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Projects B is for Build - Olds Powered 34

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Speedy Canuck, Feb 26, 2013.

  1. This truck became a much bigger project than I envisioned when I set out. I thought I'd freshen it up, make some changes, and call it mine.

    Thanks to substantial corruption from the H.A.M.B., I started tearing into it; all the while fostering bigger and better plans.
    The confused mess that is my ramblings and plans during the tear down can be found here: Learning As I Go... The 34 Canuck Truck

    I ended up with a pile of parts in the garage, and was still lacking direction. Then I got in touch with Candy-Man and our conversations really started to rot my mind...he helped me form a plan. One trip over to the Candy Factory and I was hooked. As the plan kept developing, he got to work, and the result is very sweet. You can find the frame build here: I'm being framed!....Laying out a 34 chassis at the Candy Factory.


    I got back from the Candy Factory this past Sunday evening. I had a trailer load of goodies and was eager to get to work.
    After unloading everything into the garage, some pizza and a few beverages, I decided to tinker for a bit before calling it a night.

    The second motor mount needed a bit of massaging, so I decided to leave it for a fresh mind on Monday morning.

    [​IMG]

    I took the day off work on Monday to have some fun in the garage. I wanted to turn some wrenches and make it look like something.
    The first order of business was to bolt the engine and transmission back together and add the starter change over. It was a bit cramped for a while, as I had two Rocket motors and two Hydro transmissions sitting in about a 10'X10' square. It was a bit like a tetris game moving the engine stand, hoist, transmission cart, blocks and transmissions all around. I eventually succeeded though.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Once that was finished, I positioned the frame in the centre of the garage and got the front and rear axles bolted into place. Then, I figured it was about time to see how the Olds looked, sitting in the frame.

    [​IMG]

    Once the Rocket and Hydro were bolted down and secured, I couldn't resist the temptation of clamping the radiator to the front and tossing the grille shell on. I just wanted to see how everything looked! (Pretty damn good I think!)

    [​IMG]

    You can see in the following two pictures how moving the front crossmember ahead by 1.5" affected the positioning of the grille shell. If you read through the Candy Factory build thread, you might recollect that I was planning on taking some inspiration from the Yeakel brothers roadster. I dig how it looks, and the positioning of the grill in relation to the frame horns turned out exactly how I wanted it to. Neil nailed it bang on!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I'm really excited with how everything has turned out so far, and I'm looking forward to making more progress.

    Here's how I left things last night...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2014
    Martin_F likes this.
  2. Sweet man!
    Been following this build for quite some time now,
    and it's coming together really nice!
     
  3. I'll subscribe,,i love the 32-34 pickups. HRP
     
  4. Jkustom
    Joined: Oct 8, 2002
    Posts: 1,686

    Jkustom
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Same here. Subscribed.
     

  5. bgbdlinc
    Joined: Jan 11, 2002
    Posts: 522

    bgbdlinc
    Member

    ....just looks great....all that planning, research, eye-balling, is beginning to pay off. That big smile of pride is good for a week or two....
     
  6. ESGEE
    Joined: Feb 25, 2013
    Posts: 615

    ESGEE
    Member
    from Sweden

    Another build to follow, keep it up!
     
  7. You're over the hump in this build now.
    carry on
     
  8. TexasSpeed
    Joined: Nov 2, 2009
    Posts: 4,631

    TexasSpeed
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Texas

    Keep at it! You're quite ahead of me now..


    Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
     
  9. Thanks guys! I appreciate the comments.

    There won't be much progress in March, as I'm at the Cavalcade of Cars in Buffalo this weekend, in Detroit next weekend, and having a little soiree for St. Patrick's Day the following weekend; but I do plan on getting this frame rolling as soon as time and finances allow.

    I should be able to get the spindles hung, hubs and wheels on the front next time I'm in the garage.

    Thanks Martin. It's been a slow process, but well worth it.

    You're right Dave. I was near giddy on Monday and the feeling still lingers. Thanks bud.
     
  10. NortonG
    Joined: Dec 26, 2003
    Posts: 2,117

    NortonG
    Member Emeritus

    Not much to do before its rolling out of the garage!

    We should just ditch work for the rest of the week and make it happen...

    "I should be able to get the spindles hung, hubs and wheels on the front next time I'm in the garage."

    That's about 10mins worth of work!
     
  11. bgbdlinc
    Joined: Jan 11, 2002
    Posts: 522

    bgbdlinc
    Member

    ....hahaha....do I sense a whiff of competition?
     
  12. NortonG
    Joined: Dec 26, 2003
    Posts: 2,117

    NortonG
    Member Emeritus

    Just a little "friendly motivation" haha!
     
