ultimate armageddon vehicle - VW baja bug

The boys and I rallied up for the swap meet this morning,
and pics of this bitchin little baja bug was about all we took home.

bug-eye vw baja bug - 1967?

What a simple recipe for all around transportation,
and a great way to salvage a wrecked beetle.
These are the model T's of my generation.
They used to be common,
I've had at least 3 that I remember.
The perfect gearhead car.

VW Baja Bug

Many "back in the day" memories with these things.
You could swap an engine using skateboards or bricks.
The "how to keep your volkswagen alive" book was the bible.
If your ever in need of a good read go get it.
Good stuff even if you don't have a VW.

ultimate armageddon vehicle - VW baja bug

I've always liked the narrow or bug-eye kit.
Supposedly allows room for bigger front tires.
This one had super straight body and looked like an old build.
These are the cars that feel like they're flying after 60MPH,
those cut down fenders act like wings.

baja bug interior

Definitely high on the list of Ultimate Armageddon Vehicles.

TP

time for tres huevos

Okay - how about 3 cheers for ADD!
With the wife and kids out of town for the past couple days,
I've been spending a bit more time in the garage.
There's so much to do on each project,
that a couple hours on a least important task is like a mini-vacation for me.

1940 ford custom dash

The last time I showed the dash it was that nightmare green paint,
the pro-line epoxy that has taken forever to cure.
The bright side was it allowed a break from the old "tres huevos",
and focus on the other coupe.

green

If you haven't figured this out yet,
usually I'll compile a series of short work bursts
into an article that looks like I just spent one long day.
In some instances that is the best way to work,
as it's good to have breathing room to let things cure or settle,
and not fall into that rushed build trap that I'll regret later.

brown

Over the course of the month,
I've sprayed some rattlecan primer on the dash.
A metallic Mrs. Butterworth's Brown followed that I thought I'd like,
and dang it the pictures were all blurry.
The brown was cool just a little too boring for the dash.
In the dark it looked like the rusty front fenders.
A can of metallic cherry was scrounged up from the kids model paint stash.

hand rubbed

Now that was a color that was a bit subtle and a bit flashy.
A bunch of clear coats were sprayed on,
and a week passed to let the layers cure solid and hard.

A half hour with some 600 grit soapy wet sandpaper,

and this was almost the sheen I was hoping to see.

All it called for was a good hand rubbing with some watered down rubbing compound.

custom 1940 ford dashboard and insert

Sometimes I'll use a soapy scotchbrite pad,
but there's a tendency to gum up and leave swirl marks or scratches.
My bare hands are about 1200 grit anyway!

cozy

What made this all possible was this cozy throne.
Just enough comfort to get the job done,
and let my mind wander into a potential engraving project on the insert.

shiny

The finish is far from perfect,
almost a patina but really just a cheap rubbed out spray job.
I'm hoping it will age gracefully.
At least now it's possible to install some windshield rubber.

deadeye

In addition there's been a little headway in another unrelated area.
These headlight buckets had been rattling around forever now,
and I'm surprised they weren't lost in the shuffle.
The caged nuts had rusted up long ago,
and there was no easy way to bolt them on.

more green

The solution was so simple it took about 10 minutes,
although now I'll need a wrench to tighten things up.

ring

There were a couple instigators.
First off I had found some '39 deluxe headlight rings.
They have the sleekness that this front end needed,
even without the glass lenses.
If you have some send them my way!

stool time!

The second was a surprise package from "chocolate & cheese Dan",
whose been diligently working on the orange roadster.
He had this electroline sealed beam kit,
and knew I loved freebies.

electroline sealed beam headlights

I only needed the contraption that holds the light bulbs,
and now I'll have to figure out how to set these in place.

broken nose - missing teeth

It looks easy but there are a couple catches,

like being able to remove or adjust them,

and not make them look like they're wearing eyeliner.
Funny how headlights make the car look awake.

1939-1940 ford chopped coupe project

Slowly this 1940 ford coupe is turning into a 1939 ford coupe.
As you can see it hasn't turned into a shelf yet!
Yeah I still need to fill in that hood hole...

TP

robbing horsepower

The Ventura Nationals car show is coming up this Labor Day weekend,
the perfect deadline to get the green "june bug" 40 running,
even though I'll most likely be driving the hot rod.
Bottom line is at least it will be closer to becoming a driver again.

