Late 60's Vintage Modified Race Car

[Shaun1162]

Been working on it some more, but been getting kind of frustrated at the same time. When I order a bunch of parts from Mac's a few weeks ago, I clicked the box to notify me if any parts were on backorder. Of course the brake orders were on backorder 6-8 weeks. I didn't really want to wait that long, and so I cancelled them from my order. So then I went and ordered them almost two weeks ago from Honest Charley's. Waited a week, no news, so I e-mailed a guy, who gave me the phone number of another guy to contact. He assured me last Friday they had shipped. Well the showed up today... and guess where they came from?? Mac's. Kind of an annoying run around but at least they're here... Just to show that I've been doing something:







So I'd pretty much have the front brake done, except for the springs. I kept fighting with the new return springs I bought from Mac's and so I went and dug out one of the old ones to compare- the new one is about 1/2" shorter, no wonder it was giving me such a hard time! Then tried to see if the old ones were still OK, bent one and seemed OK, bent the other and it snapped in half... So back to the drawing board on those I guess... Also had the brake drums turned, just have to go and pick them up.

Been trying to work out the rear axle shafts as well... I used one of those snake cameras to count the splines on the pig and it turns out this Timken uses a 16 spline axle instead of a 12 spline like the older model... No wonder the other axles wouldn't fit haha... Been trying to track those down, asked just about everyone I can think of but haven't had any luck. Saw a 1-ton Timken, made the same year(s) as the rear end I've got, but they're a little different and I'm not sure if they'd work... Might end up having to go pull one and find out. Also learned that early Dana 60's have 16 spline axles about the same length, so that might be an option too...

Hopefully the chassis will be back this week so I can get started on that too...

Anyways thanks for reading, hope you guys are enjoying the build!

[Shaun1162]

So quite a bit of progress in the past couple days.... Got all 4 brake drums turned down and painted, got a set of axles for the rearend, might have tracked down a transmission.... Oh and I got the frame back!




Kind of looks dumb like this, but it's the best way to weld on the frame rails and such..















Some of the damage....































Started welding some patches...



























(Welds look kind of crappy but it was hard not to burn through everywhere, no matter the heat)















I know the patches (and some of the welds) aren't the greatest, but I haven't had much practice lately... And it is after all an almost 80 year old frame, turned into a race car close to 50 years ago, and has been sitting out in the woods for at least the past 30 or so years, so I'm not too worried about having a show car quality frame!



Thanks for lookin!

[hopped up]

Glad to see some progress, saw you posted on the hamb too. I'm vntge41 on there
Posted via Mobile Device

[Shaun1162]

Originally Posted by hopped up

Glad to see some progress, saw you posted on the hamb too. I'm vntge41 on there
Posted via Mobile Device

Happy to see your still checkin in! I figured I might as well post on here and the HAMB.. Good to have peoples opinions and ideas, and I figured some guys here would like to see it too





Didn't have much time to work on it this weekend, but I did get a few places patched... Some before and afters:











This one I'm not completely happy with, but I've still got some reworking to do..





















I've also pretty much made up my mind that I want to put this car on the road.... I'll still keep it as stock as possible, so that it could easily be put back to "as-raced" condition (the side bars are in the way anyways, so the doors will have to remain welded..) but add the items needed to have it inspected as a street rod. I've always wanted to build a decent hot rod, but of course money was always an issue... So far I'm into this car for right around $2,000, that includes the car itself, the engine, all the brake parts, sandblasting, and the steel to patch it. I'm sure I'll have over $3,000 into by the time I'm done, but I've got all the major parts except for the transmission and radiator, plus all the replacement parts (clutch, brake lines, etc). Probably some feel that an old stock car shouldn't be put on the road, but hey why not? This car wasn't a track champion, and to my knowledge never won a feature, so I might as well have some fun, go to some shows/cruises instead of just covering it up in the garage... But I think I've still got a while before I need to worry about all of that stuff!

[Shaun1162]

Today's progress.... Still need to do (alot) of grinding:


Used a plasma cutter for the first real time to cut out the rotten section (outer frame rail first)..







