57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[mongocanfly]

Sucks about the paint budget...but itll look good no matter the color...

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Sucks about the paint budget...but itll look good no matter the color...

X2, I think it'll still be awesome looking

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Sucks about the paint budget...but itll look good no matter the color...

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

X2, I think it'll still be awesome looking

Thanks guys, I think the small amount of billet, the polished stainless trim and the chrome will be all the silver needs as complimentary colors. Shouldn't be too long before we find out.

HRE lifted the body off the chassis late Monday then brought the chassis to me yesterday. I'm taking a break to post on the forum after spending a considerable amount of time this morning pondering how to route the trans cooler lines. Seems like every path runs into multiple obstacles. I'd prefer to do it all in hard lines, but I may have to give in and use flex hose rated for the pressure. The last set of exhaust hangers will also be testers. No wonder I left them to do at a later date.

Talked to the shop this morning and they have the body in the paint booth masking it for primer. Hope they get it sprayed today. As far as I know, all that remains to be done after that is to apply a guide coat and block the primer. Unless something else interferes, we may see some color by next week.

[knomadd]

Hey Vic, sorry to hear about the budget issues. I'm sure the car will still look great in silver!

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I'm taking a break to post on the forum after spending a considerable amount of time this morning pondering how to route the trans cooler lines. Seems like every path runs into multiple obstacles. I'd prefer to do it all in hard lines, but I may have to give in and use flex hose rated for the pressure.

I have an idea about this... Without seeing the obstacles, I'm not sure what to suggest, but wanted to give you this option, if you don't already know about it... I've been using PTFE lined braided stainless hose for just about everything lately. It's great for fuel, oil, trans fluid, brake fluid, coolant, just about anything. It won't rot out like the standard rubber stuff, but it's definitely pricey and won't do tight bends like rubber. Obviously these are drawbacks, but from a longevity standpoint (like hard line) it's pretty darn good!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Hey Vic, sorry to hear about the budget issues. I'm sure the car will still look great in silver! I have an idea about this... Without seeing the obstacles, I'm not sure what to suggest, but wanted to give you this option, if you don't already know about it... I've been using PTFE lined braided stainless hose for just about everything lately. It's great for fuel, oil, trans fluid, brake fluid, coolant, just about anything. It won't rot out like the standard rubber stuff, but it's definitely pricey and won't do tight bends like rubber. Obviously these are drawbacks, but from a longevity standpoint (like hard line) it's pretty darn good!

Thanks, Duane! I came to somewhat the same conclusion as you but decided to order rubber lined stainless braided hose and the corresponding fittings. It's slightly less expensive than the PTFE, rated for transmission fluid and will handle the pressure. It's a bit more flexible and will easily go around the stuff that's in the way. It's supposed to be here tomorrow so I'll try to post some photos after I get it laid out.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I sorta finished the last exhaust hangers. I say "sorta" because the Delrin I used for noise dampening may not work as I hoped. After tacking the first tab in place on the tailpipe, when I disassembled everything to make a full pass with the TiG, I noticed the heat from the tack welds caused the Delrin to melt slightly. I stopped what I was doing and looked on the Google for the melting point of Delrin which is 350 degrees. So then I got to wondering if the tailpipes would ever exceed that under a load. The closest I came to actual hard data was a graph of predicted versus actual tailpipe temps at various distances from the engine. From what I could tell it could range from 200 to 400 degrees.

Called my brother in law, Rick for advice and he pointed out that without knowing the diameter of the pipe, whether it was a single or dual exhaust and whether there was airflow over the pipe during the test there's no way to know if the results could be used to predict what will happen in my scenario. Like me, he's adverse to do-over's so the path of least resistance is to check it after going out for a spin and if the Delrin has melted away, switch to PTFE which has a melting point of 600+ degrees. I went ahead and ordered a one foot piece of PTFE rod off of eBay just to be on the safe side. I doubt HRE will need the chassis back before I get the material in and have a chance to re-machine the bushings. I guess the lesson here is to check to see if there's water in the pool before you jump.

[Vic1947]

Pretty sure HRE got the body in primer yesterday because today, the doors, rear hatch and underside of the hood are getting color! Excited to see how they look after all this time.