End-of-May-wrap-up..150 days to finish the roadster!

Thought you may not know this....if you use a 9" with aussie Borg Warner brakes that were on XY thru XB Falcon, they used a flat drum with a spacer ring on the axle and the housing to get correct alignment......that is unless it was a commercial (ute/van) or GTHO, where they had wider finned brakes, and didn't use the spacers. You can also use these later 70s B/W brakes on a compact or early Mustang diff to narrow it by 3/8" inch, as compacts had stepped out drums.....you have to have a machine shop move the bearing location by that 3/8s, as well as taking same amount off the spline to allow the axle to go in further..but not forgetting that most (' we use are USA versions, and they had lots more brake combos...it would take this whole blog to explain the different ones I have used.

It's popular to use EA Falcon axles now, as they are easy to find and respline easily, but watch if you convert them from disc to use your xy/xa or compact brakes, because where the oil seal runs is right on a tapered part of the axle...I cured my leak by taking the seal apart, shortening the steel coil, and refitting by letting the axle "push" the seal to the exact depth needed as it bolts up...hence, leak free for years now...which is better than my own waterworks...haha.

Last weeks progress....time goes quick when you have to chase threads, find the bolts etc., but the motor/box is in now and well on the way...Glenn has the body just about ready to paint as well.

Few random pics from Sundays Capalaba swap...don't know who owns this?

Cop a look at this one....never seen this before.

And I don't remember ever seeing this 32...who owns this?....

John Parker turned out in John Andersons vintage highboy...I have a couple of pics to blog with some more old race rods from the 60s, this one included..

I even managed to sell the 30 model , gone to a new home locally.

Good to see Les Winter has the body back on the new frame...hurry up!..we want to see it finished!

mid week ramblings...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysC_xl4LjQw

 I was given a copy of the old black and whites that Brier Thomas took at Surfers...I will come up with some gems, like this one of Ricky Stapleton and the 409 powered T

 I have also decided to change back to a Dellow bellhousing rather than the scattershield...the shield needed a block plate and longer dowels, but with the other on hand, easier just to change.

 The ladder bars took a bit of fine tuning, getting the measurements correct for the final time, hope I did it correctly, as it's a hard piece to deal with....squared/pinion angle etc.

 How about this vintage pic....that's the 70s for you...Tommy Fulton...me in the orange gear..w.t.f....Kenny Brown.., John Cowling

 Anita & I at a 70s rodrun...remember those floppy hats we all had then?

 My first taste of drag racing back in 1967....we built this beast in 18 days to run the Winternats, or sum'n like that...272...3speed..mainline diff....wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding! 

Hope I don't regret this in the roadster...3.9, 31 spline, L.S.D....vroom vroom!

here's some sunday fun!!..click here to open more.

http://vimeo.com/65948388
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owvxPNNUQkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xQXR4wEsIg

The last two really crack me up....I will load more for your viewing pleasure!!
I am experimenting with finding some videos to watch...we'll see how successful they are once I figure out how to make them user friendly for you...so just click on the highlighted area and view....had another good, but initially cold, coffee morning today.

 Don't bring the hot rod...bring some tin....This 38 coupe was available , and had a crowd around it all morning...$16,000 and it can be yours!

 The food here was pretty darn good, likewise the coffee, and plenty of parking, so it will be one to return back too later in the year.

 About 25 cars from memory, not as big as usual, but Fine Iron had their car show/swap meet on as well....plus today was a bit cool to start with the wind factor...

 Good mix of cars, from hotrods to 50s and 60s muscle....great to see all the newcomers.

Next run will probably be back over towards Redland Bay area....16th of June, weekend after Cooly Rocks/Willowbank Winternationals....probably start a little later in these winter months.

paint choices and other stuff!!

 As you can see, I have turned the corner as the frame has paint!....this time next week, I should be assembling the frame etc, but the body has yet to be started on...I did have fun choosing the colour, and as an example, I have shown some of my "might di it this"..I found them all by typing the car or name or make etc. into google search, then clicked images....really helps when trying to find something different, and my final choice came off a 1950s Russian Zil army truck....(with a bit of red added)..

Now to try to remember....this is Buckskin Brown from memory...I found lots of good colours not only on US and Aussie cars, but English Fords, Hillmans, Austins, old motorbikes, European cars...and trucks, look at some of Fords F series paints. Or just go for a custom mix like Cupageno.

This is 1940 Ford Cloudmist Grey....I also like the Folkstone Grey.

This is Dark Rose beige maybe...also try , Morocco Beige, Desert Sand, Tunis Grey, Cordoba Grey, Brewster Green, Old Chester Grey...all from the 30s.

www.oldholden.com have all the codes for all models, this is Durham Beige, but look also at Seacombe Green, Burnley Cream, Mission Grey.

EK Holden Garrison Grey.....try all the old Holdens from FX to HK...some great choices.

1932 Ford Emporer Brown, also look at the Winterleaf Brown.

Think this is 1967/68/69 era GM colour called Sandalwood Tan.

FB Holden Sandstone Beige.....just click on a car model and hit images..lots of ideas!!

another wet day in May.....

As you can see, Glenn has started painting the Baslac Paint....I like the colour!....on one website, it lists it as "purple red"....and you can see why..here it looks sort of maroon..

 But here, in the shed with the flash..it's more red?.....can't wait to get it assembled and out in the sun.....probably start frame/drivetrain assembling later this month

 Told you I can't decide on wheels...two sets of Halibrands, two sets of Americans, and various steelies, spare new and used tyres, I'm set for the next 20 years!

 Glenn doing an expert job in paint prep.....I give him grief, I put way too much bondo in , then he has to rub it all off...but i'm getting better, mix a little at a time..haha.

 Thought I would show the grinding needed on a Ford Toploader to fit a CJ5 jeep top shift assy., needs to be cut out half way to the outside to fit the fork......(below)

 Here you can get an idea of how big the selector fork is, and the amount needed to remove, you can see the cutout outline on the gasket imprint.

 Col doing his bit...he has rebuild hundreds of Four Speeds in his life....but now remarks that the boxes seem to be heavier than he remembers..haha, we all suffer from that in out advancing years.

For those that think old tin is not around, look at this beauty the turned up on www.pewsplace.com . This website is a good read, so click on it as Lynn posts about 2 or 3 times a week on all sorts of rodding subjects....

some pics from the hot rod show.....

 Took my little 2" x 3" Casio 1.2 megapixel camera to the show.....ten years old and still can take good shots....love the detail here...love the hemi!!

 Car numbers were small, but quality was there...this pickup built by Andys was purty..

 Wouldn't want to drive on a dirt road with those dump pipes though!

 Petes coupe was looking good as usual, the detail on the underside was as nice as the top...loved the colour.......I almost painted the roadster bright yellow.

 Wheel combos these days are amazing, and it still astounds me the time some people spend on cars .....no recession in this hobby....makes me wish I still had a speed shop.

 I needed about 6 pics to show where all the plumbing went here.....terrific!

 more flash wheels...black 33/34 coupes are always popular...

 I've always liked early F 100s, and this is flawless......I hear there is a steel 32 coupe at home ...can't wait to see it finished.

 Look at the detail.....like I said, the show was small, but it's a make or break year, so lets hope we see it back bigger next year...Thanks Bob Briggs and all your helpers.

Unusual firewall treatment.....louvres always look cool....
.I see on Facebook that the competing event, Garterbelts and Gasoline at Tamborine was a huge success as well, so great that our hobby is big enough these days to have "clashed events".......................Doesn't Jon Bridges coupe look great...love it!!