Interior goodies

I took the hotrod down to Ocean Shores for some clam digging and got to work on the list of problems I ran into:
A weld on my crazy shifter broke and I had to pull the cable by hand from Everett there and back to shift. Got rid of the wierd linkage by just mounting the cable under the lever to keep the throw reversed. Rebuilt the entire frame out of angle-iron, much cleaner. Still needs paint.
Still have some major leaks, its fine when I'm driving but the car just can't sit in the rain or it fills up with water. Both from the door sills and the windshield header seal. In Tacoma on the way back enough water got into the multi-function switch (high/low beam, turn signal, wipers, tail lights) that it started smoking and melted some plastic around a terminal. I got it unplugged before anything really bad happened. Ford had a recall on this switch anyhow, I've seen several with the same terminal slightly burned, just too much amperage running through the same connector. I moved all this wiring down to the dash and put it on toggle switches, starter and everything.

more side window pics

night work on the drivers side - fabbing the sills

Drivers - rear template and acrylic stock. I found some cheap hardboard at Lowe's to use for templates. Its 3/16" thick and sturdy so I can track it up and down as I tack the window tracks in place inside the door. Its easy to fine tune the shape also with a rasp.

1st wet weather test

Just got to work in the hot rod, it was raining the whole way in and about 40 degrees. Mixed rain and snow thru Alger, but I was warm and mostly dry.
I still have a leak across the top of the windshield where the removable hardtop seals across the top of the windshield but only when going slow or parked, not on the freeway.
The acrylic side windows suck. They keep out the wind and the cold but they're just too flimsy.  I noticed on the freeway the top of each window actually pulls out, away from the car!?! Looks like I'll have to add another seal edge with weatherstripping across the top edge of each window. The doors drop down slightly right when they open so i should be able to have the windows push up into a seal when the door closes, whereas now the windows just rest against a seal on the inside of the door.
Hey, not bad though all in all! I did 75 down the freeway in the driving rain, I was warm, and I got there dry, I'll take it! Definitely have some ish to work on but its a win in my book.

passenger side windows

I got 2 of 4 windows installed mostly over this weekend and a little monday after work. The rear is just bolted into place, the front's in tracks and sliding up and down, i don't have the electric motor bolted in yet. I cut them out of acrylic cause its supposed to hold up better than plexiglass for UV damage. They still scratch super easy. Theyre pretty quiet on the freeway though.

I figured out some weather stripping around the top edges and the sides of the window are just riding on steel. The fit turned out pretty good I think. I need to to adjust the tracks a little but I'm down to just a small gap in one corner on each window. The plastic windows are cool on this car - nice and WT but they still look good.

mt biking pics

My buddy Miles took these photos of me last summer up at Galbraith. I guess it custom fabrication because I built this bike, Ginger (nickname from Tiffany because she says I spend so much time with it...) Miles has a website and shoots weddings, he's really good. He used lights and a very nice camera that he lugged into the woods. Check out his website: www.milesmckeephotography.smugmug.com

rad custom shifter

I got the hiem joints from Grainger, made in USA and cheap! This reverses the throw so it shifts like most tunnel setups - park all the way forward. I also sped up the leverage ratio to 1.5:1

Yes this is an old grip and clutch lever off my dirtbike. Squeeze the lever to release the lever to shift, so you can't knock it into reverse on the freeway.



front end sheetmetal work

I got the front wheel wells lowered down 3" and dropped the sheetmetal down 1" under the stock grill. Time to think about front bumpers. I'm pretty much set on a '37 Desoto bumper but I may make it myself... Also I finished up the shifter, will post pics soon.

I just put some rattle can red on the rims under the hub caps probably have to wire-wheel 'em and paint them nicely in the spring when the studded tires come off.

update

I found the perfect hubcaps on Craigslist. My neighbor put a bug in my ear couple months ago said I should put moon disks on the car. I finally came around. They're Hollywood brand hubcaps and I bought 'em in the original box from 1972 in good condition. They come to a sharper point in the center than the moon disks, I like the chrome - it ties in with the side pipes. I put the studded tires on some old 15" Dodge steel wheels i bought from Beacon Battery in Grandview - great place! the old guy was able to set me right up. I learn something new about tires and wheels every time I go there. The snow tires I found on Craigslist are 205/75s and are 5% smaller than stock/original Ford Explorer O.D. - much better on the freeway. The car is still geared wrong for my taste, 2500rpm at 75mph...

A little early for studs but I'm excited and it's 40 in the morning. Still no side windows...

Spent all day Sunday fixing the exterior lights. 3 of 4 corners i had wired wrong (three wire not 2, thanks Dad!) and still i had to jumper from relays under the hood for rear tail and brake. The wires are screwed up somewhere under the dash and I couldn't find it.

