After we left off, with the bed fabrication, it was time to do the rear suspension. Andy made top and bottom backets to hold the springs and I figured out placement of the shocks which run right up through the middle of the springs.
It's all together now, bed and all and the ride height looks great!
Next up - the beginning of the enduring exhaust job. It started with that pile of parts on the shop floor and is still going as you read.
However, a big part of it is done - the headers.
First, Andy mounted the exhaust flange (which he designed) to the block. Then he positioned the "megaphone" part to the desired alignment and began to cut holes in it for the other tubes - each of which had to be shaped to fit into the square hole in the exhaust flange. It took some practice and time, but he did a fine job and the setup looks (and sounds) awesome!
Then, creating a place to sit sounded like a good plan. So, Andy built a frame for the brilliantly red boat seats and positioned them in a comfortable semi-reclined way. They're actually pretty comfortable!
Brakes! Very important to have right?
And...quite the process to install, it turns out!
First, Andy figured out how to mount the master cylinder within the dash.
That took all kinds of thinking and time! It's installed now, along with the pedal, and may look uber-complex, but could save lives! :)
After that feat, the next task was to install the brake line to each of the four wheels/brakes. And, this wasn't easy either. Andy borrowed a tool from Marc and spent numerous hours shaping the brakeline and then attaching it along the frame and axles.
As the fire-up date approached, it was getting important to install a way to cool the engine. Andy ordered a radiator from the Radiator Barn. Getting it on time proved to be a fiasco! He needed to get it for the long MLK weekend in order to have time to install it before leaving for work training. The company said, no problem. Fed-Ex said - You weren't home. We'll try again on Tuesday!
Some urgent phone calls, a note to the Saturday driver in Lewiston, and a trip into town to pick it up and it was here.
How cleanly to attach it to the frame, was the question. Should it be a visible bracket? Or a hidden attachment? After some diliberation, Andy decided on hidden. He drilled holes in the frame and welded in some nuts. That way, he could bolt the radiator brackets into the frame invisibly. Brilliant.
Then, just this Saturday, we had some Valentine's Day togetherness time in the shop and tackled the grille. Andy had already sectioned it and figured out what angle to mount it at. However, we needed to figure out the grill insert, which hadn't been shortened yet. And...it couldn't just be shortened because the bottom peak had been mangled and then oddly patched by its previous owner.
The grille shell is mounted in two pieces, looking like it cuts thru the axle. I created a template to fit inside top portion and traced it onto the grill. Then, Andy cut it off and we put it all together. The bottom picture shows how we left it.
However....Andy's been working on it more, so we'll be having another post like this soon!
