Projects BACK AT IT FINALLY!! RE-BUILD OF AN EARLY CHEVY COUPE WITH A HEMI

Thanks a lot Eddie! Next up on my build is the strengthening of the frame rails and mounting of the Payir hemi block. I'm really psyched about this!

 

Happy Birthday Hotrod Guy...

 

Thank you Stogy, the BIG 55, almost hard to believe...

 

Nice! Happy birthday buddy!

 

Happy Birthday ...... youngster.

 

Thanks Mike! Your BB is stored for the coming cold months...

Thanks @loudbang - appreciate this!

 

Yes. Just parked in the shop. Was going to go for a rip a couple weekends ago but it was too wet and sloppy on our dirt road! It's currently snowy and cold... Boo!

 

I know I have not been posting since my 55th birthday this past January, but I have some seriously great news - my hot rod is being towed into my friend's shop tomorrow in the am called Rats and Rods. I've been working in this shop for a while now, learning what I can from fabrication, welding, general maintenance on classic cars, muscle cars and HOT RODS! Greg will help me fabricate some hemi mounts or use the ones I have and make the necessary adjustments.

He is also willing to part with a 700R4 transmission that was rebuilt some time ago, which will help us with mocking up the hemi with its 700R4 trans adapter I have. We will strengthen my original rails with boxed steel or other option - NOT just boxing plates. The x-member I have from Speedway will be welded in to fit my chassis, originally designed for the '32 Ford. I also have a manual brake master cylinder and chromed Vega steering box going in as well. The only parts I DON'T have at this moment is the Borgeson u-joint, dd shafts and drag link for the steering box connection. I also need to order custom ladder bars, once I know the length they need to be from the rear QC to the rear of the x-member, close to the driveshaft, another item on my list to purchase.

So, let the chassis build continue, I need to get as much work done as possible before I roll her on a trailer on the 30th this month for a 2,256 mile trip to my new home in Mesa, Arizona. Photos and text to come... I am f""king psyched!!!!!!!!!

 

Great news Mike! But, just for P's and Q's........ Consider the OD.=700r. First gear is way to low, and OD is for highway cruising at, at least 70+...........The factory stuff has it seemed worked out, but in our applications, well, might differ some.... The 700 in my merc is worthless to me. First is a joke= too soon, and OD ,I have to be sailing down the road .....RPM range. This involves of course, gearing, tire diameter...... I'm going back to a th350, and will run one in my roadster.......... My sweet spot with math will put me right in the RPM range where I'm going to be driving, and needs...... 1 to 1.
might want to investigate a lil more is all....... I went for the hype of OD, but I'm not concerned about mileage. Just the most bang and performance........
I feel, and just ME, that it's over rated............ Of course, results, and, opinions will vary.......
Just trying to save you some frustration down the road..........

 

I gotta see for myself how this 700r4 is on the road. Keep in mind that my Winters QCR has the equipped 4:12 ratio as well, might need to wear a neck brace too... It's great to hear from you Mike! I will be a lot closer to Cali, now that I'll be moving to Mesa, Arizona at the end of the month.

 

I’m no expert, but I think that’s going to be an unhappy final gear ratio in first.

700r4 3.06 1.62 1.00 0.70 2.29


http://www.oldengine.org/unfaq/leadfoot/trans.htm



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Again, I'll just have to wait and see for myself. Most of the customers that's been in my shop have gone to either the 700R4 or 200R4 with no complaints. In my case, I really need the overdrive to cut down the consumption of fuel and taking some longer trips, knowing my new gas tank is twice the size of the original - 20 gallons.

 

I hear you on the OD. It’s 1 and 2 that I think are gonna go by real fast. 200r4 looks better for that rear end.

200r4 2.74 1.57 1.00 0.67 2.07

Build it and see, though.



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Its WEDNESDAY guys so I'm gonna jump in here with a total non-sequitur, having to do with gearing- when I first got my Ranchero I saw it and was like OMG I have to own that. My buddy was like you want it?? You can F'n have it... and then proceeded to tell me this whole story of his drive home with it and how it didn't shift into 3'd... it overheated and a wheel fell off... hahaha... I'm like I'll take it (but we traded stuff it was def not free)

So in tearing into the shifting problem... I found out it had like 3.90 gears and just skipped right past first- when I adjusted the shifting linkage to go down into low 1 holy smokes... donuts for days.

I ended up putting 3.70's in it I think? Which is whats in it here-
It would spin around and all the gas would go to one side and It would die... ranch isn't great at doing donuts haha-

 

With the QC you can change up your gearing to where you are happy with it for performance and change for your long drives! It isn't like you're stuck with 4.12 and have to live with it! After all that is why you bought then QC, right?

 

I will David.

It should be a blast to adjust gear ratios in the QC!

 

Finally had our first crack at my hot rod at my work shop - couple guys down from Greg's shop helped us place the body back down on my frame, been just over a year since its been off.

First and foremost - seeing the new suspension just blew me away! First thing I noticed was the incorrect position of the centering of the rear slicks in the wheel well. It looks like Dave and I pulled the rear too far forward when we spot welded the front bracket that holds the traction bars. We'll snap off this bracket and pull the rear assembly rearward about an inch and a half or so till the slicks center up in the wheel wells. Right now, the slicks are right at the front edge of the wheel well. An easy fix. Greg suggested to restore those ancient ladder bars and add new heim joints - we'll see...

