Projects 1934 3 window HighBoy Build Begins

Thank you RCNUT,
Here's a little more progress from today. Josh has the tank in as well as the gas filler. The very large fuel pump as well as in line fuel filter are both mounted to the frame rail on the right side. They feed the fuel pressure regulator up in the engine bay. The regulator allows non used fuel to by-pass/ return back to the tank via it's own return line. This fuel flow is little different than the continuos flow set up. IE: Only a single line goes up to the fuel rails for the right and left banks.

Rex got into the act helping out today by polishing on the stainless head light stands. These were heated and bent to achieve the headlight placement earlier in the build process.
Looking good guys!
Regards,
George

 

YIKES!!!
So much for day after day of positive progress and great news. We ran into a real buzz saw, set back this morning. When Josh picked up our aluminum panels from the hard anodizing plating shop, he found a big negative surprise. Everywhere that had been welded was dark black due to the difference in material. The sample we had done early on did not have any welding, so we didn't see the issue. SIGH.

The panels absolutely can not be used as is. See for yourself in the attached pictures. While some of them can be re-made without welding, some still require weld effort. There are a ton of hours in these and it was a bit of a heart breaker.

We have three choices, strip them and go with sanded panels, upholster them or paint them. Is there a perfect answer? Not really. We have discussed the pro's and con's of each solution and Dustin is going to spray them out!

Such is the real life of a build! smile. I hope you share our pain as emotion is part of this. BOTH GOOD AND BAD.

Regards,
George

 

Sorry to hear about the set back George, I imagine it was bit disappointing.

If you wanted to keep the bare metal look, could you sand and then clear coat them with a flat clear?

 

Hi David,
Yes....That would work short term. Longer term, it would be an issue. We have a very good protective coating with the clear anodize and will take advantage of it by leaving it there. I will post pictures of "new" results as soon as possible.

While this is a set back,... It's definitely not a show stopper. It is time to make lemonade out of the lemons. Grin.

Regards,
George


QUOTE=Hivolt5.0;9419292]Sorry to hear about the set back George, I imagine it was bit disappointing.

If you wanted to keep the bare metal look, could you sand and then clear coat them with a flat clear?[/QUOTE]




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Here is the process for tomorrow's test panel:
Dustin will use grey Scotch Brite to prep the anodized aluminum surface before spraying a coat of sealer, base color coat of aluminum and then using a final FLAT clear coat.

Once done, Josh will send a picture to share.

Hopefully this will work just fine and we will be on our way.

Josh spent the rest of today mounting and routing things that have wiring needs . There is a raised panel on the interior side of the firewall that allows mounting items without showing hardware through the firewall. IE: the fuse panel, relays, ECM for the EFI ...just the normal stuff with the need for clean layout and wiring distribution. Josh still has enough to keep him busy without losing assembly time for the interior panels paint rework.

I am looking forward to seeing the result of tomorrow's test panel.

Regards,
George

 

Different tread patterns to me look rediculous unless you have slicks and front runners! And why are 5.50 x16 bias ply stones the only ones with that pattern? A Coker screwup? Dunno,very nice coupe,stone chips are just gonna break yer heart huh?

 

Bader2,
Check out these patterns.... smile. Dynamat needs to send endorsement dollars for these pics. Additionally, here's a picture of the "mid-dash" installation progress. The picture is very grainy and I will ask for another to update in the morning.
Regards,
George

 

What do you think about Dynamat on the back side of the gas tank (where it won't show) to deaden the sound of gas sloshing? Especially since it is right behind your ears there.

 

At my place of employment, for aluminum weldments that will be anodized we use a 5356 welding rod to prevent the discoloration like you've had occur.

Next time, be sure to consult with your anodizer to find out what rod should be used to maintain consistent color for a given anodizing process and base material.

 

Alchemy,
Great idea. I have already spoken with Josh and he will add the Dynamat to the gas tank as you have suggested.. Thank you.
While Josh has been rolling on the assembly as well as sound deadener / barrier, Dustin and Fred have been sticking with getting the rest of the parts prepped and painted. Dustin and Fred will continue working in a partnership for prep, paint and buff until everything is completed. The standing joke is that the Deck Lid will be bolted on as the car is loaded into the trailer. smile.

The balancing effort is to stay ahead of Josh so that he doesn't run out of work. I have been chasing down a last minute detail that I could have done months ago.( shame on me!) IE: Plug wire sets for the M/T valve covers. They require rubber boots that were not needed with the Obrien's shown in the below picture. A search on the H.A.M.B. yielded a path of buying 1995 -1997 Honda V-6 Wires to utilize the rubber boots on my Taylor wire set. The Honda wires and boots are glued together and it will be a nice little project for me to separate them for Josh.

