Projects from The Compound

[Hounddog]

I've got a 96 LT1 (from an Impala) going into my Model A. The mill had been warmed over for a friends 69 Camero....he sold the whole rig, incl the trans 4L60E to me. Suposed to only have 12K on the rebuild.

I'm going to reread your points and take some notes for reference later....motors are not my/my fathers strong sute. At the moment it's fitted in the frame as body work slowly continues. I'll probally throw you a few questioning PMs if you willing to entertain them.


That bowtie on the air cleaner will eventually get swapped...no reason to enrage the blue oval communitity any more than nessary.



Thanks for all the details.

 

[mistervelocity]

Thanks for looking guys. And Hounddog, feel free to PM me if you have any LT1 questions. Hopefully I can help. That's going to be a fun Model A with that drivetrain in it. My dad has been on the hunt for a '30/'31 coupe so I may have some questions for you too at some point.

 

[mistervelocity]

Rounded up another one...
The owner of this '67 Nova is on a couple lonnng waiting lists to get a "$10,000 paint job" -- whatever that really means. My brother agreed to do the body work and consider painting it. Someone else had already replaced both quarters, rear deck lid, doors, fenders, hood and floors -- Roughed in but far from straight. It's a pretty nice start and he clearly has a bigger budget than any of my builds. Looks like a 350 with a 4L80 and a narrow Moser 12bolt. Sounds good!
The owners REALLY want my brother to shoot the car but he's not too excited about it. We'll see what happens.
He had estimated the job at 40hrs and probably has over 60 in it at this point. It's also taken 2 weeks longer than projected. Part of it was just life getting busy and the rest was attention to detail. The hood was a HUGE pain in the *** and he still isn't completely pleased with the results. The metal is thinner gauge than a stock hood and seems to be temperature sensitive. Plus the owner had sat on the edges in an effort to match the fender profile. It's really not noticeable unless you are sitting in the driver's seat and looking for flaws. "Normal" people would never see it. The rest of the car came out beautifully.

 

[mistervelocity]

Aw geez! Looks like he's as much of a greedy ***** as me. I guess there WAS enough cash to convince him to shoot the interior. He spent a couple hours cleaning the booth and then a few more hours pulling the doors back off and wrapping the entire car.
They also have a brushed finish Flaming River column that they wanted painted. After some discussion they all decided it might look better to just color match the top portion and steering wheel adapter.
Like I mentioned earlier, he's using a customer supplied semi flat single stage. That means that if there are any flaws (like a run or some dirt) the entire panel will need to be reprepped and resprayed. It can't be blended and it can't be buffed. No pressure.

 

[Skyline]

Damn, you guys are productive. This thread is a great read.

So why did your brother not want to paint the Nova...was it the semi-flat PITA paint?

 

[metalhead212121]

I skimmed over this thread... its a breath of fresh air to see someone on here that deals with any kind of car (or fridge) and does a nice job with the repairs and mods. Can I (we) see the tool box that you work out of to repair all this stuff?

 

[GJoustra]

This thread is awesome!

 

[48RON54]

Great thread! More of the cutlass! lol

 

[mistervelocity]

Damn, you guys are productive. This thread is a great read.

So why did your brother not want to paint the Nova...was it the semi-flat PITA paint?

Quite a few reasons. For one, he was really busy at his day job. The guy who owns the car had really high expectations. At one point in the conversation he mentioned that he already had more into the car than what a new ZO6 would cost. It's not that my brother doubted his ability, but the reality is that it is a homemade booth in an old pole barn. It'd be a real shame/PITA if he got any dirt in the paint. The owner wanted a tri-stage blue of some sort that was going to be over $3,000 in materials alone. Sometimes it's better to just pass.

 

[mistervelocity]

I skimmed over this thread... its a breath of fresh air to see someone on here that deals with any kind of car (or fridge) and does a nice job with the repairs and mods. Can I (we) see the tool box that you work out of to repair all this stuff?

Thanks. The box is nothing special (old SnapOn on the first page) and just has common tools in it. I'm really not much of a tool snob. It's at work now but I'm planning to get some current pics of it and the shops soon.

 

[mistervelocity]

This thread is awesome!

Appreciate the enthusiasm.

