Hoffman Amplifiers Tube Amplifier Forum
Other Stuff => Your other hobbies => Topic started by: billcreller on April 01, 2009, 10:31:34 am
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I'm getting organized to get back on my El Camino project. It's been on the back burner for over a year.
I can't walk away from it, now that I have a ton of money in repair/restoration parts.
I need to swap out the rear end (Chev 10 bolt, 8.5 ring gear) for the 9-inch Ford rear that I bought from Currie, made to fit the El Camino. Replacing the floorboards, front and rear, is the first project, then I rebuild the front suspension and steering.
Also have a TH400 transmission to rebuild, to support the 500 Caddy I built up for this project. All kinds of summer fun ;D
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This summer I plan on restoring my 1973 Norton Commando 750. I have a spare motor and tranny I'm taking my time rebuilding. I'll strip it down to the frame and probably have that powder-coated. Need a new gas tank - preferably steel. Most of them after '72 had fiberglass gas tanks, and the one I have leaks. The new E10 ethanol gas sucks for glass. Just ask any boat owner.
Good luck with the El Camino. I always liked that car (truck?).
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I'm getting organized to get back on my El Camino project. It's been on the back burner for over a year.
I can't walk away from it, now that I have a ton of money in repair/restoration parts.
I need to swap out the rear end (Chev 10 bolt, 8.5 ring gear) for the 9-inch Ford rear that I bought from Currie, made to fit the El Camino. Replacing the floorboards, front and rear, is the first project, then I rebuild the front suspension and steering.
Also have a TH400 transmission to rebuild, to support the 500 Caddy I built up for this project. All kinds of summer fun ;D
Thats gonna be one sweet El Camino. What year? Should be quite a runner with a 500 cad in there. :D
Regards,
Dyna
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This summer I plan on restoring my 1973 Norton Commando 750. I have a spare motor and tranny I'm taking my time rebuilding. I'll strip it down to the frame and probably have that powder-coated. Need a new gas tank - preferably steel. Most of them after '72 had fiberglass gas tanks, and the one I have leaks. The new E10 ethanol gas sucks for glass. Just ask any boat owner.
Good luck with the El Camino. I always liked that car (truck?).
very 8)
pleeeze post some pics as you progress. :)
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I was thinking the Norton is an English bike, is it?? A friend had one many years ago, like in the 60s.
My Elco is a 1977. I bought it new. It had a 305 SB in it new, but around the mid 80s I put a 400 SB in it. The 400 (406) was built somewhat, and ate TH 350 transmissions until I did my own o/h on them.
It's a heavy car, at a bit over 4200 when I weighed it at the local grain elevator a few years back, so it needs cubic inches up front!
The 400, now 408 at .040" over since last summer, is now in my '74 Mailbu Classic, and it's a real strong runner.
The Mailbu is a Georgia car...no rust!!, so I didn't want to modify it for the Caddy 500. The El Camino is a better candidate for that swap.
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Yeah Norton's IMHO are the best of the brit bikes. Fast, good looking, and the chicks they used for advertisements back then were HOT. :D I'm sure the caddy's torque will have no problem against 4200 pounds. Heck the caddies were well over 5000 I'd bet. Do post pictures please when you get to that project, I'd sure be interested seeing it come together.
Regards,
Dyna
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I've had Triumphs, Nortons, and BSA's, and from my experience Nortons are the fastest and most reliable (once you rip out the Lucas ignition and replace it with a Boyer electronic unit). The "isolastic" motor mounting scheme is great, too. The motor, tranny and rear swing arm are isolated from the rest of the frame by rubber bushings and the faster you go the smoother the ride gets.
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The Caddy my engine came from was a '76 Coupe DeVille that I had fixed up for one of my kids, who trashed it , one fender at a time. The Title said it weighed 5300 lbs, which sounds about right for those years. The interesting thing about the Cad 472 and 500 is that they weigh 60 lbs more than a Chevy small block. Using an Edelbrock aluminum intake will get rid of 30 lbs. The original intake is a heavy monster. A light weight Power Master starter will shed some pounds too. I've had a lot of machine work done on the engine, like over-sized valves, a clean-up cut on the heads, and decked the block because of some pits around the coolant passages. I have Comp Cams roller rocker arms that came with a kit from a guy in Memphis, who built the adapting parts for that set-up. I have Keith Black Hyper-Eutectic pistons in it. It should be a good runner. It's around 508 CI now with the + .030 over-bore.
A guy who worked for me in the 80s had a Triumph bike. He kept a pan under the engine when he parked it at home. He said it was a real oil leaker.
In the late 40s, I had a '38 Harley for a while. It wasn't a very good bike but I had fun with it.
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update;
Today I milled the center web out of the carb flange on the intake manifold. The Cadillac forum guys said it gets the job done better ;D The aluminum Edelbrock intake that's available is lighter, but higher also, making hood clearance a problem. Also, the air conditioning pump wont fit it. With a different pump and some expensive brackets, brings that to a bit over 600 bucks. I also have the old manifold port-matched and smoothed out a bit. I'll go with that one.
Gotta get at that TH400 transmission........... :)
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Just wondering if someone has done a TH700 for one of those motors, the OD sure is nice to have on the older cars. I had rather overkill on my hot rod Z car, 72 Z with a 350 chevy/6sp manual, darn OD gear in 6th was .62 the thing would tick over at about 1500 RPM's at 65. It had a crazy top end (enough where I backed out at 138 mph for fear of REALLY flying the front end over the back end). The TH400 is a great old trans though and probably cause less transmission tunnel clearance problems and well, you have it.. :)
Regards,
Dyna
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I was warned about using the 700R4, which was later the 4L60. The horsepower wasn't the factor here , it was the torque I guess. The guys who know said the 4L80 was the way to go. That's a big-buck transmission from what I've found. I'll stick with the 400. At least I'll know how to fix that one ;D
Getting up over 130 causes a high pucker-factor ;D I've seen it a few times but I'm too old for that kind of stress these days ;D
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> the OD sure is nice to have on the older cars
Only on puny engines.
The 500 in an El Camino does NOT need your 4.11 gears to unpeel ALL the tread from the tires. If he isn't racing for pink-slips, a 3:1 rear may be more than street tires and thrust geometry can handle gracefully. He can get 2.5:1 gears in the Ford Nine; with a no-compression 351W and mush-a-matic that was un-thrilling, but a healthy 500 and a tight GM slushbox might pull 2.5:1 with authority, yet cruise mellowly.
If he's going for time-slips, he'll need to bolt an old block to the tailgate. Or fill the back bumper with concrete. The El Camino is beefy, but still relatively light in the rearend.
Lessee... 500 lb/ft torque, 3:1 low gear, 2.5:1 axle, over 3,000 lb/ft torque at the axle. Assuming 12" rolling radius, 3,000 pounds thrust. Assuming coefficient of traction is "1" (0.8 for good street rubber, 1.5 for DOT-legal race rubber), he needs 3,000 pounds effective weight on the axle. Weight transfer at stock height is small, he needs well over 2,000 pounds static weight. The Elco stands 3,500-4,200 pounds and at least 60:40 weight distribution, he has ~~1,600 pounds weight on the rear tires. I've pulled these numbers from my ear, they should be checked; but it appears that 2.5 axle is ample, any higher number is just more smoke and drama.
Bill, you do know the 500 does not quite clear the heater? It looks like it does, but when the 500 torques against the rubber mounts it hits. Apparently it is acceptable to let it "self adjust". But if you wanted to keep your heater "perfect", the head-shaped dent would be annoying.
An answer to both the weight distribution and the heater-bang is to put the 500 behind the cab. Need a shorty gearbox, a cut-down PowerGlide or a 2-speed clashbox.
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True, with a 2.5 ratio rear end he would indeed have a very slow turn over at cruising speed (I'd personally go with something about 3.0 or there abouts as a compromise). If he did unleash 500 foot lbs (could well be closer to 600) with a 2.5 axle he'd pretty much turn the tires over for as long as he wanted to thats for sure. I suspect your right with the heater too, many of the GM cars I worked on had a horrendous bump holding all the heater core and A/C stuff sticking out of the firewall pretty good. Push comes to shove it could all be whacked off I'm sure Bill could do that being familiar with aircraft sheet metal. A unit from Vintage Air could be fitted, thats how most guys retrofitting A/C into older rods do it. A retaining strap could be made to keep the engine from torqing over if there is enough clearance, I would stay away from solid mounts, been there done that and even with a relatively smooth motor it shakes your teeth.
Regards,
Dyna
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I actually DO have a 2.50:1 rear!! ;D The beauty of the 9" Ford is the easily replaced third member.
The Caddy this engine came from ('76) had a 2.08:1 rear. Other ratios were available of course, like 2:73 and 3.15:1 etc.
This engine gets it's power at fairly low RPM, like 4000 etc with the cam I'm using. I could have went with a bigger cam etc, but this is gonna be a daily driver, just like it always was. The compression CC'd to 9.3:1 which will be fine with mid-grade gas.
Thanks for the heads-up on the heater box PRR. I'll have to see how it fits in there after the engine is bolted in. The heater box is made of some sort of fibreglas/plastic material, so it should be easy enough to modify. A little carbon fiber should make a decent alteration.
Last week I modified the stock intake manifold, by machining the dividers out, in the carb flange area, making a larger plenum, which was recommended by folks who have been there, and port matched the runners. An after market manifold would be 30 lbs lighter, but is presents a hood clearance problem, and I don't want a Z28 looking hood.
This evening I started on the front suspension, and have one side removed. I built a tool to fit my floor jack, similar to what the car dealers use, to lower the inner end of the bottom A frame, after the bolts are out, without getting killed by the front coil spring ;D It worked great. New ball joints and poly bushings for everything :)
Hey, I'm having fun!!
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I was warned about using the 700R4, which was later the 4L60. The horsepower wasn't the factor here , it was the torque I guess
Correct....BUT 700R4 can be a good box as long as it isn't stock. There are plenty of aftermarket shops that build them for high performance purposes with great success. If it's stock from GM, even their detuned v-8s could eat it alive.
That caddy motor probably won't care about overdrive though.
My tbird has a 390ci mounted to a 3 speed auto... originally had a 2.00:1 rear axle for lazy rpms at cruising speed. I replaced the unit with a limited slip differential with 3.25:1. I hardly notice the difference other than it leaves two strips of rubber on the pavement rather than one. It's still a cruiser.. The engine turns fairly mildly at 70MPH....So slowly in fact that the tachometer got boring and was removed.
j.
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Sounds like the T Bird was a fun car. My oldest son ( a guitar player too) has two older coupes, one is a turbo coupe, 4 banger, and the other is called a super-coupe, with a (I think) belt driven supercharger. He drives them only in the summer. He also has a Cobra, a kit-car the someone else built, and it was built very good. It has a 390 in it with two 4bbl carbs and a Comp 292 cam. It's a bit lumpy, and needs some work on the engine since last summer. I would imagine the Cobra is a fairly light car. I've bee teasing him a bit about running me in my Malibu (408 SB) I think he isn't too sure how that will go ;D
BILL
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29" tires turn 700RPM at 60MPH, 820RPM at 72MPH.
We still had 55MPH limits when I got the 2.50:1 geared T-burd, so it cruised near 1,750, or wudda, except no lock-up torque converter and ~~~1,600RPM stall, it was mushy all the way to the legal limit.
A '76 Eldo probably had lock-up, so wudda cruised near 1,456RPM at 60MPH. It probably still had most of its torque at that speed (before you ruined the 2-plane manifold). 500 lb-ft times 2.08:1 is 1,000 lb-ft torque at the axle. with 29" tire, 14.5" radius, that's 820 lbs thrust at the road (in high gear). That pimpmobile must weigh 4,800 pounds. Neglecting air drag, it has 0.17 Gee thrust in high gear. IIRC, my Burd was closer to 0.13 Gee thrust. It would hold speed, but to gain speed it had to downshift. And it would downshift at insanely high MPH.
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That '76 Caddy was really heavy alright. I scrapped it after pulling the engine and got over 200 bucks for it at the time. The price of scrap has gone down though since a year or so ago. It was worth almost as much dead as it was alive ;D
When I get it together and running, I'll know if I "ruined" the manifold ;D You really know how to hurt a guy ;D
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The past few days have been taken up rebuilding the front suspension, and cleaning/painting the frame from the firewall forward. Replacing the rubber bushings in th A frames is a challenge. Best method, I've been told, is to heat the metal shell with a torch to let the bushings burn out, leaving a shell that comes out fairly easy (??) That's where I'm at. When that's together, I'll lift the body off the frame. You guys don't know how much fun you are missing ;D
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Front end work? Oh yeah, I know exactly how much fun I'm missing... ;) ;D Good luck with it.
Regards,
Dyna
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;D ;D
Today I figured out the way of burning the rubber out of the A frames, and slitting the metal bushings enough to knock them out. I'm using poly bushings when it goes back together. I have all new parts for the steering except the steering box. I plan to use a quicker ratio than original. I have more sand blasting to do to clean and paint the parts. I have new front springs coming tomorrow, the heavy duty version like it had when new.
The body should be fairly light with the doors and tail gate off. Interior is gutted. I may be able to pick it off with my hoist. I built an extension some years back for it, to remove airplane wings, and that should get the job done. :)
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> You really know how to hurt a guy
Divided, it will "wake up" a bit better above 2,400, significantly better above 4,800.
But a 2-plane is smoother at idle and more torque at 1,400.
How often/long can you afford to hold 500 cubic inches wide-open above 3,000 RPM?
Depends on the job. In a "stock" drag racer, you sure want all you can get as high as you can get it.
But I picture a Caddy El Camino as a hay-hauler, which could haul hay a thousand miles to the opera-house in complete comfort and fair style, while blowing-off a few pesky imports along the way. It would take a lot more than a divided manifold to terrorize the tuner-cars on Venice or Mulholland.
There's also the Chevy 502. There's no replacement for displacement, 2 inches bigger, wow. Perhaps a better fit, being a drilled Chevy 396, which was available on that platform. Always sold woken-up. The mild wake-ups can be had with a full GM Warranty (2 years or Chapter 11, whichever comes first). The wild ones are rated mega-horsepower with ample torque. But that's real cash, $7K and up.
This One (http://www.enginefactory.com/582750hp.htm) claims 750HP, but probably needs Hi-Test fuel and a hood-bump. Note that even their 510HP model runs a low-rise divided dual-plane manifold.
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Years ago I read about a chevy engine build, using Ford 6 cyl rods, and special order pistons with the wrist pin high in the piston. This design was used to produce huge amounts of low end torque, by having the longer rods, the ratio of rod length to crank journal swing increase produces a more direct force on the crank a little earlier in the rotation, so torque was huge. I have always wanted to build one of these, I think they rated the torque at over 530ft lbs, @ low rpm, with a stock top end. This was small block, but the same could likely be done with the big ones.
Jim
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The big-block Chevy is a bit heavier than my Caddy ( which is 508 cubic inches now) The Cad 500 is 60 lbs heavier than a SB chevy. The stock 500 Caddy got 495 ft lb torque on the dyno, so even a mild wake-up gets results. This isn't gonna be a Sunday fun car, it will be a daily fun driver like it always was. :)
My cam has a duration of 274 and 283 degrees, not too mild, and not too wild, and still has the vacuum to run power brakes and all the heater/AC controls etc.
I have Comp Cams roller rockers with 1.72 ratio, as opposed to the stock 1.65 ratio, which is good for some HP even if the engine was in stock configuration. I've also ported and polished the heads/combustion chambers. If it gets a bit over 400 HP I'll be happy enough.
On the dyno tests, the stock Q-jet carb held it's own up to around 460 HP before a Holley Dominator was used. A Dominator would not be a very good daily driver carb in my opinion. No choke provisions etc.
I built an oil pan to fit the El Camino chassis also. The original pan was a center sump. Now its a 7 quart rear sump
The front suspension is somewhat time consuming right now, with all the cleaning/ sand blasting and painting.
I can hardly wait to do the first burn-out ;D
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Thats gonna be a potent package. I didn't know the Caddy motor was that light. That cam should work out pretty good, lumpy enough for the drive-in but not super radical. Thats a mistake people tend to make, over cam, over carb, makes the car a absolute toad unless its turning quite a few RPM's. My brother had a cherry 63 T-bird that he decided to hot rod. Had the full Edelbrock aluminum RPM heads, manifold, carb and they're cam. Fired it up and it sounded like a rail, had no torque unless it was really ticking over and it barely would idle. It was ridiculous. Maybe OK if you were after that Fairlane Thunderbolt type motor, but not for a cherried out stock (otherwise) 63 bird. We ended up pulling the cam, had Crower grind up something mellower and it ran pretty strong, course when he sold it he lost his ass, but hot rods are that way... ;D Anyway, thats gonna a pretty neat camino for sure.
Regards,
Dyna
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> by having the longer rods, the ratio of rod length to crank
Rod-ratios have effects. But not huge effects on torque. Apparently some NASCAR teams use different rod-ratios for long or short tracks; but this is hair-splitting in an endeavor where 1st and 4th can be a hair-split apart.
Rod ratio has major effect on cylinder wear. Though for a given stroke in a given block, not huge. Ideally you want a medium long rod, but that makes a tall heavy engine.
> 530ft lbs, @ low rpm, with a stock top end.
You can do that with narrow cam timing. Many engines have "8:1" compression ratio (it is actually the expansion ratio that builds torque, but ER is approximately the same as CR) but close/open the valves far up from BDC so effective CR/ER is more like 6:1. This gives more top end but hurts the bottom end. Since you can always gear-down to use your top-end, mega-bottom is a special-application trick.
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> The big-block Chevy is a bit heavier than my Caddy
OK, that makes sense several ways.
The instigation for the BB Chev was NASCAR. Mopar had real trouble casting B-blocks which would hold together under Hemis in NASCAR. (Ford had less trouble because the FE heads wouldn't breathe.) GM knew this would be an issue and put lots of meat in the bottom. NASCAR is weight-conscious but not weight-crazed. (Yes, GM pulled out of racing just before the 396/427 was released.)
The cover-story for the BB Chev included trucks, which again may need a beefy block, and are not adverse to some weight.
BB Chev is 1965, when Thin Wall casting was common but maybe not mature. And if successful, the BB Chev would be produced by the millions, so ease-of-casting was vital. Extra thickness of iron casts easier.
Caddy's 472/500 was an all-new casting, in 1968, when Thin Wall was maybe better controlled, production was small and Caddy could afford a little care in casting. The Caddy was NOT going into trucks or racers. While the 390 was sometimes rated as high as 4,800RPM, and the BB Chev sometimes for 6,400(!)RPM, the 472/500 was rated "only" 4,400RPM. And worst-case would never run over 2,800 for more than a few minutes.
> If it gets a bit over 400 HP I'll be happy enough.
Early Caddy 500, with 10:1 compression, are rated 400HP stock. True, this is old-SAE, which is unrealistically optimistic. Between 1972 HP-rule changes, smog, etc, HP rating fell to 180HP, and then they de-bored/stroked it for a 425CID because NObody wanted to buy a 500.
