Bob's Retirement Build - My '55 TF

[DransportGarage]

Thanx Baldeagle & Kim. I'm workin' on the crossover right now...

[Low Elco]

Oooo, bodywork mess/mini disaster on the way! Work's lookin' great! what's the word on the motor?

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Oooo, bodywork mess/mini disaster on the way! Work's lookin' great! what's the word on the motor?

Ahh, you've seen my bodywork before!

As for the motor, it is next. Well, after the swap meet tomorrow in Springfield, Ohio (ohioswapmeet.com). Then the Naval Combat group (visualize floating mini-BB guns and sinking each others' boats) I hang with occasionally is re-enacting the Battle of the Denmark Straits on Saturday in Xenia, Ohio, and the wife penciled me in for a party on Sat. night, and mandatory beer drinking and grilling on Sunday with car people (couples) we met in the 70s (a yearly Memorial Day thing), and a party on Monday (Memorial Day night). Oh yeah, and the reclamation of the Ramco metal band saw I just bought today and will pick up Monday morning. (It's so bad, the plan is to drive by the car wash and hose it off on the way home.) There must be some hours in there where I can eat some aspirin and hang the crank in the motor and start the reassembly...

BTW, the exhaust system is done.

[roger55]

Hey Bob,

Just went through this thread. Great job! You are really a master. And, I thought I had a lot of rust to repair for my wife's '57. Incredible how you repaired all that. My hat goes off to you.

I can't believe that your restomod on the '55 is 30 years old. It looks like you completed it yesterday. Neat car.

I also see you are into Corvettes. I've had a few myself ('66,'69,'85,'90 and '95). I sold my '69 convertible last year and and am now Vetteless. I thought some about getting a couple of year old Grand Sport but have been trying to talk myself out of it. I've also thought that I'd like to have a '60's Impala SS convertible or '65 GTO convertible for my next car.

If we lived in the same town, I think we would hit it off!

Roger

PS,
Thanks again for the info on the LED bulbs. I had no idea that Boese carried them.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by roger55

Hey Bob,

Just went through this thread. Great job! You are really a master. And, I thought I had a lot of rust to repair for my wife's '57. Incredible how you repaired all that. My hat goes off to you.

I can't believe that your restomod on the '55 is 30 years old. It looks like you completed it yesterday. Neat car.

I also see you are into Corvettes. I've had a few myself ('66,'69,'85,'90 and '95). I sold my '69 convertible last year and and am now Vetteless. I thought some about getting a couple of year old Grand Sport but have been trying to talk myself out of it. I've also thought that I'd like to have a '60's Impala SS convertible or '65 GTO convertible for my next car.

If we lived in the same town, I think we would hit it off!

Roger

PS,
Thanks again for the info on the LED bulbs. I had no idea that Boese carried them.

Roger, thanks for the kind words. I kinda cheated on the '55. I bought it in L.A. (for $250) and it's never been in the salt or snow. It's never been off the frame and still won triple trophies at the CCC regionals in '82 & '84. It's possibly the most solid '55 in SW Ohio. I've caught a lot of flack from my buddies over the years for not driving it a lot, but it's out this year sporting new 4-wheel discs.

The Corvette plan is to paint the '88 this summer (Ha!) and sell it. The wife wants to move up to a black C5 convertible, so I'll be trolling for a deal.

We had a red '64 Impala SS convertible around 1985. It could have been a nice car if I knew then what I know now. Having owned both, I'd go for the GTO.

It's funny, but nobody ever shows up at my garage. I must have B.O. or something. I'm 32 miles from the Ohio river, and just a little too rural I guess. You're right, if you lived close we'd be workin' on each other's stuff.

[DransportGarage]

While I'm bumpin' my thread I better give an update. The water-in-the-oil problem is solved. It was probably the intake manifold gasket, but just for insurance I did a complete engine disassembly and clean up, did a little J-B weld work low on the sleeve where the block had thrown a rod in the distant past...


...and blew another hundred on a better Fel-Pro gasket set.

Right now I'm doing final chassis assembly and all is well:




Don't laugh too hard at the plug wires. I haven't cut 'em yet. The plan is to finish the chassis assembly, put it on the lift for storage, primer the cab that's been sitting in bare metal, then paint and sell the '88 Corvette to get a little cash flow going. There might not be a lot of progress in the near future but the finish body work should start in July.

