2 Sluggo's Garage

[rmalkow2]

Can it run rotated 90 degrees?

Shadow, To turn the engine 90 degrees would defeat the purpose of using the driveshaft output of this engine unless I mis-understand your idea. It came from a shaft drive Honda. So I don’t see that working with this engine/trans combination.

Bob

Flip the engine around 180*, use a drop down, and run the driveshaft in front of the engine. I know it only solves one of your problems. Otherwise, it looks like a frame notch and bending your trailing arms are going to be a must.

Xtremek, If I understand your idea I think it would then require a V-Drive or some sort of transfer case since this is a shaft drive output from the transmission.

I do however have another possible option. I studied the design of another similar build and keep forgetting that some cars like this were not built with rear springs or suspension. The rear axle is hard mounted to the frame. For dry lake or salt racing you don’t really need the typical suspension travel of other car designs. I do know that some old cars used the spring and some hard mounted. It’s an option. If I completely remove the rear transverse spring it will lower the frame just about enough to get the driveshaft aligned. I could also cut the rear cross member loose and Z the frame to re-mount it higher and keep the spring. I got a bunch of measuring to do yet but at least have new ideas to try out.. In addition I may yet have to notch the frame to get the engine to sit a little lower.
The trailing arms yes will need to be pie cut and shortened to align properly with the frame. I have more heim joints on order for that purpose.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. It helps get my brain thinking of options. I find I need to stop frequently and go ponder each problem rather than try to bully through it.
Next step is to remove the spring and get the tape measure out!

Bob

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

Shadow, To turn the engine 90 degrees would defeat the purpose of using the driveshaft output of this engine unless I mis-understand your idea. It came from a shaft drive Honda. So I don’t see that working with this engine/trans combination.

Bob

I meant rotate around the driveshaft axis, so that one head is pointing straight up and the other pointing straight down, or even just 45 degrees. Maybe one head on the top of the frame rail and the other under the frame rail would be enough. The shaft drive should keep pointing the same direction, it would just be located differently. I think you'd have to do something to keep the carb in the right orientation (level) but if it's not like a car engine with a sump at the bottom for oiling maybe there's a way to run it in a different orientation.

 

[rmalkow2]

I meant rotate around the driveshaft axis, so that one head is pointing straight up and the other pointing straight down, or even just 45 degrees. Maybe one head on the top of the frame rail and the other under the frame rail would be enough. The shaft drive should keep pointing the same direction, it would just be located differently. I think you'd have to do something to keep the carb in the right orientation (level) but if it's not like a car engine with a sump at the bottom for oiling maybe there's a way to run it in a different orientation.

Ahhhhhhhh, now I understand your idea. But I don’t think I can do that with this engine design. It’s a GL1000 flat 4 boxer style engine with a central crankcase I believe holding oil. I don’t believe it can be hard mounted at that much angle from level. And it will look better in the car positioned normally. Gotta have the right looks right?

I’;ve seen this engine transplanted but always in normal position. My following next update will reveal the future plans to make it fit.

Bob

 

[rmalkow2]

Lakester Tribute Build - Update

I did some more work yesterday and a lot of staring at it and some measuring and I think I have a two-fold solution to engine mounting and better driveshaft alignment along with getting me a lower to the ground vehicle.

First I removed the stock Model-A rear leaf spring completely and lowered the frame down on top of the rear diff. This gave me an almost level frame rail. It ended up 1” lower in the rear vs. the front from floor up to the bottom of the frame rail. That’s just about perfect because it gives me space to bring the rear back up an inch when I fab up some brackets to attach the diff to the frame again.

This also reduced the mis-alignment of the transmission output shaft to the diff driveshaft quite a bit to where I now have only about 6” difference. More than I want but a lot closer. Then playing with engine placement fore and aft I realize its just too tight length-wise to fit not only the engine, trans, radiator, fan but then it needs room for a seat and me hopefully.

So to solve two problems at once I have decided to stretch the frame and when I insert some length I can also widen it to allow the engine to sit lower for better alignment. Remember this is currently a standard set of Model-T frame rails that was being set up for a TROG racer until the owner lost interest. It’s really too short to have been a belly tank lakester car. So, major cutting of the frame will likely have to wait until after the holidays but be on the agenda for 2021.

It’s actually a good thing I took off the rear spring as they would have never been good for actual use. The spring shackle nuts were not tight and the shackle bolts had home made thin aluminum tubes added to make up for worn holes in the diff. Also one bolt was bent S shaped. Hey I’m redneck but this was a little more than even I can approve of. Maybe it worked in the past.

