Projects My '32 5 Window Project - Done and Cruising!!!

Actually shot a tiny bit of paint today. Spindles are done! And so it begins. Hoping to get my hands on the light green tomorrow for the engine, trans and a few of the other small pieces. Pretty excited.

SPark

 

Very nice!

 

Made some parts shiny today.
SPark

 

Engine is assembled! Have to touch up a few bolt heads and forgot to paint the coil bracket but other than that it’s ready to drop into the chassis when I get it back.

Headed to another cancer treatment Wednesday and wanted it together before then. Never know what shape I’ll be in when I get done with one of those. So far, so good with this treatment.

SPark

 

Paint looks great! Glad your treatments are going well, too!

 

Had a new ARP oil pump driveshaft (compare to the stocker on the right), new Melling oil pump, new pickup tube (to fit the front sump pan) and an ARP oil pan stud kit so decided to put them to use on this one.

Also started building plug wires. Took 90* boots on the left side and 135* boots on the right side to get the wires headed the right direction and still clear the headers. Need to stare at them a while before I make the final length cuts and terminate them. Want to make sure it's what I want before I cut them too short!

SPark

 

Spent the rest of the afternoon getting the tranny ready. Installed the deep TCI aluminum pan and extended sump, got the brackets on to make the Lokar shifter work and added a Lokar dip stick tube. Have the special flex plate that adapts the 50oz imbalance 5.0 engine to the earlier C4 converter and a set of ARP flex plate bolts ready to go, too. Getting closer all the time!
SPark

 

Looking good! I like the engine color - something you don’t see every day.

 

X2...great stuff @LM14

 

Engine looks great. It is really good to see something other than SBC being used in builds. I gather that the spacer on the heads is so you can run the early style valve covers? I'll have to go back and re-read your build as I've missed a couple of pages.

 

The old '64 covers are so short they won't clear the roller rockers and poly locks. Only needed about a half inch but had these on hand from a past build. Just used a stud conversion kit.

SPark

 

Spent the last couple days welding the exhaust. Had it tacked, just needed to finish it up. Used stainless wire and it welded pretty nice. Ground the welds, sanded and finished with Scotch Brite for a satin finish.

Had my 2nd Avastin infusion Wednesday. Little tired but otherwise doing good it seems. At least able to work a few hours at a time then take a little rest before going back to work on the car. Eating/drinking good again, things tasting almost normal. Even drank a Pepsi again! Been doing more running around and getting out a lot more compared to previously.

SPark

 

It’s the little things that take time.

Drilled all the set screw dimples in the steering shaft, cleaned everything up, primer and paint is on!

Reworked a set of Billet Specifically dash knobs to fit my headlight and heater controls. Headlight fits straight out of the package. Heater knob took some time with the Dremel to make a 3/16 hole into a 1/4” -2/3 round hole. Took my time and snuck up on a nice tight fit. These kind of mimic the ‘41 Ford hubcaps and the air cleaner to keep the theme going.

SPark

 

Looking good! Stay strong, I’m sure there are lots of us sending you our prayers and thoughts.

 

More of the little things. Got the steering shaft put together. Done!

Spent all morning grinding, sanding and shaping the brake pedal. Pretty rough to start with (forgot to take a “before” picture). Rounded all the sharp edges with a nice radius, sanded all 4 sides of the beam down, bead blasted, sanded, sanded some more, primed and painted. Done!

Put all the tranny cooler lines back together after paint. The part between the flex line and radiator connections will have to wait until the engine and radiator are in their final locations. May still need to shorten and re-flare the hard lines on those 2.

Pretty much have all the small stuff painted and ready to go. Waiting on the painter with the frame and other parts he has.

SPark

 

lookin' good

 

I started over with page one, post one and read this non-stop.

Not only have you managed to build a nice car with your enviable skills, you did it while battling the health issues thrown at you.

The inspiration is your perseverance, in spite of your physical hardships! A lot of us would have pulled down the door, retreated to the recliner, and said woe is me.

Well done, Sir! We can all learn from you. Hoping for your continued improvement.

 

Thank you. I strongly considered the "sit in the recliner and waste away" option but it's just not how I do things. Glad you like the build.

Was at the painter's shop yesterday, sounds like some color will go on next week! Maybe start priming Monday if things go well. Hoping to get back on this thing, I've done about all I can do until I get my painted parts back.

SPark

 

Couple days working on the firewall. Filled all the voids in the fiberglass, fixed a few low spots and trued up all the edges. My damned AFIB is back as of last night so it's sand 10 minutes, breath and get blood back into my muscles and joints for an hour or so. This will be 2 months of fun getting that reset! Firewall came out good though.

Sent the "T" project to it's new home so I have more room now.

SPark

 

More firewall work, mostly the hood lace area and the rain gutter behind it. Drilling out pin holes and filling with kitty hair. Hopefully the last day of this operation. Lack of oxygen to the muscles really slows a guy down!

On the other front, primer is flying on parts getting ready for color.

SPark

 

Been a Good News/Bad News kind of day.

Bad news? My AFIB came back Saturday morning and it's a royal pain in the ass to work without oxygen in your blood. Muscles burn, no energy, work a bit then sit and rest longer. Got confirmation today. Figured I was in for another 30 days of Xarelto (hate the stuff), get zapped then another 30 days of Xarelto and go on about my life. Good news? Found out that since I had just had it reset a couple months ago, there is a window of opportunity I can get it reset again without having to wait the 30 days (clotting concerns). They called me this afternoon and I can get in a week from tomorrow to get zapped again. Also putting me back on rhythm drugs to try to keep it in rhythm.

