Filed under the "never throw a bracket away" file, is the bracket I made this evening for my proportioning valve. Anytime we throw away an old appliance or piece of furniture, I strip that sort of stuff of any and all potentially useful brackets, nuts, bolts, screws and switches and file them away in the bins in my garage. This was the bracket for the adjustable feet on a dishwasher. It's stainless, heavy gauge and came with a reinforced/threaded area in just the right spot. It will allow me to mount my p-valve on my inner fender panel in one of several locations (I'll decide on that tomorrow). I'm using the tab that I cut off of it, under the fender, mirroring the piece on top, to provide some reinforcement to the inner-fender-panel metal.
Nice sounding motor you got there I just ordered my 302 mounts of speedway my 302 is going into my 53. It's a running 239 3 speed with Od but I need a little more power to get up the hills and mountain passes in WA. Oh and good idea about the bracket drawing after reading this I started one. -chris
you should be able to get some good money for that original flatty/OD drivetrain If you were in Texas, I'd offer to buy it from you for my next project.
My Autozone is just around the corner,the manager let me eyeball hoses, I bent a coat hanger to the shape and length I needed to use as a template.
The upside of building a car from the ground up, especially one that's been challenging is that you know EVERYTHING about the car. That comes in handy down the road if problems arise.
For an original, unmolested good-running engine with OD transmission, yeah....that sounds like a fair price. I'd pay it in a heartbeat. I'd start at the high end of that range and go from there. My next project's gonna be a 27 T roadster on deuce rails....that would be perfect for it.
Today's progress: - Made all final connections on my cooling system and filled it up with water. - The above allowed me to run the engine for several minutes and set my timing. It's now purring like a kitten and jumps to life when I hit the starter. I'm totally pysched about how well it's running....it's given me a ton of drive to keep pushing forward.
I sat & read the entire thread ... impressive job so far. Much props for staying in the pocket & getting through the tough spots. I'll keep watching if you keep posting. PACO
Didn't have a lot of time this evening after work, but I did get my proportioning valve mounted and also mounted my radiator overflow tank. My sister-in-law bought me a really nice overflow tank a couple years ago, but it was billet! I've managed to get this far without using #$@^@! billet, but the tank was just too nice to not use. So...I painted the cap black and that seems to break it up a bit to where it doesn't look billet. My goal is to finish plumbing my brakes this weekend.
I remember cringing when I put a billet fuel-filler cap in the trunk of my Falcon; even though nobody ever sees it. The painted cap does help. Now it looks like it could be chromed steel at a glance. -Dave
It's looking to be a productive weekend. Saturday is totally mine to work on the 54. I have to get the yard mowed sometime in the midst of it, but that'll only take about an hour total. Then Sunday, I've got a kitchen pass to miss church in the morning and hit the swap meet at the Humble Convention Center. So....I hope to report a completely finished and functional braking system by Sunday night. My "stretch goal" (as they say in the corporate world) is to not only finish the brakes, but to rehab the wiper motor and hang all the wiper components. Once that's done, then my dashboard will go back in, steering column will get bolted down, gas pedal will get installed, and I'll have a car that will drive move under it's own power.
Lots of progress today.... I finished running brake lines, mounted my brake pedal and bench bled the master cylinder. I didn't have time to bleed all the brake lines, but I'll get to that soon. I also modified and mounted my gas pedal. So....brakes, gas pedal and throttle linkage are essentially done except for minor details. That leaves installing the dashboard, steering wheel, and final connections on my shift linkage and I'll have a car that will move and steer under its' own power for the first time in over 6 years.
Took a break from the larger scale mechanicals today and revived my vacuum wiper motor. I'm leaving some of the antique technology (like the tube radio and the vacuum wipers) in the car because....well, because I like them. I know there are superior replacements available but some of this old-school stuff just gives these old cars more charm. Here's a youtube video of me messing with the wiper motor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkKFw7W6T4g
Kewl ass video ... IMO wipers would have been one of my moderization focal points but what the hey ... it might not rain as hard in Conroe as it does here!! Great job so far & nice progress. PACO
Thanks Paco. One of the benefits of being over 40 (for me at least) is that you quit placing so much value on what other people think of your hotrods. I'm gonna build it how I like it. I'd sure like it if other people enjoy it too, but if they don't, well...that's just too damn bad. So... it's on to finishing the last details of the brakes and throttle and then the dashboard goes in.
Lets be honest Don,,windshield wipers are overrated,, I did install an electric wiper on the Wagon and actually had to use them the first night out,,the worked ok but on my hot rods I generally use Rain-X which always does a good job. What I did miss about the vacuum wipers is when you nail the throttle they stop motion until you lift. HRP
yeah...my plan is to use RainX to as my primary defense against rain. The vacuum wipers are there just to show the kids how quirky and simple some of that old technology was....like the tube radio also.
Big night tonight....I bled the brakes, hooked up my kickdown cable, and topped off my transmission fluid. So, I figured what the heck, let's see if this sucker will go into gear. I hopped in and fired it up. My throttle cable isn't hooked up, but it idled nicely, so I shifted it into reverse and she backed up out into the driveway! Then, back into drive and slowly back into the garage! Yes....a red letter day....the 54 moved under its own power for the first time since 1996. I'm totally psyched. I still have to finish hooking up the throttle cable and have to install the dashboard, but those are easy. What's important is that I have a car that runs and moves around again.
After a 16 year rest it otta' be rarin' to go. Welcome to the world of old rolling iron! Looks like I better go crack a beer for 'ya.
Mark...I read your post and realized that I wrote "1996" above. It should've read 2006. So, it's been off the road for 6 years. I guess I'm having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that the 90's have been over for 12 years. That decade seems like it was here yesterday to me.
The Jalopy Journal
