Blueballz build thread

[ironadict]

First time she was able to drink at the actual gas station instead of me dumping gallon cans in her. Finished tucking wiring away and laid down the carpet. Threw the seat and blanket in temp like till I get the seat foam and cover in. Slightly illegal because I didn’t have seat belts in or even doors or bumpers but she sure is a good driver. Only alignment I’ve done is with a tape measure in my garage and it seems to drive straight as an arrow. Unless I turn the wheels anyway .

[joedoh]

funny how driving like that, everyone gets out of your way!

[ironadict]

Originally Posted by joedoh

funny how driving like that, everyone gets out of your way!

Yeah they do!

[gigamanx]

Ha! Looks great! No different than driving a Jeep with the doors off. If they can do it, why can't we?

[ironadict]

Originally Posted by gigamanx

Ha! Looks great! No different than driving a Jeep with the doors off. If they can do it, why can't we?

Yeah that’s what I figured. I think there’s a law about having some kind of bumper also at least a lap belt. I think it’s supposed to have at least 1 side mirror. I don’t think they woulda given me too hard a time though. Probably just laugh and tell me to drive straight home.

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by ironadict

Yeah that’s what I figured. I think there’s a law about having some kind of bumper also at least a lap belt. I think it’s supposed to have at least 1 side mirror. I don’t think they woulda given me too hard a time though. Probably just laugh and tell me to drive straight home.

As long as you're going forward, no need for mirrors

[59chev]

Looking good. Love the stance and the wheel/tire choice!

[ironadict]

So this just ****ing happened. Trying to put the bolt in the back of the hinge and the damn square washer just fell out of my fender... is there ANY easy way to getting this back in? I’m thinking the only way is pull the tire use a hole saw on the top outer corner of cab so I can put it back in and then weld it up again?

[Sal's '55 Chevy]

Originally Posted by ironadict

So this just ****ing happened. Trying to put the bolt in the back of the hinge and the damn square washer just fell out of my fender... is there ANY easy way to getting this back in? I’m thinking the only way is pull the tire use a hole saw on the top outer corner of cab so I can put it back in and then weld it up again?

im sure you can put it back on from inside the cab no need to pull a holesaw out

[ironadict]

Originally Posted by Sal's '55 Chevy

im sure you can put it back on from inside the cab no need to pull a holesaw out

Only thing I can see inside the cab is maybe someone with really thin arms can reach around the vent blade and put it in there. Unless maybe behind the dash it opens to there. I’ll have to check when I get home. All else fails I’ll just drill a hole big enough for a socket and put a regular nut on there and throw a rubber plug in it so I can get to it later.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by ironadict

Only thing I can see inside the cab is maybe someone with really thin arms can reach around the vent blade and put it in there. Unless maybe behind the dash it opens to there. I’ll have to check when I get home. All else fails I’ll just drill a hole big enough for a socket and put a regular nut on there and throw a rubber plug in it so I can get to it later.

I had this happen on a 65 door hinge (captured nut break), thats exactly what I did, drilled a small hole and used a nut.

[ndeep]

the nut just sits in a braket, you may have to pull fender partialy off to access it though

[ironadict]

Originally Posted by ndeep

the nut just sits in a braket, you may have to pull fender partialy off to access it though

Thanks yeah I was under there to pop a hole and I noticed it up there. I didn’t even remember seeing it there when my fenders were off.

[ironadict]

Fabbed up a new front bed/step support. Notched for drive shaft. Cleaned up the bed a bit threw it on.
Got it aligned and took it on the freeway before the bed was on and it shook pretty bad from 60-70mph. I’m hopping it just needs the wheels balanced better. Maybe having the bed on will help a little since there’s weight back there now.

[slammed57]

nice work, where did you get that watts bar set up? looks pretty beefy and stout!

[ironadict]

Originally Posted by slammed57

nice work, where did you get that watts bar set up? looks pretty beefy and stout!

Thanks. I got it from thorbros. It usually has all rubber bushings but I custom ordered it with hiem ends instead.

https://*************/4-link-parts/w...-poly-bushings

[slammed57]

Thanks bud , you truck is coming along nice!!!!

[ironadict]

She’s ready for some pipes finally. I’m loosin hearing with those open headers.

[ironadict]

Originally Posted by slammed57

Thanks bud , you truck is coming along nice!!!!

Thanks man. Same to you. Awesome sheet metal work! Love your frame.

[ironadict]

Pipes in. H pipe no mufflers. Sounds remarkably tame. Unless I really step on it then it’s loud but just cruising around it’s really quite. I am just realizing that one pipe is longer than the other and that’s gonna bug me.

[dsraven]

yeah, perfectionists always see the little things and it bugs them till thjey're fixed.
do you have a plan for a heat shield and/or thermal insulation on the tank and fuel lines?

[ironadict]

Originally Posted by dsraven

yeah, perfectionists always see the little things and it bugs them till thjey're fixed.
do you have a plan for a heat shield and/or thermal insulation on the tank and fuel lines?

I asked my exhaust guy the same thing. He said as long as there’s an inch between them their fine. What are your thoughts on a safe clearance?

