Hot Rods Rich's Coupe - a ten year odyssey

awesome

 

Thanks for the support, there are several guy's on here going thru severe
health problems. The build keeps us occupied, and being able to share
it is very satisfying. I'm going to mix things up again as I knew time
was short to get everything done. I have always built my own engines, and
got this one ready as much as possible before sending it out to Gougar
Racing for final assembly.
I have a 58 Dodge truck Hemi, and they have a different bolt pattern on
the oil pan. I also needed to shorten the front sump to clear steering
componets.

 

I really like making my own parts when possible. This valley cover was
a fun project that I had made some time ago.

 

You're an inspiration to the rest us poor mortals, Rich. Thanks for posting this and keep it going - very impressive !

 

smoothe

 

Rich you are the antithesis of lazy! Unlike me, I’m the perfect example of lazy. At the end of this thread you should show those two pictures on your wall, the old vs the new.

 

great colour

 

great color choice! car is very nice!

 

Now we go from the bottom of the engine to the top. These truck engines
have no water outlets on the heads, and require a thermostat housing or
intake manifold with it cast in. There are 4 outlets, and most people use
only the front 2, HotHeads has a ready made setup for this. Some have
hooked up all 4 which is what I wanted to do. I tried several ways
to do this, most too big, or ugly. I ended up using AN fittings. I wanted
all the ports the same, but the back passenger side is only 3/8" pipe thread
while the others are 1/2", it also sits higher. I milled it down, drilled it out, and
tapped it for 1/2" pipe. I also milled the name off , and cut the generator mount off.
The stat housing is tapped for 1/2" pipe on two ends, but sides are paper thin
so I welded 2 alum bungs on. I ground everything down, and polished the
housing myself. The manifold I sent out for polishing.

 

Afew more views:

 

Wow! You are so multi- talented. Thank you for sharing the details. I wish I lived next door, I would love to hang out and help/learn new skills.
Sorry for your health issues. Glad you are able to keep busy.

 

bugguts:
You would be more than welcome any time!

Rich

 

This is the 354" Hemi that's going in the Coupe. It's hanging
on a home made engine stand that has to be 30 years old.

The second pic I'm checking for cracks, I went thru 3 sets of heads,
and two cranks to get good parts.

 

It's pretty common for the combustion chambers to be eroded
, and possibly cause problems. I made a 1/8" plate that fit the
chamber so as not to damage head surface. I thinned down 2 old
valves to protect seats. Being very carefull I ground them smooth.
Back from the machine shop w/hardened seats, new guides, ss valves
,springs, and a surface cut for a good gasket surface.

 

I sent the exhaust manifolds out, and had them HPC coated. The rocker assemblies
were sent to Rocker Arms Unlimited in CA. They hard chromed the shafts, bushed
the rochers, and refaced the contact area on the rockers. Geat people to work with.

 

My son in law is an expert machinest, and fabricated all the new pulley's.
He has shown me a lot on my lathe, and mill.

 

The block after cleaning, and paint.

 

I was lucky, and found a new water pump on E-Bay. I'm using a 331" front cover.
I wanted a mechanical fuel pump, places the fan in the proper location.

 

I used original style oil pump, which has worked fine.

 

You need to paint heads off engine to get full coverage.

 

Engine looks great.

 

I had everything ready for assembly, but wanted to be sure of the rear main seal, I
wanted to use the new style neoprene two piece instead of the old rope style. I
stopped by Joe Gouger Racing for some advise as he is a old Hemi guru. He
talked me into letting him assemble, startup, and cam break in. I was running
back , and forth to Chicago for lung scans, and decided to let him do it. It's hard
for me to let others work on my car. Doctors had found the nodules in my lungs
were growing , and I was being treated with heavy medications. They did biopsies
, and colapsed my lung, resulting in 4 days in ICU. No cancer, have to continue
meds and scans. I'm part of a study where they insert man made valves in the
lung to create a non surgical lung reduction. This lets the good part of the lung
expand more.
enough of that here's some pics of that seal.

 

Sorry to hear of your health issues Rich and hoping nothing but the best for you!

 

Thanks Gordon!

I’m trying to figure out how to load the engine
start up file. Later today probably.

Rich

 

Joe Gouger is a good guy , so is Joe jr. I’ve had them do work for me.

 

Scotty:
Yea he’s good guy, but can be onery like all us old
Men! He pulled all vacuum advance off the
distributor, and sent the crank out for polishing
Because it was too tight for racing. He knows
It’s a street engine! That’s alright though I redid
The distributor after I got home. I have great
oil pressure.
His boy is a good kid!

Rich

 

I had him set the curve on an msd distributor last year, I added the vacuum can when I got it home!

 

I need to relate a problem that I found while getting ready for engine assembly. I measured all
componets, and found too much clearance on bore for the cast pistons I'm using. Called HotHeads
, and we exchanged the .030 over for .040, and had machine shop hone to size. They ate the cost.
It's hard to find a good machine shop !

I try to come back, and post video of start up on the engine. I think my file size is too big.

 

I like the look of the soft top, and already had Julianos top kit to use.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to come up with alternate perimeter
hold down moldings. once again I needed more time to make it look
just the way I wanted. I had a hard time getting it to lay perfectly flat.
I also needed a fastner that would not cause a lump in the rubber insert..
I have found a small end mill that would let me counter bore the alum
which would let the fastner fit lower. Heres a few pics of what I was
working with, and may help someone else.