 

[metalhead140]

Hey Bob. Catching up on your last couple of pages. Love the belly tanker project. Glad that you recovered from covid, and hope that you are back to full health sooner rather than later.

 

[rmalkow2]

Hey Bob. Catching up on your last couple of pages. Love the belly tanker project. Glad that you recovered from covid, and hope that you are back to full health sooner rather than later.

Thank you so much for checking in here and for the good thoughts. I’m glad to say that I feel 100% again. The last remnants of sinus issues have gone. Now to survive the upcoming cold winter months. Hopefully all my projects will make the time to spring pass quickly.

Bob

 

[rmalkow2]

Rat Fink says Merry Christmas and a Happy Hot Rodding New Year to all my Garage Journal friends.

 

[don long]

It's Midnight Christmas eve or now Christmas day so I want to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas

Don

 

[Strouty]

Merry Christmas!

 

[jon72vega]

Rat Fink says Merry Christmas and a Happy Hot Rodding New Year to all my Garage Journal friends.

Bob,
Merry Christmas!

 

[xtremek]

I hope RF Santa was good to you and yours.

 

[rmalkow2]

Well Santa was great this year even with all the Covid issues. I hope everyone had a pretty good holiday season even with the hardships in 2020. And Happy New Year! Here’s hoping that 2021 will be filled with many cool garage projects.

Not much hot rod work being done by me since the holidays. I had a house full of family which was great and since then have been doing other household chores, a little maintenance and a bunch of retirement related paperwork.

I have not been able to work down in the barn as much as I would like due to some really cold weather here recently. If it’s mid 30’s outside I can turn on the heater and take the chill off to work for a few hours. But if it gets into the low to mid 20’s outside I just don’t have the ability to keep that much heat in the building. So certain car project work will wait until better weather.

I did make use of young strong family members over the holidays to get some plywood up into my truss rafters and make some additional storage space in the barn. That helps greatly.

I also just bought myself a couple retirement presents. First is an actual nice quality roll around stool/seat. I have been using the cheap HF little thing and it is too low, uncomfortable and doesn’t roll very good. So I paid up a little for this Traxion unit and what a difference.

I also bought another vehicle to add to the fleet. The “white whale”, a 2003 Chevy Express 3500 with the 6.0L LS engine and 4L80 trans. This will be a great vehicle to take to swap meets and not always have to pull a trailer. But, it can do that too if needed. Things I carry or purchase can be locked up inside and it has lots of cargo space. This will also be my future Speed Week trip vehicle. It actually came from Utah and is very rust free. Not something you can find in Michigan and I got a great deal on it. I think I’m gonna like this vehicle but time will tell. Can’t wait for swap meet season to start!!!

It even came with the Michigan winter version of the custom Foose Fade two tone paint job. In other words, living on a dirt road mud all along the bottom.

 

[xtremek]

Are you trying to catch Strouty or Uncle Willie with the number of vehicles you have? If you are going to join their circle, you'll have to get a Suburban at some point.

 

[rmalkow2]

Are you trying to catch Strouty or Uncle Willie with the number of vehicles you have? If you are going to join their circle, you'll have to get a Suburban at some point.

Haha,
Strouty is most definitely my vehicle purchasing hero. But I fear I’ll never be able to catch up with him.
No room for that fire engine I would love to own. But I do have a neighbor who has one and is converting into a ramp truck. I’ll have to follow that build.

No suburban for me but this van is a winner in my book. If it keeps running as smooth as it does now I’ll keep it for a long time. It could be the perfect vehicle for traveling to and, hauling home from swap meets.

Bob

 

[rmalkow2]

2021 Swap Meet Season has begun.

First Swap Meet of 2021 for me last Saturday down in Springfield Ohio. It was a smaller event due to winter time weather but, still a bunch of good vendors in two buildings and a connecting annex area. It was nice to just get away for a day and look at car parts and tools for a change. And the snow stayed away for the day so driving conditions were good.
Even for such a small event I found some useful goodies. First pic is a set of aluminum Moon style clip on wheel covers, not perfect condition but the price was right and hopefully they fit well on my belly tanker wheels. One fellow had a table of $1 parts and I found some old chrome pieces that can re-purpose. I also got a cool old tear drop light (likely from a boat) and a steering wheel spinner knob from the guy with the wheel discs. Some more Rod & Custom little books from the 50’s and a switch panel with switches. The shifter boot will work better in my ‘29 Roadster than the one I have there now. It was new NOS from Mr. Gasket days.

