have been getting some time trying to get everything ready for body work and pulling it off the frame sooner than later Since I had the fenders pulled off, figured I would the untouched one in primer, but first had to massage a few dents and wrinkles out, ( I also spent a few days after this sanding out all of the pitting and discoloration that could be rust). I think it must have been bumped at some point in it's lifetime since the passenger side had the same damage. Some dykem to highlight the highs and lows And in a few coats of high build a few days later, (also sanded down the hood sides and sprayed those in high build as well). There are still a few areas to address, but its a lot easier for me to see in a solid color Yesterday's project, I wanted to get started on making a new repair piece for one of the front rocker/ fender mount area in front of the doors. I need to do both sides, and since I had the car pushed over to one side, and there was more space and light on the passenger side, I started on the passenger side. Both sides are pretty rotten, but the driver side is a little worse so I figured using the slightly better passenger side as a template/ reference to start made a little bit of sense. I didn't take many pictures of it since there wasn't much to see, but started out cutting a 14"x14" piece and a 9"x4" piece, the big piece for the mostly straight rocker skin, and the narrow piece for the deceptive amount of shape in the recess for the fender. That was started on the shrinker to get the flange, but probably made it harder to shape the rest of it in the long run since it was made more rigid I still have a brace welded into the door frame. so that still needs to be cut out and the door better aligned before I cut out the weld and weld in the new. Still need to map out where the new fender mounting threaded inserts will go, and tighten up/ clean up the edges and corners a bit better, but its a start
Still working fulltime in the laboratory with all the of this virus stuff going on, so i didn't get the time off to work on some projectswe were sort of expecting from a shutdown, but hard to complain about being gainfully employed with how many people are hurting financially lately. A little evening project from the other night was to atleast start welding the rest of the tail panel, though I am making a new piece to replace a section of the wheel tub so theres still an open side. I had originally cut the body to match the new tailpanel, but made some changes, so that's why there was a triangular hole to fill, shitty planning rather than shitty execution Just a first pass clean up, but not a million miles off Then I started getting the nose/ radiator support and the headlight buckets cleaned up since they were the last of the removeable sheet metal that hadn't been stripped yet. The original remaining paint on the fenders and nose matched the body, but with the exception of a few dents and wrinkles in the fenders, they are in much better shape than the rest of the body and shouldn't take too much to get them finished. When I took apart the headlights to get them cleaned up, unsurprisingly, I seem to be missing a few pieces to have a complete assembly. where I've been a little nervous about some part of them getting damaged/ specifically the lenses and reflectors, I decided to get them painted so I could take them home to rebuild them and keep them out of the way while the rest of the car is being worked on. trying to spray primer on big light buckets hanging from a hook was pretty clumsy, so I spent 2 minutes making a little paint stand out of some scrap panel and exhaust tubing From the picture, it looks a little wavy while it was wet and I thought I screwed something up, but leveled out fine
A little bit of an update Rebuilt the '58 Edsel control arms, just waiting on shocks so I can throw it back together. Not sure what we are doing about the brakes, we were planning on front manual discs, but he has 14" wheels on there now and wants to use them, but every conversion I've seen and used has called for a minimum of a 15" wheel. But he also has a warmed over 460 big block and plans to drive it in the city, so we might have to make some concessions for safety Unmasked the headlight buckets, some uncooperative tape means i'll be spraying these again, but I also plan on doing a hidden sealed beam conversion someone sent me from an article from 1972 that someone sent me , to make the lights a little brighter and will be cheaper than having the reflectors replated, or something. Gathered up what I had for the transmission and sort of mock up put it together, to see what I was missing. I have everything I need I think, but the support shaft for the counter cluster gear, while it fits the transmission case holes, the gear cluster's inner diameter is larger than the outer of the shaft, so im guessing theres a bushing or sleeve missing, though it would be missing from all 3 of the counter gear clusters I have, which seems a little coincidental Stopped dragging my feet and got the driver side tail panel welded in and a first pass clean up. There was some undiscovered brazing on the underside of the body metal right where the new pieces meet the body, so I was getting a little grief from that, but good enough to keep the body flopping around for the time being and having to look at it without having to see a bunch of unfinished welds