Projects Progress on Rocky's 34 coupe..last update 9/30/2020

I've had this happen twice that necessitated a doc visit. The first time they scraped it out with a scalpel, and the second time they had to take some drill bit thing in a Dremel.... neither one was very fun. I've started wearing a face shield with a hoodie over the top, and that seems to work well but fogs up quickly... Be safe out there!

 

OK, after days of trying to find an 11" clutch that would
1.....not be so tall as to be up against the trans bearing retainer.
2....fit my aluminum flywheel drilled for an 11" "long" style pressure plate.
3....fit up inside the bell housing. and
4....I've already forgot #4..
I've decided to go with the stock 10.4" factory 59 Pontiac clutch assembly. I took all the 11" Ford style clutch stuff back to Advance Auto, got my $$ back and cruised over to NAPA where I know the counter guys and I get my discount....ordered a complete LUK clutch kit for my application...it was 2 bucks cheaper than the iffy Advance stuff I took back.
Gotta go on a long distance run for work tomorrow...maybe I'll get to work on it Tuesday. Behold the clutch thrash in my mini-shop.

 

So I sit down to my computer one last time before beddy-bye. There are two posts in my "unwatched threads" section. One by Rocky and one by squirrel (both as thread originators and last reply). What are the odds?

But to stay on topic: good work Rocky. Coming along nicely.

 

Sounds like progress even if you only have confirmation on the parts.

 

Drove 14 hours today on my "retirement" job...yeah, right! Got some house winterization shit to do tomorrow before the cold front comes through and drive to NAPA to pick up my new clutch. My wife insists I wrap it and put it under the tree for Christmas...for the grand kids to watch me open.

 

The little 10.4" clutch didn't fit my flywheel..too small so the NAPA counter guy brought me an 11.75" clutch to look over. It appeared it may fit so I bought it and brought it home...it'll fit without the disc but I have to grind a bit on the bottom of the bell housing to load it all into the housing. I assembled the entire clutch/transmission to check fit of the fork and its' pivot etc etc. The only fork that'd work is a 49 chevy car fork. And even then it's gonna take a little heat to bend it the way I need it but it's forged steel, not pressed steel like the later ones. The throwout bearing and pilot bearing are going to work and after I assembled it, the engine wouldn't turn over.....pressure plate just barely contacts part of the casting of the bell housing. While I'm grinding the bottom lip of the bell housing for assembly clearance, I'll take the corner off the throwout arm boss too....nuttin is easy, is it? Good news is I'll be running a KILLER 11.75" clutch setup. I LOVE big clutches...ran a 12" clutch in my 50 chevy delivery and it was smooth as butter.
Now, I gotta disassemble the entire clutch setup and box it up to put under the Christmas tree so the grand kiddies can watch me unwrap it for Christmas...
The photos are looking up from under the car.

 

Parts outlined in white [ photo above] have to be ground away. The extra fork is sitting in a bath of vinegar, getting the rust removed. Afterward I'll heat it and drill the end so a 3/8ths chevy rocker ball will seat in it for adjustment.
OH, and that little short clutch pivot ball? I found it in a box of parts. It's the only one I can use on this setup....the stock 59 Pontiac pivot ball is way too long...
I suppose it's prolly an early 50s chevy unit like the fork.

 

Next step? Build some clutch linkage..

 

Hell yeah! I’m in the middle of a similar dance of swapping parts and grinding to fit in the A right now. Just pecking away at it.

Can’t wait to see this thing cruising this summer after being holed up in your garage for so long!

 

I saw the fork in the liquid and thought maybe you were getting it wet and soft so it would bend easier.

 

I dunno, Jeff....maybe it'll work! I'll certainly try it. Pulling it all back apart to grind the bell housing protuberances and put the boxed-up clutch under the tree.

 

Wouldn't it be easier if Santa just brought you a box of gift wrapped doughnuts, instead of an asbestos disc and heavy spring thingy for grampy ? That damn Santa Claus. Ha.

 

Sounds like you have a great wife, Rocky. She knows how important that hot rod is to you, and wants to convey it to the kids by having you unwrap the clutch for Christmas. Smart Lady!
You must be getting excited, the coupe is looking great!

 

Merry Christmas to you and Janet!!

 

No, I'm not dead...just got hung up with the holidays, fambly etc. When I get a spare minute I go out and stroke around with my coupe. Made up a clutch linkage Z-bar with sealed ball bearings on the ends. Yesterday I went down to Speedway and bought some better rod ends for the linkages...It's just roughed in...I'll make it all pretty after I get the bugs worked out.

 

Yanked out the engine after finalizing the clutch linkage. I'll store the engine on it's little wheeled cart in the other part of the shop and do some grinding inside the bell housing to clear the pressure plate. I'll do the finish welding on the frame and the rear axle. Staying busy.
Tomorrow we're supposed to get snow so I should get all day to play in the garage!

 

Car guy snow days are the best looking good man

 

clutch linkage done....still need to "pretty it up" with grinding, correct pins, strengthening the frame's leg etc etc.

 

Smokin up the place with welding...welding.
Must.....be....ready for....HAMB...drags.

 

Yeah man!
Go cat go!

 

Looking good Rocky, I have been doing bodywork on mine. I'm shooting for LARS in June

 

Previously I made a 1/4" plate to go under the center of the frame's X...ties the legs together and gives me another tranny mount. I've always thought it was not nearly enough to stabilize the center X so tonight I whipped up this piece for the top of the X. It also has 6 bolts to mount it. I think now the center X is stable enough.
The top piece clears hand brake, shifter, and I left some room for my right heel. I still need to fab up a trans cover when I get the body back on.
Did some more welding on the frame....moving forward

 

I'm glad to see your making some more progress Rocky. I'm in the bodywork phase on mine. Hope to have the painted body on by the end of Feb. Keep jamming. See it through It will be worth it. Our build threads are long but we are persistent.

 

Looking good man. May be in your neck of the woods soon to meet my newest niece. I’ll stop by if the schedule allows

 

Do it.

 

Welding on chassis. Finished boxing in my front cross member and cut the rear cross member loose, lowered it down 1.5" to gain a little height. I was using air shocks to keep the tires off the tops of my wheel wells. I should be ok now.
The blue pieces are real thin aluminum sheets that can be cut with scissors...makes great patterns and templates. I'll use them to mark out my steel boxing plates. I think I'll hit up my old buddy Jimmy to use his plasma cutter after I mark everything out.

Oh, and I moved the right motor mount bracket 3/4" closer to the center of the car to fix a screw-up I made earlier....still need to finish it up.

 

Great to see some progress.

 

Got both sides of the boxing plates and frame "C" burned in. At least all the welding I want to do from the top. I still need to turn the frame on it's side and flip it over on it's back to finish welding all the joints. I suck at vertical and overhead welding so I'll be flipping the frame to weld. - _ I don't know what the black line is all about..
I'll clean up all the ragged edges and finish up the welds before I call it done.

 

Finished all the welding on the rear axle brackets last night and sprayed a little paint on to protect from rust....Got all the frame welding I can do from up top. Next I remove the front axle and flip the frame to do welding on the bottom and sides. So far- so good.

 

You have to wonder how many miles of welding go into a hot rod...
Looking great man! That rear end is a monster.