1970 Grabber Green Project

[RPM 1,190]

None of this make sense when you actually think about it lol.

 

Couldn't agree more! How many of our tool, machine or shop additions really make sense? But they certainly make our life easier. I've been following a Russian guy on GarageJournal.com who gets by with a tiny garage, crazy make do tools and an amazing attitude. We're blessed with our way of life and the resources to make it happen.

[Rustang 11]

 None of this make sense when you actually think about it lol.

 

Well I have to admit, you've got me there.

[latoracing 256]

Attempting to work on one area and not jump around for a little bit. I have been wanting to make the "A" pillar tie ins for quite some time, and I finally got to. Started out with the usual template material, trimmed to a shape that fit the area fairly well.

 

 

I did the driver's side first. Laid it out on the 16ga CRS sheet and trimmed it to fit. When I marked the metal with the template I left just a little bit extra to trim, just in case. Got it fit and tried the same pattern on the passenger side, which luckily worked also. I did the same process to it and got it fit.

 

 

For this to fit, it has a pretty good twist at the bottom, doesn't look like it, but it does. I had to leave 1" towards the outside that couldn't have a flared hole, along with the small panel width I was limited to a smaller size dimpled hole. I laid out several patterns, and spacings to see what looked the part. I settled on a 1/2" hole spaced 2 1/2" centerline. Using some masking tape to help with the layout along with my small set of dividers, I laid out both parts.

 

 

Step drilling and thoroughly de-burring the holes left them ready for dimpling. These smaller holes dimple quickly and it didn't take long to have it back on the car to see how it turned out.

 

 

I could have spaced the holes tighter together, but I didn't want it to look like an Erector Set. It would be nice to weld these three pieces in place, but there is more work to be done around the windshield area, they will have to sit for a little while longer.  I suppose I am going to do the over the door tie ins next. 

[RPM 1,190]

That is gonna be one bitchin hot rod when you're finished!

[latoracing 256]

I have been busy, but not sharing what I have been up to. As i have been attempting to get everything mocked up for some header building, I have been back and forth with my tilt '70 column. In order to install it with the unisteer rack I have to modify it. Having mixed feelings about cutting it up I sought out a different route, just to see if it would work. Messing with Fox bodied Mustangs in the past I considered a tilt column out of a '79-86 as the plastic overing was round, and the key was on the column. Having friends with bunches of those cars helps, and I scored one cheap. If I screw it up, I am out very little. The column I received was out of a '85 and is just the right length over all. 

 

 

It is shorter than the non tilt column sitting next to it, but it doesn't have to be cut to fit with the rack. More on this later.

 

The two stock brackets on the Fox column were removed as I wanted this to be able to bolt into place just as a stock column would. Looking at the dash mounting area of the old column, the four 3/8" -16tpi nuts that are welded to the column from the factory will be replicated on the '85 column. The main tube diameter is smaller than the old column and the "nuts" needed to be a little longer to make up the extra space needed. I used a piece of 1 3/4" .120" wall stainless tube (happened to be lying near by) for my soon to be saddle. I made four 3/4" diameter x 3/4" long standoffs with the appropriate drill and tap on the inside on the lathe at work. These were bolted to the stock column hanger, notched with a grinder and made to fit up with the 1 3/4" tube.

 

 

Tacking everything in place I welded the standoffs to the tube. Using the bracket as a fixture to help keep everything aligned as I welded it up. 

 

 

Once it cooled off enough to handle it, I cut the tube in half length wise for my new saddle. A little de-burring and some measuring to replicate the stock column position I tacked it in place, in the event it didn't fit.

 

 

I had to dig my super crunchy dash back out along with some of the other components around the steering wheel area and bolted all of it in place. So far, so good.

 

 

Having this thing up on the rotisserie helps with installing all kinds of things while standing up. Being able to take pictures in awkward places also helps. This is the connection point for the end of the new column. I am going to swap out the column universal joint with a different one and use a DD style end to adapt to the Fox column. It will be closer to the factory intended connection without having to drill and pin that joint. I will also have to make the lower bearing support as the shaft going through the firewall actually turns, as the stock one has the outer tube to support it. 

 

 

Messing with the sock Fox plastic, it all but lines up with the dash. A little trimming along with a custom gauge panel will make this area fit up nice. The lower portion is long enough to almost cover the lower dash filler panel and can be trimmed to fit. Looks like it might work out fairly decent.

 

 

Once I get the lower mount figured out, and take care of a few other issues I really want to make some headers. If Armando ever gets my pan to me, I will be all ready to play with some legos. I also have another '70 Mustang in the shop that will need some attention as well. So I am going to be busy again. But for now, I'm tickled that this may actually work.

 

[RPM 1,190]

Damn you do nice work! But where was I when you mounted the pedals? The are some really nice welds Mike. The bar keeps getting raised.