Oh my God, when a plan that comes to mind and actually came out perfect - I modified the rear of the frame when I removed most of the gas tank support that houses the gas tank. I first placed the gas tank apron back on the rear frame, saw the dirt shadow of where the body sat. I used a hole for a reference point on the frame and measured the outer edge of the shadow and added 3 - 4" of where I wanted to cut the outer edge of the frame, so only this short area of the frame rail would stick out from the body. Just like a '32 Ford! You can see from my photo how well it turned out! I will box the end of these rails and allow a home made chrome or polished aluminum circular nerf bar to grace the rear of the body in the near future. End result - look at HOW TOUGH the rear of my coupe is with this awesome Winters QCR in FULL view!!!! I'm absolutely stoked!!!!!

Now comes the mock up of my HEMI... And the tough battles ahead to make everything fit around this massive engine. I made the right decision to place the starter on the passenger side (never thought one can have this option), giving me more room to install the Borgeson joint, steering shafts to my new chromed Vega steering box. What we are concerned about is the header clearance and my 8 - 10 quart performance oil pan, having no rear sump. I need to get some important measurements of the depth of this oil pan, rear of the engine to the tip of the harmonic balancer and hopefully a determination of how far in front of the hemi will the blower pulley ends up. Mike @INVISIBLEKID should give me an idea. I need to move the firewall back as I expected to accomplish the future of a Weiand Supercharger setup that I had when this engine was built, but sadly lost it from the engine builder... Don't really want to talk about this...….

Oh and of coarse, that dazzling front end, completely in chrome... I am in communication with Posie's Super Slide Springs to help me with hemi application (heavier and much more spring weight) leaf springs should the need arise. That front end will slowly pull itself downward when the REAL hemi gets dropped in.

I'm going in this Sunday to help Greg with the modifications necessary to add the x-member and other tasks to restart my build. Pics to follow...

 

I can understand your excitement...it looks pretty darn Hotrod to me...

 

Hey Mike-Very CQQL happenings for you......! Even though I don't post up too many pics of the car, I'll do so tomorrow, and TRY to give you some/a lil guidance,help,laughs.........or asking WTH......
Your making great progress!

 

Thanks Steve, I am pretty pumped up about the coming weeks ahead in my build!

Thanks Mike, what I REALLY need from you is the measurement from the rear of the cylinder head to the outer most edge of the blower pulley, so I know where to mount my hemi and the distance between my radiator. Plus I have to factor in the depth of the dual fan assembly in the rear of my radiator. I haven't said much at all about my plans for a modified/cantered quad headlight grille setup in the works - keeping this very low key... By the way, how is your roadster build coming along?

 

looking good, keep at it

 

Looking AWESOME Mike! Your excitement is shared with all of us watching from the side lines.
This is going to be one baaaaad hot rod.

 

I knew you'd appreciate this full view of the QC Jeff! How's your '32 Chevy coupe coming along?

Thanks Greaser - seeing the body back on the frame temporarily has spiked my adrenaline for sure!

 

Slowwwwwwwww........... almost ready to start epoxy primer on the fenders/approns/running boards

 

SLOWWWWWWWWW... That hot rod looks like you're ready to challenge me to a drag race! Once I'm on the street that is...… Jeff, progress is always a great thing - keep it up!

 

Thanks Mike,
hope to drive it on the road this summer. Drag race......your on! but probably next year, or hopefully before your blower

 

Looking good! Swing by on your way out west so I can sees it in person !!

 

We'll see about our drag race!!!

You never know Mike, either way, perhaps I'll see you and the BB at the Hill Climb!

 

Haven't done much, as Greg needs to crank out customers cars first. Greg gave me a stainless tie rod (which I will polish feverishly) because my chromed one I just bought was a bit too long. Attached my new polished stainless tie rod ends and attached the assembly to my new chromed steering arms. Still, I can use my chromed rod to cut the correct length of my drag link, once we determine where my new chromed Vega box will be installed.

Next on my to do list is waiting for my supreme wood fabricator (down from the front of my shop) to measure up a new pair of Redwood A pillars which are in DESPERATE need to replace as mine are shot. Passenger side was so bad that a friend helped me replace with a bogus one to keep the door more secure somewhat.

Hey guys, need some advice: with both doors off the body, is it somewhat dangerous to cut my firewall back and reweld, or is it more stable to wait until the doors are back on with the new pillar wood? The body is secure on the main oak floor which was installed way back in 1996. If I run two steel bars and tack weld them in an x shape, inside the cowl, tacked where they meet in the center, wouldn't this be sufficient enough to perform the firewall cut and placed back a few inches of much needed space for the supercharger pulley to clear the radiator? Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!

 

Some more progress... Look at the splintered remains of 88 year old pillar wood, my friend Brent is amazing at his wood working craft once you see the finished pieces! My a-pillars are just about done, the driver side was started first, measuring and fabbing up some templates to make sure they fit snug against the body - more pics to come. I'm hoping by tomorrow sometime, both will be completed and installed. Might have a tough time finding some flat head hardware to mount my doors, but will give this my best shot.

While this was happening, I mounted my radiator and grill shell to see where I'm at for placing my mock hemi in the correct place so the blower pulleys will have the 10" clearance they need to clear the electric fan assembly with my radiator. Last photo shows the lowered height of my grille shell than my cowl - never cared for the grille shell higher than the cowl on most hot rods. On Sunday, we plan on cutting the firewall and moving it back 2-1/2" to give me more clearance for an easy engine removal, straight up with no interference whatsoever! Hoping we can accomplish the engine frame mounts to mount the hemi mock up and other tasks before I roll her up the rental trailer and hitch my hot rod behind a 16ft Penske rental truck headed west Miss Tessmacher - DUE WEST! From an early Batman movie... This Tuesday mid morning, my brother Scott and I are leaving Florida for good and will live in the state of Arizona!