70 duster: updating, and a no-dough pro-touring makeover

[dusterbd13]

so, time for a no money update:

i finally installed my sway bar mounts.
finally.

and not a moment too soon. the crappy addco mounts had loosened again, and were actually only finger tight when i went to pull them today.

if y'all remember, im now using the energy suspension conversion kit. came with the wrong sway bar bushings, and is unorderable with the 1 1/8 bushings that my bar requires, so i had to buy those additionally. again, its been a year, so that info may be out of date now.

while removing and scrapping the origonal pieces, i found some wear on the mount bushings. as well as permanant deformation duwe to the addco design.

pretty bad, as they only have about 10k on them.

thenew mounts were not exactly easy to install, either. the plates themselves lined up with the factory k-frame hols nicely on 2 of the 3 holes. the third hole is one youre supposed to drill. i did so, but was unable to get a bolt in there. i will have to remove the LCA's and strut rods to inser that bolt. i tried going in from the bottom, but theres not enough room for a nut and washer combo between the bushing and frame, and not enough clearance to get the bolt through from the top. that being said, i still have twice the fassterners af the addco mounts. i also had to use a ratchet strap tp get everything held in place and aligned properly for the first time, but once toghtened, nothing binds. the rear of the sway bar is pretty close to the control arm, but does not contact. these are much more solid mounts, provinsing better ground clearance in the process.

older pictures for comparisons sake:

and ggeneral ground clerance shot:

while i was under there, i changed the oil. wix filter, 7 quarts of 5-40 rotella-t synthetic, and a little while later.....

cleaned out, cleaned up, and packed for tomorrows autocross:

im going to try something new tomorrow by taking video for you guys. i have an idea using a gian binder clip, my smartphone, and my sunvison that i can get some pretty bad footage of me driving the event poorly. just so you guys can have a ride along.....

also, if you care, im currently rewiring a 69 olds 442 w-30 convertable for a customer. i have pics if anyone wants to see them...

budget stays the same.

 

[dusterbd13]

well, if you were hoping i actually got video, i hate to have to disapoint you.

my testing of the binder clip/sunvisor/smartphone combo worked perfectly. the problem was that SCCA would not allow me to run it. they require fixed mounts for all cameras.

i left out of the house saturday at about 6AM for the autocross. nice morning, though a little chilly. car was running great. git up there, met a bunch of nice guys, then decided to walk the course a few times so i wouldnt get lost like i always do.

this coure was HUGE.

most of the fast guys were taking in the mid 60 second range to complet. my fastest time of the day was a 79 and change, but was fast enough to top a c6 corvette and a shelby cobra to name a couple. we also had probably 125 cars turn out.

the duster had some carb issues on the big sweepers, and was much more controllable in second gear than first. i asked for an instructor first run, and got the head novice instructor that runs a mild 66 mustang. really cool guy that helped me a ton. we had a ball running it for all it was worth. i ave to say that there was less body roll with the new front sway bar mountsm and the car was much more controllable. a local photographer runs a website calles outsidethegarage.com, and was there taking pictures. i copied the two from his website of my car.

craig (AKA bonecrusher on the pro-touring forum) was there, and we hung out most the morning. very cool guy, and nice to spend time with. he got some videos of my launching the duster in his thread, and also some good footage of the course. http://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...Nova-parts-donater-thread&p=949418#post949418

ui was joking with him all morning about breaking my tranny. its been making not-too-happy noises for a long time now, and i just havent had the time or motivation for my tremec swap. our running joke was that if i broke it, id HAVE to finally swap it.

well, i broke it. leaving the evnt, the trans was making some very loud grinding/crunching/howling noises. finally locked into second gear in mt pleasant, about 20 miles from home. i no longer can get it out of that gear at all. and theres a spreading puddle of gear oil under the car on my garage floor.

is it sad that im proud of killing an a833 in the process of beating a factory five cobra in the autocross course???

