oh god you are not gonna believe this but i just realized i am going to have to drive it like a stock car. i freakin cant believe it never even crossed my mind. the cowl is so narrow that the brake is on the left side of the steering column and the gas is on the tranny hump. left foot brake right gas. this is gonna take some getting used to.
CONFESSION TIME my buddy J.P. of the HENCHMEN C.C. has done all the work (so far) on this build. he has been building/racing cars for almost 50 years. i met him a few years ago and we hit it off. one day i told him he had some of the coolest cars i had ever seen. he says we should build you one. he charged me $15 an hour to handbuild me a car. you see fellas i am a parts replacer. i sure as hell aint no fabricator/mechanic/hotrod genius. the reason he did it so cheaply is simple. he just loves to build rods. but he couldnt afford to build another one for himself. monday he is delivering my car to me and has already started on a 39 chevy p/u for himself....
minor rant. WARNING OPINION AHEAD! the thing about rats is. i dont do rust. to me rust= sloppy /unfinished. ... and "patina " IS RUST. i'll be damned if i am gonna spend 500+ hours and too much money only to end up with a car that i have to wash my hands after touching. this is the finest handbuilt from the ground up car i was capable of coming up with. patina is on antique firearms and old coins. not rusty cars.
luckily i still have the trim in my shed.(i thought i lost it) and guys i realize this build is a steaming pile of shit compared to many of the builds i see on this website. but give a kid a break. i never done this before...
it is so freakin cold around here. that i decided to install a HEATERCRAFT 28000 BTU heater in this rod. i have one in the willys and have been comfy at -30f. i figured out a long time ago i could have a solid gold rolls royce but if i am freezin my butt off i will hate driving it.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->
i love driving this car. i found that hitting a pothole at 80 mph gets a bit spooky with the suicide front however. it feels like i am catching air...
update the engine started making bad noises. and when we opened her up we were amazed it ran at all. spun bearings all sorts of nasty things were happening in there. after considering the cost of machine work etc for rebuilding. i cut to the chase and simply bought a new long block from oreillys. 3 year unlimited mile warranty. $1070 after core exchange. now i am in the process of replacing kingpins. installing a reversed corvair steering box a stronger set of motor mounts. and a set of these.
That noise is the chevy rejecting its ford heart! You have a nice looking truck. I built a 29 chevy they are not the easiest thing to work on.
well $955.02 later i am waiting for ups to deliver my reversed corvair box , roadster headers and kingpins. i hired my buddy to fab up some bombproof motor mounts. then i will be done once and for all!* *done that is until i get my grubby mitts on some more moolah to throw at it. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
grrr my headers showed up' on the box it says sb ford but they are sb chevy. sending them back 1st thing in the morning.
Hey Billy. It's good to see you are still wrenchng on that old chevy. I have sold most of my projects including my 27 delivery. Idid get to drive it for awhile , but the doctors wanted some moneyfrom this last year, so just in case I need them in the future I better pay them off. I did get enough money to buy my next project though a 1926 buick roadster. I never built a real roadster so it ought to be fun. Talk to ya later...John
because of the shorter pitman arm. it is a little harder to turn the wheel. but with the previous setup i had a bit of bumpsteer and if i locked the brakes up it would pull to the right. yesterday i got it up to about 50 mph let go of the wheel and stomped the brakes no pull and it stopped just fine. those 12x2" juice brakes work just fine on a dinky lightweight rig like this.
yesterday i noticed my tranny hanging down more than it should. turns out when the motor mount broke. it cracked my tranny mount as well. i just walked in from fixing it. ok now i am done.* *till next time.
I am at the tail end of the mechanical stuff. I am going to cut off some of the brackets and fab up some stronger ones. then I have miles to go on the cosmetics.