My automotive A.D.D project thread.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

My automotive A.D.D project thread.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Oh, and I have no problems with being booted for posting modern stuff, if that's against the rules. I can't deny myself what I'm into, but I'll stop posting it if it bugs people ;). I will build a flathead-powered vehicle some day, just not sure when...or what. I dig the Chrysler flatty inline, but have a few parts for a Ford V8 already.

65LOSER · Vice President

Hey man its all good in my books... I'm not aware of any 'rules' governing what projects are allowed? I like the fact that your Colt is rare in terms of production numbers! And the best part is you're working on it yourself and learning!! The skills you learn doing these projects can be applied to that flathead build one day!!! Good job on the panel too!

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Cool, thanks for the good words :). I didn't want to get bumped for posting 'rice...like on other forums. I dig cars :).

I'm a very hands-on guy, and if I can teach myself something, I'll do that instead of paying someone else. To learn how carbs worked, I converted my old 83 Rabbit to dual Webers. To learn how the computers in cars make everything run, I taught myself hex and binary code. A bit of an obsessive personality also helps, lol.

This metalworking stuff is seriously the HARDEST thing I've ever decided to learn. SERIOUS respect to anyone who is good at this stuff. It takes all I can muster to beat out two panels without messing them up. I just don't have the patience :(.

When I get to an older project, it'll probably take me years to finish, because I'll end up trying to figure out how to cast my own iron manifolds, lol. It's all about the journey though :).

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Started cutting out the rot last night. I had to cut a LOT more than I expected to, lol. I won't be needing those nice rocker panels for a while, seeing as how there's not much structure left on the driver's side from the seat to the firewall. Not a big deal really, just means I have a bit more welding to do ;).

Cars aren't an investment to me, so I don't feel bad about putting so much work into a Dodge Colt, since I enjoy having something to tinker with. It's metalworking practice for the future :).

65LOSER · Vice President

"It's metalworking practice for the future"... exactly! It all counts as experience

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Was all prepped to finish up the driver's side today. Got a big chunk of sheetmetal so I could make the replacement panel in a single piece, seam sealer, nitrile gloves, and a heaping helping of motivation...and ended up in the hospital instead. Had a bit of atrial fibrilation, which is essentially a completely ****ed up heartbeat :(. Got sedated and they zapped me with the crash cart. Needless to say, I ended up sleeping the rest of the day.

39, and I've already been zapped twice...sigh :(.

LOSER · President

WOW man take it easy. We want you around.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

The worst part is that according to the battery of cardiological testing I've had done in the past 2 years...my heart is perfectly fine. I'm overweight, but quite healthy. No cholesterol issues, no medical problems, zilch. The first one was a completely random occurrence...but if it's happened once, it will happen again :(.

I feel great right now, but my motivation is gone, lol. I'm trying to get my ass in gear and get out to the garage, but it's not happening.

65LOSER · Vice President

Holy Sh*t man! Well good to hear you are doing ok.... that body repair can wait until you're ready! Take er easy!

Broke4speed · Senior Member

The good side of getting zapped is that you feel FABULOUS afterwards! I'm still coasting on the effects, and got a wicked night's sleep last night :).

I managed to get out to the garage and make up the long panel I need to do the repair in one shot, but decided it was too cold to continue. Went back inside and watched netflix, lol.

Tonight I'm going to try to get the panel lined up for welding. I'm probably going to flange it on the rocker panel side so the repair fits flush. I had considered butt welding it...but 22ga might suffer too much under my welding assault. The last thing I want is for my repair to be warped to isht :(. I don't even know why I'm putting so much work into this car, since the passenger side repair is probably going to be quick and dirty. Ah well, keeps me busy I guess.

OT: took a peek at the 4-bolt Holley 2110 (flathead) carb I have and discovered that it's actually in great shape. I got it for $50 at barrie two years ago, while seized up three-bolt versions were going for twice that. Good thing I have an aluminum 4-bolt mercury flattie intake waiting for a carb :). All I need now is the engine underneath it, lol.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Wow, they don't give those flap wheels away do they. Work amazingly well though, very stoked on tonight's progress.

