Northstar T is taking shape
- Thread starter Northstar T
- Start date
Gerry
Well-Known Member
Funny I was thinking the same. Black body and the right color blue top would look very classy, even regal
Gerry
Ted Brown
Member
Here now fellas, the body is Green not Black, just looks Black out of the light and Sun... Russ I made another pic album in my myspace photos, called top bows new, it is the first album now, I have added a rear lower bow and 2 down braces that the top material will attach to (bottom bow), and not to the body, this will keep the body real clean when top is off the car... A center bottom tab I now think will be a very good idea also... Vellcrow would be a very easy way to attach the edges to the bows, I think you have the right idea already... 
Here now fellas, the body is Green not Black, just looks Black out of the light and Sun... Russ I made another pic album in my myspace photos, called top bows new, it is the first album now, I have added a rear lower bow and 2 down braces that the top material will attach to (bottom bow), and not to the body, this will keep the body real clean when top is off the car... A center bottom tab I now think will be a very good idea also... Vellcrow would be a very easy way to attach the edges to the bows, I think you have the right idea already...
Thanks Ted. that rear (lower) bow is an interesting idea. I assume you have previously used snaps to attach the cloth to the rear of the body? or did you use the little twist gizmos that go into a reinforced oblong hole in the cloth?
Cheers,
Russ
Ted Brown
Member
One eyed Jack did my top, he did it like a Carson top, He did a French roll to hide all the snaps to the body, Sorry to say that only lasted maybe 8 years, started to pull out of the inside Naug-a-hide (spelled wrong) material when taking the top off the car, after it was on for a few years straight... You could do the same thing and with the bottom bow, and NEVER have to take it lose...
Ted could you send me the pics of the bows?I can find them and when i click on leg shows picks a pop up comes up and says my computer is at risk of maleware on this site.One eyed Jack did my top, he did it like a Carson top, He did a French roll to hide all the snaps to the body, Sorry to say that only lasted maybe 8 years, started to pull out of the inside Naug-a-hide (spelled wrong) material when taking the top off the car, after it was on for a few years straight... You could do the same thing and with the bottom bow, and NEVER have to take it lose...
At the bottom of each of Teds posts is a link to his Myspace page. open it up, and on the left side of the page is a pic of his bucket and lady friend. at the bottom of that block is the link for his pics.
Russ
Well this day really sucked big time. up til now the longest trip in the bucket was about 2 miles. each time I drive it I seem to venture a little further away from home, so today it was a trip to my business in town and a couple short side trips. I noticed at each leg of my "trip" the temp guage was getting a bit higher and higher, so I cut the last leg short and headed for home (2 miles at that point). by the time I rolled up the drive the temp was at 240-245. not a damaging level for this motor, but higher than the 210-215 that you want to see it running at. I pulled out the thermostat and tested it, but it checked right on. lets see..... slowly climbing temps could be what else? timing? nope. lean mix? nope. blown/leaky head gasket?....... yup. The first generation Northstar is very prone to leaking head gaskets. the head bolts start weeping, then corode, then the threads fail, then the gasket can't hold the dike. I purchased a test kit several years ago, when I built my first Northstar. it tests for combustion gasses in the cooling system. todays test was positive. As I mentioned early on, this motor was a test mule for my ITB injection systems, so when I put it together I did install a full set of Norms (the best) head bolt thread inserts in the block. I did, however, cheep out on the gaskets themselves and used OEM /Felpro gaskets. those were about 60 bucks, but the "good" Cometic gaskets are 300 clams. penny wise and pound foolish in hindsite. today I ordered a set of the good Cometic gaskets.
I made my first venture to the DMV last week and set up an appointment for the state trooper to inspect the car and receive a VIN #. that appointment is for the 22nd of Nov. the inspection station is only 2 miles away, so I'm good there, but after that the heads will have to come off again for gasket replacement. I can do that with the motor in the car, but it's still a major PITA.
.
I need a vacation :foottap: ,
Russ
I made my first venture to the DMV last week and set up an appointment for the state trooper to inspect the car and receive a VIN #. that appointment is for the 22nd of Nov. the inspection station is only 2 miles away, so I'm good there, but after that the heads will have to come off again for gasket replacement. I can do that with the motor in the car, but it's still a major PITA.
