Going to the right side

bucketmouth · May 10, 2011, 10:45:32 AM

Well guys I haven't been on late of much as I've been so busy with my cars and attending shows across the country.
I thought I would show you some of the stuff I've been up to.
As some would know I purchased a good road going 34 coupe from California and shipped it back here to the west coast of Oz a couple of years back.
We drive on the right side of the road and after much discussion with our registration authorities I have to convert it from LHD to RHD which is a real *. We can have any other sort of car LHD in my home state but street rods for some reason have to be RHD.
There was two ways to do the conversion and that was do the the steering on the car and have it done in no time or take the body off and do it properly.
I took the second option as I thought I could never live with doing a half baked job. So with that myself and a couple of buddies began disassembling the body.

The guards and front sheet metal were the first to come off

Once we had it all unbolted I did a ring around and had some more helpers give us a hand to lift the body off.

Well here we have it after four hours we had the body off. That was the easy bit.

With the body off I was able to have a good look at the chassis, while it is still pretty good it was showing some road scars so the decision was made to strip the chassis back to bare metal and give it a good going over. Most of the work will be for aesthetic purposes and when it's all back together it will be like new and well and truly worth the effort.

phat46 · May 10, 2011, 02:02:57 PM

Oh Oh, that's the right way to do it alright, but why do I envision a two year rebuild about to start!

enjenjo · May 10, 2011, 03:25:16 PM

Quote from: "phat46"Oh Oh, that's the right way to do it alright, but why do I envision a two year rebuild about to start!

My thought too.

HotRodLadyCrusr · May 10, 2011, 04:47:32 PM

Exactly two years and you can drive it to the Nationals at the Gold Coast.......I'll meet ya there for a look see at it.

bucketmouth · May 17, 2011, 02:15:30 AM

Two years is not a good thought for one to have. I'm not thinking that at all, I'm putting in as much time as I can to get it done as quickly as possible.
The Gold Coast is a good thought and if I don't make another trip or two stateside you just might see me on the Gold Coast.

I've been working on the car and the first thing was off with the boxed engine mounts,repositioned the motor to the centre and fitted a new tube engine mount to give me more room around the chassis and exhaust. I also removed the right angled oil filter adapter that was fitted to clear the steering box on the LHS as it wasn't needed anymore. While the adapter did it's job removing it has made access to the oil filter a hell of a lot easier.

I've moved on from that and have just fitted a Uni Steer 1/2 rack. Gee they are easy to fit I really like them. These 1/2 racks are catching on over here with more guys starting to buy them I think they make for a great alternative to steering boxes.
The steering lock has gone from 5 to 3 1/2 turns and with that I'm hoping for more positive steering. I'll find out how good it is when I can finally drive it.

jaybee · May 18, 2011, 04:43:45 PM

I like the way your motor mounts are set up. A very simple and elegant way to build an attractive mount that incorporates a modern insulator.

zzford · May 18, 2011, 06:51:05 PM

I put a Unisteer on my 33 and, frankly, it's one of the best things I did to the car.

bucketmouth · August 25, 2011, 10:00:29 PM

Just a bit of an update on what I've been doing,I've have done a fair amount of work and this is the Uni Seer all fitted up it has worked out really well.

Here's Jeff removing the steering column that was a sad moment seeing that come out. I didn't want to to do the conversion but the licensing authorities wouldn't allow it and it pees me off no end to see other cars getting around LHD. I didn't want to be wasting time doing the conversion as I just want to drive the car and start the next project which is what I really want to be doing.

The 1/2 rack looks good and was a simple job to do.

With all the uni's in place it all fit well and allows a lot more clearance around the exhaust. I like it.

kb426 · August 25, 2011, 10:12:09 PM

You have my sympathies for having to do this. I'm betting it takes you less than 2 years to be back on the road.

bucketmouth · August 25, 2011, 11:13:39 PM

Thanks for your sympathy,I work away from home a lot so it seems I'm taking a long time to do anything hence why I don't update so quickly.
I'm further into this than the pix show. I've had all the LHD holes in the firewall and floor filled in and the firewall repainted.
I stripped the chassis back to bare metal and had it powder coated.
The front and rear suspension is back in.
I got a new computer yesterday and yes you guessed it, it's a beauty faster,more powerful,more memory and yep your right again everything works differently now

When I have it all figured out I'll post some more pix.

jaybee · August 27, 2011, 02:35:41 PM

That car was a beauty when you bought it, with your determination to do it right it'll be even nicer when it's again ready to roll.

bucketmouth · June 23, 2013, 09:21:49 AM

Wow where has all that time gone too it's gone so fast I apologise for not updating.
HotRodLadyCrusr did you make it to Oz for the Gold Coast Nats. I didn't make it.
I'm still working on the coupe and it's well on the way to being completed.
Having a job where you work away is good but boy does it make life go faster.
Anyhow here's some progress photos
IMG

phat46 · June 23, 2013, 12:54:04 PM

So...two years was a little optimistic.

glad to hear that you're nearly ready to get back on the road!

bucketmouth · June 23, 2013, 05:44:25 PM

You know how these things go, once you get into it you do a little bit more and a bit more and then some.
Don't know what's going on I tried for second time to post some pix but it seems like Photobucket is having problems again. I try again later.

bucketmouth · June 23, 2013, 08:27:35 PM

Chassis stripped down some for a good look over. Some of it is okay and only needs tidying up and what I move from the LHS has the be filled in.

The chassis is only partially boxed so I boxed up the rest of it while It was stripped down. The top arms are a bit short so I realigned and lenghthened the arms while I was at it.

There's a glitch in the system I can poly post the one photo at the moment I'll keep trying :evil: