were concentrating on one side before going to the other, hence the three door, references..
carry on.

 

It may have been because someone suggested finishing the driver's side first before going to the passenger side and you didn't say anything at that time about having already started on the other side. Besides, that is the way most of us would have approached it, get one side done, then attempt to duplicate that on the opposite side.

 

Part of learning process,
finish one side before approaching other side,
using UN-touched side as reference..

 

yeah well it happens. I'm working on developing a plan here.

 

This thread gets me because I learned to drive in my mom's 65 Rambler Classic wagon. I tried and tried to light up the rear wheels. NFW. Lots of clutch smell. 88 mph was top end. I would have loved to make it faster. You have a head start with the lighter one that was the base for all of AMC racing, which is where the AMX and Javelin came from. And Roger Penske turned one of those into a Camaro/Mustang beater in Trans Am. That car is still running in historic races by Bruce Canepa who has an outrageous shop in Scotts Valley.

So, since you put up pics of the controller hardware, I have to ask:
Sequential or batch?
Internal or external pump?
Standard or wideband O2?
What kind fuel pressure regulator?
How about the manifold/plenum design?
Is this going on the sixer or an SBC?

 

Huh?

FYI ...

1908-1927 ... Model T
1928-1931 ... Model A
1932 ... Model B (4 banger) & Model 18 (V8)​

 

Yes, a '32 A and a '32 T are definitely different.

 

have never seen a '32 T, must be rare.
Darn !! just about the time you think ya know everything!!!

 

@verde742 & @Dick Stevens -

FYI ...

@Germ is a long time HAMBer ... known for making obscure, off topic, and/or trollish posts ... most of which were pretty entertaining.

"Megasquirt" is a DIY EFI controller (the OP stated in one of his posts that he was going to install Tuned Port Injection on his "Gasser" project).​

 

Keep going on this project,the amount that you will learn will be astounding. You will look back and smile a bit to yourself . Theoretical knowledge is great but there`s nothing like experiencing the practical application of skills. Hone your attention to detail. Think whats happening at the pointy end of the tool, the weld puddle, the area prepped for paint, etc. Have fun and drive the wheels off it!

 

As a Rambler Man- if you are going to make any power in your car, install subframe connectors- I did on mine and it really stiffened up the unibody. In 1969 when they built the SCrambler they added the floor from the convertible. And without the piller you need more support. Just My 2cents.

 

When doing modifications to both sides of a car, I always like to work on the passenger side first. Any trial and error work is done on the side you don't see every time you walk up to the car.

 

Crossing your fingers won't help. Trust me. I've tried it. With your injectors spaced out near the intake valves, you may get fairly even fuel distribution, depending on the degree of back flow in your intake, which will be determined by your cam choice. If you keep the stock cam, you will definitely be most likely to have minimal back flow and also limit the power potential of the engine. Port fuel injection can use more cam if you get one with about 112 LSA. And your intake manifold will probably have pretty uneven air distribution, so your A/F ratio could be different between cylinders, leading to piston meltdown. TBI systems can have uneven air distribution because they still give the same A/F ratio to each cyl. TPI systems have long runners to a plenum that makes even flow to each cylinder easy to get.
Why not make a custom manifold? Take your aluminum plate and put some straight tubes that go to a large box that has your throttle body on it. You could use this as a chance to learn aluminum welding. Or go nuts and make it out of carbon fiber. Or you measure your port spacing, look for a junkyard manifold from a modern sixer that has EFI and use it as a starting point.

 

whereas me, I like to work on Drivers side first, so my rider's think, 'Wow that Bob, He can do anything perfect." I learn on drivers side, and pass. side goes much easier....

 

Home work assignment.... study post # 45.
Learn how to repeat what someone else has already done and your on your way.
You can eliminate a bunch of trial and error.

A few years back I was the fng at a roll mill shop. My machine needed adjusting. The foreman come over to adjust the rolls. He said, "Grab a broom and sweep over there". I said, just show me what your doing and you won't have to do it anymore, I'll do it myself. He was job scared and thought I wanted his job. He told me, "It takes 30 yrs to learn this, grab a broom." I told him, "It took the last guy 30 yrs to learn this machine, but you only been working here five years, so it probably only took him 30 minutes to show you".
I only worked there about 10 months, he never did show me how to adjust that machine. But he did send his sporster home with me so I could fix his trans.
When I brought the bike back he told me he never rode it much because it takes him about 30 kicks to start it. I showed him how to start it in 1 or 2 kicks.

Learn how to do it the way someone has already done it.
It will save you a lot of the trial and error. Eventually you will be the guy they come to for advice.