'46 Chevy Shorty - Page 81

ol trunt · 04-30-2016, 08:52 AM

Hey Tango. Love the progress. You are right to "savor the moment"--just getting the radiator fit and in really does start to make the project come together. I went back and looked at a similar pic of my bus and I'd swear that the cowl and radiator support didn't change a bit between 1935 and 1946. I wonder if they really are the same? Jack

Tango · 04-30-2016, 09:27 AM

Good Mornin' All --- More wet stuff falling from the sky here in Texas. but the work goes on.

Hope your roof work goes smoothly Cadillac. Pretty common for these rigs to have long streaks of rust where someone pruned a tree with it, but the damage is usually fairly limited. Good luck with that.

And you are correct Sir. The "pointy nose" does indeed pose challenges. To begin, the frame is pointy too (narrows to the front). That makes everything from installing an engine to making space for cooling gear to fabbing crossmembers a real bear. Somewhere in that tiny space, I have to hang the radiator...a big intercooler...a ginormous tranny cooler...and the A/C condenser. Some of it will likely wind up remote, but I am playing now with some measurements to see what all I can cram in there and still have it all work.

And if I had realized the issues surrounding those holes earlier on, they would have been a really easy fix by doing just what you suggested. The lip you see hanging down across the bottom of the cut is a section of 16 gauge metal that I tacked onto the back of the crappy body metal to give me something to aid in attaching the new sheet metal. It would have been a piece of cake to cover the holes with a wider piece and just re-drill them at that time. Now that I have all the interior panels glued & screwed in place, it would be an even bigger chore to access that area from behind.

Hey Jack --- Somehow I would not be surprised if they were the same. That rad bracket was a cheap & lucky Ebay "find". My original was not rusted through on bottom (actually it looked great)...but in the process of disassembly, nearly all of the fender bolts broke off from being rust welded. The support that runs from the cowl was another find. It had long ago been chopped off when I got this rig.

Well...back to work. I have lots of little stuff to try and knock out before the rivers rise again.

ONWARD!

cadillackid · 04-30-2016, 10:17 AM

I highly suggest a remote A/C condenser.. thats the easiest one to move.. that and the trans cooler can both be remote with electric fans...

you want your turbo air charge to be as cool as can be.. as do you your A/C condenser air... too much stacking and the problem is you have no clear air shot from one coil to the next resulting in a lot of air turbulance and your engine fan having to overcome a lot just to move any air.. let alone the stacked units heat the air up for the next cooling device in line... I learned the hard way not to press the A/C condenser directly against the radiator.. it needed at least an inch or so between and then rubber flaps I used to keep from sucking air in between the 2...

think of it like my LAME text "graphic" below...

perfect world..

air-flow --->> A/C -->| --> Intercooler -->| --> Radiator -->| --> FAN *

real world...

air-flow --->> A/C -->| \/\/-> Intercooler -->| \/\/-> Radiator -->| --> FAN *

-Christopher

opus · 04-30-2016, 10:34 AM

Also, think about repair/removal's, access to things once its all together. I am sure you have thought of that but I cant be there with coffee in hand to point and direct, ya know?

Tango · 04-30-2016, 07:27 PM

Ya...this whole cooling thing has been a head scratcher. And what little I have managed to decipher so far is consistent with what Cadillac had to say. Right now, my basic Plan C involves having the intercooler out front...then the rad...all tucked into that tiny nose and ducted with a large 12v fan pulling from the rear.

The trans cooler may be able to fit in behind all that at an angle with a separate fan...plus a couple of inline radiant coolers. One on the outlet side and another on the inlet.

As for the A/C...welllll...I'm still trying to sort that one out. But it may have to be remote as well. Maybe up on the roof.

Did I mention that there is not a lot of room here to work with?

cadillackid · 04-30-2016, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tango

Ya...this whole cooling thing has been a head scratcher. And what little I have managed to decipher so far is consistent with what Cadillac had to say. Right now, my basic Plan C involves having the intercooler out front...then the rad...all tucked into that tiny nose and ducted with a large 12v fan pulling from the rear.

