October 16, 2024 4:56 am

Author Topic: MissTress makeover  (Read 28376 times)

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Offline sko_ford

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #15 on: December 20, 2012 2:45 pm »
Looking good sir
WANTED: Mel Tillis valve covers

Offline sixinarow

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #16 on: December 20, 2012 6:35 pm »
I'm enjoying the progress, thanks for the update.
"If you can't fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical problem."

"Such a fine line between clever and stupid."

Offline Wowcars

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #17 on: December 30, 2012 10:34 pm »
So yesterday, I went back out after the holiday break and decided to tackle my rotted floors since my air suspension parts haven't shown up yet...


I'm sure most of you didn't know how bad the floors were in the Stude after all these years, but it has been bothering me since I bought it. I had also built a shoddy driveshaft tunnel years ago that I never liked. It all had to come out.


Before:




And after some time with the plasma






After several hours with careful cutting, I was tired enough and inhaled enough plasma fumes to call it a day. I'm going to make some patterns for the new front floors before I cut any more out.

Offline Kustom Dallas

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #18 on: December 31, 2012 2:47 am »
Ah, nothing like the smell of old sheetmetal, undercoating and whatever else has accumulated when you're cutting it. Floor it.
"You own a car nobody wants." Serious
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Offline Serious

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #19 on: December 31, 2012 12:23 pm »
Wow...   looks like fun!

Offline tokyo

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #20 on: January 03, 2013 4:25 am »
If you needed those brackets, i had an extra set from when i did mine on the merc, however, yours look like they worked out just fine! looking great bolo
I once had a really big deck.

Offline Wowcars

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #21 on: January 15, 2013 2:20 pm »
Since I didn't go to Bismarck, I spent as much time (and money) as I could on the car this weekend. At work, I got two 4x8 foot sheets of cold rolled 18ga steel. Our sheet metal guy helped me form the front floor boards from the patterns I made. It is nice to have access to a nice sheet metal shop! Saturday morning I went out with the new floors and dropped the passenger into place and fit REALLY nicely. The 1" flange towards the middle is where I will spot weld the trans tunnel.





After ensuring it was going to work, Lucky and I laid down some beads in the panel for strength and drilled for the seat mount. We then found that it needed a step to mate up with the rocker nicely. So we swapped dies on the bead roller and ran that. Test fit it a couple of more times and found everything I needed to clean up for welding it. I then drilled some 1/8" holes and used my new clecos (thanks Dad) to hold it into place. Then, one by one, opened those holes to a 3/8" hole in the floor only and plug welded the floor to the bracing underneath, firewall, rockers and cowl.
It was going so well until Lucky informed me that I still had a crossmember to cut out and a new one to fabricate under the floors. So after calling him some colorful names and cursing to myself, we got the old cross member out and figured out the steel I would need for the new ones. But because of that, the drivers side floor will have to wait a little bit.


I thought I took more pics, but evidently not. Here is with the beads laid down but before welding it in.



Offline Eyeball

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #22 on: January 15, 2013 2:58 pm »
Looks like they fit great.
soaken wet shoes and winkled fingers...
hours and hours
inch at a time...

henryj1951 HAMB

Offline Fordman1

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2013 11:25 pm »
I have a truck arm set from a '65 Chevy so the tech on how to make them mount to a different axle is a great help!  If it is driving now, how does it work?

Offline Wowcars

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #24 on: January 27, 2013 4:24 pm »
Fordman, its still up on the hoist. Yesterday I got back out there and finally located the front trailing arms mounts on the new crossmember. After many hours of trying to mock up routes for exhaust, I finally said to hell with it and will run it under the rockers. Just as I was tacking in the last of the control arm mounts, we ran out of Argon, so I'll have to wait til we get more welding gas.

Offline Fordman1

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #25 on: January 28, 2013 5:00 pm »
That is the general consensus of the downfall of this suspension, it kills the exhaust routing!

Offline Wowcars

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #26 on: January 28, 2013 7:14 pm »
It would be just fine if I wasn't running bags. I could route it closer to coil springs than the bags, just don't want to get heat near them.

Offline Wowcars

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #27 on: February 14, 2013 2:27 pm »
Well, Tuesday night I went out and finished up the new transmission mount. I had found that my old one set the tailshaft angle way off. Now with the original floor gone, I was able to push the tailshaft up to be about 2.5 degrees. After finally getting that situated, I started to set my pinion angle. After centering the rear axle and getting everything set and ensuring everything would clear, I realized I needed to finish my forward control arm mounts. So I finish welded those up and let it cool. I left then and I'll be able to go and weld that mount into the frame maybe tomorrow night. Then set my pinion for the final time and weld the brackets to the axle tubes. My air bag mounts should be here Monday and I can start mocking up the bags and upper mounts.

Offline AntiBling

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #28 on: February 14, 2013 5:24 pm »
If I would've known you needed air bag mounts I could've brought you some to the christmas party.

Offline Wowcars

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Re: MissTress makeover
« Reply #29 on: February 14, 2013 6:48 pm »
Of course. Not a problem, tho because I actually needed the lower mounts to raise the bag 1" over the control arm. I'll show you why when I got to deal with it. I still may need upper mounts if you have them. What do you want for them?
« Last Edit: February 14, 2013 6:59 pm by Wowcars »