latoracing

Taking a little time to do some more work on my build and to check off one more item needed for header build mockup. I temp installed my pedal assembly by drilling a few holes in the firewall, just to get an idea of how it would fit. Off and on for several weeks I have been messing with that placement and getting ready for a more permeant fix. I had a plate laser cut at work (that was a long time ago lol) for the firewall portion of the mod. I had to "slightly" modify the firewall to put this plate in place. It is much wider than the area it needed to fit in. The hole for the wiring harness was welded shut and the trimming began. I had to majorly flatten the outboard side of the firewall as there was all kinds of different shapes in that area. Once everything lined up, I tack welded my trimmed to fit firewall mount in place.
 

 
The rotisserie helped out a bunch for this mod as well. I was able to get into all kinds of different positions for welding and grinding. Everything all fried and pretty much ground down I had to see if all this stuff would fit in place.
 

 

 
This has turned out to be another one of my favorite mods, it is just cool. I'm still giggling thinking about it. I have to build pedal support structure under the dash and weld it to the newly installed plate so more welding to clean up once that part is done. The support should tie into the knee bar quite nicely. 

Ever play with Lego's when you were a kid? My brother and sisters and I used to build all kinds of things with them. They were a bunch of fun. I still like to play with them, but I got a new set today, to help with the header modeling.
 

 
Ice Engine Works came out with these blocks several years ago, and I have always wanted to try them out. I didn't buy a kit, just the add on blocks and some starter plugs. These blocks are the same 3" Center Line Radius (CLR) as my U bends. I was messing around and stuck that mess together in like 20 minutes. The blocks just snap together, and are quite secure. They have little alignment marks on them for reference and alignment.
 

 
Each block represents 1" to help make equal  length headers, or help with buying materials.  
Once it is all put together, you just transfer the dimensions to metal and replace the blocks with tube. 
 
I am still in need of a few more pieces of my puzzle, but this will hopefully help me not waste too much stainless. 

Ever play with Lego's when you were a kid? My brother and sisters and I used to build all kinds of things with them. They were a bunch of fun. I still like to play with them, but I got a new set today, to help with the header modeling.
 

 
Ice Engine Works came out with these blocks several years ago, and I have always wanted to try them out. I didn't buy a kit, just the add on blocks and some starter plugs. These blocks are the same 3" Center Line Radius (CLR) as my U bends. I was messing around and stuck that mess together in like 20 minutes. The blocks just snap together, and are quite secure. They have little alignment marks on them for reference and alignment.
 

 
Each block represents 1" to help make equal  length headers, or help with buying materials.  
Once it is all put together, you just transfer the dimensions to metal and replace the blocks with tube. 
 
I am still in need of a few more pieces of my puzzle, but this will hopefully help me not waste too much stainless. 

I have been working on my '70 Pro Touring style car for a while. I have a quite nice '70 tilt steering column I would like to put in it. The issue; I have to cut on it in order to make it work with the Uni-Steer RnP. I really do not want to chop on this as it is one of the rarer items for these cars. I am going aftermarket wiring, so that is not an issue with an aftermarket column. 
 
So, what would the general consensus be...
 
Chop it up?
 
Sell it to someone who might need it?

After looking around at some other header part suppliers, (still haven't heard from Stainless Steel Headers yet) I placed my order a few weeks back with...
 

 
a local company who build exhaust parts for a lot of NASCAR teams, pro stock, GT cars ect. Being local is nice if I happen to need some more tubing or bends, plus it is good for local economy. My box of components contain enough parts (hopefully) to build my 4-2-1 304 / 321 St. Steel headers. I ordered 12 ea 1 2/4" 180 degree bends, 4ea 1 3/4" to 2" transitions, 4ea 2" 45 degree bends and 2ea 2" to 3 1/2" x 2 3/4" (basically 3" round) slip collectors. The header flanges are laser cut out of 3/8" 304 and surfaced for a nice flat gasket sealing area.
 
This is basically one header, some assembly required
 

 
The fabled parts are very nice, and  the slip fit areas are extremely nice. They had better, they weren't cheap. A quick glimpse of what is to come...
 

 
I have a few other pieces of the puzzle to put in place before I get to start on these, but I am looking forward to building something tedious.

