Hot Rods Southeast Gasser 65 Comet Super Stock Wagon

Having to work this weekend and not getting a lot done but managed to get my front spring eye bushings out will take my aluminum bar stock over to my buddy's shop so he can chuck them up in his lathe to drill them out so I can press the steel inserts in them so my solid front bushings will cost me 2 dollars a piece and some time. Better than the 50 bucks they want online.
Still waiting USPS to deliver my pitman arm. Should have been here Thursday.
Sort of at a standstill waiting on parts. Still scraping paint though.

 

Got my pitman arm yesterday and got it installed last night and now it steers .
My front stuff that I paid for a complete bolt on price for did not come with inner wheel bearings and seals so I took the drums off to check everything out and now I have to buy them. I wish people would not represent something that it is not.
Just tell me what you are sending me ,not tell me you took it straight off your car and the parts are all new and then find out some of the stuff doesn't fit and other pieces are missing.
You know who you are if are following this build. I will not mention your name ,but yeah I am a little pissed off.

 

glad the pitman are worked out! so much for "priority" shipping LOL.....as far as your other front end parts go, always be careful of people who are on here only to sell parts and really aren't part of the "community"

 

Got home from work today and when I was in London, Ky. at the SEGA race I was looking at the other competitors set ups and since relocated rear shocks are legal I decided to build me a shock crossmember to run the shocks straight up and down .
I will have to build shock mounts to weld to the rear end housing and then mounts to the crossmember that way I can have a larger selection of shocks than just what it available for the stock mounts.
I might spring for some QA1 adjustable shocks since traction will be limited with the spec tire.
This class is all about the first 60 feet. You can have 800 hp but if you can't get them little 7 inch Hoosiers to hook up you are not going to win.

 

Mike,
You picked a great body style for the class (especially with the goofy engine weight breaks), do you have any restrictions as to the Clutch combination?
Glenn

 

Not really as long as it is a single disc setup . I had Spec build me a soft lock clutch and pressure plate so not to shock the tires so hard. It will allow me to leave at a higher rpm and with a little slip designed into the pressure plate it should help my short times.
It's the same setup that a lot of the small tired Fox body cars run when they have to run a T5 trans.

 

Doing a little body work today . My wife and I are trying to remove 3 bad paint jobs off the Comet .
We have the roof scraped off and the roof rack screw holes welded up so we started on the sides. While I was up under the car cutting out the inner fender wells. She was busy with the razor blade and scraper getting it down the primer.
I decided since I have a fuel cell to remove the original gas cap and filler neck.
This poor old car has been wrecked and put back together more than once. It must have been fairly new when it was hit on the driver side rear corner. The 1/4 and door got brand new panels from Mercury . you can see the original replacement part numbers on the inside.
That's why I don't feel bad about cutting it up to make a race car. I feel like I am saving it from the crusher.

 

Wagons Rule !!!
My Chevy II Wagon was a perfect drag car for many,many,many years. I retired it from drag racing in 2010 and converted it back into my daily driver in 2012, drive it everyday.

I rooting for ya !
Glenn

 

Makes a man smile watching his wife scrape the old paint off his new race car. Right after she went and got her nails done. It was actually cool in Tn. this morning and she said she is tired of getting paint chips down the front of her shirt.

 

Uh, can you send me the info on how you convinced her to help? Lol... just kidding big guy looks like a solid car to me though!! Good looking work

 

She must be tired of seeing it in the driveway looking like crap.

 

No, she is actually excited about getting to go to the SEGA shows with our new race car.
She is the woman who would rather sit in the stands on a Saturday night and eat a track burger than go to a fancy restaurant . I am blessed.
When we lived in Florida she planned her work schedule around going to Citrus county speedway to watch pavement racing or Bubba raceway in Ocala to watch the dirt cars.
It was too far to go to Gainesville for drag racing ,but she did look forward to going to the Gatornationals every year.