.
I need a vacation :foottap: ,
Russ
I am in NO way a trained mechanic.. so you may know more about this than me but... make sure you have no air pockets in the cooling system.
Unfortunately I have WAY too much experience with that problem.. don't ask. It's painful.
Park the T on an extreme incline with the rad cap as high above the engine as possible.
Let her cool down with the cap off and keep topping up the rad.
Whenever I change coolant or to a fix to my 3VZ V6 Toyota it takes an hour for all the air bubbles to escape. Otherwise, it ain't pretty.
There is also a vacuum system that some shops have to do this "properly".
It's worth a shot before a tear-down.
Good luck. Beautiful build, by the way.
Joe
Unfortunately I have WAY too much experience with that problem.. don't ask. It's painful.
Park the T on an extreme incline with the rad cap as high above the engine as possible.
Let her cool down with the cap off and keep topping up the rad.
Whenever I change coolant or to a fix to my 3VZ V6 Toyota it takes an hour for all the air bubbles to escape. Otherwise, it ain't pretty.
There is also a vacuum system that some shops have to do this "properly".
It's worth a shot before a tear-down.
Good luck. Beautiful build, by the way.
Joe
Thanks Joe. The air pocket theory is actually a very good one in the case of the Northstar. it's a reverse flow engine, and does like to have a purge system plumbed into it to keep air pockets at bay. My Northstar Fiero is the absolute worst for that issue because of the long radiator hoses (mid engine you know). unfortunatly the test kit doesn't lie, and there are combustion gasses entering the cooling system in the case of the T. only one way to get gasses into the cooling system on this motor, and that's hd gaskets.
It's ironic that you mention the air pocket thing however, as today I'm fabricating a steel purge tank! I had installed a petcock on the Caddy purge outlet, thinking I could just open it up once in a wile to release any air buildup, but it ain't gona be that easy and really does need the tank system. what it is is a small tank that the heater hose system would circulate through, plus at the high point of the Caddy cooling system it has a port under slight pressure that plumbs into the upper side of the tank also. any air in the system is forced into the tank, which also contains the presure cap BTW, where it exits the system via the puke tank...... simple ehh???
film at eleven.
Russ
Ya.. gasses do indeed tell the tale. 
I did actually read you had a positive result but I had SUCH trouble with mine that I preach it to anyone who will listen
I had my engine tested for gasses with a proper diagnostic system but wasn't satisfied with the results (positive once and negative a few other times). I was lucky that it was just air.
I had one engine that I stupidly mixed up the bolts for the intake and had poor sealing. That caused some serious head scratching for a while.
Wow... sounds like that tank will be work of engineering art! Hopefully it works as planned. Post a pic somewhere once you get it done. I should consider something like that for mine but there isn't much room under the hood. Modern stuff... grrrr.
Joe
I did actually read you had a positive result but I had SUCH trouble with mine that I preach it to anyone who will listen
I had my engine tested for gasses with a proper diagnostic system but wasn't satisfied with the results (positive once and negative a few other times). I was lucky that it was just air.
I had one engine that I stupidly mixed up the bolts for the intake and had poor sealing. That caused some serious head scratching for a while.
Wow... sounds like that tank will be work of engineering art! Hopefully it works as planned. Post a pic somewhere once you get it done. I should consider something like that for mine but there isn't much room under the hood. Modern stuff... grrrr.
Joe
OK, here ya go.
I started by making a wood buck to form the basic tank over. As you can see, I don't have fancy tools, so "make do" is the name of the game in my garage.
once the basic shape was created, I formed a bit of a radius on the corners and welded in some ends and the hose barbs.
the welds were all ground down with a flap disk. then it was presure tested and any pin holes rewelded and reground. repeat as needed.
This is where it will mount, but I ran out of steam around 5:00 this evening. I'll still need to make some mounting tabs to attach it to the firewall, and make a couple minor changes to the plumbing hardware. one of the openings where a hose needs to attach currently has a temp sensor in it, for example. Of course I still need to find a radiator neck to weld in to the top of the tank also, as this will be where the main presure cap will now reside.... oh ya, and I'll need to move the puke tank back there somewhere also.... huummmm. running out of room.
