JJ and I did some
window mechanism work today. We basically got the previously broken left
side unit working and mounted after what we thought was a repair. No. I added a mounting tab to hopefully hold the cable tube in place. 4/19/12 No. So, after mounting it, then reversing the mounting arrangement, we finally had to pull it out. I will send it tomorrow to John in Chicago at Electric Life. We did nothing to break it. That plastic just appears brittle. It did not take two attempts at epoxy repair, and the bracket arrangement held the tube as designed, but the tube broke just up from the bracket. Hence, I feel we got a batch of brittle plastic. Dirk from Economy Glass was supposed to come over, and still has not made it. I’ve put this thing in a half dozen times so far. The mounting seems good to me. Dirk should have some words of wisdom on his eventual appearance here. JJ and I will go to work on the right side unit tomorrow. 4/21/12 JJ got a thought about covering the tubing with more tubing. He found some clear vinyl that worked, and found another layer of larger blue tube, which worked as a second layer, The short of it is we put it all together and the unit works. EL was not going to warranty the package, and it was $125, with discount, to get another package. The left door is in and working. The right door took about an hour start to finish, with ALL bracketing. Kelly was blown away at how quickly JJ and I did the right door. Kelly wanted to clean up the air lines for the lift system, so we did that. All I need do now is connect my red (hot) air line to the master regulator under the dash and it is mounted and ready. Dirk is coming in the morning to check function and suggest installing tracks and felt. 4/23/12 Dirk was pleased with my install, and is ordering some track and felt for me to install this week. Randy came by and was also impressed with the progress. I put out some calls to Old Air for AC (no response as yet after several calls), and Rewarder Headers (won’t do them free, but interested in the project and will stop by). I have not checked in with Rob Moore as yet, but will tomorrow regarding the CV half shafts. Randy gifted me with his presence today (I mean that sincerely), and he noted that there did not appear much metal to receive door rubber. He is correct. I think I will need to lower the inner jambs to achieve the standard 1.2” or so at other areas. I will check with Steele Rubber tomorrow about that, and order the windshield, rear window, and door rubbers. 4/30/12 Jim McComb from Rewarder Headers came by and came to an agreement on the exhaust system. He has quoted $2500, will do it all in mandrel-bent steel with ceramic coating. I mentioned that I thought we COULD take the exhaust forward and have an outlet near the cab, although that would not be my preference. Jim likes that. I hope to talk him back into a rear outlet when we do it. I suggested I could move the forward running board mount if it would make it easier for him. Yes. SO I pulled the left side off, cut it apart as needed, and have tacked the forward mount in its new position. JJ and I will lift it on tomorrow and see how it fits, and where the studs will need to be welded to make it happen. I also removed some gobbledegook around the corbel extension (I had to take that off for now), and rewelded the front corner of the rear half near the cab in a more aligned position. I asked his opinion about notching the crossmembers, and he felt they would be fine. So we will accomplish both the running board remakes and do the crossmembers before he does his exhaust next week. I also found a sheet of the MR-10 Lexan I had bought for my Funnycar windows, and we are going to mockup the windows with that material. We could actually use the Lexan for everything but the windshield. 5/3/12 I pulled the left running board off, repositioned the forward mounting, and reinstalled the corbel extension from the bed onto the running board. I decided this might b e a good time to do some bondo work, so I did the corbel. VERY painstaking work, but it looks damn good. I also bought a replacement (and then of course found the missing) air file and 6” DA sander. OF COURSE. I put Kelly to work and along with me we have basically polished up the metal on the front end, and also using a grinder-mounted wire wheel for the tough spots. I’ve cleaned up the door jamb on the driver’s side, and may do some bondo work on the top where we eliminated the drip rails. I’ll have Kelly do the inside of the hood tomorrow. I intend to take the KK down to the Edelbrock Show on Sunday. There is a celebrity charity event Saturday evening there, and I may tow it down in hopes of showing Gene Winfield and Chip Foose the project in person. Jim at Rewarder called today to reschedule the exhaust for Tuesday. I also spoke with Wade King at Drivelines, Inc. and he feels changing the driveshaft angle is OK. He may come to the show to see it. Regardless, I will wait on the crossmember mods (if any) until he sees it, and AFTER the exhaust is done. 5/5/12 Kelly ended up not doing the underside of the hood, I did. I did some bondo work on the right side lower corbel column, and it looks very decent. I assembled the tow bar, etc. and got the KK hooked up to the dually, ready to go, tires, aired up, ready to tow. So I am ready to pull out tomorrow morning around 6:30 AM if I can get up, and trundle off to the Edelbrock show, hopefully to see Gene Winfield. 5/7/12 I took the KK to the Edelbrock show in Gardena, and it towed nicely.
