Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window

[Dan in Pasadena]

Glen,
There is no "shopping" anymore. The selection process is over.
I already bought the Fatman Fabrications MII kit. Over the last couple years I've looked at and researched the Wide Ride kit (too expensive for my budget), the Scott's kit (pricey AND too low for my taste, though beautiful) and the Flat Out kit. For varying reasons I didn't opt for these kits and I purchased the Fatman kit for $1800.

It's REAL clear that several of you think this is a mistake and though I appreciate your honesty I've made my decision and if it proves to be a mistake I'll realize it during or shortly after installation. I hope this doesn't come off as having an "attitude" about the various comments but I've simply made my purchase. I was excited that I'd done so; and if truth be told, it's kind of a downer that I'm getting so many judgements for it.

Having said that, I've seen plenty of MII installtions in TF trucks and never had a quarrel with how they looked. And if I end up being unhappy with it, I'm the only one that has to live with it.

[ChuckDriver]

Dan,
I've seen a lot of trucks and street rods with the Fatman MII style suspension installed in them, everyone that I've asked has been very satisfied with them. So I think you made a wise choice!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks very much JJ. Nice to hear something positive.

[G&R's57GMC]

Hay Dan,

Congrats on your purchase . Now go put it in and enjoy the ride .

Keep us posted on the install and of course lots of photos too ppPlease .

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by G&R's57GMC

Hay Dan,

Congrats on your purchase . Now go put it in and enjoy the ride .

Keep us posted on the install and of course lots of photos too ppPlease .

Thanks Glen. Yes there WILL be lots of photos - mostly for me so I can brag that I installed it myself!

I'm currently gathering all the necessary parts I can think of. I need special brackets to mount the power steering pump on Camel Hump heads with no accessory holes, PS pump itself, part(s) to reduce pressure for the Ford R&P rack, pulleys for PS and AC (future), engine mounts as I understand I will have to remount the engine. "Stuff" to flip the rear end, I'm sure there's more I haven't thought of yet. Everyone feel free to chip in reminders if you know.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Well, I came home today excited to find that "Brown Santa" had been here and delivered my new-in-the-box Flaming River stainless steel steering column!

Excitement quickly turned to upset when I opened the end of the box and saw THIS:


Pulling it out of the box and yes, it's brand new and all looked good except the head unit which had been damaged in shipment and flat spotted badly on one side:



I've PM'd the seller and hopefully he put some kind of insurance on the shipment or UPS will do something to make me whole for this damage. We'll see. Wish me luck, gentlemen!

[Russell Ashley]

"PS pump itself, part(s) to reduce pressure for the Ford R&P rack"

Dan, I'm not sure that reducing the pressure is mandatory. I talked to Justin at Scott's and he said that they don't do it when they build a car. Also, Dave (DWCSR) said that he didn't think it is necessary when using a GM car pump. I haven't done anything to my pump and so far it woks fine and I don't feel that "twitchiness" that I have seen mentioned. If anything, my steering is stiffer than I would like so I wouldn't want to lower the pressure.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

"PS pump itself, part(s) to reduce pressure for the Ford R&P rack"

Dan, I'm not sure that reducing the pressure is mandatory. I talked to Justin at Scott's and he said that they don't do it when they build a car. Also, Dave (DWCSR) said that he didn't think it is necessary when using a GM car pump. I haven't done anything to my pump and so far it woks fine and I don't feel that "twitchiness" that I have seen mentioned. If anything, my steering is stiffer than I would like so I wouldn't want to lower the pressure.

Yeah, I guess I'm not sure its "mandatory" either but I have read numerous times over the years that either the steering would be too sensitive, a connection will leak, or kit manufacturers themselves say you should lower the pressure. Its a minor consideration i think both in terms of work and cost(?) I'll likely hook up the lines without addressing it and see how it goes.

[tmoble]

for your P/S pump check this out. in fact for any aftermarket/cross-breed/mix'n'match bracket setups Alan Grove is the King. I've had his P/S bracket for short water pump small block on my truck since 1993 when I did the sub-frame. nice deal, well braced, short belt. He understands how to make stuff so it works.

http://www.alangrovecomponents.com/S...Short_Pump.htm

scroll down to # 400L. sorry, no individual page/link the way his site is set up.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by tmoble

for your P/S pump check this out. in fact for any aftermarket/cross-breed/mix'n'match bracket setups Alan Grove is the King. I've had his P/S bracket for short water pump small block on my truck since 1993 when I did the sub-frame. nice deal, well braced, short belt. He understands how to make stuff so it works.

http://www.alangrovecomponents.com/S...Short_Pump.htm

scroll down to # 400L. sorry, no individual page/link the way his site is set up.

Thanks, yeah I know about AlanGrove and also Bill's Hot Rods:

http://www.billshotrodcompany.com/

Since I have the early SBC heads without accessory holes I have to think ahead for brackets that will allow me to someday install an AC compressor as well as a PS pump and of course still run my alternator. So while im looking for brackets for THIS upgrade, I need to know what I'm gonna use for the other and buy pulleys for all of it as well. Any help with this appreciated but I'm definitely not going with a serpentine system due to cost.