I wanted to get the tail panel welded in so it wasn't flopping around, since Friday, I recruited a buddy for an extra set of hands and finally got the body off the chassis I don't want to suggest that this was a good idea, a safe idea, or a good use of time, but i spent about 10hrs this weekend cleaning up the frame with an assortment of wire wheels, on a little Makita grinder. No blood/ incidents, a few near misses when the wheel would grab something and bounce off suddenly, especially with all of the X frame structure and crevices. I am pretty happy with the results though, it came out a lot better than i was expecting and really was a lot easier and went quicker than i was expecting, and is really surprisingly solid. Im going to try and get it painted this week, order a gas tank, ( probably a '72'ish nova tank, as it will fit and its inexpensive since I will need to cut and modify it to reposition the filler neck), some fuel line and brake line, and try and run those lines while the body is off to make life a little easier for when Im actually close to needing to connect the brakes and fuel, but the body will be back on the chassis. I wasn't really planning on an interior aside from getting the seat covered, but i came across an ebay ad for a new old stock door panel for a 1937 Buick coupe a week or 2 ago for $100, so Wednesday or Thursday, i threw out a best offer of $50 and they accepted and it was delivered sunday from fedex, which i didn't know they made deliveries on sundays. Now I just need to track down another one, or use it as a model to get a new one made for the other door. Looks stained in the picture, and im sure its a little faded, but really good condition. Not sure the history on this type of thing, if they were remanufactured for awhile afterwards, or if this has just been sitting in a box for 80+ yrs Luxor Motor sales ? Grand Rapids, MI
Stooge, regarding that cluster gear look at this pic Do you have all the needle bearings, spacers and the thrust washers shown in this pic? Click on the pic and blow it up and you will see the needle bearings in the cluster. I think there are 27 pieces in each end and a thin flat washer that goes on top of them. I may have them in a spare bunch of parts but they are in storage while I finish my new shop. I am currently moving much of my stuff back to the new shop so I will locate them soon.
Well would you look at that! I knew there was a bag of needle bearings from one of the sets of gears that i picked up, but hadnt placed where they were used, though i counted 52 pieces rather than 54/27 each side so maybe im missing a couple. Is it just a case of grease it up to get the needles to stay put around the inner wall while assembling it? The cluster i have handy, i can feel the inch or so on either end inside of it is smooth, then becomes a little rougher towards the middle
You will need an arbor of sorts the same length as the cluster. I have used a chunk of conduit, heard that some use a broom handle. Grease up the needles and insert them then add the small washer at each end. Drop it in the case, wrestle the thrust washers in ( clearance end to end on the cluster is around 18 thousands if I recall) insert the shaft from the rear thru the thrust washers (can be a challenge at times) then drive it thru carefully. Thrust washers are available from Northeast Trans in OH if needed. I may have a few in my stash somewhere
So far, since the frame was stripped down, I sprayed it with tractor & implement paint since that's what I had and what I've been using for chassis and suspension stuff the last few yrs and has seemed to hold up on other cars Had a new gas tank delivered Friday, went with a '69 Camaro/ firebird tank and with the exception of the stock filler neck, I couldn't ask for a better fit and the price was well within budget, came from tanks inc. through summit. I still need to make a set of straps for it, but I need to get some t bolts for it. had it for about 2hrs before cutting into it. When I get the body back on, I'll make a new filler neck to snake through the rear pass side fender. Still need to clean up the new patch a bit, but that was enough for a Friday night. I've been looking for a front engine mount plate for the '47 320 engine, since '47 used an angled engine mount/ cradle set up, where the '37 frame, just sat on top of it. I had seen 1 or 2 on ebay for the smaller engines, that sold for about $25, but sold before I could figure out if they would fit, and someone offered me a mount plate for $500, but I politely declined. After a lot of picture studying and making a quick and dirty frame template, I cut up the '47 mount. I still will need to pull it to weld the backside, and fish plate it for a little extra security and strength. Bent the "ears" down to a horizontal plane so they could sit on the frame. 3/16 (same as the mount) scored and bent. aesthetically, making the side part round would have looked nicer, but squared should give some room for a long enough bolt to fit in there easier. (that new little hole where the edge was cut and separated, got a filler piece) And since I don't have to buy the $100+ front rubber mounts or plate, I bought a $30 chunk of 70A high strength 3/4" neoprene to cut into the front isolators. Also a strip in the back for the body mounts, 3"8 thick, 2"wide x 36" long should give me more than enough for the 8 2"x2" frame to body mounts.