I did make a few errors: 1-I forgot there was a string tied to the pinion yoke, and it wrapped itself around that yoke and worked its way under the seal, producing a minor leak while parked. Once it was unstrung and removed, and I moved the truck a few hundred yards, the seal set back down and no more leaking. I also forgot to remove the billet yokes from the transfer case, and got just plain lucky that they didn’t fall off. One was a half inch from off. Whew! The response to the truck was non-stop amazement, questions, and many compliments. I showed the truck to Gene Winfield, who said “I’d love to paint this truck.” I told him I only half-joked to others that the first thing you’d do is melt all my lead off.
He said no, but that
I DO have some problems with incorrect tinning in some areas. This I know. He enthusiastically promised he would show me personally how to tin correctly.
He also responded to my request for a price to paint it with a disclaimer that he ONLY does a specific and detailed written estimate. I called him today and left a message requesting that estimate, and offering to buy his bodywork DVD, as I just missed his last workshop. I showed the car to Isky and Edelbrock after the show, and they both expressed sincere interest and appreciation. BUT, no sponsorships there.
I take it tomorrow to Rewarder for the headers. I spent that latter part of today working on the left window system. We remade another piece of Lexan, as the first one JJ made ultimately didn’t fit, as it was too small in the upper rear corner. I made another cardboard pattern, then another piece of Lexan, and tuned that a little. We got it in, and the repaired window motor separated again at the fix point. Kelly was bereft, and said just pull it out. I did, which was a no-big deal at this point, fixed it, got it back in, and installed the “brushes”, those felt sweeps on each side of the glass at the door. This is ALL new to me. We’re doing pretty well here. The felt is cut and in, and the front channel is located, after I did my FIRST EVER aluminum TIG welding. I will have Dirk Craven come look at it next week for any tips, but we’re real close on good function. 5/9/12 I took the KK to Rewarder yesterday, and brought him the mufflers (I had forgotten them) today. He has already made several of the headers, and we are going with the rear down-discharge scenario. Jim is holding the mufflers lower so as to avoid a double bend up into the exhaust cavity, and provide some room for our potential 12-outlet can. Rob Moore called today and said he is sending the two half-shafts out tomorrow. And in a bizarre co-incidence, I happened to strike up a conversation with a guy wearing a Bryant name on his shirt out in Camarillo at lunch. Turns out this is Larry Bryant, whom I abandoned for work on the TBird a year ago after repeated unreturned phone calls. He noted he found out a few weeks ago he was suffering from black mold, and has regained his attention and energy. He apologized for the unreturned calls. He knew nothing of this condition a year ago. I suggested he go over to Rewarder (he knows Jim and Brooke well), and see what he might want to do on the KK. We’ll see if his attention is back to normal. 5/19/12 I checked with Jim, and Larry had not shown up as of a couple of days later, nor have I heard from Larry. It is Saturday 5/19/12, and Jim has apparently not completed the system as yet. Jim is not overdue, and I expect to see the truck sometime around the middle of the coming week. Here is a short list of immediate to do stuff: Seats Cooling Instruments Transmission Computers Wiring 5/22/12 Rewarder called and I was on my way to pick up the truck today when the dually showed signs of heating up. This has been an ongoing thing for a while now. PBB mentioned the crunched muffler might be responsible. So I am having that changed tomorrow, and if that proves to be the solution, two things will occur. I will save $5K on a new engine, and I can pick up the KK immediately. The KK cooling system until this moment has been a ‘we can’t do that” experience. I FINALLY found a bright guy in Indiana (812) 897-5805 Shawn PRC prcsales@aol.com as the FIRST person/company with a NO PROBLEM approach. We’ve spoken twice today, sent some emails, and I’m waiting for Shawn’s next step. This guy is SHARP. We also discussed some Condor stuff, and he might be helpful there, too. So of the above listed items to do, we might have handled the cooling. It appears I will need a pair of Meziere 55 GPM electric pumps for the system, one per side. This is a little over a grand for those two. The headers came in at $2700 on Jim’s $2500 estimate, so there is precious little cash reserve now. A nice construction job or solar install would work well at this point. 