Except for the welding slag in the ear, that part SUCKED.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

No permanent damage to my ear, sweet :).

Got a bit more welding done last night, but I'm holding off on finishing for the moment. I've got a trip to Watertown, NY coming up this sat, and I want to go to Harbor Freight before I crawl under the car again. I cleverly forgot to do the plug weld holes in the pinch lip, so I'm hoping they have a cheap metal punch to make it easier. Otherwise...it'll be time to squeeze my fat ass under the car with a drill. Sounds like fun.

LOSER · President

its not just your ass thats fat. Just sayin. lol

Broke4speed · Senior Member

OUCH :P
You working for my wife? lol.

LOSER · President

just kiddin man. lol

Broke4speed · Senior Member

No worries. According to Health Canada I'm morbidly obese...so I'll take fat over that any day ;). LOL!

LOSER · President

damn I thought I was mean.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Yep, according to the government, I shouldn't be able to walk or breathe without mechanical intervention. I should already have diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and sweat like a pig while lifting my arm. lol.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Got the driver's side done! I'm waiting for the seam sealer to dry, and then I'll slap a bit of paint on it for the winter. It's a little odd looking at the fender arch because it actually goes under the fender, so I had to bang the isht out of it, lol. I'm pretty stoked with how it turned out overall :).

Next up is the passenger side...

-- Edited by Broke4speed on Monday 12th of November 2012 12:42:17 AM

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Done! Just waiting for the seam sealer to dry so I can start playing with spraybombs. It's a Maaco paintjob, so I'll try a few different tremclad silvers and see what happens. Now that the car is structurally solid again, I can concentrate on rebuilding the engine. Might even be able to fire it up before Christmas :).

65LOSER · Vice President

Cool!!

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Booya. Hit on a good combo of spraybomb layers to match the current color of the car. It was Maaco'd in the past, so there's no point in hunting down the color code, since it probably won't match anyway. I ended up using a layer of black rockerguard as a base, threw on a light layer of primer, and then some Krylon 'Silver'. The darker base dulled it down enough that it might not be immediately visible as an attempt at paint matching. Either way, I just want a coating of something there to keep it from rotting out again.

The stupid 72 Vauxhall I've been humming and hawing over for a year and a half, is still up on Kijiji. Why don't I have unlimited money :(.

65LOSER · Vice President

Yeah I hear you on the money thing.... unlimited would be nice lol

Broke4speed · Senior Member

So, on the topic of money, and how it affects progress...:(
The financial situation for the winter isn't looking great, which is a bed that I made for myself, so I'm sucking it up and putting certain things (car) aside for a few months. I have some stuff I can do still, since I have the parts (upper and lower gasket kits), but once those are done...it'll be a few months before I can even consider starting again. Might not even be able to put it on the road next summer :(. Money definitely doesn't grow on trees right now...nor does proper discipline, lol.

Got the valve stem seals done, which was cake after whipping up a tool from an old set of needlenose pliers to pull them off. Welded the tips to a washer, then cut the washer in half. Voila, a perfect seal 'lifter/remover'. Now I've just got to de-crud the head and it'll be ready to sit for a few months, sigh.

Cars are a horrible bitch goddess. They treat you like crap, but you still go back for more.

65LOSER · Vice President

That's true.... we seem to always go back for more lol I'm starting another project soon (Rat Rod pickup) and I sometimes catch myself wondering if I'm half crazy.... But I can't help it lol I guess I kind of like the challenge to see if I can actually do it...

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Man, it's going to be a long-ass winter :(. It's the first weekend I've been stalled on progress on the car...and it's only 10am on sat morning. It's like I have no use for saturdays or sundays anymore, lol.

Tomorrow is going to be the tough day, if it's above zero. The garage will be tolerable, temp-wise, and I'll have nothing to do :(.

