RPU, bodywork underway.

[soltz]

!!!!![P!!!!!

 

[donsrods]

Haha, you guys are killing me ! Ok, no film, but I do have a major step tonight to report. After 9 years of building this thing, tonight it actually ran for the very first time.

Both of my sons came over to help me wrap up the little details that needed to be done before we could try starting it. Dan worked on getting quick disconnect plugs put on all the underdash wiring so that we could have the gauges and switches all working.

Don and I worked on some little mechanical issues that needed fixed, like when we put in the trans fluid we had a drip coming from one of the fittings on the side of the transmission. Dan was able to get his hand up under there and remove the old kickdown plate, and we found that it was seeping fluid past it. So, we modified one from an extra transmission we had laying around, and after gooping it up with some Permatex and reinstalling it, the leak stopped.

Then, we had a leak from the water pump, and it was because I had mocked it up on the motor and never put gaskets on it. After fixing that there were no more coolant leaks either.

Finally, it was time to try to start it. After a few cranks it fired up and I played with the timing and got it to run pretty well at 2,000 rpms to break in the cam. We had to do the break in in spurts because running that fast the temperature would come up pretty quick. I think there is still some air in the cooling system that I will have to purge to get the temperature to come down to a normal range.

We played with the timing and carb settings, and got it to run pretty well, but there are still some little bugs to get taken care of, but at least the thing starts and runs pretty well, considering this is the first night it has run after a 9 year long build. I was happy to see the oil pressure at 70 psi at 2,000 rpms, and about 50 at idle. The alternator is also charging as it should.

So, we are all fried, it was a long day, but a monumental step toward getting this thing on the road. Now I just have to spend some time ironing out some little bugs and then I can move on to finishing up the brakes and painting the bed, once Dan gets done with building the framework for it.

I will sleep pretty well tonight, this was a long time coming.

 

[BillM]

Congrats Don! That feeling of a successful first fire is the best feeling in the world!!

 

[bruno]

[cl[cl[cl[cl[cl[cl

 

[Torchie]

[cl[cl[cl[cl[cl[cl

^^^^^^^^X’s 2 ^^^^^^^
Torchie

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, guys. Still some little bugs to work out, but overall not too bad so far. I am considering using two block off plates to temporarily remove the two end carbs, just to simplify getting everything tuned. Then, when I am certain it is running well I can start putting those two carbs back into the mix.

I think that would let me find any little issues before I move on. Right now I can't be sure if all three carbs are letting the car run as well as it could. I have to think about that one and run it by my sons for their opinion.

Not that it runs bad right now, but it does seem to idle a little rougher than it should, considering I have a stock cam in there. We'll see.

 

[Old Iron]

 

[soltz]

Happy Dance

!!![cl[cl[cl!!!

 

[bob w]

Way to go Don & sons.

 

[smallfoot]

Big congrats!

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, guys. It feels good to be finally getting close to the end of this thing. Tired of bleeding money and sweating my tail off in the hot Florida Summer !! (old age doesn't help any either )

I called the auto parts store just now and they have two of the carb gaskets I need so today my plan is to make a couple of simple block off plates and remove the two end carbs so I can run the engine on only the center carb until I get it running right.

Now I can also install the steering box , column and wheel, as well as the shifter assembly. Dan is going to do more work on the bed today and tomorrow, and should make some pretty good progress on that.

Once all of those things are done we can begin priming and painting the bed, finishing up the brakes, and maybe going for the very first test drive. But after 9 years of working on this thing I am in no particular rush at this point.

 

[donsrods]

I had a couple of goals today. The first was to dig into the motor and make sure everything was the way it should be to make it run well. It ran ok when we fired it up, but just ok. It sounded a little lame and didn't take gas real well.

The first thing I did was pull the number one valve cover and turn the engine over while holding my finger over the number one spark plug hole. When I got that piston to the top, the pointer on the crank was right where it should be, so I advanced it to 8 degrees before tdc.

When I looked at where the rotor was on the distributor, it was way off of where it should be, so I pulled the distributor and reindexed it to where it should be. Then I decided to pull all the plugs and regap them and I got a little surprise when I did that. 6 of the plugs were torqued and two were finger tight ! I must have missed those years ago when I put the new plugs into the engine for the first time.

Then, I pulled all three carbs and made sure the bases and everything were tight, and I found the front carb was very loose, probably sucking air. Also, the linkage between the front and rear carb was not adjusted correctly, and it was holding the front carb open slightly all the time.

Once all of that was done I started the engine and it ran a whole lot better, sounds great. Slightly lumpy cam, but sounds great. I also had a problem where the dash temp gauge would climb very quickly to 200 degrees and above, so I disconnected it and put a second gauge I had in my stash temporarily in it's place, and it showed the engine at 170 to 180 degrees. When I shot the engine with a heat gun, it also showed the 170 to 180, so it looks like I have a faulty gauge on my dash or it is not compatible with my sending unit. I will have to work on that a little more. I just ordered a new gauge and sender from Summit so one of those should clear up my problem.

For the rest of the day, Dan and I worked on the framework for the bed, and it is coming out great. It is totally square and fits the car like it should. Tomorrow we are going to work some more on getting that part of the bed done.

Here are some pictures of the bed framework from tonight.

 

[bob w]

Almost done and still a hundred hours of miscellaneous jobs to do. Isn't that the way it goes? The roadster will fit right in with the rest of the Donsrods stable.

 

[donsrods]

Almost done and still a hundred hours of miscellaneous jobs to do. Isn't that the way it goes? The roadster will fit right in with the rest of the Donsrods stable.

Thanks, Bob. You are absolutely correct, it is amazing how many big and little tasks there are to putting one of these things together. No wonder it sometimes takes years and years (Unless you are on Overhaulin' and can do it in a week ! lol)

As close as we are to the finish line there are still a whole lot of things that need done, and pretty soon I will be back doing bodywork when the bed is ready to paint, my least favorite job in the world.

But it is nice to now be able to turn the key and see it fire up.

 

[Torchie]

Torchie

 

[donsrods]

Today I worked on getting the shifter reinstalled on the transmission while Dan worked some more on the bed. After I got the shifter installed I put jack stands under the rear axle to get the tires off the ground and I started the motor and ran it through the gears.

Park worked, reverse worked, neutral worked, as well as D, 2 and 1. The car would only start in park and neutral, so the switch is doing it's job correctly. When I ran it up to speed on the jackstands there were no vibrations or anything, so it seems like everything is in balance and working ok.

When I was done I helped Dan get the bed frame put back on the car, after we bolted on the side pieces and the tailgate. Then we shimmed up the louvered tonneau cover and laid it in place, and it fit very well. Since we worked late last night and were beat, we called it a night early tonight and will get back on it sometime this week.

My upholstery should be done by Friday or so, and I am anxious to see how it came out. In the meantime, here are some pictures from tonight.

 

[Torchie]

Great looking ride.
Torchie

 

[Old Iron]

Very nice to look at and there looks to be around 200 louvers on the deck lid.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys. Yep, 224 to be exact. The tonneau cover was one of the things I inherited when Dan tore his rpu projct apart years ago. He didn't like the way it looked, so he cut it all up and started over with a Brookville body, a new frame he built, etc.

I got the body, chrome windshield, grille shell, dashboard, and tonneau cover and a bunch of small pieces. He shoved them into the corner of the shop and I thought they were too good to just let laying there, so I started this car about 9 years ago.

I "think" I paid him for the parts. (maybe......lol) Here is how it looked when he was building it.

 

[Old Iron]

[S so what did he not like about it
Looks cool to me