mrgm

great start.

Seff

Found a guy who has a cam over here. This is very interesting. Sadly, they're on vacation until the 18th, but I SHOULD be able to get parts from this shop.

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The frame after sandblasting and before final polishing.


Found another crack that I'd better take care of. This frame seems to have been through its share of adventures...

Closer look at the broken part I noticed a few weeks ago. Someone tried, and did a horrible job of, fixing it, having never learned to weld, apparently. Ah well, all it takes is time and the right welder.

jturkey69

WOW Seff!!!...That is quite possibly the worst frame I have seen besides a demo derby car!...what was holding it together???? You have just earned a ton of man points for your massive amount of work in such a short time, and now your going to fix a beaten down frame!!!?? Rock on bro!!! crank some Volbeat, and keep us updated!!

edit...this makes me want to look our car over when it gets back from the body shop:/

GTI_Guru

WOW. I haven't ever seen a frame broken in that style. What kind of roads you got over there in Denmark anyhow? I thought the Indiana and Kentucky back roads were bad...

If you know how to weld enough to fix that frame, I'd HIGHLY suggest adding some additional plating around & over the fractured areas for extra strength. For all the work you're doing, it would be a shame to have the car break in half a couple years down the road. Might also consider boxing the framerails in if cars over there see that kind of abuse. I've seen them rusted in half and cracked before, but that? wow... Someone's lucky the whole doghouse didn't fall off the front of that ride a while ago.

-Awesome to hear you may have a cam lined up. That's a heavy part and could save a few bucks on the build to spend elsewhere. I suspect welding rods will eat up a few bucks here soon.

-Jeff

EDIT - Oh, and after all the welding on it, you'll probably need to have it straightened on a good frame rack to make sure it's square. All the heat needed to fix it properly may have odd repercussions on how true it will be. Might want to concentrate on getting the suspension under it after that so it can be put on a rack properly with the wheels, axle, etc.

Seff

Turkey: The small piece of added metal and a rather narrow strip of metal on the top is what's holding it together. I can rock it from side to side with a finger. Thanks for manpoints, I'll look into getting them converted into brownie points or something...

Guru: I agree that a fracture of this caliber is rather odd, but I don't see any rust, so I suspect that it might be a weak spot in the design, coupled with a heavy blow. I have absolutely no doubt that it's been in some kind of crash, though, which would also explain the yellow body panels from another year on an otherwise 100% original orange car. Danish roads are better than at least half of the AZ, CO, NV and NM roads I've been on, and this baby's never driven in Denmark, so I doubt that's the cause of the fracture. :P

As for welding and keeping it straight; dad has a laser leveling apparatus (no idea what it's called in English) that he's gonna use to keep it at the same level, at which point I'll measure the diagonals to keep it straight, allowing him to weld. We can't add more metal like has previously been done - modified/fixed/previously broken frames aren't allowed at all in cars over here, and it'll be checked, so we have to make it as invisible as possible. Luckily the frame came with a lot of welding burrs from the factory, so we SHOULD be able to pass it off as an original feature. The guys doing vehicle inspections over here don't know very much about American cars of the early '70s. :P I'll be giving it a thick layer of primer and paint to ward off rust, as well as getting a professional undercarriage job done. We have a lot of salt on the roads over here.

Seff

Yeah, apparently the shop that I was gonna buy parts from went on vacation until the 17th. Hrmpf. Guess I'll have to get rust and painting done until then, then. Lots of days off in the next while, so I have a chance to catch up with this old lady. :P

Seff

This thing cleaned up well enough. Counted again, by turning only one wheel and counting the revolutions of the driveline thingy. 12.5 turns for ten revolutions of the wheel, which makes for ~25, so ~1:2.5, yes? That sounds realistic. Which of the numbers is the model number? The thing has ten bolts on the cover, if that's any help.



Being that I have no tools for working on cars, a bit of improv is in order. Went about as well as one could hope. It's not pretty yet, but we're getting there.



Dentariffic area. I doubt I can hammer them all out, so some spackle is in order. Not yet, though.



Not perfect, but the shape's getting a lot better.



The welding so far, half done. Dad's confident that he can make it hold up to the strain of carrying an engine. We'll see. :P

72 cutlass455

Seth to find a guess on the rear end ratio you need to put a tire on the rear drive wheel and spin it once and count the times the yoke does a complete rotation wont work with out a tire on it hub is too tiny.

