Rick's 1960 HT

[keith]

I'm enjoying your journey to going fast.

Keith

[scumdog]

235/60R15 BFGoodrich g-Force T/A Drag Radial 2. Either 7" or 8" width on the wheel. I can't look it up online at Jeg's where I bought the wheels cause they won't show you your history without the order#. It took me all day to get them on ( I had to remove the 1" lowering blocks to get the axle low enough - I figured that was less work than undoing the leaf spring perches) then I took em off for a cruise and now they're back on again. I realized it might be a bit easier if I let some air out of em. In truth it seemed like I had to push them through the gap between the wheel well lip and the brake drum just as hard with 10psi as 30.

I've been guilty of putting a small screw-type jack between the frame and rear-end to force the rear-end low enough to get the wheel on.

Make sure the jack don't slip is MY advice.

[Restifier52]

I love the idea of a fiberglass hood and front bumper. If I happened to trip over a huge pile of $$ I'd do it, too.

But seriously wouldn't one have to delete the hinges if one had a fiberglass hood? I would think a lift off job with those post/cotter pin assemblies would be required.

[Restifier52]

Frame pictures

Stopped by the shop today to see how things were going. They are going alright. I didn't have a clear picture of what they were going to do. The car is up on multiple jacks of course and has been squared up. Roger told me one of the front corners was off by, well he didn't say how much but it was not much. He found some rodent remains and a lot of blasting media that is still in the car after 2000 miles of driving (that stuff is tenacious). He will be putting the driveshaft loop on and welding on some jack pads, too.

[Fireball]

Smart moves, both the frame connectors and loop. Now you get more energy put directly towards the rear suspesion and pavement instead of body flex. Caltracks could help some with the upcoming traction probs Have you taken your bird to the track yet, I mean ever?

I've seen so many driveshaft failures that loop is a must safety device really.

I like your build a lot Rick

[Dakota Boy]

So they "squared-up" your car and THEN welded those pieces of steel along both sides of the driveshaft tunnel? Those new pieces keep the car "square", and also add strength?

My car seems to have a bit of a "twist" in it. The right rear corner sits a bit lower than the left.

If this is the solution, then maybe I've found the answer...

[YellowRose]

Rick's 1960 HT

Greg, I wish I could remember exactly what my mechanic found when he was checking why my right rear side was sitting lower than the left. But I do know that he found a bracket or something attached to the axle, I think, that was pulling the right side down lower than the left side. It was flipped the wrong way, I think he said and as soon as he turned it the right way to match the left side, it allowed the right side to go up and level off with the left side! I just wish I could remember exactly what it was, but it had something to do with the springs on the right side or a bracket, something like that. You might get under the car and check the left side against the right side and see if something is flipped the wrong way....

[Restifier52]

Fireball, I have not yet been to the track. If I'm lucky I'll get some passes in before it closes for the season. Greg, that is precisely what they are doing. They have welded the rear end of the bar to the same piece of the frame that holds the front leaf spring bracket. That's why they cut open that area under the rear seat. When they're done we'll adjust the caltracs nice and snug and off we go!

[Restifier52]

Done For Now

I took more shots under the car but they don't show the new frame rails well. They just blend in now that they're painted. Roger told me he had to do ALOT of modification to the "universal" driveshaft loop.

[Restifier52]

Air Cleaner Funnies

Y'all know that I painted my valve covers yellow to pay tribute to the original motor. Now I have given my air cleaner a similar treatment. I bought a 428 decal (for a '66) from Birdsnest and had a local (in the fleamarket!) signmaker change the 2 to a zero in his computer and make me a displacement correct decal. I know I'm mixing generations here and the color isn't strictly correct but it's just for fun.

Had to attach a tab to the lid to accomodate the interceptor decal. I used some of what was leftover from my radiator shroud. Same leftover aluminum for the mounting plate for my fuel pump in the back. I still have a few square inches left

[Restifier52]

The Truth Hurts Sometimes

I took the car to a local shop to be weighed last week. Brian has a wireless 4 pad setup. With no passenger seat or backseat, the passenger door panel and no other interior panels, on the street tires and wheels and 1/4 tank of gas, my results are:

No Driver:
Front Left - 977# Front 50.75%
Front Right - 939#
Rear Left - 944# Rear 49.26%
Rear Right - 915#
3774

With me in the driver's seat:
Front Left - 1063# Front 50.61%
Front Right - 942#
Rear Left - 1000# Rear 49.38%
Rear Right - 954#
3958!

My hopes of losing 2-300# from the new motor and trans have been dashed against the hard rocks of reality. I'm 158 heavier than stock and I still have more to put on! On the bright side my front rear ratio is quite good. And as Roger my main mechanic keeps telling me "You don't have a race car, you have a street car that you want to go fast." The rest of the story will come this year when I get some passes and times. I don't think I'll have to worry about ripping up my new headliner for a rollcage cuz I went faster than 12 seconds.

[FINSRIN]

Nice build. Under hood treatment is fine.
Creative air cleaner.

[Restifier52]

Thank you FINSRIN. I am getting pretty excited now that the interior is close to being done. The carpet I got through the local TBird club 15 years ago is going in rather nicely. The article in the TRL is very helpful.
The car will be COMPLETE soon! I won't say done cuz there will always be something to attend to or improve but I;m really looking forward to how it's going to feel and sound with an interior. I promise video when I get to the strip.

Rick

[Restifier52]

Torque Conversion

So my mechanic was instructing me on how to launch the car using the line lock. It was not going to be easy with the line lock button in the console because it went like this: Pull up to the tree, put it in neutral, rev the motor aka flash the converter, apply brake pedal, hold line lock button, shift to low (with my left hand cuz my right index finger is on the button), move foot from brake to gas, bring revs up while waiting for the green light, upon green light release line lock and hit the gas. Not even thinking about the nitrous yet.
So I poked around the web a bit and it seems the consensus is: line lock can be useful at launch in a manual transmission car but footbraking is the way to do it if you have an automatic (me). Use the line lock only for the burnout. Then hold the car at the tree with your left foot while giving it all the gas you can without moving the car.
One of these footbrake guys said the first thing is find out your stall speed by doing that and noting what your rpm is at the point where the car starts to move. This is the part I don't understand. If the stall speed is the point at which the converter acts like a solid connection, theoretically one of two things should happen. Either the drivetrain overpowers the brakes, or if your brakes were strong enough, the brakes would overpower the drivetrain, the evidence of that being you pushing the accelerator past a certain point and the revs not increasing. In my case the car starts to move at just over 2000rpm. This with me pushing hard on the brake pedal, no line lock involvement. The converter was advertised as having a stall speed of 3000rpm. I'm just putting this out here in case any of you have anything to share. Hope everyone's having a good summer.
Rick

[Restifier52]

Timeslips!

Made 8 passes today. Pass #8: 12.9 seconds @ 110 mph. That was with the nitrous (100hp shot) coming in at 4 seconds after WOT. I need work on my staging and my 60ft times aren't very good but I'm pleased that my two ton car got into the 12s on its first day out.