Bits and pieces, Leslie's car.

[endicott_jb]

Valve covers are mostly finished. Another coat of clear and they’ll be ready to put on the engine. Also put a few more coats of paint on the valley pan and breather cover. I’ll throw a few coats of clear over them as well once they’re dry.

 

[Old Iron]

Don't go too far they'll look like plastic [ddd
They look good [cl

 

[endicott_jb]

Lol, I can’t go that far, this is a Rat Rod after all. Anyhow, been staying busy this weekend and getting a lot accomplished amazingly enough. Valve covers are ready for install but I’m keeping them off until the engine is back in the car. Cleaned up the transmission tunnel of the extra bits and mated the engine and transmission. And finally removed the sheet metal screws from the firewall to install the 357 shells. Hoping to have the engine back in by the end of the week, the exhaust installed, along with the intake. Next week I plan on finishing up the wiring for the headlights and fan. But now, it’s time for a nap before work. So I’ll catch up with you guys when I can.

 

[endicott_jb]

Was able to wake up early enough and have enough ambition to stay out in the shop long enough to get the engine and tranny back in. Also ran the lines for the transmission cooler. Made a mistake and didn’t put the starter in until after it was all bolted in so I had Pull the front end up to get the clearance needed to slide the starter into place. Thank God I decided to buy a new starter for it. Anyhow got the engine all bolted back into place and decided where to put the starter relay and fan relay. Then I played with the exhaust a little bit. I got some fender well headers and wanted to see how they would look. Right side up, they look sorta goofy. Like it’s trying to fly or something so I decided that I’m gonna mount them on upside down and make some turndowns to attach some sort of muffler to . Probably purple hornies or the like. Then I stuck the intake manifold and old carbs on to see how y’all they looked. Gonna need a taller air cleaner to get the look I want. And finally one of the valve covers. All in all, im very happy with how it’s turning out. Tomorrow I’ll start finishing up the wiring. I’ll need to weld on some small tabs to hold the headlight conduit in place first but that shouldn’t take too long to do.

 

[Old Iron]

Lookin good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lowbudget50]

Love the valve covers!!!

 

[DozerII]

[cl[cl[cl[cl [P [P [P [P

 

[BillM]

Nice looking ride! I see what you mean about the headers turned up.

 

[endicott_jb]

Spent the weekend putting the fuel system together. Took about 25’ of 5/16 brake line and a million different fittings. Using hard line for the carburetor feed lines is a pain in the ass but definitely worth it when it comes to cleanliness. Once I had all that done, it was time to permanently mount the headers which required cutting the flanges off, flipping them, and welding it all back together. Another thing that took some time but worth it for the right look. Seeing as I didn’t want to get blasted in the face with exhaust, I had ordered some glass packs and a 3” u-bend. Made my cuts, welded it all together, and did a test fit to see how it’d fit. The purple, IS NOT, staying. I’ll take all the paint off and either leave them raw or paint them black.

 

[BillM]

Fuel lines look really good. Headers as well. Looks like that was a lot of work.

 

[endicott_jb]

Fuel lines look really good. Headers as well. Looks like that was a lot of work.

Thank you. It was a ton of work. The rear secondary took 5 tries to get the bends right and the front secondary took 3 tries. The primary was the easiest as it’s just a straight forward 90 but even it took 2 runs to get correct. Running hard line was my best option though as there is nowhere on the intake to mount a fuel log. I’ll try to get the other header finished up this afternoon.

 

[lowbudget50]

Agreed, fuel lines and exhaust look good!!!!

 

[05snopro440]

Looking good!

I really recommend getting rid of that see-through glass fuel filter and putting a metal one in. They're notorious for splitting, I had it happen just as I was about to leave on an 8 hour highway drive and was lucky I caught it.

 

[soltz]

Looking Good!!!

What wrong with purple pipes [S
""[P""

 

[MercuryMac]

I've been wanting to brag for a while, JB, about how far I am ahead of you.

Here's my black Y-block tappet-covers off a '56 Meteor. The best memory I can come up with is that I painted these black in 1966 of '67.

Thank you for digging up my memories.

 

[endicott_jb]

Looking good!

I really recommend getting rid of that see-through glass fuel filter and putting a metal one in. They're notorious for splitting, I had it happen just as I was about to leave on an 8 hour highway drive and was lucky I caught it.

I’ll have to remember that. The glass one was the only real universal in-line the parts store had that used pipe fittings on the end. Because I didn’t want to mount it directly to the frame, I needed it to be more-or-less self supporting. I’ve got a few more things I need to order from speedway so I’ll see what they carry.

 

[endicott_jb]

What wrong with purple pipes [S
""[P""

They just don’t really fit the bill. If they were hidden, I wouldn’t care but out in the open, everything needs to flow.

 

[endicott_jb]

I've been wanting to brag for a while, JB, about how far I am ahead of you.

Here's my black Y-block tappet-covers off a '56 Meteor. The best memory I can come up with is that I painted these black in 1966 of '67.

Thank you for digging up my memories.

You’re welcome Mac. I want to find a few more sets of Merc covers. I’ve already had guys on FB offer to buy mine after I had painted them lol. Told em if I can find another set or two, I could do it but mine are not for sale lol.

 

[endicott_jb]

Sorry for all the separate posts this evening guys. Just wanted to make sure I responded to everyone.

This afternoon I took the mufflers down to bare metal and painted them black. While the paint was drying, built a coolant overflow tank. Made some bungs to accept 1/4” pipe which I’ll put some 90 degree barbs in and connect them with clear tubing as a sight glass. Tomorrow I’ll start working on the piece above the windshield and then finish up the wiring. Still waiting on some other parts to show up o finish up the engine stuff.

 

[MercuryMac]

Good luck, finding lettered Y-block tappet-covers, JB.
They are very rare up here. I've only seen one pair of Mercury ones at a car show and maybe two pair of Ford ones. ---- And I have my eye out for anything Y-block.