Projects Mr. Palumbo's Shoebox project

I'm just curious why a 3.5? I went from a 2.79 to 3.0 and its peppier but lost 2 mpg. It doesn't seem like that little would change things but it's hard not to lay rubber down when I punch it now.

 

Yea, it just plain sucks when shit falls apart at the seams .

I can give a really easy answer to that question - it's what I have , lol ! My Maverick rear is a 2.79 , which I guess I would be fine with . The posi center pumpkin I bought has what I was told is a 3.5 , IIRC . I haven't counted teeth on the ring and pinion yet - it's still in the box I brought it home in. I'll look into it closer when I assemble everything. I think a 3.0 would probably be a perfect all around great ratio, but if it's a 3.5 , it'll have a bit more giddy-up. If I ever get to do my route 66 trip , I'll probably swap back out for the 2.79 for the mileage. Either way, I can't wait !

 

Well, for poops and grins , I went down to the garage and counted the ring and pinion teeth. It adds up to a 3.55 rear ratio. That's right what Ryan told me. I think it'll work out fine. It'll make the 302 feel quick enough , yet have a bit more highway usability. Sooner or later (or much later ) , the car will get a "man pedal" , which will probably cause me to re-think all the gear ratios again , lol !

 

I figured I'd revisit this post :

My friend Donald has had a tough year, getting weaker , found out he had cancer, did chemo, all that jazz. I just got a call a few minutes ago from my wife - while she was down there helping out with him , keeping his wife company and whatnot - Donald passed away , sitting in his favorite chair. We've been helping out as much as possible over the last few years, watching him wither away , is been tough. His struggle is over. At least I got the car driving in time to give him a ride ...

 

Sorry to hear that, glad you got to give him a ride in it.

 

Hey Buddy - I have a 3.00 I'll trade you for your 3.55 if you are interested. I'm also glad you got to give your friend a ride. I did the same with my gramps when I was 18. I went to go pick him up from his home where they just had him living out the rest of his time he had left. My car had been in my family for decades and originally belong to one of his sons that had passed away in the sixties. I'll never forget the smile he had on his face. He passed a couple weeks later.

 

Thanks guys. It's certainly going to be odd not having Donald around. I wanted to give him another ride in the Penny Pincher recently, but he was just too weak to get around. I knew it wasn't going to happen. Bummer.

49flatty- glad you got to give gramps a ride in your ride. I'm sure it made his day. For now , I'm just gonna run the 3.55 rear , mainly because it's already setup, and attached to my posi unit. I think it'll be just fine for my type of driving. If I decide to swap it out , I'll let ya know.

 

Thanks Buddy!

 

Well , I placed another order with Chris at Shoebox-Central yesterday . The remaining stuff I ordered should (along with having Chris rebuild my steering box) totally wrap up my front suspension and steering . By the time this is all done , it'll have rebuilt kingpins , all new bushings and shafts , all new tie rods , linkage pieces and idler arm , rebuilt steering box and even camber adjustment brackets to try to get the negative camber (from lowering) within reason - I CAN'T WAIT !! It should handle like a new 67 year-old car , haha !! Craig and I should hopefully be tearing into the car in the next couple weeks .
We've still gotta get those running issues figured out with his shoebox in the meantime . It sucks that he can't use his 'Box , since he's the one who talked me into getting one instead of a Model A , LOL ! We've been spending so much time working on the Mustang for his son and Craig's vintage stock car (58 Ford) that his shoebox hasn't gotten any love .

 

Did you get the steering linkage upgrade? I haven't seen anyone that's gotten that and I'm curious as to how well it works.

 

That's great to hear Allen.
Did you yank your box out or doing an exchange?

 

When I got the stuff from Chris to re-do the steering links last summer , I just went with the stock replacement stuff figuring it'll be nice just to have everything just fresh. Was it a good idea compared to the upgrade ? Who knows . I realize it's an old car , and I drive accordingly . I drove it quite a bit so far with the rest of everything half worn out , so the rest of the replacement is in order. At least it'll all be fresh this year.

