'46 Chevy Shorty

[Tango]

Hey Robin --- I can't quite picture it yet either, but hey...I'm workin' on it. Maybe something with wings???

[M1031A1]

Originally Posted by Tango

Hey Robin --- I can't quite picture it yet either, but hey...I'm workin' on it. Maybe something with wings???

Did you say "Wings"? Maybe like this? :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR46gQLyxuE

[Tango]

Paul McCartney Factoid...

He is generally credited by many musicologists as the "Father of Heavy Metal". His 1968 recording of "Helter Skelter" first set the standard for that (annoying) school of music. Personally, I prefer his lighter work...like "Mull of Kintyre". But then, I'm a sucker for bagpipes.

[Tango]

Got Wings? --- Well, sort of. After much measuring, dangling of strings, head tilting and scratching, I managed to cut out something akin to a template for part of the tail light brackets in light weight steel.


This is the temp for the outer/side brace.


The outer brace will have an angle piece welded to it that goes across the backend (not a ruler) that the lights will bolt through. I am hoping to get a friend of a friend to use his cad/cam plasma cutter to chop a pair of them out of 11 gauge (1/8") stainless. Once assembled they will be riveted on.

If I can't get a brother-in-law deal on the plasma work, I guess it will take a big bunch of cutting and grinding disks. At least my little Miller will weld stainless if I get it a different flavor of shielding gas.

Meanwhile, I'll get on something else while waiting to hear from the plasma guy.

PS...Did I mention that working with compound curves can be somewhat...perplexing?


ONWARD!

[Tango]

Excellent! --- Instead waiting on the friend of a friend, I chatted my local sheetmetal shop this morning about plasma cutting the winged tail light bracket. Lo and behold...they are running a batch of 10 gauge stainless through their Cad system cutter on Monday and said they could do it. I raced back to my shop and finalized the drawings and handed them off. Hope to see something next week.

[cadillackid]

I love your approach of external mounted lights rather than flush.. seems gaskets around lights fail and water gets in that you dont know about... external lights make good sense

-Christopher

[Tango]

I like the old school look of externally mounted lights too. Will only have one small entry hole on each side but I already have a bunch of screw-down, self sealing firewall grommets I plan to use for the wiring. Handy little buggers. Except for the brackets...simple.

[Robin97396]

The wings look great. Tastefully done sir.

[Tango]

Thanks Robin --- I figured since I had to make some brackets...why not have a little fun with'em.

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch House...

I am on at least the fourth incarnation of my brake pedal. It came out of a 3500 Chevy...made e new mounting bracket...the pedal lever was too long...cut it down....too much offset to right...straightened it out...modified the homemade top bracket...then decided to add some offset going the other direction.

Oxy Acetylene can be a real friend at times.


I tried using afancy aluminum pedal from Wilwood, but it was a no go due to the bolt holes being a smidge away from where they needed to be. Have a buddy who needs one for his '33 Chevy so it won't go to waste.


ONWARD!

[cadillackid]

good lookin brake pedal!! tough with no room in the foot-bay that you have!! rest assured its security that no fat guy could steal your school bus!!

Tango: - side note - who was that company your worked with to get your allison transmission? the signs are beginning that the redByrd 545 may not have a ton of life left in it.. and ive told myself if that transmission blows up that i was gonna Upgrade.. time to think about getting the ball started.. no slips yet but occasionally it doesnt downshift to first on full stop.. usually the first sign of valve body issues.. so its time to think about that tricked out 1000..
-Christopher

[Tango]

Howdy Chris --- I worked with Stewart & Stevenson. Big outfit with facilities around the globe. My trans was ordered new from Allison after working with S&S to design it for my rig. They were fantastic to deal with and developed the tranny specs based on my buses' weight, gearing, frontal area, tire size & pressure and on and on and on. They then provided a 17 page report that predicts speeds in various gears at what rpms and even the fluid temps under different loading conditions. More info than I will ever absorb.

[cadillackid]

did you effectively get a transmission with the right bell, converter, TCM, harness, shifter, and TPS? where you just bolt in it, fill up the fluid and go?

of course as luck would have it they dont have any anywhere near Ohio.. plenty in fliorida but I dont have a place to work in florida so that makes things more difficult..

is your TCM tuneable with something like EFILive if you need / want ot tune it after the fact? or does S&S provide some sort of phone / tuning support once you get your bus ready to dirve?

do you happen to have a contact? would Love to give them a call and chat. before someone talks me into the "cheap and dirty" route of going looking for a used 545 to slap back in there...

the hot-rodder voice in me says 'what happen when you break something?'.. "Good time to UPGRADE!"

-Christopher

[Tango]

Howdy Chris --- You might check directly with Allison to see who is the closest service/sales center.