They are easy to remove when you totally remove the cowl from the car, lots more access...
 

 
( Had to do it, I couldn't resist :) )

I took the top skin out of the mold this morning ,trimmed it and cut away the hood pin pockets .

g

I ground the edge of the steel hood ,the three inches i left of the top ,with a 36 grit disk .I painted the edge with resin and put a strip of 2 oz mat all the way around the edge of the hood .Then i wet the mat with resin .i had my brother help me set the new top in place .I used some strips of 12 gauge sheet metal on the new top to spread the load as i clamped it in place with a couple of clamps ,you never have enough clamps .
I have already trimmed out the edges and sanded the top to the edge of the steel hood ,it will be the exact size as the metal hood now ,I will get some pics tomorrow .It's gona be sweet !!

I couldn't resist myself with the final part of my rotisserie build, I had to see if it would work.  I got the front arms attached to the front supports, made the connector tube with some 2" square aluminum tube, and a rather long piece of 2.5" tube. A few holes drilled in the 2.5" piece, and nuts welded in place help secure everything. Using my 1/2" rod, I was able to pick the car up off of the jack stands and get it rolled over to the lift. The casters make moving this around so easy. Once positioned, I picked up the car with the main support bolts (3/4" grade 8) removed in order to get it to the second from the top hole. It was weird seeing this thing somewhere new, I like it.
 

 
I adjusted the car to what I thought would be close to the centerline of the rotational axis, which would make it easy to position. The adjustments were fairly simple with the four bolts loose, just move the arm to where I thought it needed to go, then tighten the clamp bolts back snug. The car being supported by the lift kept it level, and makes for very easy adjustments. Jacks for the centering process would be slow, and a pain with having to go back and forth. The lift is a much better option. The first time tipping the car over was a little bit on the unnerving side.  It didn't crash, but was no where near centered.
 

 
Several more attempts got it close enough for now. It takes a little effort, but sits still without having to snug the lock bolts down. I moved everything back to it's place to see how it looks on it's new support structure. One of the neighbors was driving by and saw me moving this thing around. Guess it scared them and they slammed on brakes when they saw it rolling over. Looks like I have my work cut out for me, lots to clean up under here. 
 

Been under the weather for the past week, had a case of pneumonia, no fun at all.  Slowly getting my strength back, and feeling so much better.  
 
I was able to get a little done on the '66 and the rotisserie, nice to get back at it after sitting on the couch.  I did work on this rotisserie project some before I got sick. I made the axle / plate attachment after  drilling a 1.75" hole in my 3/8" plate. It got welded on both sides, with the front getting a little grinding to flush it up.
 

 
With both of those all cooked up, I wanted to see how it looked semi assembled, and figure out how I wanted to construct the center adjuster. I had drilled and tapped a 1/2-13tpi hole in the axle, not wanting too big of a hole. If the 1/2" rod turns out to be too small, I can always increase the size without too much drama. The arm is very difficult to adjust, hope this helps, which I am sure it will.
 

 
I used a piece of 1.5" tube for an insert piece, and welded a 3/8" thick piece of flat bar to the top of it. With a bolt running through everything to secure it, the adjuster works fairly smooth. It might be different with the weight of the car on it.  I double nutted the threaded rod for now, might tack them in place later on.
 

 
All that is left is to make the arms that join everything together. I used 1.5" x .120" wall tube for the arms, cut 20" long. They are on the thin side, but I have a fix for that. I was concerned with the tube crushing with bolts running through the tube.  The front arms will bolt directly to the frame rails at the bumper attachment holes. I used some 5/8" 14ga steel tube for sleeves in my square tube. These will keep everything from crushing once all torqued down. The rear arms are similar, except I made some plates that pick up the factory tie down plate holes in the rear frame rail. I thought about going to the rear bumper holes, but why take the easy way out. I can always make more mounts if I need to. 
 

 
I have a few more details to attend to, then I might just see how it feels to move this '70 from it's spot for the first time in two years. 

I rolled my new project out of the storage lot, and took it home to start bringing it back to life. I bought the car back in January of this year, and have been gathering parts in order to make it a reality instead of an idea.


