Cheap T Project

Let's all just admit it . . . growing old is not for sissies! It makes me appreciate guys like Gene Winfield and Ed Iskendarian who keep hotrodding into their nineties.

 

I wrenched for 10 years as an Automotive Technician. Foam kneelers are a must! I'm only 30 and my knees can't take the kneeling on hard surfaces for longer than a few minutes. A good foam kneeler allows me to kneel for a good hour or so.

I didnt believe it for the longest time but I borrowed one off a coworker once. Definitely worth the money.

 

Foam Kneeling Pad (harborfreight.com)

 

Gene Winfield must attribute his long life to breathing bondo dust and lacquer fumes! Good for him!!

 

Robot or human?
$21.00 but then again walmart has everything. I like these since I can make it large or small and stack them away when I'm done.
Off to a car show today. One of the bigger ones in my area. July 31, 2022 - Fizz Ehrler Memorial Car Show - Discover Sycamore I'm going for inspiration

 

Great car show today. Heard there was around 1100 cars! Downside was there was only 1 bucket that I saw and we ended up bypassing a street and missed it. My fellow show goer didn't want to go back to see it. The challenger is a raffle car that will be given away in October.

 

I used that style a long time ago. Worked in schools and was kneeling on gym floors for hours at a time. The straps used to bind with my pants and strangle my legs, other than that they worked very well.

 

Agreed! Gene Winfield (95) and Don Garlits (92) are two of my car heros. I'm amazed that they both are still going as strong as they are. Lacquer, bondo, and Nitro Must be good for you! lol

 

Took some advise and got to the body work. Got it all sanded. Ready for the final coats of filler. Not sure what happened but the filler hardened within a few minutes. Twice! I'm guessing it's old bondo. Going to get new Monday and see how it works. Saturday was Extremely hot and humid but even after a day the filler still hadn't hardened more than being somewhat pliable. Luckily I scraped it off the body when I noticed it didn't seem right.
My transmission woes seem to be for nought. I took the particles to a shop and they said it was normal. External cleanup of trans tomorrow. Thinking of painting it the same color as the engine.
I have a early 46 to 54 chevy? axle/ spindle setup. I've never seen ball bearings on an axle spindle, only roller bearings. Wondering if this would be safe to continue with or swap out to something with roller bearings. I have disc brakes for the rear. Would it be ok to just go with just rear brakes? Safety regs? Safety in general? Anyone have thoughts on Modifying the current setup to roller bearings and disc brakes for fronts? I've seen some mods that way but after calling Pete and Jakes and Speedway, I'm not sure it can be done. Lastly, does anyone know of a product similar to POR-15 for rust encapsulation that doesn't solidify in the can after minimal usage? I bought a quart and used some. The rest hardened in the can and was unusable after a few weeks.

 

Definitely consider front brakes. Not too hard to set up with the Speedway kit and others. New spindles (Speedway?) with roller bearings sound like a good way to go, and Eastwood makes a product similar to POR-15.

Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Plus Paint Quart

 

I've read that the eastwood and POR-15 are comparable. My real issue is the pot life. Once opened if you don't use all of it the leftover is going to go bad in a hurry.
I've read about adapter kits for early chevy spindles. They're supposed to provide an area for the wheel seal to ride and they uses small rotors like camero or vega or something. I didn't want to have to change out the spindles unless it was no longer an option. Plus, my current spindles are Chromed! I have the front drum brakes but my fear is the ball bearings. Seems a bit old school and possibly/probably unsafe at todays highway speeds.

 

Pulled my mock up block and trans out tonight. Cleaned up the trans case and am going to paint it the same color as the block, burnt copper metallic.
Was doing some body work over the weekend, apparently my bondo went bad. It doesn't completely harden. Anyone have experience with the lightweight easy sand fillers? I don't have much left other than a few skim coats and some glazing. I'm looking at 3m and USC fillers. I used evercoat fiberglass filler for other areas on this project. Just looking for someones ideas who have more experience!

 

Try refrigerating the unused portion. It slows epoxy way down and extends shelf life... might work with the por.

 

How old is the Bondo? I’ve had Bondo that I’ve had for a couple of years and it seemed to work fine.

 

It’s probably 3 years old and it’s almost gone. About a bit less than a quart. It was a gallon can. It worked okay in the late winter early spring but now it’s most likely done for. With what I have left to do my nephew recommended using 3M platinum plus. Said it cost more than the others and the easy sanding is probably why it’s more. Also said it does a great job with finishing work.

 

Better filler is a good idea for the finishing stage. The labor savings in addition to results are worth it.

 

Agreed, I'd rather not spends hours sanding and still get mediocre results. It would be money well spent since I could be doing other projects with the time saved.

 

Asking for anyones thoughts / ideas on trying to make a windshield frame with posts as seen in the picture. I realize the cowls are much different so the look might change a bit. I like the shorter windshields like maybe 14-16 inches tall. I would make the posts go all the way down and use the floor as an anchor point. Also thought about making fiberglass faux stanchions to retain the original look.