5/26/12 I spoke with Jim yesterday, and I could not get out there to retrieve the truck for the weekend. I need to borrow PBB’s truck on Tuesday to do that. 5/30/12 I sent a tow truck up Tuesday morning, but Jim would not release the truck without cash in hand. OK, so JJ and I drove up there, and had the tow truck come the following morning, today. The KK arrived here and is parked on the street overnight! It looks SO cool. Man, what a presence, what an attitude, what a shape and stance! We’ll roll it in tomorrow. 5/31/12 I was just so impressed with how the KK looked on the street. REALLY beasty, really cool. So it’s back in on its rack. The exhaust looks nifty from below. I’ll address adding a stiffener strip inside the hood, and get busy on the 2-step front tilt system. I have not heard from Winfield, and will call him again in a moment. Larry from Oxnard did NOT come by, so I will not pursue him further for any work. I will speak with Shawn at PRC tomorrow and confirm some specs, pricing, timing, etc. 6/14/12 I spoke with Shawn a few days ago, and the short story is it’s about $4000 with some polished tanks and shrouds for the system. This would be 6 radiators, 6 shrouds, and 12 fans. Add the two Meziere pumps and we’re at $5K without the hot and cold holding tanks. I am going out to the LA Roadster Show on Sunday 6/16/12, and I presume Rick’s HotRods from Texas, makers of killer stainless tanks, will be there. I will also look for the seat vendor and see more specifically what he has and how much $. I’m looking for a 17” wide seat. So of the previous list of immediate things to do, the cooling and seats will probably be specified, if not purchased. PBB still claims interest from B&M on the trans and shifter. PBB further reiterates VDO is interested on the gauges. That would then put us on computers and wiring. I will also check out some interior trim pieces, likely billet stuff, for window actuators, door handles, AC venting, etc. I did get some more ¼” x 1” hot-rolled flat steel for another hood brace. Kelly and I should get around to that after my (a week after the actual day) birthday party on Saturday. 6/17/12 I went to the LA Roadster Show, only to see some vendors in Bldg 4. I spoke with Imagine Injection. He would work a 10% off deal, putting the three motors at around $20K. He includes computers along with that, so I could save some wiring and computer expense. Too much for now. I also spoke to a throttle body injection guy, who was around $4500 each motor for his tripower setup, but those needs a FAST or other computer, so back up to the $6K each or more area. Again, too much, and not the look I am going for. I also chatted very briefly with Jack from Matson’s Radiator, who commented as we walked that he felt my idea was not good for the cooling. I will call him at his shop tomorrow for more details. I found a grille guy for about $4500 for polished stainless. He is booked for ten months, and is in Idaho. And, Glide Seats has a 17” frame that finishes out about 19” for $650 (discounted) per pair with foam and sliding tracks. They make a 4” tapered stand, but it is $250 per seat. I can do that easily for a few dollars. I have a few thoughts for grilles and trim, and I need to get a hold of Robert Neumann, aka WOLFSHADOW, for some ideas and renderings. He has been WAY helpful all along. 