This is a true Graber Special, Marti report and all, also know as a "poor mans" Boss 302. This one had a 302 2v, auto, manual drum, and power steering. I told my Wife when I bought it, that I purchaced a rolling roof with a title. She had not seen it since its purchace and was questioning my sanity after rolling it off the trailer. I have started with worse, and at least this project is fairly well "rust free" (ha-ha). It will stay Grabber Green, but the build will be a G-Machine theme. I am waiting on Street and Track to come out with their new rear suspension later this year, to see what they come up with. 

I am going to try out Dynacorn sheet metal on this build, and see if it fits any better than some of the other ti-chen stampings offered by other vendors. The full quarters look good out of the box, hope they don't require a bunch of fitting (cutting in half, beating, re building,ect...). Been there, done that. I did go ahead and get the Goodmark mini tubed inner fenders to use, I could have widened some regular ones, which would have been cheeper in the long run.

I would like to be able to build these cars on a regular basis, so this one is going to be sort of an extream advertisment. I am not going to jump into a business venture quite yet, but ease into it, if it works. Playing with rusty old cars has been part of my life, and I enjoy most every aspect of it. Well see where it goes.
The only part of the build I have not decided on is to build it as a 1970, or 69ish Boss 302? I have always wanted a G coded 69, and could make one, just not so sure yet. Any way, here are a couple of pics as I dig into what is left of this body, and this is the way I bought it, less work for me? My Wife is still wondering...
 
 

There are a few more parts welded together on the rotisserie today. It is a little bit on the cold side to be using any paint products on the '66, so I figured I'd stay warmer welding. I finished up the main lower frame and moved onto the main attachment arms. These are constructed out of 2" square 3/16" wall tubing, 60" long (width wise) and 24" for the adjustment vertical piece. Since this particular weld joint will be seeing half of the applied load of the chassis, I figured it had better be up to the task. I started out fully welding the two tubes together, and sanded the top of the weld off for some plates.
 

 
I have been known to make things RPG proof, so why should I stop now. I cut some beef-up plates out of some 3/16" CRS (with my"CNC" porta-band as I call it) and tacked them into place.
 

 
Took a little bit of time to weld everything up all nice and neat, don't think they will come apart anytime soon. 
 

 
Now that the main components are all fairly well done, my pile is looking like I did something. I like the way this "tool" will be able to store in a semi-minimal area when not in use.
 

 
Just have to fix some arms, the "axle" and adjustment tube area, and some attachment plates for the car, and this might get put into use soon, maybe...

There are a few more parts welded together on the rotisserie today. It is a little bit on the cold side to be using any paint products on the '66, so I figured I'd stay warmer welding. I finished up the main lower frame and moved onto the main attachment arms. These are constructed out of 2" square 3/16" wall tubing, 60" long (width wise) and 24" for the adjustment vertical piece. Since this particular weld joint will be seeing half of the applied load of the chassis, I figured it had better be up to the task. I started out fully welding the two tubes together, and sanded the top of the weld off for some plates.
 

 
I have been known to make things RPG proof, so why should I stop now. I cut some beef-up plates out of some 3/16" CRS (with my"CNC" porta-band as I call it) and tacked them into place.
 

 
Took a little bit of time to weld everything up all nice and neat, don't think they will come apart anytime soon. 
 

 
Now that the main components are all fairly well done, my pile is looking like I did something. I like the way this "tool" will be able to store in a semi-minimal area when not in use.
 

 
Just have to fix some arms, the "axle" and adjustment tube area, and some attachment plates for the car, and this might get put into use soon, maybe...