 

[dusterbd13]

previous total was 6872.15

this week, we add 260 for a new throttle body.

new total is 7132.15


so, let me tell you a little story.

it all starts with my buddy in Columbia a month ago. i was planning on going to visit him, and every time i travel, i check craigslist for deals where I'm going. sometimes i score, sometimes i don't. well, i downloaded the craigslist app to my smart phone. up came an add for a 1000cfm Holley throttle body that had never been run, just bolted on. for 250. i checked the price on summit, and it was a 530 throttle body. at the time, i had just purchased the adapter for my magnum throttle body, and KNEW it would not flow enough air, no matter how much i ground on it. so i waited. two weeks later, the add was still up. so i e-mailed him. he called me back, and we got to talking. really nice guy, building a Pontiac that he decided to stuff an LS into instead of injecting the 455. so he was selling his injection stuff. he had bought this, bolted it to the intake, and stopped. never got any further. so i asked him for his address before i headed to Columbia. turns out he was in Georgia. after a couple more weeks of indecision, i decided to do what i tell my customers, and "spend the good money". so i didn't try to beat him up on price, and gave him money for shipping, etc.

this is what i received:

very well made piece by the looks of it. all the springs ride on Teflon washers, the shafts are all running on bearings, good machining. no instructions, and throttle plates that are progressive. as in they work like a double pumper. i have the feeling that when the "secondaries" open, its really going to screw up my VE and TPS tables. so i need to figure out a way to make them a 1:1 ratio for opening. maybe Monday ill call Holley and see if can get the instructions for this thing for some hints, unless someone has any for me.

i also spent the week ordering tranny parts. having spec make me a custom clutch, and ordered my bolt in cross member solution. both of these purchases fall into the "spend the good money" category.

tonight after finishing the 442, i spent some time on my porting job after cleaning up the shop and getting my truck running again. (leaking injector o-rings in the TBI, and a bad coolant temp switch)

finished one port completely, and got the rest of the excess bungs cut off.

hope y'all had a good thanksgiving.

Michael

 

[4mulaSvaliant]

Nice solid work here man... As always...

 

[dusterbd13]

its been like an early christmas around here these past two weeks. a very expensive early christmas, but a good one.

first up, budget before was 7132.15

since i got the 442 done, i spent the payday. well qualify these two purchases under spending the good money.

first, i ordered my new clutch kit. spec stage 2+. used a throwout bearing for a late 90's jeep 4.0 5 speed wrangler, as it fits the tremec and mopar fork together like it was made to. also had them build my disc with a 10 spline pattern, and the pressure playt for the mopar. 10.5 clutch, good to 600 horse on slicks. will give me room to grow for when i get the rest of the car sorted enough for a centrifugal supercharger. this set me back $440. ive used probably 10-12 spec clutches in various cars over the past decade since i opened my own buisness. great clutches for abuse. the stage 2 thats in the car now has had great pedal effort (very light), no chatter, and bever slipped. i could have gotten away with just a disc swap, but decided that this was a big enough job already, and id like to do it with all new parts. would NOT want to have to change clutches again. i delt with matt rocksvold down there for the whole order. great guy, and a mopar fanatic to boot. id recommend him to anyone calling spec.

i also dealt with tony edler, of www.globaloverdrive.com for my crossmember. i had origonally planned on making my own, but decided to spend the good money. this is the newest crossmsmber for the tremec swaps on the market, and is designed to retain the structural rigiodity of the t-bar crossmember. im probably still going to stitch weld the t-bar crossmember to the floor pan if i can get the undercoating off and get a good weld, just for anal-retentiveness sake. this set me back $241, and came with all the nuts and bolts, as well as the trans tunnel template for cutting. he has been very helpful, and a bery nice guy to talk to on the phone. the crossmember came well welded, with interlocking tabs, and powedercoated to boot. nice piece. looking forward to seeing how it works.

i also dropped the input bearing retainer off at the machine shop last night. hollis page at hp engines (of engine masters fame) is turning it down to fit in the stock hole on my lakewood bellhousing.

also, i got the steel for my trans tunnel patch. it was free. i dont have a picture, but go look at the top of your dryer, and youll get the idea of where it came from.

all thats left to secure is:
mustang pilot bearing for making the hybrid
trans rubber isolation mount
mustang electrical connectors for the tremec
gear oil

new budget total: 7813.15

im still debating yanking the motor to fix my leaking pan gasket and give everything a good cleaning while im at it. i just really, really dont want to pull the motor. ive got enough things to do and stress without adding that.

also, need advice:
i have never successfully dialed in a bellhousing. id like to get this one right. how in the heck do i do that?


and y'all make sure to enjoy those that you love during christmas. and every other day of the year too. theyre the best GIFTS you'll ever get. (a gift is freely given, with no expectations of return. those that love us dont have to, they choose to. same with those that we love. sermon done now...)

