Fathers Day blog....just a bit of everything..

 My quest to re-fill my library of old aussie hot rod books is coming along nicely, thanks to some donations, and some purchases......this is a good one I got recently, No 1 issue of AHRR with mark Georgettes Chev powered A on the cover..

 Only have two Rodding Worlds..hope to find more...hard to get!

 This is the six earliest of Aus Hot Rod.....I now have about 30 more here, and I just acquired another stack that I will get next month....keep em coming!

 Darrens' coupe today! For those not on facebook, Darren pushed the coupe out today for some quick "encouragement" pics....only three weeks to go before it has to drive to Valla!

Henry sure had the styling right when he went from T to A.....28/29..one of henrys best ever models, in my opinion...

I have five sets of wheels....soneed to get rid of some probably....if anyone needs a set of Tork Thrusts, I will sell these, the rears are new 15 x 7 , fronts are 15 x 6...front tyres are new 165s, rears are 225s from memory....I need $1200 to move these along..

Also, will sell my new 15 x 7 and 15 x 5 Mclean steelies, new powdercoating, new 225 and 165 Nankangs, new 41 Ford caps..dual pattern 4 1/2" Ford, 4 3/4" GM.....never driven on the road yet...$1200 for all

For your eyes only, Queenslanders..

I thought I might be able to explain the rear wheel rule needed for street rod rego here in QLD., but I think I might just "muddy" the water here, as it is a fairly complicated deal, and best resolved by your local TAC rep before you waste time and money trying to get the look right...(Like Darrens Big offset wheels shown above!...he has floater hubs fitted, even though they are only 8" rims, the offset backspace dictates floaters.)

QLD Transport only allow the TAC to utilize the 25mm per side wider track rule anyway, bu this gets messed up by what sort of rear end, i.e. donor vehicle you start with......so pictured above is, say, a brand new 56" wide Currie style copy of a 9".....however, as it is all new everything, it's classed as "not a Ford", so the track width is its flange to flange width..(56").....but if it was a genuine Ford 8" or 9",  or a variety of their Borg Warners, the track width is narrower by up to 6mm per side, as the standard Ford wheels had an offset inwards.....even worse if you started with a Commodore diff, as they had 38mm offset to the inside to start off with....in reality, it's all to do with the load the manufacturer deems that the wheel bearing will accept.

Then, just to confuse the issue, I used EA Falcon axles, as they are cheap, easy to respline to any length, but I also machined the bearing area to accept Ford 9" bearings, rather than EA bearings....so now, it is deemed to be a 9" axle, and not an EA/AU axle.

Now, throw into this mix, is the back spacing/vs rim width...just about every good looking USA type wheel that we love on hotrods doesn't fit the rear spacing requirenents, especially alloys with the thick centre...steelies would come closer as their centres might be just 3/16" think instead of the 1" or more alloy centres.

Out of sequence, but a brand ne w Quickchange that comes complete with brakes is said to have a track width of whatever the flange to flange measures( like the Currie)

Factory wheels/bearings/donor vehicle determines how the measurements work. Problems usually arise when you use a rim greater than 7" wide, below this, you're pretty safe, but with LH9 and 10 now allowing up to 10" rims, you need to do your homework, as most common US style rims may not work...and don't be fooled by what you used to run, or what the yanks run....it's dictated by Queensland Transport, and they (and the TAC) have the last say...no exceptions, unless we talk about floating hubs.....then, a different group of rules will apply!

 Typical AU Falcon , even when narrowed, will need a different wheel than what you could run on these factory 9" axles pictured below. The key point here is really the different style of bearing, like this factory tapered AU type.......(this is the style I modified, by removing the retainer, seal and bearing, and machining the offset and diameter so the 9" type (pictured below) would fit.

 The simple but costly solution is to fit floater hubs like Darren did, then you can run a much wider scope of wheel,...and with LH9 and 10 now only allowing max widths of 10" rims, you will need floaters for something bigger, like this 12" US Indy pictured........but take a tip from me....work out what you THINK you want to run, and get it verified by the TAC first!

square steel tubes bending | CMM laser

Broca para furo quadrado.wmv

tube bending

Your Sunday nights viewing pleasure....some old B&Ws...

 Not much to report lately...so that's why you've got the old movies....I am just waiting on the carpet to go in next week....then the seat.

 The timber work has stalled...I've been laid up on and off with a cough/cold/sore throat, so not much to report..

 After the "first drive", I realized I had a clutch problem with using the Ford style 7/8"master and Holden 1 1/16" slave, so will have to change that out.

I originally had this 3/4" bore Ford slave mounted on the scattershield I was going to use, but have no made an adapter to mount it on the alloy bellhousing...fingers crossed, this should give me the travel I need..(I just pre-loaded the throwout last week,with the adjustable push rod, it gave me enough clearance to let the clutch work, but the throwout bearing would have been worn out in a week!)

THE CAR THAT ATE MY BRAIN!

