65 Fairlane pro-touring build

[Ol Blue K20]

As usual Vic, I'm very impressed. Such awesome workmanship.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

As usual Vic, I'm very impressed. Such awesome workmanship.

Thanks, Dale. Hope all is well out your way.

[Ol Blue K20]

Thanks Vic, I'm seem to be doing ok right now.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Thanks Vic, I'm seem to be doing ok right now.

Good deal! I always worry about you during fire season.

The steering column is mocked up. The included front mount fit in the factory location with no mods. All I had to do was clock the Microsteer unit per the directions and snug down the bolts. I may trim some of the cowl area where the fresh air vent is located to give it some additional clearance. The folks at FR include a nice little swivel ball that covers the opening where the shaft passes thru the firewall. Before the carpet goes in, I'll pack some 3M Strip Caulk on the inside to seal out the elements. (For all the times it will get driven in the rain. )

[SCOTI]

Watching this install intently to learn about the new pwr steering option.

No beads for the firewall to help strengthen things as well as vibration resistance.

*EDIT*
Just re-read & noted the mention of material thickness vs the limits of your bead roller.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Watching this install intently to learn about the new pwr steering option.

No beads for the firewall to help strengthen things as well as vibration resistance.

*EDIT*
Just re-read & noted the mention of material thickness vs the limits of your bead roller.

Yep, the 14 gauge is bit much for my Lo Buck Tools roller. I plan to cut out some decorative panels and glue them to the firewall and the flat sides of the inner fenders to give them a faux bead rolled appearance. Should help with vibration resistance too - hopefully.

The Flaming River microsteer unit came with a controller that accepts a VSS input from the transmission. So, the steering effort is supposed to vary with vehicle speed. More bells and whistles than my brain can process so I'm learning too. What is that saying about flying a plane while building it?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Yep, the 14 gauge is bit much for my Lo Buck Tools roller. I plan to cut out some decorative panels and glue them to the firewall and the flat sides of the inner fenders to give them a faux bead rolled appearance. Should help with vibration resistance too - hopefully.

The Flaming River microsteer unit came with a controller that accepts a VSS input from the transmission. So, the steering effort is supposed to vary with vehicle speed. More bells and whistles than my brain can process so I'm learning too. What is that saying about flying a plane while building it?

That's a cool feature.

[Vic1947]

I'm pedaling as fast as I can.

The Wilwood compact master cylinders will have to be recessed to clear the back of the driver side head. The new firewall is actually a bit forward of where the OEM firewall sat. This will necessitate a box that moves the brake/clutch pedal assembly rearward. Wilwood makes one but it isn't deep enough. So, I'll have to spend some time on the mill whittling one out. You can see the approximate location with the drawing superimposed.

Unfortunately, the tunnel side will interfere with the electronic gas pedal. Looks like I'll have to trim one of the upper tabs for it to clear. Once I get the recessed panel built, I'll see what I'm dealing with and whether I can reposition the tab with adhesive. I really don't think there would be an issue using just two tabs, but you always wonder if there was a reason the factory set it up the way it is.

[62c30]

Looking good. Is that a little rust in the lower cowl?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 62c30

Looking good. Is that a little rust in the lower cowl?

I hope not. I think I've patched most of the rusted areas. One thing I do, depending on the situation, is use panel adhesive to glue a sheet metal patch over an area with tiny pinholes. (Next to the orange arrow in photo below.) I have no qualms about doing this on the side that doesn't show. Any adhesive that extrudes out the other side can be ground down and body worked. I have absolutely no luck MIG welding up pinholes. If you're bound and determined to bust out the welder, all you can do is cut the entire panel out and weld in a replacement piece that extends well beyond the rusty spots. Sometimes I can use a copper backer and get it to weld a pinhole cleanly without burning back about a half mile. But hands down, the best way to deal with small, lacy areas is to glue a patch over them - IMHO.

[NONHOG]

I have only used adhesive once and was impressed. Great stuff!
Build is looking nice!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

I have only used adhesive once and was impressed. Great stuff!
Build is looking nice!

Thanks! I find myself using adhesive more often these days.

Originally Posted by 62c30

Looking good. Is that a little rust in the lower cowl?

I didn't read your post very carefully, Darin. I'll bet what you're referring to is the rot in the photo below. I haven't really done anything about it as my plan is to fully enclose the cowl area from above to seal it from the elements. I've already cut out the grille below the windshield and will weld in a filler panel. I'll also plug the weep holes below the wiper escutcheons and block off the drains at each end of the cowl where water is supposed to exit. There will be no fresh air vent when all is said and done. Vintage Air or rolled down windows will have to do. I'll probably block off the opening and maybe use seam sealer around that area in the unlikely event any moisture gets thru.

[62c30]

I'm looking at the pictures from my phone so they are pretty small. Reason I looked is because I'm replacing the upper and lower cowl on a 66 mustang. And going back to the panel bond I'm going to glue it in. Maybe a couple welds in the corners.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 62c30

I'm looking at the pictures from my phone so they are pretty small. Reason I looked is because I'm replacing the upper and lower cowl on a 66 mustang. And going back to the panel bond I'm going to glue it in. Maybe a couple welds in the corners.

