Technical What did you do with your car today? * NEW*

^^^Beautiful^^

 

Thanks Don. I shoulda taken a before pic.....pretty ratty.

 

Got some gas today

 

Took a 50-mile drive in the Washington Cascades.
John

 

Drove the Stude to the Chiropractor The last time I went I drove the father in law's 64 Fairlane and a tire went flat He told me to put new tires on it

 

Steady steady wins the race. Not too long now until I apply underbody coating before everything else receives colour. Whilst doing this I:-

• Did a mezzanine floor in the shed and added a shelf, another shelf to come once the hood and fenders come off the wall.
  
• Started refurbishing the brakes on the 35 Chevy, over 15yrs old now and time to service them.
  
  
  

 

Not much to report other than I got the starter wired up and trans lines in place. I did pick up some nice cabinets and my loving bride cleaned them up and did some rearranging /cleaning in the shop.

 

I leaned on mine while soaking up some sun and viewed the h.a.m.b. on my cell phone.....

 

I was sitting in the garage and decided to check for loose joints in the front end. I have adjustable Howe ball joints and control arms..

I jacked the front end up and put it on jack stands. Then I get my mighty ball joint testing bar.. I tried the right front and it had a little movement but when I started moving the bar back and fourth real fast there it was, movement and that noise that I've been chasing for a few years now..
So I popped the center caps off and moved the spindle nut one flat to tighten the bearing up. Then I opened the other side and tightened it up one flat but when putting the canter cap back on I noticed scoring inside the cap. The diameter of the bearing washer was to wide. I ground the washer down and put it all together..
It's a different car.. It steers real nice and stays right on center. The disc brakes also work better since there's no kick back. The biggest change came in the ride, it's like a new car. Pot holes and bumps on my street don't effect ride quality like they used to..
I never knew bearing adjustment made such a difference in ride quality..

 

With temps dropping into the 30's at night, and plenty of rainy days, I finally gave up on fall, and moved my '39 to the shop in the backyard. I'll prep it for inter storage soon. Leaving the Austin gasser in the front garage so if we happen to get a nice day here or there I can drive it.

 

took a few pics of my 47...

 

Been trying to figure out a miss fire,...i think i found it ,sorry crappy pic.

 

Installed the dash panel and bezel on the '41 dash I am using in our '47. I need to figure out the indicators now; leaning toward combining the signals in one along with another for high beams. Two indicators would keep things symmetrical.

 

Nice. Hope it was cheap as those pumps are old, but I doubt it.

 

I have been working on hanging the alternator. Now it make a bracket or two.

 

Finished remaking my lower trailing arm mounts on the rear and making new shock mounts to move them in so the lower end will clear the body. Last thing I needed to do before stripping it to a bare frame to finish the underside welding.

 

Trial fitted a Carter WCFB carb onto the Offy dual quad manifold on the 283 in my A pickup. I picked up a matching pair of these at the last Pomona swap meet for a very nice price, and am replacing the dual Rochester 2G's that are currently on it. I ran into a little problem I wasn't expecting, interference between the back of the carb and the distributor cap.

This photo shows the carb making contact with the cap:


And the mounting holes are still about half way covered up:


I went ahead and forced it into position and was able to get the bolts threaded in, but that really pinched the #1 plug wire boot, which I'm not happy with.


I guess I'm going to order in some spacers to raise the carb up high enough so that portion of the housing will clear the cap. It will take about 1.5", which there aren't any 1.5" spacers that I've found, so I'll have to stack a couple to get there, or go with a 2" spacer, which I'd rather not do.

The good thing is that I fired it up and it ran great. A very quick adjustment of the idle/air screws and it settled into a very smooth idle at 700 rpms, which is lower than I can get the 2GC to idle at, and dropping into drive does not kill it. And it accelerates very nicely (in neutral, sitting in the driveway, haven't driven it yet), surprisingly better than it does with the 2GC.

One good thing about adding a carb spacer is I can drill it to gain a manifold vacuum source since these carbs only have ported vacuum, and I need manifold vacuum for the vacuum modulator and the pcv.

