1951 F16

[chimp koose]

I did a volare clip in a 51 years agowith a 351 windsor . 69 mustang headers fit with a slight tweak of the collecters

[kb426]

O&S used most of the morning to measure around the engine and driveshaft. I decided that the location for the cross member was too close to the driveshaft. I ended up moving it rearward to avoid a possible problem. The pics are using the mill to fish mouth the tubes, the welded cross bracing, the 2 reliefs that I cut in the bulkhead crossmember yesterday. I ordered block hugger headers this morning. After measuring again, I think they will be the only units that will clear most of the obstacles.

[kb426]

O&S had less than half a day in the shop. I'm making support brackets for the upper portion of the front suspension cradle. I have to make spacers to go on the back side of them. The brackets will have some angle on them. Without spacers, removing and installing the front cradle could be a chore. Portions of the brackets were machined to be perpendicular to the frame mount portion. Very little progress.

[WZ JUNK]

You are doing a great job.  It is fun to watch.  

[kb426]

O&S had another half day. We have parts pics. The trans arrived with the box as you see it. I spent most of the afternoon working on the front braces on the front suspension. I modified the underneath side profile some where the flat met the radius. The spacers I used are 3/16" on the front and 3/8" on the rear.

[idrivejunk]

Wow on the boxing. Somehow it seems like the most critical items are the ones always packaged in the cardboard equivalent of a hair net.  

[kb426]

In the late 80's, I raced with 2 brothers from Salt Lake City. They were bag boys for United Airlines. They mentioned the Samsonite gorilla commercial where the gorilla beat up the luggage to prove how good it was. They said the gorilla was a wuss and wouldn't last a day. LOL. I just expect the worst with shipping anymore. It only takes one person to wreck something and make the rest look poor.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Hughes Perf Changed packing on transmissions years ago. We always used HD boxes..  An expanding foam was introduced.  Spray in, expands. Boxes were strapped to pallets, then plastic wrap around them. The dock workers still manage to break the boxes off the pallets and the transmission out of the boxes with broken bell housings and pan rails of the trans case. I've seen photos of busted boxes and transmissions and you wonder how the H did the dock worker do it? I spent a few years working nights on docks, running forklifts, loading trucks in the early 1970s. You have to be an idiot to destroy stuff that I have seen

[416Ford]

You have to be an idiot to destroy stuff that I have seen

Those are the only people you can hire anymore.

Your work is looking great as usual KB. You should be rolling it out of the paint shop by the end of August.

[kb426]

O&S was in low gear again. I made some parts for braces on the rear end mounts and the front suspension upper supports. I have been walking past the rear end for way too long, looking at these 2 loops that have no use to me. Today they went to the trash bin. I ran the chassis outside so it could work on it's suntan while I cleaned up a bit.

[idrivejunk]

Chassis looks nice to me, I see big car ride quality.  Plus theres clever all over it.

[kb426]

Thank you to all who have commented. I will try to be brief on descriptions so as not to take up much of your time. It's summer and we all are busy. In case anyone was curious why I braced one side of the mounts, my goal is controlled flex rather than rigidity. Time will tell if that is a good idea or an eminent point of failure.

[kb426]

O&S struggled today. I needed a piece of 22 gauge sheet metal to make a spacer ring for the bellhousing. All I had was 20 gauge. I spent plenty of time trying to sand it down and realized if I wasn't careful, I would kill the day and get nothing accomplished. I aligned the bellhousing with feeler gauges in 4 positions and center punched the 2 holes that needed drilled and tapped. I put the bellhousing in the mill and drilled them and started the tap with the mill. When I get the spacer ring finished, I'll machine the other two holes. They require plugging of the existing holes and machining the holes before tapping. I installed the cab back on the frame. When I finished welding the rear bulkhead, it caused some waring on the frame rails. They sucked in which required elongating the mounting holes on the frame. Not a big deal, just took time. I bolted the block huggers on the engine and put it back in the frame. I moved it around until I thought I have the best compromise of clearance on everything. I measured and double checked everything before I removed the engine. I have a plan for the trans and engine mounts that aren't cool but very functional and durable. I will spend some time thinking about that in case I find a better idea.

[kb426]

I had a tight cam bearing in the engine. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that it could cause a problem rather than loosen up. I ordered some new bearings and pulled the crank and front cover from the engine. I replaced a few bearings that didn't look good and then the cam spun easily. I reassembled the engine and got started on the trans and engine mounts. About 4 pm, my feet told me that I had stood in one place long enough. I quit soon there after.

[kb426]

O&S has reached consistency. SLOW. I made 8 tabs for the trans and engine mounts. They were cut with a plasma cutter and ground to size. The holes are drilled in the mill for accuracy of location. The trans mount has crush sleeves for 1/2" fasteners and once again I used the mill for accuracy. The plate for the mount is 3/16" plasma cut. I put it in the mill and machined it to parallel for width. The mount plate has the holes elongated 1" for fore and aft movement incase I need some adjustment. I put the plate in the bender and went 22 degrees on my measurement. That makes 44 degrees of angle. The actual mount is 3/4" below the bottom of the frame rail. The 2" tube will be even with the bottom of the frame rails.