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Projects Replica of the Ivo's Showboat dragster

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by NITROFC, Oct 1, 2010.

  1. nochop
    Joined: Nov 13, 2005
    Posts: 3,818

    nochop
    Member
    from norcal

    I want to know what weight oil is it going to use.....so do you think the fuel has to be the correct scale?
     
  2. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    The parachute release handle was next which I fabricated the handle using aluminum and brass tube and wire, getting the little rod to index in the handle was a little tricky.
    Parachute handle 01.jpg

    Parachute handle 02.jpg

    Next I made the rear end shield using .010 sheet brass and polished it for chroming later. The retaining pins were formed using .032" rod.

    Rear end shield 01.jpg

    Rear end shield 02.jpg

    Rear end shield 03.jpg

    Rear end shield 04.jpg

    I then pondered my next step and decided to make the clutch shield gauging the size from photos and bolted in two places using 00-90 bolts. With the shield in place I can now start the cockpit body work which after doing a couple of test parts using .010" sheet and was not happy with the results; too much oil canning that thin so I have ordered some 206 .020" sheet brass.
    Clutch shield 01.jpg

    Clutch shield 03.jpg

    Clutch shield 04.jpg

    Next I will start the body work.
     
  3. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    'Chute handle is a bicycle brake lever, in my build, I removed it from the original and took it over to a friends bike shop and rummaged thru his years of stuff and found the twin, amazing that the original was 50+ years prior to the new build
    The center crease on the diff cover I did by rolling the material for the top and then welding a short piece of angle on top , then detailing the weld
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2020
  4. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    Bruce I thought that it was a bicycle brake handle. I connected with a fellow builder in Switzerland and he is sending me a length of micro cable to substitute the .020" rod when I get around to doing the parachute pack.

    Has the event this weekend been cancelled yet?
     
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  5. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    No word yet from "Wavemaker" so its still on, depending on the rain if any of the cacklecars show up
     
    chryslerfan55, loudbang and Ken Foran like this.
  6. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    While waiting for my order of brass to come I made the seat back with a piece of .016" sheet I had. I countersunk the hole for 0090 flat head screws per the original.
    Seat Back 01.jpg
    Seat Back 02.jpg

    Once the brass arrived I was able to start the body work which consists of four parts; belly pan, forward cockpit, rear cockpit and rear deck. I started with the belly pan since it was one piece; as with all the parts I made a cardstock pattern, cut a brass sheet part and annealed the piece by heating with a propane torch and quenching in water. The trickiest part was matching the holes to the mounting brackets on the frame.
    Bodywork 02.jpg
    Bodywork 03.jpg

    Next came the rear cockpit which consists of three main component parts. The bottom came first with a couple of notched saw cuts for a slight bend. Then at the rear several notched saw cuts to form the curve. The challenge for all the body parts was to maintain the .020" wall stock with butt solder joints. Both sides were bent to match the frame mounting points. The bottom then had a cut to index the bottom with the push bar from the frame. Then came the indexing and drilling holes to attach the rear bottom to the belly pan with threads tapped into the bottom part. I then made the side cardstock pattern to be used for both sides. The challenge here was match the opening around the brakes. Edges were formed to match the frame and the bottom edges cut to match the curve tangent on the bottom part with a tight joint fit for soldering. See the picture showing the inside of the joint line. Once the both sides were soldered together I then made a wood buck to help form the tight bend. Once the bend was done I then added the flanges for the rear deck to be attached to and will have threaded holes in it. I then added to pieces of brass to edge thicken the parachute opening to simulate an edge return; a 1/32" rod was added to the top of the bottom of the opening to replicate a tighter bend that I could not achieve and filled the curve with 50/50 solder, just some old time lead slinging.

    Bodywork 04.jpg
    Bodywork 05.jpg
    Bodywork 06.jpg
    Bodywork 07.jpg
    Bodywork 08.jpg
    Bodywork 09.jpg
    Bodywork 10.jpg
    Bodywork 11.jpg
    Bodywork 12.jpg
    Bodywork 13.jpg
    Bodywork 14.jpg
    The rear deck is a small part with a series of straight bends that were formed using a 3-1/2" hand seamer. Holes were drilled to match the side flanges and the seat back which really strengthened the whole assembly. I then added glazing putty to smooth out curves and pits from the lead slinging.
    Bodywork 15.jpg

    Bodywork 16.jpg
    Bodywork 17.jpg
    Next will come the hard part, the front cockpit.
     
  7. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    Front cockpit for the most part 3 pieces with add ons. The crease down the middle was done by folding the upper aluminum in half and pulling it apart and then pushing it flat again which leaves a ridge. The curve of the ridge was done by making mutiple slices to relieve the stress of the curve, welded the slices and then metal finished. Then it was just the matter of blending the sides into the top piece with a larger radius in front tapering back to the radius of the roll cage tubing.
     
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  8. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    The front cockpit was a bit of a challenge with multiple curves and small attached parts. Patterns were made for the top and side parts and transferred to brass sheet and cut and annealed. The center crease was made by first folding the cut part down the center line and then back out to form the upper curve. Then saw cuts were made at the bend to ease the bending process and the parts was slowly bent to form the lateral curve. Both forward edges were then hammered on the horn of an anvil to form the front curve tapering to the bend towards the frame parts. Then adjustments were made by hand to fine tune the fit.

