6/11/08
Joe Montalto finally returned my call. The call was brief, but he indicated he would move soon on the bodywork. I called back and left a message.
I sent a quote over for radiator fabrication to Mike at SoCal Radiators. We’ll see what he brings.
7/14/08
No answer from Mike a SoCal Radiators, even though I mentioned it to Frank and left a message. I’ll move on to other makers of radiators to get this done.
I discussed strategy with Randy and we agreed that I need to get some seats, perhaps the ones I saw at the vendors’ row in Pomona, and get the steering column set.
As the pictures her indicate, I now have some seats. Read on. I also need to set the master and booster. It would be nice to have the AC in, but that just ain’t gonna happen without more money right now.
For now, here is a mockup of the Old Air brand unit based on their own measurements of 13 x 12 x 8. It sits WAY forward, up next to the transfer case just above the right A-arm. This will force the firewall either forward of it.
I’ll move later this week to accomplish more on the master.
7/22/08
Well, more like 6 weeks later on the master. Randy came by today, and in a short time we got the master hung by wire and roughly positioned. I adjusted the steering column position as well. The brake system fits under the dash completely, clears the column, and leaves enough room for an AC system on the right, if I were going to use the tucked-under-the-dash VBintage or Classic system. I had intended to use a Classic or Vintage Air system tucked under the dash. However, Randy claims the “Old Air” product is the best of the three major retrofit systems.
I spoke at length with Richard at Old air, and Richard feels their unit with its draw-through system rather than blow-through design works better. Randy concurs per his test at a car show.
The drawback to the Old Air unit is that it comes ONLY one size, that’s it, and does not hide itself under the dash. I will do some mocking up and see just how it might work in there, what changes might be needed to the firewall, etc.
This is looking from the driver’s side across the “engine” compartment to the AC mockup. The notch in the foam is just to clear the temporary hood bracing. The blue taped item to the left is the transfer case.
7/31/08
In a fortuitous turn, I went by Jay the fabricator and looked at some work he is doing on my dually. I noticed some bucket seats alongside his house and asked if i might borrow one for a day or two. He pointed out the two mustang buckets and said he would loan them to me on one condition: “don’t bring them back.” he has been trying to get rid of them for weeks, as it turns out. They are nearly a perfect fit. I might be able to use them with some minor work on the bolsters. And the driver’s side is electric! The next step is putting the doors up and seeing if the seats would clear the glass and door panels.
With actual seats in, it became clear I needed another 6” of legroom. So the firewall goes up behind the transfer case, and I’ll need to alter the arm on the brake system to go forward then down.
Without money, this represents significant progress. I am just about ready for Montalto to pick this up and get to doing his stuff. This would include setting the doors (suicide), installing the power windows, finishing the trans and upper driveshaft tunnel, building the firewall, installing lift systems, and doing the REAL bodywork.
I spoke with Todd Armstrong at Vortech, and I need to come up with about $600 for brackets for the blowers.
8/1/08
John Jarnagin and I spent the day working on the seats and trans tunnel. We removed the electric setup from the driver’s seat, set it on two 4x4 blocks, and through several ins and outs continued to trim the trans tunnel to allow the sets to move inboard to clear the doors. Long day, but they fit, and there is plenty of room for the trans. The only issue with the trans tunnel (right from the beginning) is making room for the cooler lines to exit from the case RIGHT next to the driver’s seat. We have the seat in, and clearanced. So now it is time to put some elbows on the trans outlets and see if indeed the fittings and lines clear. We also relocated the brake booster forward and up to give more legroom, and allow the steering column to be moved upward and a bit forward for better positioning. It is different actually having a seat in there, let alone two.
We wired and taped the doors on for two reasons:
1-to just get them out of the way and
2-to allow us to see how things fit and relate.
It is clear now that the stock dash will not work. For one thing the steering column is so high that it obviates any instrumentation above it and requires a very healthy notch in the dash panel. For another, the proposed hifi system is slated to use a 12” LCD screen coming down from the dash area to a center console. I will probably put an Ultra Dash unit above that screen in the center of the “dash” for symmetry.
