When you make the paper gauges be sure the tank is full, the engine is cool, the oil pressure is good, the speedo is at 120mph and the tach is a 6,000 rpm. Because you'll never see it again.
Spider dash spider dash... haha. last work morning before baby aka no loud garage time for a couple months. let’s see what happens!
One hour coffee break update. heat, a hammer, and a very large clamp and the lump in the center of the firewall is hammered close enough for mocking up the firewall bracing. going to get after the dent from the fuel pump now. best case scenario I get the two center gauges drilled and mounted because I more or less know where they need to be.
I used to buy hole saws to cut for gauges but then I found out a jigsaw works just as good. A lot cheaper too
Good thought. This big sucker cut the first hole in 16g just fine but the second one was an ordeal. I just wanted to get a second hole before the drill or the hole saw gave out. the 4 other holes are smaller so I don’t think I’ll have a much issue but worse case they’ll make a good scribe line for the saw.
Really only took three photos. Short on time today so even this will be shorter than my normal ramble. Used mostly hammer and dolly and a some heat shrinking to get the center of the firewall close enough for mock ups.... I think. The fuel pump divot I used a cut off wheel and cut the sides and bottom and hammered it forward. I’ll deal with welding it and making it pretty later. tapped and marked center lines and mocked up gauge and medal placement. drilled two pilot holes and the. Two giant hole saw holes. First Pilot hole landed about 1/16- 1/8 off mark so I just made them both the same amount off from the mark. any how shoved it back into the car and tossed the dash bar on with a magnet before calling it quits. mill sit in the car and tape the 4 smaller ones on late tonight when everyone’s in bed. Might file the holes and slide the tach and speedo in while I’m there...
Progress! All together, he used a small bit of cut off to fill the little gap at the end of the passenger side of the cross rail.
You got me curious. Other than it being shaped like a brick that seems doable... ~used th350 because 3rd is one to one just like this three speed
Wrapped the body in tape and slid the tach and speedo into the dash buddy was giving me a hard time that I wouldn’t be able to read the tach but this is pretty much exactly how I see it from driving position that thinking in mind I stuck the side gauges where I could see them in each quarter of the wheel. Split by the spoke I could see them just fine but hated how they look. switched them to both being visible threw the wheel and I think it’ll probably make the passenger side gauges easier to read as well.
Also, with the dash bar mocked up I have less room under there than I thought for hiding things. I want to put a little dash light over the st Christopher medal in the center of the dash hid behind the dash bar but it seems a normal built will be to tight. Anyone have a lead on a small dash light that’s maybe an LED but a warm tone?
That looks good and any way you can always move the steering wheel a little to see the gauges, maybe not at 4774 rpm, but in general.
Had that happen a few times... So much that I've gotten in the habit of select all and copy before actually posting a long update just in case.... Actually saved me a few times. Progress looks good been following on socials just reading it all here though. Keep it up. Baby will be here before you know it. Sent from my rotary phone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yay congrats to you all. Let the excitement begin. Sent from my rotary phone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
So you are an old hand at this stuff. One word of caution more kids is not an addition problem it is a multiplication problem. Take it from a retired school teacher. It's not just one more it's how that one deals withe all the rest and how the rest deal with it. But two in a family is all good. As a dad I love to see how my two grown sons deal with each other. Good men! Their mom did a great job.
It was funny this morning I was telling you about raising kids at the same time you were telling me how to build hot rods. Our posts must have passed in cyber space close enough to wave.
We’ll come visit uncle Rocky this spring thinking these little license plate bolts/ lights might do the trick for lighting up the medal on the dash and maybe a bank of switches. Tuck them up under the dash rail and maybe tie it to the headlight switch?
The Jalopy Journal