[dsraven]

my thoughts are:

-use a metal heat shield on the pipes attached with chose clamps or tacked on, leave a small air gap between the pipe and the shield
-use a metal heat shield between the pipes and the tank with reflective material attached to the pipe side of the shield and insulation on the fuel tank side of things
-try to run some of those fuel lines and electrical a different way so they simply don't run past the heat source. possibly straight out the front of the tank and then over to the frame, shielded as req.
-wrap the pipes with header tape to keep some of the heat away from the area


I think you have a heat source right next to the fuel storage/source, fuel pump, fuel lines and some electrical. it will, at least, be heating up your fuel so less molecules per cubic inch for your power ratio (racers try to run the fuel as cool as possible for that reason, right? remember the fuel cool cans with ice) . you could run the fuel and electrical over the tank and out the front side of the tank, between the pipes, and that would help especially with some heat shielding and some retainers for the lines so they don't rub. you could install a reflective heat shield with some non flammable insulation (between the tank and the shield) and that would help. google reflective heat shield for automotive and see what comes up. some eg below. something is better than nothing. I am a professional firefighter so I always see them "after they fail" and the vehicle is reduced to a shell. wouldn't wanna see that happen. so many times guys spend money on the big ticket items but some of the other important stuff gets missed. that would be a shame. even some hot water tank wrap from home depot would work but there are so many great things on the market these days. why go minimal on something that has that much potential to cause problems and delete you investment and hard work. if you look under a modern vehicle there is usually some fairly flexible aluminum heat shielding. maybe a trip to a pick n pull would yield something useful that could be cleaned up and used. I would def reroute the fuel lines and electrical anyway. heat breaks things down and causes premature failure. it also softens things and allows them to take form so things like exhaust hangers will likely have a little more "give" after awhile and could allow some sag in the system. this could mean that inch will become less over time and with use. if a hanger were to fail the pipe could actually be sitting on a fuel line. the other thing to think about is the ride height of the truck. a low truck equals less air under the truck to allow air flow to cool things off when the truck is sitting still or moving slow. what will happen when the truck flexes over a curb or bump etc?
take a look below at some of the links, the youtube one shows some good looking products and there are others in the background that look great too. a bit of that style of product also makes the build look professional and like a lot of thought went into the design.
end of rant, sorry.

https://designengineering.com/produc...ds-reflectors/

https://www.amazon.ca/DEI-010129-Tit...03913138&psc=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-hK8r1Ldgg

https://www.heatshieldproducts.com/a...ermal-barriers

[ironadict]

It’s more than an inch it looks really close due to the angle. But it was a concern of mine as well when I saw it. Not wanting to wrap everything up. It’s my goal to keep things as clean and simple as possible. I’m just gonna have him tear this out and re do it. He forgot the H pipe and ran one pipe longer than the other and the pipes were supposed to terminate UNDER the back of the fender. I’d rather just have it done right than start bandaiding everything.

Originally Posted by dsraven

my thoughts are:

-use a metal heat shield on the pipes attached with chose clamps or tacked on, leave a small air gap between the pipe and the shield
-use a metal heat shield between the pipes and the tank with reflective material attached to the pipe side of the shield and insulation on the fuel tank side of things
-try to run some of those fuel lines and electrical a different way so they simply don't run past the heat source. possibly straight out the front of the tank and then over to the frame, shielded as req.
-wrap the pipes with header tape to keep some of the heat away from the area


I think you have a heat source right next to the fuel storage/source, fuel pump, fuel lines and some electrical. it will, at least, be heating up your fuel so less molecules per cubic inch for your power ratio (racers try to run the fuel as cool as possible for that reason, right? remember the fuel cool cans with ice) . you could run the fuel and electrical over the tank and out the front side of the tank, between the pipes, and that would help especially with some heat shielding and some retainers for the lines so they don't rub. you could install a reflective heat shield with some non flammable insulation (between the tank and the shield) and that would help. google reflective heat shield for automotive and see what comes up. some eg below. something is better than nothing. I am a professional firefighter so I always see them "after they fail" and the vehicle is reduced to a shell. wouldn't wanna see that happen. so many times guys spend money on the big ticket items but some of the other important stuff gets missed. that would be a shame. even some hot water tank wrap from home depot would work but there are so many great things on the market these days. why go minimal on something that has that much potential to cause problems and delete you investment and hard work. if you look under a modern vehicle there is usually some fairly flexible aluminum heat shielding. maybe a trip to a pick n pull would yield something useful that could be cleaned up and used. I would def reroute the fuel lines and electrical anyway. heat breaks things down and causes premature failure. it also softens things and allows them to take form so things like exhaust hangers will likely have a little more "give" after awhile and could allow some sag in the system. this could mean that inch will become less over time and with use. if a hanger were to fail the pipe could actually be sitting on a fuel line. the other thing to think about is the ride height of the truck. a low truck equals less air under the truck to allow air flow to cool things off when the truck is sitting still or moving slow. what will happen when the truck flexes over a curb or bump etc?
take a look below at some of the links, the youtube one shows some good looking products and there are others in the background that look great too. a bit of that style of product also makes the build look professional and like a lot of thought went into the design.
end of rant, sorry.

https://designengineering.com/produc...ds-reflectors/

https://www.amazon.ca/DEI-010129-Tit...03913138&psc=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-hK8r1Ldgg

https://www.heatshieldproducts.com/a...ermal-barriers

[dsraven]

yeah, take'er back. get what you paid for in the first place.