Cheers,
Russ
I started by making a wood buck to form the basic tank over. As you can see, I don't have fancy tools, so "make do" is the name of the game in my garage.
once the basic shape was created, I formed a bit of a radius on the corners and welded in some ends and the hose barbs.
the welds were all ground down with a flap disk. then it was presure tested and any pin holes rewelded and reground. repeat as needed.
This is where it will mount, but I ran out of steam around 5:00 this evening. I'll still need to make some mounting tabs to attach it to the firewall, and make a couple minor changes to the plumbing hardware. one of the openings where a hose needs to attach currently has a temp sensor in it, for example. Of course I still need to find a radiator neck to weld in to the top of the tank also, as this will be where the main presure cap will now reside.... oh ya, and I'll need to move the puke tank back there somewhere also.... huummmm. running out of room.
Cheers,
Russ
uke:"As you can see, I don't have fancy tools, so "make do" is the name of the game in my garage."
And "make do" you accomplish very well!
Nice job.
I have the same type of tools.
What gauge of metal did you use (or did I miss that)?
I've been away from the garage for a while but hope to get back to it soon. Posts like that give me inspiration.
Thanks for posting...
Joe
And "make do" you accomplish very well!
Nice job.
I have the same type of tools.
What gauge of metal did you use (or did I miss that)?
I've been away from the garage for a while but hope to get back to it soon. Posts like that give me inspiration.
Thanks for posting...
Joe
Thanks again Joe. the tank is made from 18G steel, only because I had a 1/2 sheet laying around already from my Corvair Limo project (ya... I get bored and do strange things) . 18G is thicker than really needed, but then I'm not a great welder on thin material due to poor eyesight, so the 18 is easier for me to work with.
you had some knee issues.... correct? but now I'll bet the frozen North is taking a grip again also ehh?
Russ
you had some knee issues.... correct? but now I'll bet the frozen North is taking a grip again also ehh?
Russ
Russ,
Well.. it looks great to my "old" eyes.
Isn't 18g wonderful stuff?
Without trying to high-jack.... and since you brought it up...
Actually it's my back. The knees seem to be doing ok for now (shh).
I had back surgery a few years ago and it allowed to "live" again but I only have about 3 hours of physical work in me a day. Good thing I'm an instructor and not a laborer!
As for the frozen North, if you find a map and look to the right of Boston you will see Nova Scotia. So I'm East. Therefore my winters aren't as bad as those folks "Up North", thankfully.
We DO have snow but I've never owned skis, a snow-mobile, studded tires OR an igloo. We have had tourists come here in the summer with skis on the roof of their car while it was 75+ degrees. :wacko:
It was a balmy 60 F. and sunny today, after 4 days of serious rain (over 8 inches in a couple of days).
A state of emergency here. :run: Roads washed out. Bridges washed out. Dams breaking. Not good.
My biggest problem is my well (dug well) is pooched from all the water. I'm very lucky compared to many.
Anyway.. back on topic. :woops:
I hope your engine problems go away easily and inexpensively.
Joe
Well.. it looks great to my "old" eyes.
Isn't 18g wonderful stuff?
Without trying to high-jack.... and since you brought it up...
Actually it's my back. The knees seem to be doing ok for now (shh).
I had back surgery a few years ago and it allowed to "live" again but I only have about 3 hours of physical work in me a day. Good thing I'm an instructor and not a laborer!
As for the frozen North, if you find a map and look to the right of Boston you will see Nova Scotia. So I'm East. Therefore my winters aren't as bad as those folks "Up North", thankfully.
We DO have snow but I've never owned skis, a snow-mobile, studded tires OR an igloo.
We have had tourists come here in the summer with skis on the roof of their car while it was 75+ degrees. :wacko:It was a balmy 60 F. and sunny today, after 4 days of serious rain (over 8 inches in a couple of days).
A state of emergency here. :run: Roads washed out. Bridges washed out. Dams breaking. Not good.
My biggest problem is my well (dug well) is pooched from all the water. I'm very lucky compared to many.
Anyway.. back on topic. :woops:
I hope your engine problems go away easily and inexpensively.
Joe
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