Back to some rusty old buick pictures, some progress being made, alot of de-rusting and painting stuff, and having to start crack open the piggy bank on a few things, but fortunately there arent too many of those instances Rear all cleaned up, leaves have all been taken apart, ground down, given a quick "polish" with a flap disk, painted, graphite lubed and put back together. I didnt really intend to make the chassis look this nice, but it looks good atleast. I needed to figure out a master cylinder configuration and wanted to use the transmission mounted pedals, so i came up with this as i wanted an off the shelf master cylinder. rum/drum 1" master cylinder with the ports facing outward toward the frame, for a late 60s/early 70s jeep cj5. with it mounted in the car, my math was off by a little, and i'll need to move it forward about 1/2" for the rear outlet to clear part of the transmission crossmember/ frame mount area, or find some adjustment somewhere else, but not a big deal. Gas tank mounted with some homemade straps, all accessible from the bottom with a socket. I'd like to take this car on some road trips, so im trying to think about being on the side of the road somewhere under the car, and want to make things easy and accessible for my future self Accumulated most of the clutch stuff i needed, still missing a clutch fork that im having trouble finding so i might end up modifying one thats close. And most importantly, a buddy came over saturday and this car finally got an engine in it for the first time in what im guessing, has been many decades. Happy to say that the later front engine mount i cut up worked perfectly, i was pretty nervous it was going to be undersized or really far off and id have to come up with a new plan, but couldnt have asked for a better fit. the rubber isolator started to twist as it was bolted in, i'll end up cutting some better fitting ones with sleeves, but this was good enough to prove if it was going to work or not My exhaust flanges are due in today from Hells Gate hot rods, so i can start figuring out a manifold for this, or if i can figure out straight 6 manifold that would work, or a homemade swooping log style manifold that i think would look pretty cool, but might not be as efficient. Also, liking these style air cleaners on this GMC
Those air cleaners look like early Helmet style units. I have three somewhere in my storage trailer. don't know if I could ever find another one for my 4 x2 set up.
They look like they could be cast items. If so, may be time to investigate making a pattern and producing a few. Just in this thread, there is a market for at least five (5) of them. Bet more could be sold. Ray
they look to be cast, but for an almost 70yr old magazine, its a little hard to see much detail and there wasnt any mention of it in the article. If there is someone out there making them, id be in for a set, but id be fine with the simple dome ones too. Dickster on here has them in his online store for cheap, but the dont have the little flare out around the base like the helmet ones do, but ive been meaning to grab one of his fuel pressure gauges for the end of the fuel rail, so maybe i'll grab some air cleaners and see how they look. http://dickshotrodcarbs.com/carburetorproducts.html Exhaust flanges came in yesterday, so i guess im going to grab some tubing bends and figuring out that puzzle. i've been talking myself out of it, and thinking of trying to adopt some aftermarket headers to fit, but the short few yrs i've owned this car, and was imagining the engine all dressed, its been a sweeping log style, while staying under the hood and having it exit behind the rear axle. i have some space to play with, not a ton, and the generator, bellhousing and toe board will be in the way from having it be exactly how i want it, but i think i'll figure it out. the flanges are set up for 1.5" tubing, and will dump into maybe a 2.5" tube, or maybe some sort of lone cone or megaphone type tube, and into a Porter steel pack. I've been doing alot of reading, and while this isnt the most efficient for a tuned exhaust, and i dont have the maths to figure out a good argument for it, other than looks, but i'd imagine it will flow better than the stock 90* bent small cast iron pipe that was stock. Thoughts??