I know what you're saying about the pictures. Even on the computer, they don't have as much detail as I'd prefer. I'm on another forum that lets you post up to ten full size photos. Big difference!

I think adhesive is great for patches as long as you have some room to work. I don't do well in close quarters. I end up with adhesive everywhere but the spot it needs to be.

My understanding is that you can spot weld thru the adhesive if you want, but I've never tried it. I guess if you were doing something structural, the added strength would be a benefit.

[Vic1947]

I've been whittling on the aluminum box to recess the pedals so they'll clear the back of the driver side cylinder head. I'm down to the faceplate that goes on the engine bay side of the firewall. It's testing my patience since most of the machining operations have to be done with the material sitting on the table. I wasted one chunk of 3/16 plate trying to use the vise and machinist's jacks to hold it. So now I'm having to reposition the part after every cut which means using the edge finder each time to know where I am in 2D space. I'm beginning to regret my decision to bypass a fixture. But I'm getting there.

[SCOTI]

Lot's of effort for this cool detail stuff.

[NONHOG]

That is cool! Little stuff counts!

[Vic1947]

So, today I road tripped from KCMO to Derby, KS to buy a driver side front fender for the project. Mine came back from the strippers looking like Frank-N-Fender. Forum buddy Darin (62C30) found a '65 at the Rust Ranch near his home. After seeing pictures, I decided their fender looked a lot better than mine, so it was worth the trip. The fender looked even better in person than it did in the photos. I now have a solid piece to work with. Can't thank you enough, Darin!

.

[62c30]

You're welcome! That fender is kinda scary...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 62c30

You're welcome! That fender is kinda scary...

That's what I thought - might be a bit of a "tester" to repair. No worries now, though.

I received the panels from SendCutSend this morning. Very quick, well packaged, cut exactly per the .dxf files and very reasonably priced. What's not to love! Here are some photos of the pieces mocked up on the firewall and inner fender. Kinda gives an idea of what I'm aiming for. The panel on the driver side firewall will have to be trimmed for the pedal and column escutcheons. They will appear to be frenched into the overlay if I do it right.

.

[Vic1947]

Got the firewall modified and the pedal box in place. Hung the brake and clutch pedals and got them more or less adjusted. The Mustang accelerator pedal is a bit trickier. There was a tab on the side that I cut off and relocated to the top of the assembly. That let me get the pedal snug up against the recess panel. Unfortunately, there's a dogleg in the assembly that puts the foot pad too close to the tunnel. I'm mulling over solutions. If I rotate it away from the tunnel, I get the clearance I need, but the pedal looks awkward. Plus, to do that, I have to space the assembly away from the firewall which puts the foot pad further back than I'd like. Another solution is to straighten the dogleg and rotate the pedal so the bottom is parallel to the floor. This is both physically and aesthetically more desirable. The drawback is having to cut the composite material and glue it back together. Luckily, gluing the tab on the assembly body seems to have worked quite well. Really sturdy. You can see my fixture contraption below for holding the tab while it cured.

Meanwhile, I took the "new" fender to a local shop to have it media blasted. It should be ready to pick up in a day or two. Cost was estimated at $100 which isn't bad for that kind of turnaround. I'll post pics when I get it back. Fingers crossed it doesn't warp.

[Vic1947]

Waiting on an accelerator pedal piece from SendCutSend so I thought I'd tend to a couple of items on the to-do list. First up was making a piece to close the gap between the front of the tunnel and the new firewall. As with the main part of the tunnel, when the time comes, I'll glue it in with panel adhesive.

Another task that has to happen sooner or later is mounting the radiator/condenser/electric fan assembly. All the components are sourced from a 2017 Corvette, so they fit together like factory. Getting them in position and fabricating the surrounding areas to direct the airflow thru is my main focus right now. Work a little, wait on parts, work on something else, wait on parts...

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Waiting on an accelerator pedal piece from SendCutSend so I thought I'd tend to a couple of items on the to-do list. First up was making a piece to close the gap between the front of the tunnel and the new firewall. As with the main part of the tunnel, when the time comes, I'll glue it in with panel adhesive.

Another task that has to happen sooner or later is mounting the radiator/condenser/electric fan assembly. All the components are sourced from a 2017 Corvette, so they fit together like factory. Getting them in position and fabricating the surrounding areas to direct the airflow thru is my main focus right now. Work a little, wait on parts, work on something else, wait on parts...

Nice work on the tunnel, did you use a shrinker//stretcher to form the arch around the tunnel?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Nice work on the tunnel, did you use a shrinker//stretcher to form the arch around the tunnel?

Partially. I started by cutting out a curved section of flat sheet metal and marking a curved line on it. I then used a thin forming die on the bead roller to create an approximately 120-degree bend along the curved line. I've found it very difficult to achieve the same result using a sheet metal brake and shrinker/stretchers. After multiple passes thru the bead roller, I had the basic curve and angle I wanted. However, at that point, I did have to use the shrinker/stretcher to pull the ends in. That was because I didn't start with enough curve in the original flat piece. But it was close enough to fix with subsequent tweaking. Clear as mud?

[Vic1947]

.

Christmas came early this afternoon. New cast aluminum cam covers (top photo) not only look way better, but they also eliminate the leaks associated with the OEM covers (bottom photo).

.