[angs1957]

Moving a long nicely, the hood cross brace does look cool and well made

 

[Roscoe7]

Would a cobra head induction elbow help?

Cobra Head Elbows for Limited Clearance Applications | Intake Hoses

Cobra head elbows are used when clearance is extremely limited, such as up against the firewall. Same flow capacity as a standard elbow but much more compact.

www.intakehoses.com

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Would a cobra head induction elbow help?

Cobra Head Elbows for Limited Clearance Applications | Intake Hoses

Cobra head elbows are used when clearance is extremely limited, such as up against the firewall. Same flow capacity as a standard elbow but much more compact.

www.intakehoses.com

I considered using one of those, but in the end, the best option is to move the radiator out (forward in the car), so I not only have the clearance for the air induction tube, but additional clearance between the front end accessory drive and the fans . . .

I feel like I've got a good plan for doing this, using 1.5" square aluminum tubing, just like what the core support is made from . . . I ordered and received everything I need to do this, except for the tubing itself and the cutting wheel to cut it to the lengths I need, and those will all be here by Sunday . . .

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Got the top piece that bolts to the tie bar done yesterday evening, and got the side pieces cut . . . I'll have lots of drilling on those pieces, so I stopped for the night

 

[Dragsix]

You are doing yeoman's work there. I would be throwing tools all around, lol.

 

[Stonecoldtx]

You are doing yeoman's work there. I would be throwing tools all around, lol.

Right now, I have the core support pulled back out of the car, to make things easier on creating the bracketry . . . after I get it all built, I'll re-install it and upload pictures

 

[Stonecoldtx]

I notched the top piece to allow the side pieces to be placed a little higher, since the nutserts at the top on each side are very close to the upper tie bar on the core support . . .

This morning, I got the bolt holes drilled for the left (driver') side piece; I will be bolting this to the nutserts in the core support, and then will install nutserts on the outer side to bolt the radiator to . . .

To bolt the side piece to the core support, I will cut some "window holes" for access to those bolts, and that will be the next operation on this side . . . then when I finish with this side, I'll perform the same operations on the other side

The picture shows some 1/4" x 1-3/4" bolts through, to check the alignment of the bolt holes drilled . . . the outer diameter of the nutserts is 1/2", so on the back side, I opened those holes up to 1/2" so that they would clear the nutserts.

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Here are the finished pieces, laying on the core support:

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Now, with the radiator spaced outward with the 1-1/2" Square Aluminum Tubing, in conjunction with attaching the fans directly to the radiator core, I have lots of clearance between the engine and the fans . . . I plan on trying to fabricate a shroud using a sheet of aluminum around the fans to cover the open areas of the radiator core . . . not sure yet how it will turn out, but the aluminum sheeting is on the way . . .

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Here is the view from the front, without the A/C condenser attached . . . I still have to determine where to place the auxiliary transmission cooler and the oil cooler, but there's plenty of space up front for those

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Slight setback . . . the radiator is now so far forward, that the bolts that hold the rockets on the hood are very close . . . so close, that I think the one on the left will interfere with the radiator cap, so I'm going to have to lower the radiator a bit . . .maybe as much as a half inch . . .

Also, I can't seem to get the hood to close properly . . . the latch engages, but if the latch plate is as far to the left (driver's) side, it causes the front of the hood to shift over that way, and the gaps are WAAAY off . . . if I move it back to the right (passenger) side, the gaps are good, but the hood moves up and down when in the closed position, even though I have spaced the latch itself up 1/8", using body shims . . .

I've seen some posts about this, and tried using the methods mentioned to get the hood to not move and have the correct gaps, but I so far, I haven't been successful . . .

 

[Dragsix]

I wonder if you need to loosen the two bolts thatsecure the front end near the radiator. A slight shift in the front may help the hood align up.

 

[Stonecoldtx]

I wonder if you need to loosen the two bolts thatsecure the front end near the radiator. A slight shift in the front may help the hood align up.

I'm not sure which bolts you mean . . . there are two bolts on each end of the radiator tie bar, and the ends of the tie bar are flush against the fender . . . there are also two bolts on each end of the grille tie bar . . . either one can have shims placed to space either fender outward, but the issue is that regardless of what I do, the hood moves up and down whenever the latch plate is in the center or toward the right of the car, and if I move it to the left, it "pulls" the front of the hood over, causing a huge gap on the front lower section of the right fender/hood area, and next to nothing on the left side . . . it doesn't move up and down, but that's because it's now in a bind and can't . . .

Like I said, I've read all the different threads where this has been brought up, tried all the things mentioned in those threads, but none of it is working here . . .

