Monogram Don Edmunds Supermodified

[Straightliner59]

One side is done. It's at least marginally better than the kit piece!😄 I built it to spec, according to the 1975 Chevrolet Power book--well, as close to spec as I could get it, based on material at hand. Its configuration pretty well mimics the line drawing in aforementioned book.

[absmiami]

Yup

[Ian McLaren]

Good morning Daniel, I just went through this entire thread and I have to say your scratch building skills are impressive.  I will be following along from this point.  Well done!

[Straightliner59]

5 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Good morning Daniel, I just went through this entire thread and I have to say your scratch building skills are impressive.  I will be following along from this point.  Well done!

Thank you kindly,  Ian. You're doing some fine work, yourself! Thanks for looking!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

On 11/26/2021 at 4:55 AM, Straightliner59 said:

One side is done. It's at least marginally better than the kit piece!😄

You can smile Daniel... Another great example of your talent and ingenuity, you put a big smile on my face!  I love it! 😊

[Jack L]

On 11/26/2021 at 3:55 AM, Straightliner59 said:

One side is done. It's at least marginally better than the kit piece!😄 I built it to spec, according to the 1975 Chevrolet Power book--well, as close to spec as I could get it, based on material at hand. Its configuration pretty well mimics the line drawing in aforementioned book.

is that heat shrink for the collector best one i've seen 

[Straightliner59]

3 hours ago, Jack L said:

is that heat shrink for the collector best one i've seen 

Yes, it is. Thank you! After I got them shrunk to size/shape, I gently reheated them and used my thumbnail to press it around the primaries. It looks more complete,  to me.

[Straightliner59]

3 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

You can smile Daniel... Another great example of your talent and ingenuity, you put a big smile on my face!  I love it! 😊

Thank you, my friend! I had to rebuild the second one--i had somehow reversed a couple of pipes, in the collector. It's fixed, now! Thanks for your comments, as always!

[Straightliner59]

On 11/26/2021 at 7:57 AM, absmiami said:

Yup

Thank you, sir! Have another--and, with flanges!

[Straightliner59]

I've got them to the point they can pretty much be just plugged in. I'm going to throw a bit of weathering on them. Then, next up, I am going to see if I can come up with a better way to make 90 degree plug boots. Comments, questions and critiques are always welcome. Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

I went and got me one of those giant dimes, like Francis has! I have always made my 90 degree plug boots by cutting a wedge from wire insulation. It looks okay, but, I figured there had to be a way to make them better. Enter HS PC board bits (I love these things!). Using a .0197" bit (.5 mm), I bored through lengths of .030" Evergreen rod. I then made a tiny miter box, and cut sections of hollow rod, at 45 degrees, using a scalpel blade. I glued sections together, using a roughly 50-50 blend of Weld-On 4 and Testors liquid cement, to form "elbows". With any luck, I will be able to insert a plug wire in one and, a short length of brass wire in the other, for the spark plug hole. I think it'll work out, pretty well! Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

I can live with that!

[absmiami]

The boots look great. There is one or two other ways to do this - if you encounter any problem w breaks at the joint - we’ll explore - I used the RB Motion boots on the Lotus 29 - but these have the drawback of not liking glue …

[AmericanMuscleFan]

3 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

I can live with that!

Me too!  The boots are great Daniel, good thing you had scalpel blades for that surgical job.... I am impressed, your resources are endless my friend! 😊

[Straightliner59]

21 hours ago, absmiami said:

The boots look great. There is one or two other ways to do this - if you encounter any problem w breaks at the joint - we’ll explore - I used the RB Motion boots on the Lotus 29 - but these have the drawback of not liking glue …

Thank you, Andy. It's funny; I posted photos on my Facebook page, and Guy Beaudette responds : "That's how I've been doing it, forever. Just dab a little super glue on the inside corner, before you paint them." 😀 Leave it to Guy to have it figured out! These seem pretty sturdy. They look much better than my former way of doing them.

 

19 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Me too!  The boots are great Daniel, good thing you had scalpel blades for that surgical job.... I am impressed, your resources are endless my friend! 😊

Yes! I am glad I had them, too, because I feel like X-Acto blades would have crushed the thin walls of this stuff! Thanks, Francis!

[Straightliner59]

Okay...so,  I made a new magneto. Once I had that done, I clamped the manifold in the mill vise mounted on the angle table, and drilled it for guide pins for the injectors. I had to see what that looked like, with everything sitting together. I am going to install a wing to the top of the cage. I really like the way these look with them! It's coming along! Questions, critiques and comments are always welcome. Thanks for having a look!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

It just keeps getting better my friend, all these nice additions only make this project more realistic!  I also like the wing on the top, it's typical of this kind of vehicle. 👍

[Straightliner59]

21 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

It just keeps getting better my friend, all these nice additions only make this project more realistic!  I also like the wing on the top, it's typical of this kind of vehicle. 👍

Thank you, my friend! I really enjoy adding little bits of "eye candy"! Although I have seen them both ways, I just think they look so wicked, with that big old wing, up there!

[Straightliner59]

Sorry. Nothing to see, here, folks. Just wanted to let anyone who cares know that I have been struggling to build a new manifold. A very knowledgeable friend asked me what manufacturer's setup it was; Enderle, Hilborn, or another, I know, but am drawing an absolute blank on, at the moment. When I replied that it was supposed to represent somebody's home-built unit, it dawned on me, that the manifold didn't look very home-built. Therefore, here, I am! I think I finally have it worked out, and I am fairly well into construction. Hope to have photos, later!

[Straightliner59]

I learned a bit, and started again. After these photos were taken. Just keep inching closer to what I am expecting. This is one of the valve covers I'll be using. They're shot with Krylon Original Chrome. I was messing around with craft wire, and heat shrink tubing--I'm going to need a lower radiator hose. I'll make it the size of the smaller one, here. Thanks for looking!