Good compression, more cam, free exhaust, check for port casting slop, let it past 4,400RPM, there should be 400 honest HP easy. But note that you can't use 400HP in a 2WD 3,900 pound pickup at any legal speed. You may be able to smoke rubber all the way to 75MPH. At say 50MPH you only "need" 300HP for good acceleration. You can use the full 400HP from 90MPH toward 130MPH. You may need to down-shift, or run 2.8:1 gears, to beat 115MPH. With Caddy's extra-tall gears, the car would top-out at maybe 110MPH, running a not-high RPM, which it could hold all day long cris-crossing Nevada say.
> would not be a very good daily driver carb in my opinion. No choke provisions
Bosh. I drove the Cougar though a couple NJ winters without a choke. The AutoCrap carb got worse. I got a good price on a "race only" Holley 2bbl. (There's a short-track series which has a 2bbl limit.) It tuned right up for clean economical street use; the Holley is a good carb. And it actually had a choke, but manual, and the Cougar didn't have a choke cable. Yeah, easy to add, but that fall I just pumped the accelerator pump, got ignition, half-fast idle for a minute, and drove away. The un-choked Holley ran SO much better than the AutoCrap ever did, that I didn't got around to installing a cable for a while.
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> a mistake people tend to make, over cam, over carb, makes the car a absolute toad
That Cougar came to me half-"hot", which was really not-hot. He'd opened the replacement engine, put in a hotter cam and headers, dual exhaust, but kept the stock 2bbl intake (and worn lifters and springs!). The headers melted the power steering hoses, so it was a beast to drive. The mufflers hung low and wanted to be knocked-off. With the open cam and headers, it was a "toad" below 3,300RPM. Then it woke-up... and toaded-out again by 3,800RPM due to 2bbl carb/manifold (and softened springs).
It was worse than my mom's dead-stock neglected Mustang, which I knew very well.
I knew it could be a bomb with new springs, manifold, carb, and an axle ratio change. But it would be nice to have power steering. It would be nice if it just ran as good as Mom's Mustang. A stock '67 289 Stang is not a muscle car, but as near-enough as the chassis can handle.
So I de-hotrodded it. Pair of stock iron exhaust manifolds. Crane stock-like cam, WITH new lifters that were not hollow underneath. Stock pipes and muffler.
In this form, it was a warm bomb from 1,800 to over 4,000RPM. And at the time I had it, late 1980s, very few new cars could pull as good as it. The only car ever BLEW past me looked like a 1967 Chevelle SS, and I felt no shame for that. OTOH, with stock tuning the car could be so quiet that I could come up behind pedestrians unaware. There were no sidewalks, so sometimes I had to thunk the shifter to get them to notice I was creeping behind them. OTOH, late night near Wheeling WV, leapfrogging uphill trucks, the Cougar would leap from 40MPH to "over the limit" with utter ease.
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In regard to connecting rod length, I have the 350 rods in my 400 Chev in the Malibu. Partly because the 400 rods looked wimpy, and partly my idea of less piston skirt scuffing. The first time I did the engine, it went into the El Camino in the mid 80s in place of the original 305. I didn't bore it at that time, just a rings/bearings/valve grind type fix up with a new cam/lifters. But I did use the longer 350 rods. I milled 0.135" off the tops of the dished pistons and cut valve reliefs in with home made cutters. Made the cutters from and intake and exhaust valve, with a carbide insert sweated into the edge and relief ground the diameter. It worked fine actually, with a stop collar on the stem , adjusted for each cut. I ended up with a 9.8:1 comp ratio and a strong engine , for a quickie overhaul. It didn't like anything but premium gas though, and loved 100LL avgas. On the next O/h I bought Keith Black pistons to match the rod length, but with less compression, 9.2:1. That was last summer. Replaced the crank too.....cracked. The 400 didn't like 7 grand on the tach, and it was dumb to push it that high. ::)
The cam is a 280 degree Comp Cams, with Rhoads lifters, which "tick"at low RPMs from a calibrated leak-down (killing off some duration I believe), and pumping up when oil press and RpM come up. Works great for having good vacuum for power brakes etc. Don't have a 1000 miles on that yet, but it will do a nice burn-out ;D Almost time to get it out of winter storage.
PRR, I'm gonna think of you when I do the next tire smoker ;D
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(Ford had less trouble because the FE heads wouldn't breathe.)
Isn't that the truth... It kills me how big the valves were in FE heads but then they put in wee little ports. Incredibly restrictive and with that head design there isn't much you can to to ream the ports out to a decent size.
Some of the aftermarket stuff solves this but it's pricey (in Chevrolet terms) and probably not worth it on most of Ford's big heavy lineup of cars. Also they often used very restrictive exhaust manifolds, I see people tossing on headers but the exhaust is already hanging up in the exhaust port.
I still like that engine though :D
j.
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Yeah, there's likely some good after market heads to make that engine series breath good. Maybe even in aluminum.
I haven't done many Ford engines. Just the old small block, like even the first version, a 221 cubic inch in a '63 Fairlane I had. It had amazing power for a little engine, and that was even with the Fordomatic slush box. I also did a 360 for my buddy's pickup truck.
I actually did the flat heads in the old days. I wish I would have not given away the special tools I had for those. There are getting popular again lately, but I see that the parts are pricey.
Just finished the front suspension A arms for my Elco. That's a job I wont do for anyone else. Too time consuming, but at least I'll have a nice tight front end. ( PRR will find a joke in there someplace) :)
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Yeah the FE didn't breath for diddly.. The 427 side oiler had a pretty high plain manifold with 2x4 bbls's (at least as configured for the Galaxy Light and Thunderbolt, required quite the hood bubble to fit the 'High Riser' version of that motor). They load up and want to flood real easily, but oh baby twist that cats tail and that motor would get with the program. The cobra's I believe ran one 4 bbl but it was so light and even at that was seeing probably 500 lbs of torque through a top loader. I was a kid when we used to go to Autocrosses (pylon racing) at the Cal state fair ground and watch the Cobra's run. Ain't nothing like the sound of a 427 with open headers at full chat. (Well thats not true, we used to have a dirt sprint car track in town and a small block chevy with hilborn injectors running long headers is pretty damn amazing sounding too...). My ex father in law used to get to hot lap a sprint car occasionally. At 600+ hp on alcohol on about 1700 lbs or there abouts, under 2000 definitely, he says the car's response to throttle was like instantaneous. Those world of outlaw guys run even more power these days and probably some of the most phenomenal drivers I've ever seen.
Regards,
Dyna
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> 427 side oiler .... Cobra
Remember what the "E" in "FE" stands for. Every true 427 Cobra has the heart of an Edsel.
> Yeah the FE didn't breath for diddly..
The pushrods were in the way. Ford never figured out that two ports hadda fit between two pushrods, and kept putting pushrods too close together all through the 1950s. They ran the ports vertical, they ran them more vertical, they even laid them sideways. The only one which didn't wheeze had pushrods -through- the intake tract. And of course the SOHC.
This is an intrinsic problem on OHV V-8s. However many good GMs ran without such tight ports. I wonder if GM actually dealt with the problem, picked rod-spacing to allow for ports. And if Ford was using the same 1929 cam-grinder they used for all the Flatheads (which do not have rod-port conflict), and could not change cam/rod locations.
GM built an experimental "porcupine" engine for NASCAR. All previous engines, valve guides were drilled all the same, first straight-up and later biased toward intake. Well, the Hemi had two angles seen from the front, but from the side it was still straight-up. The "porcupine" tilted valves toward ports and also front-rear. Onlookers thought that was odd, hence the nickname. Combined with ball-rockers, now the pushrods came out not-in-line with ports. Costs more? Only the cost of a few-degree wedge and two passes under the drill-press. With less radical angles, this became the BB Chev, and Ford used the same ideas in the 429/460 which replaced the FE in the T-Burd and eventually all down the line to trucks.
There was a "hemi" for the 429/460 pattern. Made in small numbers and had real problems with leakage. One of the aftermarket head-companies has semi-reproduced it: avoiding the need for a special block casting, fixing the deck issues so that normal head gaskets hold, and using new notions of port shapes.
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Yeah, you only have to look as far as the intake manifold on a FE to see an edsel. The heads split near the edge of the valve cover which makes it weigh much more than it had to. The cast iron manifold weighs a ton (ok, probably 60 lbs) and you nearly need a engine crane to separate said manifold from the block. Oh yeah, whats up with that one hose thats three inches long to cover that 1" gap between the water pump and the block, changing that without removing the water pump can be done, but it makes it pretty hard (to do it you need to cut things short, but its not a substitute for doing it right and removing all that jazz.
It wasn't until IMHO the small block 221-260-289 that Ford finally had a pretty decent little engine. Had they had that motor in 55 perhaps they're 55-57 fairlanes would have surpassed Chevy. That Y-block pathetically didn't oil the top end and wore out real fast, I put on several of those oiling kits that feed the rocker arm assembly through the valve cover. I personally think the 55-57 fairlanes were nicer cars, but that Y block was terrible.
Not trying to hijack ya here Bill buddy, consider this a musical interlude between progress reports... ;)
Regards,
Dyna
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;D ;D
No problem here.
My oldest son has a kit-built Cobra like I mentioned before. with a 390 in it. I know nothing about that engine. It has 2 4bbls on it, and idles like crap. Of course the cam has a bit of lumpy idle anyway. It's a Comp 292. He has some engine problems, but hasn't asked me to get into it yet. Two yeas ago he damaged the drain plug area on the cast aluminum oil pan ( it's too low for some driveways I guess). He removed the pan, and I moved the drain plug boss over to one side so it's not likely to get hit again.
The car itself is very well built, likely by a pro builder. It has a 5 speed Doug Nash gear box..
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Progress (??) report: I finally have the A frames done for the front suspension. My partner (in aviation) and I, have lots of tools and equipment, including a hyd press & front end tools, but I still had to make some sleeves for the press.. I'm now painting the front section of the frame. I may even have the front wheels on this thing this week. :) The rear end may be the next heavy job, dragging it under and bolting it in.
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> with a 390 in it. I know nothing about that engine.
There is a Caddy 390 and a Ford 390. I assume you know a difference; anyway a Caddy would be odd in a Cobra-kit.
Ford V-8s:
Flathead. Radical to get such smoothness at the price. By today's standards, a weak fussy mill, but for the time it was pretty OK.
Y-block. Around 300CID. Poor power/weight ratio, small/wimpy in the larger cars of the late 1950s. (Ford did not care that they wore-out.)
Ford used the Edsel project to develop two newer engines. The Big Y-block, MEL, was around 400CID, had sideways ports, but was just a big Y-block. It ran 1958-1960 in Mercury Edsel Lincoln; T-bird had it 1959-1960. It was a lump. After 1960 it was used only in Lincoln and only in 430 and 462 sizes.
1958 also brought the FE. Still a Y-block, but somewhat less obsolete than the others. "FE" means Ford and low-end Edsel. The MEL was supposed to be the better mill. However after 1960 the FE was used for anything bigger than a Six and smaller than a Lincoln. Swapping cranks and bores gave nine sizes from 332 to 429CID. Well, eight sizes: the 360 and the 361 were really the same. And while the 406 and 410 were truly different (410 was "unique to Edsel"), who could care?
The smaller FEs faded when the Windsor came out in 1964. The "385 project" project of 1968, needed because the '68 Bird was awful fat for the FE, still didn't kill the FE. The "385" (sold as 429 and 460) has a lighter block but heavier heads, and weighs more than an FE. The FE 360FT and 390, originally Edsel and Thunderbird luxo-cruiser engines, served in trucks most of the 1970s.
The 390 was sold in several tune-levels, all moot now. The only "special" has "HP" cast in the block, it has bigger webs and oil passages. But the non-HP 390 block has proven itself over the decades.
So a "390" is just a small 427. If you MUST get the MOST, you want the extra 37CID and you want to re-work the oiling, which is easier if you start with the side-oiler 427. For Vette-blasting, a truck 390 motor with tweaks is fine.
> It has 2 4bbls on it
More for show than go. That was not even necessary with the smaller 4bbls of the 1950s. You used one 550cfm 4bbl, or you used three 2bbls. Three deuces is overkill, but rigged so it runs on the center carb 90% of the time, it can be driven in town. One medium Holley 4bbl is all the 390 needs, until you get a LOT of porting done. I really think it would run fabulous in a Cobra with the truck cam and 2bbl carb, albeit idling like a dead-stock 1963 Galaxie (a mellow rumble you don't hear much today).
> and idles like crap
That's not the FE 390. I drove a badly neglected 5-ton truck, which was barely able to run in traffic, but it idled like an electric rock, and pulled strong from a stop despite grabby clutch linkage. The obvious thing is the fat cam, and so much carb throat that the idle circuits can't sense the engine's air demand.
But if someone installed AutoLite carbs, trade them for a dime of scrap value, get a pair of Holley's smallest 4bbls. The Motor/AutoCrap carbs never idled right when new, and go downhill from there. I still have foot-habits learned from AutoCraps stalling off-idle.
When Son is ready. Can't tell the kid what to do.
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His engine is a Ford 390 alright, with 427 rocker covers. I think he said the previous owner lunched the 427, and put the 390 in it's place. It's both over-carbed and over-cammed in my own opinion. It makes power when it gets off-idle a bit I wouldn't tolerate an engine that runs like that for myself, but I figure it's his problem :)
The flatheads I had were quite good runners ( in the 40s and 50s) In '49 they put the distributor up where it was more accessable, than down on the front of the cam.
I also had two Lincoln Zephyrs with the flat head V12. Now that was a real sludge pump! It had a float in the oil pan for oil level, with a rod coming up thru the intake manifold, with a scale mounted there for the quantity. It probably worked OK when the car was new, but with the oil in those days, it sludged up, and would stick. Real engineering . The first one was a '37 coupe, with the usual solid Ford lifters, and the second one ( I was a glutton for punishment in those days) was a '40 club coupe. It had hydraulic lifters, which would clatter a bit when the oil got low, and the "bobber" was stuck so it couldn't be read. ;D
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odd... never heard of a 429 FE block... 429/460 Lima "385 series" on the mind, or KB glitch? but you did say swapping parts, so i'm unaware of the combination to make a FE 429...
there was a "SD Truck" block as well, 401/477/534 - they made big torque numbers for "stock" powerplants.
car & light truck: 332/352/352HP/360/361E/390, HP/406/410/427/428, CJ, SCJ
med./heavy duty trucks: 330HD, MD/359/361/389/391
as already stated, 427 was it's own class of block, side oiler with cross-bolt mains designed for the race track... 427 SOHC was based on 427 SO block, but machined for the SOHC cam chain covers, idlers, oiling sytem, etc. i don't know anyone who's seen one in the flesh.
intake manifold was a PITA - have to remove the push rods to take it off... >:( header bolts were a bitch on the GT heads with shock tower clearance that make a preacher cuss, still thought, not as bad as 390 GT mustang/6.5L cougar XR-7...
i had a 68 torino GT FB 4 speed w/ 390GT - got drunk one night, we both ended up in a drainage ditch... i fared better than the car. :-[
in late 70's i bought a complete 428CJ motor & top-loader that was in a 1950 chevy 5 window P/U - the truck was a complete rust bucket and not worth salvaging. 428 was going to find a home in 69-70 stang or 68-69 torino... i sold them both about 10 years later. <head banging on wall>
these days i drive a 95 impala SS. it's a another love/hate relationship on a totally different level. :-\
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nice to see other ford nuts on the forum... 8)
FORD = First On Race Day :D
backwards... Driver Returns On Foot... sadly, i can relate... ;D
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My son with the Cobra will hear that second saying tonight when comes over to jam with me. He's a Ford nut for sure. ;D
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> never heard of a 429 FE block...
This darn keyboard stupidly put the "8" and the "9" keys next to each other.
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> never heard of a 429 FE block...
This darn keyboard stupidly put the "8" and the "9" keys next to each other.
doncha' hate it when that happens? ;D
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I've heard of the 428 but have never seen one. My friend across the road here just bought 1996 Ford pickup, an XLT, whatever that is. Looks like a deluxe model. He did OK I think, 1500 bucks. It needs a set of tires, and muffler and tail pipe. Good part, to me at least, is that it has a 5.0 engine and not an OHC 4.6 variety. Also has one little bubble in the paint (rust). Interior is like new.
He bought a Ford van last summer, like a 2003, for 500 bucks from a roofing company. Same deal almost, no rust. We spent a few weekends cleaning the roofing pucky off the rear door sills etc, and now it's quite nice. He does remodeling etc for a living. His last Chevy van, a 1993 1 ton, had the rear springs come through the floor in the back end. No frame. Suspension is attached to hat-sections, spotwelded to the floor. What ever happened to good manufacturing?? I don't think I'll be buying any more GM stuff, even though I have four cars and two pickups from them. At least the Fords have a frame (yet).
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> I've heard of the 428 but have never seen one.
It looks just like any other FE. "Swapping cranks and bores gave nine sizes...". The 427 bore/stroke is meant to rev, the 428 bore/stroke is meant to lug, but the difference is insignificant. 428 were usually, I think, (I'm away from my references) sold with plenty of carb and cam as muscle engines; dunno why they were not just 427s. I think Ford just liked to have a lot of "different engines" to hide the fact there were just two basic mills most years (not counting the locomotive engine in the Lincoln). Remember GM still had brand-specific engines, and even when designed by the same guys a Olds a Buick and a Chevy were distinct.
> 1996 Ford pickup, ... it has a 5.0 engine and not an OHC
An excellent engine. I got jaundiced on the Windsor after years of 289s sludging and dying, and 351Ws down-tuned to less pep than a Falcon Six. But the theater has a 1990s Ford stakebed which, for its size, really gets up and goes. I wondered where Ford was buying good engines that year: the carb on top is funny runners with a giant 1bbl throttle and no fuel bowls, but underneath was "MY" engine, a 351W block. I knew it was W by the block-off where the fuel pump belongs. They also sold it on the 302 block, dunno why they changed the name to 5.0. Modern oils cured the sludge, computers finally got better than an AutoCrap carb, even better than a Holley. The 1990s 351W should be a near drop-in for my 1979 Thunderbird, but I never got around to yanking Theater's engine in the middle of the night. (Might take a week of going-back to find all the electronic doo-hickeys.)
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It's always been amazing over the years, to come across an engine, regardless of what it's bolted into, that runs especially great. Always makes me wonder how the production line got one done that matches the blue print ;D
I haven't been a Ford guy since the 50s, but once they got past the "Y" block I paid more attention. I had relatives, like brother-in-laws with Fords, which I helped fix. One had a 1966 I think) Starliner. It was a really nice looking car, but had Y block problems. We pulled that out and put a 1963 Pontiac 389 in it, with a Cad/Lasalle transmission behind it. The only real problem there was the oil pan. The Ford had a front sump, the Pontiac had a rear sump. We cut the pan apart and made a front sump out of it, along with a modified oil pick-up tube. The engine was only a two-barrel type, but it sure put life in that Ford!!
I had a lot of fun doing engine swaps in those days.
