I have had a lot of running around to do but I have been chipping away at things. I got my passenger side exhaust pipes welded up by my buddy Koppy, cleaned and prepped for paint, and the first coat of 1200 degree stove paint applied. It’s supposed to get into the 50s today and I have everything out in the sunlight so, hopefully with light coats, I can get them going. I may need tomorrow… First coat dried pretty quickly - here’s after the second coat …
Worked on installing the exhaust today - it did not go well. It was almost together when I hit a snag. To correct it would have taken a couple modifications but when I got to looking at it, it was just easier to redesign it. So that’s where I am at …it’s going to be tough without a welder but I think I can clamp it together and have it ready to weld up …..
My dad took me fishing for the first time when I was a lad and I remember my first snag, it was exciting cuz I thought I had a fish on! Snags lost their appeal pretty quick after that. Stay after it and I'll keep watching your progress from the bank.
Been busy the last couple days but only about 25% of the time is n the project. Presently, I found a way to cobble things together and I took some pics …. I have the clearance I need and all of those clamps will go away. I know the pics are clear as mud and I may be able to clean things up further if I don’t need any more material for the driver side as I get it out and welded up. I am hoping to go over by johnrodz tomorrow to get things tacked together as my buddy Koppy has things going on. Hopefully that will tell the tale! Thanks Gabby for the fancy clamps! Fingers crossed! Lol!
So I finally got the passenger side tacked together and I am in the middle of getting it ready to weld up. The driver side muffler and exhaust pipe off the manifold got welded up and painted. I have to install the header wrap and finish checking the fit of the last two pieces and overall look and then it’s ready to be finished. Finally! It has been a journey, that is for sure ! Hopefully I can get some pics out tomorrow……
So I have been frustrated with the passenger she de exhaust - I could not get it seated up by the exhaust manifold. The 3 bolts would start but it would not pull things up and the get. The stock manifolds have a flanged end with a gasket that seats between the manifold and the exhaust pipe with a beveled end that allows for some adjustment. It turns out the flanges I am using do not have the proper hole size. I figured this out late yesterday using a stick flange of which I had only on. It was a “duuuhhhhh” moment -what can I say? You can see from the pics that I needed to open the holes up to the inside mostly. The bolts were jamming before fully tight as they were being forced to go in at an angle at some point. I opened up the holes following the stock flange and I kid you not, it took 10 minutes and the exhaust was in where I wanted it. I am going to bask in the limelight a little and then take it out for final welding. Just a little bit of the frame rail will need to be trimmed for header wrap clearance. Off to work on the driver side
Not a lot of room to play with in there! Driver's side is always a bit tighter. looking forward to seeing the progress.
Progress, no matter big or small, is ALWAYS sweet. Those small victories over the never ending problems add up.
Before the passenger exhaust goes b I needed to finish running my fuel line and the tranny fluid lines. Fuel line went in first and it is now routed to the carb …. The tranny lines were not so easy but I now have them in place with a combination of hard and soft lines …. Things are close for the tranny pan and trans lines on the passenger side. But after all the time spent making up the exhaust I was really not keen on installing the header wrap and have them rot away. We intend to drive this so I opted for DEI’s titanium hot shield. I got 2 6”x24” pieces for the passenger tranny concerns and the driver side on booster. I thing they should do it and I have just enough room to run them. They are a little large for the 2.25” pipes I am running by about 1/2” so they will wrap all the way around but the mounting system leaves a 1/4” atrium gap all the way around. Hopefully this does the trick ….. As hotrodA says, progress is progress …..
I was able to pick up my welder today and it’s working so that’s good. I finished the passenger side exhaust welding and will paint the new section tomorrow. I also have a small bit of welding to do on the passenger side as well - that’s tomorrow. I have found out that my titanium pipe wrap has a delay in shipping - I don’t know how long that will be but I have some other things to attend to beforehand so I am ok with that for now. There was a discussion here a while back about using a Holley fuel pump when it’s really a pusher vs the Walbro FRB-13 which is a puller and would be a better choice. There was also a more recent discussion on hotrodA’s 41 pickup build thread that I was involved in as well.. Not wanting to hijack his thread, I wanted to give you an update. I did some measurements on where my Holley fuel pump resides vs the bottom of the gas tank. I would have to drop it down about 5 inches to make the pickup at the level of the tank bottom, make up a whole new mount, and I still would have about 4’ of 3/8” fuel line to suck it through. I think it would be easier to just swap in the Walbro pump in my present location and be done with it. That just makes life so much easier with no doubts about fuel delivery. My only question would be if I needed a fuel regulator for the Edelbrock 500 carb. I will look up what kind of fuel pressure it can take ….. That’s it for now - pics tomorrow …….