Still working, did a bunch of small patches, and alot of fitting of the outer wheel house. The small patches take quite a bit of time to make them blend in where they will not be noticed, you can't tell I did anything, other than there are no rusty holes in the metal, and a little primer. The foward trunk floor (foward of the gas tank) is all most welded in, and looks much better. I bought what was left of a B pillar from a fellow forum person and started working the part out that I need to fix mine. To make a long story short, I am going to make one. The interior portion was fragile, and when I removed it from the outer skin, there wasn't much left. Such is life.
I did install the quarter skin for the first time to see if it would even go on the car. I am still amazed at how well this Dynacorn metal fits, and the quarter was no exception. No hammer, just a little push to get the lip to go into the wheel house, and poof! If you are installing any replacement pannels on your ride, I highly recomend these parts. Yes there will be a little trimming, and probably a little fitting on the B pillar area, but compaired to the cheeper stuff, it is worth every penny spent not to cut and beat these pannels on!
Now I get to tear it apart to install the trap door pannel, and all the brackets I removed when I installed the tubs.
I've been talking to Jason Rushforth, of Rushforth Custom Wheels off and on for the past week, and had him photo shop some wheels for me. The color is slightly off, and there is chrome stuff on the picture (There will be NO shiny stuff on this build, anywhere!). I like the wheel, which is the Night Train design, in a couple of finishes. Jason is fun to work with, and his prices are in line with most other custom wheels. Still looking at some other wheel designs, (like Pro Wheel and CCW), but these are on the top of the list. Check him out if you would like. http://www.rushforthwheels.com/

The column to pedal fit will be on the tight side, but should work fine. I'll post more pics of this process as I get time.
 
The 3/4" master cylinder for the clutch was a recommendation from several different sources including Modern Driveline who suggested it for their hydraulic throw out bearing. I am going to temp install the pedal assembly in the car before cutting anything and check the throw on the pedal to insure there is enough travel for the system to work properly. Guess I have to find out if the 3/4" MC will work, if not, these MC's are not too terribly expensive to get a larger bore.  Thanks for the heads up.

I rolled my new project out of the storage lot, and took it home to start bringing it back to life. I bought the car back in January of this year, and have been gathering parts in order to make it a reality instead of an idea.


This is a true Graber Special, Marti report and all, also know as a "poor mans" Boss 302. This one had a 302 2v, auto, manual drum, and power steering. I told my Wife when I bought it, that I purchaced a rolling roof with a title. She had not seen it since its purchace and was questioning my sanity after rolling it off the trailer. I have started with worse, and at least this project is fairly well "rust free" (ha-ha). It will stay Grabber Green, but the build will be a G-Machine theme. I am waiting on Street and Track to come out with their new rear suspension later this year, to see what they come up with. 

I am going to try out Dynacorn sheet metal on this build, and see if it fits any better than some of the other ti-chen stampings offered by other vendors. The full quarters look good out of the box, hope they don't require a bunch of fitting (cutting in half, beating, re building,ect...). Been there, done that. I did go ahead and get the Goodmark mini tubed inner fenders to use, I could have widened some regular ones, which would have been cheeper in the long run.

I would like to be able to build these cars on a regular basis, so this one is going to be sort of an extream advertisment. I am not going to jump into a business venture quite yet, but ease into it, if it works. Playing with rusty old cars has been part of my life, and I enjoy most every aspect of it. Well see where it goes.
The only part of the build I have not decided on is to build it as a 1970, or 69ish Boss 302? I have always wanted a G coded 69, and could make one, just not so sure yet. Any way, here are a couple of pics as I dig into what is left of this body, and this is the way I bought it, less work for me? My Wife is still wondering...
 
 

I rolled my new project out of the storage lot, and took it home to start bringing it back to life. I bought the car back in January of this year, and have been gathering parts in order to make it a reality instead of an idea.


This is a true Graber Special, Marti report and all, also know as a "poor mans" Boss 302. This one had a 302 2v, auto, manual drum, and power steering. I told my Wife when I bought it, that I purchaced a rolling roof with a title. She had not seen it since its purchace and was questioning my sanity after rolling it off the trailer. I have started with worse, and at least this project is fairly well "rust free" (ha-ha). It will stay Grabber Green, but the build will be a G-Machine theme. I am waiting on Street and Track to come out with their new rear suspension later this year, to see what they come up with. 

I am going to try out Dynacorn sheet metal on this build, and see if it fits any better than some of the other ti-chen stampings offered by other vendors. The full quarters look good out of the box, hope they don't require a bunch of fitting (cutting in half, beating, re building,ect...). Been there, done that. I did go ahead and get the Goodmark mini tubed inner fenders to use, I could have widened some regular ones, which would have been cheeper in the long run.

