Stooge's Longer term car projects, Part 2

[Stooge]

Im not sure how much time i have in to this so far, the first half, went pretty quick, splitting the tubing and stuff wasnt so fun, and making everything like the mounting pads, notching the tubing, etc, just takes a long time! It was definitely good to try and get the bulk of the intake done this weekend, i dont have a ton of time during the week to get much work done, so getting it set up so i can just futz with brackets and stuff after work, im happy with that.
I dont have a timeline really on getting the engine started, but it shouldnt be too long now, and aside from the other big Stromberg carb, not much i need to buy i dont think. I want to drop the oil pan to give it a clean, pull the freeze plugs, and get whatever debris is in the water passages as ive heard thats a problem with these long engines, stuff further away from the water pump can start to pile up at one end of the block. I'd like to get the flywheel machined but that wouldnt really stop me from starting the engine, just one of those things, and id like to get the radiator recored since it sounded like it had some extra pieces inside. Im still torn on what i want to do with the engine, supposedly a mid 40kish mile engine that came out of a running car, engine builder/ machine shop out front said to just run it or its going to cost a fortune! the babbited connecting rods are going to be a big expenditure, either getting them rebabbited, or if i find later connecting rods that use insert bearings. I havent pulled the pan off to see, and supposedly the change happened the year my engine is from, but knowing me, they are the old expensive kind!

Theres still a ton to do on this car before i'll be out and about, but im still shooting to bring it to a show in July 2022! Body work has to start pretty soon though, thats going to take me months and i work annoyingly slow!

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Hey Dan, have you ever used a leak down tester?
For about $30 you can find out how strong the motor is to give you a better idea on your next steps.
Back in the day I used to work in a shop that maintained race cars and a leak down tester was used all the time.
With the cylinder set at TDC with both valves closed the tester puts in a 100 lbs. of air into the cylinder.
One gauge tells you the amount of air going in the other how much is holding in that cylinder. Lets say the cylinder is holding 88 lbs. of air. The cylinder is loosing 12lbs., if you can hear air coming out the intake manifold its going by intake valve, same thing on the exhaust valve, you would hear it out of the manifold. If your rings are worn it will pressurize the oil pan and you will hear it from the oil breather. You do this test on each cylinder and compare, Ideal is everything close to the same value. If the race shop had a new car come in the first thing we did was a leak down, the cars would get tested after every race with data collected. Some owners never wanted there cars to get below 95% of 5% loss, others would allow down to 90%, I know shops that recommend rebuilds when they get down into the low 80s.
100 hp. motor with 20% loss is only making 80 hp.

This wont help with your question about the bottom end but it will tell you about the condition of the motor.
If the motor checks out it might help you decide if you could take a chance on the bottom end.
If you find a burnt valve or worn out rings you may go another direction.
I would guess a 40kish motor to have some loss.
Hope this helps. Sorry if this was a rehash.

 

[Stooge]

@BORING HOP YARD I have a compression tester, but after you posted this, i did some research and bought an OTC leak down tester. i haven't gotten around to trying it yet, but it sounds like it should give me a little better idea before deciding what to do. If it needs to be gone through, i wouldnt be too upset because it could be the opportunity to warm it up a little, and there is a very respectable engine machine shop who specializes in vintage engines, (and has several nostalgia alcohol and nitro funny cars) in the same building, so atleast i wouldnt have to travel far. he's said to just try and run it, but would work on it if it needs to be gone through.

While i try to figure out how ill set up the accelerator rod carb linkages, i started on the last big sheet metal repair on the driver side lower cowl area and fender mounting.


I got a little lazy taking pictures, but cut out the inner rocker area and welded in a new piece.



Still have some cleaning up to do but i ran out of air sander belts. I left the door facing edge unfinished since the door was in the way and i need to blend the new patch into the door sill

And all of that work hidden under the front fenders




The door sill was a little worse than i remember, and rather than trying to make a handful of patch repairs on it, it needs to be cut out and replaced so i started making a new one yesterday morning. Cut a strip of 18ga, 2.75"x 42'ish inches, and hammered out a 90° with some rectangular tubing and the edge of a table because it didnt fit in my cheap brake. Then with a combination of a bunch of clamps and a big crusty piece of angle iron and a few hammers to make the upper round fold/ top of the door sill.






Used the shrinker/ shretcher to give it a little curve to follow the shape of the body. The rest of the outward facing side of the original sill is in good enough shape so the plan is to cut off the top section and weld it into the original areas and blend it all together.


I need to pull the rear seats out before i start cutting and welding in that area, dont want to set them on fire, but i still need to make the rear floor brackets to bolt the back of the seat buckets to. Should be simple enough, i just havent gotten to it yet.

 

[xtremek]

Looks like you'll be ready for cruising in it next spring. Then you'll have to get the truck done, so you can trailer the Buick to shows and show them both. Not that the Buick will be a trailer queen. That creates a new problem that you'll have to come up with a car trailer as cool and the truck and the Buick.

 

[Stooge]

.... you'll have to get the truck done, so you can trailer the Buick to shows and show them both.

or vice versa! The Buick would probably be even better, that frame is built like a tank and they used those engines in city buses! The Edsel also has a homemade tow hitch on the back of it in the form of what is probably atleast 3/4" plate cut out with a torch and welded in.
i've been having some funny thoughts about what to do with the truck, and none of them involve the current rear suspension's triangulated 4link, its set up for too low of a static ride height if its not adjustable like air suspension. From doing a parallel 4link with a panhard bar and coilovers, the Hyperco/ Ridetech 'Streetgrip' composite monoleaf springs or getting new leaf springs from Posies or someone so they ride smooth and doing an axle flip so it sits low, and some good shocks or something. I'd like to do another 4link, but some simple leaf springs so i would actually drive it, sounds pretty appealing too! Would also be the easiest to switch over to, and the most budget friendly would be nice too, especially with trying to get the Buick out and about in the next yr and im sure thats going to nickel and dime me to death!