 

How about '56 distributor with it's smaller cap or even a Mallory? Might be a better look than the spacers.

 

They don't make a crab (flat) cap for those distributors?

 

Second time out this year. Took a 60 mile trip to check out the Tin Goose Diner up in Port Clinton. Antique Aviation Museum and Diner. Old Ford Tri-Motor was there for viewing. Tried to take the scenic route back home, got lost and had to back track, ride and view along the lake was pleasant. Cruise was very relaxing! Food at the diner was good too!

 

I was unaware that the 56 distributor was smaller. Re the Mallory, I assume you're talking about a vintage unit? There is a new Mallory Unilite, that might clear, but I do hate to lose the vacuum advance, for a street engine I think it's helpful.

Note, I did locate a marine supply that sells what they claim is the equivilent of an old Mallory point style distributor, that might be an option, but I still don't know if it would clear.
http://www.marineparts.com/p-3231-gm-bb-amp-sm-blk-points-mallory-point-distributor-v-8.aspx

I've never seen a crab style cap for a standard Chevy distributor.

 

Did a mini trial run on cable lacing my horn wires......before doing my plug wires.

 

From the BillyBob Shop log

October 15th 2021 Back to the stubborn freeze plugs in the heads. The MAP torch head replacement arrived and I tried heating up the freeze plug to break any grip the sealant might have. Quenched it with Kroil penetrating oil and let it go back to room temperature. Then I hit it with CRC Freeze-Off Super Penetrant as suggested by FB friend Ken Crenwelge. That worked. Finished up with hammer and chisel. I live for little victories.

Went out to my friend John's place yesterday. He gave me a cup of joe and went to work. Cut off the buggered valve stem and drove out the valve. Then the broken valve guide and installed a new guide, all before I finished my coffee, including making a tool with his lathe to drive out the guide. John finished up by checking for cracks with a magnetic powder. He didn't find any.

We drank beer then for a few hours and John showed me his current projects including a finished Model A engine for a speedster he's building for TROG. John, being John, Poured the babbit bearings and line-bored them in his shop.

He has taken interest in helping me get the heads right and I'm to clean, clean, clean and measure, measure, measure both heads before I take them back to the best little garage machine shop in Boca Raton.

When I get around to ordering pushrods, they will most likely be of greater diameter than the originals and I am faced with the restrictive diameter of the pushrod passages in the 1954 heads. Want to do the modifications now but am not sure how to go about it.

Beer of the day was Harpoon Brewery's Rec. League Hoppy Hazy Light. Background music was The Doors L.A. Woman.

 

Well, after thinking about this awhile I'm thinking that it might be best to go with a Mallory distributor. Mallory isn't making the dual point distributor anymore (not that I can find), but I do have a line on a new unused dual point that I'm leaning towards buying. I'm unfamiliar with running a dual point distributor, but I think I can work it out.

 

Put a new AVS 2 carburetor on the coupe. Made a big difference. Snowman

 

I got the belt lined up and the brackets roughed in. I would like a little more clearance next to the block, I have a SI style alternator I am going to try as it looks to be a little smaller. Plus I dug out some pipe and a pair of collectors to see what I can do for some exhaust. Straight pipes, no mufflers and my collectors that I have had for 40 plus years They will look good sticking out at the rear cab corner.

 

Finally got the exhaust done on the 59. A little warmed up 352 does the noise maken'.

Polished up some 2.3" 304L stainless pipe to make some tips.



The final product

 

I know you said you have just got things roughed in. This may already be in your plans. Adding a gusset that goes back across the head and out to support the end of the mounting bolt will add rigidity and strength.

 

A very good suggestion. Suspending an alternator from a singe bolt is not a good idea without a brace on both ends.

 

I agree, 3 points of contact for any belt driven accessory should be considered minimum.

I built this bracket for a 90amp Bosch alternator I had laying around from my VW days.

The bottom is the adjustment, which is a double heim joint with a bracket I made that mounts on 2 studs i put in the timing cover.