6/25/12 Jack from Matson’s has finally returned my call with a message. I’ll endeavor to reach him tomorrow. Randy came over today, a PLEASANT surprise. He urged me into installing the half shafts. We got the front one on, after he disassembled the CV’s and cleaned out the rust and debris. I had cleaned two of them, but the two on the engines were DIRTY. We got the 1-2 connection in, but the 2-3 wouldn’t go. The shaft was about a half inch too long (we cut them intentionally a little long), and then the shaft would not go in the CV once I cut it down. These splines are REAL tight to start, so I have the shaft over at H&R Machine for some dressing there. I also took the front step two tilt materials to Al and H&R, and he will be machining stuff up for tomorrow. He is leaving town on Thursday, so he is getting right to it. We did some re-design on the pillow blocks, making them into two combined blocks per side. I am also adding a center block which will be pinned to the shafts and carry the forward tilt pivot points for the Electric Life rams. This will also carry the front end level as it travels forward on step one of the two-step process. Randy and I talked briefly about a double V-groove system to support the hood as it go forward before tilting. This may not be necessary if the rams do the job. Al is also closing his shop shortly. Crap! Just when I had a good guy close by. He has a LARGE CNC machine for relatively low $, but it is too big for the garage. I COULD put it ON the rear lift. This idea, while compelling, is unlikely to be consummated at this point. I returned all the body working stuff to Nick, so I have no more leading in the plan. I DO have a case of propane bottles now, though! 6/28/12 Nick returned the Bird to me today, not yet completely repaired, but enough that I can drive it, and put the dually in the shop for an engine repair. I took the parts for the two-step front tilt system to Al at H&R Machine, and Al discovered after all was done that the head of his mill was off a few degrees. This has rendered the parts unusable, until he returns in THREE weeks from vacation. We will have to bore out the bushings, redrill them plumb, and put new inner bushings in place. Meanwhile, I have one side here, and while I can’t mount it or make it function, I can use it for mock up and figuring. Kelly and I will address the list from 5/19: Seats Cooling Instruments Transmission Computers Wiring PBB has come through with ZERO on sponsorship for the instruments and transmission. I have talked with Jack Matson, and he is sending me some info and his thoughts shortly. The narrowest of the Glide Seats which I saw at Pomona are still too wide. So I either buy them and narrow them, or mock up my own. I will do some research on wiring schemes, particularly the Imagine Injection package. Bob Ream of Imagine has a complete wiring package that goes with his system. If he buys a solar package, I can trade him out on some of that. I need to figure just what wiring I do need for the truck, and see who has what, or if I need to just do it myself. Tammy Allen was at Barrett Jackson Orange County buying more cars. I called her museum and they have done zip about Joe to date. Kelly and I will probably first address the right electric window (make a plexi panel), work on installing the mouldings and window brushes on that side, and perhaps make some modifications to the door jamb to have the proper ½” step on the inside. 7/7/12 Sent pix to Stacey David at Gearz, for possible mention on his program in which he will install a PBB air brake system. He is supposedly filming that segment on 7/9/12. I have the right power window to complete (plexi), and install the felt and brushes, etc. The front lift system is on hold until 7/17 when AL Ruther returns from vacation. He will essentially line bore the bearings on the slider system to get them square, install new final bearings, and then I can get on with fitting the system to the truck. I am concerned that this setup may want to bind. Perhaps a tad more clearance and some lube on the bearing surfaces will handle that. I’ll need to have everything QUITE square in order to function correctly. The frame rails are certainly not square. 