Updating the Super Street Mopar

[ckessel]

I decided that the back end of the piece needed to lose some altitude, which would help when I make the piece to the existing portion of the back floor. Since I already bent some flanges in it and needed to redo them, it was time to pull out the English Wheel. Along with all sorts of metal shaping you can do with these, they are great for fixing changes/screwups or other damage. The part just needs to be able to fit into it. Some years ago I smoothed out all the dents of a rear valance for a 46 Chevy panel truck. So I pulled the unit out from its spot along the wall, vacuumed it, wiped it down with a damp towel for the rest of the dust, took some Scotchbrite to the big wheel and the shaft for the lower mandrel, then put a film of Kroil on the various bare metal areas. Let that sit for awhile, then lightly wiped it off and proceeded to take the two flanges back out. Nice thing about fixing with the wheel is you're less likely to stretch the material while repairing as opposed to hammer and dolly.

 

[ckessel]

I re-bent the flanges in the brake, at the rear of the panel did 1.5" per side. That helped drop some altitude. On the front edge it was not flush with the tube so I got the shrinker out and pulled that edge down some. Getting closer still. I think tomorrow I'll drop it another inch in the back. Decided to stop for the day as I'm pooped from the day and I was starting to brain fart.

 

[ckessel]

Today I took another 1.5" out on both sides. That worked a lot better. After some more fitting/clamping, I marked out areas for weld hole drilling. Pulled the piece out, ran it through the bead roller[ after I adjusted the lower mark to compensate for the changes], punched holes in, hit it with a scotchbrite disc, wiped it down with acetone, then put some Ospho on it. Tomorrow after I move the metal machines back to their spot along the wall, I'll drop the engine/trans back out, prep the area for the new piece, add some more welding on the front piece, then weld in the new middle one.

 

[Kern Dog]

On the road by February?

 

[ckessel]

Of some year in the future.

 

[ckessel]

Today after putting the metal machines back in their spot along the wall, to give me maneuver room, I dropped the engine/trans back out. While it was out I pulled the headers off and fully welded the O2 bungs. Lh side was not as nice as the rh. Was using 1/16" rod, 319L since bungs are SS and headers are mild steel, then switched to a thinner rod plus lightened up the lens to around 7. Big difference on the rh side.

 

[ckessel]

Nothing zippy today, just some welding. I had one of those BFO[ blinding flash of the obvious] moments and realized that it I put the lift up some, I can stand between the seat frames for welding. Waaaayyyy better for pedal, TIG torch and filler rod coordination as opposed to stretching out of the car and using a toe to operate the pedal. Almost done putting more tacks on the front piece.

 

[Black_Sheep]

Working smarter, not harder. Often the end result is better too…

 

[ckessel]

Yup!

 

[ckessel]

Monday I was working at getting the new piece in place for welding. After helping an elder hot rod guy with his car tent putting a new cover on, I spied that he had a pair of welding/clamping Vice Grips that were 18" long in the throat. Was able to borrow those. Much can be said for helping connected, savvy people out. Got back to the house and struggled for awhile getting the piece secured. When I first made it, that really wasn't much of an issue so I stopped for the day since an inanimate object was winning the battle. Later on that evening after stewing over the problem I remembered that when I ran it through the bead roller the shape opened up some from me feeding it through. Yesterday I took it back out, put it back around the PVC chunk and re shaped it there, then put it back into the brake and redid the flanges. What a difference. I got it tack welded with the MIG and wrapped up for the day. Today I'll hit it with the TIG and get it fully secured then mark and trim the back edge.

 

[ckessel]

Today I trimmed the back portion off then fully welded it in.

 

[ckessel]

Yesterday I cleaned off the rear edge and worked it over with the hammer and dolly to flatten it off some. From there I put my two screw jacks under the rear portion of the floor to lift it up and level it out. From my excursions in and out of that area, the floor got pulled down. After that I got some of the poster board in place for the pattern of the next piece.
Today I marked out the pattern, cut it out, layed it on the sheet and cut it out. After cutting, wiped it down with Acetone then gave it a hit of Ospho. One of my fellow Saturday cars n coffee dudes was showing another of the guys a partially cracked mount flange on the aluminum radiator in his Nova. I had a look at it and he asked me if I knew of anyone who could weld aluminum. I smiled at him. After I got home I changed the settings on my TIG, changed the tungsten to a grey one, cleaned a piece of aluminum and laid down some practice beads. I wanted to make sure I had my mojo in tune so I don't blow a hole in his radiator next week. For those not in the know on TIG welding, you use a stainless wire brush to clean where you are going to weld. You must use a different brush for each type of metal you weld otherwise you'll cross contaminate the weld. Can't use a steel brush on aluminum or stainless etc. I like using the wood handled brushes as you can mark the brush for the metal type.