Still pretty rough and alot of fit and finish to do before anything is permanent, but i wanted to get the big pieces cut to get the exhaust moving. I've done alot of research/ reading/ finding old pictures, etc for ideas on what will work, work best, and work in the space i have, and finally decided to just try and make something that seemed like it would flow with minimal turbulence, (and look cool) and came up with this. a bunch of 1.5" tubing, a cut down megaphone made for a nice transition to a main tube, and a box of assorted bends to come up with something. Aside from a few tacks on the main tube, all of runners are just held in place with magnets and still need to be trimmed to fit so it doesnt look as fitted as it will be had to keep the last tube straight down to clear the bellhousing/ mount which i already knew and had planned on. i'll add another bend to tuck it under the bellhousing and put a coupling there to connect to the rest of the exhaust, which will be a simple 2.5" all the way to the back, with a Porter steel pack Also, one of the last puzzle pieces, found a slightly later NOS clutch fork for a '39, but the important side fits how it should with the pivot clip, and even came with new pivot balls that i didnt have. I'll end up cutting it and adding about an inch to it, as its slightly too short to reach the pedal linkage, but it was cheap and im pretty happy with it I'll also have to pop that clip off and drill a hole through the divot for what would have been a ball pivot, but with a hole drilled, will accept the conical nut on the clutch pedal link
Some activity in preparation for getting the body back on and trying to get some of the stuff done that will be a pain with the body in the way. Ran full exhaust out to the back, 2 1/2" Porter steel pack and a mix of bends. It all bolts together in 2 pieces and is pretty easy to remove/ install if the need ever arises. From the manifold/ header I dont know where this bracket came from but i had a box of random hangers but that used the wide slotted brackets, so i cut the rivets off of it and replaced the rubber with a universal one. I also was able to re-use a stock hanger bracket that is placed near the muffler, though i did have to drill new frame mounting holes for it, as well as redrill the hanger holes to accept a new hanger. theres no exhaust tip yet, im going to wait until the body's on to figure out how i want it to exit from under the car/ where the bumper will sit. Also wanted to get the fuel pump mounting figured out. 6 volt Carter pump, i would have like to move it to the frame rather than the gas tank crossmember because of its proximity to the rear axle, but in reality theres plenty of clearance,and with how strong the suspension is in this, i dont see there being a big range of articulation, plus it is a good place for the fuel pump to be in relation to the tank. The inner part of the frame around there is factory boxed in and set up kind of funny, and also the rear sway bar and shock arms occupy the space above the rear end on the frame. Fuel lines are also run, but not much to see for that. spent a few hrs sort of kneeling under the body wire wheeling/ sanding/ grinding the underside of the floor so i could paint it. i had replaced alot of the floor so it wasnt too bad, but it wasnt all that fun either, especially with such a big car. Sprayed with the same tractor enamel that i used on the chassis. I used my thick primer gun and it was a pain trying to spray up with it, but im happy enough with the result. A buddy was coming by around noon to give me a hand yesterday, so to kill some time, i sanded down the firewall and sprayed some primer on it since the engine would be in the way. Im sure there are some extra holes for stuff i wont be using, but i didnt want the firewall to it to look too smooth and updated. if there are any real big unused holes, i'll get some rubber plugs for them. Still need to some some aligning before all of the bolts will go in,but i just wanted to get the majority of the big moving done while i had an extra set of hands. I still need to drill 2 new holes for the rear most mounts in the trunk floor that i remade, and 2 right behind the door sills where i replaced all of the floor. I want to try and make some countersunk interior body mount holes to make it look right, maybe something with the beadroller, or if there is a press/ dimple die type thing thing. i havent really looked into it yet. I think next will be finishing up some of the sheet metal work, primarily finishing the weather stripping channel around the trunk, and the outside cowl/ toeboard area where the front fenders bolt to the body.
