Author: DW

’32 Update: More On Wiring (complicated minimalist theme prevails) (article 29)

More on Wiring

I have a few wires to run from the hole in the firewall/ kick panel to the headlights, and to keep the “complicated minimalist” theme going, I decided to do this:


I got some of Kugel’s stainless line clamps.  They come with stainless hardware too, which is a great thing.  Keep reading… the wiring part is coming up.


I trimmed the ends off two clamps and welded them together on the inside so you can’t see the weld.  If you’re wondering why there are only two hoses, I’ll explain that in another article.  I’ve run the heater hoses in a different place.


OK, this is where this article fits into the wiring category. I was going to attach the a/c hose clamps at the top and bottom like in the last picture. Then I started to not like the hole on the bottom and tried to think of a way not to use it. I knew I still wanted to do something to cover the wires going to the headlights, so this seemed like a good line to follow.  The stainless line that’s now welded to the clamp will hold the wires, as well as the bottom portion of the clamp. By welding a mounting tab to the tube (pointing up), I will be able to attach the tube assembly to the frame rail, and the hoses will hide the bolt head.


You can see the tab in between the clamps. Now that I’m looking at this, I’m going to change a few things. I’m serious – this was completely spontaneous. I was going to run the transmission cooler along these clamps too, but I think I can clean it up a bit still.

So, to clean up the tube that carries the four headlight wires and the two A/C hoses to the front – along the frame rail, here’s what I came up with.

I had the headlight wires along the bottom of the a/c hose brackets, but when I thought of running the trans cooler lines along the same way, everything was getting too wrapped up. So I cut the wiring tube off the bottom, moved it to the top, and bent a trans cooler line for the bottom. The cooler return line will weld to the Kugel brackets right beside the bottom line.


To mount this unit, I’ll weld a stainless tab across the two tubes and bolt to the frame rail through that tab.  That way, the a/c hoses will cover the bolt heads.

’32 Update: Transmission Cooler Lines (article 30)

Transmission Cooler Lines

The next addition to the a/c line clamp/ trans cooler lines/ wire cover is making a transmission cooler return line.  Instead of using tube nuts and sleeves on the trans end of the tubes, I got stainless -6AN fittings, cut them in half, counter bored them for 3/8″ line, and welded them on.  Here’s how they turned out:


The tabs going from the top tube to the bottom tube with the hole in them are actually lengths of the stainless tubing hammered flat.  The next big challenge is snaking the hoses through the clamps.  I still have to fine tune the radiator ends and install tube nuts.

Dear Welder Series… Mustang II for ’65 Mustang, rack mounts

I specifically wanted to know if you have crossmember kits for 65 Mustang cars?

Read more

’32 Update: window channel weatherstrip (article 52)

It’s always a treat trying to figure out which profile of weatherstripping to use.  Typically, the stuff you use for the window channel is “cat whiskers”, and is usually attached with screws or weatherstrip adhesive.  Since the garnish molding is a part of the door, it’s not easy to drive a screw through the inside lip of the door (where you rest your arm while cruising).  So I began to explore the different weatherstrip profiles in the Soffseal sample baggy.


I needed to detach the power window channel from the door so the glass would drop right down inside and give me clearance where I would install the weatherstrip.


If I haven’t been able to explain where I’m putting the weatherstripping, this should do the job.


With this style of seal, it’s important not to make the fit too tight between the glass and weatherstrip, or the glass won’t want to slide up and down – it will get stuck.  You may have to combine two different thicknesses to get the spacing right.


The inside door panels which hide the power window motors are attached with machine screws, but there isn’t a seal preventing them from rattling.  I took some sample pieces from the Soffseal sample bag and filet’d the side with the adhesive to the thickness I needed.  After sticking a few of these skinny pieces around the perimeter of the panel, it keeps it away just far enough that it won’t rattle.


This is the profile I used for the window seal.  I took this picture to show there is a good side and a not so good side to this piece.  This profile is manufactured as two strips side by side, connected by a thin bridge.  Afterwards, they are seperated.  This process leaves a tiny ridge along one side (in this picture, the left side).  I chose to install it with the ridge facing down.

Front End Wobble thread on the H.A.M.B.

This is a great thread which goes through a whole bunch of diagnostic tests for trying to solve a front end wobble on a solid axle front suspension.

Click here to go to the thread.  There is lots of great information here, especially once Dick Spadaro starts troublshooting.  If your front end is dancing long after the music stops, you’ll want to check this out.

“Do You Think I’m Fat” CONTEST!

UPS is always at the NSRA Nationals weighing cars, so I thought I’d take the ’32 over and see if it needs to go on a diet.  Before I spill the beans (and the twinkies, and the ho-hos), I thought it would be really fun to see how much you think it tips the scales.

Click here to email me with your guess!  The winner will get 1% of the weight they guess in dollars.  In case of a tie, you may want to divide it up into front/rear distribution.  I’d be happy to answer any questions about what’s on the car, or you can just read the whole build-up HERE.

Contest closes modnight on August 24/09.

Next Week Will Be Bigger

If we get done shipping all the Louisville orders some time next week, I’ll have time to upload all my pictures and videos from the trip. I actually don’t think I have any shots of cars from the show, just cruising with Dave Tucci in the Syracuse Nationals giveaway car (a track T roadster), the Hot Rod Industry BMX Challenge put on by Tim and Carrie Strange of Strange Motion (the builder of Resilience, the ’52 Buick in the Builder’s Showcase), and some cruising shots of the ’32s maiden voyage. It ran great for under 100 miles of test driving before we left Monday in it for Louisville.

Stay Tuned!

Made Us Popular

Thanks to all who stopped by the booth at Louisville… it was great to hear from people who watch our videos, and get these emails. The show was great – good numbers (I think I heard just over 11 000 cars) and the booth had a pretty constant stream of the public perusing our wares.

