Posts by 1971BB427
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I never let the garage thing get in my way; or the lack there of! When I hear guys tell me they'd like to build a car, but don't have a garage, I chuckle. I built both of my gassers in a 10'x20' Costco canopy! Set it up in my backyard, and got a load of gravel in my trailer. Spread the gravel inside, and then bought five 4'x8' sheets of plywood and laid it down for a floor. Screwed them together with nailer strips, and put up lights and plugs inside, fed from an extension cord to my outside outlet. All welding was done with my Miller 140 Autoset 115v., and even primer and bodywork was done inside with the help of a propane space heater.
And the car before these two I built in my driveway whenever the weather was good enough to work outside! But it did get all new suspension inside the Costco canopy!
Here's a picture when I was straightening and filling some bodywork inside the canopy, on my Falcon. As you might guess, it was winter, so had the space heater going!
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Bet that felt good once the old frame dropped to the ground!
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My old Austin gave up misc. debris, but when sweeping it up I thought I saw money! Dug out two Canadian pennies that were both the same year as the car! Guessing when it was newly imported to Canada someone hid them inside the front sheet metal, as it was while disassembling that area they appeared. They're both mounted in strategic places on the dashboard switches now.
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"True Grit"??
Takes determination to build under adverse conditions! Sounds like you've got what it takes to keep building, regardless of the weather!
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Just because the HAMB guys don't like them doesn't mean they're cool guys.
Ignore the crap Morgantown. Lots of guys run them, and I sure like the looks myself. But I've never been a "cool guy".
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Some guys succumb to peer pressure, or to those they think are cool. I'd prefer to just run what I like and ignore the masses. Wonder if the guys back in the 60's ran what others wanted them to run, or what they personally liked?
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I sure do remember those ultra nice show quality gassers Dan! They were in every issue of Drag News, Hotrod, and Car Craft back then! I loved the SWC, and Mazmanian cars, but my favorite was Ohio George's car, as he made a point out of beating everyone with an engine the others didn't use. He seemed to always be the one everyone tried to copy, but he never let his secrets to performance be known!
His car was nice, but certainly not in the show car class.
His car was nice, but certainly not in the show car class.
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Were you able to find backing plate arms for tierod and drag link that fit the Chevy backing plate pattern? I've never been able to find any, and always end up either using Tri 5 stock arms flipped over and opposite sides. Or use a Speedway bracket for a Ford, and cut one tab off and move it closer to match, then weld it back on.
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Amazing! Took them long enough to finally offer an arm that fits a Chevy backing plate! Now maybe they'll get one to fit the smaller Ford axles too, like the Econoline!
I spoke with Speedway representatives at the Portland Roadster Show about 4-5 years ago about both items, and got blank looks. Also asked them why they don't offer the arms as singles, as sometimes I want the drag link on the top two bolts, but tie rod on the bottom two. Or want front steering above front, but tie rod to the rear low. So being able to buy a single arm is better than buying a pair and tossing one in the corner. Got no response on that question either.
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Yes, but my complaint to them was they didn't offer single arms, not single hole arms. Don't always need a pair, so not sure why they wont sell them as a single.
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Ran into the same issue a long time ago and had to use a thick washer under the castle nut to make it work.
I try to go for 7 degrees on a larger vehicle with longer wheelbase, like a Tri 5. But even 5 or 6 works. On short wheelbase cars I use a steeper angle like 9-10 degrees, as it helps keep them going straight at higher speeds. 1/8" to 1/4" toe in. Usually like something closer to the 1/4" side to eliminate death wobble.
I use large tie rod tubes too! Those wimpy little 1" tubes that Speedway sells can cause death wobble if they get to flexing. I used the 1" on my Austin, but tie rod is less than 3 ft. long, so not much flex. But I made up beefy tie rod and drag link tubing for my larger Falcon. I think they're 1.25" OD, or close to that.
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A heavier wall tube like you're using will offset the smaller diameter, and shouldn't flex like thinner 1" tubing does.
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