CFD's Build Thread

[CFD]

Got the undercarriage finished up. Seamsealed it and topcoated it with a high quality truck bed paint. Tomorrow while it's curing I have a few small things to finish up on the chassis and on Thursday night I plan on putting the body on the chassis for the last time.

[hammdo]

Can't wait to see it together!

-Don

[TA1979]

Looks great

[CFD]

Originally Posted by hammdo

Can't wait to see it together!

-Don

Originally Posted by TA1979

Looks great

Thanks. Believe me I can't wait either. lol

Not a lot to show, spent some time going through the rear suspension, making sure everything is tight and made some final adjustments on the ladder bars and coil overs then bent up the rear brake lines. I will finish them up tomorrow before the body goes on.

[CFD]

Got the brake lines finished up then got the body on the chassis. What a relief. I was concerned about transmission clearance because of the size difference between the 700R4 I used for set up and the 4L80E but there is tons of clearance. Now I can set up a driveshaft, shifter and the headers. Everything else is here so it shouldn't be long before it's running. Maybe 2-3 weeks.

It's hard to get good profile shots when in the shop but here is where it's at.

[hammdo]

Wow, that’s going to be a beauty when done...

-Don

[CFD]

Picking away at it. Worked on the body mounts today. I definitely don't want to solid mount it because of vibration and the factory style body mounts are just a rubber puck, they distort and loose shape easily, there are all sorts of isolators and rubber pads that can be use but most don't do a good job or as with the oem mounts loose shape. What I decided to do was use cupped washers to support the oem bushings and prevent them from loosing shape or shifting. I couldn't come up with anything so decided to make them. I machined a pocket in a piece of steel with the size and shape I wanted, then got some extra thick fender washers, put them in my hydraulic press and formed them. My press is quite large and did it with ease. Tomorrow I will bolt it down then move on to the inside so I can finish the underside of the dash, paint it and move on to mounting the steering column, fuse box, heater and all other components.

[mlee]

Coming along VERY nicely and really taking shape now.

Good job on the mounts...

[CFD]

Originally Posted by mlee

Coming along VERY nicely and really taking shape now.

Good job on the mounts...

Thanks. The mounts worked out great. Got the body all bolted down this morning.

Spent a good part of the rest of the day prepping the cab, inside and out, so I can finish the primer sealer. There is a lot of metal to deal with on these cars. Next I will top coat the inside of the cab so I can start assembly.

[CFD]

Got the cabin coated with an epoxy primer sealer. After it's cured I will top coat the floors, firewall and dash so I can start assembly. I have lots to do, at the top of the list is a driveshaft . I have been waiting to make sure the trans. is in it's final location so I can get an accurate length measurement. I may go with a u-weld it shaft, haven't decided yet but I will by tomorrow.

[CFD]

Hi everyone

Haven't updated this in a while due to me being tied up. I tore two tendons in my shoulder and required surgery. I'm going to be tied up for a while but will continue with the build as much as I can. I did get a lot done before the surgery but had to devote most of my time getting customers bikes out of the shop. They would not have been happy if I tied up their Harley's for the summer. lol.

Anyhow, here's a handful of pictures and a quick update. Got the passenger compartment painted, started the sound deadening, rebuilt the cowl vent, installed the heater, steering column, wiper motor, radio, gauges, fuse box and got the main wiring harness finished. I also finished the driveshaft and had it all balanced. I made a pedestal to mount the shifter to put it in an ergonomic position.

I did decide to make a small change to the steering shaft. I'm adding another u-joint and bearing support so I can lower the shaft. The only purpose for this is to allow more room for header design. Because it's a quite large solid roller cam, frequent lash adjustments are needed, by lowering the steering shaft it will make spark plug removal and maintenance much easier. Hanging over the huge fenders to access under hood is a chore as it is. lol

I should have the pipes, flanges and collector in a couple of days then I will start on the headers. I only have use of one arm so progress from here will be at a snails pace, my plans to have it on the road this season is looking dim but I don't quit. We'll see.

[h018871]

Oh man!
I’ve been missing you, great to see you back.
Gotta take care of the clients for sure. Take care of yourself too.
Car is definitely coming along

[CFD]

Originally Posted by h018871

Oh man!
I’ve been missing you, great to see you back.
Gotta take care of the clients for sure. Take care of yourself too.
Car is definitely coming along

Thanks. I did get everything cleared out of here, only things in my shop are my bike and the Buick, all the time in the world and I can't do anything. Sometimes life sucks, lol.

I guess you can say the headers are in!! Typically I would spend a day doing headers like these, I have a feeling these will be a month. My arm is totally useless as this point, it was a struggle unpacking them. lol

[CFD]

Haven't been able to do much due to my useless arm. I did whip up a couple of quick brackets to hold the collectors in pace, this will be one less thing I have to hold. I need a couple of people to set the front end in place so I can determine their final position, then I can tighten them down, remove the front end and start piecing them together