"Don't Know" Build start

I went for a ride today and got out on the open road for a while. Everything is still sticking together. The new tires kind of downgraded the rear end ratio a bit. It's running 4,000rpm at 70 mph now. Using Sam_Fears online calculator(Thanks, Sam), I've got a 4.52 equivalent ratio. There may not be too many road trips until I can find a 9" with a little better gears. The 429 is fairly thirsty for premium($$) gas. I acquired some flat bar for front fender mounting but, it ain't going to work. Too thick. 5/16" and no way to bend it like it needs to be. No torch for heat. I'll get something else. That's all.

I finally got some material to mount the front fenders. We'll have to see how that plays out. I've got a fairly good idea on how I want them to go but, I won't know how it's going to work, until I get started on it. And on the side pipes: I'm ordering a couple of 3½" glass packs, that have an O.D. of 4". That'll match the sidepipes. I'll just cut that much out and weld the glass packs in, as suggested by 05snopro. That's it.

Just got caught up to date on this one. Congrats on getting it on the road after all this time.

looking forward to seeing those fenders mounted!

I finally got started on the fenders. The 2" X quarter flat bar I found is a little too much to bend without a torch. So, I'll just cut and weld. I got 7/16" cold roll to go on the back of the brake backing plate. Put longer bolts in the two rear mounting holes but, had to drill a hole for the front one so it wouldn't hit the stop when turning. I think it'll work. If not.... ? I've got to get these fenders on so I can cut out some of the side of the grill assembly for clearance. I took it for a drive last weekend and while pulling out, the right tire hit the sheet metal and threw the the whole thing callywompus. It was going to need modified for the fenders anyway. And I got brave and run it from about a ten MPH roll. It went thru the gears real quick and when I looked at the speedo, I was going MPH. Straight down. The tach said 6,000. Then the front end started getting squirrelly. I aint doing that again for a while. That's all.

One fender is almost done. A person would think that if I mirror this side, it would fit the other side. So, I think I'll just start over on the driver's side. I tried bending this flat bar, without heat, and it didn't work out very good. So, I cut and welded. I tried to make this fender so when I get different tires, it'll adjust enough to compensate. Probably not. Nothing else has worked as planned. That's just part of the plan. Re-do at least once. It's all fun anyway. I've got to trim the top and bottom of the fender a little to make it look better. And trim and re-do the sides of the grill, for turning considerations. That's all.

Well, not working really put a crimp in the project. But, I went ahead and got two new tires for the front, anyway. I couldn't find any different rims, so I used what I had. Then, had to rethink and redo the fenders. I got one done except for trimming the bottom off and reshaping the top a little. Maybe throw a little paint on, maybe not. And got another idea for quieting this thing down a little. I let yall know how that works out. That's all.

I didn't get the bottoms cut like I wanted but, they'll be ok for now. I had an idea on side pipe inserts that actually worked. (sort of) I used the 3" exhaust leftover for a past project, drilled 5/32" holes in it, welded it to my street hookups, using dj3100's clamp suggestion, and put that inside the side pipes. It's not quiet by any means but, the 1200 holes in each side,(my old drill press is glad that's over) did deepen the tone and took the "raspnyness" out. It's a whole lot better on the ears now. I'll try it out on a short fifty mile road trip tomorrow. A friend has agreed to follow me, with his truck, just in case something craps out. I've got all the required items loaded up: water, oil, tranny fluid, a few tools, good pull chain, stainless tie wire,....... That's all.

Took a little twenty miles each way run today and it all worked fairly good. The ground on the fuel pump became ungrounded once, and I had to clean that up. And had to get a jump to start the 429. I thought maybe the timing was bumped up too much but, after turning that back, still turned over about half a turn and stopped. Put the jumpers on for about a minute and it fired right up. It's charging 14v so I'm leaning toward the starter getting tight when it's hot. Starts fine when cold. When I got to the picnic, the right front brake wheel cylinder decided to puke out a piston. The adjuster on the bottom shoe broke which let the shoe fall back and out came the piston. A quick run to the local hardware store for a 12mm nut fixed it enough to get home safely. It used about six gallons of gas for 40 miles. About right. Running 3,500 at 60 mph. The engine never got over 185* and the inside never got below 110*. It's going to be a good winter car. That's all.

eureka RUSTY GOLD!!! and plenty of it good luck snap a pic every now and then....

eureka RUSTY GOLD!!! and plenty of it good luck snap a pic every now and then.... much appreciated

I got a good start on the exhaust again. Took the new glass packs, measured out where they are going to fit and cut the pipes. I was going to attempt to weld them up but, the power pole out at my Dads' place broke and I had to wait around for the light company to show up. That's all.

Got the glass packs welded in and they do a fair job at cutting the noise level down. It's a deeper and slightly less annoying sound now. It'll have to do. Fine by me if the local law doesn't give me any trouble. I haven't passed one yet but, I will. And I did a little paint change on the lower grill. I like it. That's all.

Pint change on the lower grill looks sweet!

Yep, that changed the whole look up front!

Thanks guys. Any suggestions??

did you give up on those fenders?

I made all the mounts and got them on and was scared they might fall off. The mounts were heavy and didn't look good at all. I'll have to go back and figure something else out. I know a guy that's got a bunch of junked cars, that he hasn't even seen yet, and I'm going to corner him into going and looking them over. There may be something I can use. That's all.

I finally got my Toyota back together again and it somewhat works. A simple tranny change has been a real hassle. Hopefully, I won't have any more problems. Then, the brakes on my Dads' Pathfinder. Now, I can get back to some serious work. I've been carrying this old radio case around for years and now I've found a use for it, besides holding PVC fittings. After trimming a bit off the rubber tracks, on the inside, a newly acquired battery fits perfect. I'll drill a couple holes for the leads and one for a vent hose. Then it gets mounted in the empty space behind the seats and hooked up to the main battery in the rear. For an unknown reason, the 429 doesn't want to crank after it's warmed up. I can hook jumpers to it and it'll spin over just fine. I've got a new 750 amp battery, new starter, new terminals. It just wants a little more juice to spin. So, in comes the second battery. I've got the 120 amp Volvo alternator so there's enough there. About all else I can change out is the starter solenoid. I reckon that's next. That's all.

Got the battery box mounted. It wouldn't fit under the back ledge so, it got mounted a bit farther out. Just looks like an old box sitting in the back. I ran a rubber vent hose from the box to out into the rear area. On to the next item. (whatever that's going to be)