Projects 1957 Hillman Husky 392 hemi build thread

I just sold my 1957 Hillman Husky parts car, but I kept the original bucket seats for a future project. I've since decided to go another direction, so if you need them, I'll sell them cheap. I'm in Tulsa and I can ship them however you want. PM me for my phone number. Larry

 

PM sent

 

Still thinking about adding a blower......

 

My seats are finally on the way and will be in Gilroy today. With the seats and the brake master on the way I hope to start making some good progress on figuring out the pedals.

 

Picked up my seats today from Greyhound. Not much to look at but they'll be ok to figure out the seating and pedal position. I'm going to clean them up just a little so I can place them in the car and see how they look.

 

After a little scrubbing they smell a little less like mouse piss. In these pictures the seats are just placed in there. They are pretty close to where they will be mounted although they are adjusted all the way forward. The seat adjusters are frozen in the forward position. The steering wheel looks pretty close to the seat but it's in it's original location. These cars were made for small people. I sat in there and it seemed ok even though it was all the way forward.

Now I need to focus on getting the pedals figured out. Brake master cylinder should be here next week so we can continue work on the location of it and the clutch master. Once the pedals are set I'll yank the seats out and get them fixed up and upholstered.

 

Seats look to be right for your car.

 

Here ya go. Just read your thread all the way through and really dig it. Subscribed.
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They are from another Husky so they are correct. Even come from the same year. They still had the tag on the bottom. It's hard to read but it says they were made on May 25, 1957. I'm still looking for a needle in a haystack....to find a set of these that don't need to be reupholstered.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this. It looks good! I'm kinda trying for a early 70's look and this would fit right in. I may have to do something like this if I can't fit the exhaust under the car.

 

It is looking very good. I like the wheels

 

Thanks. Wasn't easy finding a set of the skinny wheels up front. The rears are the less common 6 3/4" so they took a little effort to find too. The size you usually find is the 7" variety.

I may end up going to a set of narrowed A-Arms to pull the front wheels in a but. The track is a little wider than stock now.

 

If it doesn't rub.....

 

This is the same type system that Jaguar used on the '89-up XJS cars. It does work, but wasn't too popular once owners found out how expensive they were to repair. The accumulators fail with age, and if they go bad and you don't notice it, it will take the pump out. The theory is the pump charges the accumulator, which 'stores' enough pressure for about ten full stops, then the pump recharges it. GM also used this type system on some cars, so the accumulators are available for about $80 each.

 

It doesn't rub. These cars originally had a narrow track so the wheels were set in to the wheel well just a little more. I think the new set up probably has the wheels 2 inches further out. Looks ok from the side but a little too wide if viewed from the front. Not sure it's worth the hassle to change anything though.

I once worked for a guy that said if your tire doesn't rub at some point when turning or driving it's not big enough.

He also said you could never have enough tools, be too skinny, or have too much money.

 

This wasn't my first choice but ended up being the winner by process of elimination. You're right the more complex the more things that can fail. Hopefully this one will work out ok.

I'll post more on it as we get it installed including driving impressions.

 

tell em it's a "Wide tracking Pontiac"!

 

I need to start thinking about a radiator on the Husky. Does anybody know the dimensions on an original equipment 392 car? Could be a New Yorker, 300, Imperial etc? My radiator probably won't need to be as big as original but I'd like to at least have a starting point to work from. I'd also like to hear what other guys with 392 are using for radiator size.

Griffin says to estimate 1 cubic inch of radiator per HP. There are other variables involved but that can be used as a starting point. The original radiator in the Husky was 15" wide x 20" high. Figuring out how big it needs to be will help me determine how much cutting/fabrication I have to do to the core support.

Thanks guys.

 

you must have found all the Hillman Huskies in this end of the country

except for the one in my back yard, a 59 I have had since the 70's

mine is without the stock floor and frame and has an Alston 2"x3" frame built in it that I had done like 20 years ago, I may finish it some day or may sell it

NAAAA


with my buddy Rob sitting on the floor or just a cross member where the floor will go

 

Very cool project!!

 

Get that sucker going again. I've got extra parts if you're missing anything.

 

Thanks. Always liked the stuff that was little different.

 

I think that an early Mustang radiator would be where I'd look. There are some pretty powerful motors being put in them so aftermarket support is good. An aluminum 4-core off ebay is ~$175

 

I like the front tire/wheels where they sit. Filling up the wheelwell looks much better than the stock width that seems tucked in too far!
Griffin's estimate is pretty conservative, but will work if you move enough air through the core. I'd probably error on the larger side if there's enough room. I'm running a Griffin with a small 16"x15" core with two 1" rows in front of my 327 Chev, with the highest cfm fan I could find. Engine is around 375 hp, and it stays right at 195 degrees even idling in hot summer weather. A little cooler in the cooler months.

 

Thanks for the pointer. I looked one up and it is approximately 22" wide x 20" high. That would work well in my car. I like the idea of an off the shelf radiator like this one.

A friend of mine has a similar sized radiator that he used for a Mopar 440. He's going to let me use it as a template.

 

I'm with you....go with larger if I can. Nothing would be worse than getting this all together only to find it wants to run hot at idle.

One thing I'm doing is putting it all together to test fit and try everything. I'll get the car running and driving. When it works then it comes apart to be painted and finished in the engine compartment. That way if something needs to be changed or modified I do it before final paint and assembly.

 

I run a griffin in my 40 ford with a 392 hemi. it is 19X21 inches with two rows of 1.25 tubes and a 2750 cfm electric fan and it idles fine in hot weather.

 

Thanks for the first hand info and pictures 4tford. It's 19 wide and 21 high, right? Is that the overall width or just the core size? Looks like you have a good shroud on there too. I may have a little more room around my engine than your car so this is encouraging.

What are those valve covers you are running? They look great.

The styrofoam radiator I have in there now is 24 wide x 19 high. It's a little snug on the sides but fits.

 

That is the overall dimensions and I have 4 inches from the water pump pulley to the radiator so I used a puller electric fan from cooling components with shroud. The valve covers are from hotheads. A few more pics to see the rad better.

 

Thanks for the info. I appreciate the firsthand knowledge.