 

[mistervelocity]

Great thread! More of the cutlass! lol

I have plans for more work on it but like I've mentioned a couple times before, I need to focus on the '35. As it sits now, the Cutlass is perfectly useable and actually a really enjoyable driver. I don't actually drive it much but every time I do I'm always amazed at how nice it drives for a 35 year old car built during the low point of the Detroit era.

 

[mistervelocity]

This is my current focus. First, let me say that this will not be a really fast moving build. In fact, it's taken me 14 years to get it this far. On 11/15/99 I was involved in an accident in my '35 Ford pickup. Not my fault. Just the wrong guy in the wrong car at the wrong time. This was technically my first car and I drove it everywhere for about 7 years.

Before, after the accident, and currently...

 

[mistervelocity]

Over the years I've collected lots of parts. Bought a '35 Sedan just for the frame. Located a pretty nice grill, some replacement doors, fenders and hoods. Corvette front and rear suspension. A few engine choices (LT1, 400, 327, 283) and some transmission options (T5, T5, T5, Muncie, A833, A833).

 

[mistervelocity]

So after several attempts to flip projects to "finally get enough money to finish my truck", I realized I'll never finish it unless I just focus on it and work. Which brings us to 11-15-13, my 14th anniversary of cheating death. I began by dropping the frame out of the rafters...by myself. Well, I had some help from the cherry picker. Once I had it on the floor, I sat down with a pen and paper and started making a parts list. Pretty much all that'll be saved from this frame is the outer rails.

The proposed combination will be:
-Stock body, probably dark green or maybe blue
-Significantly strengthened frame
-1990 Corvette front suspension (this one has the F41 big brake option)
-1981 Corvette rear suspension with 3.73 posi
-Coilovers in all 4 corners. Possibility of air ride upgrade later.
-Steel 17" & 18" wheels with '40s caps and trim rings
-Probably reuse the 283 that was in it at the time of the accident
-Probably use the A833 overdrive. Maybe one of the T5s.
-Stockish interior

 

[mistervelocity]

Cut out the X-rails and some other unneeded stuff. My wife's family came in to town so I had to stop being a rude hermit and socialize. Took about 6 hours to get it down to bare rails.
Seemed like a million rivets to grind/cut/drill/hammer. Probably really only about 50 though. Once I finally got it apart, I found the rust wasn't as bad as I expected. There's an inner rail that curves into the X and and an outer rail that wraps around it. In areas that have cross members it's 3 layers thick. Plenty of places for dirt and moisture to work over the course of 80 years. Now, to find someone local to sandblast the rails.

 

[mistervelocity]

My front suspension kit and X-rail kit showed up earlier this week. Finally got around to opening the packages. Then got all excited and had to lay everything out. I'm really impressed with the quality of the parts.

Still trying to get the outer rails sandblasted. All the parts are stacked in the corner for now. My dad is coming to town this weekend so I'll see if he might be able to help me with the heater install. After that I'll do some cleaning and reorganizing while my wallet heals from the last parts order. Hopefully my brother will get started on the body soon. I've set a tentative deadline for June to have it drivable. It won't be DONE for quite awhile but I'd like to have it moving under it's own power in June. We'll see. It only takes time and money.

 

[lisiecki1]

He still has this one but it's for sale. It has the wire baskets in the wheels too. Looks much better.

I soooooooo want this car. Very cool.

 

[mistervelocity]

It could be yours. He'd love to sell it.

 

[charleyw]

Great thread! Love the truck (even the mural with the Stearman in the sun).

 

[mistervelocity]

Thanks. Glad you're enjoying it. Unfortunately, that spare tire cover was lost somewhere between Portland and Seattle about 15 years ago. And just so there's no confusion, there are 2 different old black pickups. My brother owns our dad's old '36 from the first page that recently got the LT1 swap. Mine is the '35 that's currently in about 1000 pieces.

 

[lisiecki1]

It could be yours. He'd love to sell it.

I'd be willing to bet IF I was able to get in it, I definitely wouldn't be able to get out without help.

 

[ODIS]

Pigs ear + mistervelocity = SILK PURSE!

Wonderful work and great thread.

Ody.

 

[mistervelocity]

Wow, thanks! Again, group effort. I can't take much credit for the shiny stuff. Basically, my brother wins the trophies. I just get the paint jobs to the show.

I'm sick at home today and sponging up tips/tricks/ideas from the countless threads. It's almost too much to take in. Being relatively new here, I'm still trying to get my bearings and find my way around. So to all the other guys reading this -- Thanks for posting up your shops and projects. I'm watching.

