pedicles

You remember my welding helmet dilemma a couple months back?

perich brothers (and sister): jackson vs miller vs speedglas (vii)

perich brothers (and sister): KC cheerleader

I ended up getting the Jackson W60 auto darkening helmet.
After 2 months I love it.
It has an unbelievably fast switch time,
and the controls are so obvious and easy to use.
The brownish tint is super clear for both TIG, MIG and ARC welding.
The helmet itself fits well in tight spaces.
The "torch" mode works really well with the oxy-acetylene cutting.
It's a great tool.

One issue is working outside.
The sun will trigger the sensors so the screen stays dark.
Not that big a deal as this can be adjusted with the sensitivity button.

The other issue is with the helmet design.

Jackson W60 welding helmet

I've got a habit of removing the helmet,
than placing it face down on the table or floor.
Since the clear protective shield is flush with the helmet frame,
any debris ends up scratching up the clear lens.

modified jackson welding helmet

The solution was simple.
A couple nubs bolted onto the frame.
All that may have been needed were some round-head bolts,
but I figured the more clearance the better.

simple solution

Yeah it may be a hack fix,
however,
now the welding helmet is perfect!

Get one!

TP

choo choo

Ken came back from his deployment and had scrounged up tons of stuff for the old truck.
This was the coolest and probably least important thing to do,
but we both wanted to see it on there!

mocked up bumper guard

This bumper guard came off a 50's Nash,
so it had to be refit to the truck bumper.

50's Nash bumper guard

Of course both sides of the bumper were different.

cut

Thanks to FLAKEKINGS FRIDAY for the help eyeballing the perfect bumper shape.
FLAKEKINGS: eyecandy

mounting brackets

The original had the studs mounted on welded plates,
which held the bumper on.
The bolts on the truck are angled,
so it was easier to bolt it from the inside out.
The brackets were than welded to the bumper guards.
Yes it was a pain in the a$$.

hurtlocker truck
1955 chevy pickup

It is a love or hate thing I'm sure,
but I like it alot.
Gives it a GMC look,
kinda like a train.
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Mystery Train  - Garcia & Saunders - July 10, 1973

Best song to go 16 miles in 11 minutes.
Solid driving tune!
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Hurtlocker Truck

Good to have Ken back!

TP

stool time - xxiii

To the long time readers,
yes,
stool time lives.

stool time 

Today it served as a work bench.
Not sure why it was just more comfortable working crouched down.

shortened motor mounts

After testing the now raised & angled motor mount bases,
found out they were too long.
Later that night cut them down 1/4" on each side...

tortured motor mounts

...then moved the holes in a 1/2" or so.
You can see how far off my guessing was
by the lines going through the big holes.
Came home too late to fit them in again.
I hope they work.
Tomorrow is another day.

stool time

Since the stool was out,
decided to primer the fresh metal on the removed drivers door.

more stool time

Figured it was a good time to take off the other door too.

not stool time

Than the hinges got a good squirt of primer.
Tomorrow the doors can go back on,
and I won't have to think about the new metal matching the old rusty metal.

cameo

Also was fiddlin' with these bumper guards for the hurtlocker truck.
Stool only makes a cameo here.

To be continued...

TP

don't need no stinkin templates

Now that the 302/5.0 is sitting in the 40,
some motor mounts can finally be whittled out.
Yes I want to start calling it a 289 or a 302 to pretend like it's an older engine,
so don't tell anyone.

ford 302 motor mounts

Usually I'll make some cardboard templates,
but this time I went straight for the 5/16" steel plate.
Of course they were a little off.

mock up SBF motor mounts

So the next day I whittled them down a little bit,
and made the bottom part of the mount,
again without making any cardboard templates.
Fortunately I made them at a bit of an angle,
cause there was a rivet on the top of the frame rail.
Now they are upside down from how I had planned,
but it looks like it was planned that way.

SBF motor mounts

Here you can see why the rubber biscuit is positioned more forward.
There is just enough room for the oil filter and the steering box.

Yeah these pics were before the engine was centered up.
Probably why my measurements were a little sketchy.

greasy

The bummer is the engine is a little too low with these mounts as is.
Right now there is a 3/4" wood block as a spacer,
but it needs another 1/2".
Nothings easy.

More later.