[Kim57]

Your frame came out great.
Kim

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by Kim57

Your frame came out great.
Kim

Thanks, Kim. I hope things start straightening out for you so you can get back on your build and I can get some more tips!

Originally Posted by Baldeagle SR

That frame and motor is AWSOME. Rich

Thank you, Baldeagle, for your continuing support. Unlike pros like you that have to get a job out, I can take years to get something the way I want it.

[ChuckDriver]

That frame is nice!!!

[Baldeagle SR]

That frame and motor is AWSOME. Rich

[Low Elco]

OOOOOOO purty!

[DransportGarage]

Thanks Chuck and Low Elco! I can't wait until I'm cruisin' in this one...

[jeff.depaul]

Hi Bob,
Very nice work! You're making me wish I spent more time on my frame.
Would you mind posting details on your brake setup - line & thread sizes you used? I am just getting to this stage on my '57 build and have the frame mounted pedal booster setup as well. Any step down in line sizes? I see you have residual valves and a single line to the fronts, are you running 4 disk?
-Jeff

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by jeff.depaul

Hi Bob,
Very nice work! You're making me wish I spent more time on my frame.
Would you mind posting details on your brake setup - line & thread sizes you used? I am just getting to this stage on my '57 build and have the frame mounted pedal booster setup as well. Any step down in line sizes? I see you have residual valves and a single line to the fronts, are you running 4 disk?
-Jeff

Thanks for the compliment, and to the truck forum (or at least to your first post on the truck forum)! All the work makes me wish I had spent LESS time on my frame!

Not much magic here. It's a 4-wheel disc system so it uses 2-lb. residual valves, The Right Stuff p/n RV02. I also decided on the manually adjustable proportioning valve from The Right Stuff, p/n PV01. They also supplied the rear disc kit for my 10-bolt, p/n AFXRD. This same kit fits A, F and X body GM, '67-'69. Kit is comprised of 2 part numbers, CMB81 (rear disc brackets and hardware), and RDK01 (rear disc kit components).

No step-down in line sizes. All lines are 3/16" stainless from The Right Stuff, p/n TUB316S, which you order by the foot. The fittings are just regular line nuts for 3/16" lines from a cheap pack of brake lines that I bought and cut up to get the fittings. (Some guy sells these cheap line packs at the swap meets in SW Ohio.) The clips that hold the stainless lines to the frame were an Ebay purchase from Extreme Performance, p/n EMPI 17-2717-10.

I will tell you that the stainless lines are a bear to flare (no rhyme intended). They tore up my K-D flaring tool that I've had for 25 years so I borrowed the one that Autozone will lend you for free. Forget that. I made one double flare and returned it. I recommend going to Ebay and buying an old Imperial Eastman No. 93 like this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-IMPERIA...d4b879&vxp=mtr

I'm using the front brakes that come with the Fatman IFS and chose two brake hoses from the left front of an '85 Buick LeSabre, O'Reilly p/n BHH177410. I used 2 banjo bolts NAPA p/n 82703. I welded small flat brackets to the frame to hold the hose ends. There's a brass tee (NAPA p/n 702 x 3) at the driver's front to split the fluid over to the pasenger front. I use the same tee in the rear, but I don't have a record of the brake hoses I used in the back. I did decide to run a hose on each side from frame to caliper. Brass fittings at the master cylinder I believe are NAPA p/n 7817 and 7818.

The last item I'll talk about is the brake light switch. I decided on a hydraulic switch that I remembered from my '71 VW Super Beetle. It's a NAPA p/n SL159. I really got lucky on the rubber boot that I got on Ebay from a guy named Larry Weaver, p/n 111012199387. The switch has a normally open contact for the brake lights and I use the normally closed side for the torque converter clutch (TCC) Engage.

Hope this helps!

[jeff.depaul]

Thanks for all the detail. I've seen several opinions about what size lines to use and whether to step down line sizes for different applications. Certainly not a "one size fits all" discussion - pun intended.

