[mildlyamused]

When I grow up....I'm going to have Tim build me a roadster!

nice work on the Heater dude! Best "afterthought" idea to change it up I've seen. Interested to see how the hoses turn out.- no pun intended:sneaky2:

 

[MRSQSL]

Yay, an update! I like what you did with the heater. I can only imagine how much time it took. Your car is looking great even without the ecsta tires. :001_tongue:

 

[Tennessee Tim]

Time fopr an update, I suppose. Fuel lines are done.

I made a bracket for the driver's side, rear of tunnel e-brake location.

I located the Summit heater completely outsode the firewall.

One 3" duct for each foot box and a 2" duct for the defrost. I didn't want the heater visible under the hood, so I made a cover for it.

I also made a bracket for the wiper motor to be installed in the drivers foot box.

It will go here:

More details at my build site. Thanks for looking.

Tim

 

[Tennessee Tim]

Time for another update, I suppose...

Engine panels are painted:

Started work on the dash. It is veneered in walnut burl:

Engine went in:

Grandson approved...

More at my build site below.

Tim

 

[Greg_M]

Tim,
That's over the top cool. Super nice work!

Greg

 

[Tennessee Tim]

Thanks, Greg. That's high praise indeed.

Tim

 

[MRSQSL]

Tim, it's looking great! Love your dash. I was really excited to see your update. I've been waiting impatiently. Can't wait to see what's next!

 

[Mark Reid]

Tim, this is the first time I have visited your site and I love your build, ideas, and execution. Very well done!

I have a question/comment on your valve cover configuration. I have the same valve covers with a 1.2" spacer on a 427w engine. What gaskets did you use and did you seal them? The reason I ask is I found if I used the steel core rubber ones that I like (but can't use sealant with), it took too much torque to keep them sealed which then warped the stamped steel covers. After trying several configurations, I settled on steel reinforced cork gaskets. I glued the head to spacer gasket on both sides with Gasgacinch and then the second gasket to the valve cover. I then used 2" bolts with load spreader and haven't lost a drop of oil or warped the valve cover flange.

Just something to think about if you find a pesky leak once you get running. Keep posting, man, love your site!

 

[Tennessee Tim]

Mark:

I do have some concerns about oil leakage for the valve covers. I used the steel-reinforced rubber gasket between the spacer and the head. I wasn't aware that I'm not supposed to use sealant on that type of gasket. I did. I guess I'll see how that works when I get it started. Why no sealant on this type of gasket?

I used a cork gasket with sealant between the valve covers and the spacer and used 2" SS bolts with thick washers to help spread the load. I did the tightening in two steps. First, using shorter bolts, I bolted down the spacer by itself fairly tightly and left it overnight for the Permatex to cure. I then bolted the valve cover with only very moderate torque.

I'll let you know how it works. I plan to have engine-start next month. If it doesn't work, I'll try your approach.

Thanks for the feedback.

Tim

 

[dagall]

Wow, What work you have done. Very Cool.

 

[Tennessee Tim]

I guess it is about time for another update. It's been a while...

I needed to have a place to mount the MSD box and the terminal strips for the wiring, so I fabbed up a mounting plate:

With most of the wiring done:

I've neatened things up a but, but you get the idea. I also completed the dash:

A note about switches... I had originally intended to use Lucas switches for the original look, but later changed my mind. One reason was because I wanted to keep the wiring as simple as possible, and using a SPST switch for the hazard flashers required the use of diodes and some extra wiring. Additionally, The Lucas switches have a very cheap feel to them (well, be cause they are cheap) and I had serious doubts about the quality. I found these switches available from NKK and sourced from Mouser:

They look a lot like the Lucas switches but are much better quality and are available in DPST, which makes the hazards work the way they are supposed to. They are also available on DPDT, which I used for the seat heaters to accomodate the high and low settings.

I also completed the under-dash panel, covered in leather:

I was then ready for first start. First start was ugly and it turned out that I had bad gas, so here's the second start:

Meanwhile, I had to make a serious point to this guy that the C*bra is going to be the only poisonous snake in the shop (it is a copperhead that apparently made a home in the shop)...

After a rudimentary alignment, it was time for go-kart:

I didn't like the gavel that the wheels were kicking up, so I installed some screens on the Webers:

Finally, I started the trunk aluminum.

That pretty much brings things up to date. As usual, all of the gory details can be found here:

Home

Thanks for looking.

Tim

 

[QSL]

tim, great progress and the quality is top notch. thats a car anyone would be proud to own. VERY nice!