Speaking of spending money on the Buick, I bought some new cans of Rage Ultra filler and UPOL high build primer, and im looking at some new sanding blocks to try and give myself any advantage i can get with the big round fenders and was thinking of getting some acrylic ones, like these https://bkblocks.com/collections/block-kits . I currently have a set of durablocks, (along with a handful of other blocks ive accumulated) that have been ok but dont have a ton of flex to get into the big round parts. I also think a few of them are missing and i suspect they are trunk of the gto at the paint shop.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Looks like you have been busy doing some fine metal work. I feel you pain on working the curved areas of the body.
I bought a set of flexible sanding blocks that have metal rods that can be removed to allow the block to flex. Apparently the owner of the company has passed away and their no longer being made. I really like them and they worked well on my 56.
Looking forward to see what you end up with.

 

[xtremek]

That old 5th wheel is sweet.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Looking at those polycarbonate sanders and seeing your woodworking skills makes me think you could whip those out in short order.
This supplier is around the Boston area. It wouldn't take much to size them on a table saw or skillsaw, get a length tubing round or square of polycarbonate handle that your hands like. They should also have polycarbonate balls. Then is just a matter having the right polycarbonate glue to melt them together, they should have all of these. I find polycarbonate very forgiving and easy to work with. I bend it in my brake all the time.

Polycarbonate Sheet - Impact-Resistant - Order Online & Save

Hope this helps

 

[Stooge]

I have wood working skills?? I wouldnt be surprised if we had have polycarbonate sheets hanging around the building at work, maybe i'll ask around! I used to build submersible tensile testing baths for the biomedical industry and did a lot of acrylic gluing in visible areas, and that cant be too different than gluing poly, so i would atleast have some starting idea. Definitely something to consider, but it could be close to a wash if i am buying the sheet and rods/ handles and glue, plus time, for the price of the set. I'll ask around at work and see what i come up with!

Speaking of things from work, we're getting some new tables in my lab and i was told to get rid of this heavy duty shelf, just in time for cleaning out all of the stuff thats accumulated inside the buick so i can finish the door sills and clean up the rest of the crust on the floors. 72" high, and the shelves are 3'x2'


I'll get it a little organized and i already have the bottom 2 shelves in tote boxes



I didnt really take any pictures of it because it wasnt really worth taking a picture of, but i made a brace that goes from wheel tub to wheel tub a a place for the back of the metal seat buckets to bolt in to. I wanted to get the seats out of the car, so i needed to do that first or i would procrastinate a few more months


Got the old door sill section cut out, did some trimming to the new piece and got it tacked in. i want to throw the door back on while its just tacked in to make sure its going to fit as it did, before it gets burned in for good



theres going to be a couple small patches, but im trying not to do a whole big section over again. its all pretty solid, just a few small areas need some attention near the edges of the sill. i also have to make a new piece for the underside of the rocker/ door sill, but i wanted to get the top in to keep it in place.



and not so exciting, i had to do the brakes on my regular car. 2017 with 55k on it, and i believe atleast original rotors if notthe pads too. They werent making any noises, but some shuddering started to develop and the pads were getting low. Had to beat the **** out of the rotors to get them freed, a few yrs of salt and snow had them frozen up pretty good. Replaced with ac delco/ gm oem from rockauto for almost $150 less, (just for the fronts, 290ish in store, 150ish online) than the local parts stores. i never liked buying brake stuff online, and if it was like a $40 savings, i would just go to the store, but saving $140 is hard to ignore when it wasnt an emergency.
All that rust on the floor from the old rotor!

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Great progress on the sill!
You scored on the shelving unit, 3000 lbs. per shelf says "if it will fit it will hold it".
I saw your wood working skills when you shared the floating shelf's.
Sometimes I will buy 1/2 or 1/4 sheets to keep the cost down.
I also use e-bay, and amazon to get Poly or ABS.
Either way I'm very interested in your opinion about how it works for flexible sanding blocks.
Thank for sharing.

 

[xtremek]

The rust on the '17 looks worse than on the '37, lol.

 

[Legacy '69]

Hey Stooge, hope this finds you well.

Was wondering if you have any updates on the Buick's progress...?

 

[xtremek]

When I saw this pop up on unread, I was hoping you had an update. Like Legacy, I hope you're doing ok.

 

[gaetano]

Hi Stooge, I hope all is well.

 

[xtremek]

I just picked up a copy of "C/10 Builders Guide", and what did I see on the top of the cover? 'No, it can't be. But it has to be, because that sleeper cover is so unique'. I turned quickly to page 68, and low and behold, my friend Stooge has his truck in an 11 page article. WAY COOL!!!! I know someone famous now.

Since I hopefully have your attention, any updates on the Buick?

 

[Monza Harry]

It appears he hasn't been here since Oct. of 22, I miss his escapads, outside the box and well executed. Here's hoping for a speedy return! Can a reminder be added to the mag's comment page to remind him that he is required to visit us! Required may be a bit strong but wanted for sure! Especially because of his latest fame and all! Harry
I'll take a look see on the C10 B.G. myself as well.