Probably a smart move, Tom. I decided that since I already had the new Red pump I would try it out, as an experiment of sorts. It has a little less distance to pull the fuel, and maybe with the bracket I made to lower it, the thing will work. If not, then I too will go the Walbro route. Just have to redrill (maybe) the bracket and rebend the one short piece of hard line. Fingers crossed. If I ever get it running, that is.
Been working on the back end of the exhaust system as I had to come up with something to hold the tailpipes. The frame was too far away. So, I put a piece of angle iron off the top of the center hitch support and that looks like it will do the trick ….. The unpainted piece is what I added. It bolts in so I can remove it should I need to remove the gas tank ( removing that and the hitch will be a job I hope I never have to do!!). I did a bunch of welding and the welder is doing great (I am still lousy but you all know that!) and with having the welder I am making good progress once again. I have the driver side all bolted up save for the front piece of axhaust off the manifold - I am still waiting on the Titanium pipe wrap. Tomorrow is a little Cars and Coffee in the am, paint up the new parts, and get the passenger side exhaust squared away ….
Thank you ! 2 1/4” - same as the roadster and the coupe …. I got the one titanium wrap in today so I was able to complete the driver side exhaust …. It’s all nice and tidy, tightened up, and ready to go. Now I am just waiting for the other titanium wrap to finally finish the job. The wrap went in fairly well - I first made a center line down the pipe which would correspond to center of the wrap around the pipe. I took the pipe off, used the big radiator clamps to lock the wrap down on the pipe and wiggled it in. The opening (since it does not go all the way around) is towards the frame side and the side I want to protect is protected. The slight curve up front kind of bunches the wrap but other than that, it worked out great. It’s basically a flexible shield if you will. The passenger side way require some me creative thinking as I do not have the room like on the driver side but we’ll see. I am happy with the results ……
After she me garage cleanup I began checking a few of the underneath things left to do. First off was to see how my helper springs looked mounted up …. …. and of course we have some issues. You can see I am too long between the rear mount plate and the rear spring shackle. Ine option is to trim off a portion by the rear mount plate and lop off about 1/2-3/4” off of the rear shackle end (I do not know if that would compromise the spring) or research another spring. I can’t put it on the front side of the spring as the spring pac wraps are in the way. So, I am considering doing the trim deal first before doing anything else but we shall see ….. Check my driveshaft angle I am 4 degrees at the rear, 8 degrees at the tranny. I could drop the engine just a bit but that would probably not buy me enough to get to the 1-2 degree and no more difference and it might mess up my exhaust. I might have to do shim the rear. I did fix a broken fitting off one of the residual check valves. Half the head of the adapter had sheared right off. I am also looking for a suitable location for the Lokar park brake cables junction mount points……
Got an idea of how much to trim the helper springs …. This should buy me the room I need and have enough travel once I install these springs with the rear suspended, and wheels off the ground. That should give me a little more travel in my thinking. Anyway, we’ll give it a try. Me buddy Koppy will cut them for me and n his band saw. Next I worked on the driveshaft alignment. I looked things over and before installing any shims, I dropped the engine one thick washer and upper the tranny by two thick washers - like my shins, huh?!? - anyway, before installing the helper springs that brought me within the 1-2 degrees. I have found a place for the Lokar park brake cables location under the driver side rear X frame portion. I have had to modify the two main brackets a bit and I have them painted up when it came to quitting time. Stll waiting on my second titanium exhaust cover and Walbro fuel pump but I am making progress ….
Sorry I didn't see this earlier. I think I have a 40 PU hood latch mechanism, looks like a repop, never used.