Another table yielded a very sturdy home built engine lift leveler. Made by the seller 20+ years ago and he was getting out of the hobby so I promised to keep it working for more years to come. And who doesn’t need another good funnel for a buck?

Not pictured was a pair of Mustang 17” 5 spoke wheels from the one outside seller who did not want to take them back home and gave me a cheap price.

A fun and quick trip and I’ll go back to this site in the spring when they can have more outside vendors as well.

 

[rmalkow2]

Name That Tool


One of my winter time projects is cleaning up old tools that I’ve collected and seeing if I can use then again. Stuff from past auctions and sales. Well I came across these in an old tool box and for a long time could not figure out what they were or used for. After cleaning up on the wire wheel I did finally find a makers name and then researched what they were used for and I never would have guessed.

So here’s your challenge. Without Google or the Interwebs who knows what these are and what they are used for????

Bonus points if you can identify the name of the company that made them. No cheating now. If you give up and have to research it then wait a few days before posting so maybe someone gets it right.

No prizes, sorry. (Remember I’m now retired and on a fixed income)
But you do get unlimited GJ bragging rights and more useless tool knowledge for the future.

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

They look a bit like brake spoons.

 

[Strouty]

We need a size reference, but the scoop ends have me thinking they are designed to clean something out. Rustic pumpkin carving tools........

Don't worry about catching up to me or Uncle Willie, it isn't worth it, I can attest to that.

 

[jon72vega]

2021 Swap Meet Season has begun.

First Swap Meet of 2021 for me last Saturday down in Springfield Ohio. It was a smaller event due to winter time weather but, still a bunch of good vendors in two buildings and a connecting annex area. It was nice to just get away for a day and look at car parts and tools for a change. And the snow stayed away for the day so driving conditions were good.
Even for such a small event I found some useful goodies. First pic is a set of aluminum Moon style clip on wheel covers, not perfect condition but the price was right and hopefully they fit well on my belly tanker wheels. One fellow had a table of $1 parts and I found some old chrome pieces that can re-purpose. I also got a cool old tear drop light (likely from a boat) and a steering wheel spinner knob from the guy with the wheel discs. Some more Rod & Custom little books from the 50’s and a switch panel with switches. The shifter boot will work better in my ‘29 Roadster than the one I have there now. It was new NOS from Mr. Gasket days.

Another table yielded a very sturdy home built engine lift leveler. Made by the seller 20+ years ago and he was getting out of the hobby so I promised to keep it working for more years to come. And who doesn’t need another good funnel for a buck?

Not pictured was a pair of Mustang 17” 5 spoke wheels from the one outside seller who did not want to take them back home and gave me a cheap price.

A fun and quick trip and I’ll go back to this site in the spring when they can have more outside vendors as well.

Bob,
You got some cool things at the swap meet.
I really like the Moon discs.
They will look good on your belly tanker.

 

[xtremek]

Back scratchers.

 

[don long]

I put one of those wheel spinners on my golf cart that I use around here and it made spinning around the yard much more fun. Good find. We called them suicide knobs when growing up.

 

[rmalkow2]

Back scratchers.

Nope.

That however could be a modern day re-purposing I suppose.

Guess again!

 

[rmalkow2]

I put one of those wheel spinners on my golf cart that I use around here and it made spinning around the yard much more fun. Good find. We called them suicide knobs when growing up.

I’ve been on the hunt for an old one of these for a long time but they are always very high priced. Now granted this one is plain. No fancy knob color or early plastic design. It’s just metal but, it was dirt cheap so I seized the moment. It may end up on my hot rod after I clean it up.

Definitely heard them called suicide knobs but not sure of the history of that naming.

Bob

 

[harley jim]

The "Steering Wheel Spinner Knob" was invented by Joel R. Thorp of Wisconsin in 1936. The Brodie name is a reference to Steve Brodie and was meant to describe all manner of reckless stunts. The device is often called a "suicide knob" because of being notoriously useless for controlling the wheel during an emergency.

We called them kneckers knob because you could steer with one hand and hold your girl with the other.


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[xtremek]

They used to be illegal in Michigan, or so I was told.

 

[rmalkow2]

The "Steering Wheel Spinner Knob" was invented by Joel R. Thorp of Wisconsin in 1936. The Brodie name is a reference to Steve Brodie and was meant to describe all manner of reckless stunts. The device is often called a "suicide knob" because of being notoriously useless for controlling the wheel during an emergency.

We called them kneckers knob because you could steer with one hand and hold your girl with the other.


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Haha, “Kneckers Knob”, that’s a new on for me. Never heard that name or Brodie. Thanks for the extra history.