The legroom on both sides now is adequate. The brake booster still requires that the pedal rod be drastically remade to go forward and down to allow for proper leg extension.
John and I also brainstormed on lift systems for the front and rear clips. I told him about the clock motor idea, much like a starter and flywheel, where a smallish motor and small gear would run a larger gear attached to the pivot points on each side of the front and rear clips.
I will bring Jay over and run it by him and see just what ideas he may have. He is VERY good at innovative stuff like this.
8/2/08
Jay and I strategized for about three hours today, looking over several ideas. One was a rack and pinion arrangement as prposed by Sam Rivera. We exhausted the clock motor/starter/ring idea as clunky and intrusive at the rear. I then showed him my 24”stroke Bimba pneumatic ram as used on the funnycar. I am familiar with this setup, and can go to Numatic Engineering in Sun Valley and buy every component needed off the shelf.
We worked on that for a while, and I proposed a sliding track PUSHED by the ram. Jay liked that, but ultimately it will save no room and will require making double the stuff. So we’ve decided on just a single ram each side pushing at the top of the wheel tubs . This will require adding 1/4” steel plate to the inside tub panel, and adding just a small stand to receive a heim joint for the end of the ram on each tub. It all clears the engine components, and at worst might require we relocate the coil packs up a small amount. The look is clean, engineered, basic, and the finishes will make for a nice appearance.
The front tilting clip can use a similar setup using a shorter ram. It might be possible to use the already-purchased electric life screw rams.
Jay and I discussed moving the brake system even farther forward, and cutting off some of the vertical metal under the cowl and moving all the forward for the new firewall location, which is clearly no longer needed as the front end is a tilt clip, and one piece.
Jay has convinced me to go with a fixed radiator and not swing it up. OK then.
I need to set the column and brake booster, and set up preliminary mounting for the AC unit to allow the firewall to be fabricated.
The batteries are pretty firmly planned for between the front frame rails and the trans cooler(s) perhaps in front of one or both the front wheels.
The AC condenser will ride in front of the radiator in standard location. Jay is firm that we need to shroud this system into the front clip. As the grille area is much smaller than the radiator, we may need more avenues of air. But the mounting of the radiator and AC condenser are essentially solid (pun intended).
The cooling tank will go between Engine #2 and #3.
The much-discussed long and flanking rear radiators are being abandoned.
I just have to get this thing moving, or it will never get done.
8/3/08
Jay came by today, and expressed his interest in the sliding lift affair, citing his thought again that it would be much cleaner looking. I appreciate his opinion, but it’s more work and more money. We’ll just start with the direct ram and see what happens after that. It would be the exact same pivot point in any event.
He also offered to start work on the 5 tanks I will need “on account” if I supply him with the materials. He said he would just squeeze some welding in here and there in some off times. We hoisted the fuel tank mockups up in the car, and I cut the proposed 3 x 3 notch along the tops of the tanks where the radiator lines would go along the frame rails. The proposed material for the tanks is .090” #3003 aluminum (softer and easier to bend), to be bought as 4 x 10 sheets.
We also discussed the exhaust and how Jay would put a large muffler inside a steel box mounted above the runningboard between the cab and the rear fender, about 6 x 9 x 49. The trick here is to get the exhaust from the motors into this “muffler” package. Jay sees block hugger headers dumping into a common 4’ collector running below the headers. We worked out a transition to go from that collector log to an oblong 2 x 7 piece (to preserve the same cross-sectional area) and under the frame rail. We’ve only got two inches below the rail, unless we notched the frame rails before we get too low. This muffler enclosure needs to be steel so as not to get too hot, warp, or be noisy. A steel box of 1/8” thick material would quiet it down and provide better insulation. The outside panel will be separate from this box, to provide more insulation and a piece which will hold paint.
We also discussed incorporating some bulkheads to hold the 8’ long running board up. Basically, this means an end plate tucked UNDER the front fender (the fender would close down onto the running board, covering this panel), and the same in the rear. A third bulkhead can be used at the rear of the cab in the center of the span. These are the innovations needed to make this thing avoid being a dufus-looking thing and a slick truck. So a lot of good bench racing and design, costing nothing at this point, and helping move things along.