I didn’t have a full day today but I am almost finished with the park brake setup - I just need to adjust everything. I do not have any pics but the cables come together on the bottom of the driver rear portion of the 35-40 X member. There was really no other place for it to go where it did not interfere with something else. I have good ground clearance and it’s up enough to be out of any danger. I got my Walbro fuel pump today - it’s the FRB-13-2 which I believe is an electronic version of the FRB-13. Not a problem as long as they both function the same. Once the park brake stuff is done I will make the switch ……
Another kind of short day being that I was running all over town to get all the fittings I needed for the fuel pump. I started by setting up the park brake best I can until it’s down on all fours …. ….. and began working on replacing the fuel pump. No, it’s not crooked - just a lousy camera angle. I should have it all buttoned up tomorrow. So far no issues other than finding a good spot. Although not supplied, I will use the rubber pad from m the other pump to minimize noise. I have a call in to Walbro with a few questions I need answered. It was cloudy but warm out - great working with the garage door open and not needing the heat on!
I finished up the fuel pump install but I am still waiting on some clamps for the hoses …. I hope to hear from Walbro tomorrow to answer a few questions I still have. Still no shipping date for the titanium wrap to finish up the exhaust. I cleaned up the shop some more (and it needs even more) and called it a day. Tomorrow I’ll get back out there and line up what’s to be done next ……
I worked on the front disc brakes today as I had the calipers reversed initially. But when I got them swapped around, I had some issues …. The outlet for the brake line hose at the caliper shot it straight into the axle and the hose was too long. I then made some cuts at the hose junction at the caliper …. … and this put the hose pointing directly to the frame rail and not jammed up into the axle. The original outlet was at the top in my pic …. That fixed the outlet problem but the hose was still way to long at 17” as you can see. I have not installed disk brakes on anything in a long long time (20+ years) but after conferring with a couple friends we knew there was a shorter 12” hose out there that came stock but in what vehicle? I thought I had Monte Carlo hoses so I tried Chevelle. The mid to late 70s Chevelle were too long but the 68 to 70 are 12.5” long for db. I will pick up a set tomorrow and I should be good to go once installed. Working on my gauge sending unit install location I could not find the temp gauge sender so I ordered it and also ordered the Lokar throttle cable bracket. I also determined that the Walbro fuel pump puts out 6-8 lbs of fuel pressure and the Edelbrock carbs can take 5-8 so I am good there. Btw - I have still not heard from Walbro and I first contacted them on Monday. Still waiting on my one piece of pipe wrap (of which there is no word on them from Walmart who sent me the first one I ordered and not the second) and hose clamps. I may try Speedway tomorrow on the pipe wrap and see if they have it in stock (they carry it) I’ll order another from them ….. I keep chipping away at the list …..
Next time you are short of the $100 free shipping at Summit grab a bag full of 18" stainless steel zip ties. They would locate and tidy up those heat shields in seconds if you have trouble with them moving about. I keep a bag on hand for such stuff under the car.
It was as a short day today and family stuff happening tomorrow. Only one of the two front disc brake hoses I need came in - the other will come in on Monday. But it did the trick ….. The hose is long enough and there is still good slack on hard right or left turns so it’s going to work out just fine. As it turns out I may need to reduce the fuel pressure to the Edelbrock carb after all - I am looking at several units I did grease up the front inner and outer bearings but that was about it. I’ll get back to it on Monday ……
No real big progress to report - just doing a bunch of smalls as parts come in. I did finish the second front disk brake hose and I received my clamps to finished the new fuel pump install … The oil pressure sender location was/is partly under the hei distributor so I had to get creative to install it …. … and this is the sending unit ….. That little kick out gave me just enough room to install it …. Another little something I did not like was the hot water valve for the heater - it was too far from the firewall and the unit sagged as well. I shortened things to get it as close to the firewall as I could and made a little support stand … Those little changes made it a lot cleaner. I did order a fuel pressure regulator as the Edelbrock carbs call for no more than 5.5 psi and the Walbro puts out 6-8. I did have to reorder the titanium exhaust blanket as the first vendor had no timeline for when it could be delivered. Still chipping away at it every chance I get …..
Just curious of why did you decide to go to the Walbro fuel pump instead of the Holley ? Was your test not successful to your liking ?
The Jalopy Journal
