Nostalgia Fuel Dragster--Blower Manifold (01/28/23)

[Ian McLaren]

Beautiful! 

[ea0863]

Daniel, I am amazed by your skills and ingenuity! That mockup is so stunning that it will almost be a shame to see paint on it  

[Tortuga Kustomz]

looks amazing, love it

[Straightliner59]

16 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Beautiful! 

Thank you, sir!

15 hours ago, ea0863 said:

Daniel, I am amazed by your skills and ingenuity! That mockup is so stunning that it will almost be a shame to see paint on it  

Thank you kindly, EMRE. I already have a dragster in unpainted metal!?  I understand what you're saying, though. It should look good. I'm leaning toward black with the gold "panels" and one of these two effects, in black (Sign Painter's One Shot), over the gold. The one on the left is done using kitchen plastic wrap. The right is with natural sponge. What do you think?

20 minutes ago, Tortuga Kustomz said:

looks amazing, love it

Thank you, Marcos! It's coming along!

[Straightliner59]

Well, it fits! It's not glued/pinned in, yet. I still need to fit the clutch blowback bars, and do some work to the motor plate (I can also see it's a little twisted, here--that'll need to be straightened). Eventually, I should be able to install the plate, and driveline, leaving the brass rod in place. Once the engine's built and ready to install, I can pull the loose rod, and run the original one, still in the engine, through the driveline. It should work well! 

I plan to do some test shots with paint, this weekend, so I can find out if my idea will be as I hope. Questions comments and critiques are always welcomed. Thanks for looking!

[Ian McLaren]

6 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Thank you, sir!

Thank you kindly, EMRE. I already have a dragster in unpainted metal!?  I understand what you're saying, though. It should look good. I'm leaning toward black with the gold "panels" and one of these two effects, in black (Sign Painter's One Shot), over the gold. The one on the left is done using kitchen plastic wrap. The right is with natural sponge. What do you think?

Thank you, Marcos! It's coming along!

Daniel l like this effect, I did the same on the tin on the Banzai Vega panel. I used the kitchen plastic wrap with transparent blue under transparent red on a silver base. I think I like your plastic wrap style better but it may come down to a matter of scale depending on the size of the panels your doing, the sponge effect may work better on smaller panels.

[ea0863]

8 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Thank you, sir!

Thank you kindly, EMRE. I already have a dragster in unpainted metal!?  I understand what you're saying, though. It should look good. I'm leaning toward black with the gold "panels" and one of these two effects, in black (Sign Painter's One Shot), over the gold. The one on the left is done using kitchen plastic wrap. The right is with natural sponge. What do you think?

Thank you, Marcos! It's coming along!

Both are cool, but I favor the boldness of the left panel!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Great job on the transmission Daniel, I'm not surprised that the whole thing fits well because you did everything the right way and now you're reaping the rewards!

[Straightliner59]

17 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Daniel l like this effect, I did the same on the tin on the Banzai Vega panel. I used the kitchen plastic wrap with transparent blue under transparent red on a silver base. I think I like your plastic wrap style better but it may come down to a matter of scale depending on the size of the panels your doing, the sponge effect may work better on smaller panels.

I'd forgotten about those panels! I'll fiddle around with this, and see what I come up with. It is a neat-looking effect.

[Straightliner59]

15 hours ago, ea0863 said:

Both are cool, but I favor the boldness of the left panel!

That seems to be the consensus (myself included)! Thank you, sir!

[Straightliner59]

10 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Great job on the transmission Daniel, I'm not surprised that the whole thing fits well because you did everything the right way and now you're reaping the rewards!

Thank you, Francis. I had to shorten the drive tube a little, to get it to fit, but, I knew I was very close, due to assembling, disassembling then reassembling several times before anything ever got paint. You know how that is!

[Straightliner59]

I finished fitting the floorboard. I drilled for the clutch exhaust, and hammered a couple of divots: One for the brake cylinder flange, and one for the brake 't'-fitting, on the third member. I like the way the pipe sticks through! I'm going to thin the wall some, yet, too. I'll lightly airbrush a trail of clutch dust, behind it.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Straightliner59

[Straightliner59]

I just spent the last three hours or so, testing my idea for the paint. This is tooling aluminum, burnished over an AMT '32 Ford hood. It's been sitting around here, for years. I used it, because it's aluminum, and because it has a distinct area for a panel. Krylon gray primer, my Humbrol metallics mixture (cut with lacquer thinner), Walmart Color Place gloss black spray and Sign Painter's One Shot black for the effect in the panel. I think we have a chicken dinner!  Imagine when I take my time! What do you all think? Thanks for looking!

Edited April 8, 2023 by Straightliner59

[Straightliner59]

I think I like this: On the left end of the panel, just to check for effect, I brushed some Tamiya Clear Orange over the paint. I like the warmth it gives the gold. I brushed some Tamiya Smoke over the bellhousing and reverser. I think it gives the bellhousing a look more similar to the titanium prototype. I won't be doing the border. I had to see, though. 

