Hot Rods Southeast Gasser 65 Comet Super Stock Wagon

Been following along, great work! That is very good news to hear of all the people who came to help with the storm damage. This is still a great country with a lot of great people....

 

There has been a run on welding gas. I took my bottle to exchange it and the guy at the welding supply store said ever since the shut down everybody has more time and are working on their projects.
So they sold out of 75/25 mix for mig welders. Should have some by next Tuesday. I checked with another source and all he had was the little bottles on a bottle rental program.
I stopped renting a bottle 10 years ago and am not going back. I have a little in my bottle so I am just tack welding the pans in place until I get a new bottle.
Need to finish the floor pan repairs so I can actually start building the car.

 

Do they have straight Argon? Not gonna be cheap that way.
Probably not a good idea. I never tried it..I guess you could still tack with it

 

The problem is I would have to rent a bottle. I could have driven to Knoxville or Chattanooga which is 50 miles in either direction. They have bottles . If my local shop does not have it by Monday then it looks like I have to make the trip.
I called 4 local welding supply places and they all said the same thing. what do you guys pay for a 125 bottle of 75/25 ?
I have other stuff I can do to the car until the weekend is over.

 

Anyone around with a CO2 soda fountain tank you can use.

 

I am going to wait until Monday afternoon. It is not that big a deal.
a friend offered his bottle as a loaner. I have arc welding rod that is small and I know how to weld sheet metal with an arc welder . Have welded plenty of doors on stock cars as well as welding the roofs back on after installing a roll cage that got cut out of another bomber car.
The responses are appreciated. I just wanted to bring up the fact that in some areas of the country there is a shortage.

 

Wouldn't you think that the manufactures of oxygen production whether it's medical or industrial would be diverting most of their supply to the medical field as in hospitals, care homes, first responders because of a pandemic instead of someone welding on rusty floors?

 

No because the Praxair store in Knoxville and Chatt. had plenty of bottles I just didn't feel like driving 50 miles to get it.
It just means that if you have a lot of car guys in the area like I live in they made a run on 125 size bottles. That's because they fit most guys mig carts. This area is ate up with car guys that dirt track race, drag race ,do restorations or build hot rods. Plus all of the guys that build yard art and Smokey mountain art to sell at flea markets and tourist traps that all you tourists come buy in a normal tear. Kind of like buying fudge when you are in northern Michigan. That's where they call the tourists Fudgies.

 

Tourist....the life blood of East Tn.

 

Not moonshine??

 

This social distancing and people staying home paid off today big time. My neighbor saw me drag out my stick welder so I could tack my shock tower plates in. Should give me more header room and hand room to change the plugs. Might even be enough room for my FE swap next winter. A guy gave me a complete 410 the other day.
He said what are you doing do I told him and he says I got an almost full bottle at the house. he left and in 5 minutes came back with the bottle on his shoulder. He told me to go ahead and use all I need.
Tomorrow morning I will be able to exchange my bottle. I was able to get my shock towers done today thanks to my neighbor.
Next is replacing the panel that used to be the battery tray that is now a big hole. Going to make a panel that will be bead rolled to match the panel on the other side.

 

Looking good. It has seemed a lot more “friendly” in my neck of the woods since the lockdown began. Maybe some of this will stick when it is all over.

 

Good news ! The first Southeast Gasser race this season in Alabama may actually be able to be run. May 9th after the travel ban and semi return to normal. Check the schedule and get out and support the Gassers and Super Stocks and A/FX cars . My car won't be ready, but I will be there to visit and watch some of the best drag racing in the world.

 

Got my Dougs headers in yesterday. My line lock came today. Should finish the engine compartment by tomorrow. need to get my pressure washer out and blast all of the gunk off.
got my battery tray replacement panel in today. Had to dig my bead roller out of storage. when you have a one car garage and a storage building and the car won't really fit in the garage you have to use a tool and then store it away until the next time you need it.
A first for me I just finished restoring a Hot Dog steamer for the golf course I work at. Got a chance to brush up on my silver soldering. Hadn't done that in a while. Now I know more about Hot Dog steamers than I ever wanted to know. Those things are expensive too buy ! I didn't realize how much they cost until I did some research.

 

Our AL Queen, er, Governor, hasn't said she was going to open up the state after April 30 yet. She says she is waiting on more data from the state health dept. Shouldn't have ever shut down to start with.
Some of the racetracks are already promoting racing on May 1st and 2nd, we'll see if she lets them or not. If she does it'll probably be with some bullshirt like no spectators allowed. I wouldn't get my hopes up too high yet...

 

Nice headers but no pics of the hot dog steamer? Lol. You are certainly getting it done sir! Randy.


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WOW!!! Only in Tenn. I guess. Here they look you in the eye and DENY everything....even if you were watching them do it! grrrrrr
6sally6

 

Finally !I have chased the rust from the front to the back . Finally got the complete floor in. the section between the fuel cell and tail gate will be removable in case the fuel cell needs to come out.
Now I can actually start to build the car. Next will be the seat mounts so I can figure out where my seat belt bar will go .
50 degrees and rain and wind today. The driveway build is a little tougher today.

 

You could always get a piece of pasteboard and prop it up to block the wind.....kind uva windshield.
About those shock tower plates........is that the max you can cut out and not interfere with the springs/shocks? Too bad you can't run coil overs or MustangII front! When FE timw rolls around....you gonna need all the room you can get!!
6sally6

 

You’ll be glad you trimmed those shock towers...I’ve got Dougs in my Falcon..that’s a tight engine compartment..and from what I could gather Dougs are the best...which is why ya pay more..but I couldn’t imagine trying to deal with cheap headers...

I found mine on FB marketplace..brand new ceramic coated never mounted for $300.00 bucks..I couldn’t make the 2 hour drive quick enough

 

It wasn't the wind so much as the blowing rain that got me yesterday.
I intend to sneak up on the shock towers . you know get hem used to seeing it now and then a little more later and then a lot more when the FE goes in.
It was the only big tube chassis headers I could find. Even the Hooker super comps are 1 5/8 " primaries. I have been told they have interference with a Lakewood shield.
The Dougs require a cable or hydraulic clutch which is no problem since I was intending on running a cable anyway. That's why I was going to build a set off fenderwell headers. Still might.

 

if you do a "shelby" drop on the uca's you can cut the towers down further - also saw a guy use a tubular uca that allowed him to trim the area behind the uca back as the design of the tubular arm did not need as much clearance (probably not an option for SEGA though, as I think you need to retain stock control arms)

 

I have read on another forum that a Shelby drop is not what you want to do on a drag car.
Yes, you have to run the stock control arms. There can't be any solid bushing's on the front arms. So polyurethane is the next best thing when I do the front suspension. Also roller bearings in the coil spring lower mounts.

 

shelby drop just lowers the car a bit - i know the geometry change is good for handeling (the real reason to do it) not sure how it would hurt a drag car - if you're rebuilding the front suspension, look into roller perches - they are good for handeling AND help get the nose up quicker for weight transfer - just re-read your post - looks like you're already on top of getting the roller perches!

 

Check out opentracker..they make some killer suspension components and offer a HAMB discount.

 

I didn't know about the HAMB discount.

 

you probably need to be an alliance member to get the discount

 

Yep..pay 50 bucks to become an Alliance member and get 10% off your order..

 

I just need to become an alliance member anyway.

 

Well, I got a reprieve. The race in Alabama has been rescheduled due to the virus.
So I have until the first weekend of June in London, Ky.
Finished my seat mounts today after I got home from work. Will mock them up tomorrow so I know where the bars will be.