7-19-12 I went over to H&R, and we trimmed the center blocks about .060” on the two long sides, so as to provide clearance along the eventual mounting plate. I am worried about the ease of movement, notwithstanding all this machining. Al and I discussed the backing plate, and I am going with a MONDO ½” thick steel plate, with a machined flat surface. Now, how to get that assembly onto the frame rails with twisting or warping is worthy of thought and planning. I hope that welding it on the rails will work. Meanwhile, Al is drilling and tapping the 5/16” x 18 set screws (2 per block) to hold those in place on the rods. I calculate about 5.5” of travel. I have some short Electric Life rams here, and need to find out their throw. I can always hook up a bell crank arrangement to get precise length if needed. I can also cut the thickness of the center blocks down a bit if it comes to needing another half inch or so of travel. First, Al needs to finish the set screws, then I will make up a ¾” or so wood backing plate to try it out. If I have some ½” Appleply, that might work, too. Otherwise, I can piece together some layers of ¼” plate and give that a shot. The front bulkheads for carrying the actual tilt pivots are then next on the list, once function is verified and alignment has been achieved. I may end up with the linear bearings after all this hooha is done. As I pulled into the garage a few moments ago, the KK was up high on the rack. The exhaust snaking out under each side looks cool. 7-26-12 I spoke with Wade at Drivelines today, sent him some additional pix, and we discussed the details of the setup, again. I am going to mock up a 3” driveshaft for him using some drain pipe, take side pix, and see what our angles are. We’re shooting for 3 degrees or less on the front half versus the back half. 7-31-12 I ran another string line, and I’m just going to notch the crossmembers. I need to get some 44” or 5” thick wall tubing for the half moon reinforcements. The actual diameter of the driveshaft will be 3.5”, and the part near the front crossmember might be rather small, given that it is the slip joint place behind the center support bearing. But I am going to allow for a worst-case scenario and make it bigger there. I think I need another crossmember to carry the front of the carrier bearing plate. I saw a rerun of the 2005 Ridler Award car build of Chip Foose, doing his Impression car. He notes that EVERY part of the car is THE car. I’d like the finished product on the KK to look like that.
The frame, once
smoothed and bondoed and painted should look damn nice. The other elements, such as the underside of the running boards, can be covered in metal, and should look quite nice. The 2-step lift mechanism looks dicey right now. While done and re-machined, the rods seem to bind pretty easily. First I’ll get them on mounting plates and see how they move. Next will be, if needed, tapering the bushings. Finally, if those fail, it will be on to the linear bearings for another $700. PBB’s Gearz episode aired, with Stacey noting Bob was THE only one in the country offering this sir over hydraulic setup, and noting it makes HUGE pressure. I’d sure like to be driving that system right now. I have yet to remove the CV’s and shafts and send them back to Moore. Perhaps later in the week when a few other things settle down. 9-11-12 I took a $5600 hit to my bank account balance, as WF debited something that had been refunded, although a bit lesser amount. Short story, I have that much less than I thought, putting me at around $10K in the bank. This is too little to be spending much right now. I MIGHT get the driveline done, but I will delay ordering the Old Air AC system for now. Nick PROMISES he will come by tomorrow, leave his car, and take my dually back in for further repairs. If he deems the lead and bodywork to be OK, then I can move along in my clueless way and continue with the headlights, inner panel work, etc. I CAN make a plexi window for the passenger door, get the felt and brushes in, and finalize that side. The left front wheelwell opening has a little peak still, and I’ll see what Nick wants done about that. The 2-step hood opening slides still need to be mounted on their half-inch thick steel plates. If Nick deems the metal OK, I will have it sandblasted and then get on with whatever I can do. If not, I’ll melt the whole 60# of lead off and go with MarGlas. 9-15-12 Nick did come by, and felt on the whole the lead was OK. I need to sandblast it to get the real answer. He would then epoxy-primer it immediately after the sandblasting to seal it, then do (most l likely I will) whatever bodywork ensures from there. There still is the matter of making a separate grille.