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For an update, I found a 1975 El Camino body that is is like 90% better than my '77. The frame on mine is much worse that I originally though, as well as body rust. My intention now is to scrap it, and use this other body I came across, which is an Arizona car, without Michigan cancer. The bodies are mostly identical, and I have all the removable parts from mine refinished, and a lot of new parts. And the fun continues...... ;D
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It hurts to switch up, but it's usually better in the long run. I've probably restored 9 or 10 cars, and with 2 of them, I ended up restoring the "parts car" instead of the one that I'd originally intended....All my cars are from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin....they suffer from the same disease that plagues you on the other side of the big lake.... My old man bought an old VW convertible from San Antonio, Texas a while back...I thought I knew old air-cooled vw's well, but this thing had parts that I'd never seen :D because they didn't rust off in 3 weeks down in TX.
As always, good luck!
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Thanks BB. I now have the old body stripped, including the dash and the whole wiring harness, and ready to drag in out of the hangar. Saturday I'm gonna look close at the '75, which has some surface rust where paint peeled etc, but It's my best way to go I believe. I wondered if I should transfer the vin plate to the '75, since everything will be '77 El Camino Classic with all the new and restored parts when I'm done. The '75 is a plain-jane type. In '76 they went to 15 inch wheels, and 11 inch rear brakes, from 9 inch brakes and 14 inch wheels in the earlier models. Can never have brakes that are too good!!
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I wondered if I should transfer the vin plate to the '75, since everything will be '77 El Camino Classic with all the new and restored parts when I'm done.
Hmmm.. That kind of depends on the state law. Most states seem pretty strict about moving VIN's. On the other hand some states say that a car must be a certain percentage of parts from one car to be titled as such. Most of the time one could get by with it.....
On the old VW Beetles that I've done, body and frame/pan swaps have always been incredibly common....but at least around here you have to title it to the pan/frame/chassis.....not the body's VIN. I guess whatever it is the "most" of in the case of a chevrolet then title it to that. Although I have no clue what state guidelines or laws are in Michigan.
j.
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Depends on some states too with emissions (I.E. some states use a rolling 30 year exemption and some don't), of course a 30 year rolling exemption wouldn't be a problem with these being 75 and 77 depending on your state and if your in the country or city. My 72 z was exempt for example from testing, but that doesn't mean if I got stuck in a random roadside emissions test (which they sometimes did in Cali for survey purposes) that I wouldn't have been in hot water with a 350 chevy V8, headers and no smog equip at all.. :D
Regards,
Dyna
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My manuals tell me all the '73 thru '77 body parts are the same, except for the grille itself and headlight frames. Sheet metal is the same. I'll have to look into this more. :)
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I decided not to fool with the VIN thing. Today I scrapped the old car, making room for the next one, the '75 model. At least all the parts I've re-done will fit, including the interior.
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The '75 El Camino arrived today, and I'm ready to tear into it ;D One of my buddies has a small structural steel company, and he is building me a rotisserie to hold and turn the body over for sand blasting the bottom side etc. I found the plans for it on an autobody forum. It's a sort of trade deal, since I've maintained his airplane since the mid- 90s for nothing in labor. So what goes around, comes around, in a good way. :)
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For an update, I have the body completely gutted, no doors, no interior, or dash etc, and have all the body sealant dug out for sand blasting. Body sealant is the stuff that keeps water out and rust in!! I'm gonna sand blast the interior before raising it off the frame, easier at that level.
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My buddy has the rotisserie done, except the casters I brought over to him Monday. I'm having an auto glass place come over and remove the windshield, which is cracked. I can then sand blast the frame it sets in. Didin't get much done lately. My youngest son is home from U of Hawaii for the summer, and we are finishing up a boat that he and I started a few years ago. It's a mahogany outboard runabout, 12 1/2 feet long. We have a Merc MK20 to put on it, one of the old green motors.
It should move along fairly good with that outboard.
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This is is another summer project, a wood boat that my son and I are finishing. He has been home from U of Hawaii for the summer, and we have his boat almost finished. It's a '50s design, which is one like I built myself in the 50s.
Here's a few pics of the project:
(http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/7319/p1010543o.th.jpg) (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/p1010543o.jpg/)
(http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6289/p1010499o.th.jpg) (http://img19.imageshack.us/i/p1010499o.jpg/)
(http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/7154/p1010544.th.jpg) (http://img513.imageshack.us/i/p1010544.jpg/)
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Absolutely beautiful boat! Wow! Very cool project.
With respect, Tubenit
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That is one cool looking boat. I love that old Mercury. My dad's still got my grandpa's old 5.5 Mercury and 2.5 Johnson he bought new in '63. They both run like tops.
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I built the frame from mahogany a few years back, and stored it in a hangar until we could get back to finishing it. I bought some Hydrotek marine plywood to finish it the summer. The ply is Meranti, which I'm told is a species of mahogany. I will have some items on it to finish yet. The kid has to return to college on Friday, but at least we have it mostly done. I have to do some work on the old Merc MK20, which doesn't run good.
I had an outboard motor collection up to about five years ago, when I gave it to one of the other kids because there isn't room for all that stuff. I did keep a 10 hp Johnson, and a little Nissan for my own use.
Now it's time to get back to the El Camino project :grin:
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An up-date of sorts: I have the El Camino body mounted on the rotisserie my buddy built for me. It rolls over with very little effort. Have a guy coming to sand blast the bottom of the body, and maybe the frame too. I'll post some pics when my kid comes over to remind me how to do it :smiley:
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Big day today. The sand blast guy came and did the job on the body. It's all bare metal now. The rotisserie worked great for doing the bottom of the body.
I did the frame myself, and have it painted, and have the Currie 9" Ford rear end bolted in with new rear springs. Still have to put the front suspension and brakes, steering etc on. I may even get this thing done before I turn 80! :grin:
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You kill me, Bill. I hope I can accomplish half what you do when I'm your age. Unfortunately I drive too fast for that possibility.
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I found on of them on a beach in Kennendy Vill MD 1962
The owner said I could have it
It had cable steering
I had to put fiber glass on the bottom
Put a 40 HP Johnson on it
Yep I fliped it I was 15 then
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This runabout has cable steering, just like in the 50s. :smiley: Hopefully next summer we will have some fun with it.
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A little up-date here; I have the El Camino body welded up where the floor was rusted, the whole body was sand blasted by a guy with a big rig. I re-sealed all the areas where I dug all the old seam sealant out before sand blasting, and I have the whole bottom primed and painted, and the interior primed and painted. The frame is also painted. The big Ford 9" rear end is bolted in, and I'm about to install all the front suspension and steering parts. Trying to get as much done as I can before cold weather. The old hangar I'm working in doesn't have the furnace hooked up yet, and I can't afford to heat it anyway.
When my kid comes over, I'll have him remind me how to post some pix again.
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I finally have all the running gear bolted on, a 9" Ford rear, adjustable upper rear control arms ( for setting pinion angle) new springs and rear stab bar, re-bushed front suspension with new springs etc All the steering parts are next.
The body has new paint on the bottom and inside surfaces where I had it sand blasted. Just started bolting stuff back on the firewall, like heater, wiper motor etc
Have to restore the top of the dash yet.
Gotta keep goin', I was 78 last Sunday, and I don't want to waste time :grin:
I will get some pics posted soon.
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My next major part of this is to rebuild a TH400 transmission. I haven't done one of these yet, just a bunch of the TH350s. When the transmission is together I'll bolt the engine (Caddy 500) and transmission into the frame.
I just finished all the brake and fuel lines/hoses etc., and working on the parking brake cables. I did something different on this project, I used my engine cleaning gun (a Binks) and sprayed Rustoleum Rusty Metalprimer inside the body panels, like quarter panels etc, inside all the body stiffeners and support channels, and inside the frame rails. Then I sprayed two coats of Rustoleum paint inside those areas to seal the primer. Kind of messy, but worth the effort. Have to prevent Michigan winters from eating it up.
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You are a remarkable individual doing a remarkable project. PLEASE share pics as you go when you can. Would love to see it. The sandblasting rotisserie thing sounded interesting. I've done some sandblasting and water blasting w/sand also. Hard work.
With respect, Tubenit
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Thanks for the kind words tubenit. My son is gonna post some pics here for me. I keep forgetting how to do it!! I do have quite a few pics to share.
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You are a remarkable individual doing a remarkable project.
How true. I hope my retirement years will be as interesting and varied as Bill's.
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The trick is to keep moving, so that I don't fall over :laugh: I have an amp idea to build when the winter really comes on hard here.
Oh yeah, I'm also re-upholstering a Cessna 120 for a customer. It needed a lot of TLC, and I finished an annual inspection on it last week, and flew it yesterday. It flies nice, just like it should :smiley:
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I have determined that "the summer project" has moved into colder weather, and I'll have to lay off for a few months, since I have no heat in that building. I may get the instrument panel (dash) back in yet, but that's about it. The inside of the bed/box is primed and painted, and the insulation is glued on the floorboards etc. The frame is ready to for the body etc. I'm currently rebuilding a TH400 transmission for it, in our shop hangar, where there is heat. I'm gonna bolt the engine and transmission together, to mount them into the frame before the body goes back on.
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I thought I was gonna have to quit for the winter, but a couple kerosene heaters are keeping the chill off for now.
Here's a few pics of my project. There is more done since these pics, but they are the major items so far.
http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/el%20camino%20%20resto/
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nice work and nice garage!! :)
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It's actually an airplane hangar, about 54' X 48' There's an airplane in there too that's visible not in the pics. I'm sorting out the wiring under the dash currently. Luckily I have all the schematics, service manuals etc. My kids bought me a rebuild kit for the transmission, for a Xmas present. No excuses now :grin: Gotta get it done.
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Bill, the detail in your work is really fantastic. She's a beauty. Craig
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Thanks for the kind words. I do the best I can :smiley:
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I did finally get the transmission rebuilt, except for a shift kit I need to get for it yet. My first time at doing a TH400 GM transmission. I believe it's simpler than the TH350s I've done. It is a heavy sucker to work on though, and I'm told it's 60 lbs heavier that the 350.
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Finally have the transmission finished. Hope the dam thing works after it's bolted in!! :smiley: Before too much longer, I wont have to change the title of this thread, 'cause it will be summer : :smiley:
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Bill,
I've said it before and I'll say it again, "you are amazing" flying airplanes at 78 when most 60 year olds can't pass the medical. Genetics have treated you well and your attitude is very powerful too. You are my hero. :grin:
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Thanks for the good words Barry. I just have to have projects it seems, and sometimes I have too many :smiley: Actually I'm afraid to slow down !!
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Here's my project pics on Photobucket:
http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/el%20camino%20%20resto/
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what did you do, buy a 55 gallon drum of red paint? :grin:
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Aaaahhhhhhh, nope!!
It's a GM color, Firethorn red :grin: The bed is painted with Rustoleum that's mixed to match the GM color that's going on the rest of it.
The red on the engine is actually Ford engine red, and I also used it to paint the rotisserie. Maybe a drum of red would have been cheaper :grin:
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OK update time..........I have the tail gate stripped and primed, and I'm working on the front fenders. Just so you know I'm
not poking the proverbial pooch :smiley:
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OK, more wasted space on Doug's site!! :laugh:
I have the front fenders done and primed. I stripped them to bare metal like all the other parts, and fixed a few divits etc. I also repaired the radiator core support with new fabricated metal sections welded in. That piece is not available in the after-market.
Since it's been almost 80 degrees here for a couple of days, the title of this thread will be more honest for the coming summer :smiley:
I didn't specify which summer, so it's still good :smiley:
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Keep going Bill! Get er' done. I can't wait to see the finished product. We'll need a video with audio of the start up.
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Hi Barry
I'm just getting the transmission bolted to the engine, which is a big Caddy 500 torque monster. Then it gets bolted in the frame. After the engine & trans are in, the body gets mounted back on the frame.
I'm also welding in some beef-up gussets on the rear control arm attach points on the rear of the frame. It needs some extra beef there.
Spent a lot of time working on the right door, getting all the little "parking lot" dings fixed. Those are a real pain in the butt. The left door appears to be just as bad.
I've been working on airplanes a lot this spring, so the project wasn't getting as much done.
Amp-wise, I'm gonna remove the Fender reverb circuit in the last amp I built (sounds too much like a Fender), and use the extra tube socket hole for a single triode, and then use two single triodes for the PI instead of the twin type , like the 6SL7 that's in there.
At least the hole will be filled !! :smiley:
Oh yeah, the start up will be noisy, 'cause camshaft break-in requires around 2200 RPM for about 30+ minutes :grin:
Regards...........
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Nice Job Bill, you're gonna need stock in a tire company with that 500 in that Camino' :)
Regards,
D.
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Being summer, my youngest son is home from university, and we have been tinkering with that boat that we built last summer. The old Mercury outboard, 1953 Mark 20, has been giving us problems. Mostly fuel related, and adjustments to linkage etc that the previous owners had messed with. Today we finally got it working great, and the boat goes like hell with that motor now. :grin:
The kid bought the Mercury Service manual that covers engines 1965 and earlier. It helped a bit, but it wasn't all that informative, specially for what it cost, like 72 bucks plus shipping.
Work on the El Camino project is going along OK, but slower, with high temps and humidity around here.
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Well, still plugging away on the project. Sorting out the wiring harness and vacuum lines, getting the dash gauges in etc. Little stuff eats time, and I'm adding misc stuff like better grounds and bonding straps, and a remote starting wire to bump the starter when doing valve adjustments etc. Still have a few wires that don't seem to be on the wiring diagram for this. Mostly optional stuff, like the air conditioner, cruise control etc, that isn't on the main wiring schematic. After thinking about exhaust headers etc, I decided to go with the original stock manifolds, to avoid the usual hassle with headers, and the rusty pipes problem on a daily-driver in winter. I ground and smoothed the manifolds, and have some special hi-temp coating to use on them. Don't know how good the stuff is, but we'll see......
Half the time is spent looking for parts when I forgot where the hell I put them.
Soon I'm gonna do a smoke test to see what works, (and doesn't), like dash lights, blower, gauge sensors, etc........
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OK, it's still a summer project, just a different summer....... :smiley: Today I have a friend to help install the new windshield and rear window. He's done a bunch of windshield jobs, so it should go alright. I've never done one. And I may get the R/H door hung soon too. Another friend has a dolly to handle car doors, which will be great, since these doors weigh 115 lbs each, without any upholstery. I re-bushed all the hinges and the detent rollers on the bottom hinges.
And I even worked on an amp! The power switch fell apart internally on my favorite clone amp. Never heard of that before.......
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I seem to have a problem with my engine being too far forward. (just another glitch) The fan shroud doesn't fit like it should. I didn't pay close attention to my original layout plan it seems, so I have to move the engine back (rearward) about 1 1/2 inches. Not a big deal, but some work involved. Good thing I didn't get a new drive shaft yet!!
That really dumb part is that I modded the oil pan when I wouldn't have needed to. Wife sez I have CRS, and that's the problem :smiley:
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I had to move the engine aft just one inch. But one inch was still a lot of work. Now I'm doing a mod/alteration on the AC/heater box, to clear the r/h rocker/valve cover, just like PRR said last year, that I might have to do. How come that guy is right all the time? :grin: Anyway, it's almost back together to where it was. Now things are even tighter in the engine compartment than ever. I'll be able to call it a "compact car", since that's what it is up front.
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> I'm doing a mod/alteration on the AC/heater
Seriously. Slide the engine in, gas-up, FLOOR it. The heater box is self-modifying.
My gal has a Miata. My neighbor is working on a Jaguar V-12. There's a picture on the Web of a Jag V-12 "in" the Miata engine bay. That's 3 times the pistons, 2.4 times the horses (stock; the Jag can do more).
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I suspect it will be some time yet before I can "floor it" :smiley:for the air box mod. Good thing is, the box is fiberglass type material, and I now have an inverted "bump" in it, and It fits good. Had to fool with the shift rod which goes down from an arm on the lower column. I reversed the bend on the top by cutting it off and welding it back on 180 degrees from where it was. It should clear the left cylinder head, by coming in from the back side of the arm, but haven't tried it yet.
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My gal has a Miata. My neighbor is working on a Jaguar V-12. There's a picture on the Web of a Jag V-12 "in" the Miata engine bay. That's 3 times the pistons, 2.4 times the horses (stock; the Jag can do more).
I'd rather have an LS1 conversion (http://vimeo.com/11412173) (video best viewed with computer speakers turned up to "11"). Build thread: http://www.v8roadsters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=59
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Lots of after market hop-up parts for the LS1 now. :smiley:
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I have the steering all done now. Had to switch the steering box to a later type, with the correct spline for my column, and the pump I bought was the wrong one in the correct box, but it's switched also, so it's finally together.
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Still plugging away, I have the new gas tank painted and installed, with a new GM sending unit, which is hard to find now, and I bolted on new air shocks on the rear. El Caminos came with rear air shocks, and they do the job nicely when loading it. Next major item is an aluminum radiator, which claims to cool 700 HP. Don't think I'll have to worry about getting close to that figure. :smiley: The cooling HP figure likely doesn't take into account that some engines don't cool as good as others, regardless of power.
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The new big three row aluminum radiator is in, and just fits in the core support. Alternator is only 5/8" to 3/4" from the fan shroud, but after front fenders are I'll know if I have to trim the shroud. Engine is just a bit long for this body :smiley: Gotta find some hoses to fit...
And I'm wiring the CD radio harness into the dash wiring.......
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I don't think these can be considered Summer projects. But, they seem to fit in this thread:
'42 Harley-Davidson WLA:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/Jack_Hester/Motorcycle/42wla02.jpg)
Another one:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/Jack_Hester/Motorcycle/My%20WLA/MyWLA060.jpg)
'59 Harley-Davidson FLH:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/Jack_Hester/Motorcycle/My%2059%20FLH/59FLH_011.jpg)
Fish Carburetor:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/Jack_Hester/Fish%20Carburetors/MB_Fish_007.jpg)
Old motorcycles have been my passion for way too long, and I'm renewing my acquaintance with tube amplifiers. Actually, this is my first time with just amplifiers, alone. Tube radios, and tube instrumentation, some 30+ years ago, is my background. It's been really great fun learning/relearning tube equipment.
Jack
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Hey Jack! looks like you have bike fun! I've stayed away from bikes in my old age, I'm too brittle now! :smiley:
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Hey Jack! looks like you have bike fun! I've stayed away from bikes in my old age, I'm too brittle now! :smiley:
I'm a bit brittle myself. I may make a day trip, from time to time, to go to an event or ride down and see a buddy in Greenville, NC (3.5 hrs. on backroads). Other than that, I keep my riding local, usually on Sunday afternoon. I totaled my '76 FLH, back in '04. Took me a couple of years before I could kickstart the '59, as I broke my pelvis (along with ribs), when I drove into the side of a minivan that didn't see me at the intersection. I have everything to put it back together. It just ain't happened, yet. This is the '59, as it is today:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/Jack_Hester/Motorcycle/My%2059%20FLH/59BackontheRoad.jpg)
It has a newly rebuilt engine, transmission, electrical system. I have the means to do all of this, but it ain't as fun as it was. I made sure I preserved the look that it's had, since I acquired it in October of '74, shortly after I got out of the Army. It died in '09. Took me about 6 months to do the rebuild, after hours.