michael

 

[lvchris]

wow, awesome duster! I just finished reading your thread and was very impressed with your work. Very motivating

 

[dusterbd13]

so the 4 speed is NOT completely dead.

found while changing the rear tires and wheels tonight (ADD and sick facination with what actually broke) that the nuts had backed off the shift levers, allowing the forks to go where they shouldnt have, the linkage to jam, and the tranny to lock itself down. the tranny will need to be opened up and checked out, but im assuming its rebuildable since the noises are much less violent now, and it has all 5 gears again (4 forward, 1 reverse). moved it under its own power. the puddle of gear oil: the rear seal no longer does. at all.

so ill be posting that, the clutch, driveshaft, crossmember, and hurst shifter up for sale. someone make me an offer i cant refuse.....

i think that some of the noises are coming from the rear wheel bearings again, though, so well see what i uncover when i get the tremec in. hoping to get the car down to the lift christmas eve, and start tearing it apart over the holidays. if the rear end is even THINKING about giving me any trouble, im putting an 8,8 explorer piece in.

merry christmas, y'all.

and yes, im putting the steelies and pie pans back on for kicks. think ill even autocross it like that....

Michael

 

[DionR]

Merry Christmas!!

 

[dusterbd13]

im a bit whooped, but figured id update. budget to be fixed later....


brother dustin and i yanked the interior and trans tonight. the car has worse oil leaks than i realized, which made the job pretty messy. definately doing the pan gasket and rear main while its apart on the lift......

only snags, other than mess and stuck fastners, were really of my own making. some things that i looked at and questioned myself on why i did them that way, etc. came apart pretty easy, except for the exhaust. i had to cut it. ill use some band clamps to put it back together when im done.

also, i sold the 4 speed for 475. figured that pretty good for a unit thats got some gear noises, etc.

also bought some new carpets, as the 4 speed hump is going away for some more legroom. i bought from stockinteriors.com, also opting for the extra expense mass backing. was shocked when it was ACC carpet that arrived. the mass backing makes it pretty nice, but i will definately have to use a heat gun to make it more pliable for a good fit.

dustin noticed something that i thought was pretty cool when we got the trans down. theres rocks up inside the crossmember!! just goes to show im not afraid to get it dirty driving it....

lastly, some 15 inch wheel fitment pics. i put them back in storage, as i wasnt feeling it....

ill be spending the weekend and next week doing this swap. look for regular, almost real-time updates. hoping to have it driving by the middle of the week.

michael

 

[DionR]

Personally, I think the single greatest upgrade to an old car is a 5 speed. I don't think anything else comes close to making the car feel more modern.

Looking forward to hearing how it feels to you.

 

[76orangewagon]

I personally love painted steel wheels on older Mopars (A,B & E)....but with the pro touring thing I understand why you moth balled them, But they looked good on there, just my .02 .

 

[dusterbd13]

alright, budget first
previous total: 7813.15
subtract 500 for the tranny parts sales
brings car to 7313.15

now, the money ive spent:
71.15 at summit for oil pan gasket, exhaust clamps, and rear main seal
215 for mass backed carpet from previous post
39 for trabs mount and mustang roller pilot from o'reilleys
37 fpr three quarts of redline at bradly auto parts (in indian trail, just outside charlotte. support your local speedshop, or no one else will. bradly sells most the stuff i need cheaper and quicker than mail order. also, those guys are a weath of knnowledge, and own pageland dragstrip. really, really great guys. go see them. now.)
and i traded my old spoiler for teh floorpan and crossmember stuff i needed.

so after selling my truck this morning to the same guy that bought my old track s10, i went on down to the shop. the only plans for today were to get the bellhousing, flywheel, clutch, etc out, and get the oil pan drpped out. i didnt expect a six hour fight, and having to remove the headers.
had to pull the header to head bolts out to allow the engine to rotate down enough for the lakewood bell to clear the trans tunnel. the TTI's were sitting on the t-bars, making it impossible. i also hat to pull them outward to clear the pan rails so i could removine it. the stage 8 locking header blts all came apart really easy. very, very glad i neversiexed all that. headers were off, and i got to looking at the TTI gasket on the passengers side verses the copper i have on the drivers side. the copper blocks roughly 25% of the exhaust port. holy crap. gonna have to fix that....

