Radiator Hoses Installed and Mounted

The radiator I am using in this car is an aftermarket one. I did some research and found that a late 70's early 80's Dodge truck radiator had similar dimensions to the original radiator. It also fit the original crade really well. I had to trim off the side just a bit to fit. It is also great because it has the outlets in the right place for my SBC engine.

I had to play around with finding the right hoses, but it didn't take long. Plus it helps when you have an autozone at the end of your block.

Transmission Cooler Lines

One interesting project I had to tackle recently was the mounting of the transmission cooler lines. This wasn't incredibly difficult, except that I wanted to make it clean and easy to get around if I had to remove the starter.

I also wanted to flex my fab skill by making up a fancy bracket for the lines to run on. To accomplish this I made a paper template and then transferred it to steel. I incorporated the threaded mount tab for the flywheel dust cover (because I do not plan on running one) which worked out perfectly.

I have to say though..taking your time when you are bending tubing and checking-rechecking to make sure the measurements are correct before hand makes a world of difference. The transcooler line is 5/16ths diameter and the rubber line is used to reduce engine flex which could weaken the fitting, causing a leak.

I like to think that this accomplishes everything I hoped it would and now simply have to mount the cooler itself.



Now onto the radiator hoses and fuel line.

Chassis Update

The weather this weekend was great. I got to spend a bunch of time on sunday messing around with the brakes, fuel and transmission lines. All this little stuff takes so much time, especially when there isn't anything to reference.

I got the brakes all run..until I get the body back on the frame can I plumb it to the master cylinder.


I am running a stock TH350 automatic trans and the next hurdle is to run the cooler lines. So I fabbed them out of wire I had. Cheap and ease to do. Now I just have to get the pieces, bend them up.



Also, the next issue I am having is how to run the electric fuel pump. It is a red holley high flow pump and the directions state to mount it lower than the gas tank and use gravity to feed it, as it is designed to push, not pull. WELL...my car isn't designed to allow for that, unless I mount it three feet ahead of the tank.


Any ideas are welcome.

Also here is the current picture as it sits
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Front Suspension - Done

Well, as with most things so far in this project..I have taken too long to do the little things.

So this past weekend, the weather was great and I got the front shock mounts relocated, squared up and welded in. Not an extremely huge ordeal, but still a good exercise in measuring, planning and execution.

Though not "pretty" they will be plenty functional. The kicker is that the shocks are are the stock pieces just moved.

Newest Acquisition - Gotha Intake

Not many people really know why I like "old cars", sometimes I don't, but then something comes along and it lights a fire. A guy I had done some business with gives me a call out of the blue about his health and how he is looking to get rid of some of his parts because he is going, "under the knife".

Of course not great news, but there really isn't much of an alternative.

Long story short, he shows me this intake and when I saw what was on it, I darned near fell over. He said the magical words..."gotha" and my blood jumped...

You see, gotha is an old speed company who is no longer in business and their stuff is pretty rare..



Check it out. It is a Mercury flathead intake with two adapters brazed on. Pretty sweet...

Chassis Update

I have been taking my time doing chassis projects because I want to make sure that I do them correctly. I have since reassembled the frame and purchased a new repop gas tank. They are pretty nice I have to admit. I plan on running the fuel pump externally and have started to run the brake lines and air lines for the rear bags.



Here you can see the frame, with the repainted steering column and the relocated front shocks. I will have them done and welded on soon. Also, there is a 49 merc dash that I plan on building for it as well. One piece at a time right?

Like a new man

Have you ever felt that way...something happens and you get a renewed feeling. Inspiration and possibility abound..well. In my distorted little world getting my frame blasted did that. For the first time, everything is clean. The guy did a really nice job and now I got a bug to get everything cleaned. He sprayed it with a thick black epoxy primer and off I go.

up and down in motion…..

i hope this works…not sure what will happen with the sound..so be careful..it is just my compressor kicking in…

the car going up

the car going down

It goes up and down

FINALLY…got my rear suspension dialed in…it has been a long time since I have given any updates..so my apologies..

But I got the trailing arms in, squared up, figured out the rear shocks, panhard bar is in and the bags set up.

Welded in the cross bar and the bag mounts and tonight it went up and down..

Next thing to do is tear it all apart..rotate the frame and finish welding the bottom sides of the frame that I couldn’t get to earlier…then off to the blaster..

The while that’s happening I plan on redoing the lower a-arms with an integrated shock mount. Shouldn’t be too hard..

Here is some pics..

from the front..with the bags inflated

The panhard bar prevents side to side sway with this type of suspension..this was a whole ordeal..but I got it figured out and it is pretty sweet.

X stinguished - i reframed my thinking

Yeah, so it has been awhile, and I am sorry for that..but lets just say thanks because it is ON!!!

I consulted with my chief design engineer..aka friend about this chassis and came up with a much better plan.

I cut it out..what is it..glad you asked

Then things got crazy..tubing..measuring, cutting, grinding, welding…measuring…measuring..more measuring..

I think this suspension is going to be fun…

check it out

The toughest part was making the front pieces…now..i still have some structural steel to add, but it works great.

This suspension is used in NASCAR’s cars and it originated from 60-72 chevy half ton pick up trucks..still lots to do, but this was a MAJOR step.