Mostly, I look for tame interests that may electrocute me, but no chance of broken bones. I also have this as a lifelong interest:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/Jack_Hester/Shooting/Double%20H%20Gunsmithing/Home22-250AI001.jpg)
But, this can be an all day event, with setting up the target(s), setting up the portable shooting table, shooting. Taking it all back down. Storing it all away. Cleaning. So, I look for things that I can do at the workbench, and walk away from, when I'm tired. And, find it right where I left it, when I'm ready to continue. Reloading is one of those things, even if I don't get around to shooting what I reload. Amplifiers has already become addictive, even though I've only gathered components for my first build. The research, the revisiting old tech manuals, books I saved from tech school, back in the early 70's. I used to spend quite a bit of time programming in Pascal, as part of my work. Now, if I do it at all, it's as a hobbiest programmer. I look at this as an opportunity to see if I can do some of that with the amp building. But so far, I'm just enjoying what other people are doing, and learning from them. I have no idea that I will be able to contribute to this interest. I hope I can. If not helping someone, I can at least share what I'm doing, and hope it sparks someone else's interest in the same.
Jack
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My "summer project", from two summers so far, is moving slow. I'm fabricating the exhaust from stainless steel tubing, to make it last through Michigan salty winters, an using Borla stainless steel performance mufflers, the quietest ones. I may have to use aluminized tail pipes though, since stainless tail pipes aren't available.
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Old Harley engines may not necessesarily be a 'summer project' but a work of art nevertheless. the '42's look brutal!
Is that a 50 cal?
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Old Harley engines may not necessesarily be a 'summer project' but a work of art nevertheless. the '42's look brutal!
Is that a 50 cal?
H-D 45's were always a favorite of mine, as they are little workhorses. Low on power but high on fun.
No, it's a much smaller caliber. As I followed the writings of P.O. Ackley in my youth, I decided to build (read that as have someone else build) one of his favorite calibers. The .22-250 Improved. It's too heavy to enjoy, though. You carry it from the vehicle to the shooting bench. Then back to the vehicle. So, it spends it's time stored away, while I enjoy lighter things.
Jack
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Yes they are. My old man (deceased) had a few stories about riding out to California from Oklahoma on a 74 (in the late 20's or early 30's). A little engine trouble had him replacing one of the pistons on the way... so he rode around with one iron and one aluminum piston. Also used the suicide throttle and the new WPA roads to cruise along the roads standing on the seat. He was always yelling at me for doing one tom-fool thing or another- wonder where I got it from? Never had one, but living in the SF Bay Area isn't condusive to having one MC+BA traffic = RIP. If I lived elsewhere, things would be different.
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My "summer project" has passed two summers, and 1 1/2 winters. Too dam cold right now to get much done except work on some anodized aluminum trim in my basement. I did machine a tapered shim on the Bridgeport mill, to go between the brake booster and the firewall. It off-sets the booster about 1/2" to the left, for more clearance between it and the left rocker/valve cover on the engine. The shim is 3/16" thick on the inboard side, tapered to .020" thick on the outboard side. And it even worked!
I did get all the wiring finished, but haven't applied 12 volts to the system yet for the smoke test, and see what is & isn't working. And I'm still fooling with stainless steel pipes on the exhaust system.
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The current item I'm working on is piecing together a stainless steel exhaust system. Using some mandrel-bent pipes I bought, and having a friend TIG weld them together for the right runs from the engine to the mufflers. It's a slow process.....
Outside of that, I've sort of lost my voice, due to a problem in my vocal chords, and after a pre-op check, I have a few heart issues I wasn't aware of, like un-even pulses. So in order to fix the voice, I have to do a stress-test and other crap before they will operate on the vocal chord problem. So, more money for the rich-ass doctors :laugh:
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Finally got the stress test out of the way, and meanwhile, back at the project, I just finished my "custom" hoses for the power steering. The left exhaust pipe is also a current item to finish, which is three pieces of stainless tubing, two of which are mandrel bent pieces. Not possible for local muffler shops to put mandrel bends on, so I bought the pre-bent parts, and my pal is tig welding the parts together.
The weather is a bit warmer now, so onward I say!
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Geez Bill, I hope everything comes out OK on your test. Not to make fun, but I can only think of the Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead Superbowl commercial where she loses her lips while side-seat driving - and he doesn't stop. Is Mrs. Creller enjoying the silence? :smiley:
Seriously, I hope the vocal chord surgery is minor and your ticker mis-fires are due to bad gas!
Take care!
Jim
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I got the news today that I'm good to go. I think they were more concerned about my age than my ticker, and the odd pulses didn't show up again. Go figure. My voice didn't totally go away, so the wife just had to listen closer! :laugh: I'm currently trying to adjust the pinion angle on the rear end, and measure for the drive shaft. And I installed the AC box/housing on the fire wall, after doing a mod on it to clear the engine rocker/valve cover. And the left exh pipe is done, and it's ready for mufflers, which are gonna be stainless steel, Borla brand.
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OK, so it hasn't been up-dated in over 120 days...I get the warning.... :laugh: I'm still around and still at the "summer project" ........
I have all the front end parts and doors bolted on, new transmission cooler lines, new stainless braided front brake hoses etc.
And today I mounted the tail gate, so it's beginning to look like an El Camino again.
I still have to get a drive shaft modified to fit. When that's in, I can fire up the engine, after filling all the fluids. Should be fun, with only exhaust pipes to the rear of the trans cross-member ! Ear plugs req'd....
Looks like I'm getting my FAA medical renewed too. The Doc that does that looked at the med records this week, and said I'm good to go, for a 2nd class medical. I used to get just a 3rd class, no commercial stuff, but insurance-wise I have to get one every year now ( must be the "old-fart" clause in the policy.)
And I'm redoing my Valco clone that I added a Fender reverb circuit into. It sucked because of the POS OT I had in it, and I have a new Hammond for it. Trouble is, I lost the layout diagram I made to build it
so some research is required here.......
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Looks like I'm getting my FAA medical renewed too. The Doc that does that looked at the med records this week, and said I'm good to go, for a 2nd class medical. I used to get just a 3rd class, no commercial stuff, but insurance-wise I have to get one every year now ( must be the "old-fart" clause in the policy.)
How has your age affected your rates? My WW2 Corsair pilot buddy slowly gave up his commercial, multi engine, and finally his ticket due to insurance cost associated with his age. It killed him to give it up and he had perfect health. And he was still the best pilot I've ever flown with, even at age 80. Funny thing was his AME was older than him!
Jim
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The insurance company may get "difficult", but I don't know yet. My partner pays for the policy, since I do all the maintenance on both airplanes. If he sputters a bit, I'll know it's expensive !! :laugh:
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I'm presently doing an Annual Inspection on the Cessna 120 I restored in the 90s It flew only 5 hours in the past 12 months, so I need to get some time on it to keep the cobwebs out. It's a good performer, since I up-graded to a bigger engine when I restored it. Originally a Continental C-85 (85 HP) and current engine is a Lycoming 125 HP, 0290D model. I'm getting the itch again........
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Taildragger.... :worthy1: :worthy1: :worthy1: :icon_biggrin: What is your climb rate with that motor and one passenger? Do you need a G suit! A hot day with two adults gets exciting with that old 85 and a short runway! :huh:
5 hours?!?! You need to getouta the garage and up in the air! Better view! Besides, you can drive until you are blind and can't find your way home. Flying is not that age-forgiving - enjoy it while you can still afford the ticket!
Pictures? We need a new "Summer Project: Aviation" thread!
Jim
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The climb rate in winter, since it's always better in cold weather, will peg the VSI at 2000 FPM, but in summer heat, it will do only around 1300 to 1400 FPM. Of course the original climb with the C-85 is around 650 FPM...scary on a hot day from a short grass field.....high pucker factor !
Of course the airplane is heavier now with all the mods etc, like 1028 LBS now, where the original was just over 800 LBS. A few years back I did a "weigh reduction" program on it. Replaced the starter with a light-weight part, went from a 36 AH battery to a 25 AH battery, tossed the speaker out (use headsets all the time anyway) and changed the vacuum pump to a light weight part. Anyway, I got rid of 19 lbs, which is a lot on a small airplane.
A C-120 is easy to fly compared to the Luscombe, which I learned to fly in back in the early 60s.
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Bill,
I've been following this thread a while now, I'm not a bowtie guy, but wow you do impressive work!
My brother had his AP licence for years and I always remembered him ranting over those Lycoming engines, so I googled up what a Cessna 120 is.
I do hope yours looks a lot nicer than this one
according to the article the trainer was 86 yrs old and the trainee was 67, bot refused treatment after the incident, Guess everything was built tough way back then :icon_biggrin:
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Now that is how I would land a taildragger! :laugh:
Hey Bill, when you changed out the engine to the heavier one, that obviously changed the CG. Did you have to add ballast in the tail? I'm sure this has been a thoroughly documented upgrade. Did you just follow an established AD?
I learned in a VERY TIRED C150. My instructor was about 6'1" 250lbs and I was 6'4" and 190lbs (not any more...). That meant every inch of the 3000 ft on a hot summer day. HOWEVER, in the Porsche Mooney we would scream down the runway with no flaps, then crank them down! Like riding a rocket elevator from hell! I'm sure it would be tame to any true aero pilot, but it sure was fun. Plus we NEVER went over the NE flap speed...... :icon_biggrin:
Jim
PS this was the 3000ft field with my FBO. Now an industrial park. Field opened in '45 and closed in '94. FBO moved to another airport and closed in '96. GA is a shadow of its former self. Such a shame. Damn lawyers.
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When I weighed the airplane after it was finished, I needed another pound in the tail, so I added a #3 leaf to the tail wheel spring instead of using a chunk of lead mounted back there in the tail cone.
Some of the weight is because of a full gyro panel and avionics, beacon & strobes, etc
Here's a link (if I can do it right) to the C120 project pics. There are more pics, but I didn't put all of them up.
http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/Cessna%20120%20project/ (http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/Cessna%20120%20project/)
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WOW! That is really neat! You re-skinned the wings? That was a LOT of work. I really like the new paint! Did you find any wear and tear? You know - cracked spar, hinges worn through, leaking fuel into the wing, etc.! :huh:
Jim
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This project was a truck load of parts when I started, so much new sheet metal and all new hardware, wheels & brakes, wiring, interior, glass, etc were required. Cessna 150 seats in place of the original bench etc. I had three damaged wings, and made two good ones from those two, using the good parts.
I rebuilt quite a few wrecks when I was younger, working full time for an operator. It's good, enjoyable work.
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WOW! And I'm sure your wing "jig" was a big flat table? :worthy1: :worthy1: :worthy1: And if you see another rivet you will do bodily harm to the person carrying them? :laugh:
Maybe when I get filthy rich after finding some long lost gold Krugerands buried in my back yard, you can help me build my BD-5!
Ok, here is the ultimate test to see if you are really a lost cause, destined for the funny farm in Oshkosh.....
How many years (copies) of Aircraft Spruce & Specialty are in your bathroom for reading material right now? :icon_biggrin:
Jim
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Well, I have only one catalog from those folks. :icon_biggrin:
And rivets and sheet metal are my thing, Fabric covering is not my favorite job, too labor intensive. If it's just wings, not too bad, but I wont ever do a whole fabric airplane. Some airplanes have been metalized on the wings, on place of fabric. Too bad this one wasn't, but being kept inside out of the sun makes modern fabric last a long time.
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I'm currently getting all the parts together to build a custom drive shaft. The 9-inch Ford rear end actually used the U-joint that fit the used drive shaft I bought, which is an old GM Saginaw unit, but for the front end, a special conversion joint, from one style u-joint (1330) on the drive shaft, to a 1350 on the yoke for the transmission. Have located a good used yoke to fit the trans yet, and may have to buy a new one from the after market.
And the fun continues.....
And besides that, I have to replace a tube socket on my old National amp. They are the cheapie micarta wafer type. Seems to work OK on one 6V6 instead of two though.. :dontknow:
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I did get the drive shaft finished & installed ! And also have the electric fuel pump mounted in the cavity under the front of the bed, and plumbed into the fuel line from the tank. There's a large panel that covers that cavity, which would be where the back seat would be in a station wagon, which the El Camino platform is based on. Anyway, it's a handy place for mounting the fuel pump, away from water & dirt etc.
And I bled the brakes. No big deal there, since everything in the system is new. So now I can fill all the items with oil, coolant etc and get ready for start-up. It's gonna be loud, with only exhaust pipes, no mufflers yet.....2200 RPM for cam break-in, for about 1/2 hour....ear plugs recommended....
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Still plugging away.......I finished the cover for the cavity in the front of the bed. I made 1 inch holes, and welded in two pieces of 1 inch tubing for drains in the front corners
of the cover, and ran 1 inch hoses from them, out through the bottom of the cavity. El Caminos never had drains in the front of the bed like a pickup has. Don't have a clue why....
Had to take time out to fix the 4-speed transmission in my S-10 Chevy pickup. The fun just never ends....
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Still working, and it's still a "summer project" since we haven't had any snow yet. Finally finished the fuel lines from the pump to carb, with a billet fuel strainer,and an adapter Tee for a fuel pressure gauge line.
Things actually are coming together....
And I'm still fooling with the Valco w/reverb, trying to find out why the volume level sucks......... :dontknow:
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OK...so I just got an LED strip from Oznium, to use as a 3rd brake light. The strip is about 1/2" wide, and will fit up tight on the glass, and up against the rear window reveal molding. I'll have to run two wires through the sealant that holds the glass in. It's a really bright light, so maybe I wont get rear-ended. :icon_biggrin:
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Not much progress to report here. Working on my list of small items and installing some wiring and linkage etc. and fixing the vent on the transmission, which wouldn't allow the trans oil to go in very fast. Must have been a mud dauber in the vent when the trans sat around for some years. And I made an oil pump primer, to turn the pump through the distributor mounting hole.
It's also colder here than what my bones like :icon_biggrin:
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Should be ready to light off the engine pretty soon. Have a temporary tach & oil pressure gauge rigged up for the cam break-in monitoring. Need to run it up to around 2000 to 2200 RPM for about half an hour.
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20resto/P1010977.jpg)
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I bought a set of Taylor plug wires some time ago. They are a universal type set, with the correct angle on the plug end. The idea was to have the lengths just right, and not have slack. or too tight on some, like the supposedly direct fit type.
The tough part is getting the new crimped-on ends through the boots, on the distributor end. Lots of DC-4 seems to help, but still a pain in the butt.
Cam & lifters greased up with break-in lube, and pre-load adjusted on the hyd lifters.
Distributor is in & timed, fuel system plumbing is done, and some coolant will make it ready to run. This is my first big-block Cadillac build. Hope it hangs together ! :think1:
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This is my first big-block Cadillac build. Hope it hangs together ! :think1:
Whoa! What I miss?
i thought you were stuffing a SBC in the ElCamino!
What Cad motor did you wedge in there?
Love taylor wires, the boots are a pain, I used vasoline to grease the wire and put the boots in a pot of water I passedd through the Mr Coffee maker, hot like that they stretch real easy.
Do take care to NOT stretch the plug wires, they break inside pretty easy, won't affect the performance, but each little break causes a little bit of whine in the radio.
Way back in my roddin days, My cousin and I stuffed a 500CID cad motor in a Chevette, I think we paid $150 for the motor, and we had 3 or 4 'Vettes given to us for free. first car I ever pulled a wheel stand in. we could fry tires faster than we could change em. REAL squirrley with that short wheel base. A few years later we found an article in hot rod mag about stuffing a "vette with a 500 motor with 472 heads. Instant 14:1 compression in that form,q-Jet , cam and iron manifold and it made a bit over 500 hp. real screamer!
Ray
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Ray,
That reminds me of a Dodge Colt (remember those?!?!) that the guy droped a 392 hemi into with a Doug Nash 5 speed. The motor had the best of the best. It was strictly a strip car that was tubbed and narrowed. The slicks were so wide, I don't know where the heck the links were connected - which probably didn't help the handling any. This thing would pull the front end in every gear but fifth. It ran in the 9's and 10's in the quarter. In other words, it could be 9.5 or 10.9..... It was great fun to watch him try to keep it straight, but he never won anything. I think some kid bought it, put it on the street, rolled it, and sold the motor. Ahhh, the 70's!
Jim
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My Caddy is 507 cubic inches , +.030 bore. It just barely fits in the El Camino frame, and I'm forced to use the stock exhaust manifolds, since the right/front suspension is crowding the engine. Of course headers have their own maintenance issues, so I can live without them anyway. Did a lot of mods on the engine as far as parts go. Heads are ported & polished, and milled off a bit, and installed over-sized valves. Decked the block some also. I have a 284 degree cam in it, and Competition Cams stud-mounted roller rocker arms. I built the oil pan, to fit the frame etc. and rebuilt a TH400 transmission, and used a Transgo shift programmer. Rear end is a 9" Ford from Currie, set up for the El Camino suspension. I built my own drive shaft.
Currently, I'm having problems with the fuel system, and found that the new electric fuel pump wont run. The pump is removed & going back for a warranty replacement tomorrow ( Monday). I had it running for a few seconds by pouring a bit of gas in the carb, to check if the distributor timing was close enough to to run it. No mufflers on it yet, just stainless pipes running back past the trans cross member. It's LOUD :icon_biggrin:
In regard to Chrysler hemi engines, I played with those in the 60s. My favorite was a '37 Ford pickup with a '56 354 hemi. I chopped & channeled the pickup, and used a Cad/LaSalle transmission behind it. I used a '49 Merc 4.27:1 rear end by modifying the suspension from the transverse spring to longitudal springs.
Had lots of fun back then :icon_biggrin:
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Here's an engine pic. No top radiator hose on it in this pic.
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20resto/P1010990.jpg)
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Dang Bill!
Those big Cad's are torque monsters!
Weight distribution on those Elky's aren't all that to begin with, you're gonna go broke keeping rear tires on that beast! what a tire fryer!
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What's up with all the orange paint?!?!?!
Jim the Ford man
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That's actually Ford red !! Should have painted it Caddy blue. :dontknow: Maybe I'll get it running this week.....2200 for 30 minutes should do it....
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That's actually Ford red !! Should have painted it Caddy blue. :dontknow: Maybe I'll get it running this week.....2200 for 30 minutes should do it....
Yup like the old Y-Block Ford. My Ford 390 came in Gold.
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I guess I could have painted it Chevy orange, but I never did like that color :cussing: Never ever painted my Chevy rebuilds orange. I painted the Pontiac builds the factory light blue, which was OK.....Chrysler hemis I painted silver, the stock color, with a coat of clear over it.
It's easier with airplane engines, either Lycoming gray, or Continental gold :icon_biggrin:
The Caddy 500 isn't all that heavy, being around 100 lbs heavier that a Chevy small block. With an aluminum radiator replacing a 3-core copper type, I already made it lighter in the front. These were designed for big block Chevys also, so it's still lighter than that option. Of course I'm sure it will have tire frying capabilities :icon_biggrin:
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The fuel problem persists, and I dropped the tank to check the pick-up, which was OK. Everything is new, but ya never know.....
Then I blew all the lines & hoses out, they are all new also. So now the engine drive fuel pump is suspect. Haven't taken it off yet. A case of the flu has things on hold for a while. :BangHead:
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> The fuel problem persists
Up here, we start with a milk-jug of fuel on the fender. If that works, but the gas-tank has 43 holes in it(!), we put a 5-gallon jug in the trunk and drive on. Stay above 30MPH, you don't smell it.
