Projects International KB 7" chop

Jim,
I did something similar back in '77 when building this "T" touring chassis. The roller I used was a hard rubber caster wheel. It was quiet and one of the vertical brackets was slotted for side adjustment. It is an old trick, seen on some 50's era kit sports cars, they were employed front and rear.

 

Thanks Marty, that chassis looks good. I like the 66 ford pickup in the background. Did you get the LSR car you were working on done?

 

Jim, It's funny you should mention my Ford PU, I have it parked in the shop replacing the trans. This April will mark 43 years I have owned it. I got the LSR car done last year, and it ran at the only event at B-Ville last year, got the record in (2) runs. It will be running at El Mirage tomorrow.

 

That is cool about the record and your truck. I have had a few of those trucks and currently have two that need some TLC when I have time and money to do them. One is a 65 short wide box and the other is a 66 crew cab. I like the body style of them but the factory fit and finish leaves a bit to be desired.

I built one for my mom to use in her landscape business 25+ years ago. It is a 65 step side. I started with a cab and a frame and built it up from there. It has a 302 and a 4 speed, I used 79 disc brakes and a 72 master and power booster. She used it for years but it also needs a complete going through.

I really like the pgan car you are building now. Just went through the entire thread last night when I found it. If you ever need wide five adapters I have those and the covers for sale and am working on the front disc brake kit that attaches to stock front hubs. All of these will be used on the International here.

 

I salvaged a piece of mobile home axle tube from an axle that had the end ripped off of it. I will use this tubing for the rear cross member at the back of the cab. I didn't like the look of the box tube front cross member so I cut the tacks and replaced it with a piece of round tube from the trailer axle. I also got a piece of 3" I-beam that I turned into T-bar to be used as uprights from the cross member to the spring. These will be spaced at 1.375" apart for my bearing panhard to ride in between. I will also contour the sides to give it a bit less of the industrial look.

 

I ground the pieces that I cut with the torch, bought the bearing and found a bolt and other things to make it work. Here are a few pics of the mockup with the bearing in place of a panhard bar.
I will be getting a spring u-bolt plate to weld to the top of the uprights and I might add some pieces to the sides for strength.

I am contemplating how I want to mount it to the axle. I can weld it and add gussets to the flange of the axle to strengthen it, or I can make a piece that fits into the front side of the axle and is held in place by either bolting it to the axle directly or use u-bolts to clamp it to the axle. Any input is appreciated.

 

I got a couple u-bolt plates, one to weld to the top and one to use as a capture. I will use bolts to hold it together, cross drilled and cotter pins with castellated nuts. I will add some material to the sides to match the angle of the top ears and then drill lightning holes in the flat area. I should be able to get it welded up at lunch break tomorrow and weld it to the frame when I get home from work tomorrow night.

 

Instead of putting the panhard bearing supports in front of the axle, why not consider placing them behind the axle mounted to the from cross member. It would clean up the spring axle area.

 

All of this will be hidden inside the grill and the bones were already spring ahead. I wanted to incorporate the bearing in to the spring mount.

 

I made a deal on an engine today. I was going to run a 258 AMC engine originally but still needed a flywheel, and clutch kit along with intake and exhaust manifolds. A blue diamond International 269 6 cyl that I found on craigslist is complete from fan to trans.

 

Cool, keep it all cornbinder. International engines are bulletproof.

 

If HAMB had a "like" button, I'd be laying on it!

 

Thanks for the like, the HAMB does have a like button. It is located next to the quote and reply buttons at the lower right of each post.

 

I got the spring perch tacked together today. I need to finish welding it and drill a couple lightening holes in each side.

 

I just sent the money order off to buy this engine. It is a Blue Diamond 269 cubic inch International with a 5 speed trans attached. It will involve a road trip because it is in Idaho and I am about 70 miles from the West Coast of Washington, about a 7+hr. drive just to get there. I will be glad when it is sitting in the frame so I can move forward. I am not sure if I want to use the trans but there are not a lot of options to adapt to the International because the input shaft is quite long and not many trans will even reach the clutch. I will need to do some research.

 

Waiting to see progress on your hybrid IRS utilizing the T spring. Oh yeh, the 3"od mobile home axles come in handy - plenty of wall thickness for crossmember utilization. I used the slightly curved portion found in the center of the axle to fab the front frame member (avatar) to mount the "suicide" spring perch. The curve curves forward and compliments the curve of the grill mesh and yet is imperceptible! So, who cares? It is still a detail few can appreciate.
Yeh, 55, Grabowski thought outside the box too!!!

 

Y'know what? I just went through page 2, which I had not done prior to post#106. Thank you for those details.
Inboard brakes are always cool and reduces unsprung weight. Interested to see how the Ford radius rods will be incorporated into the Corvair setup.

 

I agree on the mobile home axle and your good use of the center section. The center of the axle was cut out when the axle was narrowed and then it was widened with a smaller tube before the whole spindle was ripped off of one end. I have the plan for the rear end loosely rattling around in my head. I won't know where the rear cross member will be until I have the front suspension done and the engine so that I can place the cab exactly and therefore the rear mobile home axle cross member. So my focus is on the front suspension right now.

I am not sure when I can get the engine but I hope sooner than later. I am also researching what transmissions and bell housings are interchangeable on what International engines. I think the 5speed crash box could work as I used to drive trucks for a living and am used to no clutch shifting with a twin stick 4+4. I am not sure if it is a fifth gear direct or overdrive transmission. If anybody is an International expert and knows what is what please enlighten me on interchangeability.