And, I think I might
put a shoulder/detail along the bottom of the cowl and door to blend the
fender to the body, saving a two-step on the lift system. I am going out there shortly (it is about 104 degrees), and mock up something. 9-22-12 A week has elapsed, and I never mocked it up. Perhaps tomorrow. No less hot, but I might be able to make some time for it. And, I should get on the headlights, so that I can finish the front end sheet metal work and get to sandblasting. I will cut out the grille at some point, make a surround, and the a “plug” for some one to use for making a new grille. 9-24-12
I just got a notice
in the mail that good ole Joe Montalto has a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
hearing coming up next month, and listed me as a creditor for $50,000. I suppose this means I will be losing any chance of EVER recovering my money from him. 10-9-12 It took pretty much ALL day, but the three of us got the Powerglide bolted up. I replaced the two dowel pins with the longer units, but the trans just did not want to slide on. I had to trim the bellhousing a couple of times, and finally just had to cut out the finished opening Montalto had made in the rear of the cab, about a half inch all the way around, to allow the bellhousing to slip up into position. The upper right bolt hole does not exist on my LS-1 motors, or I covered them up on all three engines. At some point I will take off the rear engine plate and see if I just missed it, If not, I will tap a hole there in the ¼” steel motor plate to receive a bolt. The center (top) bolt hole is cut off my unit. I think I will insert a stud in this top hole in the block, and concoct a washer or clip to secure the top of the trans there. It is very tough to get bolts into the holes, and I might need to create some little hatches or access holes in the back of the cab for this very purpose. I COULD perhaps put studs in a few locations. As usual, we are having to make this up as we go. I had cautioned Joe NOT to make the trans tunnel opening too close, but rather to leave about an inch or so all the way around, just in case a different trans might be used. He of course ignored that advice, so here we are. 11-3-12 Power Brake Bob just returned from SEMA, on my dime (more later), and called with 4-layer glowing sponsorship news: 1-Chevrolet claims to be willing to donate a 4L85 trans to my all-Chevy truck 2-Holley will donate manifold 3-Holey will donate computerized fuel rails 4-Comp and Crane Cams both are willing to donate camshafts. For himself, Bob claims he can get whatever he wants for his 409 from Holley. Bob considers himself the father of the new 409 craze. Perhaps so, but he will get no royalties from Edelbrock or anyone else. I am delighted at such news, and don’t believe any of it. Bob has timed this brilliant and uplifting news to coincide with his being a week late on his rent. He certainly works the shows hard, is affable, but from my experience it will amount to nothing. I have offered him in the past a cash deal: I’ll give him 10% in cash for anything he gets me sponsored. Get me a $6K tranny, and here’s $600 presto. Would I like to be proven wrong? ABSOLUTELY. Meanwhile, we got the other window made for the right side, and installed the felts. I put some switches in, wired a battery to a buss, and we now have electric windows at the touch of a button. And they track OK. Next I will remove the CV joints and half shafts and get them off to Rob Moore for clearancing by bead blasting. I have not got enough cash right now to do the driveshafts, and might go with an Anaheim firm, half the distance of the guys in Mission Viejo. I have the dually back, and some towing will show whether the cooling is actually cooling. Nick is in a deep funk, and I cannot at this time get him to commit to doing the bodywork. It would be great for me, and good for him on many levels. However, it ain’t happening with him now. I have to get going on the headlights and taillights. I’m pretty solid about using the VW lenses, but the rears are up for design. I’m looking for something art deco. I am particularly intrigued by the new Delahaye USA designs, particularly the Sultan, which uses ½” wide lenses along the length of the fenders.
This is just friggin’ gorgeous. I would like to incorporate a roof-mounted third taillight using the same theme. 12-7-12 A month after the above entry, I have done little on the project. I did put some wiring and door release buttons sticking up through the wiper holes (for now), so I can pop the doors open and run the electric windows up and down. Power Brake Bob is gone from the premises, so I doubt I will have much support in the future on the air brake system. It is supposedly complete and functioning. I’ll have to power up the compressor and see if that is so. I also need to connect some wiring for the emergency brake switches. I THOUGHT I had come up with a plan to shoulder the side of the body behind the fender so that I could use the single stage electric opening of the front clip. I mocked up some foam board on the car, sketched a half-dozen alternatives on tracings of the body profile on vellum, and did some alternatives in chalk on the side of the body. It turns out the fenders don’t scribe a perfect arc on the body, so either the fenders need some modifying, or I go to the two-step system. It might behoove me to take the front clip next door to Nick’s and get it sandblasted, and have him primer it, so that I might continue with a saved bit of metal there. Once I finalize the tilt system, I can safely finish up the headlights and trailing edges, perhaps something like the Sultan photo above. I am too broke presently to consider the costly next steps as outlined previously and repetitively.
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