Do you also have 1:1 project cars?

[Raoul Ross]

My project is a roller now.

 

Dig the El Camino tailpipes!

[Bills72sj]

15 hours ago, Raoul Ross said:

My project is a roller now.

Dig the El Camino tailpipes!

I was looking and seeing a SBC, truck tires and 2-wheel drive. What was throwing me off was the 4-link coil spring suspension. El Camino!

[Raoul Ross]

On 5/27/2023 at 12:33 AM, Whosurdaddy209 said:

I have a 68 corvette with a 73 flood car for parts, and a rebuilt chassis from a 75. The frame needs to be modified where the fuel tank goes so the bumper brackets will line up properly, but I’m making steady progress on it. It going to have a LS/T56 with 410 posi, 18x10 wheels in the back and 17x8 in the front

 

I like this, moar pix please!

[Raoul Ross]

I've updated my project. Register and you can see the full-size pix... it's free.

https://oldchevelles.com/index.php?threads/7595/

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by Raoul Ross

[bobss396]

This keeps me off the street. A '59 Ford Custom 300 I picked up in Denver in 2014 as a shell. I put in a 355 SBC worth about 425 HP, Muncie M20, 3.89 locker rear. Underneath the car, everything is new. 

[espo]

Something about a base model sedan carrying a big punch under the hood is very appealing to me. 

[53gmc]

I daily these during the good weather

[JollySipper]

2 hours ago, 53gmc said:

I daily these during the good weather

Is that a doggo in the Bug?

[53gmc]

12 hours ago, JollySipper said:

Is that a doggo in the Bug?

Yeah my schnauzer/scotty mix, she loves car rides lol

[bobss396]

A couple more of the '59 Ford.

[W Humble]

Best answer to that topic question in my case would be "Do I also have scale model project cars?"  I'm finishing a 1951 Chevy Styline 2-door sedan resto-mod for my son; long term project that wasn't meant to be that way, for one.  FiTech 350 SBC, T-5 five-speed, M II front end, discs all around -- a hundred other mods.  He's paying the parts tab, and I'm doing it for a gift; it was one of my late Dad's cars (1954-57) which surfaced again in about 1985 and we were able to 'repossess'.  It was his 16th birthday present. I did all the body and paint, original style acrylic lacquer.  Also making a resin rep kit of it!

Also a '1961 Pontiac Tempest coupe with the rare Buick aluminum V-8, almost a complete rebuild, and almost stock.  I'm upgrading the 215-incher to a 4-bbl and duals, Pertronix ignition, and alloy Land Rover valve covers, etc.  Buick only let DeLorean have 2,000 of these in '61 and again '62, before he gave up and put the iron 326 (actually 336-cu.in.) V-8s in the '63s.  A restomod ground-up 1971 Datsun 240Z that I did all except the '75 L-28 and 5-speed.  Also, I have a'51 Ford Crestliner driver, that I bought recently; an older resto (1980s) but mechanically a bomb.  I've done about twenty restorations for myself and friends: '51 Merc, '37 Plymouth, '54 and '56 F-100s, '69 V-W, a lot of '55-57 Chevys, '58, '64, and '72 Chevy half-tons, and... Plus, my bought-new 1970 Z-Car, which I restored for my book HOW TO RESTORE YOUR DATSUN Z-CAR (CA Bill's Automotive Handbooks, 1990) and sold back to NISSAN USA in '95!  

Having a lot of 1/1 car paint is handy for doing car kits!  Wick, age 78

 

[gtx6970]

At my age stage in life. I'm afraid I'm way past the idea of a project. 

But I do have something I can /do tinker with when the needs arises. 

 

1966 Satellite.  426 hemi auto.

I'm about to retire the end of December.  And someday soon plan to pull the drive train to refresh it .

Might flip it up on its side and redo the bottom side.

 

But. until or IF that day arrives. It's just maintenance and upkeep.

Edited November 20, 2023 by gtx6970

[Rob Hall]

My '87 Mustang GT and my '69 Mustang are my long term project cars.  I don't have the time, tools and skills to do the restoration work myself, but definitely can write checks to professionals to do that.  The '87 was mostly finished last week (needs a few small things still done that I can probably do myself without ruining things), and the work on the '69 is just getting started after close to 30 years in the barn (my Dad bought it new, the year before I was born). 

[W Humble]

Bill, you know your own situation best, but I'm 78 and have plans to build a '53 Studebaker 'phantom' roadster (slice and dice method) to sit on a shortened S-10 frame with IROC-Z engine and T-5... at least I hope to!  

It sounds to me like you DO have plans after retirement, with the nice MoPar.  Love those seat patterns!  Good Luck!  Wick

[gtx6970]

Thanks.

 

Deep down. 

I'm not sure it will ever come apart. I drive the car ..A LOT. 

