Northstar T is taking shape

[Gerry]

It's been a wile since I've posted, but work has been slowly going on with the T. The wife is out of town for most of the weekend, so more than usual should be accomplished this weekend in fact :hooray: . I set up a piece of plywood to simulate a portion of the floor, along with it's wire exit opening etc., to make it easier to lay out where everything was going to fit the best. the body is back on now, and all the wiring except for the under dash stuff is now done, but the wife took my camera with her, so this is the latest pic I have however.

I had a very vivid mental image of what I wanted in the way of tail lights, but for the past several weeks I was unable to actually make them materialize. slowly but surely I've gathered all the bits needed to accomplish my goal however, and I'm pretty stoked about getting that behind me and moving on. what I envisioned was a look similar to the late 60's GTO tail lights. for the lens I found a set of new 70s GM side marrker lights that were just the right size for my T tail light application, but of course they were set up with a very small single element bulb which was totally unsuitable for tail/turn/brake lights. I did, however, have a set of old trailer lights that were willing to give there all to the cause. by cutting the mid section out of the trailer light lense and cutting out most of the back of the marker lights, I was able to graft the two together to come up with a very workable set of light assemblies that have just the look I was after. I'll cut openings in each side of the tailgate to allow only the lens portion to show through, and become flush with the tailgate surface. wala!

moving...... forward....... slowly,

Russ

Hi Russ
good to see more pics. I think its too late and you know what you want, but how about this.
Maplins (I think the US equivalent is Radio Shack) do LEDS with a power limited that takes between 3 and 30 volts input. Its about the size of your small finger nail and come complete with the LED attached. You could make up ANY shape of light you want with any number of these. Its the way Im going on mine.
Only problem is they are not cheap if you need 30 of them Also you can get standard and ultra bright red LEDs so tail and brake light are easy
Just a thought for the future. Just imagine your tail lights in the shape of a 23T Bucket shinin in the night
Gerry

 

[Northstar T]

Ya... I guess there are other ways I could have done it.... but why mess with perfection. :hooray:

Russ

 

[VegasBruce]

Nice :hooray:

 

[Gerry]

Ya... I guess there are other ways I could have done it.... but why mess with perfection.

Russ

Looks great. It was only an idea for future reference.

 

[HAceT]

:thumb: That is Bad A$$......Great Job

 

[Northstar T]

The tank sprouted a filler last night!
I picked up a nice used filler neck and cap assy off flee-bay for $9.99. it was listed for a 98 Jeep as I recall. I think it will work well for me, as I retained the spring loaded flapper door, down in the neck, which should help with any slosh problem with the short neck and vented cap.

Cheerio,
Russ

 

[Northstar T]

Awwww. it always feels good when a weekend has been productive. This weekend began on Friday by finishing up some wiring chores and testing. I figure it's a lot easier to get that right before the body goes on for the last time. I also tagged each wire at it's end, because it's sometimes hard to tell exactly where it's going with the body on, and I do tend to forget .

Saturday I picked up a piece of cheery wood and made a dash panel. I like the look of a wood dash anyway, but it was also beneficial to move the gages out further due to the limited space behind the dash. I have the holes drilled, but LEDs not installed yet in the pic. those will be hi beam and turn indicators. the hole to the lower right of the speedo is for a momentary switch that controls various functions of the odometer as well as helps program the speed function for my tire size and gear ratio. The gauges are Omega brand. I like the look, and they were a little less expensive than most (but not much).

Today (Sunday) I worked on finishing up the cable operated clutch linkage, did some under dash bracing for the pedal assy, and built a cover for the front of the pedal bracket. also bent up some more of the brake lines, but now I need some more fittings, and front brake hoses, to finish up that task. I did have to modify my clutch belcrank for a better mechanical advantage, as the strain on the firewall and cable was evident when operating the pedal. I also shortened the brake pedal to MC rod a tad for proper pedal height. lots of little things that seem to take so long.

All in all a pretty dang good weekend.



Russ

 

[putz]

Really nice looking work. I still say who ever designed the water pump on the northstar should be slapped.

 

[Northstar T]

Really nice looking work. I still say who ever designed the water pump on the northstar should be slapped.:suicide:

Thanks Putz.
It's true. the Northstars are different in many regards for sure. of course you have to keep in mind that this motor was originally designed to be an East/West mounted engine, and front wheel drive, car. I have managed to correct most of the engineers screw-ups on this one however .