That will work on your Quadra-Jet. Won't work on my '91, cuz it needs 20-30 feet of head to spritz the fuel-injector, and only 14 feet headroom under the power line.
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:icon_biggrin: :icon_biggrin:
Today I removed the engine driven fuel pump, and it's FUBAR ! I can blow through it in both directions !
But, that's what I get for using the original pump, and not a new one. :BangHead:
New pumps are available locally I've found, so that's the next step. Lots of wasted effort & time on a dumb decision.
I don't use the milk jug trick in the hanger, with an airplane sitting near my project :icon_biggrin:
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My replacement electric fuel pump ( warranty) arrived last evening, and I bolted it in today. I have a small access hole & cover in the large cover in the front of the bed, which covers the cavity under there.
Pic is the pump & relay & wiring, mounted to the support web under the large cover.
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/P1011000.jpg)
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I have the engine driven pump replaced, and everything back together. I'm ready to light the fires when my son comes to help. Cam break-in at 2000 RPM is the first thing, and adding ATF to the transmission after it starts also. Gotta find my ear plugs.......
Here's a pic I found of the short block when I assembled it
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/shortblock.jpg)
And here's one of the heads....
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/headscan.jpg)
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Well, I didn't find my ear plugs, but I did get it running Saturday afternoon. A little gas poured in the carb was enough to get the fuel pump primed & the engine running. Ran it at 2000 RPM for 5 minutes, and shut it down to inspect for leaks, and add some ATF to the transmission. Fan was touching the shroud in one place, and I adjusted that OK. Had to retard the timing a bit, since it wanted to buck the starter on the first start. Have to wait until cam break-in is done, to idle it down & adjust initial timing, so ball-park timing is OK for now.
It does rap up to 5000 RPM easily, and sure makes a lot of noise. Exhaust fumes ended the running until maybe Sunday, to finish cam break-in.
And all the gauges are working normal, alternator has normal voltage etc, so no electrical issues noted.
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I finished the Cam break-in run today, and found an oil leak up front someplace, not sure where it's coming from yet. I topped off the transmission oil level, and adjusted the initial timing. Also found a leak in the brake line on the rear end. Topped off the power steering reservoir etc. Engine has a slight lope to it at idle, which indicates the cam grind I used.
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The brakes are squared away, since I adjusted the rears. It's basically ready to drive, as far as the engine is concerned. Found & fixed a few leaks in the coolant etc. Installed some more mods to the distributor, to limit the vacuum advance, while keeping the initial up to 14 degrees etc. Can't take it for a spin down the runway yet, since the seat is apart in my basement, for re-upholstery. :w2:
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Tweed?
Jim :icon_biggrin:
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I just noticed that this project has had a long Summer (01Apr09). I've got some like this.
Jack
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Yeah Jack, it started back then with a '77 I bought new, but found it to be too rusted to restore, and I bought a '75 body, and used all the rebuilt parts from the '77 on it. The '77, what was left of it, went to the crusher. :sad2:
It's been a fairly long project, but I'm not in a big rush to get it done.
Hey Jim, tweed would be cool!! :icon_biggrin:
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> I'm not in a big rush to get it done.
When done, you can do a Ranchero, do the Chevy Versus Ford thing.
My neighbor just got a 1977 Ranchero in fairly good shape. Last inspection was 2005. The bed panel leaks so the "back seat" is damp. The rag-joint in the steering is totally gone, just banging on the safety-nubs, 3 inches of slop at the steering wheel. The 77 Ranchoo is same-as my 79 T-bird which was a beefy 1966 Galaxie. Best Ford chassis since the Model T. Designed for 390/427, easily takes a 428 429 or 460. This shape but all white.
(http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/320959/fullsize/ranchero01.jpg)
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A friend had one, same year but red. Don't remember which engine his had. Those years had beefy frames, to hold those big block engines.
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I'm currently working on the hood. It has surface rust to deal with, and some spots have some pits in the rusty areas. Did I mention that I hate body work ? Anyway, when the hood is finally ready, I can get on to finishing all the little spots on the body for the paint job.
Only thing left on the engine is adding a vacuum source on the manifold for the cruise control. The AC compressor change, and new hoses etc will have to wait. Another couple grand for tires, mufflers & tail pipes etc, and interior parts, will have it ready to burn too much gas. I have 100 octane avgas in it right now, so I don't have to deal with the ethanol spiked auto gas getting bad from sitting around..
Here's a pic with the stock air cleaner, which I intend to use in cold weather, since it will likely need carb heat. Might use an open type in summer.
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20resto/P1011023.jpg)
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> in cold weather, since it will likely need carb heat.
Dunno what you call "cold". When below freezing you don't need heat. You DO need heat when 38 degrees and misty rain.
You probably know this from aircraft but the symptoms are different on the ground. It's just above freezing, and a lot of fine water-mist. Engine idling or 20MPH, throttle near closed. As the air comes past the throttle plate it expands. And cools. Several degrees. After a few minutes the throttle is cooled. To freezing. Ice builds on the throttle plate and adjacent walls. Engine sucks, air cools more. (Evaporating fuel plays a part also.)
My Willys always stalled at the end of the block. If I restarted and gunned to the end of the next block, it stalled again. If I left it stalled for a couple minutes, by now there was enough heat in the manifold to warm the throttle area back above freezing. OK until the next cool damp morning.
So: no heat to start. There's no heat available, your choke gets you started. Run at damp 38 degrees, ice forms. 5 minutes out the manifold heat does the job. But in the 2 minute to 5 minute interval it will NOT run slow without icing up. That's what the wretched flex to the exhaust stove is for. (It may improve economy in the 40deg-50deg zone, but obviously you do not care.)
No trouble when air is below freezing, because there's little or no loose water in the air to ice-up.
Aircraft can get in trouble at much larger throttle and fully-warm because of more extreme air conditions and typically less manifold heat. And while I could let my Willys stand for a few minutes and thaw-out, an airplane at altitude usually can't.
> Might use an open type in summer.
Experience with a couple ~~1979 GMs says you may need snout air in summer. A Chevy Six and an Olds 350 would ping like a bucket of marbles unless the snout hose was sealed all the way to grille air. Any underhood air getting in, you thought you got a load of 69 octane gas, but fixing-up the snout and duct cleared it up.
So don't fix that hood too much. Whack a big hole and use a Shaker intake.
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I don't think it's a candidate for a shaker set-up ! And hacking a hole for it doesn't sound like much fun! I did originally think about a hood mod though. I do have the original duct & air inlet from the Caddy, to get outside-cool air. When temp & dew point get close, it's ice time, which you likely know. Carb ice in an airplane can be a big problem, which has happened to me only twice, increasing the pucker factor for a bit.
The thermostatic sensor in the air cleaner snout opens at 110 degrees, to let some outside air in through the snout. The stock air cleaner is restricted enough to kill off some power of course. I figured that getting another hood to experiment with later, might be OK
Carb ice was a problem on a Chevelle I had, with an open air cleaner. No manifolds on that one, just headers. Finally made a heat muff for the left header, to get heat to a stock type air cleaner, which fixed the problem. It would ice-up some days, and I would have to pull off of the road for about 10 minutes. to let i melt from engine heat.
I'm currently working on another hood, since the first one had too many pits in the surface rust. And I don't like body work much....
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Just picked up another gallon of paint stripper, to finish stripping the top of the hood. When the hood is in primer and bolted on, new Borla stainless steel mufflers are next. I picked the type with the lowest decible rating, for a performance muffler. Gotta be able to hear the radio ya know.....
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This is a looooooong summer project. I'm reminded of an old Johnny Cash song. :wink:
johnny cash-one piece at a time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIuo0KIqD_E#)
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Yeah Steve, I remember that tune :icon_biggrin: But remember, I didn't say which summer it would get finished !! :laugh: Hopefully this one........
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I finally have the bottom of the hood primed. Here's a pic of it after getting the paint & surface rust off of it, and priming it.
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20resto/P1011044.jpg)
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I have the top side of the hood stripped, which took longer than the work on the bottom. The finish paint slid off easy, but the black GM primer was tough to get off. Just a some primer, and then fitting it in place.....adjusting a hood and it's hinges from scratch is is a pain in the a$$.....
And I'm building another amp, similar to the Valco types I did before........with "extra" parts I have around here.....
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And in your spare time? :worthy1:
Jim
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My "spare' time this coming week is working on/inspecting two airplanes, a Cessna 177RG, and a Grumman AA5B, which has some leaking bottom plates on the fuel tanks, which I'm
waiting on parts for. Lots of fun this month... :icon_biggrin:
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Wow, I've flown both of those! I don't remember which variant of the Grumman, but that was a nice little plane - and it was fast for a fixed gear. I've flown several Cardinals, but we always rented an Archer for any cross country trips - that was a comfy plane. I like the low wing planes! Post some pics!
Jim
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The lady that owns the Grumman loves it...I hate it. I'm not fond of glued together airplanes. And the engine is covered by "the cowling from hell" , a real PIA to remove & install. I guess it performs good, and this one is loaded with electronics, which are likely worth more than the airplane.
Th Cardinal RG is a fairly fast airplane, once the gear is up, compared the the fixed-gear version.
Also, today I was asked to do an inspection on a motor-glider. It's German built. The engine retracts into the fuselage behind the pilot. German engineering.......well built rig, but single place.
And I even have my hood primed & ready for paint today :icon_biggrin: Time to fit & adjust it to the front clip.
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Doesn't the prop have to come off to get the cowling off? Yikes! I didn't know it was glued together.... That was 20 years ago!
Jim
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Yeah, they are glued together, and have some honey-comb panels in the fuselage. Prop doesn't have to come of to get the "cowl from hell" off. De-lamination is a problem sometimes, on the wings.
Sometime before the end of the month, I have to do a condition inspection on a German built motor-glider. It's in the experimental category. Kinda neat, the engine retracts into the fuselage after shut-down at altitude, for soaring.
I finally have my hood stripped, cleaned, and primed & sealed. Seems like a lot of work for just doing a hood :Banghead
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20resto/P1011066.jpg)
don't know why the pic disappeared, since I'm such a PC expert !
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Not much done lately. I've been doing annual inspections on airplanes. I have new seat upholstery coming, and a new headliner ordered, and so it goes...... :dontknow:
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Hey, if you are allowed, I'd sure like to see pics of that German motor glider! That is one thing I've always wanted to do. Nothing but a little wind noise and searching for updrafts - that would be soooo neat! Any other time silence is the time to panic!!!! :sad2:
Jim
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OK, I'll get some pics in the near future.
My El Camino seat upholstery was for the wrong year, so I'm dealing with the vendor to exchange it for the right stuff.
Meanwhile, I'm also working on my Luscombe restoration. It's a 1947 8-A, that I converted to an 8-E. It has a Lycoming 0235C engine in it now, which is 115 HP. Original 8-A engine was a 65 HP Continental.
This has been a back-burner project for many years, but I keep picking away at it.
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I did get the back-rests covered for the seat. The seat frame for the bench part has some surface rust where the foam cushion lays on it, and it's being sand blasted for me this week.
Here's the back-rests.....
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20resto/P1011085.jpg)
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The seat bottom (bench) is done, with the new upholstery. I forgot how heavy the seat is, so I'm not assembling the back rests to the bottom until I install it. :think1:
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Sounds like the T Bird was a fun car. My oldest son ( a guitar player too) has two older coupes, one is a turbo coupe, 4 banger...
BILL
Haha, my first turbo car was a '87 Tbird Turbo Coupe - intercooled 2.3l with a decent 5 spd manual tranny. Actually was a fun car that put down decent numbers after a little exhaust, intake, and boost controller work.
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I've been working on a Cessna 172, for a couple weeks, which hasn't been flown for 5 years, and needs to be sold. The owner is a former partner of mine in airplanes, and is in very bad health these days. Nothing really wrong with the airplane, except for some minor repairs from sitting, and needing an annual inspection. I have to get it finished, because it's in the same building as my project, which is about ready to paint.
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The 172 is done except that it needs a magneto. (there are two on airplane engines) The models on there are old & not built since the 70s. Looks like about $1200 bucks for a current model to replace the bad one.
Meanwhile, I believe I'll install the headliner in the El Camino project, since I can't paint yet with the airplane in the way.
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Bill, are you seeing a lot of the old planes from the 60's having a hard time finding a home? There sure are a lot less aviators nowadays.....
Jim
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A lot of the old lower powered airplanes are holding their value, because of fuel prices, and the economy etc. The one I'm working on ( just ordered a new mag for it today) is a 1961 Cessna 172B. The 182 models have lost more value I think, because of the big engine, and the constant speed propeller, which can be expensive to overhaul. Hardly see any light twin engine airplane around here, because of operating costs.
I did get my seat bottom done for my El Camino project. Here's a pic....
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20resto/P1011088.jpg)
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Did you do that re-cover? That looks nice! Getting closer.....!
Did you ever do that motor glider?
Jim
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Lately I've been doing a major honey-do on the wife's Caddy. The cross-over exhaust pipe broke, and I can't locate a new one. So I bought some pipe for a repair on one side of it. Meanwhile, the oil pan had some leaks/pin-holes etc, so I bought a new pan. And, I noticed some rust holes in the floor, so spent a couple days fixing that. It's been all kinds of fun ! I may get it done this week..... :dontknow:
I did take a few pics of the motor glider, but they were not very good, so I'll take some more.
The El Camino seat upholstery is pre-made stuff, and goes on just like the original stuff was.
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All the work on the Caddy was a waste of time it turned out. After finishing what I was doing to it, I drove it home from the airport shop, to get the wife to bring me back to the airport to get my truck. On the way back, while waiting to make a left turn, we were rear-ended big time, by a young man who wasn't paying attention (or maybe texting on his phone )
Anyway the Caddy was really wrecked. Took the wife to get checked out at the local hospital, xrays, scans etc . She is OK. I didn't have any problems I'm aware of (too dumb to get injured)
So I had to look around for another car for her, and found a really nice Buick for her. (she needs a big heavy car to absorb all the crashes !)
The Buick is a '93 Park Avenue Ultra, with the little 3800 supercharged engine, with 85K miles. It should do the job for a few years.
I was quite surprised by it when I drove it. Any more than a light touch on the gas pedal makes the tires light up !
And I finished the airplane also , so maybe I can get back to the project at hand...... :rolleyes:
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Glad to hear you are both OK! Holy crap, you just never know....
Hey, I thought the plane WAS the project! :icon_biggrin:
Jim
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I have a prospective buyer for the friend's airplane, and hopefully he will get it out of my way soon. The El Camino project keeps getting side stepped because of other stuff.
I found a real nice Buick Park Avenue Ultra for the wife to drive. It's the supercharged 3800 Buick engine. I didn't realize how much power that little V6 has with a supercharger on it.
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/The%20Buick/P1011113.jpg)
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And here's the engine bay. Quite clean...
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/The%20Buick/P1011111.jpg)
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i had a 92 thunderbird SC - had 3.8L FI SC w/ intercooler & 5 spd. M/T - high fun factor.
the buick is a fun car as well, good brakes, power, decent handling, and a solid chassis. if the other GM divisions made cars with the same quality and dependability as buick they'd be on top again.
--DL
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Well, I finally have the Cessna 172 sold, ( two days ago ) and another friend is the buyer, a retired corporate pilot. He is also an instructor, and we did some flying to re-new my bi-annual flight review.
So I have a big empty ( almost) hangar to myself now. Nothing holding up the El Camino project now, except money ! :cussing:
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Too many irons in the fire here. I removed all the masking form my project, before the tape became difficult to remove. The paint job is on hold until next spring.
I've been doing some installs & mods on the airplane I just sold for a friend, plus some annual inspections for others.
I may get the headliner installed if I can get fired up without being bothered for a few days..........
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It's been a while since I got anything visibly done on my "summer" project, but I did get started on the interior, since it's way too cold to think about paint, in the old hangar I'm working in.
I just installed the headliner, and have new carpet & door sill scuff plates to install. Then all the plastic trim pieces can be put back on in there, along with the steering wheel, which I didn't install yet, for more room to work.
I'll get some pics when I get it all in. :thumbsup:
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Interior is mostly done now. Next item is installing the weather strip on the doors and the roof rail, which is the top of the door way.
The interior door panels will likely come along soon too, as I freeze my way through this ! :undecided:
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I now have the weather strips installed, and the door windows adjusted for up & down stops, & tilt in & out for contact with the weather strips in the correct place. And the new door sill scuff plates just arrived, and are screwed in place. Have to buy a pair of 4 X 6 speakers, likely from Crutchfield, for the inside of the rear doorway edge trim covers, where they are supposed to be mounted.
Meanwhile I'm making a new chassis for an old Gretch amp, which was likely sitting in someone's garage for a long time. The inside/bottom of the chassis is rusty & crusty, even though the amp still works ! I'm using some .050" aluminum sheet stock for a new chassis.
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You guys working on vintage planes should note this:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/2013/05/15/ntsb-aging-part-caused-fatal-maine-plane-crash/ELoJOzvjpocF02lxAU7wlJ/story.html (http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/2013/05/15/ntsb-aging-part-caused-fatal-maine-plane-crash/ELoJOzvjpocF02lxAU7wlJ/story.html)
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (AP) — Federal investigators say an aging part fractured and caused a vintage plane to crash into the ocean off Portland Head Light last summer, killing the doctor piloting the aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board says in its report released earlier this month that the 1946 Stinson Voyager suffered ‘‘a fatigue failure of the No. 3 piston skirt,’’ causing a total loss of engine power.
The Sun Journal (http://bit.ly/12zYqoi (http://bit.ly/12zYqoi) ) reports the NTSB says although the piston was overhauled about five years before the accident, the part was more than 65 years old.
I'm not sure why a piston skirt should have fatigue failure.
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You guys working on vintage planes should note this:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/2013/05/15/ntsb-aging-part-caused-fatal-maine-plane-crash/ELoJOzvjpocF02lxAU7wlJ/story.html (http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/2013/05/15/ntsb-aging-part-caused-fatal-maine-plane-crash/ELoJOzvjpocF02lxAU7wlJ/story.html)
CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (AP) — Federal investigators say an aging part fractured and caused a vintage plane to crash into the ocean off Portland Head Light last summer, killing the doctor piloting the aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board says in its report released earlier this month that the 1946 Stinson Voyager suffered ‘‘a fatigue failure of the No. 3 piston skirt,’’ causing a total loss of engine power.
The Sun Journal (http://bit.ly/12zYqoi (http://bit.ly/12zYqoi) ) reports the NTSB says although the piston was overhauled about five years before the accident, the part was more than 65 years old.
I'm not sure why a piston skirt should have fatigue failure.
bad boring job; bad honing job; improper clearances; causes skirt slap. skirt wears abnormally, fatigues, then cracks, then breaks. piston disintegrates, rod/wrist pin demolish block. engine seizes. crash.
--pete
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The engine in that old Stinson was likely a Franklin 6A4 type, if the airplane was the 108 model. The piston cracking could happen to any aircraft engine, but likely a piston that old has a different alloy than the modern variety, which are mostly made in Brazil these days.
