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Multi-purpose seats. They probably double as the park brake.

Wonder if they double as jack stands.  We can only hope.

And......

.....when he's finished building the car, he will throw a couple dozen in the trunk to serve as "lowering blocks."

Well, Dave, you ought to be happy. A front has moved in and it started snowing lightly with about 45mph wind.

We are supposed to get snow after 10 PM cst.
the Weather Nerds are calling for blizzard and white-out conditions tomorrow morning, winds around 40-50 MPH :x

guess I better get out the long handles, and get ready to go pull the idiots off of I-40 in the morning  

Vance

Of course, when speaking about winter, one must remember that there are different scientific interpretations of winter.


SOLAR: The SOLAR winter includes Nov., Dec., and Jan. These are the days with the shortest duration of daylight hours.

METEOROLOGICAL: Dec., Jan., Feb. These are the months that feature the most wintry weather - from a meteorologist standpoint.

ASTRONOMICAL: Dec., Jan., Feb., and Mar. This is the period of time between the "winter solstice" in Dec., and the "vernal equinox" in Mar. when the seasons "officially" change from autumn to winter, and winter to spring.

MAINE: Nov., Dec., Jan., Feb., Mar., and, oftentimes, part of Apr. No explaination necessary.

Is there a left and a right caliper?

If so, is the position of the bleeder screw affected?

The bleeder screw needs to be at the high point.

Careful, now!

Placing the bleeder screw at 12 o'clock on many calipers will actually place the port inside the cylinder at 10 (or 2) o'clock.

What is MOST important is placing the bleeder port inside the cylinder at 12 o'clock - not necessarily the bleeder screw.

You can usually look at the way a bleeder screw is mounted, and visualize the passage that is drilled into the cylinder.

B.P.

I have a friend/relation/aquaintence, (think he's dead now) but anyways he had his tools stolen :evil: ,,,,,,,,,,,, man he loved his tools,,,,,,,,,,,, so he rigged up a bomb inside his tool box ,,,,,,, sure enough ,,,,, they were stollen ,,,,,,,,,,, the thieves drove about a mile or two from his house and ,,,,,,,,,,,,BOOM
Believe it or not they sued for damages, loss of hearing and loss of fingers.  It cost him a fortune in legal fees just to defend himself. His sentiments were,,,,,,,,,,,, nobody fxxx's with my tools.
True story happened about 20 years ago.

Obviously, he didn't rig a big-enough bomb to eliminate any potential post-explosion problems.

Should have told the cops, "I was beginning to wonder where I left that stick of dynamite."

"I didn't have a four-wheel-drive truck to pull him out, but I DID have explosives....." - Edgar "KB" Montrose.

any of you ol codgers have a mechanic  tool that you have beat the snot out for  years?

I have an old C clamp that I have bent from use , welded braces on to it. Probably had this clamp for over 25 yrs.

Talk about tool abuse!!!!

You've taken a perfectly good Ninja Throwing Star and used it as a welding clamp.

Is nothing sacred?

LOL!!!!

I would avoid the clip route. Too much engineering for most people to get it done right - and looking right.

Having said that, I would prefer using an S-10/15 chassis/clip over the G-body chassis/clip.

While the front-end components are interchangeable, the S-10/15 front crossmember is mounted differently - which gives the truck a slightly (one-inch) higher roll center.

This higher roll center works well with the earlier cars that had such high Center of Gravity - especially when compared to the G-body.

The other thing is that the G-body is a perimeter frame - which often makes it too wide resulting in the need to fabricate straight rails....and it comes in one flavor - 108"....meaning it will, most likely, need to be stretched.

The S-10/15 is a ladder-style chassis which comes in wheelbases running from 100" to 123", and is quite easy to shorten at the factory weld where the front clip attaches. There is a 117" version that fits MANY late '40s and early '50s cars.

B.P.