1952 More Hot-Rod Teenagers Part 3 of 3

1952 Hot-Rod Teenagers Part 2 of 2

1952 More Hot-Rod Teenagers Part 1 of 3

First of the "Gregs Day Off" rod runs....

Well...you missed a great day out..the weather was perfect, the day was relaxed, and the scenic drive through to Boonah was trouble free!..We met at BP Yatala at 10 am.for a coffee and catch=up before heading out towards the Dugandan Hotel.

Very welcoming, they took pics and want us back again!..nice grassy parking lot.

I volunteered Chris Young to lead the way...he knew the area well, so off we went to Beaudesert and onto our lunch stop. This was the only hiccup of roadworks really, a great day for a cruise..hardly any traffic.

Pit stop on the way...sure, there were only 6 of us, but as the word gets around, it will grow....if you're retired or can grab an rdo, come along next time.

Three of the best models Henry ever made....no, hang on...everything he built was spot-on

The table drain/culvert was a bit of a squeeze for the low cars, but the grass was perfect for a photo session

Food was great,  all the girls and guys really enjoyed the day off. We left for the afternoon cruise through to Yamanto turn-off, and home via. Springfield.

 So, next month..September 19....we will (probably) meet at the Rocklea area, and head off to the Esk/Lowood/Toogoolawah area, and (probably) home via. Mt Nebo/Mt Glorious area......I will advise...if you want to come, get on my e mail list, send it to greg@comstar.com.au and lets go crusin!

experimenting..seeing if I can send videos from my phone to here..

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201001874581734&l=2568131737646377274

 So..after 2 1/2 years, it's almost done...even took it for a drive

 Hope the front selles a bit..it has rake, but needs another 1"

 Can't wait to register it and take those stupid wipers off!!

 Just needs a better seat arrangement..

 I changed the look on the tudor again...6"s and 7"s, and no Moon tank!

1ST Anniversary of our coffee /breakfast catch-ups!!

 We have been blessed....every run has had perfect weather!..As you can see, the rasin cleared away during the night, leaving this almost cloud-free day!

 Didn't count, but think it was approaching 40 cars...with some newbees..

 Predominantly hot rods at this one....if you come down, don't forget there is a sit-down breakfast area just a short walk from this coffee shop..

 In the background is the local auto parts store...he is thinking of doing something for us on the October run, seeing as that is Bathurst day....just a big TV out front maybe!

 Maccas Bakehouse is a home base for this Redlands City run..room to park up to about 200 here on a Sunday morning, and choice of three eateries

 Just great to see guys having a low key chat about cars, their ailments, politics, the TAC...hahaha..it's all good fun...it is an 80% men deal, but women are welcome.

 Next run here is September 15...come along for a look!

 Photos don't show just how big this car-park is..and almost non-used on a Sunday.

 Even covered parking available....maybe I should see if we can get more tables or chairs, that's the only thing we're missing.

Don't forget, my mid-week rod run is on this Thursday..starts at Yatala BP at 10am

Wenesday....baby -sittin' day!!

Wednesday workins are a hit and a miss between looking after grandson #2....(The hot rods can take a back seat any day for them!!....but can't wait to take 'em for a drive)

 I had a few issues that weren't resolved correctly in the build up....so best fix it all now...the front pipe was really too close to the engine mount bolt, so while the steering is out, I gave it a little indent to get about 3/16th clearance...just enough to clear!

 Now, the reason the box is out, is that just before I fitted it, I put more grease n oil mix in it...well, it leaked more than the Exon Valdez!!...so down to see Bruce at the local Rare Spares for a kit, best fix it now before I oil up your driveway!!

 Figured I may as well go thru all my boxes while I'm in the mood, see how many are useable...wonder if some obscure dealership still has some N.O.S. HQ boxes...hmmm.

 Here's the Rare Spares part, if you need it, but you can get just the seal from a bearing supply shop....harder to find is the caged roller bearing for the pitman arm shaft, but these are usually ok as is... also shown here is the drilling instructions for the Flaming River grub screw relief needed in the DD shaft...

 My first attempt at the throttle linkage is good enough, but I will refine it, as it only gets about 7/8th throttle..I like using the lighter, but double return springs. Have to buy a bigger air cleaner one day...just haven't found the right looking one I want, yet!!

 You don't see this normally, but very important to have good "earths" especially in fiberglass cars, there is also three more cables that run from the body to the frame, as well as engine to the frame!!

 Everything electrical is wired and working, thanks to Glenn Watts, cowl vent works, just need some carpet and trim bits to hide all the firewall and tidy the wiring a bit!

 I lost the horn button, and damn!..the replacement only comes in dark brown..not black...now soething else to paint...Moon 1/2 tach adds to the racey look!!

 You can't see, but all the handbrake is monted and adjusted...well, until the first drive and the shoes bed in..have to redo it again, then.

Doug Mole is re-shaping the timber rail for me...we decided that the way it came from LeBarron Bonney was way too tall, so he's taking about 10mm, and the carpenter in him is fitting it better than my boiler-maker version...(close enough!)