Not only that, there are many new-old-stock parts around that are as old as that airplane, and no new manufactured parts available.
Of course one of the wing struts could be rusted from the inside and fail in flight, on an airplane that old.
The general aviation fleet of airplanes is OLD on an average...
Anyway....I finally have the stainless steel exhaust system finished on the El Camino project. Everything is stainless...and I made stainless steel brackets for all the hangers for the pipes, and I'm using band type clamps instead of the U-type, which will allow the system to be removable, like for removing the transmission etc. I have an H-pipe ahead of the mufflers, which are the Borla brand. Here's a pic of the front of the mufflers & the H pipe cross-over.(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011313_zps045aefd3.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011313_zps045aefd3.jpg.html)
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Bill,
Did you know Jane Wicker and Charlie Schwenker? Gosh, I've seen them a bunch. What a terrible loss.
Jim
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I didn't know those folks, but have friends who knew them. I haven't heard what actually happened. Lots of blood running to the head when flying inverted for a long period of time in that act. Kinda make me wonder....
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Finally got some help to get the seat in. Bottom part ( bench) first, then the back rests. Heavy & awkward to handle.
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011323_zps6b08616e.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011323_zps6b08616e.jpg.html)
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Bill that looks really good!
I went to Volo (Ill) antique auto museum last month with a good friend of mine who was in town visiting after moving to Cali last year. I had never been to it before even though I only live ~5 miles away from it for a good 8 years.
We saw a good number of cars from very early up to the 60's+ muscle cars. Prices where all over the place.
What I loved the best were the oldest BIG touring cars. Man they were something!
Your cars that you have posted are as good or better than anything we saw that day.
Brad :icon_biggrin:
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Where's the tweed?!?!?!?
Jim :icon_biggrin:
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How about a tweed top on the dash ? It needs a dash cap anyway :icon_biggrin:
I've been quite busy on airplanes again. Need the money for paint ! Base-coat/clear coat, with the hardeners, reducers etc etc...
Maybe I should just buy house paint and a new roller ! :think1:
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How about a tweed top on the dash ? It needs a dash cap anyway :icon_biggrin:
I've been quite busy on airplanes again. Need the money for paint ! Base-coat/clear coat, with the hardeners, reducers etc etc...
Maybe I should just buy house paint and a new roller ! :think1:
rattle can stuff works...
reminds me of my 68 torino GT...
--pete
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> I should just buy house paint and a new roller !
Roller??
> my 68 torino GT
Right. Bought a 1967 Cougar with "vinyl roof". The vinyl was so rotted that water was trapped under it, rusted a hole through the roof over my girlfriend's lap.
I scraped the vinyl remains and the loose glue. Tapped down around the hole and shoe-gooed a penny in it. No leak, but the combination of vinyl glue, factory red primer, and rust topping was pretty stark.
Got Satin Black Rust-O-Leum and a coarse brush. Slap-slap.
From 20 feet it looked just like a vinyl roof! At 3 feet you could tell it wasn't, but it mostly didn't look bad.
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I always liked a "quick & dirty fix " :icon_biggrin:
My project is not getting any progress lately. And worse yet, the transmission pan gasket is leaking. :BangHead:
I finally have all the expensive paint & supplies for it, but it looks like a next year item for painting it.
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Bought a 1967 Cougar
200, 289 or 6.5L (390)? wiki still calls it a 6.4L...
Got Satin Black Rust-O-Leum and a coarse brush. Slap-slap
so, i'm not the only guy on the forum who drove a car with a ghetto paint job... that good know. :icon_biggrin:
i had my hands on a '68 XR-7 6.5 for a short while - had to flip it to pay bills...that's one car i wish i'd have kept.
And worse yet, the transmission pan gasket is leaking.
winter time job - fer sure...
dammed 'ol GM's ;-)
--pete
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> 200, 289 or 6.5L (390)?
The 390 truck/tbird engine DID NOT COME IN LITERS!!
It went-away before Ford choose to literfy their engines. Dunno what Wikipedia is smoking.
I had what was later called the 5.0. Those small-Windsors are easy to kill so the original 289 was gone, I found a 302-INCH block with bad lifters and valve-springs. No real difference until I went to fix the valveworks. Early 302 used 289 parts, but the third Tuesday of Feb they changed the rockers, so I had to know what I had (I've since forgot).
Yes, the XR-7 had a 390. Saw one at the car-show. Driven by a little old lady. Since new.
Had the full 144 170 200 series in an assortment of Falcon wagons and rancheros, also a 68 Mustang with a Maverick Six re-motor.
My summer project, three summers now, is winding down. Major problems with electric feeder and main fusebox. Some came with the house, some on my watch (I didn't watch the backhoe operator 120 minutes an hour). Thursday I did the Big CutOver from old to new fusebox. Today I was neatening runs and putting away tools. ToDo: move cable-TV near the box and GROUND it good (less hum-bar on TV), and rig up METERS to monitor volts and currents both sides.
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> 200, 289 or 6.5L (390)?
The 390 truck/tbird engine DID NOT COME IN LITERS!!
It went-away before Ford choose to literfy their engines. Dunno what Wikipedia is smoking.
I had what was later called the 5.0. Those small-Windsors are easy to kill so the original 289 was gone, I found a 302-INCH block with bad lifters and valve-springs. No real difference until I went to fix the valveworks. Early 302 used 289 parts, but the third Tuesday of Feb they changed the rockers, so I had to know what I had (I've since forgot).
Yes, the XR-7 had a 390. Saw one at the car-show. Driven by a little old lady. Since new.
Had the full 144 170 200 series in an assortment of Falcon wagons and rancheros, also a 68 Mustang with a Maverick Six re-motor.
My summer project, three summers now, is winding down. Major problems with electric feeder and main fusebox. Some came with the house, some on my watch (I didn't watch the backhoe operator 120 minutes an hour). Thursday I did the Big CutOver from old to new fusebox. Today I was neatening runs and putting away tools. ToDo: move cable-TV near the box and GROUND it good (less hum-bar on TV), and rig up METERS to monitor volts and currents both sides.
DID NOT COME IN LITERS
YES IT DID - fender badges and all. now WE know it was nothing more than a FE 390... but mercury milled it as a 6.5L.
don't believe me, look it up. it was the XR-7 package in 67-68 came with badges and all. mine was blue with...that's right, the 6.5L badges.
--pete
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1968 Mercury Cougar XR7 Coupe GT 6.5 litre (390 Big Block) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGpNbgn1Z34#ws)
a 6.5L XR-7
1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT-E , original unrestored 428CJ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVc0tuHTc90#) FF to 00:27
an all original 68 7.0L XR-7 GT, that's right SEVEN LITER XR-7 GT (that's 428CI of FE CJ goodness to you yanks!). mercury marketed the cougar with more euro flair, since ford wanted the mercury's to seem classier, i guess...335HP - ya, right! :icon_biggrin:
in 1985 after the tail end of the oil boom in south texas, i put food on the table working for a restoration shop that specialized in fords, specifically mustangs. we have 2 shelby's under our belts, a GT-350 and a GT-500 KR that was a 428SCJ 4spd car, a couple of detomaso pantera's, and lost count of the plain vanilla mustangs and cougars. our junk yard had over 100 cars in it at any given time, that's where i got the 68 torino GT notchback that became my daily driver. a few years later it got totaled in dallas where i was attending devery univ. i sold the remnants with the 390GT motor and 4spd to help with tuition.
--pete
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I sit corrected.
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Yup and a 351 Cleveland head with a few coolant plugs will bolt nicely onto that 302 and with the Boss forged crank - whalah, Boss 302. OR even better, Boss 302 forged crank in a 351 Cleveland gets you a 11,000rpm 331 with the right springs! I could probably still build a small block Ford in my sleep! My brother had a 71 Torino Cobra with the 429. That was the torquiest thing I have ever driven - after we trashed the stock quadrajunk that kept vapor locking in the summer.... I remember when we put headers on it and had to drive about 5 miles to the muffler shop that put a custom exhaust on it. One of the local cops we knew heard/saw us and just shook his head. Ahhhh, the good ol days!
Jim
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still, my favorite overall ford big-block is the 385 series lima - 429/460.
a 68 t-bird, suicide door body, with the 429 4V thunderjet would make a nice tailgater car...with longhorns on the grill, of course, in burnt orange, of course!
--pete
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My oldest kid has a Cobra with a 390. He managed to knock the drain plug off the cast aluminum oil pan. Don't have a clue why the hell it was on the bottom of the pan. Anyway, I moved it to the side...TIG welded a new boss there for it. So...not too long after that, the engine tossed a rod. He didn't tell me how far he drove it with no oil.....
He was likely showing off & didn't bother checking gauges. It's called learning curve ! :icon_biggrin:
I refused to get involved with the 390....
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> I refused to get involved with the 390....
Get a 351-W, mild aftermarket cam/key, and Holley 2bbl carb.
Unlike the 289/302 it is based on, or the true Cleveland which is rare and finicky, the 351W is common and with SE+ oil unkillable. Utterly unkillable with the typical economy tune of the years the 351W was Ford's main V-8; much of that is a retarded cam, but the awful MotoCrap carb didn't help. With 1960s-like cam and the 500CFM 2-hole it will spin to 4K full-torque and 5K peak-power, make over 300HP, or cruise 238K miles with minimal trouble.
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Don't think the kid would go for a 351, and now he's talking about a stroker kit for the 390. The way he gets things done......it will never happen ... :icon_biggrin:
I just bought a dash cap for the El Camino project. It's made to cover the top & face of the dash, which is gets cracks etc with age. I have it fitted, and now I have to paint it to match before installing it.
And I'm fabricating a duct/ scoop for intake air, to attach to the radiator core support, alongside the radiator, for cold air from behind the grille. The idea being to not use engine compartment air into the air cleaner, which has a rubber type duct that's long enough to reach the scoop arrangement.
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Don't think the kid would go for a 351, and now he's talking about a stroker kit for the 390.
FE goodness for a paltry $36.5K US or $60.83/HP
600HP & 580lb/ft.. wimpy. but it's injected. they have carbureted entry model @ 525HP for $26K :icon_biggrin:
2Yr 24Kmi warranty.
http://www.roushperformance.com/engines/511-irfe.html (http://www.roushperformance.com/engines/511-irfe.html)
http://www.roushperformance.com/engines/511-srfe.html (http://www.roushperformance.com/engines/511-srfe.html)
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I figured out how to mark my crank pulley with some degree marks, since I don't have a modern type timing light to show advance numbers. I marked it up to 36 degrees early-advanced. Timing is currently at 17 degrees initial. The Caddy big block guys say up to 20 will work. Total timing needs the little Crane cam/stop plate in the vacuum advance canister on the distributor, to limit total advance. Have to tweak that yet..
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> needs the little Crane cam/stop plate in the vacuum advance
Oh, bosh. Don't bother.
This is basically a stock-like engine, right? No oversize valves, HI-lift cam (one model up from stock isn't much difference), or 6-73 blower? Cadillac didn't leave much on the table when it came to little stuff like timing advance. Timing is not too critical, and getting it well into the happy zone was a zero-cost win-win for Cadillac. (Go to the first Falcons for terrible timing control, as bad as the first V-8s.)
Static sets the idle advance.
When you crack the throttle to 1/10th, vacuum is applied to the advance. This gives you a little goose as you come off idle. It also sets the advance for good economy at small throttle openings.
Vacuum advance is nice in a stick, to give you a little grunt as the clutch engages. But you got a 500 with a slushbox. You have grunt and don't need it to get rolling.
Small-throttle cruise _is_ important on a 500 _if_ you are going to do 50,000 miles anytime soon. A 5% difference in economy eventually becomes a lot of dollars. However I suspect this isn't your 100-mile-a-day commuter car. That you will do 1,000 miles a year. The difference in annual gas cost won't buy a nice birthday cake. Anyway you can set a good-enough small-throttle advance.
Prop the throttle so the vacuum advance pulls to its stock stop. Turn the distributor to get the specified static+vacuum advance degrees. Now close throttle and see where the static falls. If anywhere near 20 degrees, and if the idle is good (it isn't fussy though you may want to trim the throttle idle-screw), it's good to go.
For your uses, the centrifugal advance is more important. A 500cid isn't there to run 1/10th throttle. When you NAIL the pedal, the engine should pull, but I'm sure it does. If it pings at low RPM, take off some static.... but really a 500 in a medium chassis won't stay at low-RPM for long. RPM will rise. At higher RPM you have more turbulence in less time, pinging would be less, so centrifugal weights bring in more advance to keep and raise the torque. If they come in too fast, it pings; too slow, you don't have all the torque you wrestled in there. I'd be most concerned about pinging. (Gas ain't what it used to be.) If it pings, try taking a little more static off, try one jet richer; but you may have to change springs/weights (stronger/lighter).
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The distributor advance kit has a variety of parts in it, like stiff & soft springs, weights etc. for setting up a curve. Total timing that's recommended by the big-block Caddy guys 35-36 degrees, and a high initial.
These guys try everything, so I attempt to learn from their success & failures. They are mostly into the engines, and not Cadillacs in general. Dyno runs for tuning & testing etc.
One guy has just set a record, with over 170 MPH in his class on high land speed runs. He has a blower mounted directly in front, behind the grille......kinda far out....
Mine is gonna be a daily driver, so I don't plan on anything too wild....but I do listen to the guys who know.
I found a stock size transmission pan made of cast aluminum, at Summit Racing. (they know me well by now )
The cast pan has a flat parting surface, which has to be better than embossed "tin".....
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The cast pan has a flat parting surface, which has to be better than embossed "tin".....
for the street, i'd rather have the tin. rock or hard bottom-out cracks cast aluminum part, but only "dents" tin. just my 2c...
--pete
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I hear ya ! :icon_biggrin: Luckily the stock depth is above the level of the the engine pan & cross member. The pans with an extra 2 quart capacity are hanging way too low for me to be comfortable. Getting into a bottoming-out situation would be quite unusual for me, and no off-road baha stuff. :icon_biggrin:
According to the dyno tests of the combo I have, I should be in the area of 440-450 HP and 525+ FT LB of torque, which is fairly easy to get to on a 500 (507 now) Caddy.
That's the reason I went to 9-inch Ford rear end at the beginning of the project. Of course the other advantage there is the removable 3rd member for ratio changes. Swapping ratios in a GM rear end sucks.
I figured I would get this thing finished by the time I was 80, but not so...I was 82 on Friday. I would like to be driving it !
Other projects I'm fooling with : a friend brought an old Gretch amp over from the late 40s that he bought at a garage sale for 20 bucks. (he should have left it there) I made a new chassis for it, since the original is big-time rusty. Currently transferring the rat's nest style wiring over to the new chassis. which has new tube sockets etc....
Another long-term project is a 1947 Luscombe 8E airplane. I didn't like how I did the tail cone on the fuselage earlier, so I drilled the rear 2 feet off & built a new section. The horizontal stab didn't have the correct negative angle of incidence that it was supposed to have. (1.5 degrees) and I couldn't change it without a new skin. So now the angle is correct...
http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/library/Cessna%20120%20resto/1947%20Luscombe%20resto (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/library/Cessna%20120%20resto/1947%20Luscombe%20resto)
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That's the reason I went to 9-inch Ford
what ratio are you running? with moderate cam and headers i liked for auto-trans 3.25 - 3:50.
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Since the Caddy 500 is a torque monster anyway, a low ratio is where it's at. Mine is 2.50:1 Some of the dyno runs have shown max HP at the 3600 to 3900 RPM area on mildly modified Caddy engines. And even the stock torque is listed as 495 ft lb., and that is also up with a bit more cam.
We'll see...and the Ford has a third member ( the "pumkin" ) that's easy enough to change out ratios.
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Drove by the airport today and saw an old V-Tail Bonanza from a group of Sunday morning breakfast fly-ins. They are like hen's teeth around here.
Jim
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Yeah, the V-tail Bonanzas had a problem about 20+ years back, with the tail coming off, due to a weight & balance problem from not being in the CG envelope. I personally like the straight tails like the F-33 Bonanzas.
I'm currently getting radiation treatments on my throat area, like vocal chords. Had one side cleaned off because of being hoarse, and a biopsy showed a few cancer cells, from what I understand. Anyway, it's 5 days a week for six weeks, at 9 Am. Procedure takes about 15 minutes.
And I can't claim "good clean living" as the saying goes ! :icon_biggrin:
I'm currently taking the engine on my Luscombe apart a bit, to verify some of the parts as being legal since some newer Service Bulletins and AD notes came from the feds etc.
And I''m still fooling with the lighting in the hangar I'm going to paint the El Camino in....
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Hey Bill, you take care of yourself! Take your vitamins and get plenty of sleep. Kick it's butt! Your "questionable" living is what gives us all character and makes for good stories with friends! Buddy, you will be in my prayers.
Jim
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Bill,
Looks like you and I were both in Dallas in the 80's.
Praying for you. Hope you heal and have many many yrs ahead to enjoy.
Best regards, Jeff
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I'm currently getting radiation treatments on my throat area, like vocal chords.
do take care. may you have a speedy recovery and a clean "bill" of health. best wishes.
and the Ford has a third member ( the "pumkin" ) that's easy enough to change out ratios.
it is, and "easy" is relative.... :laugh:
--pete
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Bill,
Did you happen to see this midair crash with the skydivers? Wow! Amazing nobody was killed. If you don't know how to fly in formation - don't do it! I'm sure somebody said, "Watch this!"
Jim
Video:Images Show Skydivers' Terrifying Collision And Chaotic Plunge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kWmHbsL4EU#ws)
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I didn't see that on the news. The pilot in the upper airplane didn't have it together very good did he.....lucky bunch of guys there.....
My new cast aluminum transmission oil pan should be here today. Maybe no more oil on the floor after I replace the pan. :dontknow:
I have a mop bucket with mineral spirits in it for cleaning the floor after maintenance, so it's not a big deal to keep the floor cleaned....
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My new aluminum transmission oil pan is bolted on. Tomorrow I'll know it it stopped the seeps & leaks...
I started the engine today, since it hasn't been run for a few months. It lit right off with a few turns. Likely because of good spark, and the 100 octane avgas in the tank ! The avgas is in there mostly because it doesn't turn into crap when sitting for months.
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Good news...the new cast aluminum pan is leak & seep free. :icon_biggrin:
Just discovered that my tail lights & brake lights don't work. Have to check the rear lights harness connector.....
And my LED 3rd brake light stays on when I touch the brakes....I must have a couple wires switched on the little module.....
I may just run a wire to the brake switch on the pedal & eliminate the module, which is the way I should have done it to begin with.....
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When I bought the stainless Borla mufflers & pipes etc, I also bought a pair of really nice tips, not cheap !, highly polished etc, for the tail pipes...stainless of course. Seems like they wont quite slide on the tail pipes. Either the pipes are a bit oversize, or the tips a bit under..
So I have to take some metal off of one or the other to get them to fit right...
Just another on the list of minor details to work on over the winter...
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Bill, take the tips to a local FRIENDLY muffler shop. Since it is SS, they can use an expander (does not work well with chrome...) and open it up slightly. Hopefully they can do it for free or if a local, a six pack!