Then I cut out the inner frame rail section (doesn't look as bad, but it was paper thing and pitted awful)



Just kinda went around and tacked in the inner frame rail section, when I flip the frame over I'll be able to weld around it better plus I didn't want the outer frame rail patch to hit on the welds



And then the outer section... I heated up the bottom section and hammered it down to give it a more factory curve to it

[hopped up]

Damn was that frame sitting in a pool of water. Alot of rust!!! But nothing better than a n original frame under an old ford
Posted via Mobile Device

[Shaun1162]

Originally Posted by hopped up

Damn was that frame sitting in a pool of water. Alot of rust!!! But nothing better than a n original frame under an old ford
Posted via Mobile Device

Just about! Been sitting out in the woods for the last 20 or so years.... before that I'm not real sure, but I doubt it was in a garage lol... Honestly though, I'd prefer to fix some rotted out spots then wrecked/twisted/horribly stick welded place on the frame. At least this is more or less a "straight shot" where I can cut out the old, make a template, and weld in the new. When its been wrecked there's all kinds of heating and hammering and welding etc to make it look half way decent...

Got the rear drum brakes all done today, just have to put the two halves together and that part of the project is done. Also just have to put one more spring on a front brake and then those can go back together. I want it so when I'm done welding/grinding and eventually painting, I can roll out the front end and rear end, bolt them in, and then I've got a nice rolling chassis. Then it'll look like I've really got something!

[JHT67]

Nice progress, can't wait to see it rolling.

[Shaun1162]

Still peckin away at it....













Tipped back over...





Originally they only welded one side of the gussets for the cage, which is certainly strong enough but I decided what the heck, might as well finish the other side..



Swiss cheese anyone?



Ended up sitting in the car for the first time yesterday, man the guy who drove must have been pretty short haha! Will have to move the seat back further, and also going to have to do some reworking on the radiator support, not sure on the plan there yet, but definately going to be cut down quite a bit. Trying to figure out what to do about the actual radiator as well.... I got measurements from an F7/F8 radiator and it doesn't sound anywhere close to what I need, so I guess maybe a Lincoln radiator is quite a bit different. Really doesn't matter what radiator I put in though. And some guys have told me you can add the extra water necks to any old radiator? Anyone here try that or have it done? Also might have found a transmission, guy is supposed to deliver it next week if all goes well.

[Slonaker]

Originally Posted by Shaun1162

some guys have told me you can add the extra water necks to any old radiator? Anyone here try that or have it done?

My '37 Chevy coupe has a 350, not a flathead, but the radiator in it has been altered significantly. It uses a crossflow radiator from a 70s Nova turned 90 degrees. A radiator shop moved the necks and the cap around so that everything can be used in that configuration. It has been that way since my Dad built the car in the 1980s, and it is still going.

Slonaker

[Shaun1162]

Just to show that I haven't been slackin off too much...



This is Monday afternoon:







And this is tonight....







Been quite a week of progress (especially since I only got to work on it 3 nights) but its alot more motivating to see it back on its feet again



Ran into a few issues lately that I've been tackling... Bought a 4.10 ring and pinion for it, but of course the part number didn't actually go to this model and ended up with one for a Dana 60 instead. Looking it over and talking with a couple knowledgable guys it COULD have been made to fit... But it would have required alot of machine work ($$$) to make it fit. Then I went to a couple junkyard looking for rears, mostly at Dana 60's, and found one, but then talked it over again with some people and decided just to put the rearend that I have back together again and run it... Can always change it in the future.



The rear suspension is real funky... Homemade 2 link set-up, which was sort of ahead of its time back then, but they never really went all the way with it.. Here's some pictures to kind of show it:















When I put it in the car, the rear automatically wanted to twist and the pinion was facing way up and the tires were hitting the side bars. I knew the suspension was going to need some help but the ratchet strap is holding it in a decent position and it should be easy to take out a little more metal to get the pinion level and then weld a plate or a couple thick washers to the top of the crossmember to keep it there. Then I'll be building some radius rods out of aluminum like out of a newer stock car. Not really the most authentic, but hey I have it available and once it's painted black I doubt most will know the difference...



