'46 Chevy Shorty

[ol trunt]

PASHA! Both you guys could figure a way--you're just a couple of purists HA HA.

Being in the throws of adapting a late model frame to an old SKOOLIE I can testify to the fact that it isn't as fun as you might think! Other than the frame under the body and the rear axle NOTHING fits!!! I started the changeover on my SKOOLIE in 2010 as a 2 year project--and it is-- as of 1800 hrs today STILL is a 2 year project Oh well!

[Tango]

LOL... --- Had to laugh! I use the same story. My project began with a two-year completion date and I'm sticking to it. A year later...and I still have two years to go!

[Tango]

Back at this weekend. Have the hood, grill and both fenders off now. Ancient bolts, screws & nuts are makin' me crazy. I hate spending so much time grinding, cuttin' & drillin" just to get a couple of the crusted @#$%'s out of the way. I know it comes with the territory, but I don't have to like it!

Here's a few pix.

The orange circles are where I expect to run the intercooler tubing to & from the turbo.


From the side you can see where the tube re-enters through the inner fender. Plenty of wheel clearance.


Anybody need a decent running 350? This ones gotta go...soon.


Meanwhile...the black/gray tank ain't goin' nowhere. It has angle iron full length along the heavy duty lip on both sides of the tank, plus now the four supporting straps are in place to carry much of the weight. Back to the fuel tank soon.


The all-thread on each mounting point extends down to provide the attachment for the straps, each of which has a layer of rubber to minimize abrasion.

All for now. Hope to get more done on Sunday. After that, it will be strictly weekends for several months until I wrap up a big art project. Gotta' pay for this thing somehow.

[ol trunt]

Hi Tango, Looks like plenty of room for the intercooler. I expect to copy your tank mount--right down to the nylon locker nuts! Jack

[Tango]

Gotta love those NyLoks! Everything else has a heaping dose of Locktite. Course it all has to come off again when I'm ready to locate & install the drains, but that's down the road a ways. Also need to get the level indicators hooked up too.

Just hope I'm not too old to drive this rig if & when it's finally road ready.

[Tango]

One more tank mounted...and a few more NyLocks --- Managed to get the fuel tank hung on Sunday. Didn't go too badly. It is held in place by the steel skid plate which bolts up at six points pulling it up against some square tube brackets that space it down a few inches to clear all the lines & such. There are wide strips of 1/8" rubber insulating the aluminum from the steel.


44 Gallons of diesel please...


hmmmm, will 6 - 5/16" ss bolts hold up over 400 pounds? May go back to 3/8's.


Well, at least it's in for now. Semi-rigid mud flaps will mount in front of the rear tires to minimize the debris that would collect on top of the tank.


Where the filler neck & vent come through the floor, I'm sealing it off using an old shifter boot cut to fit. It will all reside inside an insulated metal box but this should keep some of the road grime out.

Will likely be yanking the Chevy 350 soon. I donated it to a friend who runs the ArtCar Museum here in return for some assistance with the Cummins/Allison installation. He's an old pro at swap outs and will be more than welcome to join the fun but I may have to stock my mini-fridge with something besides water.

Onward!

[GreyEagle]

I may have to stock my mini-fridge with something besides water.

Onward!


Sounds like a really good idea.........

[ol trunt]

Tango, that is a beautiful installation. Since it would take you onlt a short time to change out those screws I think I'd do it then you will have no worries. BTW, have you started a savings account to fill that tank with? Jack

[Tango]

Hey Trunt --- started off with 3/8ths then discovered they were too short so I plugged in what I had in the right length. Will have to pick up a longer set before I cover it all up.

And, at the rate I'm able to get things done, I'm not too worried about filling the tank. Hell... by the time I wrap this thing up, all the fossil fuel on the planet will likely have been used up anyway. And forget the "veggie" thing, too messy...anyone here have any experience with cold fusion? Or better yet...howza'bout some of that virtual plasma magnetohydrodynamics the TR-3B seems to be runnin' on? Yeah! Now we're talkin' HP and MPG!

[ol trunt]

Hey Tango, All that stuff sounds like what I need --and PLEASE send me some of that stuff you were smokin when those great ideas came to you! Just kidding Jack

[chev49]

i have been looking for fossils in my fuel but havent found any

[somewhereinusa]

In my case the fossil is behind the steering wheel.

[bus-bro]

[Tango]

Well Folks --- after a lot of digging & searching, I have given up on finding a used Allison six-speed. But since I'm still convinced it's the best option, I have decided to bite the bullet and order a brand new one from the factory. And, I gotta' tell ya...the folks at Stewart & Stevenson really know their stuff. The rep there spent a bunch of brain time doing more calculations than I can imagine to build one to the best specs we could assemble. He ran theoretical drag coefficients, various gear sets, wheel sizes, tire types, different rpm ranges and much more through their "iScaan" computer modeling system and came up with a custom built 2200MH with the right TPS to talk to my little two-wire Cummins. Best news yet is that even though it won't be cheap, it turns out my stock 5.43 rear end is a perfect match for the Allison double overdrive! It will put my "sweet-spot" smack-dab in sixth gear. The whole readout is 17 pages long and even indicates the transmission fluid temps under different loads. Pretty danged impressive. And since it will work with my existing rear end (which I never would have imagined) I won't have to spend big bucks replacing it. In reality, it will likely be a cheaper route than if I had bought and rebuilt another unit to these specs. Go figure.

It takes a month to build one but it will take me that long to get everything else lined up. Then I have to figure out how to bolt it all together and stuff it in. The Chevy 350 goes away this coming weekend so the measuring and tweaking can soon begin.

Onward!

[bansil]

[GreyEagle]

Impressive!!!!!!!! Now try to get the rest of it finished before ??? I move on....

[ol trunt]

Tango, way to go. You might as well have it the way you want it and that is a great transmission. Jack

[Tango]

Roger that Jack. I was very pleasantly surprised at the price. About what I would have put into an "unknown" and factory fresh is hard to beat.

[roach711]

Not often do you get exactly what you want at a good price. The planets really lined up for you there.

[Tango]

Hey Roach --- I am pretty pleased. Twern't cheap, but like Daddy used to say..."Son, only rarely do you actually get what you pay for, but...sooner or later...you just about always pay for what you get."