[latoracing 256]

Damn you do nice work! But where was I when you mounted the pedals? The are some really nice welds Mike. The bar keeps getting raised.

The pedals were stuck in place to help align the column. The stock column didn't want to fit between them without having to reduce the collapsible portion a little. These pedals are a little narrow  especially without any bends to go around stuff. The '85 part is so small, there is tons of room around it. No fear of the pedal arms hitting it. I have a plate to install along with some braces to build for that assembly as well. The modifications just keep on a coming.  

[SM69Mach 68]

That is a nice modification there.  Love the work.  Great work as always. 

[latoracing 256]

I have been jumping from project to project, and not getting any of them finished. Armando finally got my pan finished up and shipped. It came the other day and I haven't had a chance to bolt it to the mockup block. Sticking it in place revealed a interference with the rack. My specs called out for a 4" stroked crank, so my height dimension wouldn't work. So, more mods to the rack area as I will not redo my engine angle and all the tunnel work involved with raising the motor. The rack will be much easier to move down.

 

 

I started installing the new pedal assembly mounting plate the other night and have been side tracked by a rather large chassis table project. It will be very helpful in the future as it will be nice and flat. My head hurts thinking about all the small details I want to incorporate into the design. Lots of work to do on it, but will be a lot of fun!

 

 

 

4" x 4" x 3/16" square tube. The table will be 15' x 5' x 24" (ish) high with the cross tubes bolted in place for storage purposes. Like a 15' long 250 lb table side would be easy to store lol. 

 

More to come....

[latoracing 256]

Couldn't find any swivel leveling feet that I liked, or could afford, so I made some. 

 

 

The tube caps are 1/2" thick washers that are a little over sized to allow for adjusting the level on this table. I ended up cutting the tube in half to lower the overall height of the table. I also make the base plates with the corresponding receiver nuts welded in place.

 

 

Needed a way to move this from the lift area back to the middle of my shop, so some caster mounts were chopped out of a 4" square tubing drop. These were positioned to allow for 1/2" clearance of the adjuster feet when on the wheels. I also tack welded the base plates to the legs while I was there.

 

 

I stitched welded everything together. I wanted to just weld the crap out of it but you wouldn't believe how much a weld can pull a 4" tube. I counted 5 beads per weld, putting just enough to hold everything secure. It still pulled about .050" but I don't think Ill notice it.

 

 

I made a bunch of brackets to fasten my cross members to the main rails. They are temporarily tacked in place in order to drill. Once the bolts are in place the tacks will be cut and HOPEFULLY it will stay square. Guess I'll find out soon 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I have been wanting to build a portable frame jig for some time now .I have 4 scaffold jacks i want to use for the levelers .They are large screws with block type threading and a double handle  nut for easy turning ,they also have a square base pad already drilled for large castors so it will be a leveler  and castor all in one i just need 4 casters with locks  .The table will be about the same dimensions as yours .I would like to make the mounting posts bolt on if possible so they can be removed for a different frame mounting .I do a lot of 35-37 ford stuff so it would be nice to be able to bolt these frames on as well .At least with large wheels i can roll it out of the shop when i am not using it 

[RogerC 136]

 

I stitched welded everything together. I wanted to just weld the crap out of it but you wouldn't believe how much a weld can pull a 4" tube. I counted 5 beads per weld, putting just enough to hold everything secure. It still pulled about .050" but I don't think Ill notice it.

 

 

 

 

Where I work we build a lot of our products using 2 inch to 6 inch square and rectangular tubing in 1/4 to 1/2 inch wall. The welders sometimes get in a hurry and don't skip around when welding and I've seen even the thick stuff pull a 1/4 inch+ over about 16+ inch length. Most of our stuff is fixtured so it doesn't happen a lot but is frustrating when I get called when something doesn't fit right in assembly and I figure something pulled.

 

I'd love to have something like this but no room what-so-ever for it. Looking good.

[latoracing 256]

This thing is HUGE! It didn't look so big sitting on the saw bucks but in the floor, just about together, wow. I used the engine hoist to move the side beams in place, as I didn't eat my Wheaties this morning. 
Got the cross beams all drilled to fit the brackets in place and tack wielded nuts on the inside of the tube. I didn't want to through bolt the beams, with the nuts welded on the inside of the tube, it gives a better clamping force to the tabs. Everything is within .1 degree of level, which ought to work pretty good. 

 

I have some adjusters I want to install before I swap places with the convertible and put it up in the air. This has been a ton of work, but fun to build. Might have to stick my car on it when I do the front valance, like that will happen any time soon lol. 

 

I am going to get a little more done before diving head first into Vic's ride, more and more mods to get ready for headers, (like a carrot on a string lol) 

 

 

Merry Christmas everyone!!

[RPM 1,190]

Too cool! And top shelf work as usual.

 

Merry Christmas to you and yours Mike.

[latoracing 256]

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. 