Cheers,
Russ

 

[putz]

Thanks Putz.
It's true. the Northstars are different in many regards for sure. of course you have to keep in mind that this motor was originally designed to be an East/West mounted engine, and front wheel drive, car. I have managed to correct most of the engineers screw-ups on this one however .

Cheers,
Russ

Not to rip on your engine they are really responsive and smooth running .Just don't think you should need a special tool to change a pump.

 

[Northstar T]

Not to rip on your engine they are really responsive and smooth running .Just don't think you should need a special tool to change a pump.

Oh that!

Russ

 

[Gerry]

Awwww. it always feels good when a weekend has been productive. This weekend began on Friday by finishing up some wiring chores and testing. I figure it's a lot easier to get that right before the body goes on for the last time. I also tagged each wire at it's end, because it's sometimes hard to tell exactly where it's going with the body on, and I do tend to forget .

Saturday I picked up a piece of cheery wood and made a dash panel. I like the look of a wood dash anyway, but it was also beneficial to move the gages out further due to the limited space behind the dash. I have the holes drilled, but LEDs not installed yet in the pic. those will be hi beam and turn indicators. the hole to the lower right of the speedo is for a momentary switch that controls various functions of the odometer as well as helps program the speed function for my tire size and gear ratio. The gauges are Omega brand. I like the look, and they were a little less expensive than most (but not much).

Today (Sunday) I worked on finishing up the cable operated clutch linkage, did some under dash bracing for the pedal assy, and built a cover for the front of the pedal bracket. also bent up some more of the brake lines, but now I need some more fittings, and front brake hoses, to finish up that task. I did have to modify my clutch belcrank for a better mechanical advantage, as the strain on the firewall and cable was evident when operating the pedal. I also shortened the brake pedal to MC rod a tad for proper pedal height. lots of little things that seem to take so long.

All in all a pretty dang good weekend.



Russ

Just a question.
With the brake pipe running so close to the water pipe do you think there may be a problem with brake fluid temperature, or is it further away than it looks
Gerry

 

[Northstar T]

Just a question.
With the brake pipe running so close to the water pipe do you think there may be a problem with brake fluid temperature, or is it further away than it looks
Gerry

[shrug] It's about an inch or so away. looks ok to me.

Russ

PS:
UPS just pulled away and dropped off a new metalflake green 11" stearing wheel. COOL dude!!

 

[one finger john]

[shrug] It's about an inch or so away. looks ok to me.

Russ

PS:
UPS just pulled away and dropped off a new metalflake green 11" stearing wheel. COOL dude!!

Russ, you are a simple man with simple pleasures.

John

 

[Northstar T]

Russ, you are a simple man with simple pleasures.

John

You are correct sir.


Russ

 

[Ted Brown]

Takes a lot more than a simple man to get that engine together and working as Russ has done, JMHO :winkn:

 

[one finger john]

Takes a lot more than a simple man to get that engine together and working as Russ has done, JMHO :winkn:

Of course you are right about Russ' accomplishments. I think that these little cars can reflect their builders attitudes and way of thinking. To look at some of your designs and contributions would impress anyone with mechanical knowledge. The beauty in such simplicity and function and the thought behind it (you really should publish your work). Another would be George Barnes. Again, form follows function. Elegance in design, yet sooo painfully simple. So visually right.
Then you have simplicity in a complex form. The ability to look at a complex system, reduce it to a comprehensible set of lesser components, and then reassemble it, mold it to your purpose, is simplicity at its purest.

Russ' enthusiasm, should I say pleasure? about receiving a metalflake green steering wheel shows his simplicity. Long may he have that ability, that enthusiasm. Long may we all have that gift.

John

 

[Northstar T]

Concidering that I only had one day available to work on the T this weekend I really got a lot done.

front brake lines and hoses compleated - check

adjustable proportioning valve installed - check

front turn signals installed - check

headlight stands machined and drilled - check

cooling fan wired in - check

stearing column drop fabricated and installed - check

lower stearing column support fabricated and installed - check

throttle pedal modified and installed - check

throttle cable fabricated and installed - check

as rare as it is, every project went without a hitch. it was a 12 hour day in the shop, but still

 

[Ted Brown]

Looks like you are gaining on Her.... Should be riding and in style soon...

 

[putz]

Nice progress I like the steering wheel classic.