[tmoble]

likely you'll keep the PS pump and Alt on the drivers side. mount the A/C compressor on the passenger side. the stock early compressor bracket for a short water pump setup mounts a Sanden type compressor amazingly well. on mine (unfinished) if I put the back of the Sanden mount ear up against the front of the stock bracket that bolts to the water pump bolts the pulley line up good. needs a spacer on the back, looks like the adjuster slide brackets will be easy too.

First pic shows the stock bracket, it's been altered a little to clear the header pipe. the two aluminum spacers make up for the thickness of the stock exhaust manifold, if you're running the stock manifolds you won't need the two spacers or to grind the clearance.

2nd pic shows the stock bracket lining up with front bracket that bolts to the water pump. The through bolt for the bottom/pivot of the Sanden will be just like this.

3rd pic shows how the Sanden pulleys line up with the stock 327 pulleys. More or less perfect.

These brackets and pulleys are not all that hard to find. need the 3 groove crank and 2 groove water pump. Easy money here compared to any other option without going to a long water pump and changing everything.

[tmoble]

this pic shows the where the spacers will be needed on the lower through bolt. the whole compressor is slid forward about 1/2" in the pics. A guy could also run separate front and rear bolts, no spacer at all on the front and only a small one in the back.

[tmoble]

does this mean I'm a thread killer?

[Dan in Pasadena]

Murderer! Murderer! Lol

Nah, I've just been uber busy at work, with my elderly mom, two brand new infant granddaughters and an upcoming vacation.

Still have to gather a lot more parts, decide if I'm gonna buy an engine stand, rent a cherry picker, then schedule the steps - that last one is the result of 30+ years in heavy civil construction. If I don't plan it it'll stagnate and not get done quickly.

Oh & PS: I need to do a site search here for pulling the front bodywork clip. I remember reading somewhere it's upper & lower radiator hoses, headlight & other electrical attached to inner fenders then 8 bolts (I think). Then lift it without twisting & tweaking the whole thing.

[tmoble]

two bolts at bottom rear of front fender are often rusted and hard to get out. They're oddball, 7/16 fine thread or something. two bolts each side of the radiator, 2 more top rear of fenders. 2 at bottom rear of inner fenders, there's a rubber bushing gizmo there. wire harness might unplug OK, mine did. hood bolts to firewall, not fenders, you can leave it on.

Why are you pulling the doghouse?

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by tmoble

two bolts at bottom rear of front fender are often rusted and hard to get out. They're oddball, 7/16 fine thread or something. two bolts each side of the radiator, 2 more top rear of fenders. 2 at bottom rear of inner fenders, there's a rubber bushing gizmo there. wire harness might unplug OK, mine did. hood bolts to firewall, not fenders, you can leave it on.

Why are you pulling the doghouse?

Thanks for the detailed response.

Ive gotta pull the engine to install the IFS crossmember. Engine will come with tranny (TH350) Seems it'd be a hassle to try to work around all the front body work. Besides, that'll let me clean up the engine, paint it properly and put new brass soft plugs in. It'll also expose the firewall so I can patch the brazillion holes in it and paint it.

All this stuff is, "While I'm In There" stuff which frankly has me worried because there's no end to it! Having the whole front of the frame bare and the steering column out will enable me to loosen the cab, jack it up up to replace the rubber isolators which in turn gives me access to the underside of the cab since the tranny will be out to "de-louse" it and paint it, etc etc. See? NO end to it!

[Dan in Pasadena]

PS: What's the purpose of this "rubber gizmo thing" you mentioned? Where is it? Photo?

[tmoble]

lower rear of inner fender bolts to a little bracket the sticks out of the firewall, instead of just bolting it directly it has this little rubber bushing, no biggie. it's at the very top of this pic if the site doesn't cut it off. This pic also shows what a horrible mess it to mount a Camaro sub-frame.

[tmoble]

other side showing the horrible mess of the steering column hookup.

[Daze57]

dan
you r goin about it the right way ! wait until you pull that clip off you will be amazed at how many things to fix - change - paint etc, - good luck and post some picts

[tmoble]

"While I'm in this far," famous last words if ever there were any.

[ChuckDriver]

Dan, check out the latest November issue of Classic Trucks. There is very good article on the MII install, its on a Ford, but very well done with a lot of info!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by ChuckDriver

...the latest November issue of Classic Trucks.

?? November?? 2013 or 2014? Seems early in August to be talking about 11/14.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks JJ, thanks you guys,

I want to do this fairly efficiently and clean. Not literally clean - there'll be plenty of crust once I get everything apart I'm sure. I just want a very clear picture in my head and on a To Do List before I begin. I find that if I understand a job as completely as possible and "do" it in my head, when I actually do it, it goes much smoother. Fewer surprises - that's what I want all the way on this job.

[tmoble]

not in the screwy world of magazine dating. That's the date they expect (hope, pray) all the mags to be gone off the newsstands.