 

[03SC]

Wow, that is one beautiful build. Your work is amazing.

 

[BIL1024]

I am blown away! You have talent Tim

 

[Tennessee Tim]

Latest update:

The body finally goes on for the first time:

Of course, there were the typical fitment problems. Like so many others, I could not get the driver's door to meet the body nicely, no matter what. I also had the same problem with the passenger door.

Plus, the doors were actually trimmed slightly undersized, causing some ugly gaps.

Nothing that can't be fixed with some filler and sanding. The light blue stuff is Evercoat Euro-Soft glazing putty. It is a catalyzed putty that is specifically designed for high impact areas like door and fender edges. Hopefully it will prevent any chipping around the door opening.

The top edges of the doors were rolled and also finished off with the Euro-Soft.

Then, of course, there were the tail light pads. I took them from this:

To this:

To make sure that the pads were nicely shaped and uniform, I made a guide out of some scrap aluminum. It gets bolted on through the light holes and provides a good guide for both applying filler and sanding.

I then laid out the cut line for the tilt-front.

I'm not sure if this is the final line or not. I'll leave it there for while while I ponder it and do some other stuff, like smooth out the underside of the scoop and roll the front edge:

You may have noticed that this isn't the scoop that came with the kit. It is a scoop from Cobra Restorers that is specifically designed for use with Webers. It is supposed to be higher at the rear, though I honestly can't see the difference. It did have a better-trimmed front edge, though, so I am using it. Whoever trimmed the glass for my car really screwed did a crappy job...

Anyway, I cut the scoop opening, and filled the stupid gap between the layers with HSRF, and finally rolled the opening edge using the Euro-Soft:

I also added the Mini reverse light to the rear:

The next step will be to bond the hood to the body, and then make the "big cut". Wish me luck...

For details, see the link in my sig.

Tim

 

[QSL]

looks awesome!! how much of a pain was doing the windshield. I am really worried about it because we never test fit it and we are going to test it on a painted body. I dont know how i am going to squeeze my fat hands in there to mark it and such, especially on the drivers side!

 

[Tennessee Tim]

It wasn't that bad, actually. You definitely want to do it before you put the side louvers in, since the side louver hole is a convenient place to stick your arm in. You can also go ahead and cut 1-1/2" or so off of the bottom of the windshield side supports. they are way too long. I also suggest that you use some non-locking nuts for test-fitting, and only use the locking ones for final install. It makes things a lot easier when you can spin the nuts down by hand.

I cut a Sharpie down to about 1" and used it to mark the holes. Since Julie says she does all the work, I'd just tell her to do the marking and tightening. Tell her that supervising is the most difficult part, since it involves all the stress...

Tim

 

[dagall]

Where did the brake reservoir come from?

 

[Tennessee Tim]

Where did the brake reservoir come from?

It's Tilton's 3-chamber reservior:

I didn't like the yellow, so I painted the top with Krylon Fusion black and top-coated with Duplicolor wheel clear, which is supposed to be resistant to brake fluid. No problems so far.

Tim

 

[Tennessee Tim]

Some more progress...

I made some filler panels to fill that stupid opening between the rear wheels and the cockpit. What was FFR thinking...

I didn't like the position of the rear wheels, even with using Richard Oben's track width advice. Additionally, although I don't have the more serious issues others have with the CV shaft length, at Richard's setup put the tri-lobe to where I could feel it near the edge through the CV boot. So, I ran the control arm heim joints all the way in, and added some Eibach 1" hub-centric spacers. This combination put the tri-lobe bearing nicely positioned in the cup, and put the tire just out to the wheel well lip, similar to the front. The wells look much more nicely filled with this approach:

Here's where the tire ends up at ride height:

Details are very important to me, and the opening for the side louvers is a very visible detail. I carefully trimmed the opening to fit the size and angle of the Finishline louvers and then carefully rolled the edge of the opening with Euro-Soft:

Next came the installation of the Breeze angled roll bars. This is an awesome kit (thanks Mark).

Here's a before and after of the test fit:

Before:

After:

After getting them properly fitted, I tack welded them into place, took them off the car and finished the welds. I didn't really want the welds to show, so I ground them down to a nice fillet. Additionally, there are some very subtle dents from where the tubing is bent. I filled both the weld area and these slight dents with Euro-Soft:

And put on a coat of primer.

Then several coats of Duplicolor Universal black and several coats of Duplicolor clear followed by some minor cut and buff:

continued...