[RPM 1,190]

That boy has skeels! I swear that if I ever have enough time to build another Mustang, it'll be a clone to this car. Those master cylinders have a real race car motif to them. Too cool Mike.

[latoracing 256]

I had a few options for my rack issue that would solve the problem, but some of them just wouldn't work out so well. Two options, make new aluminum clamp / mounting blocks (which didn't look right in CAD) and remaking the actual cross member, which I chose to do. Starting with a bent piece of 1/4" plate made a little bit larger than the finished part, just in case. I laid out all the mounting holes, incorporating the new 1" lower positions. Using the stock mount I cheated and traced the outline for the outside portion, and slightly modified the area closest to the pan. 

 

 

Using my trusty Porta-Band I removed all the inside metal that wasn't supposed to be there. I wanted to check the hole fitment and clearance to the car, so it was bolted in place for the first time. Everything fit so far.

 

 

The outside area was next. It was also cut out, smoothed up and put back on the car for more fitting.

 

 

I wanted to actually bolt the rack in place so it was bolted up. Plenty of clearance, just like it was supposed to fit out of the box.

 

 

I also picked up the LCA mount slots in order to tie them into the new mount. Unisteer puts some really large, off center holes in this location to access the LCA bolts. I could imagine how much fun that would be when the front end needed aligning, so my plan was to make these a little more accessible and help tie the front of the car together, much like the Boss 302 T/A cross member.

 

Notice the hydraulic lines, I do not like how low those things hang. They will be pulled off and chucked in the trash and new ones made to be out of harms way. That would suck to hang one of those on something and rip them off.

 

Pulling it back apart (major theme of this part lol) I bent a piece of 1.5" x .250" steel flat bar to the shape of the inside of the mount. I wanted to give it a little more rigidity since I tied it to the LCA's. This was tack welded in place and a few areas trimmed to clear other mounts. 

 

 

I also drilled the LCA slot ends to help secure it to the car during welding. I removed the oil pan and once again, bolted it to the car. I also installed shims and bolted it to the LCA mounts. I wanted to just light this up and weld it from one end to the other, (maybe one day) but stitched it so it wouldn't turn into a boomerang. Both sides were fully welded with the traditional jumping around method. I left it in place to cool. Next time I get to play I'll get it all cleaned up, the slots all opened up and back to the pedal assembly. 

 

 

[RPM 1,190]

That's a pretty clever way to make the crossmember. And you've got your vertical surface rack mounts built right in. I like that a lot!

[Grabber70Mach 107]

This is going to be one awesome car when its done.

[Vicfreg 773]

Pretty cool.  I assume you cut those "humps" in the cross member to clear your headers....   Also will have to run a mini-starter to clear the rack, it is really low, I guess due to your motor mounts.

[latoracing 256]

Pretty cool.  I assume you cut those "humps" in the cross member to clear your headers....   Also will have to run a mini-starter to clear the rack, it is really low, I guess due to your motor mounts.

 

The one hump was to clear the gear section of the rack, the other is just a style / weight reduction. That is the exact same shape as the original part from Unisteer (since I traced it), just moving the rack closer to the ground.  The headers will not even come close to the mount, only the connecting shaft.

 

A full size starter would also fit, there is a bunch of room. I will be running a mini starter though. 

[Vicfreg 773]

Oh, good.  Must be the camera angle.  I will have to check it out next time I am over there.

[latoracing 256]

Well, wasn't going to share this as I don't know if I will do it or not. Had an idea for something a little different for the tail light area on my build. I really don't like the factory '70 tail light bezels and have been searching for some inspirations from other '70 examples, not a lot out there. So, I've seen '68 lenses installed into '69 tail light panels, so why not attempt to install '69 lenses in a '70? Yes, it will take a filler panel and I know that the '70 panel is convex (looks flat but it isn't). Didn't want to go totally flush with the lenses, and will not have any chrome on the car, but didn't want it too plain. Was really board one Sunday after church and poorly sketched out what it might look like.

 

 

Went ahead and ordered some '69 lenses and gaskets a few weeks ago, just to see. The '69 lenses are pretty much flat on the outer face, but have some interesting curves on the sides. Had to see what they would sorta look like on the car. Used some good old card board spray pained kinda black. Cut out the areas for the lenses to poke out just a little and taped it to the car. Had to stick the quarter trim cap in place to get the full effect. The card board wasn't fitted flush (quickie mockup) but shows the general idea.

 

 

When I get a free moment (won't be any time soon lol) I will make the metal hammering forms and attempt it in some sheet metal. I have a ton of other unfinished parts (headers, pedal support, cage tie ins.....)that I need to complete and don't need to get side tracked on another portion, but it is fun to be a little creative lol.  

[Vicfreg 773]

 

Wow, a 1969-1/2......     cool.    

[RPM 1,190]

Awaiting a 69 front end for a real cool look :)