just another shoebox budget build

Great job !! Get the last bit of bugs worked out and enjoy!!!

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Thanks fellas, Old cars are like old houses sometimes, Endless up keep. But it's all in the fun refining your ride. Anyone ever build a plug and play? This is the closest i've ever come to one.

 

Congrats on the successful maiden voyage, very clean build and every right to be proud of it. Don't cave in to the temptation to sell unless it's a stupid amount ( as in ALOT) and you have something else in the wings.

 

Yeah,looks cool and congrats on the first trip!

I had to check out from my bro,who is a vehicle inspector that is the windshield washer required in here.The law was a bit obscure about older vehicles,but i think its ok in here with just wipers.

 

I think he was serious to but backed off when i told him it was the first day out and selling was not an option at this time. And it wasn't. He kept looking back at me as he left in dissapointment. Flattering thou.

 

I should talk more about the steering since some where interested back in the build thread. Refresh your memory i used a early 90's center steer cavalier rack. Everyone says you will loose a lot of turning radius. This is true but not as bad as i thought. Running a rack was sure nice going down the street thou and taking corners. A big plus. I'm kind of used to 3 point parking anyway since i drive a 4 dr Ram plus my little roadster's turning radius with a drag link mustang box isn't much better. I made my own rack mounts which where welded in I might add my mounts where considerably stouter than a friend of mines who used a fat man kit. But that's ok. Anyway i have zero bump steer which i'm very pleased about. No kick in the steering wheel going through a big dip in the road and this is with a garage alignment. My rack is a power unit with looped lines so it's manual steering for now anyway. Coupled with big 225-75's up frt takes a bit more muscle but i like the ballon tire look.
I may play with the steering arms later if i find the turning radius is pissing me off.

Oh i spent the big bucks. 4 new wide whites are on the way.

 

I'm glad to hear the review on the rack. I've been going back and forth on rack or figuring out a steering box conversion (not the volvo box). Either way I'm building it myself. Can't wait to get behind the wheel of my shoebox. Congrats on the first drive.

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I got a proper wheel alignment today and i'm pretty happy with the handling. Very predicable and comfortable to drive. Sharp turning sucks a bit but i'm ok with it. At least in can drive without see sawing the steering wheel. I still have to deal with the rear shocks so i can drop it a few inches.
My nephew took these pics of it in the wild so i thought i'd post them.

 

I got the www tires yesterday . Coker American Classics 225- 75x15. I can't believe the differnce in ride and steering effort. What a bonus. Diggin the look to.

 

nice! the wide whites really set off the look. very happy for you that everything came out as nice as it did. hope you get to run up a bunch of miles before the end of the season.

 

I love your ride. I really wish I would have bought the meteor grille surround when I had the chance but didn't really have the money. congrats. I have been driving the wheels off mine lately. About the flake the roof!

 

Thanks Mike. I can't tell how much i enjoy driving this thing The car has earned enough confidence right now i even leave the battery hooked up at night. LOL. The best part is the handling. I was worried about the rack and pinion because of all the bad raps it was getting in a shoebox. But it's 10 times better than stock by far. I don't know what everyone was whinning about. So you loose some turning radius but after a week of driving i have no complaints. 60 mph down the hiway and just point it with one hand on the wheel. That's where it counts. Can't say enough about the Cokers to.
Next week, proper dual exhaust.

 

Meteor grill shells are hard enough to find around here to and the country had tons of meteors at one time. Don't know where they all went. Never see them at swap meets around here either. There was parts car for sale last year with a chrome shell on it, which i didn't know existed but it was pretty banged up.

 

Got the dualys done and the back seat. So i thought i'd tackle the trunk are and made a few panels. Nothing extravagant but good enough for my driver.
Even took in a few out of town shows with my buddy in his 48 chebby to test out the highway manners of the car. No hickups

 

Looks great man!



'27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383

 

looks good, now get to work on some skirts for your buddy's chevy!

 

SHHHH i don't need more work right now.

Had my first break down this morning. Driving along and it just died instantly. Checked for fuel and fire and had fuel only. Test light showed power to the module but no output. So i pointed my finger at the petronics. Called my buddy in the chebby and gave me a ride home to get the petronics out of my roadster. Easy fix. Caught hell from my buddy for not putting dialectric grease under the module for a heat shield and not carrying a spare. This happened to him previously. So there ya go.
Didn't carry the points with me like in the other cars so i think i'll just get another spare module since they are easy to change on the side of the road if it happens again.
I've got over 13 yrs in one car with petronics but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

 

Car came out very nice....great job.

 

Thanks Royal. Hey when did you become a moderater?

 

Went to Hawaii was poisoned by bad wine it made me crazy and somehow ended up in this spot....I must be being punished by Ryan in a good way?

 

I need to get off my but and start on my shoebox.Car looks good.Glad to someone driving their shoebox.

 

My petronics went out on me on Saturday heading to Ventura. I had the spare points in my hand and when we pushed the car out o the road dropped them and couldn't find them. Got towed home went to pepboys got another set and when installing them found the other original set that came out when pertronics went in and the set I had in my hand when pushing car. I have only had them in since July and am pissed they left me on the side of the road. Oh well drove to the show with the family.
Car looks awesome. Still jealous mine is nowhere near being finished.

 

It does leave a sour taste in your mouth and a distrust for petronics but i'm not dismayed yet since i have had great luck with them previously. The fact i didn't put dilectric grease under the module first is a possibility of failure. Another thing i'm going to check is the output to make sure it's correct. I know if you leave the key on to long while your installing things you can fry it. So i'm may be a fault here. Like i said i'm buying extra modules for spares in all my cars instead of playing with points beside the road.

 

Those of you that are running a sbf-c-4 300 gears with 225-75x15's, the biege speedo gear in the trans is right on the money for accurate. This is with a 51 speedo head. Just thought i'd throw this in and save some guess work.

 

Thanks for the info ...

 

Great info Tedley! We need more pics of this sucker on the road!



'27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734383

 

Your welcome guys. I know i like little tips to save some leg work.
I don't have many pics right now out in the wild. Hope to do a vid before winter. I thru in a pic of when i picked it up to in the raw.
Thanks for the interest.

 

Dude, those winged mirrors are rad as hell! I actually came across one and absolutely had to have it. I'm glad you didnt decide to throw em on your box, in my opinion they don't belong but its still a fuckin sweet mirror!

 

Yes i'm glad i changed my mind. Love those mirrors but wrong car to put them on. NOS to. Probably Epay them to the highest bidder.
I had some lower interior door trim left over so i use them in the trunk panels. Breaks up the big panels a bit. Made a couple of little access doors on each side to hide clutter in. Yes wax rags and rainex. Also hides the little compressor for the air shocks. Which works slick. Adjust on the fly according to road conditions and i dig it.
I've been driving the wheels off this thing and it's like driving a regular car. So i had to get a 'cup holder' for my coffee everyday to work. Bought a little cheapo console for now. Handy thing thou.

 

Just ran all the way through this thread and gotta say you've done a great job. If you don't mind me asking, being as this is a budget build, how much do you have in it?