The trans cooler may be able to fit in behind all that at an angle with a separate fan...plus a couple of inline radiant coolers. One on the outlet side and another on the inlet.

As for the A/C...welllll...I'm still trying to sort that one out. But it may have to be remote as well. Maybe up on the roof.

Did I mention that there is not a lot of room here to work with?

you have a lot of options for the A/C.. im using an under-body condenser on mine because I really didnt want to cut into the bus skirting because there are ridges above and blow.. whch wouldve likely interfered...

im not sure how many BTU A/C you are going to run for driving? if you just want dash air to cool for driving or if you are going to try and engine-cool the whole bus?

if you are just going to run dash air.. this condenser would mount under body nicely..

Condenser 108 - 50 000 879

since im going to cool my whole bus and want to be able to cool it at idle, im going to run this one..

Condenser 110 - 50 000 881

in your engine compartment.. I would suggest the Lincoln Mark VIII fan if they are still available.. I used one on my 500 Horsepower Monte Carlo build a few years ago and it kept that motor and its A/C coil nice N cool even the hottest days..

1993 96 Electric Cooling Fan Lincoln Mark VIII 8 Pro Street Rock Crawler | eBay

is an example.. ford may still make them new.. they were rated at 34 amps and 5000 CFM.. I ran mine on a variable speed fan controller.. first a commercial one, then I built a PWM drive for it..

SPAL makes a nice controller now that'll run that fan.. I no longer have that car so I cant measure its size for you.. I sold that car after I did this thing called Getting a Bus... one I let sit in the garage forever.. till some careless people started a fire... that started a fire under me to get a bus and do something with it!!.. and seeing builds like yours is inspiring for sure!!

-Christopher

Tango · 05-01-2016, 12:19 AM

Thanks for the feedback Cadillac --- My over the road air will mainly be just a dash/cool the pilot type affair but I would like to over build it.

Meanwhile, I did get the measurements today on the 545 vs the 2200. I was surprised that the 2200 is only about 1-3/4" longer. I came up with26-3/4" for the 545 and 28-1/2" for the 2200.

Finished up "shrinking" all 26 of the rub rail holes today and made a mock-up for the shifter wedge to make sure I can fit it within reach. Not much to shout about but every little bit is a step ahead.

Robin97396 · 05-02-2016, 05:09 PM

Tango, I imagine you've already seen this.

I think it was $56k.

Tango · 05-02-2016, 05:45 PM

Thanks Robin --- No...have not seen that one before. Very nicely done and definitely a '46 Chevy. It is longer than mine and appears to have a rebuilt 6-banger under the hood.

Not sure how they are getting away with the "School Bus" copy on the rear though. As far as I know (which is not a lot), every state requires all such references removed. And most include taking off the "Stop" sign as well.

Who knows...maybe it has been reincarnated as a real, full time Skoolie for some district full of Hipsters?

Robin97396 · 05-02-2016, 06:05 PM

I'm thinking maybe they make exceptions for older classic vehicles, otherwise I don't have an explanation for that.

It's my understanding that there are laws about 8" high letters spelling out SCHOOL BUS in black letters. I've seen someone inverse the colors and still carry the SCHOOL BUS phrase apparently without getting in trouble. Probably a hippy law student.

cadillackid · 05-02-2016, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tango

Thanks Robin --- No...have not seen that one before. Very nicely done and definitely a '46 Chevy. It is longer than mine and appears to have a rebuilt 6-banger under the hood.

Not sure how they are getting away with the "School Bus" copy on the rear though. As far as I know (which is not a lot), every state requires all such references removed. And most include taking off the "Stop" sign as well.