    The two sides were then formed but the parts were only annealed along the edges to be formed using the axle and front frame as fixed references for forming. They were then cut and adjusted to match the top edges. All the parts were then tack soldered to each other; then the joints were soldered with Staybrite solder for strength and 50/50 used as filler for surface matching.Joints were then filed of excess solder and then sanded with 150 grit sandpaper. Next were the small parts for the front side frame covers and then the engine bracing rod covers were made using 50/50 to form the radii. Finally the right side was saw cut to make the curve surface that will mate with the firewall. Then all parts were glazed as needed, primed and painted Satin Black on the inside and Banner Red on the outside.

    Bodywork 18.jpg

    Bodywork 19.jpg

    Bodywork 20.jpg

    Bodywork 21.jpg

    Bodywork 22.jpg

    Bodywork 23.jpg

    Bodywork 24.jpg

    Bodywork 25.jpg

    Bodywork 26.jpg

    Bodywork 27.jpg

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    Bodywork 29.jpg

    Bodywork 30.jpg

    Bodywork 31.jpg

    Bodywork 32.jpg

    Bodywork 33.jpg

    Bodywork 34.jpg

    Bodywork 35.jpg

    Bodywork 36.jpg
    Here is a picture of all the finished parts.
    Bodywork 37.jpg
     
  9. Sky Six
    Joined: Mar 15, 2018
    Posts: 9,480

    Sky Six
    Member
    from Arizona

    Unbelievable workmanship, I have to follow this thread intently to grasp the patience and dedication to the original car.
     
    Ken Foran likes this.
  10. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    After completing the body panels I was able to make the firewall being defined by the bodywork. The original was in two parts bolted to the bottom frame cross member and to each other in the center. While appearing simple it definitely was not and Xray vision would have helped. I finally got cardstock patterns close and did the final fitting in metal. It required many times adding and removing both body panels and engines to get the final fit. It was then painted black and added to the chassis after it was painted.
    Firewall 01.jpg
    Firewall 02.jpg
    Firewall 03.jpg

    While I had the body panels in place I fabricated out of wood the parachute pack and since it was bolted to the frame from the inside I made a tight fitting removable part that was removed to bolt the frame in place. I also had to make the push bar extension which located the bottom of the parachute that rested on the extension.

    Parachute 01.jpg

    Parachute 02.jpg
    Parachute 03.jpg
    In the meantime the chassis frame was painted glossy Black per the original.
    Chassis Frame 22.jpg
    I also started polishing and copper plating all the parts to be chrome plated while waiting for other parts to dry. I am using red rouge to polish the parts prior to plating. I also ordered the materials to chrome plate since I ran out of my first container of Copy Chrome from Caswell Plating.
    Copper plated 01.jpg
    Next will come the seat.
     
  11. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    The seat is an unusual configuration nestled between the rear axle and the frame seat back and side to side by the frame. First was to make a cardstock pattern and then duplicate it in .020" brass. The seat upholstery was made using sculpty. I cut 1/4" x 1/16" strips laid out inside the brass seat body; then with a sharp 1/4" x 1/16" wood strip and water burnished the strip edges then cut the pattern by pressing the sharp edge of wood strip straight down and burnished the edges. After that I smoothed the entire pattern with a wet Q-tip until satisfied and allowed to dry. I then baked the sculpty still in the brass body in an aluminum foil bag carefully formed around the seat avoiding to touch the sculpty. The bag is needed to contain the smell of the baking sculpty material. I baked it for 15 minutes and 250 degrees and then let bag cool before removing. The sculpty was then further sanded to smooth more from the forming process, primed and painted with Satin Black. Next the brass was painted Chrome to simulate aluminum. Then seat belt holes were cut in the brass to match the locations in the sculpty then seat belt straps were added using very thin supple black leather.
    Seat 01.jpg

    Seat 02.jpg

    Seat 03a.jpg

    Seat 04.jpg

    Seat 05.jpg

    Seat 06.jpg

    Seat 07.jpg

    Seat 08.jpg

    Seat 09.jpg

    Seat 10.jpg

    Seat 11.jpg

    Seat 12.jpg

    Seat 13.jpg
     
  12. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,276

    loudbang
    Member

    :eek: Amazing what you do!!!
     
  13. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    After finishing up the seat I chrome plated all the parts and nuts and bolts as needed. That is why I like the Caswell Copy Chrome parts can be plated quickly as I assemble.
    Assembly 01.jpg
    I will assemble the cockpit area first then the front end then finally the engines which will require extensive rework. When chroming nuts and bolts a holding fixture is needed so as to add more mass otherwise the bolts being so small will burn up.Learned the hard way.
    Assembly 02.jpg
    I then added the brake system with wheel hubs and disc pads.Next came the torque tube after the gas pedal was added first to the bracket and then the clutch pedal. I also started adding the seat belts.
    Assembly 03.jpg

    Assembly 04.jpg

    Assembly 05.jpg

    Assembly 06.jpg

    Assembly 07.jpg
    Next will be the seat belt hardware.
     