I would like to be able to build these cars on a regular basis, so this one is going to be sort of an extream advertisment. I am not going to jump into a business venture quite yet, but ease into it, if it works. Playing with rusty old cars has been part of my life, and I enjoy most every aspect of it. Well see where it goes.
The only part of the build I have not decided on is to build it as a 1970, or 69ish Boss 302? I have always wanted a G coded 69, and could make one, just not so sure yet. Any way, here are a couple of pics as I dig into what is left of this body, and this is the way I bought it, less work for me? My Wife is still wondering...
 
 

Been working on my version of the "dog house" for the 3-link to have clearance and not crash the bottom of the car. I have it ready to transfer to metal as of this afternoon. I don't know if I like it any better or not, it looks like a small space ship is sitting on my sail panel right over where the rear end is. I am going to make it, but I don't know if I'll install it, the things you do when you modify....
 
I broke out the saw bucks and moved the floor from it's position against the wall, and got to work. I marked the areas I wanted to modify for the mini tub area. I made some card board templates the other day, with a couple of checks of where I wanted them to go, I marked the areas to trim and re-flange.
 

 
With it all marked up, I sketched out the flange I wanted to leave, flattened the existing flange flat almost half way, and cut off what was not needed. A little trimming, and it was time to start the new flange. I have drilled my inner wheel houses, hope they line up with my new flanges on the floor, if not, then these formed flanges will be removed and flat steel will be welded in place... you get the idea. I used my shot bag to dampen the hammer noise while I was beating on the floor, it was quite loud with out it. I started with my universal sheet metal tool (adjustable wrench), best sheet metal tool ever made, and got a good crease on my sharpie mark. Using several different shaped hammers, I worked the flange from the center out, to stretch the metal, and not get any wrinkles.
 

 
I wanted to keep the shape of the floor contour as close to the way it came as possible. The duck bill vice grips are to keep that area from rolling down. A bunch of hammering (these plastic hammers from Eastwood are light) so moving the metal is sorta slow, but the results are worth it
 

 
I will trim the flange, if I can, once I get this floor in the car for fitting. I started turning the rocker flanges down, I might cut them off and just weld it to the bottom of the rockers, which I am going to do any way. The convertible rockers are 2.375" wide, and some areas towards the rear are going to have to be massaged just a little to look right. Still no big deal. I am curious on how to get it in the car fitting over the rear torque boxes, under the rockers, and over the trans brace, guess it will have to sort of fold a little until it gets under the rockers. Don't know, but I'm fixing to find out. (first one piece floor pan install)
 
:punk:

Well, guess I have gone off the deep end as I am going just a little bit more modified. I have always liked back-up systems when it comes to safety, especially brakes. Stopping can be better than going at times, and I plan to do it very well. In order to compliment the upgraded rotors and calipers, I wanted to be able to do just a little more adjusting as far as bias on the system. So, I went there...
 

 
Willwood pedal assembly, with a trio of master cylinders. As the far left (as seen in the pic) is for the future hydro clutch system, 3/4" bore. The center and far left masters are 1" for the front system, and 7/8" for the rear.  The pedal assembly has a balance bar to adjust how much pressure is applied to each master cylinder for a mechanical adjustment, instead of an inline pressure adjustment. Nice, simple, and hopefully useful. I'll have to make a mounting bracket (oh no, not fab work) and "slightly" modify the firewall for these to stick out into the engine bay. No booster needed. Now I need to order an oil pan...

Took a hour or so out of my crazy holiday schedule to get a few things accomplished out in the building this morning. I have been needing to build me another set of motor mounts (as these things seem to disappear) for a little while, so I was in the mood to TIG up another set. I broke my 7/16-14tpi tap on the first hole, I usually do not do that, but it happens. I welded the top portion back on and was able to get these all finished. (gotta get a new tap now) They turned out all proper after a little wire brushing.
 


I want to get the block and trans all mocked up in the car again in order to get to work on some headers, and get the measurements for the intake. (more for the intake right now) I have some other projects that I will be working on, so this might slow down quite a bit for a few weeks. I am going to get my rotisserie built in the next few weeks, along with a little side job for Indianfiremach on his '66 convertible. Should be a "fun" time.