Projects Gasser on Maui..... but it's just another '55

Been gone traveling with family for over a month, but fuel system parts arrived while I was gone, so started working on that. Here's the fuel cell, 20 gallons, will give me some cruising range. Will post more pix as it progresses....
LINK TO MORE PIX
Aloha,
Willy

 

I fabbed some mounts for a pair of fuel pressure gages in the engine bay....

Only had two gages, so had to order one more to put one up on the cowl just behind the carbs....

Here's the two down next to the motor, monitoring incoming pump pressure, and pressure to the carbs....


Made up the mount and tubing connection for the cowl gage, waiting for one to come in the mail...


Now I have to fab the hard lines from the pump to the regulator and back (return line), but want to clean up the frame rails and get some paint on them before I hang those lines, so I'll be under there with a wire wheel practicing my four letter vocabulary.....

Aloha,
Willy
LINK TO MORE PIX (scroll down)....

 

Eh Brah.... keep up the great work! BeachBum Jim

 

Looks great!

 

Started pulling the upholstery off the front seat, and started wire brushing and hand painting POR15 on all the seat springs/frames prior to new upholstery. This pig is gonna have some tasty new threads inside.....

I'll add more pix as the upholstery starts to come along....
LINK to seat page....
LINK to main page....
I think I got as much of that POR15 on me as I did on the springs....
Aloha,
Willy

 

Look at what they look like now, with this primo dark red vinyl hog ringed in place.....
Working on the front seat now....

Link To More Pix (scroll down)....
Aloha,
Willy

 

Got the front seat finished and installed. Bolted right in, and is solid with the four floor bolts and the two bolts at the upper back edge bolted to the roll cage. Put in pockets for the safety harness center strap right where it should be, both for me and for my passenger.....

Link to more pix, scroll down....

Then I pulled the motor mock up out and started stripping it down for the final build up....

Link to new page, more pix soon....

But first I'm going to cherry out that firewall and paint a bunch of the suspension and other parts I missed when I was busy modifying and fitting it all together.
Aloha,
Willy

 

Been away from my projects for awhile, visiting family, grandkids, and jury duty, but am back on it now....

Patching up this firewall is a lot of work. On both my trucks I just cut/ground everything off and welded on a whole new sheet of metal over the old firewall. Might have been easier for this one too, but now I'm pretty far along with the "patching" process.....





Also completed welding up my motor mounts, they were only tacked together while that motor was mocked up in there....



Once I get the firewall where I want it, all ground down smooth, will take apart all the front end parts I have fabbed/fitted and paint them, and paint the firewall. The theme here is flat black or hammertone grey....

Link to more pix....
Aloha,
Willy

 

lookin real good.......

 

Update: Pretty well got the firewall all welded up, needs some more grinding, then will "body work" it to smooth it out....



Link to more pix (please scroll down a ways)...

Aloha,
Willy

 

Looks awesome man, can't wait to see it finished.

 

That link above didn't work, let's try again....
More pix, scroll down a ways....

 

OK, the firewall is all welded up, scrubbed down, acid etched, and ready for paint!

Here's the question, should I just clear coat it as is, showing all this krap, or do a nice job and flat black it?

If I finally do end up naming this rig "PATCHES", it would fit....

I'm 50/50 on that right now, whatta you guys think?



Link to patch page 2

Much Aloha to All....
Willy

 

Looks good Willy. Can't wait to see it in person!

I will bring clean shorts cause I am sure that it will be a scarey ride......

 

clean it up and paint it please...

 

paint it

 

Willy, Paint it. Not flat black though, what about the original green? Or gloss black? It seems a shame to have done all that work and then leave it looking like the dreaded 'R' word.

Been watching the thread here and on CT, looks fantastic something to keep the pickup company!

P

 

I'll go along with the painting too, but if I was you, I would do whatever feels right to you, regardless of what we say. I spend the month of March in Maui for the last 30 some years, so I'm looking forward to seeing it on the road when I come down next year. Bill

 

Hey Willy looks good but I would paint it.

 

Paint please!

 

I vote paint.

 

A Gasser on Maui! Can't get much better than that. Was just there in Sept. to get married. Great place can't wait to get back. Car looks great man. That bike is killer to. Cool that you hung onto it all this time. Good luck with both projects. Look forward to seeing the progress. ALOHA

 

Front end is all stripped down to frame and axle, painting all the other parts then will put 'em back on....
The brush marks are visible up close, don't like that....
Started painting some of the inside weld/patch work also....
Red rustoleum....