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  14. sliceddeuce
    Joined: Aug 15, 2017
    Posts: 2,981

    sliceddeuce
    Member

  15. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    So today , Don "Wavemaker" Preito stopped by ( he owns the Ivo single Buick dragster) and I showed him the Pics you E-mailed me. Puzzled look and asked "when did you shoot those pics"? as to when I did the re-pop. His Jaw dropped when I told him it was the model
     
  16. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    Bruce, that is a great compliment. Has Tommy Ivo seen it yet?
     
  17. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    Here are the seat belt working hardware early on. I used leather from an old wallet which was very thin and supple and easy to work with.
    Assembly 08.jpg
    Assembly 09.jpg


    Then I copied instrument images and reduced to 5/32" size and printed on glossy photo paper. The glossy paper has a film when the paper is peeled away after soaked in water leaving a thin image to set into the aluminum bezels. The steering wheel rim was painted with the Krylon Camouflage Black #4290, it has the luster of rubber per the original. The clutch holding handle an rod to pedal was added. This held the clutch pedal down to be able to push the car around without someone sitting in it.
    Assembly 10.jpg

    Next I added the torque tube with the gas pedal attached to it and then the gas pedal linkage to the bell crank. I then assembled the front end and while do so realized that I forgot the kill switches.
    Assembly 11.jpg


    Assembly 12.jpg

    Assembly 13.jpg
    After the front axle was assembled I made the four kill switches with the covers being able to be opened.
    Assembly 14.jpg

    Assembly 15.jpg

    Assembly 16.jpg

    I received the micro three strand steel wire from Roger Zimmerman in Switzerland and then added the release cable to the parachute.
    Assembly 17.jpg

    Assembly 18.jpg
    Sitting back I then added the rear wheels just to get a feel for the assembled cockpit area.

    Assembly 19.jpg
    Assembly 20.jpg

    Next I will add the front end and then set the engines in place to finish up some components.
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2020
    kiwijeff, Deuces, Lepus and 9 others like this.
  18. Sky Six
    Joined: Mar 15, 2018
    Posts: 9,480

    Sky Six
    Member
    from Arizona

    If you would not mind, could you place a quarter next to one of the views so that I could see the size of this remarkable build.The gauges are truly amazing.
     
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  19. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    Here is a picture from earlier in this thread. Does this help or did you have something else in mind?

    [​IMG]
     
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  20. Sky Six
    Joined: Mar 15, 2018
    Posts: 9,480

    Sky Six
    Member
    from Arizona

    That's great Ken, Thank you. I had read that it was about 2 $20.00 bills long but I just could not grasp the true size. Some of the dimensions you were throwing out there just boggled the mind, like 1/32 tubing and micro three strand steel wire.
    You are obviously a master craftsman to the extreme.
     
  21. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    I dont think so, I sent him an E-mail months ago, but no response as of late, Was hoping to talk with him at the TACO Party but was a no show with tooth issue.
    When I did the re-pop, the tires came from Hurst Tires, they were the only thing/size available at the time. As a request when I ordered them, I asked if they could mount them up and do some burnouts in the parking lot to skuff the tread so they would not look so glossy--- just saying
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2020
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  22. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    Bruce, I am waiting to get some M/H resin cast tires and then I plan to paint them with the Black Camo paint which really has the luster of rubber. The ones I have now are two plastic and two rubber like and I am skeptical about how long paint would last on them.
    Perhaps he did not see the email or it ended up in his junk file; I've had that happen. Us old farts are still trying to master technology.
     
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  23. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    I re-sent it a few minutes ago. Lately he has been enthrolled with his Virtual Reality system
     
  24. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    Got a response from IVO and forwarded the E-Mail
     
  25. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    Yes, I read it, pretty awesome and glad he was able to see it.
     
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  26. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    feel free to contact him--- dont say I didnt warn you
     
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  27. Ken Foran
    Joined: May 9, 2019
    Posts: 113

    Ken Foran
    Member

    I added the assembled front axle to the chassis and adjusted the wheel alignment. I then set the engines in place to be able to fabricate some needed details. First I made the throttle shaft that rotates in pivot arms attached to the frame and block and added the arms drilled and tapped that will link to the engine linkage. Next I re-sized the rear engine braces and re-plated them. I fabricated the front brace that also had an additional extension for further strength. I adjusted the fit of the clutch shield and re-plated it. Next came the temperature senders and timing indicators in two different configurations. After them I made the oil fittings in the blocks for the gauges. I used 1/16" hex bar. The fitting for the right rear engine is different than the rest due to the fitting of the clutch shield. I then added the four oil filters and all the plated bolts for the oil pans. From here on out will be just a great deal of fussing and fitting of components with the next being all the gas lines that will be polished aluminum tubing. Assembly 21.jpg

    Assembly 22.jpg

    Assembly 23.jpg

    Assembly 24.jpg

    Assembly 25.jpg

    Assembly 26.jpg

    Assembly 27.jpg

    Assembly 28.jpg

    Assembly 29.jpg

    Assembly 30.jpg
     

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