Seff

The hub rotates the same amount of times as the tire that would be attached to it does. 360 degrees is 360 degrees, no matter your diameter.

Seff

I rolled my eyes and looked up the number on the rear axle cover. SA, so 2.73, as I initially calculated. Heheh.

More pictures coming when this weekend's over. Found another cracked piece, the left lower control arm. Easy weld, for once.

Seff

Sorry, I forgot to post pictures last weekend. The busy life of a soldier, yadda yadda.

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The wirebrush was angry at me, apparently.



Improvised tool, and the effects of using a rod that's too thin the first time 'round. :P




Found another crack, again in the same side as the frame crack. This baby REALLY, REALLY took a beating.




Rust holes prior to surgery!





Makin' holes. I'm still waiting for my CO2 welder, so no patching up has been done so far.




The frame after welding and grinding/sanding. Dad made sure the welds came through all the way to the inside, so I suspect we're doing pretty good.



The sander was angry at me as well, but at least that one had a good reason. :P

72 cutlass455

Good progress

Seff

I have the modest goal of having it running sometime before I leave for A-stan in February. Hopefully long before then, though.

noeatnosleep

I have been ninja-lurking for a while, just watching your build. I registered to say that I'm in awe of your build, how hard you're working, and how you're building this even though you don't have a good availability of parts.

You've inspired me to start on the 68 supreme I have sitting in my back yard. =D

Seff

Thanks man, it's nice to know that someone likes to see and hear about the project. :P Good luck with your own - it needs a breath of life, doncha think?



Got most parts, so I'm heading over to the machine shop on Monday to deliver frost plugs and discuss how to drill my crank for a pilot bearing. Got a TKO500 lined up, need to call the local parts pusher and see if he has a trunk bottom and an A-body clutch assembly.

Seff

My block was beautiful. Will be fun to put it together. I've been too busy to take pictures, but I'll snap some tomorrow. My high-comp pistons are underway, as are the last seven connecting rod bearings that I forgot to order... Heheh, oops.

Turns out the guy here didn't have a cam after all, so I'm back to ordering one from overseas. Thinking of either http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HRS-510011-12/ or http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HRS-510931-11/ as I'm gonna run it at as low RPM as I can get away with. Is Howards a decent brand?

Jamesbo

Self, I work up a sweat just reading your thread. Keep at it my friend.

Seff

Hopefully not as much as I sweat doing the work! :O

EDIT: Apparently Howard Cams is a respectable company, so unless someone shouts and screams that it's a horrible cam to go with, I'm going with the 800-4800 RPM band one. Anybody think this is a horrible idea? (Yes, that's pretty much the basis for my choice. I've never worked on cars before, so this is all being done by what sounds right and cool and stuff. I'm still high on the idea of having a roaring V8 in a whooping big muscle car to worry.)

Seff

Sorry about the lack of photographic updates - a lot of the stuff I've been doing is either not really documentable, or I've forgotten to take pictures of it.

----------

Rust work! I was OBVIOUSLY born to bend metal!




Got a new sandblaster, this one dry, which means I'm stripping paint a lot faster now. Not everything needs to be completely stripped, but all the loose stuff needs to come off.



I've yet to direct the sandblaster to the fenders and hood, but that's for tomorrow. Sadly, only half a day's work before I go to England for a week.

GTI_Guru

Be careful blasting the hood. Buddy of mine took a sandblaster to a hood on his old 72 Cougar XR7, and the heat/friction from it left the hood rippled in blocks that were easily seen between all the bracing underneath. He was trying to be gentle too, as he knew this was possible, but it still made it unuseable in the current condition if he wanted a nice pristine flat factory hood.

Also, AMAZING job you're doing. I love reading about your work, and seeing the progress you're making is inspiring to say the very least!

-Jeff

Seff

Thanks.

I've given this some thought, yeah - figure that the 12 BAR the sandblaster works at isn't enough to make a dent. I'll be careful, though - nobody's interested in a dented hood.

GTI_Guru

the pressure is not the problem. It's the heat generated by the friction of removing the paint. May be better to sand it clean, then use the blaster in very limited places to clean up the last bits that require attention. I know that you'll have major problems finding a replacement if you mess that one up.

-jeff

mrgm

Airplane stipper on the big flat parts like hood, fender, etc. Can fund at any parts store

Seff

The hood is already sanded in all the flat areas - it's the tight corners that need a bit of blasting. Sounds like I might make it.

