Technical What did you do today?

thats the way your supposed to spend Thanksgiving...i'm enjoying workin on the new roadster, so I cant sit still long enough to relax....always next Thanksgiving...lol

 

Dont care for football but did watch a little of what seemed to be a Andy Griffith marathon,
It never seems to get old even after Ive seen em all a million times

 

Pondered my next moves with my Jimmy 302 head. The ports and combustion chambers being fairly clean, it's time to get back to lapping the valves and getting them back in the head. The valve assemblies were cleaned once but that was 2016 and they are dirty again so that is the first task. Gonna try some different methods this time. Beer of the day for these deep ponder mode ruminations is Erie Brewing Company's Railbender Scottish Style Ale.

 

Noth'n yet, it's only 7:30 a m here. Yesterday i ate a lot of prime rib though.........the turkey got luchy this time.....the cow, not so much.......

 

The day before yesterday I ordered a set of these:
For this:
Increased the rear wheels to 16" so 235/75X16 will better fill the wheelwell.
Also changing front tires from 195/65X15 to 165/80X15.
Current tires still look good but getting pretty old. Figured a change of wheels now and then might keep me from buying something else!
Really need to break down and do something to the paint.

 

Bled the brakes on the coupe while the family were all away for thanksgiving and drove back to work 186 miles.

 

Went out to the shop and rigged up a device to help my nephew hurry up and eat.....

 

Actually Wednesday...

Filled 40 extra holes in this firewall, and 2 holes that I should have left open, for a grand total of 42! It was more screen door than firewall.

Sent from my SM-G930V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Found a 29NF battery for my 56 Ford....not as easy as they once were...

 

Got some more of the vette stripped.

 

Continued on my sons 302 GMC. Starting to look like an engine. Water pump lines up with the 292 damper now. Contemplating polishing the Howard intake to match the top and side covers.

 

That is looking very nice.
Polish it now it's on th bench

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

Rained most of the day. However it finally quit. So I drilled out the trunk lock from the T bird. Found a handsaw, four foot aluminum level. a old aluminum skill ricprocating saw. It works. and a cool little 1/3 ton Elephant chain hoist. I single bbl GM carb looks like its in good cond. and a rim that will clear the 4 piston disk brake calipers. Then the sun came out and it became T shirt weather. I wire brushed the rim and mounted a tire on it. found another 15 inch rim that was on the car that will also clear the disk brakes. That rim was really rusty from where it was sunk in the ground. Iworked on that until dark I might get it to hold Tubeless? I need the front wheels to roll. That way I can drop it and pick up the rear with the wrecker and move it to where I can pull the 428 engine. I will pull the trans and rear end also. It has a 300 ratio 9 inch with a Detroit locker.

 

It rained here all morning, sun came out so Sue and I drove in to Van Buren to check out a '68 - '72 Chevelle front seat. Looked like it had recently been recovered so I bought it, got it for less than I could get one done for. It will look good in grandson's off topic '69 El Camino SS. On the way home, stopped by Custom Carburetor to check on the Quadrajet for the El Camino. Now I'm home and seriously doubt that much of anything will get done the rest of this evening!

 

I closed the hole in the floor, around the steering column and pedals in my 40 PU. A few more small items, and it will come completely apart for paint.

 

Among other things, started building spindles for the Tot Rod...

 

Bought an inexpensive HF brake and turned some scrap sheet metal in to *bent* scrap sheet metal.

Cut out a custom “finger” for the HF brake, to hopefully get it to make the bends I want made. Gotta bend up some scraps to see if it’s going to work.



Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Took this cool picture while up on. 12 ft ladder.....

 

taking this booster from the shelf to prepairing for finding a place at a engine

 

Went and looked at some o/t western early and late 70s trucks and really thinking about buying one.

 

Yesterday count?

 

Inspected all the rest of my chrome goodies. A-ok. Installed the chromed levers and rods on the 97s going on my roadster. Adds a little sparkle.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Helped a friend put on 24 sheets of metal on his workshop. My shoulders have had it for the day!

 

Made a couple of tools for straightening the trim on the Galaxie. Cheap harbor fright knock off vise grip clamps, now with 3 inch flattening jaws on one set and bending jaws on the other. Even that little bit of exertion wiped out my back for the day.

 

Discovered that I put the bevel on the wrong side yesterday.

So, remade the finger plate, and bent a couple test parts.



Original cardboard pattern, steel finger plate, first bend-up, backwards, second bend-up using aluminum flashing, then one in steel.

The first two bends are easy, 90* angle. The third bend, on the angle side, hits the short side at the bottom, kinda bending it up funny. Fixed it, but it won’t be perfect. Fortunately, it’s on the bottom, and pretty well hidden.

Final piece will be stainless steel.



Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Did somemore on my Jimmy 302 headwork

When the valves were cleaned three years ago, they were put in a vibratory tumbler with water, plastic pyramid cutting media and a pinch of metal wash. Came out fairly clean with the exception of the carbon on the back of the exhaust valve heads. The carbon was still there, now polished to a nice satin black sheen.

Original thoughts were to take off the carbon with the 8" wire wheel on my bench grinder but I had visions of the grinder ripping a valve out of my hands and flinging it across the shop or, worse yet, into my forehead. I took to the intarweb to pick up some Youtube master tech continuing education credits. I came back with a method I could modify to my use. Secured my 1/2" drill motor in the bench vice and chucked the first valve in it. Set it running and used green and red Scotchbrite Pads to clean and polish it. Took an amazingly short time before all twelve valves were clean.

 

Continued with the Jimmy 302 valve springs.

The valve springs were likewise cleaned three years ago in the vibratory tumbler. This time, I dragged out the nine liter heated ultrasonic cleaner to give it a try. These springs are Z-28 springs and that's about all I know about them. I'm pretty shure they're all the same but, on the outside chance the exhaust springs are different from the intake springs, I decided to do the exhaust springs in the first batch and intake springs in the second.

The batches were run with a water and Pine-Sol solution for sixty minutes at 70 degrees centigrade. The springs came out nicely with an even gun metal finish. The base shim cups and top retainers, not so much. Don't know what happened there. I cleaned them with the small Scotchbrite buffs in the Dremel tool. Had to hold them tightly with needlenose pliers during this operation.

 

Are they long enough? Most all mine need as least 1.900 to get a single near 100# and I have the spring 1.550 tool for cutting out the spring seats. Just wondering.

 

Only made the signs today but yesterday I pulled 2 of the batteries out and brought them into the basement and put them on the trickle chargers, the 2 days prior to that I painted up the garage wall and door that I had insulated.

 

More Jimmy 302 headwork.

Rolled the head over upright to clean the top and paint the areas I missed when it was bottom up. First, cleaned the rough casting areas with Scotchbrite buffs in the Dremel tool as well as rough up the old painted areas with the same tool. then, cleaned the machined surfaces with Scotchbrite "cookies" in the air-powered angle grinder. Finally, it was back to the Dremel and buffs to clean the brass fittings (oil pressure and water temperature sensor fittings) and the valve guide exteriors.

Masked the areas not to receive paint and PRE Paint prepped the areas that were. Gave it two coats of Duplicolor Chevy Orange engine paint. Beer of the day was Christian Moerlein Brewing Company's Se7en Hefeweizen wheat.