Ramchargers High 'n Mighty

[Ace-Garageguy]

5 minutes ago, Steamboat said:

Any ideas what the idler pulley in this photo is used for?  I have a belt set that puts the generator up above the driver side valve cover and a PS pump forward of the head.  Photos of the replica car don't show the generator, but it's not on the passenger side.  I'll delete the PS, but am curious as to where to put the generator.

My guess is the idler pulley is simply a way to tension the water pump drive belt in the absence of a generator on an adjustable mounting.

I don't know if this particular car even had a charging system, but running in an 'altered' class as opposed to a 'gasser' class, some equipment associated with a streetable vehicle wasn't required.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy
TYPO

[Steamboat]

Good call!  Generator delete in progress!

[Steamboat]

I noticed that they were using a magneto in one of the photos so the battery would only have been needed for starting 

[Ace-Garageguy]

9 minutes ago, Steamboat said:

I noticed that they were using a magneto in one of the photos so the battery would only have been needed for starting 

Yup, and you can push-start a mag-equipped car with no battery anyway... 

[Steamboat]

Minor detour..

I was having a hard time getting my 3d printed intake runners and plenum to look right.  The resulting intake is just too narrow and tall.  Part of the problem was the mish mash of parts I was using for an engine - Revell Hemi Hydro heads and an LA 318 block from who knows where.  The whole engine was too narrow.  Then I remembered that I had an engine from the AMT '57 Chrysler (prepainted kit) in my stash.  IMO it's the best stock 1st generation hemi ever kitted.  The detail is superb.  It's an automatic, but I also had a correct looking manual trans in my parts box.  Last pic is the engine partially assembled, with generator delete courtesy of Bill's previous reply. 

It hurt me to sand off all of that rocker arm detail, but the alternative would have been to hollow out the valve covers - a lot of work for something that will never be seen.

[Straightliner59]

That's a nice Hemi, in the 300. Good call!

[Steamboat]

I've been doing some work on the AMT '41 Plymouth chassis, filling gaps and adding floor pans.  Here you can see where I cut 5/16" out of the floor pan, and added 1/2" above the rear axle.  The inner fender wells were scratch built. The motor mount is 3d printed.  The transmission mount will go away, it's just for mock-up use right now.  Apparently the Ramchargers used a truck bellhousing, because it also has the 2 mounts on the bellhousing.  I'm making another crossover for that now.  Also, the front bumper extensions will go away after everything is fixed in place.

[Steamboat]

I just noticed those huge ejection marks on the front crossmember.  It's amazing what a photo will show that you don't notice while doing the build!

[David G.]

Looks like a fun and interesting project! You have a great start on it.

David G.

[Steamboat]

Headers - The iconic headers at first are daunting, but analyzing them piece by piece they are not so bad.  Looking at the photos, I realized that all of the tubes appear to have the same curvature.  With a little experimentation I found a pretty close radius at 9" and the trumpet length of 15".  So I drew them up in CAD and printed a set for the passenger side.  I made a jig for them as shown and mocked up the fit with the body and chassis.

 

Then I removed the body and replaced the chassis in the same position, allowing me to measure the relative position of the engine and headers.

 

Going back into CAD, I was able to position the header flange in relation to the tubes.

Then it was just a "simple" LOL matter of connecting the flange to the outlet pipe by building a tube in 3d.  Not simple at all, it took about 2 hours to draw the first tube, but now I've got a process and the rest should be pretty straightforward.  This is the #2 tube as drawn.

I just printed the flange with the #2 tube.  I'll test fit it, make corrections and then try it with #2 and #4.

[magicmustang]

Incredible work on those headers.

I was happy to find an old set of Johan funny car headers I worked into my attempt years ago that looked okay.

Edited March 29, 2023 by magicmustang

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Sweet, just love it

[Steamboat]

18 hours ago, magicmustang said:

Incredible work on those headers.

I was happy to find an old set of Johan funny car headers I worked into my attempt that looked okay.

Looks good.  When I started this project 10 years ago I would have been thrilled to find those headers.  3d printing has really opened a new door for me.

[chryslerjunkandstuff]

Excellent project you've got going here..

I've always dug this car too..

Then I remembered, hey, I've got some pics of it in my files that cannot possibly aid in this build thread!

Better post em anyway!

 

 

Probably my favorite photo of this car, and it is too cool that they used a '57 Plymouth Fury to haul this thing around with on a tow bar, AND used it for push-starts, etc.

I'd love to have a resin kit of this car someday..

[Ace-Garageguy]

[David G.]

Great work on the headers!

David G.

[Scott8950]

Fantastic work 

[wrenchr]

On 3/22/2023 at 12:17 PM, Steamboat said:

That has to be the most uncomfortable seat I have ever seen!

the whole car looks uncomfortable..................:) 

[Steamboat]

I'm doing some work on the interior sheet metal, using real aluminum when I can: 1) for ease of shaping and 2) my supply of Testor's aluminum metallizer is running out.  I recently saw that one bottle was priced at $30 on everyone's favorite auction site!

Can anyone tell what the source of the aluminum was?  Soda cans will also work just as well but they are not as much fun!

 

 

[Straightliner59]

I'm not sure what you might have used, but I use aluminum step flashing. A lot of it! This is a very cool project. I've only seen one other replica of it. That one was built by Neil Van Zile. I think he used a diecast body. Maybe.?

[David G.]

Nice work on the aluminum fabrication. Nothing looks more like metal than metal.

Just a guess on the source, printing plates? The texture doesn't look right though.

David G. 

[Steamboat]

50 minutes ago, David G. said:

Just a guess on the source, printing plates? The texture doesn't look right though.

OK, a hint.  A lot of aluminum gets trucked into St. Louis.

[GLMFAA1]

What an ambitious project, Really a bit of history. I think I found the inspiration for the air induction scoop (would the AMT double dragster kit scoop work?).

How would you work on that engine after a run with those headers.

greg

Edited April 7, 2023 by GLMFAA1
wording

[Straightliner59]

17 hours ago, Steamboat said:

OK, a hint.  A lot of aluminum gets trucked into St. Louis.

As Harry Carey used to say, "I'm a Cub fan, and a Bud man."

[Steamboat]

On 4/7/2023 at 9:07 AM, GLMFAA1 said:

What an ambitious project, Really a bit of history. I think I found the inspiration for the air induction scoop (would the AMT double dragster kit scoop work?).

How would you work on that engine after a run with those headers.

greg

I made a scoop out of sheet styrene (10 years ago), but I think it's a bit too large for the carbs I'm using.  The carbs will be closer together when installed on the manifold.  I'll try my hand at 3d printing a scoop.  If it doesn't work out, I can make another from sheet stock.