Saying that the level of craftsmanship in this project is breathtaking has become redundant. It truly is incredible. I'm sure it was all good, but that freshly painted body perched up on that rotisserie, high up on that trailer bouncing down the road would scare the hell out of me. Thanks for taking the time with this thread - I've learned a lot following along.
Thanks for following along guys! Last night we got some details crossed off the list, our radiator sits on the front side of the core support but the overflow can't stay on the front side as it would spew all over a painted splash pan. So we marked the core support baffle to align with our overflow AN fitting and as Jared was drilling the hole and installing the grommet, I got to bending some 1/4" stainless tubing. Now it will drain behind the frame rail... Since McMaster had made a delivery we got some of the Oetiker clamps installed. Yeah, I think I like this cleaner look... My buddy Jeff Ford down in Aiken SC was working on installing a floor pan patch and had omitted the flange in the radius corner below the toe panel. So in addition to busting his chops, we put together this video tutorial so he could do the next panel in one piece. Hope it helps someone else as well.. .
Mike wanted to get started on the wiring harness, but we thought it best to install the brake bracket assy first. As luck would have it, the plastic bushings did not fare well with the install. We took the opportunity to make bushings out of oilite bronze, something more fitting in a 55 Chevy over plastic. With the brake pedal sporting new oilite bronze bushings, Mike got all the pedal assemblies installed, and hole drilled in the floor for the parking brake cable.. Then on to underneath stuff, installing the flex plate bolts and torqueing them down. We used the starter to bump the engine around, and found we also needed to shim the starter, so that was done. The AC vent brackets were folded using the magnetic brake.... Then trim the ends and one more media blast session to get it ready for epoxy primer. Jared and I worked on getting all the body mounts snugged down, and then turned attention to the rear bumper. In the stock configuration this is slightly wide, so we had opted for a slice and dice and making the three piece bumper into a one piece.. We had intended to get this done prior to paint, just one of those things that slipped through the cracks before it got sent out for paintwork. We did have some rags used between the bumper and body to prevent any damage, and removed them for pictures. The final fitment after tacking: Our data plate for the firewall had been looking pretty sad.... …...so much so that we had thought about leaving it off the nice shiny firewall that Richard and Brandon Glymph had sprayed for us.. But we had sent some pictures of the carnage to Bob at Alternative Chrome in Kutztown PA, and he said he could clean it right up and add a sealer for us.. Much better... .
Starting some of our electrical work, since the fuel pump and float assembly both connected using ring terminals, we wanted to use some weather pack connectors so there would be a quick disconnect. We had purchased one of the weather pack "kits" from Jegs in order to have a selection to work from as we put the car back together.. On our standard terminal lugs, we pulled insulating sleeve off the back side so we could use a "W" crimp, and then covered with heat shrink. Some anti seize was applied to the connection to help keep corrosion controlled, and some braid loom and heat shrink was used to add some protection. Weather pack connection, wires stripped just enough for the W crimp, strain relief crimp remains on top of the wire's jacket insulation. Next, to finalize our parking brake situation, we needed to drill a hole in the floor, which then had epoxy primer applied to the perimeter. Once cured, we installed a rubber grommet and fed through the floor. If you recall, the Lokar cable did not fit the opening in our donor brake pedal assembly, so a thick washer with the correct smaller hole was found, and the bracket hole was opened up to the outer diameter of the washer... Then the washer was TIG welded in place.. Next challenge, the brake assembly had an internal pedal return spring that would now rest on the cable and rub in the same place on the ends, so in order to minimize any wear through the cable strands, the spring was relocated to the side of the frame at the adjusters where a shoulder was machined into the adjustment fittings to support the spring ends and not rub into the cable. To further protect the cable from spring rub, as there surely would be deflection of the spring as the brake was applied, we test fit some heat shrink to act as a protective sleeve. The internal liner of the Lokar cable was roomy enough for the heat shrink to pass up inside, so concept test complete, we ordered some high heat Teflon shrink tubing from McMaster. This was installed over the cable, with plenty of extra slid up in the liner, and assembled all the parts.. That should hold us.....
If I had to sum up your work on this, it would boil down to "attention to detail"! Phenomenal craftsmanship!