When I get the car up in the air to do the rest of the suspension and driveline angle fix (and everything else that entails) , I'll pull the steering box and send it out to Chris . I haven't messed with it too much, but I can imagine adjusting it further than I have will be fruitless. This stuff is just plain worn out. He doesn't do exchanges anymore , just rebuilding yours as you send it to him. He told me that he just wasn't getting any cores back from people. You'd think that a $150 core charge would be enough to get people to send than back ... Guess not

 

Sorry for the lack of updates , obviously I haven't been around the HAMB much . I drove the car quite a bit this summer , but didn't do too much as far as finishing anything . Just driving and trying to enjoy it .
Apart from that , my life has been in a total tailspin for months now . For the last month it's been totally in the shitter , with a heavy hand pushing on the handle ready to flush . No access to my car , my parts , my home tools , and lots more ... life just plain sucks ass sometimes .

 

hang in there man, it always gets better....!!!!!!

 

Yeah, hang in there Buddy!

 

Hang in there Allen. Hoping things get better for ya!

 

Yeah,like stated above:hang in there!

 

Man, your car sure looks familiar! Keep strokin, Buddy. You'll get it where you want it.

 

PM sent.

 

Thanks guys . It will take quite a while till my life doesn't suck due to things totally out of my control . Hopefully I'll still have my 49 in the end , but who knows .

#notahappycamper #route66tripshottohell

 

Damn ... it's been a year since I've been on the HAMB ! It's been quite a shitty year, to be honest (#divorcesucks) . I still have my shoebox, but none of my money (due to lawyers and a cheating ex), so progress has been nearly nil . Every dime I thought I had to put into the shoe has gone to the lawyer . Nothing is final yet , but I did get to use the car a few times this past year , and make memories with my (now) 9-year-old girl . I was building this car to do two things - to do a route 66 trip with my dad (now 74) and to enjoy with my little family . Both of those dreams are shot to hell, unfortunately. Who knows what the future will hold with me and the Penny Pincher Shoebox, but for now, she is still alive and well .

 

glad to hear its still with you,
yeah divorce sucks...been ther done that,lst my first T bucket to it
take care Allen things will look up..!!

 

A new year will be here soon. I hope it is a much better year for you.

Things do get better. I too have been through it. I hope you and your daughter and dad get to enjoy the shoebox.

 

Man, I'm sorry for you. Probably won't be long before the same fate hits me. And I love my daughter to pieces.

The only good news in all this is there's a Maverick rear end in my immediate future. Some consolation, huh?

Things like that seem small now.

 

All this shit is just temporary. In 2 years you'll look back on this and...well, you'll look back on this. Keep strokin on that shubox.

 

I see a vision of you, your daughter and your dad cruising down one of your favorite scenic routes, windows down fresh warm air with a touch of cool and the scent of approaching summer.

So I hope for things to settle soon and you can turn to things that ease your mind and give you happiness again. Keep your chin up as my Mom always told me. It sounds a little like a broken record but I too have been through this.

 

Thanks guys - I'm sure that eventually I'll have all of this drama behind me and will be able to breathe again . Man, oh man I wish I could talk about the whole mess , but this isn't the place . I just appreciate everyone's support .
I did manage to do a couple small things to the shoebox this summer , things that cost me nothing but my time . I (finally !) did an old-school French on the headlights (i.e. not a tunnel) and did some much-needed "gapping" on the door jambs . There was basically very little/no gap on the back edges of the doors , so I cut off the back edge of both doors and made a nice 1/4" gap . What a difference !
Like I said , I drove it a couple times , but to be honest most of the wind was out of my sails with pretty much everything in life . I'll have to shoot a couple pics of the work I did , to keep this thread relevant .
Cheers !

 

Allen, I am sorry to hear what has been going on, but glad to see you back on here. Take care and keep us posted.

 

Allen,
Good to see ya posting again. Was so cool to see your thread again. Looking forward to your updates. We're all with ya man.

 

Sorry to hear about your shitty year.And its good to hear that you got the shoebox still.
I guess everyone has somekind of bumps on the road,but those bumps are usually a temporary setbacks.
Well,good luck with everything!