Hot and Cold

Taxes and household chores still rule my time, so no progress on the car. I did receive some electrical parts, so there will be much to do when I get time. Tried to get pictures, but my camera was acting up again.

Yesterday I was sweating while doing yard work in 84F summer-like weather, but this morning I awoke to 40 mph northwest winds and the thermometer stuck right at the 32F mark! There was even a sleet shower or two, so I was convinced I wasn't misreading the thermometer. Sure glad I didn't set out tomato plants last week like I intended!

I recall only one time in my life when there was a bigger temperature swing in one day, and that was one November in North Dakota when a mid-seventy degree day was followed by a blizzard that night, and below-zero temperatures the next morning.

Tax records will be ready for the preparer early next week, so I may have some time to get back to the Plymouth wiring after that.

1955 Plymouth Savoy Alloway's Hot Rod Shop

Wish I could afford the Hemi and the paint job on this one!

1956 Plymouth Belvedere Convertible Great 8 Detroit Autorama

When I begin to lose enthusiasm I take another look at this beauty to see how beautiful a modernized '56 Plymouth can be!

Income Tax preparations and spring yard work have priority for now, but I managed to find a couple of hours to continue engine bay wiring. 

I finished the alternator/AC mounting bracket and got those parts relocated. They fit fine with both parts on the passenger side of the engine, but the driver's side sure looks bare without a battery or power steering pump! Plenty of room for a relay/fuse block.

I wrote a nasty review of the electronic ignition cable assembly I got from Summit Racing. They posted it on their website without question and then asked me if I wanted to return it, or refund my  PayPal account. Before I answered, they sent a refund and didn't even ask me to ship the bad part back to them. 

Maintaining great customer service must be a pain with all the Chinese car parts these days.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable Easter.

Good News...Bad News

The good versus bad news comment always makes me think about the joke I heard maybe thirty years ago.

The guy who whips the crew that rows the old Roman galley announces to the crew that there is good news and bad news. The good news is that they will all be getting double rations. The crew cheers wildly! Then the bad news..."the skipper wants to water ski this afternoon!"

My good news is that the Champion radiator arrived today and it was a nearly perfect fit. Three of the four mounting holes fit were in the exact location needed, and only one hole will have to be drilled in the radiator bracket about a half-inch lower.

The bad news is that there is not enough clearance to install a clutch fan. I can't see bolting my 6-blade fan to the water pump as it would take a lot of horsepower to run constantly. This car isn't going to be raced or hot-rodded, but I know I would worry about that big fan dragging down power and would ultimately decide to replace it with an electric fan. If I do it now, I'll have all kind of room to work, so it makes sense to do it now. I will also upgrade the charging system so the electric fan doesn't overload the circuit.

I decided to move the alternator to the same side as the AC compressor, and have been designing and fabricating the new mounting brackets. This time I used heavier material so they won't have to be re-done. I might have pictures tomorrow, if the paint dries and I get time to install them.

Engine Bay Wiring

I'm getting a little deeper into the under-hood wiring and like everything else, unexpected issues bog down progress.

After laying out the ignition component locations, the next step was deciding where to mount the fuse and relay block, so I decided that it would be advisable to verify the configuration of undecided parts, like the radiator. There wasn't a radiator in either project car to use as a guide, and I haven't given much consideration to cooling...like if I should go with a stock clutch fan or an electric fan. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but since an electric fan needs 12 volts to operate, and I'm totally rewiring the car, it makes a difference where I place the wiring and power source.

I expected that I would need a radiator shaped somewhat like the stock version, but the first and most obvious differences were the hose connection points on the original configuration and the later 1966, 318 engine. The '66 lower hose connects on the driver's side, while the '56 version is on the passenger side. Naturally, that means the top connection is also on the opposite side, so a custom radiator looks mandatory.

Champion lists a '55-'56 stock configuration, but according to their price list, having the manufacturer move the outlets and petcock more than doubles the price of the stock configuration, and that places it in a similar price range as a full custom design.

Going with Champion does give me a substantially reduced price on a Spal electric fan, so I'll do some more pricing before I decide. Unfortunately, choosing the electric fan would mean a heavy load on the stock 60 amp alternator, which may mean an upgrade there.

I'm also reconsidering my original decision to swap sides for the AC and alternator mounts. Most of the brackets I made to test mounting locations and methods were intended to be temporary and would have to be re-made from heavier material when the car gets is ready for the road. The radiator configuration I choose could affect how I decide to mount them, so in the meantime wiring in the engine bay goes on hold.

J.S.Bach and Friend

One of my favorite online people to visit is the mostly Cajun blogger at: http://mostlycajun.com/wordpress/
He posted this video today and admitted he stole it from yet another blog, but after watching and listening, I fully concur with his reasoning. Even if classical music isn't your thing, I can't imagine anyone not enjoying the young lady doing the strumming.

Underhood Wiring

Finally got a start installing underhood wiring. I had been waiting for the new ECU connector and harness I ordered from Summit. It arrived Tuesday, but I spent much of the day trying to get the connector to fit the box. The grommet was so deformed it wouldn't insert to full depth, so I had to use a needle-nose plier to re-shape it to fit. For the price, it really was a thirty dollar piece of junk, but my old harness wires were cracking and the terminals were corroded, so I had to replace it. I might end up finding an OEM part and replace it again.

I decided to use the firewall to mount most of the hardware so I can use shorter wires. I'll probably mount the voltage regulator near the alternator and the fuse box on the inner fender. No pictures yet, as I'll wait until I can show more progress.

The last two days were spent framing the bathroom in my wife's studio/pool house/ greenhouse, and replacing the fence that had to be removed for the builder, so fun work has again been placed on the back burner.

My wife is spending a few days visiting a friend next week, so I'm going to ignore her honey-do list and spend at least a couple of days on the car.

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.