 

Got some more done last night . I went to a friends house and he used his lathe to square up and bore out my aluminum bushings for my front spring eyes. He left an interference fit so I could bring them home and heat them up with my propane torch and press them in. It worked out well and for 5 bucks and some time I have my solid bushings.

 

Ok i figured out how you did it Mike You're a genius

 

My wife gave me most her paycheck for fathers day to order parts for the Comet.
I placed an order last night and the parts should be delivered by Wed. of next week.
Should start seeing some real progress on the car then.
Yesterday afternoon was spent taking the rear leaf springs apart to clean the dirt out of the springs and to redrill the holes in the springs to move all of the springs forward on the main leaf. This will increase the stiffness on the front portion of the spring and after I go get some metal to build new spring clamps it should eliminate the need for traction bars when combined with the adjustable pinion snubber I am working on.
Should have pictures by this afternoon.

 

She insisted, didn’t she.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

In the thread about tire rim screws you posted a picture of your rear wheels. I am looking for some steel wheels for another project. Can you tell me what those wheels came off of?

 

Your wife is an Angel, God has Blessed you.

 

I bought them from a guy who had got them from Cokers. They are brand new rims ,but I don't what they are from. They are small bolt pattern Ford 15x7 . I think the original ford part number is still on them . I will look tomorrow.

 

here is what I got done this afternoon. I made my leaf spring clamps and got my springs installed. The rear end housing dropped right into place.
I am waiting for rear end housing studs so I can install the chunk . Plus u bolts for the housing so I can design the lower shock mounts.
The influx of cash into my race car account that my wife made will go a long way to buy the little pieces that I need to get closer to having this thing on wheels and the drivetrain installed.

 

Todays project is to finish out welding the frame connectors under the car and the roll bar tubing that goes from the connectors to the rockers then break out the paint gun and the Rustoleum and spray the whole bottom of the car .
Then assembly can start . Running brake lines to the rear and fuel lines to the front.
Ordered swedged tubing and heim joints from Speedway to make shifter linkage . A couple of boxes of small parts should be here by the end of the week. The motor and transmission should be in the car by the first of next week if it doesn't rain me out. I need to get my Easyup out and make me some shade. It's supposed to be 90's and humid later this week.
So you guys that complain it's hot in your garage, try working in the driveway because your car won't fit in the garage. I have a solar powered garage. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter.
It doesn't bother me though at least I am healthy enough to work on the car. 5 years ago when they told me that I was going to have to quit working on cars and have open heart surgery. I figured my building days were over and now they are just beginning.
We are already planning our next build.

 

Didn't get as much done as I wanted to yesterday a severe thunder storm came through the area with 60 mph winds and small hail.
Fortunately no damage, but it put a stop to my work for the day. Hoping to hit it hard this afternoon.

 

Got some done today. got my shifter linkage done except to swap out some of the bolts with button head bolts for clearance .
I have the rear end all assembled and ready to install. Trying to get something done between rain storms .The bracket on the pinion support is for the pinion snubber . As soon as I get the rear end in and the u-bolt bracket made I can make the adjustable pinion snubber.

 

Looks like race car parts!
Great stuff.

 

Me too! But at least I have a top on mine, so I can work when it's raining. Got a fan for hot weather, but when it gets below 50*, my ass is inside unless it's an emergency repair!

 

Tell her the "cure-for-that" is take her shirt OFF! Only say that when 10 feet away and she is almost finished scraping!
6sally6.........still following and enjoying!

 

Rear end look'in good! NO clamps in the back.........just the front of the spring.
Let that rear half be loose and "work-for-you"!

 

I don't know . Looks more like she's thinking , He had better take me to dinner like he promised or he had better have 911 on speed dial! lol Larry

 

In between rain storms this afternoon my wife and I got the rear end in the car. I got my ubolt spring plates drilled out so tomorrow morning I can tighten it up in the morning before I have to go to work.
Need to make a bolt run first thing.

 

You might need to add another clamp on the spring. Also I don't tighten them until I get the weight on the the spring.
Will you reinforce the area where the pinion snubber contacts the floor?