Hot Rods The "Whatever" project

And perusing the front of the car, you're correct in that crossmember can be useful to support the shroud by having a flange or support tabs welded to it. I'll be breaking out the CAD (cardboard aided design) soon to see what clearance issues I'll have to deal with.

So little to do, so much time... no, reverse those words!

 

Arg! Getting the headers to hang properly! 1 step forward today, 3 steps back. But I'm getting the "hang" of it! Ooo, that's bad, even for me...

Marty, I'm glad you posted the picture with the chain vice grips. Bought 2, and they are proving to be just the ticket. That and a section of 1.5x2 box section tubing, which fortuitously turned out to be just right for the lower tubes to sit on. I lucked out that the engine sits level and square to the frame. And just by chance the height puts the header flanges the correct height above the lower frame tubes with the box section tubing sitting on top of it. I'll take pictures tomorrow when I can move again.

Fortunately I only made little itty bitty tack welds on the tubes to the flanges, so the tubes for the most part, will move without even breaking all of them free. 3 tubes refitted on the right side before my back said that's enough! So hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get back to it...

 

I'll start with pictures:
Left side, front, right side. Left was easy. Right side fought tooth and nail! #6 tube turned out to be about 1/2 inch too long. Every time I pulled the tubes together, they'd move out of kilter somewhere. Then I got a cramp in my left leg, and had a bitch of a time standing up. But the good news was, I had to get into a position to stand upright where I got a different view of the tubes. Viola! There's the problem!

So, break one tack weld, pull #6, and cut a little bit off. Give it a try, not enough. So once more to the bandsaw. A total of approximately a half inch and resquare the end of the tube, and Bob's your uncle! Zap, zap, zap, and it was tacked enough to pull off.

Then to the bench and weld a few more places, so just in case I need to pull it all apart for some unknown reason, I still can.

Moving over to the left side, I took all of the clamps, chain grips and other implements of construction off, put the same blocking I used on the right side, and flexed a little bit, and it fell into place. Tomorrow I'll get more welding done on it so it'll stay put, and then pull it off and firm it up like the right side.

So once again, thanks Marty for the guidance. I ended up only using the chain grips and blocking to get them square.

Next, collector extension and muffler guts! My plan is to get 3 inch 16 gauge exhaust pipe for the extensions, and a set of relatively inexpensive glasspacks for the cores. The headers have 3 inch collectors, so I'm thinking that a glasspack with 2 inch inlet and outlet, should be about the right combination. By carefully cutting the outer shell off, I should be able to make a muffler insert that can be held in with a couple of screws hidden on the underside or inside of the headers.

Because the engine is rigidly mounted, I plan on making supports from the frame to the collectors that will support the weight and also let the system expand and contract without putting any stress on the headers. I can't describe them adequately, and I don't have a good picture from my modifieds, as the system will be essentially the same.

So more as I try to keep moving forward...

 

Lookin good Dave!

 

Thanks!

 

Well, I got the headers firmed up. Just a couple of tacks on the tubes just in case...
Here's a couple of pictures of the setup:

Took advantage of the nice day, rolled it out to get longer perspective shots, and tidied up the garage, A LOT!

Only one thing, notice the angle of the tubes? Yup, not parallel to the frame rails. And I now know why. And kicking myself for the snafu. Put the nose of the engine up, angling the engine about say 5 degrees, and they'd be level. I set the engine level with the frame, perpendicular to the firewall. And that's how I messed up! The header kit that I chose, is bent for a nose up engine mounting.

In the words of Homer Simpson, DOH! So just in case became the reality. Oh well, back to the garage and make them fit...

 

She is a beauty!!

 

So Don, I was over to see Bruce today. He did an even swap, the midget quick change rear axle for a championship quick change rear axle:

This thing is a beauty! Thanks Bruce and Walt.

And on top of that, I now have a V8-60 tube front axle. Needs a couple of things cut off, and that hole in the left side plugged and ground. However, this thing is straight, no pitting, and the kingpin bores are in good shape. I wonder if it could fit into the Whatever project. Small change, I can plaigerize Frames' hairpin and radius rod brackets. And now that I have thought about it, maybe the hole just needs to be cleaned up. After all, it still will need a panhard bar.

 

good swap there Dave. Glad to see Bruce had the axle. Whatever is lookin good!

 

You lucky dog you!! Love it. Now you can build a sprinter. Going to need an extension on the garage for all the projects.

 

You two are such a bad influence on me! But I wonder, would the Whatever project look okay with a deuce radiator shell and grill? The radiator is a 4 inch chopped deuce radiator, so that might make sense. Then the race car nose could be moved to the next project... hmmmm

Or should I continue the current path, and start Sonny with the parts collected so far? So much time, so few projects! Wait, what? Reverse those words

 

I've been telling him that for years now! Just another 20 or so feet out the back... eh, better make it 30, just to be safe.

 

Smart alec! Make sure that your garages are up to the task, some day! The revenge of the mad uncle, muwahahaha! And his older brother...

 

Don't worry, already planning the second garage... gotta build the first one first, though! Otherwise the second becomes the first, the first becomes the second, cats and dogs living together, human sacrifice... mass hysteria!