also found that my new idler arm is alread loose, my rag joint os loose, annd that i have some slagged wiring at the firewall bulkehead. thats just great.....

but the good news is its all out. bellhousing came down with a minimum of fuss after dropping the headers, amd the clutch/flywheel came out nice and easy. figured id show the durability of the spec stage 2+ after 10k miles, tons of dragstrip passes, hundreds of autocross runs, and thousands of powershifts. minimal wear. heck, teh flywheel still had surfacing marks on it....

i then went to drop the leaking oil pan. this is a nice, 7 quart kevco with custom fabbed pan rail reinforcements, trap doors, and a windage tray. great product, and i remember it being very cheap for all the features. fuit the car with no mods whatsoever, and ive NEVER experienced oil starvation.

getting it out was another story entirely. it was a nightmare, even with a lift. the reason is this:

what do you notice missing? look close....

those are ARP 12 point bolts. when i built the motor, i used POR15 engine painting kit, great, durable product as you can tell by the pictures previously. problem is, on the bottom of the engine, it filled ALL the notches on the bolts. making it impossible to remove them with a 12 point socket.

unless youre stubbron and have a big hammer.

i "tapped" the socket up on as many of the bolts as i could get to to get them loose. the ones that i couldnt get a socket on with an extension or hammer room, i sued some vice grips. took me 3 hours to remove the bolts. majjor, major buzzkill. but its obviously out, as i showed a picture of the inside. kinda spoiled the suprise, there....

before i left for the night (jenn and mary asked for me to come home early for ribs and veggitales), i took some comparison pictures of the a833 vs the tremec trans. never saw any pictures showing the size difference, so i figured this might help someone....
i also dropped the flywheel at o'reilleys for a resurface.

so the plan for tomorrow is to get my new moroso 1 piece pan gasket up and in, the bellhousing modified, and the floor cut out. ould also like to get some clean up and organization going. i took the whole of next week off to do this swap, so im taking my time and trying to enjoy myself.

new budget total 7675.30

when i start my elcamino build, id like to get to almost this level, with a TOTAL budget of 10k. and a big block. and an automatic.

more tomorrow night. hopefully with a real camera instead of my cell phone.

yall have a good evening, and god bless. dont forget to be grateful for your blessings, and problems. cause all the priobles we have are problems of privelege, if you think about it. (if you cant figure that out, PM me and ill explain it)

michael

 

[dusterbd13]

sdo i pretty much lost a day yesterday to the oil pan, and only NOW realized why. it is up and in, though, and the new gasket, celaned bolts, cleaned pan, etc is all in place and happy.

reason i lost a day that i just discovered? i put the rear baffle in BACKWARDS. yes, backwards. counterintuitive, i know. so i wound up trimming, test fitting, trimming, test fitting, grinding, filing, etc. all because i put the stupid thing back together backwards.....

picture of the pan gasket. be carfeful. this turns out to be the magnum pan gasket, just in a different box. something i learned after getting it all back together. heres to hopiong it dont leak....

picture of 7 years of abuse, 10k miles, etc on the POR15 engine paint. this is after going through the parts washer to clean it up.

i started out thismorning getting the stuffing knocked out of me by my bellhousing. no lie, my ribs still hurt. put the bell up on the workbench to drill the new mounting pattern (had to make a center punch out of a grade 8 bolt tp get the exact center of the hole). drilled it out step by stem to remain accurate. got the 1/2 inch gear reduction makita out, and started reaming for the final size. when the drill got caught, i had a good enough hold on it that it rotated the bell into me with a good amount of force. on every hole. only after getting done, i thought about putting it on the floor and standing on it to prevent that. so take the tip from me.

also got the nuts welded to the inside today. (no inside bellhousing shot...)

i had another aw, shoot moment. when my machinist and i turned down the front bearing retainer on the tremec, we used stock small block four speed retainer dimensions. unfortunately, that is NOT what the lakewood requires. apparently i nefver noticed this when i built the drivetrain last time. the lakewood has one thats about 1/2 inch bigger, or the same size as a big block trans. luckily, the giy that bought my four speed had an adapter ring that came with one of his lakewood bellhousings. cost me 20 bucks, but the alternative was to buy another retainer, have it overnighted in, and then have it machined. just not gonna happen for less that 150 bicks. so the adapter it is!!