 

[Dragsix]

if you stick your head under the front splash pan, directly under the radiator saddle, are two nuts And some rubber pads. These are the bolts that hold the fron of the front end onto the frame. If you loosen them up a bit, the entire front end can move right or left. The hood is stationary to the firewall so if the hood latch is hitting the catch plate and then pulls the hood over, maybe. So if you loosen and move the entire front end over just a smidge you might just get enough clearance so the plate is not moving the hood.

are you using stock parts for the hood latch and catch?

see the square metal in between the frame horns? see the two slightly elongated holes? That is the right left adjustment for the front end.

 

[RAGGAREN]

I'm not sure which bolts you mean . . . there are two bolts on each end of the radiator tie bar, and the ends of the tie bar are flush against the fender . . . there are also two bolts on each end of the grille tie bar . .

i think dragsix refer to the 2 bolts going thru bottom of radiator support to cross member..??

 

[Dragsix]

i think dragsix refer to the 2 bolts going thru bottom of radiator support to cross member..??

Correct

 

[Stonecoldtx]

Correct

Those two bolts aren't installed yet . . .

I'm using the Eddie Motorsports Latch Support and striker plate and stock latch in the hood . . .

So, I don't think you understand what I am saying . . . I'll try to explain it better . . .

When I close the hood and it latches, with the latch striker plate in the center or to the right side, the hood moves up and down about a quarter inch, but the gaps are good

When I move the striker plate to the left of the car, the hood doesn't move up and down anymore, but it ulss the front of the hood to the left side of the car, which increases the gap on the right side, and decreases the gap on the left . . . this is because the latch plate is now causing the latch itself to move to the left of the car, which is what is pulling the front of the hood over . . .

Obviously, we can't have that, so the end goal here is to have the latch in the center, and the hood not move up and down when latched. . . there are no adjustments for any of the body panels that can fix this . . .

The issue seems to be a common issue with these cars, where the hood will move up and down when latched . . . and after reading all the threads about things that can be done, and doing those things, the end result is that the hood still moves up and down, unless I move the striker plate to the left of the car, which pulls the hood over to the left and causes the incorrect gaps.

 

[Stonecoldtx]

I might have a solution for the hood latch issue . . .

I got to thinking about how the mechanism works, and it occurred to me that maybe the lock plate needs to extend downward and toward the right of the car more . . . if that is the case, I think I can fab something up to take up that space, so as to eliminate the play in the latch/latch plate

Also, I am working with someone who builds remote latch release kits, and might just replace the latch and plate with that kit, which would completely eliminate the play at the front of the hood, without any ill effects . . . I should know more about whether I'll be able to get one of these kits later this week, and if I can, that would be "Plan A" . . . fabricating the extension to the lock plate would be "Plan B" . . .

 

[Stonecoldtx]

While I'm waiting for word on the remote hood latch, I went back to the rear of the car; I got the fuel tank all installed, and then realized that modern cars have insulation on their fuel tanks, to minimize the sound of the fuel pump, so out came the tank again, and I applied some sound deadener to the top and bottom of the tank, where it would contact the body . . .

I added Weather Pack connectors for both the Fuel Pump and the Fuel Sending Unit, so as to make removal and re-installation less painful; I also am using the vent on the pump and the tank for the EVAP canister lines . . . they are attached together at a "T" that was provided by Tanks, Inc. with the tank, and I will create a 1/2" aluminum hard line that I'll attach to a rubber hose on the tank end and on the EVAP canister end.

For the fuel pump, I'm using a -6AN stainless steel hose to connect to the existing 3/8" fuel line, and will connect a 12V battery to the pump wires to pressurize the line and check for leaks before finishing out everything . . .

 

[Stonecoldtx]

So, a couple of months ago, I ordered a Console from Classic Truck Consoles, and it arrived a couple of weeks ago . . .

I wasn't aware that what I was buying was basically a "Kit"

Be that as it may, I did some research and have decided on getting the Pioneer DMH-WT86NEX Car Stereo receiver

Pioneer DMH-WT86NEX Receiver

These are kinda expensive, but I found a shop on E-Bay that was offering a 10% discount, and they have almost 40,000 positive responses, so I pulled the trigger and ordered one of these today

The touch screen attaches to the head unit with a cable, and there is an extended, 5' cable available, so you can almost place the head unit and touch screen anywhere . . .

I plan on mounting the touch screen in the Console at the front, but haven't decided yet on where to mount the head unit . . . probably somewhere in front of the console, under the dash, maybe on the transmission hump, will have to wait and see where everything else is going . . .