Headed up tomorrow to get my 3rd infusion of this latest immunotherapy drug. So far so good with it. When we are done with that it's off to the fabric store to pick up some burlap and foam to build a temporary seat. The wife is going to do it with an old Mexican blanket for now. That will get us buy until paint is done and real upholstery goes in.

For a change, I wasn't the one sitting in the emergency room last weekend! My wife decided to try to cut the end of her left index finger off with the electric carving knife Easter Sunday. I'm not sure why she did it. She ended up with 3 stitches, missed most of the dinner she cooked and was in a generally fowl mood all afternoon. Once she gets her stitches out next week she's going to start on my seat. Should have seen the look when I told her she did it intentionally just to get out of doing a little upholstery work. Women. We've been married almost 40 years, no need to hold back now!

Got the firewall and cowl area immediately behind it all ready for paint. Filled a lot of air bubbles, straightened some seams and joints, got a nice looking firewall out of the deal. All in all spent about 5 days on it. Well worth the effort.

When I replaced the New Age Motorsports fiberglass cowl vent with a steel United Pacific one, it didn't fit the hole quite as nice. Ended up creating a thin, tapered shim to place between the cowl lid and the hinge mechanism to better center and square the vent lid on the opening. Also had to slot a couple holes to raise it up a touch. Got everything put together tonight and started mud work on that area. Little kitty hair to build it up and then we'll start with the Rage Gold. Won't take much to make it look really good.

Last bit of Good News? Paint is flying at the paint shop! Started with the dark green stuff today. Got the brakes all painted and a few other smaller parts. Should have a load to pick up and bring home yet this week I'm hoping at this rate. Want to put the rear end back together and with the brakes I can also put the front end all back together. We're actually making progress now!

SPark

 

Man you are really hauling ass on this build. You are faster then most people in perfect health.

 

@LM14 your supposed to kiss the Wife's boo boo better...

Great progress and great attention to detail as well. Glad theres some good news.

 

Stopped at the painter’s today. Brought home some shiny stuff! Frame and hood are sealed with epoxy, everything else is in final color. Getting ready to start body work on the frame and make things smooth. Can reassemble the rear and get all the front back together except the rotors.

Got my infusion yesterday. Also got clearance to get my heart reset next Wednesday. Will go good to have oxygen in my body again.

After the infusion we stopped at a fabric store and picked up the burlap for the spring wrap and some hi density foam for the seat.

I’m usually a bit cranked up after an infusion and with my heart out of rhythm I wasn’t going to sleep last night. Got on Summit’s site and ordered a Pertronix distributor, coil and wires, Edelbrock fuel pump and a couple Borla mufflers for my ‘62 unibody build. Time to get back on that build, too.

We’ll take progress anywhere we can find it!

SPark

 

Got up way too early this morning. Had to meet with a house painter and get a quote for painting our house. At least that’s set up and I don’t have to do it this time!

Got the brake brackets and steering arms back on the spindles. Waiting for the rotors to get some paint. Then I can button up the front end.

Also got the rearend put together. Sure is nice working with new, clean, painted parts. Not something I have much experience with. I’ve always been a “primer is plenty good” type guy. The wife wanted paint and interior on this one, a real finished car. She doesn’t even squirm when I tell her what these things cost compared to my usual way of doing things.

Been researching torque converters the last few days. Settled on a Hughes Performance Street Rod converter. Supposed to be perfect for a lighter car with a little more than stock cam and a 3.00 to 3.75 gear. I have an E-303 roller cam and a 3.25 gear so it sounds like it should fill the bill. Should have that in a couple days and I can marry the engine and trans for the final time.

At least things are moving forward now!
SPark

 

You’re kickin a$$ and takin names now! Lots of progress since I last checked in here. Glad you’re making progress on the health front, too! Do you have a thread on the ‘62? I’d like to follow that as well if you do.

 

My '62 doesn't fit in here that well. It's got an Industrial Chassis Dakota based IFS and 4 bar under it with QA1 coilovers all the way around. Tilt/shift Ididit column, Scat bucket seats, 1967 Mustang GTA 390 8V(or 4V, couple intake choices)/C6. Custom tailgate, custom front inner fenders, filled seams and getting ready (still) to put a big window section in the back of the cab. Have a tilt forward hood kit for it, it sits "right" and should be a fun ride. Here is a link to the complete build thread on the mother site for Slicks.

http://slick60s.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=29832

Thanks for the kind words.
SPark

 

Nice! Thanks for sharing that. I’ll check out the build thread, too!

 

Man you have some SKILLS. Been catching up on the truck build and do you mind letting us know where you learned the trade and what did you used to race (mentioned on the truck build)

 

Thanks for the kind words.

I had the worlds best Shop Teacher in Jr. and Sr High School. Those first 2 pictures were taken 53 years apart! We had a foundry, welding/cutting, mills and lathes, engines and electronics as parts of those classes. I just got together with my old shop teacher last week. He was a sprint car racer and we are restoring one of the cars he drove (Bob Trostle's 2nd personal sprit car/modified that was in Hot Rod Magazine in 1966).

I have owned IMCA Stock Cars (2 years), dirt late models (13 years) and IMCA modifieds (5 years) plus 5 years as crew chief on another person's car. It was all fun. Was just getting into USacSilver Crown cars the last few years. Had an old high school friend that owned a team and I was asked to come along and help. Jack Hewitt was his team manager and Jeff Swindell was his driver. Lots of fun but that team no longer exists since my friend passed away this past winter

SPark