There were some interesting “anti-’80” T shirts around…

we’re here!

well, we made it safely to louisville… the ’32 performed great but it’s really dirty after driving through a crazy rain storm. we’ve got the booth set up, ready to go! stop by if you’re at the show.

First Drive in the ’32!

This is Producer Paul and Director Dorothy driving the ’32 for the first time.  I was trying to get them to turn on the headlights (lights on for safety!) but I think he thought I wanted him to honk the horn.  Speaking of the horn, it could use some testosterone eh?

After a final once-over of every single nut on the car, we checked the brakes and steering and took it to the street!  I picked up my wife so she could do some shopping, and it drives great.  At 60 mph, I can take my hands off the wheel – no shakes, growls, or otherwise unpleasant noises (other than the horn).  The Shockwaves on the rear will need to be fiddled with to find their sweet spot, but it should be a great drive to Louisville on Monday.

See you there!

Tech Tip: SB Ford in Mustang II

Builders’ Tip: The front sump on SB Ford oil pans will sometimes interfere with the Mustang II front crossmember.  It may be necessary to do one or both of the following:

1) notch the Mustang II crossmember as required, or

2) use the pan from an ’87-’94 Ford pick-up (#FITZ-6675-A). Be sure to get the correct oil pump pick-up tube. This pan is for motors with the dipstick in the block.

Thanks to Dan Lecelle (Vern Hornby’s nephew) for this tip.

’32 Update: Brake Pedal Pad Bracket (article 50)

Update: the picture links are broken, and I can’t find the originals.

I installed our brake pedal pad bracket and thought I’d show the progress…

Here’s the kit – stainless brackets, stainless hardware, and instructions.

One bracket goes on the outside of the pedal, and the other bracket sandwiches the pedal on the inside.  The masking tape is how far the pedal goes during full travel.  As you can see, I’ll have to trim the leading edge of the pedal.

The two holes in the pedal let you set up the bracket to a comfortable angle for your foot.

The slots in the two brackets line up for your pedal pad to mount to.

Another feature of the slots is to let the pedal pad move up and down, effectively modifying your pedal ratio.

#12920

’32 Build: Exhaust (article 31)

Exhaust
I will try to refrain from punning this article to death. However, it will be difficult.
If you were wondering when these kids were going to start running the exhaust, your wait is over. Before we began, there was a bit of a checklist that we needed to accomplish. Install starter. Oil filter clearance. Brake booster clearance. Over or under the rear axle? Try to keep most of the system out of view.
With that list in mind, on we go.


Hey, look… Welder Series parts!  These are #21836 stainless flanges for 2-1/2″ tubing. The flange just slips over the tube – that’s great but the stainless Edelbrock mufflers we’re using are expanded to slip over the tube! I’m going to weld a flange to one side of each muffler.  It’s a good idea to plan the system like this before hand… where it’s going to separate, etc.

 


This is why it’s nice to have the flange slip over the tube – you can tig weld it on the inside and therefore don’t see anything on the outside!


Silent Moment of the Day #2: parting off the collector in the lathe. I don’t know why, but when something’s not round, it tends to look like it’s spinning a lot faster and more violently. I did this to tuck the first bend up by about 2″.


Producer Paul and Director Dorothy check out the progress.


If you have a mill handy, it’s a great way to square up the ends of the tubing.


Here’s the shortened collector in place.  I needed a small wedge to point the bend where I needed it to go.  In this picture, you can also see my ground cable running from a motor mount bolt to the insulator bolt.  I’ve run the rest of Ron Francis’ grounding kit, and there’s basically nothing grounded to the frame except headlights.  I’m grounded direct to the starter from the battery.


Here, we’re trying to achieve symmetry as much as possible. The first side is always the easy one! Now I know why some guys run single 3″…..  In this picture, you can see a few things that will sneak up on you: the angle of the bottom of the engine oil pan is tilted towards the drain, and the transmission pan is offset.


It took a bit of muscle to flip the car on to its side for this shot, but I hope you’ll agree it was worth it. We haven’t installed hangers yet, but they will go just in front of the flange at the muffler. This way, we can remove the rear section and the hangers will still support the front section.


Unless you’re one of the few 2′ tall street rodders, you’ll have a hard time seeing this exhaust.

’32 Update: Weatherstripping (article 32)

Weatherstripping
All gaps are not created equal.  Having said that, once I decided which weatherstrip profile to use, the job itself was rather simple.

You’ll have to start with your doors hung and latched.  To determine the size of the gap, I used what I’ve been telling people to use for years, but never had the opportunity to do it myself: playdough.  Do I have to put a letter C in a circle after that word?  Actually, I didn’t use playdough.  I used Sticky Tack.  Man, what’s the generic word for stuff that’s pliable and somewhat sticky and holds posters to the wall?  From now on, it shall be called “Silly Putty”.  Oh, never mind.

Roll the Nameless Wonder-Goop Door Gap Replicator (don’t worry, I don’t require a Registered Trademark symbol) into a ball, and set it in the place you want to measure.

Close the door all the way.

When you open the door, you’ll be left with a positive mold of the door gap that you can use to see which weatherstrip profile will work best.

I got one of Soffseal’s sample packs and compared each sample with my Nameless Wonder-Goop Door Gap Replicator.

It turns out I was able to use one of their smallest profiles on both the door and the body.  I like this, because I have weatherstrip sealing against weatherstrip.  This profile fit the edge around the door opening perfectly.

In this picture, you’re also able to see the courtesy light I installed in the bottom of the door.  At night, it will illuminate the ground as you’re getting out of the car.  You never know what will be waiting in the hotel parking lot.