[Tabbysdaddy]

Well, that didn't last too long. My wife said she heard squeaking, and I found the harmonic balancer almost came all the way off. So since the JB Weld failed now I'm thinking of welding the key to the crankshaft so the bolt doesn't loosen. Unless someone else might have a better idea? Other than changing the crankshaft or engine, which I'll probably end up changing the engine at some point. 

[Raoul Ross]

How did this happen originally?

First, the key(s?) are not there to turn the balancer, they are only there to locate (orient) it to the crankshaft properly. The clamping force the center bolt applies to the balancer to the crankshaft is what is supposed to turn the balancer. Are there 2 keys used? Does the balancer slip onto the crankshaft nose easily? There should be enough interference that a hammer and a block of wood is needed to get it to fully bottom out on the nose. If the balancer wobbles on the crank nose replace it with a new one, it's worn out (or the crank nose is deformed, and you know what that means... replacement).

The balancer should fully bottom out on the crank, all the way to the first bearing journal. Then the bolt should be liberally coated with Locktite (red) and tourqued to spec.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Raoul Ross

[Ace-Garageguy]

11 hours ago, Tabbysdaddy said:

Well, that didn't last too long. My wife said she heard squeaking, and I found the harmonic balancer almost came all the way off. So since the JB Weld failed now I'm thinking of welding the key to the crankshaft so the bolt doesn't loosen. Unless someone else might have a better idea? Other than changing the crankshaft or engine, which I'll probably end up changing the engine at some point. 

Generally, damage like that simply can NOT be rigged with any degree of permanence. And amateur welding, or any attempt to weld the key in, will most likely cause more harm than good.

EDIT: That crank is probably a form of cast iron, in which case pretty much forget welding it anyway unless the welder really knows his stuff. There are SEVERAL ways to weld it, or braze it, but finding somebody who can do it right will probably be difficult. If it's indeed locally weldable (meaning you can find a guy who knows the various acceptable procedures and fillers, and who has the skill), cast cranks are still so relatively cheap that it's just not cost-effective to repair it correctly, which would involve machining the nose after building it up, and possibly needing to heat-treat and/or straighten it as well.

That said, if it was mine and I really really needed to avoid replacing the crank for as long as possible (or in an EOTWAWKI situation) I'd most likely try using Loctite 620 "High Temperature Stud and Bearing Mount" to "glue" the balancer to the crank snout. It's made for fitting cylindrical slip-fit things together and keeping them from rotating relative to each other (though not really stuff this bad...but it will substantially reduce the side load put on the keys).

Thoroughly clean EVERYTHING with alcohol, including the retaining bolt and crank threads PRIOR to doing anything else, and keep the work clean.

Then rebuild the broken area like you did before to reduce the potential for end-wobble;

Then assemble the balancer to the crank with the Loctite 620 on the crank snout and inside the balancer bore. It's an anaerobic adhesive, which means it cures without air getting to it.

EDIT: BE CERTAIN your Loctite 620 doesn't squeeze out too much from the backside as you push the balancer on to the crank. If it gets between front main cap and the bearing, it could conceivably lock the engine. A coating of Vaseline on the front face of the main cap around the bearing should be enough to prevent that happening.

Finally, when you put the bolt in, use Loctite 271 on the threads to prevent the bolt from backing out, and be sure to torque it properly.

WARNING: BOTH these Loctite products require HEAT to remove. A LOT of heat. 

I can't guarantee this will work, but it's the best shot you've got short of replacing the crank. And I would most definitely try it.  

Edited December 13, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

One more thing...the break looks more like it's a steel crank, and it appears the failure occurred because the damper wasn't as tight a fit on the crank as it should have been, and/or the bolt wasn't properly torqued.

The small fracture lines to the left of the key would usually indicate a progressive fatigue failure from repeated high-frequency, low amplitude impacts.

As the engine rotates clockwise (when viewed from the front), that would be consistent with a somewhat loose balancer repeatedly striking the RH face of the key for a long time.

If it's a steel crank, it might be worth saving, as used steel cranks are considerably more expensive than cast iron cranks, and welding steel way out there on the nose is not as much of a "black art" as welding cast iron.

If it were MY steel crank, I'd definitely weld it, machine it round again, and mill a new key slot, as I have the tools and ability to do it in-house. But buying a used steel crank would probably be cheaper than paying someone to repair it correctly. Then there's the additional expense pf pulling the engine and tearing it down (if you can't do it yourself), as the crank HAS TO BE OUT to do a decent repair.

Thing is though, steel cranks are kinda overkill for non-high-performance or severe-duty applications, so replacing it with a cast iron crank is probably the best eventual solution...EDIT: or finding a good takeout engine.

Decent used SBC engines aren't as plentiful as they once were, but there are still some out there, particularly as LS swaps have become so common.

