Topic: '30 Sedan Repairs and Upgrades (Read 8783 times)

Greybeards Customs · « **on:** October 23, 2012, 01:41:32 PM »

I just got a new customer car in for some repairs and upgrades . He recently purchased the car and it doesn't stop so well or steer very well , so I am going to change the front spring and shackle set up . The engine (454) sits way to low in the chassis and drags on nearly everything with only about 3 1/2" clearance between the oil pan and mother earth , so I will raise the engine 3-4" and go from there. We have plans to go to a tunnel ram with progressive linkage before it leaves the shop , so now I'm on hold waiting for parts to come in , I want to get the front suspension finished before raising the engine so that the ride height is correct first , I only want to have to do it once .

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #1 on:** October 23, 2012, 01:44:16 PM »

Did I mention that this car has some WIDE ASS TIRES on the back !!

lowboy · « **Reply #2 on:** October 23, 2012, 03:17:20 PM »

love that rear bumper

i always hated following someone else

sure it"ll be better than new when your done

hotwheels · « **Reply #3 on:** October 23, 2012, 07:30:17 PM »

That is a great looking ride and i can't wait to see it after you are done with it......

miraclepieco · « **Reply #4 on:** October 23, 2012, 11:27:46 PM »

I would LOVE to have 3 1/2" of oil pan clearance! I have less than 2" now (I've only scraped the pan once, but that was before I had my skid rollers mounted).

Trouble is, raising the engine would make the mechanical fan too high, so I'd have to switch to a (gasp!) ELECTRIC fan - a very non-old-school accessory I've gone to great lengths to avoid (what's next - airbags??? Oh, the horror!

).

I'll be watching this thread closely. Please give details exactly how you do the engine lift. You may inspire me to jack my engine up an inch or so...

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #5 on:** October 24, 2012, 06:11:24 AM »

The only drawback to raising the engine in this case is the trans tunnel , which I will have to change drastically .He is already running an electric fan , so there is no concern there . I hope all of the front spring parts come in today so that I can get rolling .

Cornfield Customs · « **Reply #6 on:** October 24, 2012, 06:30:01 AM »

looks to be an interesting project. i am sure it is in good hands. the front suspension set up sure would have made me nervous, can we get some pics of the steering set up?

miraclepieco · « **Reply #7 on:** October 24, 2012, 12:20:17 PM »

What's your suspicion about what's causing the handling issues? Anything grossly out of whack or just minor improvements?

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #8 on:** October 24, 2012, 06:58:35 PM »

it did not have the correct pinch bolts where the axle and wishbone hook together , and would rock up and down . Also the front spring and shackle geometry was wrong , not enough spring preload giving it side to side motion .The customer came to me with a new front spring wanting it installed but of course it was almost 2" longer than the one on the car. I will make some spring perch mounts like cornfield customs that mount the perches below the centerline of the wishbones . This should let me position them where I can load the spring to get the correct 45* shackle angle and stop the side to side motion . It will all turn out good in the end and when my parts come in I can get rollin' ---- Greg

miraclepieco · « **Reply #9 on:** October 25, 2012, 12:55:14 AM »

I really like the bar stool seats in that. I hope the customer doesn't want to change those.

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #10 on:** November 01, 2012, 02:50:03 PM »

Part one of the project is finished , the new front spring and all the hardware is on and working correctly .The spring has good pre-load and the shackles are at the correct angle . In the last picture you will see the reason for part two , raising the engine higher in the chassis . oh yeh , check out the teeth on the flywheel

, it sounds like ass cranking !!

lowboy · « **Reply #11 on:** November 01, 2012, 04:37:13 PM »

WOW whats it got ....a desoto starter

lol or is that a byproduct of the dragging? :'(

miraclepieco · « **Reply #12 on:** November 01, 2012, 11:25:32 PM »

That's about the same clearance as my oil pan!

hotwheels · « **Reply #13 on:** November 02, 2012, 05:56:11 AM »

dang that oil pan is really close to the ground. Here in cheyenne, that thing would have been wasted long ago.

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #14 on:** November 02, 2012, 06:32:24 AM »

The engine really sits to low in the chassis anyway , the whole package will look better with the engine higher even if there were no ground clearance issues .

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #15 on:** November 14, 2012, 08:55:45 AM »

I have been kinda jumping around on this one a bit . I have finished raising the engine and trans also the trans tunnel . This car has no dash to speak of and the wiring is a birds nest , so I will be working on those as well. I did get the tunnel ram and carbs on and it looks a ton better . I will also have to move the brake pedal over to the left due to the taller and wider tunnel .

hotwheels · « **Reply #16 on:** November 14, 2012, 04:24:08 PM »

That does look good with the new tunnel ram and carbs on it. I think that stance you've given it looks awesome.

miraclepieco · « **Reply #17 on:** November 15, 2012, 01:39:04 AM »

You are making big improvements in that car. I considered raising my engine (plenty of trans tunnel room) but, as you know, I wanted to keep the mechanical fan centered on the radiator so opted for the oil pan mods instead.

Ha ha, I see you are smart enough to cover the windshield when you weld and grind - do you know how many windshields I've ruined that way?

Dustin Arnett · « **Reply #18 on:** November 15, 2012, 02:47:31 AM »

Lookin good!!

~Dustin

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #19 on:** November 15, 2012, 06:39:42 AM »

That's funny about the windshield , I speckeld my own glass , I can't afford to do that to a customer's car . Lesson learned .

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #20 on:** November 28, 2012, 03:47:20 PM »

Well this project is finished and gone , I just forgot to take the final pictures . Hopefully he will come through again soon and I can take a few . The end result is that he was very happy and the car drives great . So I guess everything is good ! I just wanted to put some closure on this thread .

hotwheels · « **Reply #21 on:** November 29, 2012, 08:02:56 AM »

Right on man, i bet the customer was excited.......?

miraclepieco · « **Reply #22 on:** November 30, 2012, 01:32:42 AM »

Dang! Tell that customer to join RRN and post some pics!

Greybeards Customs · « **Reply #23 on:** November 30, 2012, 04:52:19 PM »

I will .

TesTed · « **Reply #24 on:** December 07, 2012, 05:52:34 PM »

Greg made the car right now it's back for sale: http://bham.craigslist.org/cto/3442721107.html

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AuthorTopic: '30 Sedan Repairs and Upgrades (Read 8783 times)

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