Jim
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Hey, that's a good idea ! :icon_biggrin: I had a slight bend put on a stainless exhaust pipe by them, for nothing, even though I was willing to pay for it.
These tips have the Chevy logo shape on the outlets. Don't remember what that logo is called....
I had a busy few days this week......we had a wind storm, with winds that some claimed were 60+ MPH in some areas.
Anyway, the wind took about six feet of shingles off of my house, just below the peak, on one section. Took me two days to replace them. Easy job except for the 9-12 pitch on my roof ! I'm not as nimble as when I built the house in the 80s, so I attached a sissy rope to the peak, to keep from sliding off of the roof :icon_biggrin:
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The logo?
Cheap Heaps for EVery Youngster
Jim :icon_biggrin:
ps, that's not a sissy rope, that's good sense!
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I gotta tell that one to my Chevy friends ! And my Ford friends will like it ! :icon_biggrin:
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Don't remember what that logo is called....
bowtie...
Cracked
Heads
Every
Valve
Rattles
Oil
Leaks
Every
Time
+1 on the muff shoppe for the exhaust tips.
glad you got the pan leaks sorted.
--pete
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After looking at the tips, when I slipped them on, I really didn't like the look. I think I'll get a different pair, like the tips on my Malibu, which are copies of some old Chevy muscle car tips.
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/Malibu/P1011275_zpsd017a1e9.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/Malibu/P1011275_zpsd017a1e9.jpg.html)
Just a simple oval shape...
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So after deciding on the exhaust tips, I was checking all the lights. Seems like the tail lights didn't want to work right. And I had went through the harness etc and even replaced a couple sockets. ANd the third brake light, the LED strip I put in the rear window, wouldn't go off when the pedal was released. It has a module in the wiring that's supposed to take care of that. I chopped it out. Gonna run a wire to the brake light switch above the brake pedal.
And the turn signals need help.... :BangHead: all new bulbs might do it...
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I really need to get this thing painted this coming summer. My old airplane partner is in a nursing home now, and his wife died a few weeks ago.
So the children will likely want to sell the property, including the hangars, landing strip, and two houses that are on the property. They treat me like one of the family, but realistically, they will have to settle the estate I suppose.
I do have all the paint supplies (think big $$$), so maybe it will get finished.
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In regard to the Chevy "bow-tie" tail pipe tips, I cut the end off of those on my power hack saw, and worked the ends to an oval shape. I need to quit buying things twice.... :cussing:
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So Bill, are you going to buy some investment aviation property?!?! Wow, that's too bad. Is there another FBO that you can work out of? Or will this be it for your aviation career? If they do sell it, maybe you can pal up to the new owners!
Jim
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I do only one airplane at that location, because that one is based there now. He will have to go someplace else. The rest of my work is at two other local airports. I have no interest in the place where the Elco project is located, once it's painted & finished.
Hard to say when the property will be sold. There are three daughters that have to decide on how to get it sold. I'm like one of the family there, so I'm not being pushed about being there, and I'll help them get it sold if possible.
Meanwhile, I working on "the winter project" ! The 1947 Luscombe. Doing the fit on the engine cowl, which is partly fiberglass, bottom and nose, with aluminum top & doors. Finished some mods on the tail section of the fuselage. It's in our aircraft shop at a local airport, which is heated all the time.
I may have to start a new thread for that.!
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Meanwhile, I working on "the winter project" ! The 1947 Luscombe. Doing the fit on the engine cowl, which is partly fiberglass, bottom and nose, with aluminum top & doors. Finished some mods on the tail section of the fuselage. It's in our aircraft shop at a local airport, which is heated all the time.
I may have to start a new thread for that.!
I would very much like to see that!
Jim
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Here is the bottom engine cowl I'm working on....
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/Cessna%20120%20resto/1947%20Luscombe%20resto/P1011447_zps82a361f2.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/Cessna%20120%20resto/1947%20Luscombe%20resto/P1011447_zps82a361f2.jpg.html)
I built this fuselage from the ground up. There is only one original skin on it, the one under the pilot's seat.
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Well, it's getting a bit warmer here, so I'm back on the "summer project." Remember....I never said which summer ! :icon_biggrin:
I'm working on tail light grounds, which seem to be a problem in the lamp sockets. And running a separate wire for my 3rd brake light.
Meanwhile, I bought a pair of rear frame braces, from Global West. They get bolted to the lower front control arms, with longer bolts, into the lower arm mounts. The upper ends get bolted to the cross-member, just under the upper rear control arm mounts. I have to drill 1/2 inch bolt holes in the cross frame for those
GM used these on some years of Chevelles, that came with the big block engines. Don't know how much torque the 507 inch Caddy is gonna have, but I figured the braces may be a good idea.......
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I did get the rear lights wiring fixed. Turned out to be a bad ground in one tail/brake light socket. It was a trap...the socket looked quite good. The found a break in a splice in the wire bundle, for another ground.
And have a new wire running the 3rd brake light, which is an LED strip. And it's really bright ! :icon_biggrin:
Meanwhile, I'm still picking away at an old Gretch amp, which needed a new chassis.....
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I'm at the "summer project" again. My oldest son helped me bolt the hood to it's hinges. It needs a lot of adjusting to fit correctly, and that's not a five minute job. :icon_biggrin:
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It seems that the hood isn't wide enough ! :think1: I have to re-adjust the front of the doors, to keep alignment with the fenders and the rear mounting of the fenders, to move them in a bit, to get the gap closed up between the hood & fenders.
Not a fun job, but it is what it is...
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It seems that I'm out of adjustments to get the gaps a bit narrower between the hood & fenders. Maybe I'll just live with it.
Otherwise, I'll have to elongate the holes in the door hinges a bit... :dontknow: At least I have a door mounting fixture that makes dealing with the heavy ( 115 lbs w/o the guts ) doors easier. It's a rack-like rig on casters.
And, my new trans pan is leaking in the front, just like the old one :BangHead: Haven't investigated that yet. Just might be coming from someplace else....
No dull moments in this project....
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A friend came to help me on Monday, and after lots of fooling with the front clip, we have the hood adjusted & the hood latch working right.....
I also found the gremlin in the dome light wiring :cussing:
So now I'm sanding on the body, and putting off finding the leak in the trans pan...... :w2:
But the engine starts very quick, and runs great, and sounds really mean !
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So now I'm checking all the primed body surfaces and fooling with scratches & divits, which is why the primers is blotchy looking !. Soon I will prime the body with red primer, after it's masked....
At least the hood fits now...
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011515_zps8e60de95.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011515_zps8e60de95.jpg.html)
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/P1011515_zps8e60de95.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/P1011515_zps8e60de95.jpg.html)
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So now it's all masked off, and I'm sanding the self-etching primer and putting grey ( they didn't have any red in stock ) primer-surfacer on.
I hate sanding,and so does my arthritis ......and I'm finding a few real little dings I didn't see earlier, that I have to fill & fix..
Hope to get it painted before it gets too cold here...
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Today I finished with the sanding of the primer, and cleaning the body of dust etc, and vacuuming the floor,etc..
This pic was from when I was going to close the hood until after paint. Tomorrow is paint day...base coat, and clear coat...
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011536_zpsb81b8071.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011536_zpsb81b8071.jpg.html)
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Today I finished with the sanding of the primer, and cleaning the body of dust etc, and vacuuming the floor,etc..
This pic was from when I was going to close the hood until after paint. Tomorrow is paint day...base coat, and clear coat...
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011536_zpsb81b8071.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011536_zpsb81b8071.jpg.html)
nice. what color are you going to shoot?
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The color is Firethorn, which is a red metallic.. My '74 Malibu is that color also.
Anyway, this morning I put the base coats on, then came home and mowed my lawn. After that & lunch, I went back & applied two wet coats of clear.
I'll get pics later after the masking is pulled off...
It' has to be fine sanded & polished yet of course, which is the downside of the base/clear stuff...
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Here's the rear...
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011574_zps91d0dfbe.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011574_zps91d0dfbe.jpg.html)
And the front... lots of parts & trim to put on yet....
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011569_zps5577ad46.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011569_zps5577ad46.jpg.html)
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WOW!!!!! That's a beautiful red!!!!!!
Brad :bravo1:
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bill, very, very nice! cool shade of red. can't wait to see completed pics.
--pete
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Thanks for the kind words ! At least I got it painted just before it cooled off here....like from the high 70s down to the 50s...
No heat in that building...
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At this point, I'm in no hurry to get into the wet color sanding and buffing, until the clear coat cures & hardens more.
And the transmission still leaks on the floor ! :cussing:
I may have to pull the transmission & find out what the hell is leaking. Front seal is OK, so maybe the big O ring on the pump is the culprit.....
The engine runs good though !
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Well, it's about time to put it on jack stands, and remove the leaky transmission. I can hardly wait ! :think1: I also have some frame braces to install, to beef up the rear cross frame and control arm attachments. Luckily a friend has a transmission jack that I can use....
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I have it up on stands. Have to remove the exhaust pipes and the "H" pipe in order to remove the cross member. Luckily I have the entire exhaust system done with band clamps instead of the U bolt type, so it should come apart easy enough..
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Today I removed everything in the way of pulling the trans out, except bell housing bolts. Should have it out to search the leak source tomorrow or Saturday.....
Going back in may take a few minutes longer... :icon_biggrin:
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I heard that custom Motorcycle that was on TV in Orange Calf could not pass the state emissions there
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Trans is out, leak fixed ( big O-ring on the pump ) and it's ready to wrestle back in behind the engine. The fun just never stops it seems...
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Trans is out, leak fixed ( big O-ring on the pump )
You got it!
(Wasn't that thing eluding you for a while?)
Brad :icon_biggrin:
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Yes ! With the converter in there, I couldn't see the front seal, pump seal etc , even though it was the leak area.
I have it back in & bolted to the engine. Now it's the easy stuff, to finish it, like drive shaft & exhaust ...
Then it's back to color sanding, which was interrupted by the ATF puddle on the floor ! :icon_biggrin:
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Gosh I hated pulling trannies. If they only went together as easy as they slide apart...... :BangHead: :BangHead: :BangHead: :cussing: :cussing: :cussing:
Jim
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A transmission jack really works good when installing a trans. Getting one out works with a floor jack with a chunk of half-inch plywood bolted to the jack pad, because it can be slid off onto the floor. On the trans jack, it has to be hoisted to get it off & back on.
Time to try out my new buffer/polisher. It's a variable speed type, which should do the job OK....
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A transmission jack really works good when installing a trans.
it helps. i've wedged in many C6, C4, TH350 & TH400 with just a floor jack and 2 x 6. the FMX were the worst: heavy POS - cast iron body.
a solid trans jack with good tilt pedestal is really nice to have though when it's a one-man operation.
glad you got it sorted, just in time for a spring cruise... :-)
--pete
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Beautiful Build, I miss my Hot Rod days. I changed a TH350 in my Nova SS on the street once in the rain with a standard floor jack and lumber. I didnt care, there was racing to be done
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The current pain in the butt is the sanding of the clear coat. I hate sanding & body work anyway..... :cussing:
I have some frame braces that need to be installed yet, which brace the rear cross member to the rear control arm mounts. They are supposed to keep the cross member from cracking when a big torque load is loaded on the rear end control arms.
I wouldn't need them with the small block Chevy, but the Caddy is a torque monster....... :think1:
And I need to find new speakers for the rear. There are factory grille holes in the rear door post trim, but only room for speakers with a bit less than 2 inch depth. :dontknow:
I have new Pioneer 4 X 6 types which are just not thin enough :BangHead:
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Call Crutchfield (http://www.crutchfield.com/). They usually know what speaker fits any car/truck.
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http://www.crutchfield.com/car/carselector.aspx?lp=%2fCar%2foutfitmycar%2fcar.aspx (http://www.crutchfield.com/car/carselector.aspx?lp=%2fCar%2foutfitmycar%2fcar.aspx)
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That's a 511 big block in the Caddy wasn't it? Those were beasts
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My parents had a 2 door, white, hard top Caddy with that big 500+ engine in it. Man that thing was smooooth on the highway!
Brad :icon_biggrin:
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In regard to Crutchfield, I plan on calling them about thinner speakers. I get their catalogs all the time. They usually don't show stuff for cars this old ! I may use the little 4X4 speakers in the doors, if there is room....
My engine is from a '76 Coupe DeVille that I had, a 500 inch, that's now 507 with the +.030 over-bore.
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> They usually don't show stuff for cars this old !
They been in business a long time. They seem to measure every speaker on the market. They survive despite brutal competition *because* they can help. Try their robo-lookup, but in this case I'd also call. (It is possible one of their staff knows your truck and its specific speaker pocket.)
And yes, a good 4" round *may* beat the slim pickings in 4x6 size. I making assume the adapter plate won't trouble you. (But ask. Crutchfield may have a pre-made plate.)
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My buddy has been helping with the wet sanding, and one day he shows up with a new dual-action sander that has a little water hose on it, that feeds water through the special sanding discs. It works really great.
Buffing is done except for the right door, which I need to re-paint part of.
I just got my camera back from being fixed, So I'll have to get more photos soon...
Too many interruptions with fixing family cars an working on airplanes.
I've been replacing generators on older airplanes with alternator kits. Best thing to happen to old airplanes !
Generators are usually old Delcos. Parts hard to find etc. Delco hasn't made aircraft electrical parts since 1968, so OEM & after market is drying up.
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> replacing generators on older airplanes with alternator kits. Best thing to happen to old airplanes !
My tractor runs a generator. Will it fly higher with an alternator?
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My tractor runs a generator. Will it fly higher with an alternator?
:laugh:
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PRR,
Are you confusing alternator with supercharger? They both can run off the same belt, but only one will make you fly....
Jim :icon_biggrin:
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I've rebuilt a few 6 volt generators on old Farmall tractors. I figure that if they worked for 75+ years, they will still work OK.
There are aftermarket 6 volt modified Delco alternators for old systems.
I did one on a Farmall A. Well, even after I marked the battery cables & told the guy it has to be a negative ground, he replaced the battery & hooked it up the old way...positive ground......and wiped out the new alternator :think1:
I could have likely fixed the alternator, but....with a fence post for a brain, he would likely have done it again. I gave up on him...
I'm putting the trim moldings & mirrors back on the El Camino project.. Soon I'll have to fork over for new tires :BangHead:
I'm kinda anxious to do a few burn-outs with it ! :icon_biggrin:
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Bumpers are back on...still have to snap the rubber impact things back on the bumper guards.....
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011730_zpseda7e96b.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011730_zpseda7e96b.jpg.html)
And here's the rear....
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011735_zps67936566.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011735_zps67936566.jpg.html)
Still needs some more buffing, when I get it out of the building where there is more light...
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A couple days ago, I took it out on the runway at this private airstrip where I rebuilt it. I wanted to check how the transmission shifts etc ( it's working OK )
Being a grass airstrip, I didn't do anything crazy. No traction !
I believe it's going to be fun driver though !
I did run it for a short run on the concrete driveway alongside the runway, to my buddy's house though, and couldn't keep the old rear tires from smoking when touching the gas pedal. New tires will help......
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A guy stopped by a few days ago, just to see what I was working on in this hangar. After he looked at my project, he asked about the engine, and I told him that it's just a 305 Chevy engine, with new paint.
And I didn't even bat an eye while spreading the BS ! :icon_biggrin:
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011025_zps68de546c.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011025_zps68de546c.jpg.html)
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Stock SBC distributor is at the other end, jammed tight to the firewall.
How clever of you to move it forward where you can reach it.
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ya kno, that kinda looks like a B wedge... :BangHead:
but not really. :icon_biggrin:
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> looks like a B wedge...
In a GM? Blasphemy!
I did have the same thought. But I recall Mopar's distributor on the other side?
The neighbor got-in a Hudson Eight. 1940. Apparently it (and three others) was in a nailed-shut garage for 50 years.
The crank felt seized, but he talked to it a few days and it turns well. The valves (flathead) are sticking lightly but I'm sure he will sort that out. The brakes cleaned-up nice (iron un-worn but rubber rotted). The interior is beautiful (apparently no mice).
Hudson's heyday was a Six. Later they made the Eight but apparently about the same length as the Six. If you work out the geometry, such an 8 is *smaller* displacement than the 6. Actually the older 6 didn't push the envelope, the 8 is tightly packed. Still only grew to 258 CID. (<3" bore on 5" stroke) Did sell well (in the period when about every Ford was an 8). Postwar, Hudson realized they would never grow a OHV V-8, so they pushed their Flattie Six to the limit, around 308 CID, a potent mill for the early 1950s. An outside project brought in some head refinements, which became factory parts, and Hudson had a few years in front of NASCAR. But all the non-big-3 car companies collapsed into AMC and that was the end of that.
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I almost bought a Hudson Hornet with the 308 six in it, from a guy at work. back in the late 50s. It had a GM Hydramatic transmission in it. But it steered very hard ( no power), or maybe I would have bought it. Actually a nice car.....
The Hornets gave the Olds 88 a hard time on the road, which is pretty good for a flat head engine..
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I did have the same thought. But I recall Mopar's distributor on the other side?
it is on the other side... since bill was telling tall tales about the SBC...
In a GM? Blasphemy!
folks put a SBC chevy in 30's and 40's ford chassis', now that's blasphemy! at least it is to me since ford actually has some decent v8's. b wedge is a great engine if you avoid the weaker production 440 rods. i prefer the LA family 340.
The neighbor got-in a Hudson Eight. 1940. Apparently it (and three others) was in a nailed-shut garage for 50 years.
cool cars. is it a hornet?
--pete
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Not a Hornet. (AFAIK they were all Sixes. And later.) A Boss's Large 4dr Sedan, with desk for writing checks.
> folks put a SBC chevy in 30's and 40's ford chassis', now that's blasphemy! at least it is to me since ford actually has some decent v8's.
I was thinking why we (most folks) accept a SBC 350 in *everything*, from Ford to Graham-Paige. I think it goes back to Tex Smith, who passed only this year (http://www.hotrod.com/news/1506-tex-smith-the-passing-one-of-hot-rod-magazines-and-industrys-pioneers/). Around 1960 he wrote a series of articles explaining how to put a Chevy V-8 in a Model A. Today a workable A is too precious to cut-up, but in 1960 there was one behind every barn. And the Chevy V-8 had been around just long enough that you could pick one up in any junkyard for less than any other working engine. And the Ford V-8s of the day were crap, flathead-in-A was over-done, and the Mopars were too heavy for a small roadster. Tex even had you run the Chevy with the A's gearbox and rear axle! He said it would break if you did any soup-up, but he was right that driveline stress is limited by traction, so if you went light and used the hard stock tires of the day, you could drive around with a modern V-8.
The "good" Ford didn't come out until 1963, wasn't junk inventory until late 1960s, and by that time the SBC had -so- much support (souping and adapting) that it never caught on. (And early production 260/289s were not all that good; the SBC is a better design and often better built. The later 351W is solid as a rock, but as big as an SBC, and mostly sold smog-choked.)