1940 ford coupe

First off here's a word of warning.
What you are about to see here is not going to be pretty!

sbf

Breaking out the STD (shit to do) list,
the one big $$ expenditure that I shouldn't afford is exhaust.
I've been calling this a low-budget street rod,
but really it's a no-budget street rod!

1990 lincoln town car exhaust flange

While deciding on whether or not to bite the bullet for pipes,
I scrounged around and found the original flathead exhaust.
Hmmm....

trusty band saw

Every fiber of my being as a hot rodder said no.
The tubing is really skinny at 1-3/4",
and the Lincoln exhaust stub I had was a 2".
The thing was the old flathead exhaust was a slip fit into the lincoln piece.
How would this effect performance?

pipework

I searched online and every 5.0/302 ford mustang forum said to use 2.25" or 2.5".
This seemed a bit excessive,
especially as I've been de-tuning this engine,
with the stock 2-barrel intake and carburetor and stock Lincoln headers.

snake

Out of curiosity I snaked the original pipes to the header flange,
and it was too easy to cut and weld the pieces together.
For a mock-up I hose-clamped the front tubes to the existing mufflers.
A quick start and the engine didn't sound too restricted like I thought.
It actually sounded like a normal car!

slip fit

Years ago we had a 1964 nova with fat exhaust,
and I've got to say the low rumble was annoying after awhile.
Sure it sounded like a hot rod,
but as a commuter it was hard to even hear the radio.

brick lift

With this in mind,
I figured what the heck.
Get this on the road with the puny exhaust,
keep it a cruiser and hot rod it later.

This may sound like an excuse for being a cheap-a$$,
but there is some fun in slowly upgrading a car down the line.
It's cool to compare the changes of adding an intake, exhaust or distributor, etc.
I've found some upgrades aren't worth the hassle.

tight squeeze

The meeting point of the two pipes was just shy for a butt weld.
I scrounged up two short pieces for a coupling to fill the gap,
and proceeded to weld up the double seems.

mirror rig

Man what a pain in the butt!
The bottom part is no problem,
but I needed to rig a mirror to get at the top part.
A stainless steel IPOD holder worked perfect!

This was one of the harder things I've welded in a long time,
one as there was no access or visibility,
and just enough room to squeeze underneath.
Table welding is for girls!

self portrait - travis perich

I started with a blind weld,
hoping it would fill the gap,
but the little crack was obvious in the reflection.
If this car was gonna be quiet,
the last thing I wanted was a bunch of whistlers leaking out.

fakey mirror

Welding to a mirror is tricky,
as the movements are the opposite,
and doubled as there's both the filler rod hand and the TIG torch hand.
Basically it took all my concentration.
The most important thing is to have the AMP setting right,
so there's less of a chance to blow holes in the metal.

I got the hang of it after the first side,
and lost count of how many times I had to sharpen the tungsten!
Up and down... up and down...

hack

The last part was filling those nasty muffler holes.
One thing I'm good at is welding patches to paper thin rusty sheet metal!
I know at this point you're shaking your head going WTF!
Since these pipes are so long,
it may be fun to cut out the glass packs and go straight pipe,
so doing a hack repair is worth it.
Also this thing is low enough that only you guys will ever know!
Again more ugly welds but everything is sealed up.

perich brothers

What a difference with exhaust,
especially after listening to open headers for the past couple months.
I really like the mellow sound with the repaired glass-packs,
and hope the pipes don't rob too much horsepower.
I'll think about saving up for stainless tubing and a pair of Porter mufflers...

TP

hoe hoe hoe your boat...

It's always good to have friends with toys,
and its even better when they have friends with toys.

hoe hoe hoe your boat...

I was in the midst of an engine/tranny swap,
and it had come to the point of heavy lifting.
One option was to dismantle everything and remove it piece by piece.
Another option was to trailer the boat to a place with a hoist or crane,
and another option was to build a temporary A-frame.
The best option was call a friend with a mini backhoe!

