extraction

Since the firewall has been skinned around the engine,
I've been jonesing to pull the old cadillac out and clean up the front side.
Well it's only been 3 or 4 days but its been well over a year waiting for this step.

Besides having some work priorities,
the other reason was the shop floor was way too cluttered.
There has been a flathead and a sbc laying basically in the walkway for months.

Jaxon
not so little helper

Today my oldest helped clean the shop up while I worked,
and wow it really made a big difference.
I finished my work project early,
 and had some spare time to move those 2 engines,
basically putting them on carts to roll around.

With the floor uncluttered,
decided better yank the engine out and fill the space up.
It was a relief the big flathead came out without taking off the front grill.

cavern

The car was so light without that hefty block of cast iron.

Since the firewall was built from the inside,
the front side had some nasty untrimmed and unwelded seams.

connect the dots

After a couple hours of family time,
this dang car was calling me back.
Begging for a little firewall massage.

cleaned up

I've been able to quit coffee now for over 2 weeks.
On top of that,
I haven't replaced the caffeine with tea or soda either,
(well maybe one "arizona green tea" yesterday)

Anyway its tough to rally up at 8pm,
but I was glad I got out of the house.

What could be better than sitting on the couch watching a movie, drinking a beer with the family?
How about having a shower of welding chispas fly in your lap and shoes,
burning paint, and grinding welds and surface rust.
All sober cause I got to drive home...
Sounds like fun!

Now the majority of the welding is done.
There are some gaps left to fill that will take some time,
and also the left side of the distributor indentation is a little crooked.

heavily modified firewall

 Still, I can't expect to finish it in 3 hours!
There's a handful of other "engine bay" projects
- front spring clamp/crossmember holes,
-inner fender panels,
- pedal modifications
to name a few.

Now that the engine/tranny are out,
I can also get even more projects finished
- dial in the clutch arm pivot
- figure out the starter holes
- clean engine
- make a log manifold...maybe

Until next time...

TP

Oh yeah, it's summer.

Took Macey out on her first boat ride.
It was a much needed 4 hour vacation.

summertime

Now they know the simple pleasures of jumping in the water,
and soaking up the sun.

avon 3.40 & 15 hp johnson

TP

sunday funday - bottlecap soccer

Your 9 or 10 years old,
stuck at the shop.
Whatcha gonna do?

boys will be boys

Scrounge up a piece of wood, some metal bar, string and some bottlecaps...

bottlecap soccer

Jake (left) had actually been planning his game out for a couple days.

If you look closely there are score pegs along the side.

who needs video games

The only modification is adding a penny in the puck,
using some candle wax to glue it in.

Good times!

TP

smokestack

Last night found a little motivation to work on the old coupe.

pure americana

It's serious if I start drinking Bud cans.
I was so motivated that I didn't take too many progress shots.

Basically it was hammering out 8 sheetmetal pieces on this custom contraption.

beater block

Funny how a scrap wood block can be firewood or an indispensable for now tool.

before

I have a knack for making some ugly ass firewalls!

after

It would have been easier to make a flat panel,
but this gives plenty of room to work on the engine side,
without taking up pedal space.

smokestack or mailbox?

Definitely looks like a smokestack,
or an old moonshine still.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Perfect time for a 15 minute Smokestack Lightning...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Now what?

Well this allows me to finally pull the engine and tranny,
finish weld all the seams,
and trim the front side which is really rough.

no gap

Remember those headers will cover most of this!

Now to make some floor space in the shop...

TP

whoops - sheetmetal fun

Well this post was floating around in the editing page unposted,
and it kinda segues into the post I'm writing now...
Whoops.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The firewall.
Where to start.
The big cadillac flathead engine is really set back,
so the firewall is bit of a challenge.

el gapo

Where to start.
First figured a bottom hoop to get an base to connect to would be smart.

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Than my Uncle Steve had scrapped some storage lockers from his work.
Just what I needed to not have to overthink cutting up virgin sheetmetal.

20 gauge scrap

Without a bead roller,
I just hammer a rough indentation on this anvil stand,
or a piece of wood.

hammer

The first ones are a little rough,
by the end of the project I should be pretty good.

gap filler

The time consuming part is there is no subrail,
so first a base has to be made between the bolt-on plates.
Fortunately its symmetrical so both sides can be made the same time.

crude but effective

These two pieces really stiffened up the body.
The firewall was still a little overwhelming,
so the next night I jumped to the back.