They used to be illegal in Michigan, or so I was told.

I had not heard that but will have to check it out before driving around with one on the steering wheel. I wonder how many younger cops would even know this?

 

[rmalkow2]

Finally, a finished major project.....


With all this super cold weather we’ve had the Mini has been sitting in my garage torn apart since late January. I had to stop working on it because I just could not get the area warm enough many days to work out there. Been taking advantage of this week and the warmer temps. So it got new Bilstein front struts to replace the junk China cheapest on Rock Auto versions I had previously used. (Lesson learned). Also installed new inner and outer ball joints, new strut top mounts, new valve cover gasket, changed the oil/filter and air filter. Repaired some damage to the plastic radiator support and finally tomorrow will replace the spark plug wires and PCV.
It should be ready for another year of driving!

 

[rmalkow2]

Some much needed tool organizing.....

All my life I’ve kept sockets in trays in a drawer or, in the original box they came with or, just loose and mixed up in a drawer.
What a mess!

I finally bought some socket racks on Amazon and re-assigned the top of my tool cart for them to live in. While working on my car this week I was constantly frustrated with finding the right size socket in a drawer of mixed loose tools.
So I took time to sort and get them organized.

As you may notice in the picture I ended up with a bunch of empty spots where I don’t actually have that particular size. This amazed me as I have lots of sockets and as I found out, I really had a lot of duplicates. So those will get put away for now and I can start to acquire the sizes I’m missing.

When work continued on the car, it was much easier to go directly to these racks and quickly find the right size. Wish I had done this years ago.

 

[Bob Heine]

Pretty sure there are no laws against using steering wheel spinners. Mostly because handicapped people often have to use them to be able to pass a driving test. In Australia, at least in New South Wales, I was required to have a steering knob on the wheel. Picked mine up at The ******* Center for $84. Unlike the vast majority of wheel spinners sold on Amazon, eBay and other retail outlets, the wheel spinners for handicapped drivers don't snap off when you push too hard. They mount securely to the wheel with a couple of bolts, not a heater hose worm clamp The one I brought home with me is stored in a very safe place that has escaped me for the past 30 years so I ordered a new one tonight. I could have gotten it with the plastic knob for $97 but paid $5 extra for a wood knob just because. The part that attaches to the wheel has a quick disconnect for the knob so anyone can drive the car without the knob getting in the way. One of the dangers of a spinner knob is getting it caught in clothing so you need to have your hand on the spinner when turning the wheel.

 

[xtremek]

All that to replace struts and ball joints? Holy cow. No wonder they call them BMW Moneys.

 

[rmalkow2]

Pretty sure there are no laws against using steering wheel spinners. Mostly because handicapped people often have to use them to be able to pass a driving test. In Australia, at least in New South Wales, I was required to have a steering knob on the wheel. Picked mine up at The ******* Center for $84. Unlike the vast majority of wheel spinners sold on Amazon, eBay and other retail outlets, the wheel spinners for handicapped drivers don't snap off when you push too hard. They mount securely to the wheel with a couple of bolts, not a heater hose worm clamp The one I brought home with me is stored in a very safe place that has escaped me for the past 30 years so I ordered a new one tonight. I could have gotten it with the plastic knob for $97 but paid $5 extra for a wood knob just because. The part that attaches to the wheel has a quick disconnect for the knob so anyone can drive the car without the knob getting in the way. One of the dangers of a spinner knob is getting it caught in clothing so you need to have your hand on the spinner when turning the wheel.

Very interesting always how different countries apply their rules and laws differently. And the $80 - $100 price tag is right where you will pay today if you can find a original vintage one with a cool looking knob. The one I bought is plain metal appearance but even so, I think I only paid $10 for it so it was a deal to me.

 

[rmalkow2]

All that to replace struts and ball joints? Holy cow. No wonder they call them BMW Moneys.

Well its not really too hard on this car. The whole front end had to come off because I damaged the plastic radiator support last year and had temporarily fixed it with duct tape and of course, zip ties. So this fix was done with some sheet metal panels I made up to pop rivet in and bridge over the broken section.

All the front end components come off with a few simple bolts and just package one on top the other.

My middle name is cheap so I bought this Mini used and so far have found it easy to work on. It helps a lot that the headlights are attached to the hood and not the body so you don’t have to mess with those.
And now that I’ve had this all off the car twice maybe I’m just getting used to the routine.
Since I hopefully fixed the oil leak with the new valve cover gasket, it also gave me the chance to clean old oil off the front and bottom of the engine and see if it re-appears in the future.