Here http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/16/gm-introduces-their-first-ever-purpose-built-nascar-engine/ is an article about the new GM racing engine for NASCAR.  Now, completely ignoring the fact that none of the cars look anything like stock, that this is a move toward common template engines to match the common template bodies, and that the current generation of Frances seems intent on destroying the sport they inherited, this is a pretty neat piece.  Click on the pic to get to the gallery.  This engine is very slick with identical intake & exhaust ports, staggered valves, and a camshaft that sits way up high in the block.  The production LS-series engines are pretty darn good as well, so you have to feel pretty good about the future of the pushrod V8.  When Ford came out with their mod motor I thought they made the right decision to go with OHC technology.  Now it looks as if they have an overly complex, physically large, high production cost engine of limited cubic capacity.  Eventually Ford will need to fund a racing engine of very similar architecture to what you see in the link.  With a new Corvette Z06 capable of 30mpg on the highway AND 505hp under the hood, does the future hold a new wave of pushrod V8 ground pounders from the Big 3?

......and seven of the eight "new"  RO-7 engines that ran Talledega last weekend "blowed up"...

I would guess a little more development is called for.

A lot of the things that are included in the new engine are, simply, things that engine builders have been doing to the "old" SB-2 engines - such as oil squirters that spray the underside of the pistons and lower cylinder areas.

L I'm 29 years old. Bob

Imagine that!!  I'm 29 too!!

Next January, I will celebrate the 40th anniversary of my 21st birthday!!!!

An 11/16" wrench is too big at .6875 - which is "near" a 17mm at .6692, and you say that a 15 mm (.5905) is too small, so I'm going to suggest a 16mm at .6299.....

B.P.

Unfortunately I totally agree with you Bob. Just maybe one of these days they'll answer to the real car guys interests and not the soap opera watchers. I was totally into the concept of the tv shows based around cars when they did the buid off show with Barry White and Jimmy Shine, and the Rides series. Take it for what it's worth, but even though there was still the cocky attitudes and frustrations among teams, there was still a bit of technical insite on those initial shows.

Maybe this will go full circle and go back to something really informative. For now I'll just continue to watch them make a fools of themselves... Chicken Suite and all  

I think the problem lies in the television audience.

While the real, honest-to-God car guys are out in the shop working on their cars, the tv marketing people KNOW that they are not going to reach them, so they "dumb-it-down" to the lowest common denominator - the soap-opera people.....the people who are hooked on television, and have nothing better to do than watch Oprah, Montel, Judge Judy, etc.

People who need to see strife - real or perceived - in others' lives in order to feel good about themselves.....

Since they have no technical investment or understanding, those people need to see the smarmy, "soap opera" side of things.....and the program producers accomodate that need.....

.....while the REAL car guys are - with the occasional exception of a televised race - too busy for working, building, designing, and engineering........seeing the progress that makes them feel good about actually accomplishing something.

It's that "sense of accomplishment" that separates the REAL car people from the lemmings who feel better when someone else's life sucks more than theirs.

There are three types of people......

Those who DO things.....
Those who WATCH other people DO things......
And those who DO NOT even know that anything is happening......

Man, at $3.00/gallon, driving the Rambler is getting expensive.

I guess I was hoping for a bit of 'tech stuff' to come through on the show..

I am already tired of Shine saying stuff like: " this is a terrific opportunity for these guys"......  " I am not sure which one will make it for the job" ... etc, etc, etc.

this female that remains ,,, just what is she able to do (work wise) on a car?

THE FOLLOWING REFLECTS MY PERSONAL OPINION, AND MY OPINION ONLY.

I DO believe we were given a barnful of reasons in this week's episode as to why the whiney, dumb blond has been kept on the show.

Ol' Pete and Jimmy are probably gonna' "help" Blondie to finish her father's three-window, while she becomes s-o-o-o grateful, she donates the barnload of cars to them in exchange.........at least, that's likely what they are hoping will happen.

She's REALLY an insult to the thousands of women around the country who work side-by-side with husbands and boyfriends nights and weekends on street rods and race cars.