This is how it starts...

bare frame

There are the two base plates...

subrail

Than the the subrail is formed out of some square tubing.
Maybe its unnecessary with the sheetmetal,
but it's worth it if the body is ever removed from the frame.

bumpy panel

The bummer about using donor sheetmetal is either rust or paint.
I wirewheeled just enough to get the welded part clean,
but not enough to stop the rest from burning off.
Good thing we've got shop fan's and a respirator!

It's hard to see but theres a little bump in the panel.
Maybe this one you can see it better.

not as bumpy panel

I realized it wasn't a good idea to do these panels while I was doing them.
The big 7.50x16 tires could not be removed without dropping the rearend down,
as in unbolting the spring.
Even if the tires are smaller it will be tough to change on the side of the road.
This means the wheel arch on the fender will need to be a bit larger,
which is much easier to do without these gaps filled.

There's always something!

TP

Mariachi El Bronx vs TJ root canal

So found out through the grapevine that Mariachi El Bronx was playing,
at "El Cita", a mexican bar. up in East LA.
I think for their 2nd CD release party.

After looking at the map, the 2 hour drive wasn't happening.
So instead of going north,
we unexpectedly decided to go south.

quick first series chevy truck

We tried to chase this thing down but it was always out of reach.
Cool to see the baby seat huh!

little tooth file

Its been a month since we've been to our TJ dentist,
one thing or another gets in the way.
One of my wifes temporary fillings popped out so...

little tooth file in my tooth

what a perfect time to get a surprise root canal!
I was planning on just waiting for her teeth to get grinded on,
and next thing I know I'm sitting in the chair feeling violated for an hour.
Holy chit.
Guess its the best thing as I wasn't dreading it the whole day.

earlier root canal

This is the one from last month(s).
The guy digs out the nerve, or heart,
and then fills it with this special rubber-like stuff.

Afterwards Pikachu took us to a tijuana "clamatoria".

clamato afrodisiaco

Even though my bottom lip was numb,
this beer drink was so tasty.
I couldn't even tell that I was chewing the inside of my mouth,
or spilling the drink on my shirt.

clamato and tostitos concoctions

We finally learned the ingredients to make a true "chelada".
There are some wild concoctions.
The locals were really into the "tostilocos",
which is a bag of spicy tostitos with a bunch of stuff added -
pork rinds, special salsa, little nut like things, cucumber chunks...
I should have taken a picture, next time.

While drinking our second drink, the chevemato,
the TV played mexican music videos,
and it dawned on me we were missing Mariachi El Bronx.





**This is the EL Cita bar they were playing at**
I was expecting this video to play after "Tigres del Norte"

The Bronx

Before you start wondering what's going on here,
this is the same band in their original Punk Rock form...

Probably one of the best shows you might not fully remember.

If you're able to see either of these shows,
you won't regret it.

Way better than a TJ root canal!

TP

a little inspiration - doug rice '39 coupe

I found a video of "the doug rice coupe" on the hamb...

History So I'm driving along on the highway and saw this: - THE H.A.M.B.

doug rice '39 ford coupe - 50's

I had seen it in pictures many times,
and was surprised to see it at the GNRS this year.
It was one of my favorite cars there.

doug rice '39 coupe - recent

For being in a highly restored condition,
it is good to see the car is actually driven.
Its been to bonneville and many car shows around the country.

(put down the volume!)

(Told ya to put down the volume!)

Nicknamed the "Bonneville Boomer",
the car has an interesting history,
as a purpose built race car that ended up a custom.

Here's some history and my source of pics...

Bonneville Boomer 1939 Ford @ Richardson Custom Auto Body

Doug Rice's 1939 Ford - Kustomrama

at bonneville

You may have figured this out by now,
 this is one of the 5 or so chopped 39/40 fords
 that got me into the tres huevos mess!

time traveler

I had been aware of this coupe only from the Don Montgomery books,
which are black and white.

bonneville  custom

Chopped, channeled and sectioned 39/40 coupes are kinda rare,
so it has really helped to have (pics of) this car around.
There are many modifications I like,
and some that I don't.
If anything, to me it is a lesson on moderation.

ripped pic at bonneville

Anyway,
 to see it moving under its own power on the road was cool,
even if it was a 20 second video!

Now,
how can I get more shop time...

TP