i finished the day out by starting to make a nice, precise, HUGE FREAKING HOLE in my floor. this was a very scary and difficult thing to do, as i hate, hate, hate cutting cars up. but, there was no way around it thius time. also removed the 4 speed hump at the same time, or the hole would have been considerably smaller.

tomorrows plan is to build my adapter for the poly trans mount to the tremec pattern, and test fit. hopefully it goes well and i can make the mating semi permanent tomorrow, and start putting the car back together. then making a floor.....

michael

 

[dusterbd13]

got a late start today, after taking my daughter to school and getting my moms crx going again.

started by figuring my trans mount adapter out. not the orettiest welding, but then again, my autodarkening helmet died, so i was doing it by squeezing my eyes shut. picked up a new one on the way home tonight, but my eyes hurt....

took the extra "plate" they gavem cut it in half, welded it on, drilled some new holes, trimmed the overall length, and rammed her home.

the hole in the floor did not start to heal overnight, either. great googly moogley, its a big hole.....

i also spent a little bit getikng holes tapped in the welded nuts, making sire the new crossmember would fit (it needed all the holes clearanced about 1/8 to 1/4 inch to line up properly. not the fault of the crossmember, but probably due to the fact that this car has been wrecked quite a few times, and spent at least 6 hours on a frame machine in my ownership...) also had to clearance the holes in the tremec slightly to make assembly easier. just a little opening of the holes, and were good.

i then went on to cut the t-bar crossmember out. had to. no other way around it.....

bolted up the bellhousing (no clutch/flywheel. wanted to check pilot bearing engagement.)
bolted up the trans
pulled the VSS out where i didnt cut enough from the t-bar crossmember
jacked the trans into place
cut the crap outta my left hand on jagged floor
sat in car, running through all five speeds making vroom vroom noises and giggling.

doesntr look like a lot in the pictures, but it was a lot pf work.

figured out the driveshaft length: 49 inches. my stock a-body is 49 1/4. im thinking that only 3/4 of an inch out of the trans may be a little tight. 49 is with one full inch out. im dropping both driveshafts off at the drivashaft shop in the morning.

plans for tomorrow:
trim teh last part of the t-bar crossmember
stitsch weld t-bar crossmember to whats left of the floor pans
install clutch/flysheel/starter/all bellhousing bolts
install trans for final time
figuire out what to do about giant freaking hole
start reassembly of the rest if theres still time.

not too shabby for 8-4 mon and tues, 5-10 friday, 8-5 sat, and 9-5 sun.

this includes parts runs, bsing, cursing, head scratching, and the god awful oil pan job....


Michael

 

[dusterbd13]

so, quick and dirty update:

the car fought me. i bled. a lot.

started the morning by taking the driveshafts to the driveshaft guy. should have it back in the AM.
pulled trans back out, trimmed the offending area of the t-bar crossmember for the VSS clearance, and ground down a lot of sharp edges. not enough, as im pretty sure stock in neosporin, hydrogen eroxidem and bandaids have gone up today.
put the fluwheel, clutch, and bell in for final time. set the trans in, and spent the next 4 hours triung to get it all to line up again. finally got pissed and manhandled it in, as my tranny jack was making it complicated and cumbersome for some reason. it went in smooth as butter yesterday, but that was without the clutch, etc. finally got it home, and all bolted and torqued down. also got all my hardware put back together for the bellhousing (like 75 bolts in that thing. seriously...)
put the starter back in, and the drivers side TTI header. then cleaned up, and took my daughter to the park.

ill be getting a late start tomorrow, between driveshaft shop, big block el camino, and dr appt. might only get the passengers side header, driveshaft, dist, clutch linkage, and wiring back in. but ill be happy at that. them jsyt nut and bolt check, throw a seat in it, attach the steering column, and test drive it. gotta be easy on this car for about 5-600 miles for clutch break in. thats gonna be tough.....