TP

synergy

Since my wife's been working on the weekends,
it's given me a good excuse to tinker with the 40,
while watching the kids.

daddy's little helper

Last night I was able to pull the old transmission out,
so the newer 302/5.0 could be mocked up.
If you look closely,
the newer style Lincoln or Fox body Mustang oil pan
is perfect for this application.
In the old days a Bronco rear sump oil pan was needed.

nestled

After a bunch of fitting problems,
the engine wanted to be in this position.
Looks easy, huh?

firewall scraps

Unfortunately I had gotten a little overzealous,
and had slowly whittled out more and more of the firewall.

I was trying to locate the engine to what I thought was the original flathead position,

low with the crankshaft pulley right over the front crossmember.
After each cut,
I'd re-mock it up to see if it fit right.

The problem is the SBF has a long waterpump/timing cover snout,

so it extends well forward of the block face.

After realizing I didn't like the engine recessed into the firewall,
and the fact the crankshaft pulley wouldn't fit on cause of the front crossmember,
I lined up the front of the SBF block with the flathead motormounts,
and dang it if it didn't seem to work perfect.
I could have gotten away with cutting on that Sharpie line on the bottom piece,
or at least not cutting that top right piece.

overkill

I am putting the blame on one too many of those Chelada beers,
the kick ass stereo that is set up in the garage,
and of course the 160g ipod classic.
There's something stereo freaks call "synergy"-
when all the components come together to make the perfect sound.
Right now the Sansui 9090 is hooked up to a pair of Klipsch KG4's and Heresy's.
It is way overkill for the 2 car garage,
but holey chit it sounds so sweet,
especially with a soundboard dead show cranking.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••





Grateful Dead - december 30, 1977 - winterland

This isn't the show I was listening too,
but it's kinda similar only a couple months later.
The cool thing is this is an actual video of the show.
Around the 25 and 35 minute marks,
they aren't even playing for the audience,
just on trippy jams with themselves.
I guess now you can hear why I went hackfest on the firewall.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

ford in a ford

With the engine sitting here,
it's possible to use the stock oil filter,
and also the stock lincoln exhaust headers.
The drivers side will need a little modification with the steering column.
If I can scrounge up some of the stock cast iron Mustang headers,
they may work since they're similarly shaped.

lincoln 5.0 headers

In addition there's much more room for the big AOD transmission,
although there will be some crossmember work needed.

The firewall isn't too tough to fix,
just more time.
It will make it easier to work on since there's better bolt access!

1940 ford coupe

With the engine nestled in,
I can make some measurements for the motormounts,
and fab them up at the shop.
Once the engine is secure,
the spot for the tranny will be carved up,
the rear end and steering box swapped out,
front brakes and master cylinder redone...
And that's just the big stuff.

Holey chit.

TP

therapy

I've shied away from working on the rusty 40 recently.
Just too much stuff going on that seemed like priorities.
Today/night I needed to work on it,
such a good way to clear my head.

floor

The goal was to button up the existing panels.
They were haphazardly tacked in and that was about it.
Now they are more or less stitch welded in.
Later on I'll do that seam sealant trick to fill in the gaps,
like on a new car.

framed

I also made a lip for the tranny hump,
using some pre-bent 1x1 sheetmetal.
It really helped to stiffen the floor up.

red

This was the catalyst for the work.
A new kit of that magic epoxy primer I love so much,
only this time in a red oxide tint.
I get this paint from my Dad,
and the dark grey I usually use isn't available.
The red is kinda cool for a change.
It matches this website now.

bulletproof

The bare sheet metal had begun to flash rust in spots,
so some protection was needed.
I couldn't even wait to make the last panels around the rear wheelwells.
It's gooped on there nice and thick with the roller.
Hopefully I mixed it well enough to cure.

grinding table

There was just enough left over for the grinding table,
which will be used outside in a couple months.

I kinda forgot what it was like to work til midnight!
TP

blue oval

Here I am trying to get rid of junk and what happens.
It's like the van is a magnet for Ford steel.

nest

This was too good a deal to pass up.
I'm hoping anyway it looks like a sweet engine.
A '74 truck block with '69 big valve heads - 351 windsor.

ford 351 windsor

Back when I was courting my wife,
I drove around in a blue '75 ford windowless molester van.
I'll try to dig up some pictures it was a bad ass.
The 351w scooted that thing easily to 95 mph on the speedo.
It could do burnouts and donuts,
it was one helluva van.
Memories...

Anyway this little gas burner will have a good home.

Thanks Kerry!

TP