 

[mistervelocity]

Fierro is sold and will be headed to California in the next few days. A '68 VW camper will be filling the void.

 

[AZ Pete]

Subscribed!!

 

[mistervelocity]

So apparently you guys broke Photobucket.

I'll just use this method for now. It'll take me a while but I plan to go back to previous posts and get the photos back up. Thanks for your patience.

My dad was in town last week so I had some help setting up the new (to me) furnace. No possible way I could have done it without him. I got the wiring and plumbing done but still need to source some chimney pipe. Local fireplace shops quoted over $100/foot so I'll be watching CL for good used pieces. Tore the whole front of the shop apart and moved cabinets. Oil tank went in the left front corner after a quick cleaning and fresh coat of Ford gray engine paint. Then we used tiedowns and a chain hoist to get it up to the ledge above the workbench. Don't let the size fool you -- it's heavy. Had to be all of 300 pounds.

 

[e-tek]

So apparently you guys broke Photobucket.

I'll just use this method for now. It'll take me a while but I plan to go back to previous posts and get the photos back up. Thanks for your patience.

Just pay the $5 and they'll be working again! If there's a ton more model A build pics, heck, I'll pay it for ya!

 

[mistervelocity]

The Model A belongs to another member. I'm still playing with other options for hosting. Figured I'd just make it at least semi-viewable until I settle on something permanent.

 

[mistervelocity]

My dad's '68 bus showed up from New Hampshire today. Still waiting on pics.

On the '35 front, I'm STILL having trouble getting someone to sandblast the framerails. Was complaining about it at work today and the guy I share the building with mentioned that he had a sandblasting pot he'd sell. He said he'd let me try it out and if I like it, it's mine for $40. Figured I can't lose so I'll be bringing it home tomorrow.

 

[Modern Jess]

Oofdah. Almost all of your photos aren't showing up (you've exceeded your bandwidth allotment at the place where you're hosting your photos) so I can't see any of the fantastic things you've posted since sometime around the first or second page.

Daggit!

 

[mistervelocity]

Sorry about that. I'm chipping away at the photos. Takes a little time to locate them on my laptop to replace the Photobucket links. Since some of the posts are pic-heavy, it takes some text editing too for it to make any sense. Hope to have it all cleaned up by the end of the weekend.

 

[fergus]

Epic thread. Can't wait to see the rest of the pics. Thanks for sharing it all. WELCOME!

 

[mistervelocity]

Dug the engine out of the corner and got it up on a stand and torn down for a Krylon rebuild. The engine itself really doesn't need anything. Probably only has 20K since I built it so it should be good to go. Just wanna change up the look of it. Got a couple things in the mail this week. Just a cheap set of roller tips and a low-mount alternator bracket. Still waiting on a new SFI balancer that was back-ordered until next week.
Also a photo of the sandblaster I'm auditioning. He said it hasn't been used in at least 20 years. I'll pick up some sand today and hopefully there will be enough of a dry stretch this weekend that I can try it out.

 

[mistervelocity]

This week's photo update. Pretty self explanatory. Repaint, new rockers, an old rocker and broken rocker stud, blah blah blah...

 

[ARCTIC_RAGTOP]

This is an awesome thread. Great work being done.

 

[Kevin54]

I just spent the last two hours rereading this complete thread. there was so much work being done that I'm ready for a nap now. Good Lord man, have you EVER been bored, just one time? Fantastic job on everything....EVERYTHING!!!!!

 

[sean Buick 76]

Great projects! I really like the family team work on the Compound!

I feel your pain with the transmission work... That is the only thing I do not mess with... I paid 3600 for a 2004R however it will be reliable behind my twin turbo 350...

 

[mistervelocity]

Thanks for looking, Guys.

Sean, I really like my 200-4R. It's surprising that they don't get more aftermarket love. If i end up doing a 403 or 455 swap in the Cutlass, I'll probably have one of the specialists build one up like you did.

 

[mistervelocity]

Wow, I've been slacking on my updates. With work, spring break, and some personal stuff, I actually haven't done much work in the last week or so but here's the pics that bring us up to date.

Did a little more painting/assembly/mock-up on my 283. Water pump, pulleys and CS130 alternator low-mount painted and installed. Also played around with my diagonal tri-power pipe dream just for giggles.