 

[dusterbd13]

so, budget concerns first:
flywheel turining: 25 bucks
driveshaft: 75
previously mentioned adapter rung: 20
new total: 7795.30

so. started today by double checking my work from yesterday. missed a couple of fasteners getting tightened down.
went down and picked up my driveshaft. had driveline specialties in monroe, Nc do the work. good guys, and said that theyd take care of the 8.75 under wearrenty if it was giving me any crap. so cool!
came back, inctalled clutch linkage, wiring, steering column, exhaust (re-used the crappy copper gaskets i had. yes, they leak like a sieve. yes. they need to go away. quickly.), repaird the cut tubes with the summit band clamps, hooed up my steering linkage, put in a seat, etc. adjust the clutch be general feel, same with timing.

filled all the fluids, ran over my checklist again, and pulled the pin.


fired right up. adjusted the base timing by ear (need to do it for real tommorow), made sure the clutch released and engaged, stuck it in reverse, and went around the test loop. came back 5 miles later.



i like this trans. shifts like butter. i know its been gotten into before, as dustin was told that it had upgraded input shaft, synchros, shift rails, etc. i believe it after driving it. so smooth. i like the gear ratios. 5th gear lugged it pretty good, so i didnt get to play wit that too much. definately need to work on tuning the carb a bit better till i get the EFI up and running.....

ad the huge hole in the floorpan lets in a ton of fumes, hot airr, and noise.

but the fact of the matter is, i had not planned a test drive until the end of sunday. i am 3 DAYS ahead of schedule. thats just ungheard of for me. it felt very, very cool to have been able to do this swap. dad was there as a second set of hands as i needed him, but spent moist his time rennovating his woodshop. i was his second set of hands after thoroughly scrubbing them. ive missed working with my dad. reqally missed it.

so tomorrow: clean up shop, fill tank, set timing, adjust clutch a little better, nut and bolt check, DRIVE IT.

bill and i talked tonight about the huge hole. he came up to the shop, and took a look. honestly, for what its worth, im going to let him fix the hole. it will come out nicer and cleaner lettingh the pro do that part. ill be rewiring the 68 firebird for him, (and its going up for sale once he proves it runs), and hhes just going to knock the floor off my bill. so we both win.

michael

 

[HemiDenny]

been following your build for a couple of years now, actually from your first posts....what I like is how you are always looking for improvements...not just in the looks/stance....but in performance.

the car doesn't sit in the garage, only to head out for an occasional "show"....you flog it!

I salute you........you are a true hot rodder

Mopar to ya'
Denny

 

[dusterbd13]

You have no idea how much that means to me denny. You are one of. My mopar heroes. You and ross.

Thanks for making my day.

Its raining here. At least some of the dirt and crap will gbet washed off on my homeward trip with it.v

 

[4.7Light]

I had a 74 as a kid and seeing what can be done without a Hemi or an altercation is awesome. Though If I had the bucks I think Denny would be hitup to make me one of his. Awesome thread and build. Really cool you talked about your Dad and I think we all realize it when were older how much fun that was when we were young. :happy1:

 

[dusterbd13]

I had a 74 as a kid and seeing what can be done without a Hemi or an altercation is awesome. Though If I had the bucks I think Denny would be hitup to make me one of his. Awesome thread and build. Really cool you talked about your Dad and I think we all realize it when were older how much fun that was when we were young. :happy1:

my dads my second best friend behind my wife. i would NOT be the husband, father, employee, or man i am today without him.

i HAVE to give credit where it is due.

 

[dusterbd13]

alright, final update for the week.

the car is back home from my dads shop.
i LOVE the new trans. 70 MPH at 2k is soooooo nice. shifts like butter, no popout anymore, good gear spacing.

was unable to drive it much due to sucking exhaust and fumes through the huge floor hole. i HAVE to fix that before even thinking about driving it. i was physically sick by the time i got home, light headed, and a little confused. pretty sure i would have blacked out before too much longer from sucking too much exhaust. this was with the drivers side window OPEN, by the way. so be careful. i did order TTI header and collector gaskets to replace the crappy, leaking coppers on the car now. im pretty sure the drivers side isnt song anything but adding weight at this point.

the shifter handle is also so long that its all but unusable. since i have it, and i likke the looks, im goping to cut it off, turn it down some, and rethread it. see if i can make a stick i like that fits me. and ill show you how i do it, when i do it.

clutch is bedding in nicely alrerady, and i got it adjusted today. set the base timing again, but forgot to tighten the distributor clamp, so it changed on the way home.
no oil pan drips. for teh first time since i built the car. sooooooooo nice.

the car has developed a slight miss. i think i cracked an insulator on a plug doing all that work. its my only guess. but again, safety is primary to me, so it will wait until theres a floor again. also need to tune the carb a bunch, as it was really unhappy at 2k in 5th gear.

all in all, im very, very pleased with the steps forward and backwards this swap has made to the car. will be even happier when it has a floor, and is not soo loud duer to exhaust leaks and engine noise.