 

[teal95]

I'm only on page 62 and still trying to catch up so sorry if this has already been covered.

Does Lapeer only run 1/8 mile now? It was 1/4 mile when I ran in the early '00s. The shutdown area was pretty sketchy though. Even getting my mostly stock 95 Mustang GT at 100mph was pretty bouncy.

The standard brake upgrade for the sn95 and New Edge Mustangs is to upgrade the front brakes to Cobra parts. As the spindles were all the same for V6/GT/Cobra the parts are all bolt on. And the rears usually don't get upgraded unless a lot of suspension mods have been done as all the weight transfers forward so the rear brakes aren't doing much, even in road racing.

steve

 

[rmalkow2]

I'm only on page 62 and still trying to catch up so sorry if this has already been covered.

Does Lapeer only run 1/8 mile now? It was 1/4 mile when I ran in the early '00s. The shutdown area was pretty sketchy though. Even getting my mostly stock 95 Mustang GT at 100mph was pretty bouncy.

The standard brake upgrade for the sn95 and New Edge Mustangs is to upgrade the front brakes to Cobra parts. As the spindles were all the same for V6/GT/Cobra the parts are all bolt on. And the rears usually don't get upgraded unless a lot of suspension mods have been done as all the weight transfers forward so the rear brakes aren't doing much, even in road racing.

steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for checking out my thread. Lapeer runs a full 1/4 mile but I’ve also been to Test n Tune when they were timing everyone at the 1/8 mile so maybe some of there events do that as well. Unfortunately I did not get to run at all in 2020. It’s a totally new track now with new owner and was completely re-paved. Also lots of future improvements coming. Check out their FB page and FB group. I’m hoping to be back there a few times this summer. Fast or slow its just a lot of fun.
The Mustang front brake update is a good one by your description. I don’t currently have a stopping problem with my little 2000 V6 Mustang. But I will be starting a drag car build soon with a 1994 GT V8 car and that would be a good upgrade for sure.

Bob

 

[rmalkow2]

Ready for Swap Meet Season!!!


Here’s one of my over the winter inside projects. I started this some years ago but never completed it. Stuck inside a lot during cold weather I finally got after it and finished the High Boy Swap Meet Wagon.
The original wagon wheels were traded for some big and littles with their white wheels painted hot rod red.
Being tall, a normal wagon handle length does not let me walk straight up and pull it along so an old chrome shifter and re-purposed B&M T-handle shifter knob does the trick for easy pulling.
The paint theme was kept simple and basic hot rod in style using Matte Black for the body and truck bed liner paint for the inside of the tub. Since it’s destined to be a working vehicle I know it will get scratched and simple paint makes it easy to touch up when required.
The one bit of bling is one the rear wing extension I made from a round tube frame and a sheet of aluminum. Tried my hand first time at producing an old school engine turned finish and then giving it multiple coats of clear to help protect it.
It may yet get a few decals and maybe a special milk crate trunk for carrying taller parts. Still pondering those changes so for now it will be ready for the next Swap Meet. If you see me at Spring Carlisle say Hi!!!

 

[xtremek]

If you want to exaggerate the big and littles a bit more, find some front wheels and tires off of a riding mower/garden tractor. I love the engine turning, very well done.

 

[harley jim]

What did you use to turn the aluminum

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[rmalkow2]

If you want to exaggerate the big and littles a bit more, find some front wheels and tires off of a riding mower/garden tractor. I love the engine turning, very well done.

Thanks, I do have some wider tires and actually some big slicks from a racing go kart that could work. For now I’m trying out the old school hot rod look but there’s always room for change.

What did you use to turn the aluminum

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So, I used a small circular scotch bright pad, maybe 1.5 inch diameter on a typical holder and chucked it up in the drill press to get straight and even down pressure. Just kept moving the panel free hand and developed a pattern and feel that I tried to duplicate with each row. To keep the overlapping pattern going you have to start on one edge and do each following row in succession so they overlap the previous row the same amount. My lines are not perfectly straight but I’m happy with the result for a first try.

Bob

 

[harley jim]

It looked good, I assumed it was something like a rolock. We used to use the large white pencil erasers to do dash inserts. Thanks.

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[rmalkow2]

It looked good, I assumed it was something like a rolock. We used to use the large white pencil erasers to do dash inserts. Thanks.

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Oh ya, roloc is the name I was searching for but couldn’t remember. That’s what I used with a scotch brite pad on it.
I had totally forgot about the use of erasers to do this. I knew there was some old school methods but could not remember what they were.

Thanks