its just a mix of pieces i found, with everything but the muffler coming from Summit. The rear over the axle tailpipe piece was for a late 90s ford truck i think, but i cut it in half over the axle and re-clocked it and welded it back together, and the 2 offset pieces that connect to the muffler on either end were for an '80s chevy truck, but also cut down to fit. I like using stock stuff for other cars, its usually alot cheaper than individual pieces from an aftermarket company and they look like they belong there a bit more.
If you have the sealed beam conversion info in a format that can be emailed, I'd be interested in it. Thanks!
I, too, would be interested in that info......please consider this a request if you do acquire it. Thank you...... Ray
@Ebbsspeed i sent you a pm, but i just saw Ray's message and will just post it here Matt Hinson, over on the AACA forums sent me this from a Torque Tube article he published a few yrs ago documenting the 1973 article with a few tips as a forward. Some of the quality got wiped out when i pulled the pages from the pdf i was sent, so if someone wants the slightly better quality pictures in the pdf, i can email it, or if i figure out how to pull them without the pictures getting blown out, i'll update this @Hnstray i updated with some clearer versions
With the body back on, its time to jump back on to some of the remaining sheet metal projects that i was procrastinating on and and i didnt want to do too much cutting while the body was sitting on stands at the chance of having something fall out of shape, ( door sills, trunk frame, etc.). i had made a new repair panel for the passenger side cowl/ fender mounting area months ago, so i started there saturday. Fairly crusty and i could pull the lower portion apart with my hand A quick check with the new panel cleco'd over the old section It had been partially repaired before and there were some unexpected gobs of brazing, but luckily the inner rocker metal it was attached to at the pinch/ crimp area was rotted and i could just replace it rather than fight welding around brazed metal that small section on the top, i just cut out and made a simple little patch, most of that area was good and i didn't want make a whole new panel for it A quicky little inner rocker piece, curved on the left side to fit around a section of the door sill. Butt welded on the right upper side, but there was a factory over lap from a piece of the floor that i took advantage of to just do "spot"plug welds on that section and cheat a bit. gave it a good once over with a wire wheel and some cleaner and painted it all since it would be sealed up permanently, though there is a small window from the inner toeboard area, but not really accessible for paint. Made a template to locate the fender mounts and used some 5/16-18 weldnuts on the backside to match the original thread sizes since one of them was still being used outside of the area that was being replaced Still have some cleaning up to do on it, but thats good enough to make sure it will fit right. i left the bottom curve unwelded so when i get the door aligned and where i want it, i can match the new panel to align with the door bottom. i did the same thing with the rear rockers. I had some free time yesterday before i was supposed to give a buddy a hand with something, and mounted the door and loosely bolted the fender in place, (both a big a pain in the ass by yourself) and put a running board on. theres alot of adjustment with the running board brackets, and the fender itself, so i'll spend some time getting it sorted, but certainly looks like it will fit correctly and the fender will fit snug in the relief areas of the new panel. Theres still a piece of the door sill bracing in the place so the door is open a bit and just ziptied closed. i have some areas around the door sill corner that need some attention, but its all pretty small so it shouldnt be bad to finish. next will either be the driver side of this or start on the 16ft+ of welding in the trunk perimeter/ weather stripping channel that ive really been looking forward to