  13. If it's only 10 mins worth of work, why'd it take you so long?

    Yes. ;)
     
  14. langy
    Joined: Apr 27, 2006
    Posts: 5,730

    langy
    Member Emeritus

    Subscribed, cool project !!!
     
  15. Some progress today. The most notable of which was getting the front end rolling.

    Since it's just for mock up, I didn't bother with backing plates or drums...

    [​IMG]

    Tires came next.

    [​IMG]

    I plan on running 16x5.50s on the front. Currently, my 40 wheels have 6.50s on them. Everything will drop by roughly 1" once the smaller tires go on, but this gives me an idea of how things will sit.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    It was a nice sunny day to have the garage doors open. Though it's still a bit nippy.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2014
  16. NortonG
    Joined: Dec 26, 2003
    Posts: 2,117

    NortonG
    Member Emeritus

    Looking very good!

    What hubs are those?

    Needs a dropped axle..
     
  17. Progress is always good!
     
  18. looks cool i'll watch
     
  19. ss34coupe
    Joined: May 13, 2007
    Posts: 4,239

    ss34coupe
    Member

    Coming along well. Good work! I like the use of the stock front axle.
     
  20. bgbdlinc
    Joined: Jan 11, 2002
    Posts: 522

    bgbdlinc
    Member

    ...great to see you're on the 'upswing' (i.e. after reaching ground zero, when everything is blown apart, being reconstructed, or still in the Speedway catalogue).....time for a week of vacation to really pound away on it.....summer is coming...
     
  21. woodbutcher
    Joined: Apr 25, 2012
    Posts: 3,310

    woodbutcher
    Member

    Subscribed.
    Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
    Leo
     
  22. Just your average foreign made, Speedway sold, hubs...

    Drop it like it's hot.

    I'm going to disappoint you I'm afraid... I'm planning on dropping that axle...

    Dave, it feels great! It's a big motivator seeing things start to come together. A ton of work left to do, but I've started turning bolts to the right at least. :)
     
  23. I wasted some time this morning trying to find miscellaneous parts... Long story short, rural communities don't have much open on a Sunday.

    NortonG and I have been discussing dropping the front axle on this. Yes, no, and if so, how much. I wanted to spend some time playing around with the ride height in order to see how things sat. I knew that the 16x5.50s would drop me about an inch from where things sat with the current tires. Based on that, I played around with heights till I found something I liked.

    I came up with this...

    [​IMG]

    I did a bunch of small jobs today that ate all my time and didn't have anything worth showing. I did decide on a shifter though...

    I have a NOS Ansen Posi-Matic Hydro shifter. It's been in the box since new, and has the crumbling newspaper comic stuffing to prove it. I slapped it on just to see how things looked in terms of fit and placement.
    The shifter arm will have to get reworked (most likely a new arm) to get the positioning more in the middle of the cab and forward of the bench seat. Details for later.

    [​IMG]

    One of the other jobs I got done today was modifying the nose cone of the starter to fit with the starter changeover. I have two good starters and one that is junk, so I used the junker for test fitting.
    I followed the advice laid out in the January 1956 issue of Hot Rod Magazine...

    [​IMG]

    ...and it ended up fitting on just perfect.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2014
  24. bgbdlinc
    Joined: Jan 11, 2002
    Posts: 522

    bgbdlinc
    Member

    ...that's old timey hot rodding right there....very cool nose cone mods..
     
  25. Nice progress!

    I'm bumping this up to try and get everyone
    on the same page of your build
     
  26. I get to do it again on the actual starter! :D

    I appreciate it Flowmeister. That old thread hasn't moved since June of 2012, then boom, its top of the pile. A lot has happened since then!
     
  27. triumph 1
    Joined: Feb 9, 2011
    Posts: 591

    triumph 1
    Member

    Nice work. Looking forward to seeing it with the smaller tires & dropped axle.
     
  28. Candy-Man
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 1,715

    Candy-Man
    Member

  29. There hasn't been much progress since my last update.

    I went down to Neil's on Saturday and picked up my cab, and two '40 Ford wheels that I'd forgotten about, which were still taking up room in his shop. Crappy rain and slow traffic on the drive down. Rain, white out snow conditions and freezing rain on the drive home. :rolleyes:

    Sunday wasn't very productive either. I bought a toy compressor a few weeks back, so I got it set up and working. Seems to power a grinder no problem, so that'll help with getting the frame cleaned up.

    I'm hoping to make some actual progress on that next weekend, as well as get my axle shafts ordered so that I can make this thing a roller...
     

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