I am going to be out of the shop for a couple of days. E-mails might be a bit delayed as well as shipments of adapters. If you need to get a hold of me, please feel to give me a call. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Final fabrication on the '50...
Over the weekend, we were able to finish up all of the heavy fabrication on the '50 Chevy truck. The original mount mount and core support was utilized so that all of the front sheet metal will bolt up like factory.
Mounting the original 6 in the sub frame presented an interesting problem. Normally, when installing a V8 in an AD truck that has been subframed, you can use the original engine mounts and move them back about 2". With a 235 however, the front engine mount needs to be located where there is nothing but open space. Here is our solution:
Mounting the original 6 in the sub frame presented an interesting problem. Normally, when installing a V8 in an AD truck that has been subframed, you can use the original engine mounts and move them back about 2". With a 235 however, the front engine mount needs to be located where there is nothing but open space. Here is our solution:
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Truck progress...
Now with the Opel out of the shop, our full attention can be concentrated on the '50 Chevy truck subframe. We were able to make some progress over the weekend getting the boxing plates in. Making a good transition between the old frame is critical not only for proper strength, but for looks. Ultimately, it should look like the factory installed it...
Delivered...
The Opel is done and delivered! What a fun little car to work on...going to miss it actuall.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Illuminating concept...
Originally, Opel engineers relied on two micro switches buried deep in the headlight assembly to switch the headlight relay. Apparently, these have been a constant source of grief for the owner, so I wanted to figure out a better way. This is what I came up with....
It's a motorcycle brake light switch that was mounted on the headlight lever. As the lever is pushed to expose the headlights, the assemble pulls on the switch and connects the circuit to turn the headlight relay on. I wired it exactly like a horn relay as the switch only activates the ground of the relay coil. This way, it's very low current draw and you only have to run one wire. Should be able to get it all hooked up this evening...
It's a motorcycle brake light switch that was mounted on the headlight lever. As the lever is pushed to expose the headlights, the assemble pulls on the switch and connects the circuit to turn the headlight relay on. I wired it exactly like a horn relay as the switch only activates the ground of the relay coil. This way, it's very low current draw and you only have to run one wire. Should be able to get it all hooked up this evening...
Monday, March 18, 2013
Almost Done...
This list of things to do keeps dwindling...
- Heater motor
- Dome light switches
- Headlight switch
So far, everything is working like it is suppose to. All of the gauges, dash lights and switches are hooked up and functioning properly. It is really nice to have working gauges...especially the gas gauge. After this, I might go back and hook the one up in the '40.
As I was checking the functionality of the gauges, I accidentally cranked it and it fired. So after making sure it had oil and coolant, I gave it a couple taps on the accelerator and it started right up. The gas was old and you can tell the engine needed to be run, but still, it did run fairly well. The oil pressure came right up and it sounded good. There were a couple of little oil leaks that need to be addressed as well as some re-routing of vacuum lines. It's getting closer...
- Heater motor
- Dome light switches
- Headlight switch
So far, everything is working like it is suppose to. All of the gauges, dash lights and switches are hooked up and functioning properly. It is really nice to have working gauges...especially the gas gauge. After this, I might go back and hook the one up in the '40.
As I was checking the functionality of the gauges, I accidentally cranked it and it fired. So after making sure it had oil and coolant, I gave it a couple taps on the accelerator and it started right up. The gas was old and you can tell the engine needed to be run, but still, it did run fairly well. The oil pressure came right up and it sounded good. There were a couple of little oil leaks that need to be addressed as well as some re-routing of vacuum lines. It's getting closer...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Subframe progress...
Well, there's no turning back now....
This is by far the most critical part of the job. We must have measured for an hour making sure that the front clip is in the right location and square to the original frame.
We still have to make a transition between the original frame and the Camaro subframe. Because the customer wanted this truck to sit close to original ride height, the sub frame had to be welded in fairly low. Normally, the top of the subframe is much higher than the top of the original frame, making the vehicle sit much lower. Regardless, we'll get it done and make it look like the factory did it.
This is by far the most critical part of the job. We must have measured for an hour making sure that the front clip is in the right location and square to the original frame.
We still have to make a transition between the original frame and the Camaro subframe. Because the customer wanted this truck to sit close to original ride height, the sub frame had to be welded in fairly low. Normally, the top of the subframe is much higher than the top of the original frame, making the vehicle sit much lower. Regardless, we'll get it done and make it look like the factory did it.
There will be boxing plates welded on the top, bottom and both side to complete the transition. Completely boxing the frame greatly increases the overall strength.
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