Also one the rearend when I decided to put it back together, I didn't really want to deal with the welded spiders on the road (especially with how big the tires are going to be on the back) so I started messing with it and found only one actualy weld was still holding it (the rest had broke) so I used a plasma cutter to cut the weld, took the spider gears apart, and then carefully took a die grinder and got rid of the welds. Not exactly the most popular/correct way to do it, but hey this ain't Nascar.















Also had to deal with the drag link... Originally they just used the stock drag link and cobbed it into the Chevy steering box with only a few threads on the end holding it and of course they were pretty stripped... Hadn't paid any attention to it when I took it apart so that was sort of a speed bump when I went to put it back together. So then my Uncle talked me into just making my own out of the aluminum I had for the radius rods. Never really worked with this stuff before, but it was pretty easy. Might have to do some adjusting with it, but the steering actually seems to go pretty good turning the wheel.











Also managed to find a transmission a couple weeks back. Been looking all over for one asking all the guys I know, and then I just happened to talk to a guy at a local cruise night and he said he had one. So he brought it with him the next week to the cruise night and I picked it up there so that worked out alright.



Hopefully soon (meaning tomorrow) I can get the engine/transmission in there for mockup.

[hopped up]

Great to see you got it on some wheels!! Keep pecking Away and you'll be there before you know it
Posted via Mobile Device

[Shaun1162]

Had some more time yesterday and this afternoon. Dropped the motor/trans in. Went pretty good considering I did it by myself, I've only done it once before and I only had a regular car lift to do it with.





I guess I know why they torched that section of the frame out now..



So I've been thinking that this car last ran with a 3 speed out of an F1 because of the transmission crossmember they built had two holes close together. But after getting the rear mount, it wasn't even close. But then I got to looking at the other mount they had where a bolt was sticking up and it looked close and of course this trans bolted right to it. Looks like they cut out the other side of the mount for some reason..

But if anyone has any idea what other transmission it might have had I'd be curious to know.. The crossmember sit back maybe 2 or 3" from the end of this F1 transmission, and the only two holes for bolts are in the center maybe and inch or two apart. I'll try to get pictures tomorrow of it to help with ID..



So I had good luck with the one transmission mount, but the motor mounts were a different story...





Any ideas what might have cause this? Is it because it's an 8ba instead of the older style flatheads? Or maybe they had a transmission that set back a little more?

There was also a fitment issue on the driver side by the steering box...



Looked like quite a tight fit for even a stock manifold let alone headers

But then I remembered that with the rubber mounts it'll probably sit up another 1" or so which would help.

So I took out the motor mounts that were in it thinking I'd have to make some new ones, but then I held them against the frame and moved them forward about and inch to line up with the water pump holes and it looked like they'd fit. So I got out the welder and welded them to the frame but not permanent so I could rework them if I had to. I was able to get the rubber mounts in after that so it looks like those motor mounts will end up working in that position

(Had to go out and get a new engine crane of course )



Hard to tell from the picture but I gained quite a bit of clearance by the steering box. The dipstick tube still hit the box but just barely so I'm sure something could be done about that.




Looks like the radiator might be a tight fit......

[Lippyp]

The frame actually looks in better condition than my old 91 Trooper was so pretty damn good for its age. I was patching worse holes than yours and ended up scrapping it as there was just nothing solid left to weld a patch to!

[Shaun1162]

Had to pull the car out today....





In order to unload this from the trailer using the lift and then set it on the car after pushing it back in..





My favorite view (although the photo doesn't really look as good)..



The hood will need a little "massaging"





I be this will make a few guys jealous...











Aside from the old battery box on the firewall, that is the ONLY rust on the body.... Not bad for almost what 80 years? And I know it spent the last 20-40 of those years in the woods....

Also got the rear suspension all done, just forgot to take pictures of it. Built some radius rods using new style aluminum for stock cars nowadays. Also fabricated some peices that fit over the jacking bolts to make them stay in place. Just jumping on the bumpers shows that it gives it a nice suspension now.... Certainly better then the original set-up!