[DustyMojave]

In order to make it look like it's a home fabricated intake manifold, it should probably look like it's fabricated from steel tube with the tubes welded to head flanges. Over the decades, I've encountered home brewed intakes on things as disparate as an Edmunds midget with an Alfa Romeo engine with home-made fuel injection, to a C/Modified class SCCA road racer with a Devin body on a tube frame with an Olds V8 with dual quads, to an unlimited class offroad race buggy with a Ferrari V12 engine, to a sand rail with a Pinto, with ENORMOUS intake ports in the head, again with home made FI. ALL OF THOSE were made of steel tube welded to cut plate flanges. Not that a manifold CAN'T BE made of cast aluminum, it's just far more likely that someone making a home-grown system would make a one-off out of welded steel tube.

Headers, like everything else, look GREAT!

[Straightliner59]

3 hours ago, DustyMojave said:

In order to make it look like it's a home fabricated intake manifold, it should probably look like it's fabricated from steel tube with the tubes welded to head flanges. Over the decades, I've encountered home brewed intakes on things as disparate as an Edmunds midget with an Alfa Romeo engine with home-made fuel injection, to a C/Modified class SCCA road racer with a Devin body on a tube frame with an Olds V8 with dual quads, to an unlimited class offroad race buggy with a Ferrari V12 engine, to a sand rail with a Pinto, with ENORMOUS intake ports in the head, again with home made FI. ALL OF THOSE were made of steel tube welded to cut plate flanges. Not that a manifold CAN'T BE made of cast aluminum, it's just far more likely that someone making a home-grown system would make a one-off out of welded steel tube.

Headers, like everything else, look GREAT!

Thank you, Richard. This injection setup is/has been a real challenge! Trying to make it look like something someone could weld up, in their own shop, and get it so the injectors align, and I can set up the linkage has had me pretty constantly scratching my head! I'm close with something now, that I figure could be built from plate, and rectangular and round pipe. Once I have it sorted, I'll post a few photos, and look forward to your feedback. Thanks for looking and for your comments. They're always appreciated.

[Straightliner59]

On 12/20/2021 at 4:42 PM, DustyMojave said:

In order to make it look like it's a home fabricated intake manifold, it should probably look like it's fabricated from steel tube with the tubes welded to head flanges. Over the decades, I've encountered home brewed intakes on things as disparate as an Edmunds midget with an Alfa Romeo engine with home-made fuel injection, to a C/Modified class SCCA road racer with a Devin body on a tube frame with an Olds V8 with dual quads, to an unlimited class offroad race buggy with a Ferrari V12 engine, to a sand rail with a Pinto, with ENORMOUS intake ports in the head, again with home made FI. ALL OF THOSE were made of steel tube welded to cut plate flanges. Not that a manifold CAN'T BE made of cast aluminum, it's just far more likely that someone making a home-grown system would make a one-off out of welded steel tube.

Headers, like everything else, look GREAT!

Hi, Richard. Here's what I came up with, and my explanation of it, based on your comments: I am calling the throttle bodies early Hilborn. My mechanic/garage engineer welded rectangular tube to the plate flanges, but went ahead and incorporated the valley cover into the piece. Next, using 1-1/2" steel tube, he formed the injector runners (which would be split, on the 1:1 item), and welded them to the intake runners, mounted to the flange/valley cover assembly. I think it sounds and looks feasible. Thoughts?

I still have some mounting hardware to make, and I intend to add some "welds" to the manifold assembly, once I have the injector runners mounted to the lower manifold assembly. I still need to drill the throttle bodies for the injectors, and sort the linkage and throttle (barrel?) valve.

I am interested in comments from anyone who happens to be looking, regarding what you think of the manifold, and the feasibility of the whole idea! I'll be adding the bolts, water outlets and oil filler to the manifold, as well. Thanks for looking! More photos, once I get it all loosely assembled...

[Straightliner59]

Apparently, with me, fuel injection systems must become some sort of saga. Thankfully, this one won't be taking anywhere near the twenty-odd years the Enderle setup did, for the junior fueler! I need to temporarily mount the injectors, so that I can properly align and cement the runner tubes to the manifold. Once that's done, I can work on the weld beads and finish. I found this old bottle of Floquil paint in my stash. I think it'll do, nicely, to represent the discoloration of the welds. I had a (late) friend who did all the hard-facing on an AMT bulldozer blade and ripper using only Floquil paint, so, I suppose the paint could be used to create the beads, if I care to give that a go. Anyway...it's getting closer. Thanks for looking!

[alan barton]

Dan, I continue to enjoy your progress on this epic Edmunds.  It is a really well thought out model with an amazing amount of engineering - I believe the American term is "ten pounds of potatoes in a five pound bag!"

I  am particularly enjoying the saga of the home made injection manifold.  I once built an Aussie style Fiat 500 (not Topolino) altered using a Y block for power.  I took the crazy curved injection tubes from the Double Dragster kit and then added the eight Strombergs from the same kit to the top of the tubes for a very home made looking ram induction set up.  In all probably it would have worked terribly if at all but like you, I wanted it to look like a home mechanic item.

If I could offer a suggestion on your current injection manifold.  Have you thought about using fine thread to duplicate amateur welding? Many years ago I scratchbuilt an IMCA modified.  They feature GM subframes which have a very distinctive and somewhat crude weld along the top of the rails joining the inners and outers together.  I glued a length of cotton down the middle of the rails of a modified plastic Chevelle subframe and after a coat of primer and colour it did a pretty god job.  If you wrapped thread around the lower joins of your manifold tubes, I'm sure you could achieve a similar effect.

Cheers

Alan