Who knows...maybe it has been reincarnated as a real, full time Skoolie for some district full of Hipsters?

in OHIO (not sure other states)... you can have a classic vehicle like a Police car, fire truck, etc as long as you agree never to operate any of the emergency / alert equipment on a public street.. and while driving it on the street you have to prominently display 'NOT IN SERVICE' signs on all 4 sides of the vehicle.. many people use magnetic signs for that purpose and cover up the words "police", " fire" etc to be sure..

once they arrive at the car show they will remove the mag signs and it all looks original..

if the vehicle is over 25 years old it can be registered as historic at which time it can have the original clors / lettering / equipment..

if itsn ot registered as historic then it cannot have that material on it on a public street..

nothing in Ohio says a vehivle has to be original to be historic.. though technically you are only ever supposed to drive it to events related to classic or show vehicles..

those events can simply be a group of friends that have created a "cruise in"...

-Christopher

Tango · 05-03-2016, 10:22 AM

Interesting. Every state seems to have a slightly different spin on all these issues. Here in Texas, there is a negative caveat for "historical" status and plates (at least as I understand)...you can basically only drive it locally, in parades and such. I see plenty of them cruising the highways and have been told the DPS doesn't make busting them a priority unless there is a wreck or something.

I had thought about going that route (which allows you to run YOM (Year of Manufacture) license plates, but until I can get a clearer interpretation of the law and limits, will stick with the everyday variety.

(Kind of a bummer since I actually found some 1946 plates!)

Maybe I need to re-visit the whole license plate thing and get it sorted out.

opus · 05-03-2016, 10:41 AM

You should put the title in my name. I can then register it here with a permanent plate which would probably cost you $150, one time fee.

Robin97396 · 05-03-2016, 01:08 PM

Opus, I think you should give Tango a couple more years before he transfers the title. By then he may fell ready.

cadillackid · 05-03-2016, 02:53 PM

at the rate tango is going.. in a couple years that bus is gonna be out half way across the country and you wont be able to pry it from his hands as he'll be having so much fun in it!!

Robin97396 · 05-03-2016, 03:09 PM

I wish I could spell, or is it the damn autocorrect feature that changes words to something else all the time?

Tango · 05-03-2016, 10:15 PM

Well Howdy Guys & Gals --- FINALLY...I got the major components from the machine shop I have been waiting on for the last month! Of course, one of them still needs some work but hey...at least it is some measure of progress.

The first part is a custom made accessory mount that will allow me to have A/C and alt all on one side of the motor. It has been highly modified and still needed more finessing to work on Frankenbus. Did a test fit today and..Eureka! It may actually work now.

The "other" item involved mating part of my original steering to the new Isuzu NPR power gear that I added. No pix of it today but there will be manana.

Here are the alt & A/c compressor now attached via the all aluminum mounting bracket that also re-directs the water pump flow. It all makes for a VERY snug fit. I am just hoping nothing of any consequence slams against the frame during start up & shut down. The alt is a 250 amp unit built for ambulances, EMT vehicles and such. The blue tape is to keep filings out of the coils while I was making some last minute..."adjustments" to the aluminum mounts.

Also did a test fit on the inner fenders. Gonna be tight but I think I can make it all work.

Here's what it looks like on the inside. Like I said...snug.

More to follow.

ONWARD!

Robin97396 · 05-03-2016, 11:16 PM

Look at all that space in there.

M1031A1 · 05-04-2016, 03:59 AM

Looks like the Grand Canyon in there! Wait, lemme get my glasses, it's early in the morning......

cadillackid · 05-04-2016, 05:52 AM

Lovin it!! lookin good! its always a trade off of how rigid of motor mounts to install vs how much engine travel is acceptable..

if it becomes too much of an issue you may be able to fashion something similar to the "dog bone" that was used in earlier FWD trans mount engines for that very purpose to limit travel.. you align the dog bone such that under normal operating conditons it feels Loose but if your engine needs to jiggle around it's travel is limited by the bone..

-Christopher

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