I can go to ANY local short track and find more than a handful of women who are THE "tire specialists" for their race teams.....swinging 50+ pound tires and wheels around, taking hot tire temperatures, etc.

Several others are up-to-their-elbows working - I mean WORKING - on the cars.

I gave the program a shot, but it's simply hype and cliché. No REAL shots of processes.  No "how-to" segments.

Just like Boyd, they are all on "super-tight, how-are-we-gonna'-finish-this-car-in-time" deadlines, but seem to find the time to attend auto shows, and go flying in WWII aircraft.......

.....and, they consider us dumb enough to believe that......Maybe we are!

There's a lot more honest-to-God technology happening in dozens of home shops within 25 miles of me.

Even "Chopper" is forced to show some technology every now and then when they start using a new machine that has been donated for the exposure........and, I haven't watched that for a while, now.


The Rambler keys are now back in place over the visor, and the tank has been filled.

I'm looking at buying a 1960 Ford C-800 COE former fire truck C&C which I would like to convert into an RV hauler.

Supposedly has 24K on the clock, but has been sitting in the field for a while.

Truck has 360 with a manual five-speed and a single speed, low ratio (7:1) rear, but deal would include another two-speed rear with a higher (5:1) gear ratio for better highway speed and mileage.

Anybody know of any websites dedicated to this series of trucks?

It seems as though there were about a half million fire trucks based on this chassis, and I distinctly remember every Roadway Express truck I saw in that era as being a C-Series Ford.

The deal is just too good to pass up - even if I build it to sell.

As a matter of fact, there are enough parts to build at least two, maybe three solid trucks - if I was interested in buying everything that is there.

But, I would really like to study up a bit on the particular quirks of this truck.

Can anybody help with some more info on these trucks or some website addresses?


Thanks!

B.P.

Like many people, I simply hate junk mail......

.....but, my hatred has been tempered more recently.

There are at least two things that come free in junk mail that are helpful around my shop.

First is the plastic "membership card".

Often, I will receive a piece of mail with a "temporary membership card" or a "non-negotiable credit card", etc.

As has been discussed, you SHOULD always mix two-part epoxies on non-porous surfaces in order to keep the material from being absorbed, and  percentages correct.

I cut off a "mixing/spreading paddle" from one end of the card, then mix everything up on the remainder of the card.

When done, I toss it all..........

There is a small stack of these cards in the box with my epoxies.

My collection includes cards of varying thicknesses and stiffnesses, so they also make good spreaders.


Secondly is the "refrigerator magnet".....This could come in the form of a business-card-sized magnet on up to some fairly substantial-sized calendars.

You can often pick these up at various businesses and professional offices.

I find these handy to protect surrounding areas when working.

Want to drill something that is freshly painted, but worried that a long piece of the spiral swarf will scratch the surrounding surface?

Punch a hole in one of these magnets, and drill through the hole while the rest of the immediate are is protected.

Unlike the credit cards, these magnets are re-usable.

If you have enough of these, you could also use them as templates.


B.P.

Another point to consider when designing caliper brackets.....

You will notice that OEM and most aftermarket caliper brackets are set up so the bolts only hold the caliper to the bracket....They do NOT absorb any braking forces.

Most calipers are a snug fit between a couple of pads against which the main body of the caliper rides, and transmits braking forces.

Seeing caliper setups that pass ALL the braking forces through the mounting bolts really scares me......

Does anyone know if a frame from a four door '68 Chevelle is the same as the two door frame? What other G.M frames are the same as the Chevelle? My brother had a '68 SS 396 given to him that needs a frame and he has access to a four door  frame but we don't know if it'll fit. TIA

The two-door frame is 112" while the four-door is 115"

I have shortened the four-door to 112" for oval-track race car purposes, but never for a street application.

I would guess that you can take three inches out somewhere and make it work - probably at the rear torque box. If it is a particularly good frame, I would probably try to use it.

Careful measuring and re-measuring should answer any questions.

I recently read that someone is re-producing these frames now, but, as you might guess, if you need to ask the price, you probably can't afford it.

B.P.