I went with a Wilwood proportioning valve and stainless steel 3/16" lines but have yet to install any of it. I was under the impression not to double flare stainless lines? I did go ahead and spring for the Eastwood Pro Double/Single Brake Line Tubing Flaring Tool Kit since I was having issues with the cheap auto parts one I had.

Still need to figure out how I'm going to mount the tabs to transition from hard lines out to each caliper. My frame is powdercoated and I'd rather not have to weld on it.

[_Ogre]

to quote low elco.... OOOOO purdy

[DransportGarage]

Thanks, Ogre. I thought about swinging over to central Ohio during the Power Tour to see Truk but it was a couple hundred miles. One of these days we'll meet up. Do you ever go to the truck show at Young's Dairy on U.S. 68 near Yellow Springs, Ohio? It's August 2nd this year and I hope to make it.

http://youngsdairy.com/truck-show/

[DransportGarage]

As stated in post 134, I've been painting the '88 Vette. It's now painted and reassembled, but there's another obstacle: It's the 50th anniversary of the GTO this year and I've been invited to put the Goat into the Dayton, Ohio Concours d'Elegance. That means the top of the engine has to be repainted (among other things), so that's next.

In the meantime I thought I'd post my 16 pages of electrical schematics. I wanted to figure out where to drill all of the wiring holes in the truck before I paint it so I made a complete set of schematics. Probably got a little carried away. Each sheet shows the wiring in a specific location on the truck. The signals come into each page/location from the left and go out to the right.

[DransportGarage]

5 more...

[DransportGarage]

another 5...

[Low Elco]

Bob, what's going on with the Garage of Neverending Projects? The people demand updates!

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Bob, what's going on with the Garage of Neverending Projects? The people demand updates!

Well, Monday was the first day working on the truck since AUGUST 2014. I did some work on the door jambs, which is the start of final body work.

A lot has happened in the last 6 months. I've had 2 toes cut on and my trigger thumb fixed. All is well. The wife knocked the front end off the daily driver - $2700 estimate. I fixed it for less than $400 and I can't tell it's been hit. The wife wanted a pond, stream and waterfall in the back yard and she got that. I laid 550 sq. ft. of pavers next to the garage so I can put the '69 Cutlass project car outside under a tarp. I played with trains during the cold winter months, including putting up a ceiling perimeter "Napa Valley Wine Train" in the basement. I also did a seminar on the 4L60 trans in January. (20+ people showed up. See my 700R4 build for the highlights.)

The good news is, I'll be working on the truck tomorrow. I don't want the edge of the carpet to show so I'll be fabbing a lip for it to tuck under. Pics to follow.

[DransportGarage]

I am in dire need of some help. Unbelievably, it appears that a PO has cut out the mounting for my wiper motor and replaced it with an unknown mount (and he/she did a really nice job too!):



If someone has a picture of a '55 3100 2nd series wiper mounting area I could sure use a look at it. If someone recognizes my mounting scheme I could use that piece of info too.

Also shown here is the bracket I have and the motor I have. Are these '55 parts?





Also, if someone has a donor truck and wants to sell me this motor mounting area, I'm probably going to be in the market after I figure out what's really going on.
Thanks,

[DransportGarage]

Special thanks to Orrie G for providing the following two pics:

This gave me a great start toward solving my problem. I now know that the bracket in my picture doesn't go with my truck, and that I have a motor that is close to correct, if not exact. (I bought the motor from a friend of mine, and I think it was from a '56.)

I compounded my problem by cutting out most of what Orrie identifies as the "factory support". I did that to make room for my center channel speakers. When I did that I thought the brace was just there for dash support, so I cut most of it out. I thought the captive nuts in it were to support the radio (which I am mounting in the headliner area). I didn't think about the wiper motor because the other two brackets were there, as shown in my picture. I mean, how many brackets do you need to mount a stinkin' motor? (Apparently one more than I have...)

When I cut the support out I did leave one captive nut, so I can see where the motor needs to be located, left to right. Unfortunately, if I install the motor in its original position the arms will hit my speakers. I'll have to drop the motor down a little over inch, but that shouldn't be the end of the world. At worst I'll have to lengthen the arms a little bit.

Thanks again, Orrie G!

[Sim6]

Bob, you have talent sir. Looks amazing so far.
Jeff