my next project is actually due to this:

its my great grandfathers 1939 craftsaman wood lathe. i have a kink for old tools, and like to restore and use them. my granfather rebuilt this lathe, my father built the stand, and i built the riser blocks and installed the jackshaft assembly. i enhoy turining canes and bowls to give away. its stress relieving. but since i left my job at voc rehab, i have not turned. when my father gave this to me, i had no room. so now im making it. and getting my shop better organized in the process. to that end, im adding more light, building a BUNCH more storage and workspace, and discarding useless crap that i have laying around. also trying to make the shop more workflow friendly. working at my dads really reminded me how nice it is to have space, a clean workbench, and organization to the point where ypou can actually find what you need. i know his shop is 7x bigger than mine, but the same principles apply here.

first thing to be done is to add a large wall cabinet in the corner behind the garage door track, to get things off the floor, and make two floor standing shelves go away. then i can put my bandsaw and fridge away, and get my nut and bolt racks hung and filled. also getting rid of the gray shelves for a workbench with drawers, and a wall cabinet that uses every availible inch of space.

som heres shop pics of what ill be doing in a mad thrash to get ready for boills firebird

and if anyone wants to kow more about the shop rebuild, ill throw it in this thread, since it IS relevant to the car. the car will be parked beside/under the stuff im building for the shop.

michael

 

[Idaho]

Nice progress.
I built wall cabinets in my garage that have a great design. It reduces materials and is quick. 2x2 studs are fastened to the wall dividers hung on those, and 2x2 frames build for roof and floor. Let me know if you want pics. I plan to make more for my shop space. I also found plywood with a clear UV coat, very tough, no finishing required.

 

[dusterbd13]

quick and dirty update since ive pretty much been up since 6:30 monday morning.

the shop is put back together. started to hang the cabinet on the wall behind the garage door track friday night, when i fell off the ladder. felt better when it quit hurting.
saturday afternoon, got back at it. attached my 3/4 spacers to the wall with tapcons (to clear conduit), and looked at my handiwork. realized that i forgot to account for what is above the door when it is open, namely 2 inches of bracketry/etc that hangs past the track. cussed, scratched my head, and drove to lowes for sawzall blades. was just gonna cut it off.
luckily, the add for garage door doctor came on the radio on the way home from lowes. figured id call for a professional opinion before doing something stupid and irrepairable. glad i did, as the guys said that it wasnt if, but WHEN the door fell, and that it would be in the up position. above the duster. not cool. so they offered to move the whole door to the left for a 100 bucks. this was at 8:00 on a saturday night, when i had two people lined up on sunday after church to help me hang the cabinet. so i told them to do it. we gained almost all the space i needed but 1/16th of an inch. so i still need to tweak the brace a hair, but not much. only comes in contact with the door up. may call them back for fine tuning. havent decided yet.
regardless, cabinet went in sunday, and then got the support beam underneath it. due to space, i had to do it this way. and man, was it a fight to get it up there.

but it worked perfect. took 2 shelves and some piles, and put it ALL in this cabinet with some room to spare for supplies off the gray she;lves and floor. so nice. this was monday after work when i got that done. i thjen got a call from bill that the firbird was showong up this morning, a week ahead of schedule. had tools, debris, trash, and stuff all over the shop. thrash time. worked all night. got my bandsaw and shop fridge put away, and my nut/bolt bins hung. still have about a dozen more to hang, and then start filling them and labeling them.

sometime late last night, before she went to bed, my wife came down and helped me do some rework to my lights. previously i had the 4 four footers about 5 feet in from the walls, and 3 or 4 in from the center beam. i had 3 more sitting in the boxes, with bulbs. she suggested moving them to about 18 inches from the walls so they could better bounce light to where i was working, and adding one to the center of the bay, and one at either end.

worked perfect. really lit up that work bay and made a world of difference. i can actually see now!!!

got all this done this morning with enough time to take an hour nap, grab a shower, and get to work. im fried.
next is taking care of my nut and bolt buckets to get them off the workbench and floor before tacling the basket case that rolled off the roll back.

good night.
michael

 

[Idaho]

Sure feels good to get cleaned up and organised

 

[dusterbd13]

i aint anywhere NEAR done yet. just on hold due to makig a firebird.
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/fo...a-400-project-where-does-that-go/59258/page1/