Even in heavier cars and racers, the Hemi didn't catch on until Garlits blew the Y-block in his truck and figured he needed a bigger engine to climb the passes. A DeSoto was the biggest engine in the junkyard. Then he blew the flattie in his dragster, and his wife told him to try the engine in the truck. The bone-stock DeSoto blew-away all the carefully honed engines in the meet. When everybody had an (old) Hemi, Don got the GMC blower. (Not sure who first tipped the Nitro in.) The heyday of dragsters blew-up all the old Hemis, but for other reasons (NASCAR) there was the New Hemi. As they chewed-through the small production, Black and others moved from mods to complete engines based on the Hemi.(For slightly less grunt and bread, Mopar has some 1966-ish Hemi crate motors.)
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And the Ford V-8s of the day were crap,
The "good" Ford didn't come out until 1963, wasn't junk inventory until late 1960s, and by that time the SBC had -so- much support (souping and adapting) that it never caught on. (And early production 260/289s were not all that good; the SBC is a better design and often better built. The later 351W is solid as a rock, but as big as an SBC, and mostly sold smog-choked.)
The early FE designs didn't hit their stride until the 390 and were basically truck engines. The second gen FE 406 was a match for the venerable 409 and there were many a great matchup at the drag strips. Many of those second gen FE engines found their way to the race tracks.
The side oiler wedge motors were awesome beasts with thrashings and winnings at Le Mans and other long distance races to prove it. Tunnelport...oooooooh! SOHC...ahhhhh! The blown SOHC cammer motor was a Hemi killer - IF you could keep the 60 ft of timing chains in check! Heck naturally aspirated out of the crate it produced something like 670HP and was the only motor in history banned from NASCAR (due to the wah, wah, wah, from Mopar who was already getting spanked by the tunnelport).
Ok the 260 was not so hot, but the 289/302 was a great engine! Even with two bolt mains were easy 7,000rpm spinners with the right springs. The 351W was a choked down utility/boat engine with small valves and horrid flow.
The 351 Cleveland was bulletproof and with the right trimmings (351 Boss) was an incredible motor. De-stroked with a steel Boss 302 crank and you have a 10K spinner all day. The Cleveland head was a brilliant design.
So yes there were LOADs of junkyard Cheap Heaps for Every Youngster parts out there (for a reason!). However, the mighty (although in the minority and often maligned - out of jealousy I might add...) Fords were holding down the performance milestones (and we haven't even touched on Indy OR F1!).
And my royal flush of this card game to trump any response..... Who the heck would put a distributor on the BACK of a motor!!!!
Ahhh, you bow tie guys and misguided Mostly Old Parts And Rust lemmings, how silly you think the world revolves around you...... :icon_biggrin:
First On Race Day
Jim :help:
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Come on. Be brave. Just stand up and say "My name is Jim and I'm a FORD". :icon_biggrin:
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My name is Jim and after one too many (make that many too many) Fix Or Repair Daily events totaling up from a 1983 diesel dually, a 90 something Taurus, a 90 something Sable, and a 94 diesel dually - changed me into a Honda/Toyota/Subaru! There were a few bright spots along the way however, (2) 88 Tbird turbo coupes - one of the best cars in the history of automobiles and the Yamaha powered Taurus SHO. Not enough to prevent my conversion tho....
But don't mess with my 60's and 70's Fords! :icon_biggrin:
Jim
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But don't mess with my 60's and 70's Fords! :icon_biggrin:
That's what Rory Gallagher said too!
Souped Up Ford :blob8:
https://youtu.be/WvtD2c6Xxd4 (https://youtu.be/WvtD2c6Xxd4)
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AND had it not been for his "Flat head Ford", Billy and Dusty would have never met Precious and Grace while "cruising down the boulevard"!
Jim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBgqzvviTrQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBgqzvviTrQ)
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Love it! That's my fav ZZ album! :blob8:
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SBC was a better fit because it has a rear sump oil pan. the 332/352 fords were in junkyards and just as good as SBC, however, they are a front sump so oil pan would not fit over 32/33 coupe front axle and that's likely the real reason there + there were more SBC performance parts available at lower cost, so SBC made sense.
in then end you have ford body, chevy engine and trans with a ford rear end. what a bastard franken child.
Who the heck would put a distributor on the BACK of a motor!!!!
duntov did that to simplify the oiling system and make a rear sump power plant: duntov knew what he was doing. all ford V8 of 50-60-70's are front distributor, so they are front oil pump and sump and installing in hot rod you have to install them more rearward or forward: in smaller chassis this is next to impossible, unless you relocate the oil pickup tube and build you own rear sump pan. there are exceptions - later 70's-80's 4WD truck FE and 385 Lima were rear sump, so you buy truck parts and retrofit to FE or 385 Lima in hot rod.
BTW jim, cryco had a legitimate gripe to disallow 427 SOHC since it was not a production engine. FIA outlawed the 427 for dominating lemans simply because no other manufacturer had a big block V8 that performed as well as the 427 side oiler at the time. sad.
FORD - backwards... Driver Returns On Foot :icon_biggrin:
--pete
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> Who the heck would put a distributor on the BACK of a motor!!!!
Keeps the splash off.
Today you can run a hose over an ignition system without a burp. But I sure remember when even a little damp killed the engine. Better insulation.
> Tunnelport...oooooooh! SOHC...ahhhhh!
Exactly. All the Ford mills designed in the 1950s had pushrods where the valve ports should be. They made the ports skinny, they even stacked them up, but they were still mediocre breathers. TunnelPort was never a production option (it was dealer installed), and was a bit ugly, though it did finally make the FE breathe.
The SOHC, rare for good reason, ran into other problems. NASCAR banned it on sight. And I wonder if that chain would have stood 500 miles. The kits got shunted into 1/4 mile work, and they burned the FE's main bearings at RPMs which the Hemi took fine (for 7 seconds). The strange cure was to turn-DOWN the main bearings to fit the smaller Hemi bearing (and shim-up behind that). The surface speed (circumference times RPM) was just a little high for even few-second life at obscene RPM on the bearings of the day.
Which is no knock on the FE as a truck engine, but by '67-'68 even Ford was tired of the FE as a luxury car engine and brought out the 428, their first (post-WWII) large engine which would breathe.
IMHO, early 289s are fragile and often sludged-up before 100K miles, long before a 283 would throw its chain. The oil-pump shaft was as thick as a pencil and twisted easier. (SE oil would have been a real help, but it was all SC in those days.) There's also the awful non-seal at the front of the intake manifold (better silicone helped later).
The 351W has the same heads as the base 289/302 (extra bolt hole?). The breathing is entirely fine for the low aspirations of that period. I had a set of Hi-Po 302 heads I cudda put on my 351, but never did. (Wouldn't make sense without changing the 2.5:1 axle, also spark and carb.
I got out of the 351W and into a Honda. Much like the CB750 bike of my boyhood, with doors and more tires (but still transverse Four with meaty exhaust plumbing). It has half the miles of my 351W and I am not happy. There may be a problem with the IAC, but the ECU is doing something stupid about it, makes the car nasty to drive. And now the SRS light won't go out. Not to mention the airbag recall, non-recall, and now recall again. I left it at the dealer open-ended.
I do still have a FORD. 1967(?) 200 CID 3-cylinder. No distributor either.
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Only Ford small block I had was in a '63 Fairlane. It was the first of that family, a 221 Cu In little powerhouse ! Amazing zip for a little engine.
A good replacement for the Y block for sure...My experience with the Y blocks was all bad...upper end oiling problems etc..
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I would use a small block Ford in a project, with no qualms. They don't seem to be around much here, while the SBC engines are all over the place.
I have a 350 and a 305, and a 327 sitting around here, along with a 454 tall block. I chose the Caddy just to try something different.
I recently added rear frame braces and a transmission cooler to my project, along with two new tires......two more to go as the budget allows !
So it's mostly all together now. The wheels & tires on it are old ones that came with the body. I have new Chevy rally type wheels for it...
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011744_zpscrw2qk0a.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20Restoration/P1011744_zpscrw2qk0a.jpg.html)
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> and a 327 sitting around here,
i'd hang on to that - forged crank goodness there...small or large journal 327?
--pete
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I would use a small block Ford in a project, with no qualms.
up into the late 90's you could pick a rebuild-able 351 2V cleveland block for 100 bux. can't touch them now for less 500 to a grand, and they're usually already at max bore dia.
what i'd build: 1972 2V 351C with an aftermarket 4V intake manifold with 1970 2V heads with 10:1 compression pistons. 270-280 duration with .5" lift on the intake. should easily make 350HP.
--pete
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Just checking in !! I'm still vertical :icon_biggrin: And I still have an amp on the bench which refuses to work :cussing: I've built six of these, and it's a simple amp. The output stage ( PP 6V6s) is working, but the pre & PI isn't. I refuse to give up on it though, and I WILL find the problem !
I decided last fall to forget about flying anymore. The risk goes up with age, (84) and I've been at it since 1965. Lack of interest is creeping into the picture also...and I'm beginning to get tired..
The El Camino is ready for the shake-down cruise, but haven't got to it yet. At least the radio I installed in it works great !
I need one more tire for it yet, for the spare.
The tires & wheels in this pic were on it during the resto. New rally wheels & tires on it now....
And, I'm trying to get the right tail pipe tucked up farther....
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/P1011744_zpsfufzmy8n.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/P1011744_zpsfufzmy8n.jpg.html)
I have two airplanes apart at the same time right now. One is just some engine work ( changing a cylinder ) and the other one is getting an annual inspection after sitting in the hangar since 2011. No big rush on that one, and it will likely go up for sale.
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up into the late 90's you could pick a rebuild-able 351 2V cleveland block for 100 bux. can't touch them now for less 500 to a grand, and they're usually already at max bore dia.
what i'd build: 1972 2V 351C with an aftermarket 4V intake manifold with 1970 2V heads with 10:1 compression pistons. 270-280 duration with .5" lift on the intake. should easily make 350HP.
I guess that I've lost touch with the prices of such. 351 Clevelands were a passion of mine, back in the day. I still have two 4-barrel engines, and one 2-barrel engine, out under the shed. And, a '66 top-load transmission for a small-block Ford. One of the 4-barrel engines and the top-load were purchased on a pallet, from a local junk yard. Ran the engine (as-is) in my '71 pickup truck for years. Single-barrel Fish carburetor (replica) with adapter plate. Picked several of these carbs from Mike Brown, back in the early 80's. I have one original that I don't plan to use.
Anyway, Clevelands are sleepers. Especially, the 2-barrel engines. Ports are as big as the big-port small blocks. The ports on the 335 series 4-barrel engines were as big as any of the big block models. I built my 2-barrel with 13:1 static compression, but reduced it to 9:1 with valve timing. Man, what a strong engine. It spun a rod bearing, and was removed. Never opened it up. I'm not hard on engines, so it was one of those flukes. I rarely build anything engine related, these days. Occasion old MC work.
Jack
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The "summer project" is complete, but waiting for snow to go away before test runs, front-end alignment, tire smoke ( :icon_biggrin: ) etc.
Meanwhile.......my niece has given me an '87 El Camino that she hasn't used for a few years. I'm not up to doing the body-off thing again, so it will be just be fixed up to drive. It has a nice interior, and some surface rust along the bottom etc.
I will likely swap the boat anchor 305 engine out for a 350 I have though, but will keep all the electronic CCC controls, because of lock-up converter, cruise control etc, that are controlled by the ECU/BCU etc.
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The El Camino is doing OK, tire smoke etc....
I saw this pic & thought you folks might like it !
(https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13680644_10153898402642956_7535579054244861196_n.jpg?oh=f2343ce3c9dd169389eac0f53a22c224&oe=5824A24E)
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:laugh:
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Ohmmm, good to see you around. Been too loooong!
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Ditto!!! You need to get out of the hanger and send me pics!!! :icon_biggrin:
Jim
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This picture is from last winter. The wheels are not what's on it now. They were on there during the resto...
Had it out on the taxi street at the airport today ( no cops ) and lots of tire smoke while checking the speedometer. I need to change the driven gear for it in the transmission tail housing....it reads too high...
(http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss52/steelybill/El%20Camino%20resto/P1011744_zpsfufzmy8n.jpg) (http://s561.photobucket.com/user/steelybill/media/El%20Camino%20resto/P1011744_zpsfufzmy8n.jpg.html)
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I've been driving the El Camino occasionally, but the AC isn't finished yet, so cool days only !! Cooler this week, so it will get some use. More fun to drive than a pickup truck !!
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How's it going Bill? Good to see you're still doing projects.
Barry
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Hi Barry !
I'm slow at responding these days !! :icon_biggrin: My current item on the bench in my basement is a table model radio, a tube type made in Japan. Nice radio for the basement. It has the Rice Krispies problem,,snap crackle & pop ! It does it even with the volume all the way off, so I have to replace some resistors I believe. Schematic is on the inside of the cabinet but very small to see very good.
It's an AC filiment string type, 2-prong plug etc, so I make sure I'm on carpet when fooling with it !
Last Tuesday I arrived alive at 85 !! :icon_biggrin: Still taking care of about 15 airplanes. It changes every year. Keeping all the cars running & maintained takes up some time also.
Last week all the gauges quit working in my 2003 Chevy pickup. Took it to the local dealer, and they found that mice had chewed the wiring behind the gauges ! They replace the gauge panel...$720. exchange and repaired wiring.
More fun to come !! El Camino is running strong !, and really hauls ass !! HAHA !
Bill
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Guess what ! I'm still above ground ! My El Camino project is mostly a daily driver these days, being that it's Summer.
Still doing inspections and minor repairs on airplanes, and keeping all the cars running.
My last amp project is still sitting on the bench, and not working right, for some reason !
Last guitar refurb project was done last winter, and it was another Rickenbacher A-25 "frypan", the early 30s cast aluminum type. It had been worked on some years ago, and bondo filled & painted. Had to strip the paint, TIG weld a bunch of holes shut, & put holes where they were supposed to be. It was for another Hawaiian friend.....
(http://el34world.com/Forum/file:///C:/Users/William/Documents/dads%20pics/My%20Pictures/camera%20xfer/P1011899.JPG)
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good to read, bill. hope all is well.
picture didn't post.
--pete
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good to read, bill. hope all is well.
Yes. :icon_biggrin:
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Well, it's been an "interesting' winter so far ! The local hospitals know me by my first name ! :icon_biggrin: Turns out that I had a nasty kidney infection, I was low on iron (!), and my git-up had got-up & gone !! All this started on my birthday, in October,for some strange reason !
Anyway, things are looking up ! I'm too stubborn to let this stuff mess with my projects & fun ! Still need to have my bladder cleaned out. That one is gonna have me put under, so I may miss the fun procedure.
The urologist's helper ( she is a really cute girl !) checked my prostate ! The he came in & checked it also, and I asked if anyone else wanted to check it ! :icon_biggrin:
Been driving my El Camino a bit. The heater works great in it ! I'm still fooling with a table model radio, to get the noise out of the audio stage. And the last amp I'm building isn't cooperating. Not really sure where or if I have a wiring issue. One of the amps I gave away has come back for fixing. I built that one with a PT and rectifier tube from a Sony reel-to-reel player. EZ80 tube is a 6 volt heater, and looking at rectifers with that heater voltage, tells me that the EZ80 is still better one for that, so I'll have to get one....and so it goes...
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> The urologist's helper ( she is a really cute girl !) checked my prostate !
Who do you go to? I need a prostate check. :icon_biggrin:
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Knowing my luck, I would go there and get the OTHER helper - Bubba with the extra large hands.... :sad2:
Jim
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Some of those pretty girls have fingers like corn cobs! :huh:
Good to hear from you Bill. Whenever you feel like tackling those amps just come on in. Door's always open. Take care my friend.
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Bill, great to hear from you! Thanks for posting and letting us know how you're doing.
With respect, Jeff
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Bill, good to read you're back and healing. Do take care. Smokey burn-outs in the El Cam?
Regards.
--Pete
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Thanks for all the kind words ! I've been taking it easy with the El Camino, because the rear tires are expensive !! :icon_biggrin:
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Greetings ! I have survived Xmas OK ! Last summer was filled with radiation treatments, and some chemo to top it off !!And, I DID get my last amp project to work right ! Still don't know what the problem was.. One of my son's friends has an electric/acoustic guitar that he plays without an amp...doesn't have one. I'm gonna give him this one, when I get it in the cabinet. Maybe I'l build something different... We sold two airplanes this past summer, but I'm still doing inspections on around 12 airplanes. It varies, with some being sold, and last week a friend flipped his over while landing on a soft private airstrip.....totaled it ! Didn't get hurt though. When I started doing inspections on that one, I talked him into the shoulder harness installation. Good thing I did !! No snow here..green/brown Xmas this year !
Happy New Year folks
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Bill
Great to hear from you!! You need to slow down and take care of yourself young man.... That’s an order! How is the car doing? Does the local law enforcement know where you live now!? Have a fantastic and healthy 2019 and dont be such a stranger!
Jim
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Hey Richie ! There is a sheriff's sub station about a block from my house ! They know who I am etc, but I don't fool around here, which is on a state highway !...
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Haha! I wanted to let you know I never did go to the Velocity manufacturer for a checkout. I have two girls in college so I will have to wait a little longer. I didn't want to waste their time - although it would have been fun! Heck, by the time the kids get off my payroll, I will probably not be able to pass my medical.... Do you ever get to Oshkosh? That might be on my 2019 bucket list. I've seen some cockpit videos with tower chat of those flying in - NO THANKS!!!!
Jim
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I went to Oshkosh about 6 times years ago, but lost interest in recent years. I would rather go the Hawaii again & play Hawaiian music with my friends there !! :icon_biggrin:
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Ok now your just bragging, I don't want to talk to you any more....
Jim :icon_biggrin:
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Ok now your just bragging, I don't want to talk to you any more....
Jim :icon_biggrin:
:l2:
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It's the hula girls !! They do get my attention ! :icon_biggrin:
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Cool, an El Camino project! I almost started on one about five years ago. Local guy had a 1970 Camino he siad he would sell me for $500. It was a 307/PG and that was the same as my first car which was a 1970 Malibu. 2dr. hdtp. I loved that car. have always wished I had it back. After I calculated how much money I would have into the camino restoring it, I decided to build a boat instead... LOL I'll post that story in a separate thread. Needless to say, I didn;t get the El Camino.
As for ford motors and thunderbirds, in my young and more foolish day's, I purchased a 1947 Willys Jeep. Someone had swapped out the 4cyl motor for a Ford 5.0 Windsor from a Thunderbird and had lifted it and put 36" Ground Hawg tires on it. Ironically, neither they nor myslef thought about how to stop that thing once it was moving. I bought it for $600 and drove it 30 mi. home up the mountain. That was the scariest ride I ever took. It bounced more than it rolled and it wouldn;t stop with those tiny brakes and big tires. It never left the yard after that.
It had a dual range tranny. I could put it in second gear in high range, dump the clutch and spin all four tires. The electricla system was a mess. Badly converted 6v system all hacked up. Sold it a few years later for 800.
Right now, we have a 1987 camaro sport coupe in the garage that my sone bought and is in the process of restoring. it is the 2.8L MPFI 6cyl. It will most likely end up spending the rest of its life with a 4.8 or 5.3L LS based motor as soon as the 2.8 throws a rod (has a bad knock)
Would love to see a picture of the camino.
If you have any pics of your camino project