Thanks!! Oh yeah! Made a trip to Annapolis Wednesday, Brandon and Richard were done buffing parts... Hell of a way to transport fenders and doors....
Pretty color in the sun! I have to say I have never had to clean bug guts off of anything I have painted before it got put on the car! God bless Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
Back when we were shaving all the holes in the firewall, the dimmer switch in the floor actually went THROUGH the floor where the connections were made on the outside, and only the push actuator stuck through the floor. Not wanting anymore electrical connections outside the floor than needed, we welded up the center hole, and kept the floor nuts to bolt the new one inside.. Any never gave it any more thought. Until this weekend. Our dimmer switch, a DS115 has a bolt pattern of about 1.75" between hole centers. The factory nuts are about 2.625" between hole centers. Oh well, back up and punt has become second nature with this project.. So we started by fabricating an "adapter bracket" using 16 gauge stainless and a 1/4-20 press stud. Next, the left bolt needed to be 1/4-20 to fit in the hole of our dimmer switch and with the floor hole at 5/16-18, we need another adapter. So two set screws of appropriate size were welded together, and this allows using an allen wrench to install and hold while tightening the nuts to hold down the dimmer switch. The right screw remains 5/16-18 through, but we are going to find something with a smaller (shorter) profile for under the carpet. …..with plenty of room for the wiring inside Mike and Jarod got the fuel tank along with fill and vent tubes installed...
A while back I picked up some used body tools, including this bumper puller/straightener (red handle). This tool works by placing the pad against the bumper face, hooking the top or bottom back edge (depending on direction of pull needed) and prying to twist back into shape.. The rubber pad was about falling off, with exposed rivets, but since I was just hanging it up as wall art, didn't think much past that.. Fast forward to last weekend, and a square body 4WD stopped by, which has the typical bumper ears not parallel to the ground. So I pulled the tool out to show the owner that there was indeed a way to repair that. And then decided we need to go ahead and repair the tool so it could be put back in service for when the next time the truck stopped by... First order of business was to remove the old fender bolt and nut and replace with a machine bolt and lock nut. Next, for our "replacement" pad, we had a small piece of horse mat we could cut it out of, and one of our counterbore bits was used to get the screw heads below the surface.. The pad was held in place using 10-32 pan head screws and lock nuts. So now our wall art is all ready for next time...
Some weekend progress... Fine tuning the rear bumper fitment. Driver's side fits well to the profile of the rear of the quarter... Passenger side not so much, so the bumper is marked with some fineline tape for where we will sand down the edge to better match.. Leading edge of drivers side needs some trimming... ….as does the center section behind the tail pan.. Next, in order to test fit the front bumper and provide the same "trim fitting" we will need to install the doors and front fenders. So our hinges got some new braid loom and a pull wire installed for the hidden wiring..
More progress on the wagon, more bumper action. Part of the problem with using three pieces to form the bumper with a nice wide bumper guard to hide the overlaps, is there is less of a smooth transition from end to end. So in using those individual parts to make a single bumper, we need to trim to correct this. While on the car, painters tape is used to lay out a smooth transition from end to end. An air body saw is used to cut off the bulk and roloc sander for cleanup afterward... Jared has been helping out with the bumpers, here making tight fitting plugs to fill in the old bolt holes for a smooth look on the outside. Our front bumper center section had a bit more damage to repair, the center section showed it had been used to pull/tow/?? in a previous life... As the car was pulled, it added some creases as the center pulled outward.. A bit of off-dolly with a rather large hammer and we're much better now. The center section also had a stepped flange on either end so the outer pieces would be flush when mounted. As we are making one-piece bumpers, the step is trimmed to length and the step is flattened using a precision flattening device.. Video version: Next, we wanted shaved fasteners but also still wanted some fine-tune adjustability. So that eliminates the old weld bolts on the back side caper.. Next option was a bracket that accepted the carriage bolt but also allowed some adjustment side to side. This design was graciously shared with us by Laszlo Nobi (aka Chevynut) as he had done on his 56 Nomad build (see here: https://www.trifivechevys.com/showthread.php/5013-Nomad-final-assembly ). So we started with 2 x 2 x 1/4" thick square tubing. The 1/4" thickness allows for the height of the "square" of the carriage bolt, and we cut down on the width to just enough for the carriage bolt diameter, both to minimize size of the bracket and also to minimize the tendency for the center of the bracket to pull outward. Square tubing is cut to length and sliced and diced as shown... Adjacent parts are beveled to insure full penetration on the 1/4" thick material.. A 7/16 hex nut is used to maintain the 3/8 width so our weld does not close up the slot when the weld shrinks while cooling.. The part is then cleaned up, here is our finished part that will weld to the back side of the bumper... Meanwhile Mike has been working on electrical wiring, here getting the interior light wiring in place so we can load up and take to the upholsterer for headliner installation..