 

[ckessel]

Today I marked out the piece then started forming it up. Used the PVC for the first go around then for the rear area I wrapped it around the diamond wheel since its a smaller diameter. This piece will have a funnel taper to it from front to rear with the rear needing a flat area around the center. From there have a small radius heading down going to a flat area again then a radius at the lower. I used a piece of 3" square to get the center flat in then worked it on some tubing for the radius up top. So far it's working fine. I made a couple of mandrels to clamp in the vice, for forming against. with a piece of 3" EMT and one of the 3" square chunks. After lunch I'll continue.

 

[ckessel]

And here is after lunch.. Got the contours fitting pretty well. After I checked the fit, I removed it and punched in a bunch of holes for the welding to happen tomorrow. Got it clamped in place then ran some screws in to hold it in place. Lots of back and forth checking after working it on the new mandrels.

 

[Kern Dog]

Nice work, Carl. It is great to see regular guys like us do custom work like that.
There are a LOT of parts not found from vendors or shops. The only choice is to do what you’re doing or go without. With custom stuff, you really are on your own. Too bad this will be covered by carpet.
For years in construction I would stand back after framing a roof or house and just soak it all in. I love the feeling of doing something only a few can do. There is great pride in that.

 

[ckessel]

Thank you for the compliments. As I'm getting further along doing the floor, it's getting better. It's been 8+ years since I did any sheetmetal work, so working on the floor is helping me get back in the groove with my machines/techniques etc. The first and second piece were a little rough but, hey, they'll be covered up and will work just fine. This one hasn't been too tough so far. I've got more metal work coming up for the dash. Delete the ash tray, radio spot and a couple of others. Reconfigure for the digital cluster, AEM[ looks like the Holley one], add in an infotainment screen unit[ Alpine/Pioneer etc] which will take care of audio duties/maps/phone etc plus control my a/c[ via bluetooth] with the dash cam/rear view cam and FLIR camera. Also going to plumb in the HVAC outlets into the dash as opposed to having them hanging from under. My air filter unit will be fabbed up too. INTMD8 gave me some ideas for it as the last time I was working on it, in 2017, I was getting stumped so I stopped. Plus we were getting ready to move back to this area.

 

[ckessel]

Got the machine going to weld the back piece in, stepped on the pedal and nothing happened. Hmm. Checked some stuff, looked at the manual, still bupkis. Called Eastwood about a pedal replacement number, got it and the gal [very helpful] gave me some trouble shooting info. Hooked my finger control up, it works, so need new pedal. I went ahead and just used the finger unit. Just let off when it was time, then hit it again to continue. It's just an on/off switch, no amp control. The rear piece is now secured. On the old floor you can see two big holes on each side. Those were part of the welding for the seat belt backing plates. Going to make up some pieces to put on the backside to use with the plates I took out.

 

[ckessel]

Today I started plotting out for the seat belt anchor units. Originally on the old floor, there was a flat spot stamped into both portions of the floor. Since I cut out the forward floor, the new unit isn't conducive to the old plate. I decided to make the new ones from some 3/16" thick material as thats what I had available. What came out was 10ga, or .140 thick. I had some .125 but not enough so I figured use the 3/16. I cut them out to 3"X9", the originals are 3"X4". This will give me a much larger attaching footprint on the sheetmetal floor. 5" to the back and 4" to the front. I need to get a couple of 7/16nf Stover type flanged locknuts for the belts to mount to. I'll TIG those on when it's time. Will continue bending up the new plates to better fit the floor. Once I'm happy with them, I'll mark and drill holes for the spot welds.

 

[ckessel]

Today I got the plates worked over so they fit up better, took the hammer and dolly to the seam area which helped too. It's close enough now that pulling the floor to the plates with clamps will work fine. From there I marked out where the plates go and then punched a bunch of holes for the welding. Marked and drilled the holes in the plates for the lock nuts. I'll weld them in once my new pedal unit shows up.

 

[ckessel]

I zapped the lock nuts to the plates, now just need my pedal unit so I can get the TIG back in operation. After reminding myself to back off the rockers and shafts, plus squirt more Seafoam into the cylinders, I FINALLY did it today. I did put some Seafoam into them before we left Ramona. Shot some in, did half a crank rotation, shot more, half turn etc till I did two turns. About friggin time! Would think I need to do this then forget and move to the next thing in front of me.