When I get the front suspension done and the engine and cab placed Then I can work on getting the rear suspension done. For now what I am thinking is to use a 37 split wishbone for the forward link. The outer bearing is in a bolt on housing that attaches to the stamped steel trailing arms, so this can be unbolted and attached to a fabricated piece. The original design used a single lower link rod but I am thinking about using two link rods so that I can use them to adjust the toe instead of the forward link. Using two link rods will make clearing the inboard disc brake a little easier instead of having to bend the arm around the rotor to get the right suspension geometry.

I will fabricate a outer carrier plate that the two lower links will attach to and it will have a boss on the front similar to a front axle that the wish bone will attach to using a front spring perch as the through bolt. The Model T spring will attach to the spring perches on each side. A lower shock mount will be attached to the carrier plate and the upper shock mount will be attached to the front or rear of the Model T rear cross member.

The top mount for the differential will come off of the back of the Model T cross member. The lower differential mount will come of the center of the tubular cross member at the back of the cab and go straight back under the housing, it will also incorporate the two lower links on the inboard side of the suspension. Hopefully you can visualize all this as it will be a little while before I can execute it.

 

Progress has been slow but I managed to get my front spring mount welded together and made stainless plates that go on on the inside for the bearing to ride against. I also drilled a couple lightening in each side today and set it into place for welding. I have been working after work on a Jag XKE, mostly wiring related (thank you Lucas) so my time has been limited.

Next Friday my son and I leave for Lewiston, Idaho to pick up the engine and maybe a pickup box or a whole truck for a friend. Once I get the engine things will move along a lot faster. The engine placement sets the cab and rear end placement. Here are a few pics of the front spring panhard bearing mount.

 

My son and I are leaving at 5:30 in the morning to go to Lewiston, Idaho and pick up the engine. It is about a 6 hr. drive so I expect to be there by noon, pick up the engine and banzai back to my dads house. Saturday we will go to my house and unload the engine setting it in the frame and hopefully finding enough help to get the cab on it as well.

 

Nothing like driving East in the morning with the sun in your eyes. Making good time now that we are on the East side of the state.

 

18+hr. 800 miles later and I am back. Tomorrow we will try and start the engine and then set it up on the frame table with the frame and hopefully the cab as well. I will post pics tomorrow night.

 

Here are some pics after we loaded it in the truck.

The 5 speed crash box trans is nearly as long as the engine.

You could cast a small block chevy with the amount of cast iron in the bell housing.


Check out the size of the generator and the exhaust pipe

 

We got the engine unloaded today and on the shop floor. I took some measurements from the bottom of the pan to the top of the distributer is about 36" and from the fan to the back of the block is 37". I will have to raise the cab up off the frame a few inches to keep the engine under the hood. It will also help to keep the split front bones from interfering with the floor. It looks like there will not be room for the tie rod or the drag link for the cross steering so maybe it is back to the dual cowl steering.

After 18+hrs yesterday just getting the engine unloaded was about all we had the drive to do today. We pushed ourselves to hook up a fuel pump and hot wire the coil. It fired right up and ran perfect. There was no smoke on startup and it has oil pressure. I couldn't get it set up on the frame table because the engine hoist wouldn't go under it or lift it high enough. so plan B is to just measure and fit it that way. After the frame is a bit more structured and solid I will untack it from the frame table and set it around the engine on the floor.

 

Although the trans works fine and I am fully able to shift it without the clutch or by double clutching I think I will look into adapting something else to it. As you can see that trans and bellhousing are big beasts. I am thinking that I can just make a block plate that bolts to the block and has a provision for the stock starter. I was thinking that maybe I could bolt an 8BA bellhousing adapter ring to the flat plate and then use my Aluminum adapter that is for a flathead to T5 5 speed that way it will retain the rolling block design of the original throwout bearing.

 

You should be able to shift transmission through the gears without depressing clutch at all if its in good working order. FYI Ellis made dual carb manifolds for these engines. Usually only found on the Diamonds in big trucks

 

I just picked up a dual carb Nicson Engineering intake for it last night. Unfortunately it is for the Large International (cast right in it) RD engine series that comes in 318-501 cubic inch sizes. I know for a fact that I couldn't fit that engine under the hood or afford to feed it. I missed an Ellis intake on Epay that sold for $150 after it had been relisted 5 times. I know that they are out there and will keep searching. The centers on the RD intake are 10.25" while the BD is 9" if anyone has a lead on one let me know.

While shifting is not a problem as I used to drive a 65' Peterbilt with a 4+4 twin stick for years the weight and size of it is more of a concern. If I adapt to the flathead bell housing then I will have a lot more options. As in a lot of GM trans from 3-5 speed, or Ford 3-5 speed or even a flathead trans like a T98 with T19 guts in it or one with an R10 overdrive.

 

Here is a link to the startup video on my facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/1000079484...1647529702188628/?type=2&theater&notif_t=like

 

Thinking that the big sparks right by the open top on the gas can could get exciting really fast. Just a thought I had going back to the early '60s when I set a can off in my garage from about 15 feet away. Not a good experience.

 

I know we were living dangerously just like in our youth. I had a starter solenoid but it is a positive ground system and the solenoid was diode suppressed so it wouldn't work.