[Ian McLaren]

21 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

I just spent the last three hours or so, testing my idea for the paint. This is tooling aluminum, burnished over an AMT '32 Ford hood. It's been sitting around here, for years. I used it, because it's aluminum, and because it has a distinct area for a panel. Krylon gray primer, my Humbrol metallics mixture (cut with lacquer thinner), Walmart Color Place gloss black spray and Sign Painter's One Shot black for the effect in the panel. I think we have a chicken dinner!  Imagine when I take my time! What do you all think? Thanks for looking!

Love it!  Also the panel with the Orange is a real stand out.

[Straightliner59]

17 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Love it!  Also the panel with the Orange is a real stand out.

Thank you, Ian! Yes, I'll definitely be going with the orange overcoat. It just kind of makes it pop. 

Before I went to bed Sunday morning, I got the motor plate and driveline installed. The last thing I did was to paint the tubes for the blowback devices. The brass rod is tacky-glued at the motor plate, so that it doesn't slip out, during construction. When it's time to install the engine, I will pull it out, and replace it with the one that's permanently attached through the engine. Easy as pie! I need to add bolts to the rear of the blowback tubes, and to the motor plate. Then, I can add the pedals, handles and cables, before moving on to the steering box, and the dash. Maybe in a couple of months, I can have it in the display case!

[Straightliner59]

The clutch assembly is complete! The pedal and linkage and the adjustment cover have been installed. Next up will be the reverser, and some bolts on the motor plate.

[absmiami]

breast and thighs

[Straightliner59]

The reverser and brake handle are installed. I brushed some Floquil Crystal Coat on the wooden grips. I always liked that as a clear coat--the bottle I have is 40 years old, and it hasn't yellowed, at all. I miss that brand.  I shot some paint on the throttle pedal, so it can dry while I attempt to thread the cable through the "stop" tab, soldered to the inside of the chassis. It's proving to be tricky! As always, comments, questions and critiques are welcomed. Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

The throttle pedal and (the first!) cable are installed. I feel like I am making steady progress. I shot some semi-gloss black on the steering box. I think that will be the next installation. That, and construction of the butterfly. Comments, critiques and questions are welcomed. Thanks for looking!

 

[AmericanMuscleFan]

There is no harm in moving slowly at this point, it's all in the details and you are doing a great job Daniel ! ?

[Straightliner59]

7 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

There is no harm in moving slowly at this point, it's all in the details and you are doing a great job Daniel ! ?

True, enough. Unfortunately, it didn't help, today. I've had a series of mishaps that have all been disheartening. While installing the steering box, I broke off the steering support (again!). At this point, solder is not an option. I drilled the support, and drilled the chassis .020", and installed a small piece of wire to anchor it with superglue. It will be plenty strong, once the rest of the steering is in place to add support. I proceeded to install them, temporarily, because they fit well, and snugly. Problem solved! Except that, when I began to glue the data wiring for the shaft speed, I discovered that the driveline tube was loose, just spinning around the center shaft. While attempting to cement it in place, I realized that I'd accidentally glued the front "collar" too far back on the drive tube. While attempting to slide it forward, the tube and front collar crushed. That caused the reverser to come loose from the bellhousing. When that happened, the reverser rotated from side-to-side, pushing the bellhousing forward and bending the motor plate. It also disconnected the blow back rod, on one side.  Again, I refrained from shelving the project.

I have straightened the motor plate. I now need to cut a new drive tube and make a new front collar for it. The bellhousing will need to be reattached to the plate. The reverser must be re-mounted to the bellhousing and its linkage reattached, and the driveline reassembled. I hope that's everything. The idea behind all my planning was to work myself up and out of the cockpit, and avoid having to work beneath the steering. Fortunately, the bottom of the chassis is open, so that helps, some. I hope that I can have it all back together by bedtime, in the morning. Just one of those days!

[Straightliner59]

Well, it was a long, intense day, without a lot of sleep. Mission accomplished. I'm basically back to where I started, with a couple of improvements. I will need to clean up and touch up the joint where the steering support meets the chassis. Anyway...I am tired, and need to get some sleep. Thanks for looking!

[Pierre Rivard]

This is incredible work Daniel. The level of detailing and finishes is mind bogling. Scratch building extraordinaire!

Can't help but shake my head thinking of these old dragsters with the engine ahead of the driver, with the risk involved with blow ups. And to think that axle diff is so close to...well you know!

 

[Straightliner59]

19 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

This is incredible work Daniel. The level of detailing and finishes is mind bogling. Scratch building extraordinaire!

Can't help but shake my head thinking of these old dragsters with the engine ahead of the driver, with the risk involved with blow ups. And to think that axle diff is so close to...well you know!

 

Thank you so kindly, Pierre! Indeed, the risks are greater with that big, ol' grenade in front of your face! This one will have a bag and straps for the blower, being a more modern Nostalgia Top Fuel car, but fire is still a concern. There was a point, yesterday that it looked like the driveline had exploded. I'm glad I got it back together without feeling like it isn't as decent as before!