Plastic Fantastic tew

[SuperBuickGuy]

on with other stuff... e.g. a horn....

lights need to go up and down, so I'll make a panel that holds the steering cover in place but also is the switch to move them up and down

limit switches


attach straps to tow from

back

and grills

and mark the starting point of suspension adjustment (this is from balancing the car)

and front signals

what's remarkable, though, is how many honey-do lists I have... this trailer needed lights rebuilt... so alas, rebuild we did

[SuperBuickGuy]

so to follow up on the trailer, there is reason...
I hate the camera, but the general idea is I severely overloaded the trailer and my Kioti tractor loading my shear up to get fixed....

in other news
now to figure out how to fasten it

[SuperBuickGuy]

oil pump

I have no idea what this fibrous crap is, but it shouldn't be there

for those who wonder, the larger oil filter hits this bolt.... it's not there anymore

nothing looks out of place in the old pump - but it's done, I'm sure they'll make a car out of it


that's as far as the pan comes out but the new pump is in place.... tomorrow assembly and figure out how to seal this.... it won't be easy


my thought is the fibrous crap would have eventually washed away - there was also some sludge in the pan from the assembly lube.... I suspect those two things were my low-ish oil pressure at idle.... I'll find out soon enough if that's true

[SuperBuickGuy]

70 psi at idle... happier
first thing, though, threading this in with nothing but fingers is not optimal

optimal

mods to the oil baffle to clear the new pump

there it is.... back together (and no leaks - bonus)

girdle is here, but not the pushrods.... drat

[SuperBuickGuy]

70 psi at idle... happier
first thing, though, threading this in with nothing but fingers is not optimal

optimal

mods to the oil baffle to clear the new pump

there it is.... back together (and no leaks - bonus)

girdle is here, but not the pushrods.... drat

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'm going to put this here in the Road to Optima, but also cross post it to the project page.

Saturday afternoon, I took the car out - so far, I've been driving like a saint but things happened (things), and I really got on it 4th gear 5600 rpm. On a public highway.... moving on.

I think that before I go racing (not Optima), that I need to spend a lot of time making this thing go through the air better. It feels solid but...

[SuperBuickGuy]

some have asked what I'm going to do about the vent if it rains.... eventually, it will have shutters, for now, a cap

this how you cut straight lines when your shear is in the shop


and

voila


it holds down with zip ties or similar.... and will have weather seal around the outside to keep it from vibrating the paint off

I may even put "remove for flight" on the panel... but that's later, I have several more things to do...
back to the grills

tacks for the win

just drilling and painting left... I may epoxy for s&g's then screw it in place... we will see

[Captain]

SWEET.....
Love the "Remove Before Flight" decal Idea !!

[SuperBuickGuy]

attaching


weather seal underneath ..... it just has to keep the majority of water out - I'll cover the air cleaner too

[SuperBuickGuy]

the biggest 'it sucks' about living where I do is I'm the only guy who's building his own stuff.... when I get the wrong parts or whatever, I'm days from a retail solution.... which usually isn't a problem.

but problem


and the other 'issue'... the intake pushrods, I ordered the wrong ones... should have ordered 3/8"x8.350x.135.....


bright side is the girdle seems to fit.


I may have a solution tomorrow - there is one store that's 1 1/2 hours away - but stocked? yeah, we will see.... if not, Summit

[SuperBuickGuy]

next day valve covers and 8 pushrods.... thanks Summit

and a "come on guys" Baxter Auto Parts, neat speed shop/ parts store - used them since they opened in the 70s. Called this morning to see if they have push rods "nope, 2-3 weeks"... no "I'll see if I have an interchange"... the entire point of an auto parts store is service, and I know they buy parts from Summit and can equal price because Summit gives them a bit of a discount... this is why speed shops are mostly dead.

ah well.... carrying on.

[cstmwgn]

next day valve covers and 8 pushrods.... thanks Summit....

Did you buy purdy sheet metal covers?
They do need to be a little taller for a girdle.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Did you buy purdy sheet metal covers?
They do need to be a little taller for a girdle.

they are sheet metal, but the criteria wasn't looks... it was clearance, availability and price.... $87 a pair....I have black paint that says they'll look just fine.

with that said, how is it a welder in a Chinese sweat shop can lay dimes at 25 cents and hour with a welder made at the turn of the 20th century? unsung hero, in my book... also just used on a friend who was crowing about how beautiful their weld was (it was 'nice' or 'okay').... they failed to see the humor in the comparison

[SuperBuickGuy]

why am I taking a picture of the oil pan? to show I managed to reattach it without a leak? uh. no. Ever wake up in the middle of the night and think "did I tighten the oil pump bolt?" then spend a solid 3 days deciding whether it mattered or not..... it was snug, not 65 ft lbs

and I'm not blowing another motor on an oil issue... at least not a preventable one
last time I got it apart without having to change the gasket... not so much this time

I think I figured out the problem with the lifters... look at the wear marks at the end. They would have been fine if they were the 210 degree tips but because that tip.... also see the wear mark in the exhaust rods? I also ordered adjustable guides... and longer pushrods (intake, I already have longer exhaust)

then signal time


all pretty


and there we go

[wile e coyote]

Very impressive build, you have some mad skills.