I'm continuing on with my brake lines.

The factory brake line brackets are ugly, but more importantly they're not compatible with the AN fittings I'm using.

I machined a few aluminum adapters on my lathe.

I trimmed the factory brake fitting tabs and installed my -3AN bulkhead fittings with the adapters I made.

I decided to switch gears to work on the shift linkage for a little while. 

The mockup transmission I'm using has all of the internals removed, including the selector shaft.  It's shown here, it's the splined shaft in the center of the photo.

I ended up making a mockup selector shaft to use in my mockup block. 

I threw the rest of the shift linkage together so I can make a plan to rebuild it all.

In the meantime, Woody didn't waste any time tearing into his '72!

Motor out.

Motor gone!

I got my '62 registered and plated.  Now I just have to pass inspection!  But first I have to build a tailgate haha.





Since I bought this old Ford truck, I realized I don't have any large english-size sockets! 

I went to Sears and managed to piece together a full set of US made 1/2" drive 6-point shallow sockets.  All of the new ones are made in China, so I had to dig to find the last full set (including the extras). 

I had to shuffle around my socket drawer a little bit.  I still need to get some 1/2" drive deep english sockets, since apparently I need them now.

Last week I finished the last piece of my heat shield, but realized that I had embossed the edge of my protective film into the surface.

I decided to cut a 2nd layer which will simultaneously cover this mistake and mimic the double-layer look of the factory firewall. 

I decided to plug weld it in from the rear so the welds aren't visible.  I laid out a pattern of tiny holes in the formed piece.

Welded.

Welded in place!  With this weld, my heat shield / exhaust project is FINALLY finished!

I plopped the engine back in to get a look at the finished product.

All of that work... and this is what you can see lol.

In related news, Woody's truck arrived!  He bought this 1972 GMC pickup from a guy in California and had it shipped.  I only managed to snap one picture, but this thing is totally badass!  It's an order of magnitude nicer than my Ford, I can't wait to see what he does with it.

Ever since my buddy Dave bought a 1967 Ford Pickup a few months back, I've had the itch to buy something old, rough, and cool.  I've been fighting the urge to pick up a 2nd 'project' for a few years, every spring I get depressed that it's been ~5 years since I had something cool to cruise.  I also have zero knowledge of anything carburated or American made, and the best way to learn is to jump into a project. 

Well this weekend I found what I was looking for on Craigslist.  It wasn't a whole lot of money, not too far away, cool, old, unique, running and driving, and rough as fuck. 

After a few text messages, I was convinced this was the truck I was looking for.  So I borrowed a trailer, picked up my buddy Fro, and we set off on a 4 hour drive to Eastern West Virginia.

1962 Ford F-100 Unibody pickup. These unibody trucks were only produced for a few years, and I think they're really cool!  It's a shortbed 2wd model with "three on the tree" manual trans and inline 6.

I think the badass keychain sealed the deal.

I bought it from a guy named Glen, who builds pretty sweet custom bikes.  He had a few in his basement, this one was my favorite.  I don't know a whole lot about bikes, but this is an old hardtail Triumph.

This thing was super clean!  I was super impressed with the attention to detail and build quality.  I don't know how this guy ended up with such a shitty old truck... but then again I bought it too, so I suppose we have a lot in common.

He also had this cafe style Suzuki on the lift under construction, and another Harley in the back.

After talking about bikes for a little too long, it was dark before we got to load up.

I waited until this morning to unload everything, it was freezing cold last night!  But it was snowing today, which wasn't much better.

It has a sweet cherry bomb exhaust!

You can see the original color in the door jambs... possibly.  It also may have been white, it's not really clear.  If you look closely you can also see drywall screws, aluminum flashing, giant holes, silicone RTV, rust...

... and a FOOTPRINT GAS PEDAL.  FUCK YEAH.

I found this mess of chicken wire, tape, foam, and bondo holding up part of the rear fender.

114 horsepower. 

Fro, Woody, and I all fit!  

Everybody keeps asking what my plans are... and I don't really have any.  I need to get it legal first, then I will probably pursue the cheapest, fastest way to lower it to the ground.  Right now I'm leaning toward a Crown Vic front clip with power steering, disc brakes, airride, and 20" Detroit Steel smoothies.  I think I can make that happen without using much money or time.

Some parts came in!  It's been a while since I ordered actual parts, most of the supplies I buy are raw materials.  This time I bought some Girling 60 dual piston calipers, Mintex pads, and 11" front rotors from a VW Corrado G60.  It's a mild upgrade over stock, but the setup fills up large wheels a lot better.

Back to the heat shield.  After the first several pieces weren't good enough, I tracked down a problem with my plywood hammerform.  I bought a piece of solid red oak, and formed another piece.

After hammering:

I inked up the raw hammered part to smooth out the hammer marks using a selection of files and sandpaper.

Speaking of files... I bought a few new files for use in stainless steel.  I really shouldn't be using files I use for regular steel, because steel particles can contaminate the surface of the stainless and cause it to rust.

After hours of hammering and filing, I was finally happy with the shape and quality of the piece.

But after closer inspection, I realized another problem!  Forming the flange warped the piece, so I was correcting it with a flat dolly and slapping spoon.   I left the protective film on the surface of the stainless to prevent damage, but had trimmed it back because it can't withstand the cutting and hammering of the edge.  It turns out the edge of the protective film has ghosted itself into the surface of the stainless!  This piece is scrap now too.  The 8th one will be fucking perfect.