[ThreeQtr]

PHP Code:

My favorite view (although the photo doesn't really look as good).. 


Picture does look period correct !

Cool car project.

[Shaun1162]

Originally Posted by ThreeQtr

Picture does look period correct !

Cool car project.

Thanks!

Rolled it outside the other day and got a couple better pictures.... Still pluggin away at it. Flathead is giving me some trouble now though...

[67ChevyRedneck]

That looks soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool!

[motornut]

I love the old racers,a High school friend had one back in mid 60s
30 coupe,with 409ci,450 hp ,4 speed munzie

[plainred65]

Great to see you putting this old racer back together!

[Shaun1162]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

That looks soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool!

Thanks! Old race cars definately have a cool factor all on thier own haha

Originally Posted by motornut

I love the old racers,a High school friend had one back in mid 60s
30 coupe,with 409ci,450 hp ,4 speed munzie

Man that thing must have hauled! Around here the biggest motor to go into like this style coupe was probably a 283 before guys really started "building" cars from the ground up instead of just trying to modify an old street car.

Originally Posted by plainred65

Great to see you putting this old racer back together!

Thanks fot the compliment!

[Shaun1162]

Well haven't got too much to show in pictures for progress, but alot of little stuff has been finished. I got the motor put back together, painted, then assembled the clutch and trans and put it in the car together. I finished up the frame in the front, and painted the inside of the frame rails before putting the motor in making things alot easier later. Probably seems backwards (does to me too) but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to have all my space because one of our family business' trucks has to stay in that garage during the winter. So I figured I could put all that in, and move my engine stand/lift and free up alot of room (plus its always satisfying to see the motor going back in a project car..).







My radiator turned into quite a project after the motor was in... I found an old Chevy radiator in a barn, took it to a radiator shop, but when the guy tested it the core was cracked along the middle. Fortunately the guy has an extra one just the same size, so he added the 2 water necks for the flattie and put on the side brackets that were on my radiator for $80. But one my motor was in, I found alot of fitment issues with the fan and hoses. So after some flipping the side brackets around, notching the frame a hair more then they originally did back in the day, and then making a bunch of brackets off of the the other brackets, I've finally got a radiator that fits perfect (now I just hope it'll cool well enough!).

Can't really tell much from these pictures, but this is how the radiator now sits, where most of the radiator is between the two side bars, where before most of the radiator was behind these two side bars, too close to the fan.









The front shocks have been another issue. Both of the shocks were too pitted to get any sort of numbers off of, and they were off of different cars so finding something exact would have been pretty hard, plus I wanted to have them both the same shock. So after talking to a buddy he suggest going to the local 4x4 shop that does alot of lifted Jeeps.. Sure enough he had a pair of old Jeep shocks out in the scrap bin he let me have. Worked great for the car, just had to make up some new mounts... Have to get some better pictures later.





The past couple days have been pretty big, but the camera was dead and I just remembered to bring it home tonight. Anyways, as you can see I cut off the old grille they had made to get the motor in better, but I've been working on a new one using the same mesh they had used (made out of stainless steel I think... Doesn't rust, non magnetic, but seems stronger/heavier then aluminum). Also made the drive shaft for the car today. Been searching for a Ford 16 spline yoke for this trans for a couple weeks and didn't turn up anything, but after some research found that Spicer makes them brand new for $80. Same as a 55-63 Chevy Powerglide trans yoke.

A guy that was big into racing back in the day (actually ran against this car, but he doesn't really remember it) gave us a bunch of old parts when he was cleaning out his barn including an old driveshaft. So he came down to the shop this morning and explained how to shortne a driveshaft for the car. Thought it'd be real hard, but really it was alot easier then I expected. So I've finally got a driveshaft for the car with new U-joints. Hopefully soon I can temporary rig up some equipment and actually move the car under it's own power for the first time in probably 40 years!

Anyways, thanks for looking!

[plainred65]

Nice process, good to see it's coming along!

[spudz]

Very cooooooooollllll!!!!!!!

[Shaun1162]

Coming along...















Just a rough first coat... Lot of "holidays" can be seen haha