Ended up using my own mix of flat black and satin black rustoleum, it's ok for now, might redo it later, had to brush it on due to "no spray" conditions where I was working....
Link to "patch n paint" page
I had previously painted my axle and sway bar with a gray hammertone paint, like it, might go back and paint the firewall that or there is also a black hammertone I haven't played with yet, might try that also....
Painted the drag link (it's a long one for the cross-steer setup) and the tie rod with that gray hammertone yesterday, they look good!
Choices, choices.....
Aloha,
Willy

 

Got everything on the front end painted, bolted back together, cotter pinned or lock tighted, it's ready for the motor, then wiring it, hanging brake lines and fuel lines, and firing it up.

I'm going to be gone to OR and WA to visit the kids and grandkids over the holidays, so putting off putting the motor together until we get back. My new Olds 425 ci 7" H-beam steel rods came this week from Dick Miller Racing ( Link to Dick Miller Racing ), made in China by K1 (owned by Carillo), they look good! So now I think I have everything I need to assemble the motor in January when we get back....



More photos here (scroll down).....

Aloha and all the best to you all over the Holidays....
Willy

 

I had bought a rebuild kit for the front calipers on my front axle, they were on the axle when we pulled it out from under a buddy's 59 ford f100 pickup (we put in a mustang II front end and lowered it radically, I kept the old front end for my gasser!). The calipers are off a '79 Chevy pickup. The rebuild I did came out way tight, couldn't get the calipers to move on the bolts/rods, WAAAA too tight!

So, I spent a lot of time cleaning the o-ring grooves in the caliper "ears", refitted the o-rings, put it back together, still WAAAAAY too tight!

Finally was able to locate a pair of rebuilt calipers (hadn't been able to previously) from NAPA and ordered them, when they came I compared them to my rebuilt ones, and I was correct, the caliper should be able to move (firmly and somewhat stiff) on the bolts/rods with just firm hand pressure, which my rebuilt ones will NOT do, it takes a hammer and a piece of wood to move them at all, with a HEAVY whack! Not good!

So I kept the "new" rebuilt ones and sent my old ones back as cores so I could reclaim the core charge. Still not sure what that was all about or why, but enough time was spent, time to install the "new" ones and move on!

Now I am fitting the brake hoses and hard lines, measuring , bending, fitting, attaching, using a long hose (20") from each front caliper up to the frame, could have gone with a short hose on each front caliper to the axle, installed a hard line on the axle, and a longer hose up to the frame from a tee, but had these longer hoses so decided to just go directly to the frame from each caliper. I wanted long hoses, as I have designed in a lot of articulation into the front suspension and did not want the hoses to be restrained in any way.

Found a good fit rear hose, 20" long, as the frame sits a fair distance above the rear axle, wanted to make sure I had plenty of hose back there also.

Will post some pix when I get it all done.....
Aloha,
Willy

 

Update on brakes:
Finally got the brake calipers mounted, and found some NAPA brake hoses that fit, when I put the hoses on facing to the rear from the calipers, they hit the base of the shocks when cranked into full turn, so I reversed the hoses, no problem now. I don't think having the hoses oriented this way will be a problem.

Here's the driver's side:



Here's how the hose connection at the caliper looks at full crank, both ways....





Now plumbing in the line-lock for the front brakes and the steel lines along the frame rails, waiting for my master cylinder to be delivered by fedex....
Aloha,
Willy

 

The master cylinder finally showed up, tried to hang it and the original bolts on the firewall are too short!



So I cut off the two bottom bolts and knowing they are basically carriage bolts pressed into the brake/clutch assembly bracket from the inside, tried to punch them out, back into the car, but only succeeded in bending the bracket flanges! Had to crawl inside and with a long steel rod and hammer, bend the flanges back in place, then had to drill out the two bottom bolts I had cut off!!!

Put longer bolts in and it is bolted up, after hooking everything up will post more pix...

Not too sure I like this proportioning valve, it is non-adjustable, set for about 70/30 front to rear, I've always used an adjustable proportioning valve for the rear in my drum/disk setups in the past, and like to set the valving during road testing to get the best braking effort from all four wheels! We shall see how well this works when I get it out on the road....

LINK to brakes page
Aloha,
Willy

 

Got the brake system finished! Only need to buy some DOT #3 and bleed it out, get it operating....

So started hanging the fuel lines along the passenger side frame rail (feed and return) up to the pressure regulator/distribution block....





LINK to brakes page

Aloha,
Willy

 

Looking good Nice and clean.

 

Got the fuel lines (1/2" braided hose, one supply and one return) hung along the right frame rail. Used some 1/4" x 2" ss bolts I had laying around, welded them to the frame rail as "stand-off"s, put a nut, washer, a clamp for each hose (one up, one down), and a nylock nut, and spaced them about 18" or as needed and they came out great! Now to hang my electrical cables along the frame rails on the outside....



LINK to more pix of fuel system (scroll down)....

Aloha,
Willy