Project: Tow-Rat (Lil' Blue)

[dsraven]

do you plan to install the other steering support?

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by dsraven

do you plan to install the other steering support?

the brace to the pass side frame? I hadn't planned to. It would help in bumper/crash support, but there's no substantial steering load on that side.

weight reduction, you know, because racecar

[6DoF]

I FOUND ONE!!

not only did i find it, but it was only an hour from home!

1957 Chevy 6400 front clip. not sure the green and blue will look amazing together, but we are going to find out. would love to have 1/2" more wheel spacer up front and would be sweet to drive it lower without crushing on the fenders.

worst case, at $150, it's going on the ceiling of my new workshop.

[dsraven]

keep'er strapped down thereand power up theheadlights, you'll have a 4 eyed truck. haha
if that was me hauling it there is a good possibility something would have fallen off on the road somewhere. lol.

[6DoF]

right! i had to take the picture, didn't realize how weird it looked going down the road

[6DoF]

finally getting my sensors on, i am very ready to know what's actually going on. 2500miles and i still don't know what boost is happening, EGT, etc. it's funny that this is the most mechanical driven truck ever, but now has data logging

if the integration to the Dakota Digital dash works, this is going to be epic.

Temp - air at filter
PSI / Temp - after first turbo
PSI / Temp - after second turbo
PSI / Temp - after charge cooler
Temp - water into charge cooler
Temp - water out of charge cooler
EGT
Fuel PSI

[Jason 56]

Nice, but do you really need the data… just drive it until the wheels fall off

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by Jason 56

Nice, but do you really need the data… just drive it until the wheels fall off

need most of the data or logging it right now? no ... i do NEED EGT, boost, and fuel PSI though. those are basic health n safety needs.

my goal is still to play stupid games with this rig, i can use all of it to know what's my limiting factory and keeping everything nice n happy.

i also get a ton of ppl who don't believe the water-air charge cooler will work on the street with a trailer ... i need the data to prove them wrong!

[6DoF]

i'm driving this junk from Pittsburgh to IOLA, WI for the big July show, anyone else checking out that event?

[6DoF]

so far i really like the OneGauge. still need to mount it, but still have a little wiring tinkering left. the Dakota Digital also needs a little re-wire before i can try and get them to talk to each other.

for anyone who hasn't seen this trick, it's a game changer and dirty cheap. drip pan or baking sheet and dollar store pizza pan. throw some motor oil between the pans and the front end is free to move around for a loaded IFS alignment. it's slick enough to just push the whole front end sideways even with the Cummins sitting on there.

then a crazy pic, there has to be over 100 Vipers at the Marriot i pass going to work. their 6th annual national event is in town

[6DoF]

nothing of mechanical substance this weekend with the '55, but lots of talking to ppl!

Thurs-Sat i was camping with the airstream again, i love towing that.

new gauges were awesome. actually looks like i am heat soaking the charge cooler with the engine radiating up and need some insulation. plus now that i've seen the results with just one cooler, i'm going to hook them in series and see how much of a change i can get.

Sunday was a morning cruise at Jeff Lutz shop, his daughter in-law started a new coffee bus food truck thing they were showing off. talked to Jeff for a hot second while he did a lap around the '55. i got a lot of "hell yeah" but not the classic "that's bad ass" i was hoping for his shop is only 25min from my house.

[6DoF]

another great weekend with the '55! put on a solid 1500 uneventful miles. drove to IOLA, WI for the huge car show/swap meet (4x4 Fun was the main lot theme). took us 2 days on hustle, and 42,000 steps to see most of it.

truck did great other than the wind noise at 70mph and no AC. hauled everything over and all the extra junk home. windows down in the rain and NOTHING comes in! nothing in the window that is, the kick panels leak a lot on your ankles

Emily Reeves from Flying Sparks garage stopped to talk to us for a while about the truck, take pics of it, and generally BS. that was cool. lots of good chatting with ppl for the little amount of time we actually were at it.