A-frame

It took longer to wait for the trailer rig to show up than to do the work.
We found it easier to do the job by removing the hoe part of the excavator.
Dig the custom weld job on the side there.

hoe

I'm not used to guys drinking beer and working at 11am.
But if that is what it takes to have a steady control hand,
who am I to complain,
especially when I'm the one wearing flip-flops!

yank

Now I want one of these!
The neighbors would love this thing stored in the front yard.

big orange

Later on I may show some of the install pics.
To make it easier,
I brought my portable workshop.
Amazing what can get done with swap meet tools!

perich brothers portable workshop

The owner was happy to have the work done in his driveway,
regardless of all the noise and commotion.
Nice as the kids were able to hang out too.
Jakob met a new friend,
this really cool French Bulldog.

Jakob and the French Bulldog - 2013

These crazy pups are an anomoly to any living creature.

They can't reproduce without artificial insemination,

and they can't give birth without cesarean section.

Kind of like what humans are turning into!
Good way to create a job market I guess...

TP

grease monkey weekend

What's more fun then ripping into a decently running truck!
I guess we can make a list of things, huh!?

heart transplant - ford f100 -  fe 360

After a good degreasing,
it was finally time to walk the walk.
This is a pre-smog engine,
and relatively straight forward attachments.

crusty alternator

Do you ever wonder how a newly assembled hot rod won't run,
but a dirty petrified looking engine seems to run forever?
This was the case here.
It had been a long while since this had any attention.
The timing was off about 20 degrees,
there was no tranny fluid on the dipstick,
and every wire was rusted together.
It took a couple short evenings to get down to the long block.

ford FE 360

This engine is super wide,
but there was just enough room for my scrawny body.

grease monkey

A couple greasy hard to reach bolts,
and it was time to call in the troops.

perich brothers - grease monkey

The owner was smart enough to be busy that day!
No problem the kids know how to have a good time.

Macey and Jaxon - perich grease monkeys - 2013

My barefoot helper Jaxon took over,
while I handled the camera,
Jakob scooted around,
and Macey kept up the cute level.

jaxon & jakob perich - 2013

Actually both boys really helped out.
They now know there way around the tool box,
thanks to me yelling at them for sockets and box-end wrenches!
That is really the most tiring part,
Crawling down there,
then getting up to get a tool,
over and over and over.
Thanks guys!

stool time - Jaxon & greasy ford fe 360

By the evening we were able to take most of the engine apart,
and get it on the engine stand.
So far looks like a cleaning and gasket swap will do the trick,
with a new oil pump and timing chain,
but let's not jinx the project too soon!

holey chit

Now if I can get this thing fixed up before I forget how it goes together!

TP

drive bye's

It's always good to see how passed on car projects are doing.
Hiding in the back alley,
this is more of a destination spot.
Aaron did a drive by in the old beemer,

baddest 1968 bmw 1600/2002

Not too many changes from last year when he did the rattlecan revamp,
wheel cutouts and new fat wheels.
Other than wiring up the extra pair of headlights,
he had also installed a stiffener bracket/battery box.
It doesn't seem like the strut/shock mounts would flex that much,
but this is a common thing to do.
This was on my STD list if I'd have kept it,
only a custom aluminum bracket not a mail order deal.

bmw 2002 rear strut reinforcement/battery mount

Mechanically this was untouched since it left my hands.
We spent some time going through the simple VW-like mechanics,
and had it running way smoother with a couple adjustments.

1968 bmw 1600/2002 hot rod

Another old project also passed through Hot Rod Alley.
Tim's RPU had held up after 2 years as his son's high school commuter.

hot rod alley - ford 1929 roadster pickup + 1940 coupe

What a neat memory of driving a banger powered hot rod to school.
The engine held up,
but I guess the banjo rearend center section had cracked.
Hopefully this will be a fun side project next month.

1929 ford model a roadster pickup

I thought there was an old post of some of the metal repair on it,

oh well.
This was a perfect chance to check out his rear tires.
I've been trying to find a bias-ply looking radial,
and these 215/85r16 truck tires had a cool skinny look.
I'd consider these for the rusty 40 rears if it goes radial,
as they are a step up in size to the 6.50's that are on there now,
but half the price.

215/85R16 hot rod tire

Tim's a master at building hot rods on a budget,
so it's good to pick his brain on mechanical things.
He also is a ford flathead nut,
and one of the 5 people that I was hesitant  to tell about the SBF swap in the 40 coupe.
If anyone's knows the masochism that goes with flathead travel,
he totally understood our need for a simple no frills driver.
Since I did masquerade it as a 60's style build,
luckily got his stamp of approval!

TP