ARG! If I wasn't broke as a joke, and an idiot with home renovating, I'd be on my way back from Home Depot right now. The mini-Ford (97 Aspire) would be packed full of insulation and vapor barrier.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Was making good progress, got the engine mostly assembled...and then there was a FML moment. No matter what kind of tin you're into, when you hear an exhaust stud go *SNAP*, you curse a LOT. I'm going to try to take the rest out and replace them, so if more break I can extract them all at once. I'll give the 'weld a nut' method a try, and if that doesn't work, then I'll be drilling them out and tapping the holes for larger studs. No way I'm going to try drilling them out without ruining the hole, I always get the drillbit off-center and f**k it up anyway.

I'm really glad the engine is still on the stand. At least that's a positive.

On another note, anyone got a line on how to come up with $2500? I want this ;).
http://loserscc.activeboard.com/t51853269/49-fargo-rat-rod-for-sale/

LOSER · President

stay home dont go on vacation. I think the divorce might cost more. lol

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Snuck a clutch/pressure plate purchase in over the holidays, muahahaha ;).
I'm taking tomorrow afternoon off to head up to the shop and scrounge for some more engine parts, which means I should be able to get everything together soon, and possibly into the car. I've got a torn CV boot to fix (remember, front-wheel drive), and since I'm a cheap bugger, I may just get a tube patching kit for a bike tire. Way cheaper than tracking down the right part on a car they only made 1500 of, or figuring out what other one fits.

I know modern stuff isn't everyone's bag, but I'm hooked on some of it ;). Figured out how to run a computer from a 2003 Mitsubishi AWD turbo car on my old colt, so that's what's on the cards for the summer. The adapter harness is already wired up, and I'm using an old Ebay diagnostic cable from a VW (modified inside, because again...I'm a cheap bugger) to read and program it. There was no way I was going to pay $150 for a cable when I could make one for $15. Call it being a modern LOSER I guess ;). Work with what's available, and have fun doing it. 'Hot Rodding' means different things to different folks I guess, although one day I'll find something older to play with...and actually have money to buy it, lol!

Might even chop out the rear floor and swap in a rear end from an AWD eagle talon, to make it more fun in the snow next winter ;).

-- Edited by Broke4speed on Monday 14th of January 2013 08:17:16 PM

CANSO · Senior Member

Thats what we LOSERS do,make it before buying (read cost effective,not cheap) smile

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Got back from vacation on saturday eve. Florida to Ottawa sure is a culture shock at this time of year, haha.

I put my back out when I was down there, but I was bored out of my skull on sunday so I went out to the garage anyway. It was only -6* outside, so it was ALMOST warm enough to be considered liveable in the shop. Pulled the engine off the stand so I could install the 'rear' main seal. I'm not too familiar with these engines (a VW guy at heart, as much as it pains me to admit it), so it was a pain in the ass to do. It's done now though, so I can finally bolt up the oil pan and get to the clutch install. Once that's done, the tranny is going on...and I'll be chomping at the bit to get the engine in the bay :).

Remember kids, with enough Tylenol...anything is possible ;).

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Spent the night removing 20 years of gunk from the inside of the bellhousing. Ugh, two decades of leaky oil and clutch dust = baked on, greasy, slippery, plastic-y crud. It took a full can of engine degreaser, two cans of brake cleaner, and almost a full roll of shop towels. If it had been warmer I would have used the pressure washer, but that's not really an option right now (thank you, winter). It's still only passable, but it's 100% better than before.

On a completely different note: I really am starting to love the 63-64 Impalas. Cliché, I know, but it just seems like the perfect cruising car to me :).

CANSO · Senior Member

Broke4speed wrote:
On a completely different note: I really am starting to love the 63-64 Impalas. Cliché, I know, but it just seems like the perfect cruising car to me :).

smile Had a 64 SS,250 hp / 327 & 4 speed,my 3rd car, my first 'clutch job' too,wish I still had it cry ,it's somewhere in the Kitchner /Waterloo area,sold it back in 1976 I am such a dumb a$$. John

Broke4speed · Senior Member

The reason I bring this up now is that there's a black 63 for sale in my little boonie town. It's pushing distance from the seller's house to mine too. No idea what he wants for it, and it's parked beside a mid-60s Caddy that's also for sale, so my guess is that it's overpriced :(.