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[Tabbysdaddy]

I'm just kind of playing around with it. It being my newest (99) I kind of play around with all my old vehicles fairly regularly. I'm going to see if my favorite junkyard has an engine this weekend before I do anything. I'll see if they have a transmission for the S10 yet too while I'm there, the wife misses it. I also might just put another antique on the road instead. My brother passed a few years ago and I have his old V8 Dakota. My wife and daughter both want to drive it.

[CaddyDaddy]

1968 Pontiac Catalina, spotless, with 27,000 original miles. 455 out at the engine builders now getting bored/stroked. Shooting for 600HP on the dyno. Turbo 400, Ford 9 inch with 3.70’s. Line loc. Trans brake. Too much else to list. I’ll get it all together “someday”. Also have bone stock Coupe deVilles (1967, 1970, 1976, 1983) all with less than 30,000 miles. Just bought a 2023 Scatpack Widebody Challenger as an everyday car.

[W Humble]

Bill, Yep -- try finding a good 283 block, nowadays!  OC the four-bolt mains 350 has more going for it than original mouse, but...  We're using one, camouflaged as a 327 (albeit painted black) in my son's '51 Chevy Syline 2-door (was my Dad's car, once -- relocated in the mid '80s!) FiTech, Sanderson headers, HEI, etc.  Why?  "When you and my uncles talked cars, you always said 'Remember that 327 we had in the '55 BelAir, and how it beat that Chevelle 396?' ad infinitum!"  Family legends!  So, I found a 'pair' of 327-label valve covers and had them powder-coated black!  

I have two SBC's in 1/25 with that style valve cover, but the only ones I've ever located.  Begun in '62, it had only a few-years run in 1/1.  Very distinctive, evocative!  I think the AMT '62 Imp kits had them, with '327' numerals in the label area, maybe others?  Like to have a few more!  Wick

[Tabbysdaddy]

Went to the junkyard today, they have a 99 5.7 with 60,000 miles and they're giving it to me for $600. It's from a Cadillac though, so I have to swap everything. Intake and exhaust manifolds, timing cover, oil pan, everything external. Basically it's good as a long block. I'll pick it up next Saturday. Funny thing, the engine in my 93 also came from a Cadillac. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 12/16/2023 at 1:23 PM, W Humble said:

Bill, Yep -- try finding a good 283 block, nowadays! 

Indeed.

Sad story...one of the shops I work with routinely dumps "obsolete" components they take out of cars getting later-model swaps in the scrap-metal bin. 

Always seemed odd to me that the management of a shop that specializes in old vehicles wouldn't pursue the market for surviving vintage parts, but they don't. Once I realized that, I started scrap-dumpster diving regularly, and have rescued things like a pair of good early GTO heads, a 5-speed gearbox from a TR-8 that only needed an input shaft bearing, a 4-bolt main 350 Chebby block that only needs a .010" bore to clean it up, the Ford 8-inch diff that's going in the first iteration of my '32 roadster, alternators needing nothing but a diode, etc. etc.

The first time I realized the scrap-dumpster might be a goldmine was when I spotted a completely dressed smallblock Chebby engine in it. Even the carb was still on it. I checked the block and head casting numbers, then rolled it over far enough to get the pan off. 

Low and behold...a complete genuine 283 "power pack" engine with a forged crank!!

To say I was astounded would be an understatement, and I went to the shop manager to ask him if he knew what it was, and since it was in the dumpster already, could I have it.

He said "take it".

But when I came back Saturday to get it, it was gone.

EDIT: Since then I've adopted a "don't ask, don't tell" strategy. If it's in the scrapper, it's fair game.  

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[W Humble]

I've been there, bro Bill!  Too many times to recount (and keep my sanity intact!) but still score once in a while. Still, no one can keep it all!

My current 'thing' is the early Pontiac Tempest (Y-body) with the transaxle, etc.  My first auto article (for Special Interest Autos, July 1976) was the complete Tempest history.  I know of a dismantler (almost an old skool storage lot!) twenty miles from here that had four of 'em, esp parts for my current '61 coupe project, an aluminum V-8 car (Buick 215, oc, one of about 200 of this style ever built) and I have sourced a good windshield (!), heater core, and a lot of small stuff from some very haggard cars.  Also a set of cast valve covers from a Land Rover, who took over the 215, and 4-bbl intake from a very similar Olds F-85.  But while I wasn't looking they crushed a '61 ragtop with (bad idea) a later 326 iron V-8!

But the stuff that got deep-sixed... don't get me started.  Still, if I had to rely on eBay... I'd have given up 1/1 cars by now.  Ha!  Five years ago I was given an intact '65 Corvair (4-door) and passed it to another VCCA member who was thrilled, but maybe I should have kept the IRS??  Back in the day... !  

I'm mainly a body/paint man, strictly shade-tree, but over the years... some nice ones!  Hot-rodding the old-timey way! One thing, kit builds are almost as tedious, but less costly and easier to stash! Wick  Two doors & three pedals!