Well we are about to get started on some automotive electrical work when the wagon returns from Upholstery, and in an attempt to limit/eliminate any need for butt splices, I was looking around for various automotive "W" crimp terminals that were available. I found a gem of a store, www.repairconnector.com that carries much of the old style crimp on terminals, as well as some of the newer stuff. We do have some new light fixtures going in, and to help in eliminating excessive connections (ie: butt splices) I found they carry the replacement terminals for lamp base sockets.. (and terminals for fuse blocks, and.....) Some of the terminals we just picked up from Repair Connector Typical replacement light housing has pigtails that will require some type of splice... New lamp base terminals from Repair Connector These terminals will help us get rid of some splices.. If you have a need to repair/replace any of your automotive electrical wiring, give them a look, they may have something you can use..
Wagon update, we stopped by Norris Upholstery on Saturday to check on the progress and go over some door panel design ideas. Getting closer! Back in the shop, Mike and I got the assembly line action going on the hidden bumper brackets. These weld to the back side of the bumpers for hidden fastening and the slot allows for slight adjustment side to side. This idea was shared with me by Laszlo Nobi.
Busy weekend, Norris Upholstery is in the process of getting the door panels done.. We plan on using the original stainless that was used on the door panels but some of the factory "nails" that get folded over were very fatigued and in some cases, gone.. To try and fix these we needed a machine that would weld on new nails, which were originally .06 diameter. Using a dent puller stud welder would require resistance welding, which means heat generated. Not good. We have a local sign shop, A&A MetalWorks, that has a Capacitive Discharge stud welder that does not produce the same type of heat.. He did not have the small studs needed so I picked up some of the type that fits the dent puller. Since a collet was needed, Allen dropped off one of his larger collets and Mike became more fluent on a worn out South Bend this weekend, making a collet so we could do a trial run... Here's a collet for a 1/4-20 stud, our sample... Mike in action.... Our fabricated collet, borrowing some parts from the sample... Testing out the welder, we did have to reshape the ends of the studs to have a point, much like the 1/4-20 sample above, but here are the results.. As you can see there is no appreciable heat introduced into the panel, no heat mark, no distortion. A stress test performed using pliers showed the metal would pull inward and the stud still did not release.. Welder in action: With our trial run complete and deemed a success, Allen is ordering some 14 gauge pins to fit his machine so we won't need to modify them. The size goes up about .01, from .06 to .074, but they seemed plenty malleable to bend over for trim retention. I'll add, these CD stud welders work on steel, stainless, or aluminum. Needing to put a fork in our bumper bolt brackets, the inside slots needed cleanup work and the 12" disc sander seemed ideal for doing such. But some clearance was needed on the machine.. All ready for welding.. Lastly, we visited the last known remaining milk truck from the Leonardtown Dairy. It had been sold to a local waterman, who used its refrigeration capability to store crabs and oysters. Needless to say, it wreaked havoc on what remained of the truck, the lower sides had been patched over with galvanized sheet metal long ago. It did give us enough details to capture what we need for lettering/sign painting the Divco, our next shop project.
Thanks! Time for a wagon update, all of our mounting holes in the bumpers are filled, and the three pieces assembled into one.. How our brackets will work.... With brackets clamped in place the "weld locations" are found by starting with centerline of the bumper, adjusting to actual offset of the car, and locating the spacing needed. Jared and I add some tweaks to fine tune ear placement and test our tig welds at the same time.. In the meantime, Mike is doing some cleanup of the door stainless, bumping up dings, filing, and taking to a Trizact 5000 finish. Then we'll get the studs welded on and final polish..
The Jalopy Journal