If we could only get back all the cars we've all sold over the years and realized now that it was a dumb move...oh man. The first car I would have bought with my own money (1995) would have been a 1965 Olds F85, but my dad talked me out of it :(.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Found it on google maps/streetview...
http://goo.gl/maps/t9Wxf

Englishbob · Senior Member

Looks solid , got to love Google.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

I'm so tempted to go ask about it, but I'm sure the wife would murder me in my sleep.
It's a two-door too :(.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Last night's work went really well. The new throw-out bearing is in (10 second job, haha), and the broken cotterpins have been removed from the shifter mechanism at the tranny. I couldn't hook up the linkage if those weren't removed, and I couldn't drill them out if the tranny was in the car, so that was the last job that needed to be done before the final assembly/engine install could take place.

If motivation stays high, the engine will be back in the car by the end of the weekend. :)

Broke4speed · Senior Member

I hate myself. It was -7*C today, and sunny, so I left the garage door open to work. There was no warmth, just lots of light. I've had to use the snow blower three times since yesterday evening. The first one had drifts about 10" higher than the snowblower covering the entire driveway, the second and third were pretty close to even with the top. Hooray for Canadia.

The finished product:

The end of my driver's side axle was mushroomed, so I had to cut off the end in order to get the nut to go on. Bit of a minor panic on that one. Outside of that, the install went smooth. I was only outside for a couple hours. Winter sucks.

meoracing · Senior Member

I would ask about the 63. Costs nothing to ask

Broke4speed · Senior Member

I'll be heading that way tomorrow, so I'll grab the phone #. Have to help a buddy with some work on his project VW...in one of those portable garages...in a snowy field...should be fun...;).

Broke4speed · Senior Member

6G for the Impala. It's a 64 SS originally ordered with the inline 6, numbers matching, driving car. It would be worth it IMO, but I don't have that money.

meoracing · Senior Member

6G's and its sitting outside?? wow

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Yeah, rotten rockers too, apparently. It's quite covered in snow right now, so I only have what he told me over the phone. I'd still pay that if I had it, since it's maybe 200' from my house. Convenience is a great motivator, lol.

I don't have that kind of cash though...so no Impala for me :(.

LOSER · President

6 grand for a # matching 6 cyl field car with rotten floors and a X frame sound about right in this part of Ontario. They are fruckin stupid with prices around here. After putting another 10 to 15 grand fixing it you will have a 10-15 grand car.# matching with a 6 is not usually a good selling point.

Rottnkid · Sergeant-at-Arms

^ What Pete and Mike said and I'll add wow man that dudes on drugs

meoracing · Senior Member

Ya, you got it Gary....and rotten rockers to boot......ya awesome price. When I win the lottery, I will show up in Chads driveway with a nice car for him. Then I will buy that rotten rocker across the street and drop a payloader bucket on it. Unbelievable what people want for stuff.

Broke4speed · Senior Member

Ok ok, I get the hint, lol. 6G is too much. I'm a newb, what do you expect ;).

I'm really starting to think that 'traditional' cars aren't for me. I need something odd. If anyone sees anything strangely appealing in their travels, let me know. I've got a real chub for 50s-70's British Fords (pre-Fox-body-style Capris, Cortinas, RWD Escorts, Consul, the Anglia sedans with the funky roofline, etc), anything Vauxhall & Opel (or the GM-imported equivalents: Early-mid 70's Vega, Buick Opel sedans, early 70s Firenzas, etc). Basically, smaller gas-crisis 60s and 70s cars :). Hell, even a decent two-door Chevette would be nice!

See, I'm a LOSER...I want a Chevette, lol.

Englishbob · Senior Member

In the last few months there's been lots of early British stuff around Alberta,just to tease ya check kijiji Alberta.