My engine is an SAE3 but I believe Allie can also match most common patterns. The converter came as part of the package. I got the TPS from Allison, but the shifter is a chassis maker option. There are a couple of suppliers but I got mine along with a mount (shifting wedge) from Inland Truck Parts...Doug Tyler 972.438.1406. Likewise the dipstick is an "aftermarket" item. The TCM and Harness came from CAConversions. It still needs to be flashed but I need to get more pieces in place first.

As for hacking these things, that's waaaayyy over my head, but from what I understand, the 5th gen units are much easier to deal with while providing much greater range of programming options.

All of my dealings with Stewart & Stevenson have been outstanding. Excellent service and response.

Let us know what direction you go. As a savvy hot rod/programmer, you will probably have a ball with a new Allie.

[cadillackid]

super info!! now I know I can get the TCM and harness for a 6 speed.. not that I need 6 like metioned. the CAConversions when I talked to them a while back built generally 5 speed units.. at ;least the transmissions anyway.. then they have their harness package which looks fantastic.

my AT545 is an SAE #3, goingto an adapter and in, if I stick with something that bolts to SAE 3 I dont have to replace the adapter plate / potentially relocate the starter, etc.. basically just bolt it up , shorten the driveshaft, get jiggy with the TPS on my electronic pedal and go..

the other route I have is talking to the TCM from the ECM of my engine.. that one gets more difficult from what I understand.. but my engine was offered with a worldd series trans..

all great info!.. are you using a trans mounted parking brake or did you get a unit with a parking pawl?

-Christopher

[Tango]

The Gen 5's are capable of talking to an all mechanical engine (like mine) which is one reason I went that route. The other was the double OD. I've heard horror stories from guys who have spent a couple of years trying unsuccessfully to hack older Allies into playing nice with their engines but apparently Allison listened and made the process simpler with their newer transmissions. As for the ECM...well...since I don't have one I really can't comment. All mine needs is a TPS which I have installed (hopefully correctly).

As for parking...I have both. I took the pawl option but also installed a driveline brake off an '08-'09 Kodiak C5500. I am working on the lever and cable system as we speak. Never did trust "P" to hold much of anything hefty on a hill and I like the idea of having an Emergency brake if ever needed.

BTW...just came across the source for the Fill tube/dipstick...

The Parts House Inc. - Jason Fransene - 309.343.0146

[cadillackid]

yeah.. ive already made my ECM mad at me once... probably best to leave that thing to its own.. I need to read up more on the Gen3 vs Gen4 vs Gen5, I believe much of it is in the different generation TCM's.. the transmissions operate off of I think its 3 or 4 solenoids... the TCM does all the heavy hitting of making that all happen..

I was working on a project where i designed a board and did some proof of concepting for an aftermarket 4L80E controller that used inclinometers (accelerometers), GPS, and various engine loading parameters(on OBD1 / OBD2 vehicles).. or runh standalone on non.. to help predict drivers as they climbed and crested hills... I took it far enough you could turn a knob with "estimated weight"... the idea beinga predictive controller.. I built a good bit of the prototype.. I killed the project off when the guy who was all in with me on this as far as testing and coming up with subjects refused to sign an NDA... I could probably make it work with an allison.. (replace the TCM).. but im not I sure I want to risk blowing up a brand new $10,000 transmission.. (or whatever they cost)


wow all just for a transmission.. I remember when it was a Clutch and 1-2-3-4
-Christopher

[Tango]

What's taking so long!? --- Shi...er...stuff like this...


After many incarnations and a lot of oxy/acetylene the brake pedal is finally attached to the footwell. The remotely mounted master cylinder kit should be here early next week.

But...there is still plenty more "little stuff" to be done. For example...


...fabricating a brake light switch. The switch is from a Volvo and the only all metal unit I could find. Coincidentally, a friend just had a plastic switch (like most) go out on her new car and the entire light system went crazy. I suspect there is a computer issue in there somewhere because her headlights would not go off (say what!?), the blinkers went into full time "hazard" mode (what!?) and they had to disconnect the battery to keep it from draining. Took the mechanic a couple of hours to discover the plastic end had broken away and shorted the system.

Anyhow...the next thing was to make a mount for said all metal switch along with an adjustable contact. More tiny pieces of steel to shape, drill and weld up.

THOSE, my friends are the time-sucking kinds of things you get to deal with when you decide to try and bring a 71 year-old school bus back to life. And remember...I'm even older.


ONWARD!

[cadillackid]

wowsers thats tight space!! is the gas pedal where it lives or is rearward of the brake? or is the brake hanging in its fulldown position? thats some craziness for sure to get everything to work..

rather than mess with these type plunger switches, why not employ a pressure type switch on the remote actuator? if in fact it actuates like a clutch, there will be some type of pressure build when you press the bedpal that will dissipate when you let off.. and that you could locate anywhere...
-Christopher

[Tango]

Yeah, the pedal is just hangin' loose right now. It will be farther out when hooked up.

And someone else suggested the pressure switch idea...but only after I had the parts made

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango--good progress. How will you switch your cruise control at the brake pedal.
Jack