Just received a CO2 welder today, have been practicing welding tonight. Another skill to learn, another craft to master (eventually).

GTI_Guru

Oh, and for the record, I'm insanely jealous of the workshop/warehouse space you have to work on this project. That's a HUGE area. My home garage is only a wide 1-car. It's 60+ feet deep, but is very cramped with a car inside it anywhere to do any major work.

Safe travels to Merry ol' England!

-Jeff

Seff

Yeah, my uncle owns a huge vacant building that used to have a truck workshop, so I'm very lucky in that regard.

England was very nice, thank you - lived on beer, bacon and eggs for a week.

----------------------

My frame has what seems to be a ...bullet hole. What the blazes?



My engine got back from the shop - I'm pleased.
Heads:




Nice and smoooooooth.



By the time they had bored up seven of my cylinders, they discovered that the eighth needed to be even bigger, so they lined it. I figure it'll work just fine for me.



The discrepancy between these two cylinders is quite amusing - tells you how worn it was.




Looking at my gears, I suspect that they too might be quite worn. Good thing I'm not done ordering parts.



I don't think there's supposed to be that kind of gaps, Marge...



And now we see why they told me to get a new cam - it'll improve performance with a new one anyway, so no great loss.



Decided to go with frost seals that weren't rusted through like the original ones. Good plan, no?



Nice and polished.



....And look what they did for me! This'll come in handy for the infamous pilot bearing.

442_Mustang

Great work! You have an incredible amount of ambition and focus to tackle this project. I look forward to every update you post!

Seff

Thanks man - does it show that I don't have a serious girlfriend? :P

--------------------
"New' pistons! High compression!




My 'beautiful' welding. Hey, it works.





A day of sandblasting. This looks safe, right? :P



More welding, this time in a damned tricky spot. Worked out okay, I'd say.




.....And I decided to take the rest of the day off after the angle grinder gave my finger a lick.

GTI_Guru

OUCH! That's going to take a little welding of it's own to fix. Almost matches the bullet hole in the frame...

Hope you're up to date on Teatnous shots. That looks like it went to the bone.

Seff

Yeah, I'm in the army, we get those shots regularly, luckily - and yes, I saw my bone at certain degrees of bending my finger. Nurse put a bandage and an annoying brace on it, which I may end up misplacing one of these days...

As for the bullet hole, I have no idea why there would be one. Not gonna bother patching it up, it's charming and pretty well hidden.

oldzy

Damn. Dat be Ogrish material

mrgm

that looks terrible!! thats probably the same hand you wipe your butt with, good luck on that one

Seff

Yeah, I've become a lefty for all intents and purposes for the next few days. It HAS started hurting now.

Seff

Got tired of sitting around, waiting for my finger to heal, so I ignored it and started by fixing my angle grinder shield, then I ground and welded a fair share of the remaining rust work, before taking a look at my block and noticing that the machine shop people didn't remove the old cam bearings - a MISSION!

Fiddled with it long enough to determine that they were stuck, so a new improvised tool was devised - it worked excellently. Disclaimer: Hammer may or may not have been applied. No harm was done to any newly fixed blocks in the production of this picture.



This thing's, predictably, just as worn as the larger gear - any tricks to getting it off? Cleverly applied violence?

Seff

Sorry, didn't get around to posting an update last weekend. Been welding and rewelding a lot of the fixes I made, as well as looking for little holes in the body where water could potentially get in and cause big problems with the climate we have over here.

Cleverly devised method of pulling it off...


...And the tool that did the actual job, once again. Amazing what this thing can do!



This goes...


Here!


Hack, slash, pound, swear, smash!

Seff

Forgot to transfer pictures from my camera to the computer AGAIN this weekend, so no pictures (probably all the same, I seem to be spamming quite a bit).

Built an engine mount (slight mods will be needed for it to actually work because of the crankshaft, but it'll work. Got three of my crosspins out and connecting rods mounted in my new pistons, but then I ran out of time. Trunk's 75% removed.

72 cutlass455

Nice wish i was young again hehe.

Seff

Hey, I figured this was the time to do it - now, or when I'm retired. :P

mike's88

Just seen this thread, nice work. As far as your "bullet hole", where is that at on the frame? Seems like the hole above it is tapped or self tapped for a bolt. What mounts there that ripped out?

Seff

On the rear quarter of the front wheel assembly 'protrusion', if that makes any sense. I haven't checked to see what fits there, actually.