Regards,
George

 

Thank you Mike. It was a learning experience and this is beneficial for the future.
Regards,
George

 

See if this picture is any better....
power stud/ post, 2 rectangular magnets for the fuse box which can come out for ease of access, relays, EFI controller and last but not least grounding posts.
regards,
George

 

Time to sort out the spaghetti! The aftermarket fuse panel and harness has the wiring already terminated into the fuse panel. I prefer this to the non wired panel that utilizes crimped spade lugs. Using the pre marked wires makes this part of the build only a matter of taking the time to be neat and organized. Nothing complicated!
Regards,
George

 

Dustin sprayed half of this panel today to evaluate the match. It looks good and it will look even better after it has a flat clear coat sprayed over it.
I am not only pleased, but quite frankly RELIEVED. whew.
regards,
George

 

The doors have been cleared and cured, but not yet cut and polished.
Here they are hung and looking sweet.
Regards,
George

 

Dustin and Fred are still in paint mode while Roy is wiring. Josh is working on assembly. He added the heater, nerf bars, head light stands and wiper motor today. He also hung doors.
Regards,
George




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Going to be ready for some driving fun soon. Bet you can't wait.

 

Still lot's to do.... new self explanatory pictures below.

 

The rear glass was delivered this afternoon and Josh installed it tonight.
....one more step completed! The last picture is of the battery change today. I do not have the discipline to properly take care of a gel battery much less the patience to properly charge one. I asked Josh to replace the Optima above with a standard lead acid one. There are over 30 threads on the HAMB that address this if you want to read those.
Regards,
George

 

Bob, Joel, Randy, Pete and myself made a run up to Loveland yesterday morning to return the 348 I had purchased. ( it has a cracked block in the typical place under the exhaust manifold) Afterwards, we headed over to Custom Auto for a visit.
Fred was working on the hood tops and will have all the remaining parts in primer before Christmas. Roy was wiring away. I was surprised by how well his "gorilla tape" was working. He had a small bundle of wire that included tail lights, and fuel connections (pump and sender) that needed to get to the back. He was carefully laying them FLAT and taping them about every six inches to maintain the low profile ribbon cable effect. NICE JOB ROY! The EFI harness is 44 inches longer than required and it is going to be quite the nuisance to roll up and keep neatly bundled out of the way in a small space. I sent an email to Hilborn and hope they are in next week to work on the issue for us. As some folks close for the entire Holiday week, it may be the first of the year before we hear back. While not a show stopper, this is definitely something to work on for improvement. Roy has the wiring very close and should finish soon.

Josh has the windshield glass in the frame and installed up front. The polished aluminum shocks have long last arrived. YES! They were the last missing pieces and will be installed next week.

I brought the plug wires, new Honda boots and silicone spray up and we assembled one set to look at the fit. Obviously, I had already done it for myself, but wanted the guys to see how well it works. I really have to give credit to the H.A.M.B.'s "HemiRambler" for the great tip.

Josh and I debated direction on the spreader bar end caps as they are flat and I would like to see them finned to match our theme. If there is time, Josh will work this at the end. If not, it can wait until we get back from the show.

The coupe is looking awesome!
Regards,
George[/QUOTE]

 

Gorilla tape rocks. That's how I wired my Model A and ran it without an interior for a few years. The stuff is awesome!

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

 

Here's a picture of the spreader bar cap I was referring to in an earlier post. We were going to wait until the end to see if there was enough time.....but apparently there is a fellow named Jon that had time today. I have never met him as he goes to school and works part time when the shop can use him. Thank you Jon. I am very happy with the result. Great Job!

Regards,
George

 

More good progress today . Please see attached pictures of the gauges installed in the dash,

Regards,
George

 

Your car is really coming along! All of the little issues you've had along the way have been resolved and the end is near. Kudos to the team working on your car! And Merry Christmas!

 

David,
Here's the plug wire routing we discussed. smile. Additionally, please find the below picture of Roy's progress on the wiring. Josh has the shocks mounted and spent most of the day on a nice battery box with venting to keep fumes out of the cockpit. I chased down the updated valve cover studs required for the M/T's. The easy find was to use carb studs. Correct size, length and dual thread pitch as needed. The hood, deck lid and rear valance are all ready for color on Monday. Josh says everything is looking good on timing and I am a cross between happy and just plain nervous. Heck, we haven't primed hurt or even put gas in the tank yet. Yikes. 3 weeks to go and she needs to go to the upholstery shop for carpet. Rex has that scheduled in 2 weeks. geezem . grin. There is controlled thrashing going on and everyone is in good spirits. I am absolutely dying to see the front end and grill with head lights on her.
Regards,
George

 

Josh is going over board on the the details. smile. Just like my desire on the heater box, Josh decided the battery box needed to match the interior panels.
Looking very professional Josh. Great job!
Regards,
George[/QUOTE]

 

Battery Box is finished....

[/QUOTE]

 

Looking good George! The details are truly amazing!

 

Thank you very much David,
This weeks plan is to finish the painting and get her assembly completed. She is scheduled for the upholstery shop next week for carpet. I am not sure when we will get the HEMI primed and fired up... but it's getting close. Looking backwards,...I wish I has already run it in on a stand months ago. I wouldn't be so worried. sigh.
Regards,
George

 

George, what king of brake lines did you use again? My next job on the '48 is to install brake lines. I had bought a roll of brake line from Speedway but it is too small, I need one size bigger and I was kind of hoping to pick up some locally so I can go ahead and get started on it.

thanks
David