[nad427]

I am a welder by trade and LOVE cutting things apart and sewing them back together. Some people say it is an easy job to do this conversion. That is all relative to your skills. After studying and doing internet research, it is easier said then done. To complete the job where no one can really tell it's been done is where it gets more complicated.

I've seen a video somewhere on the process, and I'm pretty sure there is a sticky on this site somewhere about it. When I get more time I'll see if I can find them for you.

Really cool for both of you for doing this. "Four doors should be illegal" cracks me up!

 

[nad427]

Seems like the fun part would be the cutting, and the hard part would be to start putting stuff back together and making it look right.
My hat is tipped to you sir.

 

[nad427]

A mag...you got my heart with THAT one!

 

[nad427]

I love the rear wheels, what brand/model are they?

They almost look like the old M/T mags. That 'hub' in the center is a little confusing though.

 

[nad427]

The wheels are missing the center cap. They use a small cap held in by an Oring.

That's understood. I was just pondering why it protrudes as it does. Not questioning whether it's good or bad, just that I don't recall seeing it like that before.

 

[nad427]

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?

This doesn't prove much, but remember when gassers started evolving into show/race cars? Teams like Stone, Woods, and Cook, Mazmanian, etc started building some really fine cars. Next thing you know a buncha teams followed the trend. Before that the cars were sorta aesthetically ugly. From what I've seen of the Southeast Gassers lately it looks like the same thing is starting to happen all over again, so SOMEBODY is saying SOMETHING.

 

[nad427]

Sure am liking it so far.

 

[nad427]

At first I thought that you had cut the stock rails and left that 'tongue' sticking out for strength, but after blowing the pic up I can see that it's a separate piece. Either way it looks plenty strong. Good work.

 

[nad427]

Because I'm curious...
What is that plate for on the drivers side
between the header and frame in this pic?

I don't see it in this one.

 

[nad427]

My only issue is the pivot point, it's really high and that's going to make the front sit too high when opened. If Vall (1971BB427) comes back with a pic of his setup you'll be amazed at how simple and trick it is.

He can also tell you how painful it is to bang your head on the fender bottoms though. LOL

 

[nad427]

I just went back to this starting pic. Blows me away looking at how far you've come already. Something to think about while you're recovering.

 

[nad427]

Embarrassed to say, but I'm way past that deadline. The camera tube up the pee-pee was enough of that torture for me.

 

[nad427]

Glad to hear the surgery went well, and you're back at it again! The conversion looks great!

Agreed, very nice work. There's hope for them 4drs after all. lol

 

[nad427]

Put me in the "like" column also. Sure is a heckofa lot different than when you first started!

 

[nad427]

Me neither. How long does the shine/finish last when it's done like that? I used to spend untold hours sanding and painting headers. That gets old in a hurry!

 

[nad427]

This is interesting. Almost looks like a Chevelle Z-bar. I have to build something for mine also, and also only have pedals hanging to start with.

 

[nad427]

I believe the Z bar is generic.

From one hotrod guy to another,

One problem with that type of bar is that there's usually some funky welding of the arms to the tube. The first time it happened to me I replaced an entire clutch assembly, only to find out too late that whenever I depressed the pedal the weld had cracked on the arm (from the clutch pedal to the tube), causing the arm to move forward without turning the tube all the way.

If you ever have that type of release problem, look at that weld right off the top before blaming the clutch itself, unlike what I did. A few dollars of weld would have saved me bundles of money and a buncha crawling around under the car type of work. lol

 

[nad427]

Thanks for the heads up!The Z bar was found laying on a shelf in a hot rod shop belonging to a recently deceased friend. Very heavy tube and arms and is powder coated so pretty sure it is not decades old. I put 5/8 I.D. bronze bushings that I found at Lowes in both ends. Very robust piece. I am a weld inspector by trade so I walk around inspecting welds EVERYWHERE. I do it so much when my wife and I are together I can ask her "What's wrong with that weld" and she generally scores a 100.:happy0030:

That's great, some of the (brand new) ones I've dealt with you'd put on a shelf...forever. Didn't think it'd be possible, but some I see are even worse than my welds. lol

 

[nad427]

Nice use of the velocity stacks to get the height you wanted! The scoop looks old school too!

I agree with Vall.
The combo of that scoop and those wicked looking headers really adds a BUNCH to the overall look of the engine.