With the taller tires on now, I can start moving the front wheel wells around and fab the body kit for the front. Looks like the wheel wells are going back and inch and down the same 2.5 inches as the rear. I'm gonna add a bunch of metal in the front corners to fill in in front of the tires (as your looking at the car). Maybe fog lights

I did get ALL of the guts removed from all four doors over the weekend so i can start setting tracks for the windows. I cut the first window wrong. 3 templates and a $25 dollar sheet of acrylic but now I know how to cut it so it'll track up and down inside the door. Looks like the angle of the B-pillars will work but its close - less angle would have been better.

I started this project last December, I kinda just realized its been almost a year so here's a picture taken after the first work weekend at my Dad's mid-December 2010. I built the roll bar, lowered the rear and started setting the removable hardtop in place.

welder cart

Well this picture is super fuzzy but check out my welder cart i made, its so handy better than the cheezy ones they try to throw in with a welder purchase "$59.99 dollar value" . It has a really low center of gravity, the welder sits really low. It just dominates in the gravel!

rear body kit

I've always heard this type of thing called a "body kit" or "ground effects kit" I think its a tuner crowd thing? Anyway the rear wheel wells wern't very centered from when grandpa out the rear clip on originally so this was also a way to center up the rear wheel wells.

I lowered the wheel wells 2.5 inches, it gives the car a lower stance and makes the tires seem bigger. It gives the rear of the car a cleaner line too. Its hard to see it but the bottom of this flares out a little because it has a dish to it.

firewall done and ready for paint

Last weekend I grafted 22 ga. steel onto the firewall including the driprails. Initially my grandpa had cut large reliefs into the firewall for clearance of the 41 fenders. I fit all the sheetmetal back onto the firewall and rebuilt the drip rails around the whole radius. Should be nice and waterproof for this winter's snowboard trips to Mt Baker

Also I stopped in a pull a part and got a blower fan and housing. It fits great but I still need about a half inch with the hood completely closed cause it rubs slightly, I think I can get it with a hammer and dolly though.

tilt forward hood

The hood is coming along, the gap to the doors still needs fine tuning though. I need to build the inner fenders too but I'm gonna wait till I swap the 50 series tires for 60s. The gear ratio is just too far off with the 50s, turns about 3000rpm @ 70mph. I don't think the bone stock 302 likes it much and I want to road trip this thing bad!

Also, I picked up the rest of the 3/4" EMT I need to do a body kit around the front and rear clips to make the car appear lower. Im gonna try 3" to start, imagine a line off the bottom of the side pipe. This should help compensate for the 60 series tires and raising the suspenion an inch or so. With the current set up, Im hitting the stoppers fairly easily.

swingarm repair

My awesome little bro gave me the yz250 I'm riding. Thanks again buddy! The only issue with the bike was that the swingarm had a crack just off the weld that sits immediately ahead of the shock link mount. The crack was on the outside face of the swingarm and spanned the full height of the weld.

I drilled the crack out on each end with a 1/4" drill bit and gouged the crack with a Dremel. I ran a single downhand pass with a 230v Miller spool gun, 0.035 wire dia. 100% argon shielding gas. Probably 2 dozen rides on it now, no MX, just trail at Walker Valley and its holding up great.

b-pillars

Finished fitting the B pillars, attenpt number 3 but I think this will work. It took me several attempts to understand the geometry of how the 4 door has to work with the removable hardtop and the electric windows.

I'm happy with the look and fit of the visor too. Hard to see but I used 1/4" stainless allen head bolts. They look pretty rad and they're easy. I think im gonna try and use these around the exterior of the car.

1941 Ford rat rod

Early pictures from my newest project: "Gramps Started It". Its basically a 1941 convertable front and rear clip grafted onto a 1997 Ford Explorer. I made a steel removable hard-top, Chopped ~8", doors sectioned 3", 4" lowered suspension and 50 series tires. The chassis is bone stock and really untouched, has the 5.0 L with GTP heads full-time AWD and AOD tranny. Trying for paint this winter...

You can just see the roll cage hoop that im setting into place here near where the b pillars wiil be... Grandpa did the body work on the rear here anfter grafting on the rear clip. This clip is from a 1941 convertable model.



1985 Subaru gl w/ '99 EJ2.2l swap

I completed the motor swap in 2008 removing the carbureted 1.8l with a severely cracked head (dramaticized on our way back to WA from Moab, UT, #3 spark plug was green from antifreeze when we put-putted back into the driveway). Found a 1999 Legacy on Craigslist and pulled the engine and wiring harness, built my own exhaust, bought an SJR adapter plate and away it goes!

Goodies include XT four wheel disk brakes and sway bars, power steering rack, 6-bolt wheel conversion, Impreza front seats, 2" receiver for bike rack use only. I've put over 50k since the swap and road trips include Vegas, lake tahoe, long beach, ca (twice)

This is what I came up with for exhaust, had to completely build it from the block to the tail pipe.