Both of the guys i let drive it seamed surprised at how well it drove :facepalm: no faith

i ended up buying 1 complete dodge P7100 and 2 partial industrial p7100 for $400, 6 shifter cart slicks for $10 and some wheels at another booth to build a cooler buggy to drive around next year. i bought an old outboard to display in the house for $20 and Kev (broken foot and his $35 scooter he painted and stickered) got stuck hauling it. he wasn't amused

The Iola Car Show is a large event, spanning 325 acres. It features 4,000 swap spaces, 2,500 show cars, and hundreds of for sale vehicles. The event attracts over 120,000 attendees, making it a significant gathering for car enthusiasts.

[6DoF]

ENDLESS cool rides there of every sort, it was great that they grouped things too. 'pre war', 4x4, modified, etc, etc.

the coolest ice cream truck drove all over the acers of show the whole weekend selling what i can only imagine was a TON.

VGG was there again doing an on-site build.

i ALMOST bought a shock absorber to put on a display shelf ... but not 2 for $50

[6DoF]

i tell ya what though ... the wind noise was god-awful. The road noise wasn't far behind.

from what i can tell from researching, i need to confirm the door seal is actually pressing all the way around, and possibly adjust the door so the front edge is flush or sub-flush of the frame/fender. rear of door should be flush or proud.

as i'm typing this, i need to add some form of sound control to the kick panel. that's probably a major source of the road noise and my least protected.

[nvrdone]

I just did the inside of the cab on my '49 AD. Epoxy sealed the floor. Used a/c heater duct insulation from Home Depot - same as kills. Then foam carpet insulation, then carpet. Did floor all the way up to the cowl, headliner and under the door panels and kick panels. Also replaced the door seals because I had put them in backwards. The long edge goes to the top / outside on the door Now its quiet enough that my wife enjoys riding in the truck. Lots of work but worth it.

[6DoF]

i saw a thread on door seal orientation ... i need to check that.

my doghouse and tunnel make carpet hard, but i'm really thinking i'll buy the molded set and just cut those areas out.

[youngrodder]

The best part is driving them. Wind noise, leaks and all!!. Well done racking up the miles.

Marc

[Vomit]

This is KILLER!

[6DoF]

after like 8hours on the road, Colin put his BOSE noise canceling headphones on with nothing playing for the last 2h. canceled the wind noise and amplified my voice for him. he started talking softer and then i couldn't hear him. thinking i need to look into some workshop noise canceling buds or something for myself.

[6DoF]

the one mirror i had would always move with wind over like 50mph. finally tried the little screws on the back and they weren't seized, and tightened it up perfectly. wish i had just tried that last year.

getting ready for towing more and i REALLY needed better mirrors. i have some west coast mirrors from when i first started this project and i keep holding them up and just keep hating them ... i can't do it. at least this style, there's no way i'm drilling holes in my doors for these.

i've had these clamp on fender mirrors, but they were never good either. they always wanted to fall off, always wanted to scratch the paint more, etc. i sat down last night and got things dialed out finally. they are now SOLID on there, and i can see out of both of them. now to find out if i can see around the airstream

[6DoF]

oh man, did over 3500 miles in the last few weeks and they went flawless! a lot of them even towing.

Iola, WI for the car cruise with some friends
Alexandria Bay, NY with my dad's whole side of the family for vacation
York, PA with the wife for the international airstream rally

drove great, rode nice, just loud n hot. wife wore noise canceling headphones the whole ride and after 7 hours towing the floor got pretty hot. i think there's a lot i can do to make both head and temp better, so time to get after that!

[Jason 56]

And I thought I was doing good with just over 3000 miles total. Driver the wheels off her. That’s why we build them! Looks great pulling the airstream

[loudchevy]

Sick build dude Just went through the entire build. Nice fab work.

[6DoF]

thanks guys! i'm enjoying the crap out of it.

i'm torn between going after better data logging and technical updates vs creature comfort upgrades next. to keep the wife road tripping with me, i should probably do the comfort haha

[Rickysnickers]

Creature comfort for the mrs. gets my vote.