Still here, alot of not so interesting work but still puttering away and the end of the never ending metal work is in sight sort of! First thing, and one of the big things i was worrying about was getting a seat for the buick. i had bought an uncovered seat with the intention of going through lebaron bonney for a cover, but since they went out of business i was getting ready to pony up the money to have it reupholstered, or dive into the world of sewing machines and see what i could cobble together. Fortunately, i came across an ad from someone up in Maine selling a seat for $100 from a 1938 Buick 2door sedan, so it had the split folding bench seat and would fit . Saw the ad on a monday and i drove up and back on that Wednesday. ive lost out on some good stuff procrastinating, and i didnt want this to be one of those, especially for the price. It was in better shape than i was expecting, looks like it was maybe in a seldom driven car and was pulled out so they could put buckets in. A good guy, i think he said he was 80, and was a drag racer for decades and was a founding member of the Orientals car club here in Massachusetts. Got the tour of his garage and some nice cars he had, most interestingly was a 26 T sedan that he cut up into a truck and stretched 17 inches, but also had a '39 buick and a '39 Pontiac that was pulled apart. My first seat that i paid too much for i was pretty jealous with his 4 post lift! Subtle paint job of a 2 tone with the mint colored body and green grey running boards and fenders. i dont know why the hood color looks like it doesnt match the rest of the body, it looked really nice in person took alot of convincing and moving brackets, making new threaded holes in the floor, but its in, ( though its home now to keep it clean and safe) Decided to start back on trying to finish off the rear of the body. i had already made a new outer tail pan, inner tailpan tool tray/ recess area, so i started on fitting the new weather stripping channels i made, ( just sheet metal that i put a bend in then curved them with the shrinker/ stretchers). Still working on these and its going to be a pain to grind out the welds, i think its around 15ft of "channel" but it had to be done so its getting done. Looks messy with all of the tack welds, but it will look good when its finished hopefully I have been trying to make excuses to leave the trunk floor alone, but again, it had to be done. its full of holes and old brazed repairs that looked like shit, and when i cut it out and could see all of the swiss cheese holes, i felt a little better about it. started with a big piece of 4ft wide 18ga. i think i might upgrade my little bead roller next time i do a big floor piece, but with a little convincing it was fine, though an extra set of hands would have been helpful i cut the sides to follow the curve of the frame like the stock floor had, rounded the edges of the new "flaps" to make it look a little nicer and used a step die in the beadroller on the tops of them for the body mount bolt holes and to make them recessed a bit ( where the blue marker marks are on them, though this was before i did that) and since i had to make a cover for the fuel neck that intersects the floor to go out to the passenger side fender, now seemed like a good time to do it. It would have been easier to just drill the hole for a new tube, but i had cut out the section one from the new tank i bought when i shaved the fill neck, so i just moved it over to the side. it was a pain and will still get cleaned up a bit, but it was good enough to make a new cover piece for it. Still have a few little filler pieces to make up and alot of grinding welds down, but i wanted to get the big stuff done , ( this was from yesterday) and pulled a wheel off so i could play with the spare time clamp. there is a tray that is supposed to cover the tire and make a false trunk floor with the side brackets but im guessing the wider wheel is getting in the way of that. i'll worry about that later And i got news that the engine and transmission for the '58 Edsel will be back from the machine shop in January, ( warmed up 460 ford and a C6) so i figured i should stop tripping over the front fender ive had at my shop all yr and try and finish it. i think im more excited than the owner to get the engine back for that car, but im also not the one paying for it, so maybe thats why Among other things, the front behind the headlight and end of the body line was all rotted away so i made a new one. i had some trouble with the peak/ end of the body line where there are concave and convex edges, and still needs a little tuning, but im happy with where its headed
Good job on all those patch panels, flanges, and floor. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks fellas, theres alot still to do, but the end is in sight! i still have the driver side lower cowl area in front of the door, and that corner of the door sill, so im hoping to be able to call the body metal work done by sometime in February if i can set a little optimistic goal for myself. Then a few months of body work and maybe paint around summer? Take care and enjoy the holidays
The Jalopy Journal
