Projects B is for Build - Olds Powered 34

...this creeps me out!!!!


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=38969&pictureid=480501

 

I'm hoping the other door is just as solid. I know there is a bit of rot in the drivers side of the cowl. You can see a hole in a few of the pictures. I'll find out just how bad soon enough though.

There will be a headlight bar joining the two upper shock mounts together. I like how they look.

I was preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. I need to knock on wood though. The passenger side could still disappoint me yet.

Thanks for the suggestion. I think or maybe I should say that I estimate, that once the dropped axle gets thrown into the mix, the tops of the tires will be close to the top of the headlights when drawing a horizontal line. I'm going to play around with their position a bit more this weekend.
It's hard to see in the pictures due to the sun, but I am attempting to have the horizontal bar in the grille intersecting the middle of the headlights.

I'm getting ready for winter. I moonlight as a Yeti...

 

Did you get a side shot showing how the shell, lights and tire line up?

 

Nope. The lights aren't sitting as far forward as they will be when finished. Right now, a side shot just makes everything look convoluted. The grille is currently ahead of the headlights, etc.

 

Did you remove the bondo or did you have this guys help???

 

OH I like that but he don't like us having a bit of fun on his thread ,,, 0well

 

#oldsmosexual

 

The holiday Monday turned out to be a bonus day for me. I was supposed to be busy with family plans, but the weather was temperamental. I got to work on a few things.

First off, was sorting out an exit strategy for all those burnt carbons. As mentioned earlier, I'll be running an underslung exhaust. Matt at Gear Drive sent me over a set of driveshafts as well as block off caps. They look great, and are perfect for what I am after. They'll be hooked up to the stock exhaust manifolds and will dump somewhere under the cab. Final positioning is to be determined.







I have two sets of these manifolds, one off my running 54 Olds and the other off the stuck 55. The 54 set were surface rusted and aren't smooth to begin with. The 55 set were rusted and crusty inside and out from sitting forever. Both sets have broken studs that need to be removed, but between them, I'll clean up one good set. The crusty ones have been soaking in my molasses bath for two weeks now, and are cleaning up alright. The nicer set will get the molasses bath next.

I also hauled the bed off the frame again to continue stripping the multiple layers of paint and bondo. It was blue sky and sunny when I started, but of course, as soon as I got all set up and ready to go, it started to rain. It rained off and on all afternoon, but I got a bit of stripping done between cloud bursts.

My day ended with testing and starting to modify the starter to fit. I have two good stock starters. Both of them kick hard and are in good condition. I'll use the original one that came with the running motor, and keep the other one as a spare.
Back on post #24 of this thread, I alluded to part of the modifications that need to be done. That post was using an old starter nose cone. This time, I'll be modifying the real thing. The additional modifications have been shown by Paul on his thread. Once I finish them, I'll do a full tech write up on what needs to be done.
Long story short, the starter nose cone and solenoid need to be modified to work with the starter changeover while still clearing the oil pan.

More next week hopefully!

 

Keep it up doing good AJ

 

just one comment.......
you're now as sick as the rest of us!

 

Keep it up.

 

Great work! Really enjoy following the build of your 34.

 

Giver'

 

This heap rules!

I think I remember you saying that the newest part anyone will be seeing on the truck is the '57 Ford rearend?
Besides little things that are hard to find originals of up here, like tierod ends.

 

Thanks guys!

Yeah. That was pretty much the original plan. I've deviated a few times here and there...things like tierod ends (which may get switched out for old rebuilt ones later.
As far as I know, with the truck sitting level on the ground, there are only two items easily visible that break the 1957 year mark.

 

...that means you and what?

 

Hurst motor mounts and potentially the shifter depending on which one I decide to run.

 

Then that's 3 post 1957 things...

 

I'm not planning on sewing my ass to the seat, so when you look at the truck, it's only two...

 

I dig how tight you've been with keeping your "build era" in check.

Super traditional little pages kind of stuff.

 

Lookin' good AJ! It will be ready for the big 10th anniversary ELTA Bash?

 

Thanks bud. I'm trying. A narrow 'period' window sure keeps my direction in focus.

We'll see. I hope to have it running and moving under its own power by then.

 

I stole a little bit of time to get some work done on Monday. Not much, but progress is progress.

As you know, I've been stripping the paint off the bed and finding good metal and past sins. As I encountered more sins, I decided to blow the box apart completely. It'll be easier to strip the paint and transport if everything is apart. Plus, there are a few pieces that I know will have to be replaced.

The paint hides a lot.



I thought this would be a simple job of drilling out the rivets and having everything pull apart. Turns out, this is not the case as all. On a stock box, you should be able to disassemble in the following manner:
- drill out the rivets securing the floor to the box sides
- undo the bolts securing the floor to the substructure
- remove floor
- drill out the rivets securing the box sides to the front panel
- drill out rivets securing stake pockets to sub structure
- pull off sides and front

In my case, when the previous owner shortened the bed and welded things back together, he welded the box sides to the floor, and in some areas, to the sub structure. Also, the front panel had a lot of pitting and rust through. Instead of fixing the rust, he just welded in a sheet that covers the rust on the front panel. However, he also welded this sheet to the bed floor, and the box sides.
Suffice to say, this box has been fighting me every step of the way. There will be a bunch of stuff to repair/replace...

 

I found that on my box, as well as all the rivets
there were a few spot welds, the stake pockets
in particular.
I was surprised by that.
Keep on...

 

Nice build, but I'm not sure of the wisdom of having an aging sasquatch doing the prep...

 

Interesting. I'm trying to get the bed sides off first, because as far as I can tell, the stake pockets are only attached to the bed sides.

haha! Can't end up any worse than some of the previous work that was done on this thing.

 

...to paraphrase somebody/somewhere...."...if the surprises don't kill you, they make you stronger....". I look forward to all of your updates....

 

So it's true........you do like being on the bottom.....lol......great work brother.....can't wait to see you driving her.

 

Would it not be easier to flip the bed upside down?

Mart.

 

You have to eat a pound of dirt before you die. I try to roll with the punches. Update coming shortly.

haha! Big difference between 'being on the bottom' and 'being a bottom'! In this case, I'm still grinding away

It would be. But I was only under there for a minute. I've had this bed up on all ends, right side up, upside down, this thing fought me hard.

Thanks for following along though