Chipping Away!

The more I looked at the steering column firewall seal, the less I liked it, so I decided to replace the fixed-seal with a bellows design. I found a universal CV seal that was designed to be cut to size and it fits perfectly! That’s one less compromise I’ll have to worry about changing later.

With the starter and steering column installed, I can finally start attaching sheet metal to make it look like I’m making some progress. Now I can research the best locations to mount all the engine compartment electronics.

With the battery going in the trunk, I’ll have space options, so I think I’ll try to use the inner fender  as much as possible. The alternator has been moved to that side of the engine, and since the starter and firewall connector are already there, most of the wire runs will be shorter than stock and should look neater.

It was time to order more parts, so I took care of that today. The ignition module, ballast resistor and coil should arrive from Rock Auto this week. The Standard brand sparkplug wires I bought last time didn’t fit very well, as the wire lengths were a compromise, so I took advantage of a close-out price and maybe a different manufacturer will fit better.

I ordered more AWG 18 wire in different colors to better match the truck circuitry colors, and I finally broke down and bought a crimp tool for the Delphi-Packard firewall connector contacts. FWIW, I ordered the wire about an hour ago, and I just received a notice that the order was shipped!

I decided not to attempt modifying the stock mechanical ’66 transmission kickdown linkage and ordered a Lokar cable, and then decided to go with a Lokar throttle cable as well. The more I work on custom parts, the more I appreciate the aftermarket for things like that. I miss the challenge of making things appear stock, but I’m wasting too much of the time I don’t have.

Cold, Icy, and Gloomy!

Nothing much to report, but thought I’d check in.

The spring rains began yesterday and we’re now nearing six inches. After temps in the seventies when I got up Monday morning, it’s been dropping steadily so that this morning it’s only 31F and ice is forming, which means I’ll be staying inside today. The forecast for the rest of the week is much the same, so car progress will remain slow. However, I did get one small job done before the cold rains arrived.

My short-term goal is to get the steering column installed so I can begin wiring the firewall connector. Since the column is from a mid-seventies D100 with an automatic shifter, the tube diameter is different than the stock ’56 part, so I had to make a new plate to seal the column where it passes through the firewall. The stock seal was for a column shifter and couldn’t be used, but I was able to salvage the one from the truck and attach it to the sheet metal mounting plate I made. Since the seal is not a bellows design, I’m a little concerned that minor body movements while driving might make the seal bind and create noise. If so, I’ll have to come up with a way for the plate seal to flex, but for now it’s good enough.

At least the pool house/studio/guest room was completed a couple of days before that part of the yard turned into a lake. It’s not fancy, but it seems well built and most importantly, my wife thinks it’s cute! Now she will have to let me know where she wants outlets and lights installed, so I can get an electrician out to hook up power. I’ll frame the tiny bathroom myself, and then get the plumber to do their next part.

The crew that assembled the building said they can lay the bathroom floor tile, insulate, and install drywall. Those are things I had planned to do myself, but with spring yard work coming on soon, I really don’t want to take on any more labor-intensive jobs than I already have on my list. The ten yard pile of hardwood mulch I had delivered last week looks intimidating enough without having to concern myself with construction projects.

As a side note...I was able to verify my whole-house generator is working fine. We lost power this afternoon, and twenty seconds later, the generator started by itself. An hour later power was restored and the generator shut down without even a flicker of the lights! The new setup with dual switches works much nicer than the old configuration that powered only a few critical circuits.

About Time for Some Good News

The engine is back in and the starter now clears by nearly a half-inch. The angle of the picture looks like it’s less, but it’s deceiving. I had a concern about the fit of the transmission dip stick, but by moving the motor mounts, the slight angle change actually gave more clearance for the tube.

I also removed the adapter from the mini-starter terminals, and it now has plenty of clearance  for wiring.

I’ve been waiting to fit-check the reworked steering column, and it positions the wheel in exactly the same position as the stock setup, so that’s one less worry.

I originally wanted to use the gray later model 15” wheel, but the size just doesn’t look right.

My other choice is the stock 17” black wheel that came on my ’73 D100. It’s in perfect condition and will be much easier to modify to look more like a period correct wheel. It’s the same 17” diameter as the ’56 wheel, which will make the manual steering easier to turn, as well as allow a better view of the speedometer.