 

You know, if the rest of the hambers ever saw you, me and your father together, they'd probably call the authorities.

 

I do not think there is a facility that could hold all of us in one place. Kinda like the Stockholm syndrome and we all have this need to build!

 

Well, there was that time with the librarian, the Funk and Waggonals, and the marshmallow fluff! But I'm much better now...

 

Yikes!

 

It's true, this man has no.... garage?

 

Man, Oh Man your frame is very reminiscent of early tube chassis modified.

Very nice!

 

There's room for the Whatever project and the daily driver. The daily driver stays in all winter, no exceptions. I'm lazy and thrifty. Don't like sweeping snow and ice off of the thing, and don't want to warm it up to melt the crap off. So the left side looking in gets the daily driver AND the snowblower. The right side of the garage is a mess with all of the tools the Whatever project and way too much other odds and ends. Maybe ratrodder is right. I should add on the garage...

 

Well, it's what I know. Crossed with a track roadster. A sort of mash up you could say.

 

Okay, I knocked the ugly off of the V8-60 tube axle I acquired. Here's a picture of the thing before de-uglifying
I don't know what it was previously used under, after its lifetime in the original Ford. The 2 things welded on the top side of the axle had tapered holes, so probably for the old style tie rod end racing Monroe shocks. I'm guessing that the tube thru the axle and the 1 on the other side below were panhard bar mounts. All of that is assumed. And we all know about assuming something...

The stuff on the outside was easy. Recip saw just above the axle, and a flap disc on the 4.5 angle grinder. The holes in the axle took a little bit more effort, but 2 slugs of steel a little bit thicker than the tube wall, and some time with the tig, and it was a piece of pie. Cake after all is easy, open the box, dump in the bowl, stir, and plop in the pan and bake. Easy peasy...

Pie on the other hand takes time, effort, and skill...

Okay enough b.s. I just welded the 2 plugs in and ground them smooth.
The left side was where the tube hung under the axle, and the right side is where the thru holes were. So next dilemma is the finish. Paint (rattle can cheap), powder coat (spendy, but not too bad), or something else, like some form of plating (stupid money these days).

And I have to get kingpin lock bolts. Maybe Jeremy will send me a sketch of the ones he made. I'll have a new to me lathe soon, so it could be a good project to learn how to operate the new to me machine. Couple more pictures just because...

 

And we'll see if it fits in the Whatever project soon. It'll look a lot better than the tube axle in it now, but only if it can be done without a lot of changes

 

Dave
Consider electroless nickel plating, may be more available than chrome platers considering their EPA issues. More money than rattle can but much cheaper than chrome.
I think I posted this before, I brushed these with Scotchbrite before plating, they have a "soft" semi-chrome look, exactly what I was after.

 

Yes I like the look. Does this process still need to be baked for hydrogen embrittlement? I'm going to see if it's available anywhere near me.

 

Nice job Dave. I love the outside shots, the car has an awesome profile. I would keep the track nose if I were you. I'd like to build a track T with turtle deck someday, and I like yours a lot. You're ahead of me on the headers - I bought a weld-up sprint style kit as well - I do think they would look better if you could match the angle of the frame rail. Keep up the good work! Also, definitely try to use the V8-60 axle!

 

Thanks. Yes, I'm going to see what it will take to fit the axle. And I'm just dragging my feet on disassembly of the headers. I've got a game plan for the rework. This time I'm thinking that a small stub of tubing in the flanges, that just fits inside the 1 5/8 tubing, will allow the header tubes to rotate and keep them aligned.

Starting with the lowest, inside tube, on both sides, and a couple of alignment bars across the chassis with the right amount of shims, I should be able to get that tube parallel to the frame. The rest then aligns off of the first one.

Well, at least that's what I have in mind. And you know what they say. A waste is a terrible thing to mind...

 

Thanks for the encouragement and the kick in the butt, Tim! You got me fired up to correct the headers. And it is the right thing to do, as Wilfred Brimley might have said. Who? You ask. You know, the old Quaker Oats spokesman.

So back to the headers. Tim got me ruminating over the angle of the tubes and what to do to correct it. I cut the tubes about an inch and a half out from the flange, and knocked little stubs of 1.5 od exhaust tubing in the 1.625 tubing. Then cut the remaining tack welds, and starting with the lowest innermost tube, got it square and parallel to the frame rails. Good old Eyeball Engineering to the rescue, I got about 30 feet from the car and made sure that it looked right before tacking it. Then did the same with the other 3 tubes. So far I only have the left side tacked back up. Here's 2 pictures:
That's the best I can get them. Hopefully the right side will at least look the same. These tubes are bent in such a way that I would have to cut them between bends and refit them to get a better fit. And I'm not going to do that.

That would be a lot of extra work I don't feel like spending on these. Instead I want to get going on a tri-Y system that I can tuck inside the hoodline. I was fiddling with the left side seeing as how I had the others off...

 

Look for that new-to-you lathe to arrive soon(ish)! Still planning to load up and head west this afternoon, FSM willing and the creek don't rise...